Daneen
Of Arabic origin, meaning "slender, delicate".
Name Census estimates that about 1,150 living Americans carry the first name Daneen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Daneen today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daneen births was 1964 (132 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daneen. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Daneen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 298,047 Americans
Peak year
1964
132 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,439
Tracked since 1935
Census
Daneen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,143 people with the first name Daneen, which placed it at #11,307 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,307
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,143 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daneen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daneen is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Daneen described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Daneen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.1% · 813
- Black or African American16.4% · 187
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 47
- Two or more races3.3% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 9
Popularity
Daneen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daneen from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 569 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daneen 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 Daneen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daneens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Daneen, while Maryland, Florida, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Daneen
The name Daneen is a relatively uncommon given name, with its origins shrouded in mystery. Some scholars suggest that it may have roots in the ancient Arabic language, possibly derived from the word "daneen," which translates to "little pearl" or "precious gem." However, concrete evidence linking the name to this origin is scarce.
Another theory proposes that Daneen could be a variation of the Irish name Dáinín, which means "small and stout." This connection is tenuous, as records of the name's usage in Ireland are sparse, and the spelling and pronunciation differ significantly from the modern Daneen.
The earliest documented instance of the name Daneen can be traced back to the 16th century, when it was recorded as the name of a minor noble in the court of the Ottoman Empire. This individual, known as Daneen Bey, was a trusted advisor to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and is mentioned in several historical accounts of the time.
In the late 17th century, a prominent French merchant named Daneen Rousseau established a successful trading company in the Caribbean. His business dealings and philanthropic endeavors are chronicled in several historical texts, and he is credited with contributing to the economic development of the region.
During the 19th century, a notable figure named Daneen Khatri emerged as a pioneering educator in British India. Khatri founded several schools and advocated for the education of women, a radical concept at the time. Her legacy is celebrated in various historical accounts of the Indian independence movement.
In the literary world, the name Daneen is associated with Daneen Woodward, an American poet and novelist who gained recognition in the early 20th century. Woodward's works, which explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality, were widely acclaimed during her lifetime (1888-1968).
The name Daneen also holds historical significance in the world of sports. Daneen Wilburn, an American track and field athlete, made history by becoming the first woman to win gold medals in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
While the name Daneen has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, its diverse origins and the notable individuals who have borne it contribute to its unique character and enduring appeal.
People
Daneen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daneen 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
Daneen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daneen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,150 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daneen 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 298,047 US residents.
Is Daneen a common name?
We classify Daneen as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,389 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daneen most popular?
The single biggest year for Daneen was 1964, when 132 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daneen is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Daneen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,143 people with the name Daneen, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,307 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Daneen in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Daneen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daneen appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,148 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Daneen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daneen is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Daneen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Daneen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.1% (813 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Daneen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daneen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daneen 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.
Is Daneen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daneen in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Daneen can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Daneen?
See how many Americans are named Daneen on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.