Demetrius
Derived from an ancient Greek name meaning "follower of Demeter", the goddess of agriculture.
Name Census estimates that about 35,758 living Americans carry the first name Demetrius. It is a predominantly male name (95.4% of registrations). The average person named Demetrius today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Demetrius births was 1991 (1,079 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Demetrius. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Demetrius with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Demetrius is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,727 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
36K
~ 1 in 9,585 Americans
Peak year
1991
1,079 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,038
Tracked since 1912
Census
Demetrius in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 26,048 people with the first name Demetrius, which placed it at #1,368 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
#1,368
National first-name rank
People counted
26K
26,048 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
8.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Demetrius
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Demetrius is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and White (5.5%). 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 Demetrius 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 Demetrius at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.1% · 21,385
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 1,590
- White5.5% · 1,420
- Two or more races5.3% · 1,381
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 148
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 124
Gender
Gender distribution for Demetrius
Demetrius leans heavily male at 95.4% of total registrations, but 1,727 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Demetrius as a male name
- Ranked #1,038 in 2024
- 213 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1991 (1,052 births)
Demetrius as a female name
- Ranked #14,627 in 2004
- 6 female births in 2004
- Peak: 1975 (82 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Demetrius leans strongly male. 24,847 people counted with this name were male (95.4%), compared with 1,196 female bearers (4.6%).
Popularity
Demetrius: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Demetrius from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 8,552 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Demetrius 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 Demetrius during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Demetrius' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. Illinois, Georgia, Florida recorded the most babies named Demetrius, while Utah, Alaska, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 869 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Demetrius
The name Demetrius has its origins in ancient Greek language and culture, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 4th century BC. It is derived from the Greek name "Demetrios," which is believed to be a combination of the words "de" meaning "earth" and "meter" meaning "mother," signifying a connection to the Earth goddess Demeter.
In Greek mythology, Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and the harvest, making the name Demetrius a symbolic representation of the earth's fruitfulness and abundance. This name was particularly popular among the ancient Greeks, who held great reverence for their deities and the natural world.
One of the earliest and most notable historical figures to bear the name Demetrius was Demetrius I Poliorcetes, a king of Macedon who lived from 336 BC to 283 BC. He was a skilled military leader and one of the successors of Alexander the Great. His name, "Poliorcetes," means "the besieger of cities," reflecting his prowess in siege warfare.
Another prominent figure named Demetrius was Demetrius the Chronographer, a Byzantine historian who lived in the 12th century AD. He is best known for his work "Chronicon Breve," which chronicled the history of the Byzantine Empire from the creation of the world to his own time.
In the realm of philosophy, Demetrius of Phalerum was a renowned Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher who lived from 350 BC to 280 BC. He served as the ruler of Athens for a decade and was responsible for establishing the famous Library of Alexandria, one of the greatest repositories of ancient knowledge.
The name Demetrius also holds significance in Christian tradition. Saint Demetrius of Thessalonica, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD, is venerated as a patron saint of agriculture and protector against evil spirits. His feast day is celebrated annually on October 26th in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Demetrius the Athonite, a Byzantine monk and saint who lived in the 14th century, is also noteworthy. He was a prominent figure in the monastic community of Mount Athos, Greece, and is celebrated for his ascetic lifestyle and spiritual teachings.
Throughout history, the name Demetrius has been borne by numerous other notable individuals, including kings, scholars, artists, and religious figures, reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural significance across various civilizations and eras.
People
Demetrius + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Demetrius 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
Demetrius: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Demetrius?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 35,758 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Demetrius 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 9,585 US residents.
Is Demetrius a common name?
We classify Demetrius as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37,626 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Demetrius most popular?
The single biggest year for Demetrius was 1991, when 1,079 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Demetrius is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Demetrius in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 26,048 people with the name Demetrius, or 8.62 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,368 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 Demetrius 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 Demetrius?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Demetrius leans strongly male. 24,847 people counted with this name were male (95.4%), compared with 1,196 female bearers (4.6%). 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 Demetrius?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Demetrius is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and White (5.5%). 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 Demetrius most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Demetrius in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (21,385 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 Demetrius in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Demetrius a male name?
Yes, 95.4% of people registered as Demetrius 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 Demetrius still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Demetrius 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 Demetrius 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 named Demetrius?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.