Denah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from the Arabic word "danna" meaning "beauty".
Name Census estimates that about 53 living Americans carry the first name Denah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Denah today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denah births was 1969 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denah. 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 Denah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
53
~ 1 in 6,467,063 Americans
Peak year
1969
10 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2010 SSA rank
#13,857
Tracked since 1966
Census
Denah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 150 people with the first name Denah, which placed it at #45,340 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
#45,340
National first-name rank
People counted
150
150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denah is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Denah 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 Denah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.7% · 97
- Black or African American14.0% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.7% · 10
- Two or more races6.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Denah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denah from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 22 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Denah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Denah 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 Denah 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 Denah
The name Denah is believed to have its origins in the Persian language, derived from the word "dana," which means "wise" or "knowledgeable." It is a feminine name that was commonly used in ancient Persia, now known as Iran, during the pre-Islamic era.
The earliest recorded use of the name Denah can be traced back to the Sassanid Empire, which ruled over Persia from the 3rd to the 7th century AD. During this period, the name was often given to girls born into noble or scholarly families, reflecting the cultural emphasis on education and wisdom.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing the name Denah was a Persian scholar and poet who lived during the 6th century AD. Although little is known about her life, her poetry has been preserved in various anthologies, showcasing her literary talents and intellectual prowess.
In the 10th century AD, another notable figure named Denah emerged in the Persian world. She was a renowned physician and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of medicine. Her treatises on various ailments and their treatments were widely studied and referenced by scholars of her time.
During the medieval period, the name Denah spread beyond the borders of Persia and was adopted by various cultures influenced by Persian civilization. In the 12th century, a prominent Sufi mystic and poet named Denah flourished in the region of modern-day Afghanistan, leaving behind a rich legacy of spiritual and literary works.
As the centuries passed, the name Denah continued to be used across the Persian cultural sphere. In the 16th century, a notable figure named Denah rose to prominence as a skilled calligrapher and artist in the court of the Safavid Empire in Persia. Her intricate calligraphic works and illuminated manuscripts were highly regarded and are still preserved in various museums today.
Another remarkable individual bearing the name Denah was a Persian mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 17th century. Her contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and her precise calculations of planetary movements earned her recognition among the scientific community of her time.
While the name Denah has its roots in the Persian culture, it has also been adopted and adapted in other linguistic and cultural contexts throughout history. However, its connection to the concepts of wisdom, knowledge, and intellectual pursuit remains a constant theme, reflecting the rich heritage and values associated with this ancient name.
People
Denah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denah 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
Denah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 53 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denah 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 6,467,063 US residents.
Is Denah a common name?
We classify Denah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denah most popular?
The single biggest year for Denah was 1969, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denah is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Denah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 150 people with the name Denah, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,340 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 Denah 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 Denah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Denah appears almost entirely female. Of the 145 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Denah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denah is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Denah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Denah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.7% (97 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 Denah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Denah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Denah 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 Denah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Denah 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 Denah 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 Americans are named Denah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.