Dulce
A Spanish feminine name meaning "sweet" or "candy".
Name Census estimates that about 19,513 living Americans carry the first name Dulce. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dulce today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dulce births was 2007 (1,285 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dulce. 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
20K
~ 1 in 17,565 Americans
Peak year
2007
1,285 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2004 SSA rank
#664
Tracked since 1914
Gender
Gender distribution for Dulce
Out of the 20,002 babies given the name Dulce since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Dulce as a male name
- Ranked #11,855 in 2004
- 5 male births in 2004
- Peak: 1991 (8 births)
Dulce as a female name
- Ranked #664 in 2024
- 438 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (1,285 births)
Popularity
Dulce: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dulce from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 8,263 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dulce 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 Dulce during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dulces live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. California, Texas, Arizona recorded the most babies named Dulce, while Mississippi, Delaware, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 451 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dulce
The name Dulce has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the word "dulcis," meaning sweet or pleasant. It was commonly used in ancient Roman times as a descriptive term for someone with a sweet or gentle demeanor.
During the Middle Ages, the name Dulce gained popularity in parts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal, where it was often associated with religious devotion and piety. It was not uncommon for young girls to be named Dulce as a testament to their sweetness and innocence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dulce can be found in the 12th century, when a Spanish noblewoman named Dulce de Barcelona lived during the reign of King Alfonso II of Aragon. She was known for her charitable works and her role in founding several religious houses.
In the 13th century, a Franciscan nun named Dulce de Llobregat was revered in Catalonia for her piety and miracles. She is remembered as the patron saint of pregnant women and those struggling with infertility.
During the Renaissance, the name Dulce was favored among the upper classes in Italy and Spain. One notable figure was Dulce Maria Lomelín, a 16th century Spanish noblewoman known for her patronage of the arts and her influence in the court of King Philip II.
In literature, the name Dulce appears in the 19th century romantic poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen, which portrays the horrors of World War I. The title, taken from the Latin phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori," meaning "It is sweet and honorable to die for one's country," contrasts with the grim realities of war depicted in the poem.
Another famous bearer of the name Dulce was Dulce María Borrego, a Mexican singer and actress born in 1985, who rose to prominence as a member of the successful pop group RBD and later pursued a successful solo career.
People
Dulce + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dulce 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
Dulce: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dulce?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19,513 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dulce 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 17,565 US residents.
Is Dulce a common name?
We classify Dulce as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20,002 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dulce most popular?
The single biggest year for Dulce was 2007, when 1,285 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dulce is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dulce a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Dulce 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.