Deven
A masculine name of Indian origin meaning "little god".
Name Census estimates that about 11,649 living Americans carry the first name Deven. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Deven today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deven births was 2000 (531 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deven. 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 Deven with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 29,423 Americans
Peak year
2000
531 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,597
Tracked since 1954
Census
Deven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,005 people with the first name Deven, which placed it at #2,467 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
#2,467
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,005 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deven is White at 51.9%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and Hispanic (13.2%). 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 Deven 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 Deven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.9% · 5,191
- Black or African American14.9% · 1,486
- Hispanic or Latino13.2% · 1,321
- Two or more races10.3% · 1,027
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.0% · 900
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 80
Gender
Gender distribution for Deven
Deven leans heavily male at 89.0% of total registrations, but 1,315 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Deven as a male name
- Ranked #2,597 in 2024
- 51 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2000 (491 births)
Deven as a female name
- Ranked #13,880 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1978 (76 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deven leans strongly male. 8,846 people counted with this name were male (88.3%), compared with 1,169 female bearers (11.7%).
Popularity
Deven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deven from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 4,500 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
Deven 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 Deven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Devens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Deven, while South Dakota, Nebraska, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 183 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Deven
The name Deven is of Sanskrit origin, tracing its roots back to ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "deva," meaning "deity" or "divine." The name is believed to have been in use since the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
In Hindu mythology, the term "deva" is often used to refer to celestial beings or deities. The name Deven is thought to have been given to individuals with the hope that they would embody the qualities of divinity, such as purity, wisdom, and spiritual enlightenment.
The earliest recorded use of the name Deven can be found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Vedas and the Puranas. These sacred scriptures mention individuals with names derived from "deva," indicating the name's long-standing presence in Indian culture.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Deven. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Deven Rishi, a revered sage who is believed to have lived around the 8th century BCE. He is renowned for his contributions to the development of Hindu philosophy and his teachings on spirituality.
Another prominent figure was Deven Bhagat, a 13th-century Indian mystic and poet who composed devotional songs and verses. His works continue to be celebrated and recited in parts of India to this day.
In more recent times, Deven Sharma (1919-2007) was an influential Indian philosopher and author who wrote extensively on Hinduism and Indian culture. His books, such as "Classical Indian Philosophy" and "The Philosophy of Sadhana," are widely studied and respected.
Deven Verma (1941-2019) was an Indian actor and director who made significant contributions to the Bollywood film industry. He is remembered for his performances in critically acclaimed movies, as well as his work as a director and producer.
Deven Bhagwandas Patel (1924-2010) was an Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national team in the 1940s and 1950s. He was a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper, and is considered one of the pioneers of Indian cricket.
The name Deven has retained its cultural significance and continues to be popular in various parts of the world, particularly in India and among the Indian diaspora. Its connection to ancient Hindu traditions and its association with divinity have contributed to its enduring appeal.
People
Deven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deven 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
Deven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,649 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deven 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 29,423 US residents.
Is Deven a common name?
We classify Deven as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,942 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deven most popular?
The single biggest year for Deven was 2000, when 531 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deven is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,005 people with the name Deven, or 3.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,467 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 Deven 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 Deven?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deven leans strongly male. 8,846 people counted with this name were male (88.3%), compared with 1,169 female bearers (11.7%). 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 Deven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deven is White at 51.9%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and Hispanic (13.2%). 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 Deven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Deven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.9% (5,191 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 Deven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deven a male name?
Yes, 89.0% of people registered as Deven 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 Deven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deven 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 Deven 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 share the name Deven?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.