Dewain
An Old German masculine name meaning "rich friend".
Name Census estimates that about 421 living Americans carry the first name Dewain. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dewain today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dewain births was 1953 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dewain. 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
421
~ 1 in 814,143 Americans
Peak year
1953
23 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
2000 SSA rank
#10,823
Tracked since 1913
Census
Dewain in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 409 people with the first name Dewain, which placed it at #23,820 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
#23,820
National first-name rank
People counted
409
409 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dewain
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dewain is White at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Dewain 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 Dewain at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.4% · 292
- Black or African American21.0% · 86
- Two or more races4.6% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
Popularity
Dewain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dewain from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 142 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dewain 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 Dewain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dewains live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dewain
The name Dewain has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the combination of two Old English words, "deor" meaning "beloved" and "wine" meaning "friend." This suggests that the name was initially used to refer to someone who was a dear friend or a cherished companion.
During the Anglo-Saxon period, the name Dewain was primarily used among the ruling classes and nobility of England. It is believed to have been popularized by the prominent Dewain family, who held significant power and influence in the region of Mercia during the 7th and 8th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Dewain can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record dating back to the 9th century. The chronicle documents the exploits of a nobleman named Dewain, who played a crucial role in the Battle of Ellendun in 825 AD.
Throughout the medieval period, the name Dewain remained relatively uncommon but was occasionally bestowed upon individuals of noble birth or those with close ties to the ruling families. One notable figure from this era was Dewain of Pembroke, a Welsh nobleman who lived in the 12th century and was known for his military prowess during the Norman conquest of Wales.
During the Renaissance period, the name Dewain experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly among the upper classes of English society. One notable individual from this time was Dewain Cavendish, a renowned poet and playwright born in 1555. His works, including "The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark," have had a lasting impact on English literature.
Another significant figure bearing the name Dewain was Sir Dewain Raleigh, an English explorer and courtier who lived from 1554 to 1618. He is best known for his efforts in establishing the first English settlements in North America, including the ill-fated colony of Roanoke.
As the centuries passed, the name Dewain became increasingly rare, but it continued to be used sporadically by families with ties to its historical roots. In the 19th century, Dewain Wilberforce, a prominent English abolitionist and philanthropist, played a crucial role in the movement to abolish slavery in the British Empire.
People
Dewain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dewain 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
Dewain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dewain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 421 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dewain 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 814,143 US residents.
Is Dewain a common name?
We classify Dewain as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 800 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dewain most popular?
The single biggest year for Dewain was 1953, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dewain is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dewain in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 409 people with the name Dewain, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,820 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 Dewain 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 Dewain?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dewain leans strongly male. 407 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 5 female bearers (1.2%). 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 Dewain?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dewain is White at 71.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Dewain most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dewain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.4% (292 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 Dewain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dewain a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dewain 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 Dewain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dewain 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 Dewain 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 the name Dewain?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.