Dutchess
A feminine name of English origin meaning "the wife or widow of a duke".
Name Census estimates that about 171 living Americans carry the first name Dutchess. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dutchess today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dutchess births was 2015 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dutchess. 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
171
~ 1 in 2,004,411 Americans
Peak year
2015
13 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,903
Tracked since 1964
Census
Dutchess in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 212 people with the first name Dutchess, which placed it at #37,053 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
#37,053
National first-name rank
People counted
212
212 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
63.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dutchess
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dutchess is Black at 63.2%. The next largest groups are White (18.4%) and Two or More Races (8.5%). 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 Dutchess 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 Dutchess at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American63.2% · 134
- White18.4% · 39
- Two or more races8.5% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 5
Popularity
Dutchess: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dutchess from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 69 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dutchess remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dutchess 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 Dutchess 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 Dutchess
The name Dutchess is derived from the Old English word "duches," which means "leader" or "ruler." This word is related to the Latin word "dux," meaning "leader" or "commander." The name has its origins in the medieval period, when it was used to refer to the wife or consort of a duke.
In the 11th century, the name Dutchess appears in various historical records, such as the Domesday Book, which was a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name was used to refer to the wives of powerful noblemen who held the title of duke.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dutchess is Matilda of Flanders, who was the Dutchess of Normandy in the 11th century. She was born in 1031 and died in 1083. Another notable Dutchess from history is Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was the Dutchess of Aquitaine and later became the Queen of England as the wife of King Henry II. She was born in 1122 and died in 1204.
During the Renaissance period, the name Dutchess became more widespread and was adopted by members of the nobility across Europe. One famous Dutchess from this time was Mary, Dutchess of Burgundy, who was born in 1457 and died in 1482. She was the daughter of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and played a significant role in the political affairs of the Burgundian Netherlands.
In the 17th century, the name Dutchess was associated with the Dutch royal family. One notable figure was Anna van Buren, who was the Dutchess of Solms-Braunfels. She was born in 1585 and died in 1643.
Another famous Dutchess from history is Sarah Churchill, Dutchess of Marlborough, who was a close friend and confidante of Queen Anne of England. She was born in 1660 and died in 1744, and played a significant role in the political and social affairs of her time.
While the name Dutchess was historically associated with nobility and royalty, it has since become more widely used as a given name for girls and women from various backgrounds. However, its origins and connection to the title of nobility remain an important part of its history and cultural significance.
People
Dutchess + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dutchess 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
Dutchess: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dutchess?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 171 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dutchess 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 2,004,411 US residents.
Is Dutchess a common name?
We classify Dutchess as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dutchess most popular?
The single biggest year for Dutchess was 2015, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dutchess is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dutchess in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 212 people with the name Dutchess, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,053 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 Dutchess 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 Dutchess?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dutchess appears almost entirely female. Of the 205 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Dutchess?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dutchess is Black at 63.2%. The next largest groups are White (18.4%) and Two or More Races (8.5%). 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 Dutchess most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dutchess in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (134 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 Dutchess in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dutchess a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dutchess 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 Dutchess still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dutchess 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 Dutchess 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 are named Dutchess?
Want to know how many people share the name Dutchess? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.