Dewie
Feminine diminutive form of the English name Dewey, meaning "dewy" or "fresh like morning dew".
Name Census estimates that about 20 living Americans carry the first name Dewie. It is a predominantly male name (93.7% of registrations). The average person named Dewie today is around 91 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dewie births was 1921 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dewie. 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
- • The typical person named Dewie is about 91 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dewies were born before 1945.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dewie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
20
~ 1 in 17,137,717 Americans
Peak year
1921
19 babies that year
Average age
91
years old
1942 SSA rank
#3,304
Tracked since 1898
Gender
Gender distribution for Dewie
Dewie leans heavily male at 93.7% of total registrations, but 16 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dewie as a male name
- Ranked #3,304 in 1942
- 6 male births in 1942
- Peak: 1928 (18 births)
Dewie as a female name
- Ranked #5,303 in 1921
- 5 female births in 1921
- Peak: 1898 (11 births)
Popularity
Dewie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dewie from the 1890s through to the 1940s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 131 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dewie 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 Dewie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dewies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dewie
The name Dewie is believed to have originated from the Old English word "deaw," which means "dew." It first appeared in written records during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD. The name was likely derived from the natural phenomenon of morning dew on plants and grass, symbolizing purity, freshness, and new beginnings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dewie can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The document mentions a landowner named Dewie of Berkshire, indicating that the name was in use among the English nobility during the Norman period.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Dewie was primarily associated with individuals of lower social status, such as farmers, peasants, and commoners. This association may have stemmed from the name's connection to the natural world and the importance of dew in agricultural practices.
In the 16th century, the name Dewie gained some prominence when Dewie Knollys (1497-1551), an English courtier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII, rose to prominence. Knollys served as a member of the Privy Council and held various offices under Edward VI and Mary I.
Another notable figure named Dewie was Dewie Rhys (1801-1888), a Welsh poet and writer who played a significant role in the preservation and promotion of Welsh culture and language. His works, including the epic poem "Y Gododdin," helped to revive interest in Welsh literature and heritage.
In the 20th century, the name Dewie was relatively uncommon, but it gained some recognition through individuals like Dewie Maynor (1916-2005), an American baseball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Red Sox, and Dewie Gordon (1923-1997), an American jazz saxophonist known for his contributions to the West Coast jazz scene.
While the name Dewie is not as widely used today as it was in earlier centuries, it continues to carry a sense of natural beauty and freshness, reflecting its origins in the phenomenon of morning dew.
People
Dewie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dewie 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
Dewie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dewie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dewie 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 17,137,717 US residents.
Is Dewie a common name?
We classify Dewie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 255 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dewie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dewie was 1921, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dewie is about 91 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dewie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dewie a male name?
Yes, 93.7% of people registered as Dewie 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 Dewie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dewie 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 Dewie 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Dewie as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.