Davontae
A masculine name of French origin meaning "from the valley".
Name Census estimates that about 1,513 living Americans carry the first name Davontae. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Davontae today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Davontae births was 1992 (90 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Davontae. 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 Davontae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 226,540 Americans
Peak year
1992
90 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,699
Tracked since 1988
Census
Davontae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 979 people with the first name Davontae, which placed it at #12,637 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
#12,637
National first-name rank
People counted
979
979 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Davontae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Davontae is Black at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.3%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Davontae 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 Davontae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.4% · 787
- Two or more races12.3% · 120
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 36
- White2.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 4
Popularity
Davontae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Davontae from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 564 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
Davontae 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 Davontae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Davontaes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Michigan, Illinois, Ohio recorded the most babies named Davontae, while South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Davontae
The name Davontae is a modern variation of the name Davontay, which has its roots in the African American community. It is a combination of the names Davon and Tay, both of which have origins in the Igbo language spoken in southeastern Nigeria.
Davon is derived from the Igbo word "davo," meaning "brave" or "courageous," while Tay is a shortened form of the name Tayo, which means "one who is worthy of praise." The combination of these two names suggests that Davontae is a name associated with strength, valor, and admiration.
The earliest recorded use of the name Davontae can be traced back to the late 20th century, when it started gaining popularity among African American families. However, there are no known historical figures or notable individuals from ancient times who bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Davontae is Davontae Sanford, an American basketball player born in 1995. He played college basketball for the University of Dayton and later pursued a professional career in Europe.
Another individual with the name Davontae is Davontae Sankey, an American football player born in 1996. He played college football for the University of Oklahoma and was later signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
Davontae Harris, born in 1994, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA. He previously played for the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors.
Davontae Merriweather, born in 1997, is an American football player who played college football for the University of Michigan. He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2021.
Davontae Kimbrough, born in 1995, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Žalgiris Kaunas in the Lithuanian Basketball League. He previously played for several teams in the NBA G League.
While the name Davontae is relatively modern and has gained popularity in recent decades, it carries a rich cultural heritage and meaning rooted in the Igbo language and African American community. Its association with bravery, courage, and admiration has made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name that embodies strength and resilience.
People
Davontae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Davontae 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
Davontae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Davontae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,513 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Davontae 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 226,540 US residents.
Is Davontae a common name?
We classify Davontae as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,537 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Davontae most popular?
The single biggest year for Davontae was 1992, when 90 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Davontae is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Davontae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 979 people with the name Davontae, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,637 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 Davontae 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 Davontae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Davontae appears almost entirely male. Of the 987 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Davontae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Davontae is Black at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.3%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Davontae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Davontae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (787 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 Davontae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Davontae a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Davontae 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 Davontae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Davontae 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 Davontae 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 common is the name Davontae?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.