Denarius
An ancient Roman silver coin representing daily wage or payment.
Name Census estimates that about 350 living Americans carry the first name Denarius. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Denarius today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denarius births was 1995 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denarius. 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
350
~ 1 in 979,298 Americans
Peak year
1995
20 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,797
Tracked since 1984
Census
Denarius in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 294 people with the first name Denarius, which placed it at #29,893 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
#29,893
National first-name rank
People counted
294
294 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denarius
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denarius is Black at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Denarius 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 Denarius at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.5% · 266
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 9
- Two or more races3.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 5
- White1.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Denarius: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denarius from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 134 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
Denarius 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 Denarius during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Denarius' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Denarius
The given name Denarius has its origins in Ancient Rome, derived from the Latin word "denarius," which was a small silver coin used as a form of currency during the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire periods. This connection to currency and monetary value suggests that the name may have been associated with wealth, prosperity, or financial success in its earliest uses.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Denarius can be found in the writings of the ancient Roman historian Pliny the Elder, who lived from 23 to 79 AD. He mentioned the denarius coin in his works, describing its weight, composition, and value in relation to other Roman currencies of the time.
During the Roman era, the name Denarius was likely used as a personal name, although specific individuals with this name are not well-documented in historical records. It is possible that the name was given to individuals born into wealthy or influential families, as a symbolic connection to the valued currency.
As the Roman Empire expanded and its influence spread across Europe and the Mediterranean region, the name Denarius may have been adopted or adapted by various cultures and languages. In some cases, the name may have evolved into different spellings or variations over time.
One notable individual named Denarius was an early Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. According to historical accounts, Denarius was a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and was subsequently executed for his beliefs during the persecution of Christians under the reign of Emperor Decius in the mid-3rd century.
Another individual with the name Denarius was a Roman senator and politician who lived in the 1st century BC. He was a contemporary of Julius Caesar and is mentioned in some historical texts from that period, although details about his life and achievements are scarce.
In the Middle Ages, the name Denarius may have been used in certain regions of Europe, particularly those with connections to the Roman Empire or Latin-based languages. However, specific examples of individuals with this name during this time are not widely documented.
During the Renaissance and early modern periods, the name Denarius seems to have fallen out of common use, likely due to the decline of Latin as a spoken language and the rise of more vernacular names in various European cultures.
Despite its ancient Roman origins and limited historical references, the name Denarius remains a unique and intriguing choice, reflecting a connection to the rich cultural and monetary legacy of the Roman Empire.
People
Denarius + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denarius 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
Denarius: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denarius?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 350 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denarius 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 979,298 US residents.
Is Denarius a common name?
We classify Denarius as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 357 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denarius most popular?
The single biggest year for Denarius was 1995, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denarius is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Denarius in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 294 people with the name Denarius, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,893 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 Denarius 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 Denarius?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Denarius appears almost entirely male. Of the 288 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Denarius?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denarius is Black at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Denarius most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Denarius in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (266 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 Denarius in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Denarius a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Denarius 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 Denarius still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Denarius 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 Denarius 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 Denarius?
You can see how many Americans are named Denarius on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.