Delene
A feminine name derived from the Greek word meaning "delicate".
Name Census estimates that about 482 living Americans carry the first name Delene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delene today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delene births was 1960 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delene. 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 Delene is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Delenes were born before 1969.
People living today
482
~ 1 in 711,109 Americans
Peak year
1960
34 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1989 SSA rank
#8,954
Tracked since 1915
Census
Delene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 665 people with the first name Delene, which placed it at #16,809 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
#16,809
National first-name rank
People counted
665
665 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delene is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Delene 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 Delene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.3% · 534
- Black or African American11.3% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 23
- Two or more races3.5% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 4
Popularity
Delene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delene from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 228 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
Delene 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 Delene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delenes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Delene
The name Delene has its origins in the Greek language and culture. It is believed to have emerged during the Hellenistic period, which spanned from the 4th to the 1st century BC. The name is derived from the Greek word "delene," meaning "moonlight" or "of the moon."
In ancient Greek mythology, Delene was associated with the goddess Selene, who was the personification of the moon. This connection likely contributed to the name's significance and popularity among the ancient Greeks.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Delene can be found in the works of the Greek poet Aratus, who lived in the 3rd century BC. In his poem "Phaenomena," he mentions a character named Delene, although little is known about her historical context.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Delene. One such person was Delene of Ptolemais, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 2nd century AD. She is known for her contributions to the field of geometry and her work on the treatise "On the Surfaces and Solids of the Second Degree."
Another prominent figure was Delene of Corinth, a celebrated actress in ancient Greece who lived in the 3rd century BC. She was renowned for her performances in the plays of Menander and is said to have influenced the development of ancient Greek theater.
In the Middle Ages, Delene was the name of a French noblewoman who lived in the 11th century. She is mentioned in various historical records as a patron of the arts and a supporter of the Benedictine order of monks.
During the Renaissance period, Delene Farnese was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, born in 1472. She played a significant role in the cultural and artistic life of Rome during her time.
In more recent history, Delene Porter was an American actress and vaudeville performer who lived from 1887 to 1963. She was known for her comedic roles and her talents in singing and dancing.
People
Delene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delene 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
Delene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 482 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delene 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 711,109 US residents.
Is Delene a common name?
We classify Delene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 838 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delene most popular?
The single biggest year for Delene was 1960, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delene is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 665 people with the name Delene, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,809 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 Delene 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 Delene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delene appears almost entirely female. Of the 659 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Delene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delene is White at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Delene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Delene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (534 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 Delene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delene 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 Delene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delene 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 Delene 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 are called Delene?
You can see how many Americans are named Delene on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.