Dianne
A French feminine form of Diana, meaning "divine" or "heavenly".
Name Census estimates that about 60,758 living Americans carry the first name Dianne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dianne today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dianne births was 1947 (4,421 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dianne. 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
- • Although Dianne is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 186 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Dianne is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Diannes were born before 1967.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Dianne have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
61K
~ 1 in 5,641 Americans
Peak year
1947
4,421 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1988 SSA rank
#7,582
Tracked since 1911
Gender
Gender distribution for Dianne
Out of the 95,451 babies given the name Dianne since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Dianne as a male name
- Ranked #7,582 in 1988
- 5 male births in 1988
- Peak: 1945 (16 births)
Dianne as a female name
- Ranked #8,552 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1947 (4,415 births)
Popularity
Dianne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dianne from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 34,564 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dianne 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 Dianne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Diannes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Dianne, while Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,811 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dianne
The given name Dianne has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the name Diana. Diana was the Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and nature, known as the female counterpart of the god Apollo. The name Diana itself is believed to have roots in the ancient Indo-European word "div," meaning celestial or heavenly.
In ancient Roman mythology, Diana was a highly revered deity, often associated with virginity, childbirth, and the wilderness. Her name appears in various classical texts and writings, including works by the Roman poets Ovid and Horace, as well as in historical accounts by ancient authors like Livy and Plutarch.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dianne as a variant spelling of Diana can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Europe. During this time, the name gained popularity among Christian families, possibly due to its connection to the Latin word "divinus," meaning divine or heavenly.
One of the earliest known individuals named Dianne was Dianne de Poitiers (1499-1566), a renowned French noblewoman and mistress of King Henry II of France. She was known for her influential role in the French court and her patronage of the arts and literature.
Another notable figure with the name Dianne was Dianne de France (1538-1619), the illegitimate daughter of King Henry II of France and Dianne de Poitiers. She held the titles of Duchess of Angoulême and Duchess of Châtellerault.
In the 17th century, Dianne Primrose (1641-1668), an English noblewoman and the wife of Sir Archibald Primrose, was a prominent figure in British society and known for her beauty and intelligence.
The name Dianne also has literary connections, with the character Dianne Vernon appearing in Sir Walter Scott's novel "Rob Roy" (1817). This fictional character was portrayed as a strong-willed and independent woman, reflecting the changing attitudes towards women's roles during that era.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals named Dianne was Dianne Feinstein (born 1933), an American politician and the former Mayor of San Francisco. She has served as a United States Senator from California since 1992 and is known for her influential role in shaping policies related to various issues, including gun control and environmental protection.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Dianne
People
Dianne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dianne 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
Dianne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dianne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 60,758 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dianne 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 5,641 US residents.
Is Dianne a common name?
We classify Dianne as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 95,451 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dianne most popular?
The single biggest year for Dianne was 1947, when 4,421 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dianne is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dianne a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Dianne 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.