Davanee
A feminine name potentially of Sanskrit origin, meaning "gift of divinity."
Name Census estimates that about 221 living Americans carry the first name Davanee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Davanee today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Davanee births was 2014 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Davanee. 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
221
~ 1 in 1,550,925 Americans
Peak year
2014
21 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,437
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Davanee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Davanee from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 122 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Davanee 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 Davanee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Davanees live
Origin
Meaning and history of Davanee
The name Davanee is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, originating from the Indian subcontinent. Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that has been used for thousands of years, and many names in various Indian languages are derived from it.
The name Davanee is thought to be a feminine form of the Sanskrit word "Davan," which means "giver" or "bestower." This suggests that the name Davanee may have been given to girls with the hope that they would be generous and giving individuals, or perhaps that they would be bestowed with blessings and good fortune.
While the exact origin and meaning of the name Davanee are not entirely certain, it is believed to have been in use for centuries, possibly as early as the ancient Vedic period in India, which dates back to around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE. During this time, the Vedas, which are some of the oldest Hindu scriptures, were composed, and many names were derived from Sanskrit words or concepts found in these texts.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Davanee can be found in the Mahabharata, a renowned Hindu epic that dates back to around the 8th or 9th century BCE. In this ancient text, there is a character named Davanee, though little is known about her significance or role in the story.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Davanee. One such person was Davanee Devi, a Hindu mystic and spiritual teacher who lived in the 16th century in the region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. She was renowned for her devotion to the Hindu deity Krishna and her teachings on the path of bhakti (devotional love and surrender to God).
Another notable Davanee was Davanee Sarkar, an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who lived in the 20th century. She was instrumental in reviving and popularizing the Odissi dance form, which originated in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Sarkar was born in 1920 and passed away in 2008, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of Indian classical dance.
In the field of literature, there was Davanee Mehta, an Indian author and poet who wrote in the Gujarati language. She was born in 1928 and is best known for her collection of poems titled "Aakalpit" (Imagined), which explored themes of love, longing, and the human condition.
Another Davanee of historical note was Davanee Kapoor, a prominent Indian social activist and advocate for women's rights. Born in 1935, she dedicated her life to empowering women and fighting against gender-based discrimination and violence. Kapoor founded several organizations and initiatives aimed at promoting education, healthcare, and economic opportunities for women, particularly in rural areas of India.
Lastly, Davanee Rajput was an Indian freedom fighter who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence from British colonial rule. Born in 1910, she actively participated in the non-violent civil disobedience movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and was imprisoned multiple times for her involvement in the freedom struggle.
People
Davanee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Davanee 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
Davanee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Davanee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 221 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Davanee 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 1,550,925 US residents.
Is Davanee a common name?
We classify Davanee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 223 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Davanee most popular?
The single biggest year for Davanee was 2014, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Davanee is about 13 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 Davanee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Davanee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Davanee 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.
Is Davanee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Davanee 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 Davanee 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 Americans are named Davanee?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.