Denaya
A feminine name of Native American (Navajo) origin meaning "born at dawn".
Name Census estimates that about 292 living Americans carry the first name Denaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Denaya today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denaya births was 2006 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denaya. 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
292
~ 1 in 1,173,816 Americans
Peak year
2006
20 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,823
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Denaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denaya from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 141 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Denaya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Denaya 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 Denaya 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 Denaya
The name Denaya is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, with roots tracing back to the Middle Eastern region. The name is derived from the Arabic word "dana," which means "close" or "near." It is thought to have gained popularity during the medieval period, particularly in areas influenced by Islamic culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Denaya can be found in ancient Islamic texts and manuscripts from the 9th century CE. These texts suggest that the name was used during the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over a vast territory spanning from modern-day Iran to North Africa.
Throughout history, the name Denaya has been associated with various notable figures. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Denaya bint al-Hasan, a renowned poet and scholar who lived in Baghdad during the 9th century CE. Her works were widely celebrated for their elegance and intellectual depth.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Denaya was Denaya al-Andalusi, a renowned physician and philosopher from the Iberian Peninsula during the 11th century CE. Her contributions to the field of medicine and her philosophical writings were highly influential during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization.
In the 13th century, Denaya bint Yusuf al-Dimashqi was a celebrated calligrapher and artist from Damascus. Her intricate calligraphic works adorned various mosques and palaces, and her artistic legacy continues to be celebrated to this day.
Denaya al-Qahiri, a prominent jurist and legal scholar from Cairo, lived during the 15th century CE. Her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her extensive writings on legal matters made her a highly respected figure in her time.
Another notable figure with the name Denaya was Denaya bint Abdullah, a renowned poet and writer from Mecca who lived in the 17th century CE. Her poetic works, often exploring themes of love and spirituality, were widely acclaimed and studied in literary circles.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Denaya, each leaving their mark in various fields such as literature, arts, sciences, and religious scholarship.
People
Denaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denaya 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
Denaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 292 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denaya 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 1,173,816 US residents.
Is Denaya a common name?
We classify Denaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 299 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Denaya was 2006, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denaya is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Denaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Denaya 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.
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.