Dede
Combination of French and English roots meaning "prosperous journey".
Name Census estimates that about 1,245 living Americans carry the first name Dede. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dede today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dede births was 1961 (113 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dede. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 275,305 Americans
Peak year
1961
113 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2022 SSA rank
#15,891
Tracked since 1933
Popularity
Dede: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dede from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 635 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dede 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 Dede during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dedes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Dede, while North Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dede
The given name Dede is a diminutive form of the name Edith, which has its origins in Old English. It is derived from the Germanic elements "ead" meaning "prosperous" or "blessed" and "ḡyð" meaning "war" or "battle." The name Edith was popularized by the Normans after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
The name Dede first appeared as a shortened form of Edith in the Middle Ages, particularly in England and other parts of Europe where the name Edith was common. It was often used as a pet name or nickname for those named Edith.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dede can be found in the 14th century English romance poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." In the poem, a character named Lady Dede is mentioned as the wife of Sir Bertilak.
In the 15th century, a woman named Dede Browne was recorded as a member of the gentry in Norfolk, England. This suggests that the name was used by both noble and common families during this time period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the given name Dede. In the 16th century, Dede van der Elst was a Dutch engraver and printmaker active in Antwerp. She was known for her intricate and detailed engravings of religious and mythological subjects.
In the 18th century, Dede Beskow was a Swedish artist and miniaturist known for her portraits of the Swedish royal family and nobility. She was born in 1723 and died in 1777.
Dede Wilsey, born in 1944, is an American philanthropist and socialite. She has been a prominent supporter of the arts in San Francisco and has served on the boards of various cultural institutions.
Dede Allen was an American film editor who worked on several iconic films of the 20th century, including "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Dog Day Afternoon." She was born in 1923 and died in 2010.
Dede Robertson is an American author and the daughter of religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. She has written several books on Christian living and family life.
People
Dede + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dede 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
Dede: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dede?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,245 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dede 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 275,305 US residents.
Is Dede a common name?
We classify Dede as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,613 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dede most popular?
The single biggest year for Dede was 1961, when 113 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dede is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dede a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dede 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.