Dannyray
A combination of the masculine name Daniel and the word "ray" meaning beam or ray of light.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Dannyray. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dannyray today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dannyray births was 2015 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dannyray. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dannyray. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2015
5 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2015 SSA rank
#12,486
Tracked since 2015
Popularity
Dannyray: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dannyray 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 Dannyray during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dannyray
The name Dannyray is a portmanteau, a combination of the names Danny and Ray. The name Danny is a diminutive form of the name Daniel, which is derived from the Hebrew name Daniyyel, meaning "God is my judge". It has been a popular name in English-speaking countries since the Middle Ages.
The name Ray is a shortened form of the name Raymond, which is derived from the Germanic elements "ragin" meaning "counsel" and "mund" meaning "protection". It has been in use since the 12th century.
While there are no known historical references or ancient texts specifically mentioning the name Dannyray, the individual components of Danny and Ray have their own historical significance. The name Daniel has been used by numerous notable figures throughout history, including the biblical prophet Daniel and the American poet and author Daniel Defoe (1660-1731).
The earliest known use of the name Dannyray is relatively modern, with no recorded examples from before the 20th century. One of the earliest notable individuals with this name was Dannyray Epperson, an American baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1920s.
Other notable individuals with the name Dannyray include:
1. Dannyray Moore, an American musician and songwriter who co-wrote the hit song "Drift Away" for the band Dobie Gray in the 1970s.
2. Dannyray Thompson, an American basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1980s and 1990s.
3. Dannyray Williamson, an American actor and screenwriter known for his work in independent films in the 2000s.
4. Dannyray Johnson, an American entrepreneur and business executive who founded a successful technology company in the 2010s.
5. Dannyray Sanchez, an American artist and painter whose works have been exhibited in galleries across the United States.
While the name Dannyray is relatively uncommon, it has been used by a diverse range of individuals throughout the past century, reflecting the creative and unique nature of this portmanteau name.
People
Dannyray + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dannyray 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
Dannyray: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dannyray?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dannyray 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Dannyray a common name?
We classify Dannyray as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dannyray most popular?
The single biggest year for Dannyray was 2015, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dannyray is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dannyray in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dannyray a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dannyray 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 Dannyray still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dannyray 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 Dannyray 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Dannyray?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.