Danish
Native to Denmark; of Danish origin or relating to Denmark.
Name Census estimates that about 410 living Americans carry the first name Danish. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Danish today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Danish births was 2003 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Danish. 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.
People living today
410
~ 1 in 835,986 Americans
Peak year
2003
20 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,854
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Danish: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Danish from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 125 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Danish 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 Danish during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Danishs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Danish, while Illinois, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Danish
The name Danish is derived from the Danish language, which is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Denmark. The name likely originated in the medieval period, as the Danish language emerged from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings.
The name Danish is believed to be related to the Old Norse word "danr," which means "Danish person" or "one from Denmark." It may also be connected to the Old Norse word "danmarkr," meaning "Denmark." This suggests that the name Danish was initially used to identify people of Danish descent or origin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Danish can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas often mentioned Danish characters or individuals from Denmark, indicating the use of the name during that time period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Danish. One example is Danish Petersen (1877-1950), a Danish-American businessman and founder of the Durkee Famous Foods company. Another is Danish Kaneria (born 1980), a former Pakistani cricketer who played for the national team.
Other famous individuals with the name Danish include Danish Qureshi (born 1982), a Pakistani actor and model, and Danish Ismail (born 1983), a Bangladeshi cricket player. Additionally, Danish Siddiqui (1983-2021) was an Indian photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize winner who was tragically killed while covering the Afghanistan conflict.
While the name Danish may not be as common as some other names, it has a rich history rooted in the Danish language and culture. Its use throughout the centuries serves as a testament to the enduring influence of Danish identity and heritage.
People
Danish + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Danish 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
Danish: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Danish?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 410 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Danish 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 835,986 US residents.
Is Danish a common name?
We classify Danish as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 417 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Danish most popular?
The single biggest year for Danish was 2003, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Danish is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Danish a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Danish in the SSA data are male. 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.