Denim
A unisex name of French origin meaning "course fabric".
Name Census estimates that about 3,436 living Americans carry the first name Denim. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 70.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Denim today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denim births was 2024 (281 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denim. 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 Denim with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Denim is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.4K
~ 1 in 99,754 Americans
Peak year
2024
281 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,110
Tracked since 1973
Census
Denim in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,867 people with the first name Denim, which placed it at #7,919 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
#7,919
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,867 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denim
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denim is Black at 72.1%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Denim 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 Denim at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.1% · 1,347
- White18.0% · 336
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 84
- Two or more races3.8% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
Gender
Gender distribution for Denim
Denim is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 3,467 total registrations, 2,447 (70.6%) were male and 1,020 (29.4%) were female.
Denim as a male name
- Ranked #1,110 in 2024
- 192 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (192 births)
Denim as a female name
- Ranked #2,132 in 2024
- 89 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (89 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Denim on both sides of the split. Of the 1,861 people counted with this name, 1,315 were male (70.7%) and 546 were female (29.3%).
Popularity
Denim: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denim from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,484 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Denim remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Denim 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 Denim during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Denims live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, New York recorded the most babies named Denim, while Kentucky, Mississippi, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 92 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Denim
The given name Denim is of English origin, derived from the French phrase "de Nimes" which translates to "from Nimes". Nimes is a city in southern France known for its production of a durable cotton twill fabric, now referred to as denim. The name initially referred to this fabric, rather than a personal name.
The earliest recorded use of the term "denim" dates back to the late 17th century, around the 1690s, when it was used to describe the sturdy woven cloth made in the city of Nimes. Over time, as the fabric gained popularity and became associated with clothing, particularly jeans, the name Denim emerged as a unique given name.
There are no known historical references or mentions of the name Denim in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to its association with the fabric. The name's popularity as a given name is a relatively modern phenomenon.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the given name Denim is Denim Bradshaw, an American businessman born in 1962. He is the founder and former CEO of a successful jeans manufacturing company, which may have influenced his parents' choice of this unique name.
Another notable individual with the name Denim is Denim Lewis, an American fashion designer born in 1975. She is known for her line of denim-inspired clothing and accessories, further cementing the connection between the name and the fabric.
In the world of music, Denim Sundae is the stage name of an American singer-songwriter born in 1988. Her unique name has contributed to her distinctive and memorable brand.
Denim Millipede, born in 1972, is a British artist and sculptor known for his large-scale installations and sculptures made from recycled denim jeans, further emphasizing the name's association with the fabric.
Lastly, Denim Davie, born in 1982, is a Canadian professional wrestler whose ring name also reflects the connection between the name and the iconic denim fabric associated with ruggedness and durability.
While the name Denim is relatively uncommon, these individuals have embraced its unique origins and associations, contributing to its recognition as a distinctive given name in various fields.
People
Denim + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denim 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
Denim: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denim?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,436 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denim 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 99,754 US residents.
Is Denim a common name?
We classify Denim as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,467 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denim most popular?
The single biggest year for Denim was 2024, when 281 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denim is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Denim in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,867 people with the name Denim, or 0.62 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,919 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 Denim 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 Denim?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Denim on both sides of the split. Of the 1,861 people counted with this name, 1,315 were male (70.7%) and 546 were female (29.3%). 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 Denim?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denim is Black at 72.1%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Denim most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Denim in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (1,347 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 Denim in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Denim a male name?
Yes, 70.6% of people registered as Denim 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 Denim still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Denim 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 Denim 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 Denim as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Denim on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.