Dash is usually a short form of Dashiell, the unusual name of the detective writer Dashiell Hammett, which came from his mother's French family name De Chiel and has no settled meaning; as an English word it suggests "a quick run" or "a burst of speed". The speedy young hero Dash in the Pixar film The Incredibles made it a first name in its own right. Dash entered the US top 1000 in 2014, peaked at number 741 in 2017 and ranks number 1056 in 2025.