Delain
An English feminine name of uncertain derivation, possibly from French.
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Delain. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Delain today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delain births was 1962 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delain. 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 Delain is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Delains were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Delain. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1962
7 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1933 SSA rank
#3,763
Tracked since 1933
Census
Delain in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 164 people with the first name Delain, which placed it at #43,191 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
#43,191
National first-name rank
People counted
164
164 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delain
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delain is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.9%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Delain 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 Delain at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.6% · 119
- Black or African American18.9% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 7
- Two or more races2.4% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Delain
Delain leans heavily female at 85.7% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Delain as a male name
- Ranked #3,763 in 1933
- 5 male births in 1933
- Peak: 1933 (5 births)
Delain as a female name
- Ranked #7,597 in 1971
- 6 female births in 1971
- Peak: 1962 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Delain on both sides of the split. Of the 163 people counted with this name, 65 were male (39.9%) and 98 were female (60.1%).
Popularity
Delain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delain from the 1930s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Delain remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delain 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 Delain 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 Delain
The name Delain is believed to have originated from the Old French language, with its roots dating back to the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the French word "delaine," which means "wool" or "woolen cloth." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with the wool trade or textile industry during that time period.
In the early medieval era, the name Delain was primarily found in regions of northern France, particularly in the areas around Paris and Normandy. As the name spread across Europe, it underwent slight variations in spelling, such as "Delaine" and "Delany."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delain can be found in the historical records of the Benedictine monastery in Fécamp, Normandy, where a monk named Delain de Rouen was mentioned in the 13th century. This suggests that the name may have had religious connotations or associations with monastic life during that period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Delain. One such figure was Delain de Montreuil, a prominent French architect who lived in the 13th century and was responsible for the design and construction of several Gothic cathedrals and churches in northern France.
Another historical figure with the name Delain was Delain de Vaugondy, a French cartographer and engraver who lived in the 18th century. He is renowned for his detailed maps and geographical works, which were highly influential during the Age of Enlightenment.
In the realm of literature, Delain de La Tour was a French poet and playwright from the 16th century. His works included comedies and tragedies that were performed in the royal courts of France during the Renaissance period.
Moving to the 19th century, Delain Desjardins was a notable Canadian lawyer and politician who played a significant role in the development of Quebec's legal system and served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.
Finally, in the field of art, Delain Blanchard was a French painter and illustrator active in the early 20th century. His works, which often depicted scenes from Parisian life, were highly regarded and exhibited in several prestigious galleries and exhibitions across Europe.
These individuals, spanning various centuries and professions, serve as examples of the historical and cultural significance of the name Delain, which has roots in the rich tapestry of French language and heritage.
People
Delain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delain 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
Delain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delain 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Delain a common name?
We classify Delain as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 35 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delain most popular?
The single biggest year for Delain was 1962, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delain is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delain in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 164 people with the name Delain, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,191 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 Delain 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 Delain?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Delain on both sides of the split. Of the 163 people counted with this name, 65 were male (39.9%) and 98 were female (60.1%). 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 Delain?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delain is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.9%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Delain most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Delain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (119 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 Delain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delain a female name?
Yes, 85.7% of people registered as Delain 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 Delain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delain 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 Delain 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 common is the name Delain?
See how many Americans are named Delain on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.