De
A French preposition meaning "of" or signifying origin.
Name Census estimates that about 1,110 living Americans carry the first name De. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 51.5% of registrations being male. The average person named De today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of De births was 1992 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for De. 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
- • De sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 308,788 Americans
Peak year
1992
64 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2011 SSA rank
#9,869
Tracked since 1914
Gender
Gender distribution for De
De is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,322 total registrations, 681 (51.5%) were male and 641 (48.5%) were female.
De as a male name
- Ranked #9,869 in 2011
- 7 male births in 2011
- Peak: 1992 (46 births)
De as a female name
- Ranked #17,154 in 2005
- 5 female births in 2005
- Peak: 1968 (27 births)
Popularity
De: popularity over time
The SSA tracks De from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 479 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
De 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 De during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Des live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named De, while Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of De
The name De is a short form derived from the Romance languages, particularly French and Italian. It traces its roots back to the Latin word "Deus," meaning "God." In medieval times, it was commonly used as a prefix in names to indicate a person's devotion to God or the church.
One of the earliest recorded uses of De as a given name can be found in the 12th century, when Saint Dominic de Guzmán, the founder of the Dominican Order, was born in Spain around 1170. He played a significant role in the fight against the Albigensian heresy and the establishment of the Dominican order.
Another notable figure with the name De was Dante Alighieri, the Italian poet and philosopher born in 1265. His epic poem, the Divine Comedy, is considered one of the greatest works of world literature and had a profound impact on the Italian language and culture.
In the 16th century, De Valera, an Irish chieftain and one of the most prominent leaders of the Irish Confederate Wars, was born around 1585. He played a crucial role in the rebellion against English rule in Ireland.
During the 17th century, De La Salle, a French priest and educational reformer, was born in 1651. He is renowned for founding the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a religious order dedicated to teaching and educating children, particularly those from impoverished backgrounds.
In more recent times, De Niro, the acclaimed American actor and producer, was born in 1943. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation, having starred in numerous iconic films such as "The Godfather Part II," "Taxi Driver," and "Raging Bull."
While De is a relatively uncommon given name in modern times, its historical significance and ties to various cultural and religious traditions make it a name with a rich and diverse heritage.
People
De + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with De 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
De: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named De?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,110 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for De 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 308,788 US residents.
Is De a common name?
We classify De as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,322 babies have been registered with this name.
When was De most popular?
The single biggest year for De was 1992, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living De is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is De a male name?
Yes, 51.5% of people registered as De 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.