Deshon
A masculine English name derived from the French phrase "de son", meaning "from the same".
Name Census estimates that about 2,612 living Americans carry the first name Deshon. It is a predominantly male name (93.9% of registrations). The average person named Deshon today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deshon births was 1997 (99 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deshon. 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 Deshon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 131,223 Americans
Peak year
1997
99 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,865
Tracked since 1966
Census
Deshon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,929 people with the first name Deshon, which placed it at #7,757 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
#7,757
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,929 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deshon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deshon is Black at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.1%) and Hispanic (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 Deshon 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 Deshon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.0% · 1,621
- Two or more races8.1% · 157
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 73
- White2.7% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Deshon
Deshon leans heavily male at 93.9% of total registrations, but 166 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Deshon as a male name
- Ranked #7,865 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (94 births)
Deshon as a female name
- Ranked #14,767 in 1998
- 5 female births in 1998
- Peak: 1970 (18 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deshon leans strongly male. 1,758 people counted with this name were male (90.9%), compared with 175 female bearers (9.1%).
Popularity
Deshon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deshon from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 853 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
Deshon 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 Deshon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deshons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Illinois, Georgia recorded the most babies named Deshon, while Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Deshon
The name Deshon is a modern English name of uncertain origin. It appears to be a relatively recent coinage, potentially derived from the combination of the English prefix "de-" meaning "from" or "of," and the French name "Shon," a variant spelling of the Hebrew name "Shawn" or "Sean," meaning "God is gracious."
While the precise roots of the name Deshon are ambiguous, it is possible that it emerged as a unique blend of linguistic elements, reflecting the multicultural influences that have shaped the English language over time. However, there is limited historical evidence or recorded usage of this name prior to the 20th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the first name Deshon was Deshon Sanders, an American football player born in 1977. He played as a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
Another notable figure with the name Deshon was Deshon Fox, an American basketball player born in 1991. He played college basketball for the University of Missouri and later pursued a professional career in various international leagues.
Deshon Laraye, born in 1987, is a Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist. He founded the DL Charity Foundation, which supports various educational and community initiatives.
Deshon Marman, born in 1995, is a professional soccer player from the United States. He currently plays as a defender for the San Diego Loyal SC in the USL Championship.
Deshon Bullock, born in 1990, is an American artist and musician known for his abstract paintings and experimental music compositions.
While the name Deshon is relatively uncommon, it has gained some recognition in recent decades, particularly in the United States. However, its historical roots and cultural significance remain somewhat obscure, reflecting the ever-evolving nature of language and naming traditions.
People
Deshon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deshon 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
Deshon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deshon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,612 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deshon 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 131,223 US residents.
Is Deshon a common name?
We classify Deshon 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, 2,703 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deshon most popular?
The single biggest year for Deshon was 1997, when 99 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deshon is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deshon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,929 people with the name Deshon, or 0.64 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,757 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 Deshon 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 Deshon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deshon leans strongly male. 1,758 people counted with this name were male (90.9%), compared with 175 female bearers (9.1%). 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 Deshon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deshon is Black at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.1%) and Hispanic (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 Deshon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Deshon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (1,621 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 Deshon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deshon a male name?
Yes, 93.9% of people registered as Deshon 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 Deshon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deshon 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 Deshon 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 Deshon?
Want to know how many Americans are named Deshon? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.