Dennies
Of Celtic origin, meaning "valiant" or "courageous one."
Name Census estimates that about 51 living Americans carry the first name Dennies. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dennies today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dennies births was 1952 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dennies. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Dennies is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dennies' were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dennies. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
51
~ 1 in 6,720,673 Americans
Peak year
1952
8 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1969 SSA rank
#4,543
Tracked since 1947
Census
Dennies in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 119 people with the first name Dennies, which placed it at #50,492 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
#50,492
National first-name rank
People counted
119
119 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
26.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dennies
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dennies is White at 26.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (22.7%). 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 Dennies 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 Dennies at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White26.1% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino22.7% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander22.7% · 27
- Black or African American21.8% · 26
- Two or more races5.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Popularity
Dennies: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dennies from the 1940s through to the 1960s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 32 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dennies 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 Dennies 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 Dennies
The given name Dennies has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, which spanned from around the 5th to the 11th centuries AD. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "dene," meaning a valley or a hollow, and the suffix "-ig," which denoted a place or location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dennies can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This document mentions a person named Dennies of Huntingdon, suggesting that the name was already in use among the Anglo-Saxon population at that time.
In the Middle Ages, the name Dennies appeared in various historical records and chronicles. One notable figure was Dennies of Lincoln, a 13th-century scholar and theologian who authored several works on ecclesiastical law and canon law. He was born around 1210 and died in 1278.
During the Renaissance period, the name Dennies gained some prominence in the arts and literature. Dennies Rabelais, a French Renaissance writer and humanist, was born in 1494 and is best known for his satirical novels, including "Gargantua and Pantagruel." His works were influential in shaping the literary landscape of his time.
In the 17th century, Dennies Papin, a French physicist and inventor, made significant contributions to the field of steam power. Born in 1647, he is credited with developing the steam digester, a precursor to the modern pressure cooker, and conducting important experiments on the properties of steam.
Another historical figure bearing the name Dennies is Dennies O'Conor, an Irish writer and antiquarian from the 18th century. Born in 1717, he is known for his works on Irish history and language, including "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores Veteres" (Ancient Writers of Irish History).
These are just a few examples of notable individuals named Dennies throughout history, showcasing the longevity and versatility of this name across various fields and eras.
People
Dennies + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dennies 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
Dennies: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dennies?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 51 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dennies 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 6,720,673 US residents.
Is Dennies a common name?
We classify Dennies as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 65 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dennies most popular?
The single biggest year for Dennies was 1952, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dennies is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dennies in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 119 people with the name Dennies, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,492 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 Dennies 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 Dennies?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dennies on both sides of the split. Of the 122 people counted with this name, 80 were male (65.6%) and 42 were female (34.4%). 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 Dennies?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dennies is White at 26.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (22.7%). 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 Dennies most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dennies in the 2020 Census, accounting for 26.1% (31 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 Dennies in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dennies a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dennies 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 Dennies still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dennies 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 Dennies 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 Dennies?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.