Dechelle
Feminine name of French origin meaning "from the little valley".
Name Census estimates that about 70 living Americans carry the first name Dechelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dechelle today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dechelle births was 1993 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dechelle. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dechelle. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
70
~ 1 in 4,896,491 Americans
Peak year
1993
8 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1996 SSA rank
#12,225
Tracked since 1969
Census
Dechelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 119 people with the first name Dechelle, which placed it at #50,492 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
#50,492
National first-name rank
People counted
119
119 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dechelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dechelle is Black at 76.5%. The next largest groups are White (12.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.4%). 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 Dechelle 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 Dechelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.5% · 91
- White12.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 4
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Popularity
Dechelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dechelle from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 38 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dechelle 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 Dechelle 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 Dechelle
The name Dechelle has its origins in the French language and dates back to the medieval period, specifically the 12th century. It is derived from the French word "déchet," which means "waste" or "discard." The name likely originated as a nickname or surname for someone who lived near a rubbish dump or worked in a profession related to waste disposal.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dechelle can be found in the town records of Chartres, France, from the year 1207. Here, a man named Jehan Dechelle is mentioned as a resident of the town. It is believed that this was his surname, which later evolved into a given name.
In the 13th century, the name Dechelle appeared in the French epic poem "The Song of Roland," where it was used as a character name for a minor figure. This suggests that the name had gained some recognition and usage among the French population during this time.
The first known historical figure to bear the name Dechelle was Dechelle de Montpellier, a French noblewoman who lived in the late 13th century. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her support of the local monastery in Montpellier.
Another notable individual with the name Dechelle was Dechelle d'Anjou, born in 1345, who was a renowned poet and writer during the French Renaissance period. Her collection of romantic poetry, titled "Les Amours de Dechelle," was widely read and celebrated in her time.
In the 16th century, a French explorer named Dechelle Cartier is recorded as being part of the expeditions that explored and mapped the St. Lawrence River in what is now Canada. His involvement in these voyages contributed to the early exploration and settlement of the region.
During the 17th century, a French artist named Dechelle Lefebvre gained recognition for her intricate tapestry designs and woven works. She was commissioned by several nobles and members of the French royal court to create elaborate tapestries and wall hangings.
The name Dechelle continued to be used throughout the following centuries, though its popularity waned over time. Notable individuals bearing this name include Dechelle Dubois, a French revolutionary who participated in the events of the French Revolution in the late 18th century.
People
Dechelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dechelle 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
Dechelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dechelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 70 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dechelle 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 4,896,491 US residents.
Is Dechelle a common name?
We classify Dechelle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 75 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dechelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Dechelle was 1993, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dechelle is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dechelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 119 people with the name Dechelle, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,492 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 Dechelle 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 Dechelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dechelle appears almost entirely female. Of the 118 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Dechelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dechelle is Black at 76.5%. The next largest groups are White (12.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.4%). 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 Dechelle most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dechelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (91 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 Dechelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dechelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dechelle 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 Dechelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dechelle 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 Dechelle 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 people have Dechelle as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.