Dewy
Fresh, moist, or cool like the morning dew.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Dewy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dewy today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dewy births was 1898 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dewy. 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 Dewy is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dewys were born before 1967.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dewy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1898
6 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1966 SSA rank
#4,091
Tracked since 1898
Census
Dewy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 146 people with the first name Dewy, which placed it at #46,062 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
#46,062
National first-name rank
People counted
146
146 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dewy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dewy is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.1%) and Hispanic (9.6%). 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 Dewy 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 Dewy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.3% · 91
- Black or African American15.1% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino9.6% · 14
- Two or more races4.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.1% · 6
Popularity
Dewy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dewy from the 1890s through to the 1960s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1890s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dewy 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 Dewy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dewy
The given name Dewy has its roots in the English language, specifically derived from the word "dew," referring to the droplets of condensed water vapor that form on surfaces during the night or early morning hours. This name gained popularity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, coinciding with the Romantic movement's celebration of nature and its picturesque elements.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Dewy can be traced back to the 1890s, when it appeared as a character name in literary works that romanticized rural life and the beauty of the natural world. Authors of the time, inspired by the dew-kissed landscapes and the poetic imagery associated with this natural phenomenon, bestowed the name upon their characters as a way to evoke a sense of freshness, purity, and natural beauty.
In the realm of historical figures, one notable individual who bore the name Dewy was Dewy Ream (1892-1962), an American actress and vaudeville performer. During the early 20th century, she graced the stages of Broadway and became known for her comedic talents and vivacious performances.
Another prominent figure was Dewy Wrigley (1889-1977), an American businessman and heir to the Wrigley chewing gum empire. His association with the name Dewy contributed to its recognition and helped establish it as a viable given name option.
In the literary world, Dewy Trent was the pen name used by the English author Beatrice Chase (1890-1955), who gained recognition for her works of historical fiction set in various periods of English history.
Moving into the realm of sports, Dewy Haworth (1910-1964) was an American professional baseball player who played as an outfielder for several teams in the Major League Baseball during the 1930s and 1940s.
Lastly, Dewy Jackson (1924-2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader who played a significant role in the development of the West Coast jazz scene, contributing to the unique sound that emerged from that region.
While the name Dewy may have initially been inspired by the natural phenomenon of dew, its associations with literary works, entertainment, business, and sports have given it a multifaceted historical legacy that spans various fields and time periods.
People
Dewy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dewy 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
Dewy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dewy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dewy 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Dewy a common name?
We classify Dewy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dewy most popular?
The single biggest year for Dewy was 1898, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dewy is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dewy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 146 people with the name Dewy, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,062 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 Dewy 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 Dewy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dewy leans strongly male. 125 people counted with this name were male (88.0%), compared with 17 female bearers (12.0%). 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 Dewy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dewy is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.1%) and Hispanic (9.6%). 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 Dewy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dewy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.3% (91 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 Dewy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dewy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dewy 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 Dewy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dewy 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 Dewy 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 Dewy?
Want to know how many Americans are named Dewy? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.