Diamond
A precious gemstone symbolizing strength, clarity and brilliance.
Name Census estimates that about 34,932 living Americans carry the first name Diamond. It is a predominantly female name (93.0% of registrations). The average person named Diamond today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Diamond births was 1999 (2,210 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Diamond. 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
35K
~ 1 in 9,812 Americans
Peak year
1999
2,210 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,612
Tracked since 1897
Gender
Gender distribution for Diamond
Diamond leans heavily female at 93.0% of total registrations, but 2,527 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Diamond as a male name
- Ranked #2,443 in 2024
- 56 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (101 births)
Diamond as a female name
- Ranked #1,612 in 2024
- 129 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (2,160 births)
Popularity
Diamond: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Diamond from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 15,987 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
Diamond 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 Diamond during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Diamonds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. Texas, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Diamond, while West Virginia, South Dakota, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 768 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Diamond
The name Diamond is an English word name derived from the precious gemstone of the same name. The word diamond comes from the ancient Greek word "adamas," which means "invincible" or "unbreakable." This likely refers to the hardness and durability of the diamond gemstone.
As a given name, Diamond is a relatively modern coinage, with its earliest usage dating back to the late 19th century. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the first name Diamond was Diamond Bessie Moore, an American criminal and saloon owner who lived from 1873 to 1959.
Another notable historical figure with the name Diamond was Diamond Jim Brady, an American businessman and jeweler known for his lavish lifestyle and love of diamonds. He lived from 1856 to 1917 and was famous for wearing extravagant diamond-studded jewelry.
In the 20th century, the name Diamond gained popularity as a unisex name, particularly among African American communities. One famous bearer of the name was Diamond Lil, a stage name used by American actress Mae West, who lived from 1893 to 1980.
Another notable Diamond was Diamond Teeth Mary, the nickname of Mary Smith, an African American woman who lived from 1904 to 1994 and was known for her diamond-studded teeth.
In more recent times, the name Diamond has been given to several high-profile individuals, including Diamond Dallas Page, an American professional wrestler and actor born in 1956, and Diamond Brown, an American singer and actress born in 1981.
While the name Diamond is not directly referenced in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its association with the precious gemstone and its connotations of strength, durability, and value have contributed to its appeal as a given name.
People
Diamond + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Diamond 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
Diamond: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Diamond?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 34,932 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Diamond 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 9,812 US residents.
Is Diamond a common name?
We classify Diamond as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36,162 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Diamond most popular?
The single biggest year for Diamond was 1999, when 2,210 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Diamond is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Diamond a female name?
Yes, 93.0% of people registered as Diamond 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.
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.