Dequan
A masculine name of Chinese origin representing "prosperous" or "reaching one's full potential".
Name Census estimates that about 3,758 living Americans carry the first name Dequan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dequan today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dequan births was 1994 (377 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dequan. 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 Dequan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.8K
~ 1 in 91,207 Americans
Peak year
1994
377 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,959
Tracked since 1975
Census
Dequan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,781 people with the first name Dequan, which placed it at #5,926 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
#5,926
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,781 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dequan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dequan is Black at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Dequan 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 Dequan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.4% · 2,430
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 131
- Two or more races3.8% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 79
- White0.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Dequan
Out of the 3,844 babies given the name Dequan since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Dequan as a male name
- Ranked #5,959 in 2024
- 15 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (377 births)
Dequan as a female name
- Ranked #14,062 in 1993
- 5 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1993 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dequan leans strongly male. 2,751 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 28 female bearers (1.0%).
Popularity
Dequan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dequan 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 2,055 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
Dequan 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 Dequan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dequans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. Michigan, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Dequan, while Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 94 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dequan
The given name Dequan originated from the Chinese language and is believed to have roots dating back to the 16th century. The name is composed of two characters: "De," meaning "virtue" or "moral integrity," and "Quan," which can be translated as "complete" or "whole." Together, the name conveys a sense of possessing a well-rounded character and embodying ethical principles.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the name Dequan was often bestowed upon individuals who were born into scholarly or philosophical families. It was seen as a reflection of the parents' aspiration for their child to lead a virtuous life guided by moral principles and a thirst for knowledge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dequan can be found in a collection of philosophical texts from the late 16th century, where it was mentioned as the name of a revered scholar known for his teachings on ethics and self-cultivation.
Throughout the centuries, several notable figures have carried the name Dequan. One such individual was Dequan Zhang (1597-1676), a renowned Confucian scholar and poet during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. His works on moral philosophy and literary talents earned him widespread recognition among his contemporaries.
Another prominent figure was Dequan Li (1725-1793), a highly respected Buddhist monk and calligrapher who played a significant role in preserving and promoting the traditional arts during the Qing Dynasty. His calligraphic works were celebrated for their beauty and spiritual depth.
In the realm of martial arts, Dequan Chen (1849-1919) was a legendary figure who is credited with reviving and preserving the ancient Chinese martial art of Xingyiquan. His teachings and dedication to the art have had a lasting impact on subsequent generations of practitioners.
Moving into the 20th century, Dequan Wang (1901-1978) was a prominent Chinese diplomat and politician who served as the Ambassador to the Soviet Union during the early years of the People's Republic of China. His diplomatic efforts played a crucial role in strengthening the relationship between the two nations.
Lastly, Dequan Zheng (1928-2022) was a renowned Chinese physicist and academician who made significant contributions to the fields of particle physics and theoretical physics. His groundbreaking research and scholarly works earned him numerous accolades and recognition from the scientific community.
People
Dequan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dequan 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
Dequan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dequan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,758 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dequan 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 91,207 US residents.
Is Dequan a common name?
We classify Dequan as "Rare". It ranks above 95.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,844 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dequan most popular?
The single biggest year for Dequan was 1994, when 377 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dequan is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dequan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,781 people with the name Dequan, or 0.92 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,926 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 Dequan 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 Dequan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dequan leans strongly male. 2,751 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 28 female bearers (1.0%). 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 Dequan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dequan is Black at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Dequan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dequan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (2,430 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 Dequan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dequan a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Dequan 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 Dequan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dequan 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 Dequan 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 Dequan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.