Danney
A masculine name of English origin potentially meaning "gift from God".
Name Census estimates that about 387 living Americans carry the first name Danney. It is a predominantly male name (99.0% of registrations). The average person named Danney today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Danney births was 1954 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Danney. 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
- • The typical person named Danney is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Danneys were born before 1969.
People living today
387
~ 1 in 885,670 Americans
Peak year
1954
29 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1987 SSA rank
#7,183
Tracked since 1937
Census
Danney in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 393 people with the first name Danney, which placed it at #24,486 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
#24,486
National first-name rank
People counted
393
393 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Danney
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Danney is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Danney 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 Danney at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.7% · 274
- Black or African American11.5% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 33
- Two or more races5.3% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Danney
Out of the 517 babies given the name Danney since 1880, 99.0% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Danney as a male name
- Ranked #7,183 in 1987
- 5 male births in 1987
- Peak: 1954 (29 births)
Danney as a female name
- Ranked #17,197 in 2014
- 5 female births in 2014
- Peak: 2014 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Danney leans strongly male. 362 people counted with this name were male (92.1%), compared with 31 female bearers (7.9%).
Popularity
Danney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Danney from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 206 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Danney 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 Danney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Danneys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Danney
The name Danney is believed to have its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, particularly the Old Norse and Old English dialects. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "dani" or "dana," which means "Danish" or "from Denmark." This suggests that the name may have initially been used to refer to individuals of Danish descent or those who hailed from the region of Denmark.
In Old English, the name took on a slightly different form, appearing as "Dene" or "Dæne," which also carried the meaning of "Danish" or "from Denmark." Over time, as the name evolved and spread across various cultures, it underwent various spelling variations, including "Danney," "Danni," and "Dany."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Danney can be traced back to the 9th century, when it was mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an annual record of events in Anglo-Saxon England. The chronicle documented the arrival of Danish Vikings in England, and some of their leaders were referred to by variations of the name Danney.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Danney. One such individual was Danney Huddleston (c. 1520-1590), an English Protestant reformer and clergyman who served as the Bishop of Salisbury during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent figure was Danney Sunderland (1693-1768), a British politician and Member of Parliament who played a significant role in the Whig Party during the 18th century.
In the realm of literature, Danney Defoe (1660-1731), the celebrated English writer and author of novels like "Robinson Crusoe" and "Moll Flanders," is a well-known bearer of the name. Additionally, Danney Crockett (1786-1836), the legendary American folk hero and frontiersman, was known for his exploits in the Alamo and his contributions to the settlement of the American West.
Moving into more recent times, Danney Kaye (1913-1987), the renowned American actor, singer, and comedian, left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry with his versatile talents and memorable performances.
While the name Danney has its roots in ancient Germanic cultures, it has transcended geographical and cultural boundaries, becoming a name recognized and used in various parts of the world. Its rich history and enduring presence serve as a testament to the enduring appeal and significance of this name.
People
Danney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Danney 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
Danney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Danney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 387 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Danney 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 885,670 US residents.
Is Danney a common name?
We classify Danney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 517 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Danney most popular?
The single biggest year for Danney was 1954, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Danney is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Danney in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 393 people with the name Danney, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,486 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 Danney 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 Danney?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Danney leans strongly male. 362 people counted with this name were male (92.1%), compared with 31 female bearers (7.9%). 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 Danney?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Danney is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (8.4%). 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 Danney most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Danney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.7% (274 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 Danney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Danney a male name?
Yes, 99.0% of people registered as Danney 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.
Is Danney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Danney 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 Danney 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 many people have Danney as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Danney, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.