Daunte
A masculine name of unknown origin, possibly an Americanized form of Dante.
Name Census estimates that about 1,533 living Americans carry the first name Daunte. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Daunte today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daunte births was 2001 (159 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daunte. 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
1.5K
~ 1 in 223,584 Americans
Peak year
2001
159 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,091
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Daunte: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daunte from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 857 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
Daunte 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 Daunte during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dauntes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Florida, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Daunte, while Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Daunte
The name Daunte is a modern variant of the Italian name Dante, which itself is derived from the Latin name Durans, meaning "enduring" or "lasting." The name Dante first gained widespread recognition through the renowned Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), whose masterpiece "The Divine Comedy" is considered a seminal work of world literature.
Dante Alighieri's full name, Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri, reflects the earlier Latin form of the name, Durans. The name Daunte emerged as a modern spelling variation, likely influenced by the pronunciation of the name in various regional Italian dialects.
While the name Dante has a long and illustrious history, the specific spelling "Daunte" is a relatively modern adaptation. One of the earliest recorded instances of this spelling can be found in reference to Daunte Culpepper, an American football player born in 1976, who played for various teams in the National Football League (NFL) between 1999 and 2009.
Another notable figure with the name Daunte is Daunte Wright, an African American man who was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Minnesota in 2021, sparking widespread protests and discussions about police brutality and systemic racism.
In the realm of literature, Daunte Carr is an American author and playwright born in 1984, known for works that explore themes of identity, race, and social justice.
Moving to the world of sports, Daunte Stallworth is an American former professional football player who played as a wide receiver in the NFL between 2002 and 2012. He was born in 1980.
Lastly, Daunte Badru is a British actor and filmmaker born in 1992, known for his roles in various television series and films, including "Top Boy" and "The Dark Outside."
While the name Daunte is a relatively modern variation, its roots can be traced back to the Latin name Durans and the iconic Italian poet Dante Alighieri, whose influence on literature and culture has endured for centuries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Daunte
People
Daunte + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daunte 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
Daunte: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daunte?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,533 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daunte 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 223,584 US residents.
Is Daunte a common name?
We classify Daunte as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,563 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daunte most popular?
The single biggest year for Daunte was 2001, when 159 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daunte is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Daunte a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daunte 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.