Deniece
A feminine name of French origin meaning "the goddess Diana".
Name Census estimates that about 934 living Americans carry the first name Deniece. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Deniece today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deniece births was 1957 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deniece. 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
934
~ 1 in 366,975 Americans
Peak year
1957
40 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2010 SSA rank
#17,711
Tracked since 1932
Census
Deniece in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,132 people with the first name Deniece, which placed it at #11,369 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
#11,369
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,132 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deniece
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deniece is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (36.1%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Deniece 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 Deniece at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.3% · 536
- Black or African American36.1% · 409
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 97
- Two or more races5.1% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 7
Popularity
Deniece: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deniece from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 282 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deniece 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 Deniece during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Denieces live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Deniece, while Illinois, Michigan, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Deniece
Deniece is a given name with a fascinating history that spans centuries and cultures. Its origins can be traced back to the French language, where it is believed to have been derived from the name "Denise," a feminine form of the Greek name "Dionysius," which means "devoted to Dionysus," the Greek god of wine and revelry.
In the early Christian era, the name Denise gained popularity as it was borne by several early Christian martyrs and saints. One of the most notable was Saint Denise of Alexandria, a third-century martyr who was beheaded during the Decian persecution in the year 250 AD.
The variant spelling "Deniece" emerged later, likely as a result of linguistic evolution and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling. While the exact origin of this particular spelling is unclear, it is thought to have been influenced by French and possibly other Romance languages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Deniece can be found in the medieval English literature of the 14th century, where it was occasionally used as a feminine name. However, its use remained relatively uncommon until the 20th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Deniece. One of the most famous was Deniece Williams, an American singer-songwriter born in 1951, who achieved widespread acclaim for her hit songs such as "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late." Her soulful voice and emotional delivery made her a beloved figure in the world of R&B and pop music.
Another notable Deniece was Deniece Cornez, an American tennis player born in 1972, who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 19 in the world and won four singles titles on the WTA Tour. She was known for her powerful groundstrokes and tenacious playing style.
In the realm of literature, Deniece was the name of a character in the novel "The Coldest Winter Ever" by Sister Souljah, published in 1999. The novel, a gritty and realistic portrayal of urban life, was a critically acclaimed and commercial success, further popularizing the name.
Other notable individuals named Deniece include Deniece Duffield, a British author and journalist, and Deniece Boudreaux, an American businesswoman and entrepreneur who founded the fashion brand "Deniece's Beautiful Closet."
While the name Deniece may have ancient roots, its enduring popularity and usage throughout history highlight its timeless appeal and the rich cultural tapestry it represents.
People
Deniece + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deniece 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
Deniece: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deniece?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 934 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deniece 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 366,975 US residents.
Is Deniece a common name?
We classify Deniece as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,162 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deniece most popular?
The single biggest year for Deniece was 1957, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deniece is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deniece in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,132 people with the name Deniece, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,369 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 Deniece 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 Deniece?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deniece appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,128 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Deniece?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deniece is White at 47.3%. The next largest groups are Black (36.1%) and Hispanic (8.6%). 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 Deniece most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Deniece in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.3% (536 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 Deniece in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deniece a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deniece 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 Deniece still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deniece 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 Deniece 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 people have the name Deniece?
See how many Americans are named Deniece on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.