Dwyne
A masculine name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 74 living Americans carry the first name Dwyne. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dwyne today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dwyne births was 1965 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dwyne. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dwyne. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
74
~ 1 in 4,631,815 Americans
Peak year
1965
11 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1977 SSA rank
#5,331
Tracked since 1958
Census
Dwyne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 100 people with the first name Dwyne, which placed it at #53,336 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
#53,336
National first-name rank
People counted
100
100 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dwyne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dwyne is Black at 59.0%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Dwyne 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 Dwyne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.0% · 59
- White30.0% · 30
- Two or more races5.0% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 3
Popularity
Dwyne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dwyne from the 1950s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 54 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Dwyne remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dwyne 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 Dwyne 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 Dwyne
The given name Dwyne is a relatively obscure and uncommon name, with its origins shrouded in uncertainty. It is believed to be a variation of the more common name Duane, which itself has roots in the Gaelic language and can be traced back to medieval Ireland and Scotland.
One possible origin of Dwyne is as a derivative of the Irish Gaelic name Dubhghann, which means "dark" or "swarthy." This name was often anglicized as Duane or Dwayne, with Dwyne emerging as a lesser-known variant. The name may have been influenced by the Old English word "dunn," meaning "brown" or "dark-colored," further reinforcing its connection to the Gaelic meaning.
Another theory suggests that Dwyne could be a variation of the name Dwyn, which is a Welsh name derived from the word "dwyn," meaning "to lead" or "to guide." This possible origin ties the name to the Welsh linguistic and cultural heritage, though its connection to the spelling "Dwyne" is less certain.
In terms of historical references, the name Dwyne is relatively scarce in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. However, some notable individuals have borne this name throughout history, though their impact and fame may have been limited.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dwyne can be found in the 17th century, with Dwyne Jeffries (1637-1691), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire during the reign of King Charles II.
Another notable figure with this name was Dwyne Gladwell (1824-1892), an American farmer and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in the late 19th century.
In more recent times, Dwyne Mickens (1939-2022) was an American football player who played as a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins in the 1960s.
Dwyne Browne (born 1949) is a Jamaican-American actor and director, known for his roles in various television shows and films, including "Ghostbusters II" and "The Mighty Quinn."
Lastly, Dwyne Brown (born 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for teams such as the Los Angeles Kings and the Detroit Red Wings in the 1980s.
While the name Dwyne may not be as prevalent or well-known as some other given names, it carries a unique linguistic and cultural heritage, with its origins potentially rooted in both Gaelic and Welsh traditions. The individuals mentioned above serve as a testament to the diversity of fields and backgrounds in which this name has been borne throughout history.
People
Dwyne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dwyne 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
Dwyne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dwyne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 74 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dwyne 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 4,631,815 US residents.
Is Dwyne a common name?
We classify Dwyne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dwyne most popular?
The single biggest year for Dwyne was 1965, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dwyne is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dwyne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 100 people with the name Dwyne, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,336 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 Dwyne 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 Dwyne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dwyne appears almost entirely male. Of the 102 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Dwyne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dwyne is Black at 59.0%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Dwyne most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dwyne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.0% (59 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 Dwyne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dwyne a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dwyne 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 Dwyne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dwyne 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 Dwyne 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 called Dwyne?
You can see how many people share the name Dwyne on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.