Dennys
A Greek masculine name derived from the name of the Greek god Dionysos.
Name Census estimates that about 549 living Americans carry the first name Dennys. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Dennys today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dennys births was 1998 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dennys. 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
549
~ 1 in 624,325 Americans
Peak year
1998
26 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,223
Tracked since 1978
Census
Dennys in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,165 people with the first name Dennys, which placed it at #11,148 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
#11,148
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,165 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
91.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dennys
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dennys is Hispanic at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Black (1.5%). 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 Dennys 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 Dennys at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.4% · 1,065
- White6.1% · 71
- Black or African American1.5% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 10
- Two or more races0.2% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Dennys
Dennys leans heavily male at 85.2% of total registrations, but 83 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dennys as a male name
- Ranked #11,223 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (20 births)
Dennys as a female name
- Ranked #15,748 in 2009
- 6 female births in 2009
- Peak: 1992 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dennys on both sides of the split. Of the 1,167 people counted with this name, 880 were male (75.4%) and 287 were female (24.6%).
Popularity
Dennys: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dennys from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 196 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
Dennys 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 Dennys during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dennys' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dennys
The name Dennys is of Greek origin and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the name Dionysios, which was the Greek name for the god Dionysus. Dionysus was the god of fertility, wine, and revelry in ancient Greek mythology.
The name Dionysios eventually evolved into the Latin form Dionysius, which was then shortened to Dionys. Over time, different variations of the name emerged, including Dennis and Dennys. The name Dennys is believed to have first appeared in medieval times, particularly in regions with strong Greek cultural influences.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dennys can be found in the writings of the Byzantine historian Michael Psellos, who lived in the 11th century. He mentioned a figure named Dennys in his works, suggesting that the name was in use during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dennys. In the 14th century, there was Dennys de Morbeke, a Flemish philosopher and translator who lived from around 1322 to 1384. He was known for his Latin translations of various Greek texts, including works by Aristotle.
Another figure of note was Dennys Grenville, an English politician and military officer who lived from 1599 to 1647. He served as a member of Parliament and played a role in the English Civil War.
In the 18th century, there was Dennys Rolle, an English landowner and politician who lived from 1720 to 1797. He was a Member of Parliament and was known for his interest in agricultural improvements.
In the field of literature, one notable bearer of the name was Dennys Tyler, an English writer and translator who lived from 1846 to 1911. He was best known for his translations of various works, including those by the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Another figure worth mentioning is Dennys Roberts, a British soldier and explorer who lived from 1838 to 1905. He served in the British Army and is remembered for his contributions to the exploration of Africa, particularly in the region now known as Malawi.
While the name Dennys has its roots in ancient Greek culture, it has been adopted and used across various regions and time periods, with each individual leaving their mark on history through their achievements and contributions.
People
Dennys + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dennys 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
Dennys: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dennys?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 549 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dennys 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 624,325 US residents.
Is Dennys a common name?
We classify Dennys as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 560 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dennys most popular?
The single biggest year for Dennys was 1998, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dennys is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dennys in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,165 people with the name Dennys, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,148 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 Dennys 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 Dennys?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dennys on both sides of the split. Of the 1,167 people counted with this name, 880 were male (75.4%) and 287 were female (24.6%). 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 Dennys?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dennys is Hispanic at 91.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Black (1.5%). 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 Dennys most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Dennys in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (1,065 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 Dennys in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dennys a male name?
Yes, 85.2% of people registered as Dennys 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 Dennys still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dennys 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 Dennys 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 Dennys?
Want to know how many people have the name Dennys? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.