Dabney
A French name derived from the surname d'Aubigny, meaning "from Aubigny".
Name Census estimates that about 442 living Americans carry the first name Dabney. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 62.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Dabney today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dabney births was 1973 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dabney. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Dabney started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
442
~ 1 in 775,462 Americans
Peak year
1973
21 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2009 SSA rank
#11,276
Tracked since 1897
Gender
Gender distribution for Dabney
Dabney is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 623 total registrations, 232 (37.2%) were male and 391 (62.8%) were female.
Dabney as a male name
- Ranked #11,276 in 2009
- 6 male births in 2009
- Peak: 1925 (11 births)
Dabney as a female name
- Ranked #15,710 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1973 (15 births)
Popularity
Dabney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dabney from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dabney by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dabney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dabneys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dabney
The name Dabney has its origins in Old English, derived from the word "dæne" which means "valley" or "den." It is believed to have originated as a surname in the 12th century, referring to someone who lived or worked in a valley.
In the 13th century, the name Dabney appeared in historical records in England, such as the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, where it was spelled "de Dene" or "de Dena." This early spelling variation highlights the name's connection to its geographical meaning.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dabney was Sir Ralph de Dene, a knight who lived in Gloucestershire, England, in the late 13th century. He was mentioned in several medieval documents and was known for his military service during the wars between England and Wales.
In the 16th century, the name Dabney gained popularity among the English gentry and aristocracy. Notable figures from this time period include Sir Thomas Dabney, a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament in the 1500s, and Richard Dabney, who served as the Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1582.
As the name spread across the English-speaking world, it gained a foothold in the American colonies. One of the most prominent early American bearers of the name was Reverend Robert Dabney, a Presbyterian minister and theologian who lived from 1820 to 1898. He was a staunch advocate for Southern states' rights and wrote extensively on theology and philosophy.
Another notable American with the name Dabney was John Dabney, a successful businessman and plantation owner from Virginia, who lived from 1824 to 1900. He was a prominent figure in the tobacco industry and played a significant role in the development of the city of Richmond, Virginia.
In the literary world, the name Dabney is associated with the American novelist and short story writer, Dabney Stuart, who lived from 1897 to 1964. She is best known for her novel "Narcissa" and her stories set in the American South.
While the name Dabney has its roots in England and was initially more common among the English gentry, it has since spread across various cultures and regions, with notable bearers in various fields, from religion and business to literature and politics.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Dabney
People
Dabney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dabney as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dabney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dabney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 442 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dabney going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 775,462 US residents.
Is Dabney a common name?
We classify Dabney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 623 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dabney most popular?
The single biggest year for Dabney was 1973, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dabney is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dabney a female name?
Yes, 62.8% of people registered as Dabney in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.