Dissie
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Dissie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dissie today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dissie births was 1901 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dissie. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dissie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1901
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#5,135
Tracked since 1901
Popularity
Dissie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dissie from the 1900s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1900s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dissie 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 Dissie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dissie
The given name Dissie is believed to have originated from the Old English word "dīsi," which means "foolish" or "dizzy." This name was commonly used in Anglo-Saxon England during the medieval period, particularly among the lower classes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dissie can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and their holdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as a diminutive form, "Dissi," referring to a peasant woman in the county of Oxfordshire.
In the 13th century, a nun named Dissie of Buckland is mentioned in the Chronicles of the Priory of Buckland, a historical record kept by the Benedictine monks of Buckland Abbey in Devon, England. She is described as a pious and devoted woman who served as the prioress of the convent from 1249 to 1267.
During the Renaissance period, the name Dissie gained some popularity among the upper classes. One notable figure was Dissie Devereux, born in 1562, the daughter of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex. She was a prominent figure at the court of Queen Elizabeth I and was known for her intelligence and wit.
In the 17th century, a Dutch painter named Dissie van Ravesteyn (1572-1657) achieved fame for her portraits of notable figures in the Dutch Golden Age, including members of the House of Orange-Nassau and the Dutch aristocracy.
Another historical figure with the name Dissie was Dissie Thackeray (1788-1859), an English writer and philanthropist. She was the wife of William Makepeace Thackeray, the famous novelist, and was actively involved in various charitable organizations, particularly those focused on improving the lives of women and children.
While the name Dissie has fallen out of common usage in recent times, it remains a unique and intriguing name with a rich historical background, spanning various cultures and time periods.
People
Dissie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dissie 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
Dissie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dissie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dissie 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 - US residents.
Is Dissie a common name?
We classify Dissie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dissie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dissie was 1901, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dissie is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dissie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dissie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dissie 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 Dissie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dissie 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 Dissie 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Dissie?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Dissie at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.