Debby
Diminutive form of the feminine name Deborah, derived from Hebrew meaning "bee".
Name Census estimates that about 7,257 living Americans carry the first name Debby. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Debby today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Debby births was 1959 (890 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Debby. 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
7.3K
~ 1 in 47,231 Americans
Peak year
1959
890 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2016 SSA rank
#12,058
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Debby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Debby from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 4,460 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Debby 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 Debby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Debbys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Debby, while Wyoming, Hawaii, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 158 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Debby
Debby is a feminine given name derived from the Hebrew name Deborah, which means "bee" in Hebrew. The name is believed to have its origins in ancient Israel, dating back to the biblical period.
In the Old Testament, Deborah was a prophetess and the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel. She is described as a wise and respected leader who helped lead the Israelites to victory against the Canaanites. Her story is recounted in the Book of Judges, which is considered one of the oldest texts in the Hebrew Bible.
The name Deborah was relatively uncommon in ancient times, but it gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Debby as a diminutive form of Deborah can be found in English records from the 16th century.
Over the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Debby or its variants. Debby Boone (born 1956) is an American singer and author who achieved fame with her hit single "You Light Up My Life" in 1977. Debby Ryan (born 1993) is an American actress and singer known for her roles in Disney Channel series such as "The Suite Life on Deck" and "Jessie."
Another notable Debby is Debby Stone (born 1958), an American comedian, actress, and writer who has appeared in numerous television shows and films. Debby Krieger (born 1946) is a Mexican-American musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for the rock band The Doors.
In the world of sports, Debby Pritchett (born 1949) is a former American tennis player who won two Grand Slam doubles titles and reached the semifinals of the French Open in singles in 1973.
While the name Debby experienced a surge in popularity in the mid-20th century, particularly in the United States and parts of Europe, it has since become less common as a given name in recent decades.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Debby
People
Debby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Debby 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
Debby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Debby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,257 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Debby 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 47,231 US residents.
Is Debby a common name?
We classify Debby as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,697 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Debby most popular?
The single biggest year for Debby was 1959, when 890 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Debby is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Debby a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Debby 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.