Dwayne
Young and vigorous; derived from the Gaelic name "Duane".
Name Census estimates that about 65,978 living Americans carry the first name Dwayne. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Dwayne today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dwayne births was 1961 (3,502 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dwayne. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Dwayne with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Dwayne is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 462 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Dwayne have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
66K
~ 1 in 5,195 Americans
Peak year
1961
3,502 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,423
Tracked since 1912
Census
Dwayne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 55,731 people with the first name Dwayne, which placed it at #836 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
#836
National first-name rank
People counted
56K
55,731 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
18.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dwayne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dwayne is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (43.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Dwayne 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 Dwayne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.6% · 26,523
- White43.5% · 24,258
- Two or more races3.5% · 1,960
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,768
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 617
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 605
Gender
Gender distribution for Dwayne
Out of the 77,083 babies given the name Dwayne 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.
Dwayne as a male name
- Ranked #1,423 in 2024
- 129 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1961 (3,483 births)
Dwayne as a female name
- Ranked #10,595 in 1991
- 7 female births in 1991
- Peak: 1960 (21 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dwayne appears almost entirely male. Of the 55,729 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Dwayne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dwayne from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 26,948 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dwayne 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 Dwayne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dwaynes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Dwayne, while Wyoming, Vermont, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,426 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dwayne
The given name Dwayne is believed to have originated from the Old English surname Duane, which itself is derived from the Celtic word "dun" meaning "hill" or "fort." The name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, between the 5th and 11th centuries.
During the Middle Ages, the name Dwayne was relatively uncommon, but it did appear in some historical records from England and Wales. One of the earliest documented individuals with this name was Dwayne of Pembroke, a Welsh nobleman who lived in the 12th century.
In the 16th century, the name gained some prominence with the birth of Dwayne Godshill, an English Protestant reformer and theologian who lived from 1530 to 1592. Godshill was known for his opposition to the Catholic Church and his advocacy for religious reform.
Another notable figure named Dwayne was Dwayne Clopton, an English soldier and explorer who lived from 1590 to 1655. Clopton was part of several expeditions to the Americas and is credited with being one of the first Europeans to establish settlements in what is now the state of Virginia.
In the 18th century, Dwayne became a more popular name, particularly in the United States. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Dwayne Franklin, an American statesman and diplomat who served as the first U.S. Minister to France from 1779 to 1785. Franklin played a crucial role in securing French support during the American Revolutionary War.
Another notable figure named Dwayne was Dwayne Douglass, an American abolitionist and social reformer who lived from 1809 to 1892. Douglass was a prominent figure in the anti-slavery movement and worked tirelessly to promote equal rights for African Americans.
While the name Dwayne has seen periods of popularity and decline throughout history, it has remained a consistent choice for parents across various cultures and regions. Its origins can be traced back to the early medieval period in Britain, and it has been borne by notable figures in fields ranging from religion and politics to exploration and social reform.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Dwayne
People
Dwayne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dwayne 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
Dwayne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dwayne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 65,978 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dwayne 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 5,195 US residents.
Is Dwayne a common name?
We classify Dwayne as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 77,083 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dwayne most popular?
The single biggest year for Dwayne was 1961, when 3,502 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dwayne is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dwayne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 55,731 people with the name Dwayne, or 18.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #836 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 Dwayne 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 Dwayne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dwayne appears almost entirely male. Of the 55,729 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Dwayne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dwayne is Black at 47.6%. The next largest groups are White (43.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Dwayne most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dwayne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.6% (26,523 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 Dwayne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dwayne a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Dwayne 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.
Is Dwayne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dwayne 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 Dwayne 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 have Dwayne as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.