when was the dab popular

The dab was most popular from around 2015 to 2017, after starting in Atlanta’s hip‑hop scene earlier in the 2010s and then exploding through music, sports, and memes.

Quick timeline

• Early 2010s: The dab gesture appears in Atlanta hip‑hop, with artists like Migos, OG Maco, Skippa Da Flippa, and others using it in their scene.

• Around 2013: People in that scene recognize the move, but it is still mostly local and not a global meme yet.

• 2015: The dab goes mainstream – Migos push it with tracks like “Look at My Dab,” and American football players start using it as a touchdown celebration, which massively boosts its visibility.

• 2016–2017: The dab becomes a worldwide meme, all over social media, YouTube, and schoolyards, and starts to feel “overused” to many online communities.

In internet culture terms, people often talk about the dab as a mid‑2010s meme that “peaked” around 2015–2016 and felt “dead” or cringe not long after, even though some kids and communities kept doing it.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.