Dionne
A feminine name derived from the Greek name "Dione", meaning "daughter of Zeus".
Name Census estimates that about 9,142 living Americans carry the first name Dionne. It is a predominantly female name (95.7% of registrations). The average person named Dionne today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dionne births was 1970 (850 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dionne. 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 Dionne is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 440 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
9.1K
~ 1 in 37,492 Americans
Peak year
1970
850 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2023 SSA rank
#7,310
Tracked since 1931
Gender
Gender distribution for Dionne
Dionne leans heavily female at 95.7% of total registrations, but 440 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dionne as a male name
- Ranked #12,692 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 1971 (23 births)
Dionne as a female name
- Ranked #7,310 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1970 (835 births)
Popularity
Dionne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dionne from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 4,298 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dionne 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 Dionne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dionnes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Louisiana, New York recorded the most babies named Dionne, while West Virginia, Oregon, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 194 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dionne
The name Dionne has its origins in the Greek language, deriving from the name Dionysus, the god of wine, vegetation, and fertility in ancient Greek mythology. The name Dionne is a feminine form of the name, believed to have been popularized during the medieval period in France.
In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele. He was an important deity in the Greek pantheon, associated with wine, revelry, and the cultivation of grapes. The cult of Dionysus was widespread across the ancient Greek world, and his festivals, known as the Dionysia, involved wild celebrations and the consumption of wine.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dionne can be traced back to the 12th century in France, where it was likely used as a diminutive form of the name Denise, which itself derived from the name Dionysus. The name Dionne gained popularity in France during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Dionne was Dionne de Campagne, a French nun and mystic who lived in the 13th century. She is known for her spiritual writings and her role in the establishment of the Dominican Order in France.
In the 16th century, Dionne de Musy was a renowned French courtesan and mistress to King Henry II of France. She was known for her beauty and her influence at the French court during the Renaissance period.
Another famous figure with the name Dionne was Dionne Quintuplets, a set of identical quintuplet sisters born in 1934 in Ontario, Canada. The Dionne Quintuplets were the first quintuplets known to have survived infancy, and their birth attracted widespread attention and media coverage.
In the world of literature, Dionne Brand is a renowned Canadian poet, novelist, and essayist. Born in 1953 in Trinidad and Tobago, she has written extensively on themes of race, gender, and identity, and has received numerous literary awards for her work.
Dionne Warwick, born in 1940, is an American singer and actress who has had a successful career spanning over six decades. She is known for her distinctive vocal style and for hits such as "Walk On By," "I Say a Little Prayer," and "That's What Friends Are For."
Notable bearers
Famous people named Dionne
People
Dionne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dionne 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
Dionne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dionne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,142 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dionne 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 37,492 US residents.
Is Dionne a common name?
We classify Dionne as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,285 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dionne most popular?
The single biggest year for Dionne was 1970, when 850 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dionne is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dionne a female name?
Yes, 95.7% of people registered as Dionne 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.