Daphene
Feminine name derived from the Greek daphne, meaning "laurel tree".
Name Census estimates that about 307 living Americans carry the first name Daphene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Daphene today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daphene births was 1964 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daphene. 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
307
~ 1 in 1,116,464 Americans
Peak year
1964
22 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1993 SSA rank
#12,137
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Daphene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daphene from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 145 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
Daphene 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 Daphene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daphenes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Daphene
The name Daphene is derived from the ancient Greek Daphne, which has its origins in the word "daphne", meaning laurel tree or bay tree. The laurel tree was a symbol of honor and victory in ancient Greek mythology.
In Greek mythology, Daphne was a naiad, a type of minor female deity associated with rivers, streams, brooks, and freshwater. According to the myth, Daphne was pursued by the god Apollo, who fell in love with her. To escape his advances, Daphne pleaded with her father, a river god, for help. He transformed her into a laurel tree, which became sacred to Apollo.
The earliest recorded use of the name Daphene dates back to ancient Greece, where it was a popular name for girls. It was later adopted by the Romans, who spelled it as "Daphne".
One of the earliest known individuals named Daphne was Daphne of Miletus, a Greek writer and philosopher who lived in the 4th century BC. She was known for her works on Greek mythology and history.
Another notable Daphne in history was Daphne of Antioch, a Christian martyr who lived in the 1st century AD. She was executed for her refusal to worship the pagan gods and later became a revered saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
In the Renaissance period, Daphne was a popular name among the Italian nobility. One of the most famous Daphnes from this era was Daphne Raverti (1505-1567), an Italian painter and poet who was part of the Venetian Renaissance movement.
During the 18th century, the name Daphne became popular in England and was often associated with the pastoral poetry of the time. One notable Daphne from this period was Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989), the English author and playwright best known for her novel "Rebecca".
Another famous Daphne was Daphne Odjig (1919-2016), a Canadian First Nations artist and a pioneer of modern Indigenous art in Canada. Her work explored themes of Indigenous culture, history, and spirituality.
People
Daphene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daphene 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
Daphene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daphene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 307 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daphene 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 1,116,464 US residents.
Is Daphene a common name?
We classify Daphene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 578 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daphene most popular?
The single biggest year for Daphene was 1964, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daphene is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Daphene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daphene 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.