Djeneba
A feminine name of Malian origin meaning "female firstborn child".
Name Census estimates that about 153 living Americans carry the first name Djeneba. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Djeneba today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Djeneba births was 2007 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Djeneba. 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
153
~ 1 in 2,240,224 Americans
Peak year
2007
11 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,861
Tracked since 2001
Census
Djeneba in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 288 people with the first name Djeneba, which placed it at #30,313 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
#30,313
National first-name rank
People counted
288
288 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Djeneba
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Djeneba is Black at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and White (1.4%). 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 Djeneba 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 Djeneba at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.8% · 273
- Two or more races2.4% · 7
- White1.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 4
Popularity
Djeneba: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Djeneba from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 68 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Djeneba remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Djeneba 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 Djeneba during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Djenebas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Djeneba
The name Djeneba is of West African origin, particularly from the Mande languages spoken in countries like Mali, Guinea, and Senegal. It is a feminine name that has been in use for centuries, dating back to the time of the great Mali Empire.
Djeneba is derived from the Bambara word "jen," which means "to be born." It is a name that carries the connotation of new life, fertility, and the celebration of birth. In many West African cultures, names are chosen with great care and often reflect the circumstances surrounding a child's birth or the hopes and aspirations of the parents.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Djeneba can be found in the Epic of Sundiata, a renowned oral tradition that recounts the life of the legendary Mande ruler Sundiata Keita, who founded the Mali Empire in the 13th century. In this epic, Djeneba is mentioned as the name of one of the wives of Sundiata's father, Sogolon Kondé.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Djeneba. One such figure is Djeneba N'Diaye, a revered Senegalese griot (storyteller and oral historian) who lived in the 19th century. She played a crucial role in preserving and transmitting the rich cultural heritage of her people through her mastery of storytelling and oral traditions.
Another famous Djeneba was Djeneba Traoré, a renowned singer and musician from Mali who was born in the early 20th century. She was celebrated for her powerful voice and her ability to blend traditional Mande music with contemporary influences, helping to introduce Malian music to a global audience.
In the realm of literature, Djeneba Kone is a Malian author and scholar who has made significant contributions to the study and preservation of African oral traditions. Her works, including "The Epic of Soundiata" and "From the Night Calypso," have received critical acclaim and shed light on the rich cultural heritage of West Africa.
Djeneba Diaby, born in 1975, is a Guinean singer and songwriter who has gained international recognition for her soulful voice and her ability to blend traditional Guinean rhythms with contemporary styles. She has been a prominent figure in the World Music scene and has collaborated with artists from various cultures.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Djeneba throughout history, each leaving their unique mark on their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of West African culture and traditions.
People
Djeneba + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Djeneba 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
Djeneba: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Djeneba?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 153 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Djeneba 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 2,240,224 US residents.
Is Djeneba a common name?
We classify Djeneba as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 155 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Djeneba most popular?
The single biggest year for Djeneba was 2007, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Djeneba is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Djeneba in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 288 people with the name Djeneba, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,313 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 Djeneba 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 Djeneba?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Djeneba appears almost entirely female. Of the 288 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Djeneba?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Djeneba is Black at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and White (1.4%). 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 Djeneba most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Djeneba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (273 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 Djeneba in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Djeneba a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Djeneba 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 Djeneba still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Djeneba 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 Djeneba 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 share the name Djeneba?
You can see how many people have the name Djeneba on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.