Delray
A name derived from a suburb of Delray Beach, Florida.
Name Census estimates that about 390 living Americans carry the first name Delray. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Delray today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delray births was 1960 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delray. 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
390
~ 1 in 878,857 Americans
Peak year
1960
20 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,619
Tracked since 1931
Census
Delray in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 445 people with the first name Delray, which placed it at #22,388 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
#22,388
National first-name rank
People counted
445
445 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delray
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delray is White at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (33.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.8%). 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 Delray 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 Delray at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.3% · 215
- Black or African American33.5% · 149
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.8% · 39
- Two or more races5.8% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Delray: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delray from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 112 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
Delray 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 Delray 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 Delray
The name Delray finds its origins in the French language, where it is believed to have emerged during the 16th century. It is a combination of the French words "de" meaning "from" and "la" meaning "the," followed by the word "raie," which translates to "ray" or "beam." This suggests that the name Delray may have initially referred to someone coming from a place associated with rays or beams of light.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delray can be traced back to a 17th-century French military officer, Pierre Delray (1620-1689), who served in the French army during the Thirty Years' War. His exploits and bravery on the battlefield were documented in several historical accounts, leading to the name gaining some recognition.
In the 18th century, the name Delray appeared in the writings of the French philosopher and author, Voltaire (1694-1778). He made references to a character named Delray in his philosophical works, further contributing to the name's visibility in literary circles.
During the 19th century, a prominent figure with the name Delray was the French artist and sculptor, Auguste Delray (1809-1886). His works, which included intricate sculptures and bas-reliefs, adorned several public buildings and monuments in Paris and other French cities.
Another notable individual with the name Delray was the American businessman and entrepreneur, Henry Delray (1842-1912). He was a pioneer in the early days of the automotive industry and founded the Delray Motor Company, which produced some of the first gasoline-powered vehicles in the United States.
In the 20th century, the name Delray gained some recognition in the field of literature with the French novelist and playwright, Marcel Delray (1901-1987). His works, which often explored themes of love, loss, and existentialism, were widely acclaimed and translated into several languages.
While the name Delray has not been as widely popular as some other names, it has maintained a modest presence throughout history, particularly in French-speaking regions. Its unique origins and association with various notable individuals have contributed to its enduring legacy.
People
Delray + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delray 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
Delray: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delray?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 390 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delray 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 878,857 US residents.
Is Delray a common name?
We classify Delray as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 478 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delray most popular?
The single biggest year for Delray was 1960, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delray is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delray in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 445 people with the name Delray, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,388 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 Delray 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 Delray?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delray leans strongly male. 398 people counted with this name were male (89.4%), compared with 47 female bearers (10.6%). 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 Delray?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delray is White at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (33.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.8%). 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 Delray most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Delray in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.3% (215 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 Delray in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delray a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delray in the SSA data are male. 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 Delray still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delray 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 Delray 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 Delray?
You can see how many people have the name Delray on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.