Denni
A diminutive form of the name Dennis, derived from the French "Denis", meaning "follower of Dionysus".
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the first name Denni. It is a predominantly female name (92.9% of registrations). The average person named Denni today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denni births was 1975 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denni. 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
194
~ 1 in 1,766,775 Americans
Peak year
1975
14 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2008 SSA rank
#10,454
Tracked since 1955
Gender
Gender distribution for Denni
Denni leans heavily female at 92.9% of total registrations, but 15 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Denni as a male name
- Ranked #13,003 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1957 (5 births)
Denni as a female name
- Ranked #10,454 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1975 (14 births)
Popularity
Denni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denni from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 74 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Denni remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Denni 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 Denni 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 Denni
The name Denni is believed to have originated from the Germanic languages, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a variant of the name Dennis, which is derived from the Greek name Dionysius, meaning "belonging to Dionysus," the ancient Greek god of wine, fertility, and revelry.
While the exact origin of the name Denni is unclear, it is thought to have emerged as a simplified version of Dennis, possibly influenced by regional dialects or linguistic evolutions over time. The earliest recorded instances of the name Denni can be traced back to the 13th century, particularly in regions of present-day Germany and the Netherlands.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Denni was Denni von Arnsberg, a German nobleman and military commander who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He was renowned for his leadership during the Crusades and his service under the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.
In the 14th century, a prominent figure named Denni van der Merwe was a influential merchant and landowner in the Netherlands. His legacy is documented in various trade records and land deeds from that era, providing insights into the commercial and social dynamics of the time.
During the Renaissance period, Denni Boccaccio, an Italian artist and sculptor from Florence, gained recognition for his intricate marble carvings and contributions to the artistic movement of the 15th century. His works can still be admired in various churches and museums across Italy.
In the 17th century, Denni Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician, made significant contributions to the fields of geometry and metaphysics. His famous philosophical statement, "I think, therefore I am," remains a cornerstone of modern Western philosophy.
Another notable figure was Denni Curie, a Polish-born physicist and chemist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was a pioneer in the study of radioactivity and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, which she shared with her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel in 1903.
People
Denni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denni 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
Denni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denni 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 1,766,775 US residents.
Is Denni a common name?
We classify Denni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 212 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denni most popular?
The single biggest year for Denni was 1975, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denni is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Denni a female name?
Yes, 92.9% of people registered as Denni 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.