Dawn is a mostly feminine given name, although it can be used as a masculine given name as well. It is of

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

origin, and its meaning is ''the first appearance of light, daybreak''. It is sometimes used as a name for

Eos In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Eos (; Ionic and Homeric Greek ''Ēṓs'', Attic ''Héōs'', "dawn", or ; Aeolic ''Aúōs'', Doric ''Āṓs'') is the goddess and personification of the dawn, who rose each morning from her home ...

( Greek: Ἠώς), the Greek goddess of the dawn.

People

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

(Kim Hyo-jong, born 1994), South Korean rapper * Dawn Birley (born 1977), Canadian taekwondo practitioner and actress *

Dawn Black Dawn Black (born April 1, 1943) is a politician in British Columbia, Canada. Born ''Dawn Whitty'', Black became involved in politics from a young age, she became an assistant to New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Pauline Jewett. Member ...

(born 1943), politician in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada * Dawn Brancheau (1969–2010), SeaWorld trainer * Dawn Butler (born 1969), British Labour Member of Parliament for

Brent Central Brent Central is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is currently represented, since 2015, by Dawn Butler of the Labour Party. History The seat was created in the London review of seats of the Boundary ...

* Dawn Burrell (born 1973), American long jumper *

Dawn Cavanagh Dawn Cavanagh was (born 23 March 1962). She is a South African activist, writer, and feminist. Early life and education Dawn Cavanagh was born on March 23, 1962. She attended Fairvale Senior Secondary School in Wentworth, KwaZulu-Natal, and ...

, South African women's rights activist *

Dawn Crosby Lori Dawn Crosby Little (April 5, 1963 – December 15, 1996) was the lead singer of the underground act Detente. Following her exit from Detente, Crosby, together with producer Ross Robinson, went on to form Fear of God, which was signed to W ...

(1963–1996) American Singer, was the former lead singer of the underground act Detente. * Dawn Dawson, American jetski racer and commentator * Dawn Dumont, Canadian writer * Dawn Ellerbe (born 1974), American hammer thrower *

Dawn Evelyn Paris Anne Shirley (born Dawn Evelyn Paris; April 17, 1918 – July 4, 1993) was an American actress. Beginning her career as a child actress under the stage name Dawn O'Day, she adopted the stage name of Anne Shirley, after playing the title characte ...

(1918–1993), American actress * Dawn Fitzpatrick, American investment and financial officer * Dawn Frank, American biologist and academic administrator * Dawn Fraser (born 1937), Australian champion swimmer *

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...

(born 1957), British comedian *

Dawn Hudson Dawn Hudson (born January 4, 1956) is an American actress and movie executive. She served as the former chief executive officer of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2011 to 2022. She was succeeded by current chief executive offi ...

(born 1956), CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. *

Dawn Langstroth Dawn Joanne Langstroth (born April 16, 1979) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and painter. Raised in Toronto, she has released two EPs, self-titled ''Dawn Langstroth'' and ''No Mercy,'' and released her debut album ''Highwire'' in 2009. Langstr ...

(born 1979), Canadian singer/songwriter and painter *

Dawn Lake Dawn Alice Lake (20 January 1927 – 1 January 2006) was an Australian television comedian, singer, entertainer, and actor whose career spanned more than 50 years. She was particularly associated in show business with her husband Bobby Limb. ...

(1927–2006), Australian entertainer * Dawnn Lewis (born 1961), American actress *

Dawn Lott Dawn Alisha Lott is an applied mathematician at Delaware State University, where she is a professor in the department of physical and computational sciences and, since 2009, the director of the university's honors program. Research Lott's resear ...

, African-American mathematician *

Dawn Marie Dawn Marie Psaltis (born November 3, 1970) is an American actress, nurse and a retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling valet. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the Smac ...

(born 1970), American former professional wrestler and former WWE Diva *

Dawn Mello Dawn Mello (October 5, 1931 – February 16, 2020) was an American fashion retail executive and consultant and the one-time fashion director and president of Bergdorf Goodman. Subsequently she moved to Italy to manage Gucci. Later she was the presi ...

(1931–2020), American fashion retail executive * Dawn Moncrieffe (born 1968), Canadian athlete *

Dawn Penn Dawn Penn (born 11 January 1952) is a Jamaican reggae singer. She first had a short career during the rocksteady era, between 1967 and 1969, but is most known for her single "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)" which became a worldwide hit in 1994. ...

(born 1952), Jamaican singer * Dawn Porter (born 1979), British television presenter *

Dawn Powell Dawn Powell (November 28, 1896 – November 14, 1965) was an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and short story writer. Known for her acid-tongued prose, "her relative obscurity was likely due to a general distaste for her harsh sati ...

(1896–1965), American writer of satirical novels *

Dawn Primarolo Dawn Primarolo, Baroness Primarolo, (born 2 May 1954) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Bristol South (UK Parliament constituency), Bristol South ...

(born 1954), British Member of Parliament for Bristol South *

Dawn Olanick Dawn Olanick (August 5, 1964 – July 1982), previously known as Princess Doe, was a previously unidentified American teenage decedent from Bohemia, New York who was found murdered in Cedar Ridge Cemetery in Blairstown Township, New Jersey o ...

(1964–1982), American murder victim *

Dawn Olivieri Dawn Orienne Olivieri (born February 8, 1981) is an American actress. She played Lydia in ''Heroes'' and Monica Talbot in ''House of Lies''. Career Olivieri appeared in the Showtime series ''House of Lies'', starting in 2012, playing the compet ...

(born 1981), American actress * Dawn Rasmussen, retired athlete and sports administrator from Samoa *

Dawn Angelique Richard Dawn Angeliqué Richard (born August 5, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. She started her career after auditioning for ''Making the Band 3'' in 2004. During this time, Richard became a member of girl band Danity Kane, from 2005 to 2009, a ...

(born 1983), member of the musical girl group Danity Kane * Dawn Robinson (born 1968), former lead singer of supergroup En Vogue and Lucy Pearl *

Dawn Silva Dawn Silva is an American funk vocalist. Silva started her career as a background vocalist for Sly and the Family Stone. She joined Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977. She was the only original Brides of Funkenstein member to continue through the Bri ...

(born 1954), American funk vocalist *

Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball Hall of Fame player and coach, who is currently the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Staley won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player and later was head co ...

(born 1970), American basketball player and coach *

Dawn Steel Dawn Leslie Steel (August 19, 1946 – December 20, 1997) was an American film studio executive and producer. She was one of the first women to run a major Hollywood, California, Hollywood film studio, rising through the ranks of merchandising ...

(1946–1997), American film studio executive and producer *

Dawn Stern Dawn Stern (born October 15, 1971) is an American film and television actress; she is also a model. Early life and education She was raised in O'Fallon, Illinois, where she attended EK and O'Fallon Township High School. Stern graduated from So ...

(born 1966), American actress *

Dawn Wells Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020) was an American actress known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. Early life Wells was born to Evelyn (née Steinbrenner) and Joe Wesley Wells ...

(1938–2020), American actress *

Dawn Walker Dawn Elizabeth Walker is a former Australian politician. She was appointed as a Greens member of the New South Wales Legislative Council on 22 February 2017 to fill a casual vacancy resulting from the resignation of Jan Barham, and served un ...

, Australian politician *

Dawn Zulueta Marie Rachel Salman Taleon-Lagdameo (born March 4, 1969), known professionally as Dawn Zulueta (), is a Filipino actress, host and commercial model. She was recognized as the only Filipino actor to win two different major accolades in acting cat ...

(born 1969), Filipina actress

Fictional characters

Dawn (Pokémon) Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

, female protagonist of ''Pokémon Diamond'', ''Pearl'' and ''Platinum'' * Dawn Green, the second victim of the serial killer on ''True Blood'' *

Dawn Schafer ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' (also known as BSC) is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold 176 million copies. Martin wrote the first 35 novels in the series, but the subsequent nove ...

, a character in ''The Baby-sitters Club'' and ''California Diaries'' *

Dawn Summers Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of t ...

, a character in the popular television and comic book series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' *

Dawn Swann Dawn Swann is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Kara Tointon, who first appeared on 26 September 2005. It was reported on 26 March 2009 that Tointon and co-star Ricky Groves, who plays Garry Hobbs, would ...

, a character in the popular BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' *

Dawn Tinsley ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

, the receptionist in the British situation comedy ''The Office'' *

Dawn Woods Dawn Hope (also Woods) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Julia Mallam. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 February 2003 and her last on 14 July 2006. Storyli ...

, a character in the popular ITV soap opera '' Emmerdale'' *

Prairie Dawn The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson, many for the purpose of appearing on the children's television program ''Sesame Street''. Some of the best known Muppets on ''Sesame Street'' include Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, ...

, a muppet character in ''Sesame Street'' * Dawn Harper, one of the titular characters in the Nickelodeon series ''

Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn ''Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn'' is an American comedy television series developed by Michael Feldman and created by Matt Fleckenstein that premiered on Nickelodeon on September 13, 2014. It ran for four seasons and 82 episodes, with the final epis ...

'' * Dawn Betterman in Croods

Surname

Adria Dawn Adria Dawn (born May 24, 1974 in Champaign, Illinois) is an American actress, filmmaker and educator. She is most known for her work on Ryan Murphy (writer), Ryan Murphy's cult hit Popular (TV series), Popular (1999–2001). She was nominated by ...

, American actress *

Dolly Dawn Dolly Dawn (born Theresa Maria Stabile; February 3, 1916 – December 11, 2002) was an American big band singer. She was vocalist with George Hall's Hotel Taft Orchestra in the 1930s, and later had a solo career. Life She was born in Newark, New ...

(born Theresa Stabile, 1916–2002), American singer *

Elizabeth Dawn Sylvia Ann Ibbetson (''née'' Butterfield; 8 November 1939 – 25 September 2017), known professionally as Elizabeth Dawn or Liz Dawn, was an English actress, best known for her role as Vera Duckworth in the long-running British soap opera ''C ...

(born Sylvia Butterfield, 1939–2017), British actress *

Jeff Dawn Jeff Dawn is an American makeup artist who is known for working with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has done makeup on 19 of Schwarzenegger's films. He won an Academy Award in the category of Best Makeup during the 64th Academy Awards for his work o ...

, American makeup artist *

Julie Dawn Julie Dawn (originally Juliana Rosalba Maria Theresa Mostosi; 2 August 1920 – 18 May 2000) was an English singer, singing with leading dance bands in the 1940s and 1950s, and making recordings and radio broadcasts. In later years she presented ...

(born Juliana Mostosi, 1920–2000), English singer *

Marva Dawn Marva J. Dawn (August 20, 1948April 18, 2021) was an American Christian theologian, author, musician and educator, associated with the parachurch organization Christians Equipped for Ministry in Vancouver, Washington. She also served as Teaching ...

(1948–2021), American theologian *

Pieretta Dawn Praekarn (Pier) Nirandara (born January 28, 1994), better known by the pen name Pieretta Dawn, is the youngest English-writing author in Thailand. She received national critical acclaim when her debut young adult novel ''The Mermaid Apprentices'', ...

(born 1994), English-writing Thai author

Spacecraft

* Dawn (spacecraft), which is exploring 4 Vesta and later Ceres in the Asteroid belt.

External links

Genealogy of the Surname Dawn.

Genealogy sources for the Surname Dawn.
{{given name, type=both English feminine given names English-language feminine given names Feminine given names