Devell
An American baby name of unknown meaning and modern origin.
Name Census estimates that about 178 living Americans carry the first name Devell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Devell today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Devell births was 1990 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Devell. 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
178
~ 1 in 1,925,586 Americans
Peak year
1990
14 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,597
Tracked since 1965
Census
Devell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 184 people with the first name Devell, which placed it at #40,443 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
#40,443
National first-name rank
People counted
184
184 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devell is Black at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and White (2.7%). 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 Devell 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 Devell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.7% · 165
- Two or more races5.4% · 10
- White2.7% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Devell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Devell from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 76 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
Devell 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 Devell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Devells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Devell
The name Devell is an intriguing one, steeped in mystery and shrouded in the mists of antiquity. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic cultures of Western Europe, where it was believed to have been derived from the Proto-Celtic root word "deval," meaning "oak" or "strength."
In the early medieval period, the name Devell was prevalent among the Britons and the Gaels, who inhabited the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. It was a popular choice for boys, as it symbolized resilience, endurance, and a connection to the ancient oak trees that were revered in their pagan belief systems.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Devell can be found in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditional bardic literature dating back to the 9th century. The name appears in the form of "Devell ab Arawn," referring to a legendary figure who was said to have been the son of the King of Annwn, the Welsh otherworld.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Devell was borne by several notable figures, including Devell of Powys (c. 1050-1115), a Welsh prince and warrior who played a pivotal role in the conflicts between the Britons and the Norman invaders. Another prominent bearer of the name was Devell the Bard (c. 1180-1245), a renowned Welsh poet and storyteller whose works celebrated the heroic deeds of his contemporaries.
In the 13th century, the name Devell gained prominence in Ireland, where it was adopted by members of the Gaelic nobility. One of the most famous Irish bearers of the name was Devell Ua Conchobair (c. 1250-1317), a powerful chieftain and military leader who led the resistance against the English occupation of his lands.
As the centuries passed, the name Devell continued to be used across the Celtic regions, albeit with varying spellings and pronunciations. Notably, Devell MacGregor (c. 1575-1638) was a Scottish Highland clan chief renowned for his bravery and loyalty to the Stuart cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
Another notable figure was Devell ap Rhys (c. 1630-1692), a Welsh scholar and clergyman who made significant contributions to the preservation of the Welsh language and literature during a time of cultural upheaval.
While the name Devell may have faded from widespread use in modern times, its rich history and symbolic associations with strength, resilience, and a deep connection to the natural world continue to captivate those who delve into the fascinating realms of onomastics and cultural heritage.
People
Devell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Devell 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
Devell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Devell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 178 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Devell 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 1,925,586 US residents.
Is Devell a common name?
We classify Devell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 186 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Devell most popular?
The single biggest year for Devell was 1990, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Devell is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Devell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 184 people with the name Devell, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,443 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 Devell 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 Devell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Devell leans strongly male. 184 people counted with this name were male (95.3%), compared with 9 female bearers (4.7%). 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 Devell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devell is Black at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and White (2.7%). 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 Devell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Devell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (165 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 Devell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Devell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Devell 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 Devell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Devell 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 Devell 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 Devell as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.