Denilson
A masculine name with Portuguese origins, meaning "the son of Dennis".
Name Census estimates that about 704 living Americans carry the first name Denilson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Denilson today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denilson births was 2002 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denilson. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Denilson with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
704
~ 1 in 486,867 Americans
Peak year
2002
64 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,210
Tracked since 1997
Census
Denilson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,010 people with the first name Denilson, which placed it at #12,351 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
#12,351
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,010 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
81.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denilson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denilson is Hispanic at 81.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and Black (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 Denilson 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 Denilson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino81.4% · 822
- White8.9% · 90
- Black or African American8.6% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
- Two or more races0.3% · 3
Popularity
Denilson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denilson from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 372 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Denilson 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 Denilson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Denilsons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Denilson, while Virginia, Maryland, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Denilson
The given name Denilson originated from the Portuguese language and culture. It is a combination of the prefix "de-" meaning "from" or "belonging to" and the name "Nilson," which is derived from the Scandinavian name "Nilsson" meaning "son of Neil." The name Denilson gained prominence in Portugal during the medieval period, particularly among the nobility and upper class.
In the 15th century, the name Denilson appeared in several historical records and documents related to the Portuguese exploration and colonization efforts. One notable figure was Denilson de Sousa, a Portuguese navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1498. De Sousa played a crucial role in establishing trade routes and establishing Portuguese settlements in the Indian subcontinent.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Denilson spread to other parts of Europe and the Americas through Portuguese migration and colonial expansion. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name in the Americas was Denilson Fernandez, a Portuguese settler who arrived in Brazil in the mid-16th century and became a prominent landowner and farmer.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Denilson. One of the most famous was Denilson de Oliveira Araújo (born 1976), a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for clubs like São Paulo, Barcelona, and the Brazilian national team. He was part of the Brazilian team that won the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Another notable figure was Denilson Pereira Neves (1915-1986), a Brazilian novelist and short story writer known for his works that explored the lives of the working class and the struggle for social justice. His novel "O Último Caudilho" (The Last Caudillo) is considered a classic of Brazilian literature.
In the field of music, Denilson Martins Nascimento (born 1985), known professionally as Denilson Martins, is a Brazilian singer and songwriter who has released several successful albums and has been recognized with various music awards in Brazil.
Denilson Chirichigno (born 1979) is a Peruvian actor and television host who has appeared in numerous telenovelas and films, both in Peru and internationally. He is known for his roles in productions like "Dueños del Paraíso" and "Mi Amor, el Wachimán."
Lastly, Denilson de Oliveira Araújo (born 1988), a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder, has represented clubs like São Paulo, Flamengo, and the Brazilian national team. He was part of the Brazilian squad that won the 2016 Olympic gold medal in football.
People
Denilson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denilson 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
Denilson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denilson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 704 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denilson 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 486,867 US residents.
Is Denilson a common name?
We classify Denilson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 713 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denilson most popular?
The single biggest year for Denilson was 2002, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denilson is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Denilson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,010 people with the name Denilson, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,351 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 Denilson 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 Denilson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Denilson appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,010 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Denilson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denilson is Hispanic at 81.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and Black (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 Denilson most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Denilson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (822 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 Denilson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Denilson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Denilson 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 Denilson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Denilson 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 Denilson 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 are named Denilson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.