Deby
A diminutive form of the name Deborah, meaning "bee" in Hebrew.
Name Census estimates that about 201 living Americans carry the first name Deby. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Deby today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deby births was 1959 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deby. 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 Deby is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Debys were born before 1970.
People living today
201
~ 1 in 1,705,245 Americans
Peak year
1959
29 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1979 SSA rank
#10,573
Tracked since 1948
Popularity
Deby: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deby from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 133 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
Deby 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 Deby during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Debys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Deby
The given name Deby has its roots in the Hebrew language and culture. It is a diminutive form of the Hebrew name Devorah, which means "bee" and is derived from the Hebrew word "devorah" meaning the insect bee. The name Devorah has a strong biblical connection, as it was borne by the famous prophetess and judge Deborah in the Book of Judges in the Old Testament.
The earliest recorded use of the name Deby can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Europe, particularly in regions with Jewish communities. It is believed that the name was adopted and popularized by Ashkenazi Jewish families as a shortened version of the biblical name Devorah.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Deby was Deby of Würzburg, a 13th-century German Jewish scholar and rabbi. He was known for his contributions to the study of Jewish law and his commentaries on the Talmud.
In the 16th century, Deby Prins was a Dutch woman who became famous for her bravery and determination during the Spanish Inquisition. She was arrested and tortured for her Jewish faith but refused to convert to Christianity, ultimately being burned at the stake in 1572.
In the 19th century, Deby Eisenberg was a prominent German-Jewish businessman and philanthropist. He was born in 1822 and became known for his charitable works and support for Jewish education and social welfare initiatives.
Another notable figure with the name Deby was Deby Whyte, a Scottish social reformer and activist. Born in 1845, she was a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement and worked tirelessly to promote women's rights and education.
In more recent times, Deby Snyder was an American author and illustrator of children's books. Born in 1920, she published numerous popular books, including "The Velveteen Rabbit" and "The Gingerbread Man," and received several prestigious awards for her contributions to children's literature.
People
Deby + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deby 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
Deby: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deby?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 201 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deby 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 1,705,245 US residents.
Is Deby a common name?
We classify Deby as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 263 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deby most popular?
The single biggest year for Deby was 1959, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deby is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Deby a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deby 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.