Dezeray
A modern invented name of uncertain origin, potentially a combination of "desire" and "ray".
Name Census estimates that about 394 living Americans carry the first name Dezeray. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dezeray today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dezeray births was 1998 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dezeray. 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
394
~ 1 in 869,935 Americans
Peak year
1998
24 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,374
Tracked since 1984
Census
Dezeray in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 351 people with the first name Dezeray, which placed it at #26,494 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
#26,494
National first-name rank
People counted
351
351 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dezeray
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dezeray is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (33.6%) and Black (13.7%). 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 Dezeray 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 Dezeray at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.6% · 160
- Hispanic or Latino33.6% · 118
- Black or African American13.7% · 48
- Two or more races6.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Dezeray: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dezeray from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 169 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
Dezeray 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 Dezeray during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dezerays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dezeray
The given name Dezeray is a relatively modern name with no definitive origins or etymological roots. It appears to be a creative spelling variation of the more common name Desiree, which itself is derived from the French word "desirer" meaning "to desire" or "to wish for."
Dezeray likely emerged as a unique alternative spelling in the late 20th century, possibly influenced by the growing popularity of creatively spelled and invented names during that time period. While the name Desiree has a clear French connection, Dezeray does not seem to have any direct linguistic or cultural ties to a specific language or region.
Due to its modern nature, there are no known historical references or recorded appearances of the name Dezeray in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. It is a relatively new name that has gained popularity in recent decades as parents sought out more distinctive and unconventional name choices.
Some notable individuals who have borne the name Dezeray include:
1. Dezeray Jackson, an American singer and songwriter known for her work in the R&B and pop genres.
2. Dezeray Reyes, an American professional wrestler and former model.
3. Dezeray Strickland, an American former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA and overseas.
4. Dezeray Chambers, an American fashion designer and entrepreneur.
5. Dezeray Stevenson, an American author and poet known for her work in the literary fiction genre.
While these individuals may have achieved varying levels of success and recognition, their shared first name highlights the increasing prevalence of unique and creatively spelled names in modern times.
People
Dezeray + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dezeray 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
Dezeray: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dezeray?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 394 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dezeray 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 869,935 US residents.
Is Dezeray a common name?
We classify Dezeray as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 404 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dezeray most popular?
The single biggest year for Dezeray was 1998, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dezeray is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dezeray in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 351 people with the name Dezeray, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,494 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 Dezeray 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 Dezeray?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dezeray leans strongly female. 346 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Dezeray?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dezeray is White at 45.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (33.6%) and Black (13.7%). 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 Dezeray most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dezeray in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.6% (160 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 Dezeray in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dezeray a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dezeray in the SSA data are female. 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 Dezeray still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dezeray 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 Dezeray 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 are called Dezeray?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.