Denessa
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a variation of Denise.
Name Census estimates that about 141 living Americans carry the first name Denessa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Denessa today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denessa births was 1988 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denessa. 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
141
~ 1 in 2,430,882 Americans
Peak year
1988
10 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2011 SSA rank
#17,477
Tracked since 1966
Census
Denessa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 200 people with the first name Denessa, which placed it at #38,397 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
#38,397
National first-name rank
People counted
200
200 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
41.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denessa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denessa is White at 41.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.5%) and Hispanic (16.0%). 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 Denessa 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 Denessa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.0% · 82
- Black or African American34.5% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino16.0% · 32
- Two or more races5.5% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 3
Popularity
Denessa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denessa from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 56 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Denessa 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 Denessa 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 Denessa
The given name Denessa is believed to have its origins in the ancient Etruscan language, which was spoken in the region of modern-day Italy during the Iron Age period, around the 8th to 5th centuries BC. The name is thought to be derived from the Etruscan word "denes," meaning "gift" or "blessing," and was likely used as a name expressing gratitude or appreciation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Denessa can be found in a collection of Etruscan funerary inscriptions dating back to the 6th century BC. These inscriptions, discovered in the ancient Etruscan city of Cerveteri, contain the name "Denessa" carved onto several tombs and burial sites.
During the Roman era, the name Denessa appears to have been adopted and adapted by the Romans, who had close cultural ties with the Etruscans. In the 1st century AD, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder made reference to a woman named Denessa in his famous work "Naturalis Historia," suggesting that the name was in use among the Roman populace at that time.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Denessa was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 2nd century AD. Denessa Claudia Pulchra was a wealthy patrician and patron of the arts, known for her patronage of poets and philosophers in ancient Rome.
In the Middle Ages, the name Denessa resurfaced in various regions of Europe, particularly in Italy and France. A French noblewoman named Denessa de Montfort, born in 1210, was known for her involvement in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
Another notable figure was the Italian Renaissance artist Denessa Gozzadini, born in 1452 in Bologna, Italy. She was a skilled painter and illuminator of manuscripts, and her works were highly sought after by the nobility and clergy of the time.
During the 17th century, Denessa Ferrier, born in 1607 in Scotland, was a renowned writer and philosopher who made significant contributions to the intellectual discourse of her era. Her treatises on ethics and moral philosophy were widely read and discussed among academics and scholars.
In the 19th century, Denessa Rothschild, born in 1822 in Frankfurt, Germany, was a prominent member of the influential Rothschild banking family. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and support of various charitable causes, particularly those related to education and healthcare.
People
Denessa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denessa 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
Denessa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denessa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denessa 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 2,430,882 US residents.
Is Denessa a common name?
We classify Denessa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 151 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denessa most popular?
The single biggest year for Denessa was 1988, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denessa is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Denessa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 200 people with the name Denessa, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,397 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 Denessa 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 Denessa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Denessa appears almost entirely female. Of the 206 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Denessa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denessa is White at 41.0%. The next largest groups are Black (34.5%) and Hispanic (16.0%). 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 Denessa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Denessa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.0% (82 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 Denessa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Denessa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Denessa 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 Denessa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Denessa 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 Denessa 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 common is the name Denessa?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Denessa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.