Daphyne
Feminine name derived from the laurel tree in Greek mythology.
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Daphyne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Daphyne today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daphyne births was 1961 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daphyne. 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 Daphyne. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1961
10 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1976 SSA rank
#7,463
Tracked since 1953
Popularity
Daphyne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daphyne from the 1950s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 67 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Daphyne remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daphyne 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 Daphyne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Daphyne
The name Daphyne is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the ancient Greek word "daphne," meaning "laurel" or "bay tree." This name has its roots in Greek mythology, where Daphne was a beautiful Naiad nymph who was transformed into a laurel tree to escape the advances of the god Apollo.
In the ancient world, laurel wreaths were symbols of victory, honor, and triumph. The use of the name Daphyne likely originated as a way to bestow these symbolic qualities upon the bearer. The earliest known recorded instance of the name dates back to the 5th century BC, found in ancient Greek literature and inscriptions.
One notable historical figure named Daphyne was a Greek poetess from the island of Lesbos, who lived around the 3rd century BC. Her works were highly regarded in her time, although only fragments have survived to the present day.
During the Byzantine era, a famous Saint Daphyne lived in the 5th century AD. She was a Christian martyr who was tortured and executed for her faith during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire.
In the 16th century, Daphyne Dufour was a French Renaissance artist and portraitist, known for her skilled depictions of the nobility and elite of her time. Her works can be found in various European museums and galleries.
Another notable figure was Daphyne du Maurier, a British playwright and novelist who lived from 1907 to 1989. She is best known for her gothic romance novel "Rebecca," which was adapted into a classic film by Alfred Hitchcock.
In more recent history, Daphyne Sheldrick was a Kenyan-born conservationist and author who dedicated her life to protecting and rehabilitating orphaned elephants and rhinos in Africa. She lived from 1934 to 2018 and her work had a significant impact on wildlife conservation efforts in Kenya.
People
Daphyne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daphyne 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
Daphyne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daphyne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daphyne 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Daphyne a common name?
We classify Daphyne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 110 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daphyne most popular?
The single biggest year for Daphyne was 1961, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daphyne is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Daphyne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daphyne 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.