Devine
Of French origin, meaning heavenly, divine, or coming from God.
Name Census estimates that about 1,557 living Americans carry the first name Devine. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 51.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Devine today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Devine births was 2001 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Devine. 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.
Key insights
- • Devine sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 220,138 Americans
Peak year
2001
68 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,525
Tracked since 1955
Gender
Gender distribution for Devine
Devine is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,589 total registrations, 820 (51.6%) were male and 769 (48.4%) were female.
Devine as a male name
- Ranked #6,525 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (36 births)
Devine as a female name
- Ranked #8,549 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (36 births)
Popularity
Devine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Devine from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 513 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
Devine 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 Devine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Devines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Devine, while South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Devine
The given name Devine has its origins in the French language and culture. It is derived from the Old French word "devin," which means "divine" or "prophetic." The name's roots can be traced back to the Latin word "divinus," meaning "of or relating to God."
In medieval times, the name Devine was often associated with those who claimed to have prophetic abilities or divine connections. It was a name that carried spiritual and mystical connotations, reflecting the belief in the power of divination and divine intervention.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Devine can be found in historical records from France and England, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Some notable individuals who bore this name include Saint Devine, a Christian martyr from the 3rd century, and Devine de la Salle, a French Catholic priest and educational reformer from the 17th century (1651-1719).
Throughout history, the name Devine has been carried by various notable figures across different fields. One prominent example is Devine Ozanam (1613-1653), a French mathematician and philosopher who made significant contributions to the development of probability theory and the foundations of modern calculus.
Another notable individual with the name Devine was Devine Wright (1785-1860), an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi in the early 19th century.
In the literary world, Devine Fenelon (1851-1919) was a French novelist and poet who gained recognition for her works exploring themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition.
Moving into the 20th century, Devine Bailey (1923-2005) was an influential American jazz drummer and percussionist who performed with some of the greatest names in jazz, including Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk.
Lastly, Devine Warfield (born 1942) is an American singer and actress known for her powerful vocals and her role as Cynthia in the iconic television series "Good Times" in the 1970s.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Devine, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human experience.
People
Devine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Devine 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
Devine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Devine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,557 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Devine 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 220,138 US residents.
Is Devine a common name?
We classify Devine as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,589 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Devine most popular?
The single biggest year for Devine was 2001, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Devine is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Devine a male name?
Yes, 51.6% of people registered as Devine 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.
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.