Deonta
A masculine name derived from Latin, meaning "from heaven".
Name Census estimates that about 2,596 living Americans carry the first name Deonta. It is a predominantly male name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Deonta today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deonta births was 1992 (158 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deonta. 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
2.6K
~ 1 in 132,032 Americans
Peak year
1992
158 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,226
Tracked since 1974
Census
Deonta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,755 people with the first name Deonta, which placed it at #8,295 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
#8,295
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,755 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deonta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deonta is Black at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Deonta 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 Deonta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.1% · 1,599
- Two or more races5.2% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 37
- White1.3% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Deonta
Deonta leans heavily male at 98.6% of total registrations, but 36 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Deonta as a male name
- Ranked #6,226 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (158 births)
Deonta as a female name
- Ranked #12,188 in 1994
- 6 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1987 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deonta leans strongly male. 1,720 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 42 female bearers (2.4%).
Popularity
Deonta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deonta from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,140 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deonta 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 Deonta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deontas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Illinois, Michigan, Georgia recorded the most babies named Deonta, while Wisconsin, South Carolina, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 69 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Deonta
The name Deonta is a modern, American invention that has no clear roots in any particular language or culture. It appears to be a combination of sounds and syllables that were strung together in the 20th century, likely inspired by the growing popularity of unique, made-up names during that time period.
Despite its lack of historical pedigree, the name Deonta has managed to find a small but dedicated following among parents seeking a distinctive moniker for their children. The first recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 1970s and 1980s, when it began appearing sporadically in birth records across the United States.
While no definitive origin story exists for the name Deonta, some linguists have speculated that it may have been influenced by the prefix "De-," which can signify a sense of removal or separation in various Romance languages. Others have suggested that the "-onta" ending could be a nod to the Greek word "onta," meaning "being" or "existence."
In terms of notable individuals who have borne the name Deonta, the list is understandably short given its relatively recent coinage. One of the earliest public figures to carry the name was Deonta Vaughn, an American basketball player who competed in the NCAA for the University of Cincinnati from 2006 to 2010.
Another noteworthy Deonta is Deonta Pollard, a former wide receiver who played in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts between 2012 and 2015. Deonta Epps, a defensive back who spent time with the New York Jets and the Houston Texans in the mid-2010s, is another athlete who has helped to raise the profile of the name.
Outside of the sporting world, Deonta Harris is a musician and singer-songwriter who has released several albums and EPs since the late 2000s, blending elements of R&B, soul, and pop. Finally, Deonta Culpepper is an author and motivational speaker who has published books on personal growth and self-empowerment.
While the name Deonta may lack the rich historical tapestry of many more established monikers, its growing popularity in recent decades speaks to the enduring allure of unique and unconventional names in modern society.
People
Deonta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deonta 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
Deonta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deonta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,596 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deonta 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 132,032 US residents.
Is Deonta a common name?
We classify Deonta as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,662 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deonta most popular?
The single biggest year for Deonta was 1992, when 158 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deonta is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deonta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,755 people with the name Deonta, or 0.58 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,295 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 Deonta 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 Deonta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deonta leans strongly male. 1,720 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 42 female bearers (2.4%). 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 Deonta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deonta is Black at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Deonta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Deonta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (1,599 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 Deonta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deonta a male name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Deonta 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 Deonta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deonta 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 Deonta 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 common is the name Deonta?
See how many people have the name Deonta on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.