Davena
A French feminine name possibly derived from the Biblical name David, meaning "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 368 living Americans carry the first name Davena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Davena today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Davena births was 1980 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Davena. 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 Davena with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
368
~ 1 in 931,398 Americans
Peak year
1980
17 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,804
Tracked since 1946
Census
Davena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 374 people with the first name Davena, which placed it at #25,370 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
#25,370
National first-name rank
People counted
374
374 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Davena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Davena is White at 44.1%. The next largest groups are Black (36.9%) and Hispanic (7.8%). 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 Davena 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 Davena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.1% · 165
- Black or African American36.9% · 138
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 29
- Two or more races5.3% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 10
Popularity
Davena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Davena from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 106 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Davena 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 Davena 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 Davena
The name Davena is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, with roots dating back to ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "deva," which means "divine" or "heavenly." This suggests that the name carries a spiritual and transcendent connotation.
In Hindu mythology, devas are a class of celestial beings or deities that are revered for their wisdom and power. The name Davena may have been initially bestowed upon individuals with a deep connection to the divine realm or those deemed to possess exceptional qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Davena can be found in the ancient Hindu scripture, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Davena is mentioned as the name of a wise sage who imparted profound spiritual knowledge to his disciples.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Davena. One such individual was Davena of Larissa, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE. She was renowned for her teachings on ethics and virtue, and her writings influenced many subsequent philosophers.
Another prominent figure was Davena al-Kindi, an influential Arabian scholar and mathematician who lived during the 9th century CE. She made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and optics, and her works were widely studied throughout the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 12th century, Davena of Bavaria was a renowned German mystic and author. Her writings on spirituality and the divine influenced many religious movements of her time, and she is revered as a saint by some Christian denominations.
During the Renaissance period, Davena Colombo was an Italian artist and sculptor who lived from 1470 to 1522. She was celebrated for her exquisite marble sculptures, which adorned many churches and public spaces in Italy.
In more recent times, Davena Randolph was a prominent American civil rights activist who lived from 1889 to 1967. She played a crucial role in the fight against racial segregation and discrimination, advocating for equal rights and opportunities for all.
The name Davena has endured through the ages, carrying with it a rich tapestry of spiritual, intellectual, and artistic significance. Its origins in the Sanskrit language and its association with divine wisdom and celestial beings have contributed to its enduring appeal across cultures and generations.
People
Davena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Davena 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
Davena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Davena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 368 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Davena 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 931,398 US residents.
Is Davena a common name?
We classify Davena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 412 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Davena most popular?
The single biggest year for Davena was 1980, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Davena is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Davena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 374 people with the name Davena, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,370 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 Davena 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 Davena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Davena appears almost entirely female. Of the 376 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 Davena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Davena is White at 44.1%. The next largest groups are Black (36.9%) and Hispanic (7.8%). 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 Davena most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Davena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.1% (165 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 Davena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Davena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Davena 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 Davena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Davena 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 Davena 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 the name Davena?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Davena on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.