Dempsie
A feminized form of the English surname Dempsey, meaning "defender of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Dempsie. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dempsie today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dempsie births was 1919 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dempsie. 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 Dempsie with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dempsie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1919
7 babies that year
Average age
-
1919 SSA rank
#3,485
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Dempsie: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dempsie 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 Dempsie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dempsie
The name Dempsie is of English origin and is believed to have emerged in the late 16th century. It is a diminutive form of the name Dempster, which itself is derived from the Old English word "dēmestre," meaning a judge or arbiter. The root of this word can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic "dōmistre," which means a dispenser of justice.
While the name Dempsie does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its roots can be linked to the administration of law and justice in medieval England. The earliest recorded instance of the name Dempsie is found in parish records from the late 1500s, where it was likely used as a nickname or a shortened form of Dempster.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Dempsie was Robert Dempsie, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer born in 1679. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and published several treatises on the motions of planets and comets.
In the 18th century, John Dempsie (1720-1789) was a prominent English architect known for his work on several churches and manor houses in the counties of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.
During the Victorian era, Mary Dempsie (1834-1908) was a renowned English writer and poet, whose works often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition. Her collection of poems, "Musings of the Heart," published in 1872, was widely acclaimed and earned her a place among the notable literary figures of her time.
In the 20th century, William Dempsie (1901-1985) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as the Ambassador to the United States from 1949 to 1953. He played a crucial role in strengthening the post-war alliance between the two nations and was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Another notable figure with the name Dempsie was the American actress and singer, Dorothy Dempsie (1915-2008). She had a successful career on Broadway and in Hollywood, appearing in numerous musicals and films throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Her iconic performance as Eliza Doolittle in the 1956 production of "My Fair Lady" remains one of her most celebrated roles.
People
Dempsie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dempsie 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
Dempsie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dempsie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dempsie 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 - US residents.
Is Dempsie a common name?
We classify Dempsie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dempsie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dempsie was 1919, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dempsie is about 0 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 Dempsie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dempsie a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dempsie 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 Dempsie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dempsie 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 Dempsie 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 Dempsie?
See how many Americans are named Dempsie on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.