Dre
A diminutive of the French name André, meaning "manly and brave".
Name Census estimates that about 833 living Americans carry the first name Dre. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Dre today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dre births was 1993 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dre. 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
833
~ 1 in 411,470 Americans
Peak year
1993
56 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,213
Tracked since 1989
Gender
Gender distribution for Dre
Out of the 844 babies given the name Dre since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Dre as a male name
- Ranked #4,213 in 2024
- 25 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (56 births)
Dre as a female name
- Ranked #16,178 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (5 births)
Popularity
Dre: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dre from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 276 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dre remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dre 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 Dre during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dres live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Dre, while Louisiana, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dre
The name Dre is a modern diminutive or nickname form derived from the French name André. André itself can be traced back to the Greek name Andreas, which was composed of the elements andr, meaning "man" or "warrior," and andres, meaning "manly" or "virile." The name Andreas was borne by one of the Twelve Apostles in the New Testament and later became popular throughout the Christian world.
In the Middle Ages, the name André was particularly common in France, where it was often spelled André or Andri. It was also used in England during this time, although it was less widespread. The diminutive form Dre likely emerged as a casual nickname or pet name for André in French-speaking regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dre can be found in the writings of the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes (1596-1650), who was known to his friends and family as "Dre." Similarly, the French composer and organist André Campra (1660-1744) was sometimes referred to as "Dre Campra."
In more recent history, the name Dre gained wider recognition through its association with several notable figures. André "Dre" Benjamin (born 1975) is an American rapper, actor, and singer-songwriter best known as one-half of the hip-hop duo OutKast. Another prominent bearer of the name is Andre "Dr. Dre" Romelle Young (born 1965), the American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur who co-founded the influential rap group N.W.A. and later launched the highly successful Aftermath Entertainment label.
Other notable individuals with the first name Dre include André "Dre" Gribou (born 1973), a French professional basketball player; André "Dre" Browne (born 1973), a Barbadian cricketer; and André "Dre" Berto (born 1983), an American professional boxer. These individuals have helped to maintain the name's visibility and relevance across various fields and cultures.
People
Dre + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dre 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
Dre: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dre?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 833 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dre 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 411,470 US residents.
Is Dre a common name?
We classify Dre as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 844 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dre most popular?
The single biggest year for Dre was 1993, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dre is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dre a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Dre in the SSA data are male. 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.