DAWN HARDING

From the vocabulary word for daybreak, originally bestowed as a given name in the 1920s, no doubt because of the connotations of freshness and purity of this time of day. It may have originated as a translation of Aurora. Twin girls are sometimes given the names Dawn and Eve, although the latter name does not in fact have anything to do with the time of day. The name is also associated with the British actress Dawn Addams (1930–1985), the British comedienne Dawn French (b. 1957), and the American singer Dawn Upshaw (b. 1960).

English (mainly southern England and South Wales) and Irish: from the Old English personal name Hearding, originally a patronymic from Hard 1. The surname was first taken to Ireland in the 15th century, and more families of the name settled there 200 years later in Tipperary and surrounding counties.