Deaken
Of Celtic origin, an occupational surname relating to a deacon or church officer.
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Deaken. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Deaken today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deaken births was 2013 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deaken. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Deaken with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
2013
17 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,975
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Deaken: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deaken 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 77 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Deaken remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deaken 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 Deaken 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 Deaken
The name Deaken is believed to have originated from the Old English word "deacon," which was derived from the Greek word "diakonos," meaning "servant" or "minister." The name first appeared in the early Christian period, referring to those who assisted priests and performed various duties in the church.
In the 5th century AD, the name Deaken was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, which documented the lives of early English settlers. During this time, the name was associated with individuals who served in religious roles within their communities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Deaken was Saint Deaken of Cerne, who lived in the 7th century AD in what is now Dorset, England. He was a renowned monk and hermit known for his piety and devotion to the Christian faith.
In the 9th century, Deaken the Wise was a respected scholar and advisor to King Alfred the Great of Wessex. He was known for his vast knowledge of religious texts and his contributions to the spread of education during the Anglo-Saxon period.
During the Middle Ages, the name Deaken was often bestowed upon individuals who held positions within the church hierarchy. One notable figure was Deaken of Winchester, who served as a deacon in the city's cathedral in the 12th century and was renowned for his charitable works.
In the 16th century, Deaken Frobisher was an English explorer and navigator who led several expeditions to the Arctic regions in search of the Northwest Passage. He is credited with discovering the bay that bears his name, Frobisher Bay, in present-day Nunavut, Canada.
Another historical figure with the name Deaken was Deaken Brodie, an 18th-century Scottish cabinet maker and deacon of a trade incorporation in Edinburgh. He is remembered for his involvement in a notorious criminal case, where he led a double life as a respected tradesman and a skilled thief.
People
Deaken + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deaken 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
Deaken: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deaken?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deaken 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 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Deaken a common name?
We classify Deaken as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 169 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deaken most popular?
The single biggest year for Deaken was 2013, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deaken is about 14 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 Deaken in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deaken a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deaken 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.
Is Deaken still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deaken 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 Deaken 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 people have the name Deaken?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.