Devone
Of Germanic origin, meaning "of the valleys" or "valley dweller".
Name Census estimates that about 814 living Americans carry the first name Devone. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Devone today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Devone births was 1991 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Devone. 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
814
~ 1 in 421,074 Americans
Peak year
1991
42 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,180
Tracked since 1952
Census
Devone in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 737 people with the first name Devone, which placed it at #15,570 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
#15,570
National first-name rank
People counted
737
737 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devone
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devone is Black at 74.6%. The next largest groups are White (12.1%) and Two or More Races (7.6%). 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 Devone 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 Devone at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.6% · 550
- White12.1% · 89
- Two or more races7.6% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Devone
Devone leans heavily male at 85.7% of total registrations, but 122 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Devone as a male name
- Ranked #12,810 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1993 (35 births)
Devone as a female name
- Ranked #12,180 in 1995
- 6 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1990 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Devone on both sides of the split. Of the 739 people counted with this name, 579 were male (78.3%) and 160 were female (21.7%).
Popularity
Devone: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Devone from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 283 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
Devone 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 Devone during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Devones live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Devone, while Ohio, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Devone
The given name Devone is believed to have originated from the Old English language, derived from the word "dēofon," which means "deep valley." This name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th centuries.
Devone was a popular name among the Anglo-Saxon communities, particularly those residing in rural areas or near valleys and gorges. The name was often associated with individuals who lived or worked in such geographical locations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Devone can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Deuone," referring to a landowner in the county of Devon.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Devone. One of the earliest was Devone of Exeter (c. 1050-1120), a renowned monk and scholar who authored several treatises on theology and philosophy.
In the 13th century, Sir Devone de Montfort (c. 1210-1265) was a prominent English knight who fought alongside Simon de Montfort during the Second Barons' War against King Henry III.
During the Renaissance period, Devone Cavendish (1555-1628) was an English courtier and influential figure at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. He was known for his patronage of the arts and literature.
In the 17th century, Devone Winthrop (1588-1649) was a prominent Puritan leader who played a significant role in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in North America.
Another notable figure was Devone Cartwright (1692-1758), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.
While the name Devone has declined in popularity in recent times, it remains a unique and historically significant name, carrying the essence of its Old English roots and the rich cultural heritage of the Anglo-Saxon period.
People
Devone + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Devone 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
Devone: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Devone?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 814 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Devone 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 421,074 US residents.
Is Devone a common name?
We classify Devone as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 852 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Devone most popular?
The single biggest year for Devone was 1991, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Devone is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Devone in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 737 people with the name Devone, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,570 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 Devone 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 Devone?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Devone on both sides of the split. Of the 739 people counted with this name, 579 were male (78.3%) and 160 were female (21.7%). 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 Devone?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devone is Black at 74.6%. The next largest groups are White (12.1%) and Two or More Races (7.6%). 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 Devone most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Devone in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.6% (550 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 Devone in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Devone a male name?
Yes, 85.7% of people registered as Devone 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 Devone still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Devone 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 Devone 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 Devone?
Find out how many Americans are named Devone on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.