Delsen
A name of uncertain origin, potentially Scandinavian or Dutch.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Delsen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Delsen today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delsen births was 2002 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delsen. 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 Delsen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2002
5 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2002 SSA rank
#11,088
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Delsen: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Delsen 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 Delsen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Delsen
Delsen is a name with roots that can be traced back to the ancient Germanic tribes of Europe. Derived from the Proto-Germanic word "dels," meaning "valley," and the suffix "-en," which denotes a place or location, the name Delsen likely originated as a descriptive term for someone residing in a particular valley or low-lying area.
During the Middle Ages, the name Delsen appeared in various records and documents across Central and Northern Europe, particularly in regions where Germanic languages were spoken. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a compilation of medieval charters and manuscripts from the region of Saxony, dated around the 11th century.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals bore the name Delsen. One such figure was Delsen von Rietberg, a German nobleman and military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Another was Delsen Hüfner, a 14th-century Bavarian merchant and landowner whose name appears in several land deeds and trade records from that era.
In the realm of art and literature, Delsen Becker was a 16th-century German artist known for his intricate woodcarvings and altarpieces, many of which can still be found in churches throughout Southern Germany. The name Delsen also surfaces in the works of the 17th-century Dutch poet and playwright, Joost van den Vondel, who included a character by that name in his play "Gysbreght van Aemstel."
Moving into the 19th century, Delsen Grünfeld was a prominent Austrian chess master and one of the leading players of his time. Born in 1853, Grünfeld made significant contributions to the development of chess theory and is remembered for the opening variation that bears his name, the Grünfeld Defense.
While the name Delsen has its roots in the Germanic languages, it has also been adopted and adapted in other cultural contexts throughout history, further enriching its legacy and demonstrating the enduring nature of this evocative moniker.
People
Delsen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delsen 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
Delsen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delsen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delsen 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Delsen a common name?
We classify Delsen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delsen most popular?
The single biggest year for Delsen was 2002, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delsen is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Delsen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delsen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delsen 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 Delsen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delsen 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 Delsen 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Delsen?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Delsen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.