Dimple
A small natural indentation on the cheek or chin.
Name Census estimates that about 619 living Americans carry the first name Dimple. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dimple today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dimple births was 1924 (78 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dimple. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Dimple with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
619
~ 1 in 553,723 Americans
Peak year
1924
78 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
2003 SSA rank
#16,464
Tracked since 1893
Census
Dimple in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,580 people with the first name Dimple, which placed it at #8,985 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
#8,985
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,580 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
62.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dimple
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dimple is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.5%. The next largest groups are White (25.6%) and Black (9.7%). 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 Dimple 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 Dimple at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander62.5% · 988
- White25.6% · 404
- Black or African American9.7% · 153
- Two or more races1.6% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 4
Popularity
Dimple: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dimple from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 666 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
Dimple 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 Dimple during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dimples live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Dimple, while New York, California, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 74 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dimple
The name Dimple has its origins in the English language and is believed to have emerged during the 17th century. It is a diminutive form of the word "dimple," which refers to a small indentation or depression in the skin, particularly on the cheeks or chin. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who had a charming or endearing dimple when they smiled.
While the name itself does not seem to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its association with physical beauty and charm can be traced back to various literary works and cultural traditions that celebrated dimples as a desirable feature. In Western art and literature, dimples were often depicted as symbols of innocence, youth, and attractiveness.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dimple can be found in the late 17th century. One notable example is Dimple Wilmot, a British courtier and mistress of King Charles II, who lived from around 1646 to 1679. Her real name was Elizabeth Mallet, but she was known by the nickname "Dimple" due to her charming facial features.
Throughout history, there have been several other notable individuals who bore the name Dimple. In the 19th century, Dimple Trimble (1810-1898) was an American educator and teacher who established one of the first schools for girls in Kentucky. Dimple Haywood (1875-1968) was an American actress and vaudeville performer who appeared in several silent films during the early 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Dimple Liddell is a character in Lewis Carroll's famous novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865). She is described as a young girl with a dimpled face who appears briefly in the story.
Another notable figure was Dimple Kapadia (born 1957), an Indian actress who has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and is considered a style icon in India. She is known for her striking beauty and charming dimples.
These examples showcase the enduring appeal and association of the name Dimple with physical attractiveness, charm, and a certain innocence or playfulness throughout various cultures and time periods.
People
Dimple + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dimple 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
Dimple: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dimple?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 619 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dimple 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 553,723 US residents.
Is Dimple a common name?
We classify Dimple as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,442 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dimple most popular?
The single biggest year for Dimple was 1924, when 78 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dimple is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dimple in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,580 people with the name Dimple, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,985 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 Dimple 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 Dimple?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dimple leans strongly female. 1,512 people counted with this name were female (96.1%), compared with 61 male bearers (3.9%). 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 Dimple?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dimple is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.5%. The next largest groups are White (25.6%) and Black (9.7%). 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 Dimple most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Dimple in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.5% (988 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 Dimple in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dimple a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dimple 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 Dimple still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dimple 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 Dimple 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 have the name Dimple?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Dimple on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.