Debbye
A feminine name derived from Deborah, meaning "bee" or "diligent worker".
Name Census estimates that about 34 living Americans carry the first name Debbye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Debbye today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Debbye births was 1958 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Debbye. 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
- • The typical person named Debbye is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Debbyes were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Debbye. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
34
~ 1 in 10,081,010 Americans
Peak year
1958
10 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1960 SSA rank
#5,290
Tracked since 1952
Census
Debbye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 130 people with the first name Debbye, which placed it at #48,722 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#48,722
National first-name rank
People counted
130
130 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Debbye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debbye is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.4%) and Black (12.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Debbye described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Debbye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.2% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino15.4% · 20
- Black or African American12.3% · 16
- Two or more races6.2% · 8
Popularity
Debbye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Debbye from the 1950s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 40 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
Debbye 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 Debbye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Debbyes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Debbye
The given name Debbye is a diminutive form of the French name Déborah, which is derived from the Hebrew name Devorah. The name Devorah can be traced back to the Biblical figure Deborah, a prophetess and judge in ancient Israel, as mentioned in the Book of Judges. Her name is believed to originate from the Hebrew word "devorah," meaning "bee."
Debbye is an anglicized spelling variation that emerged in the late 19th century. It gained popularity in English-speaking countries as a feminine given name, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Debbye can be found in the 1881 novel "The Vicar's Daughter" by George MacDonald, where it was used for a character. However, the name did not gain widespread use until the 20th century.
Debbye Reynolds (1932-2016) was an American actress, singer, and dancer, known for her roles in films such as "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." She was a prominent figure in Hollywood's Golden Age and received numerous accolades throughout her career.
Debbye Harry (1945-2023) was a British singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Blondie. She was a pioneering figure in the punk and new wave movements of the 1970s and 1980s.
Debbye Graveney (born 1956) is a former English cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and wicket-keeper. She represented the England women's national cricket team and was part of the squad that won the World Cup in 1973.
Debbye Linden (born 1973) is an American long-distance runner and two-time Olympian. She has won several major marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2018.
Debbye Stoller (born 1968) is an American author and illustrator, best known for her children's book series "Knuffle Bunny." Her work has been recognized with numerous awards and honors.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the given name Debbye throughout history, highlighting its varied use across different fields and cultures.
People
Debbye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Debbye 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
Debbye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Debbye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 34 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Debbye 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 10,081,010 US residents.
Is Debbye a common name?
We classify Debbye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 47 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Debbye most popular?
The single biggest year for Debbye was 1958, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Debbye is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Debbye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 130 people with the name Debbye, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,722 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Debbye in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Debbye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Debbye leans strongly female. 131 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 4 male bearers (3.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Debbye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Debbye is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.4%) and Black (12.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Debbye most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Debbye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.2% (86 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Debbye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Debbye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Debbye 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 Debbye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Debbye 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 Debbye 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.
How many Americans are named Debbye?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Debbye at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.