Deijah
An invented name that may combine influences from names meaning "dignified" and "worthy".
Name Census estimates that about 278 living Americans carry the first name Deijah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Deijah today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deijah births was 1999 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deijah. 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
278
~ 1 in 1,232,929 Americans
Peak year
1999
25 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,257
Tracked since 1995
Census
Deijah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 249 people with the first name Deijah, which placed it at #33,298 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
#33,298
National first-name rank
People counted
249
249 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
53.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deijah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deijah is Black at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.7%) and Two or More Races (12.9%). 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 Deijah 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 Deijah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American53.8% · 134
- Hispanic or Latino25.7% · 64
- Two or more races12.9% · 32
- White6.0% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Deijah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deijah from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 133 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Deijah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deijah 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 Deijah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deijahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Deijah
The name Deijah is a unique and intriguing one, with roots that stretch back to ancient civilizations. Its origins can be traced to the Sumerian language, which was spoken in the region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during the 3rd millennium BC. The name is believed to be derived from the Sumerian word "dei," meaning "to shine" or "to radiate."
One of the earliest known references to the name Deijah can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem dating back to around 2100 BC. In this epic, there is a character named Deijah who is described as a wise and powerful priestess, revered for her knowledge and spiritual guidance.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, there is also a reference to a goddess named Deijah, who was associated with the sun and represented the concept of radiance and enlightenment. This connection to celestial bodies and divine entities further solidifies the name's association with light and brilliance.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Deijah. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Deijah of Carthage, a Phoenician philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 5th century BC. Her contributions to the field of mathematics were highly acclaimed during her time.
Another prominent figure was Deijah al-Andalusi, an Andalusian scholar and poet who lived in the 11th century AD. She was renowned for her mastery of Arabic literature and her influential works on philosophy and theology.
During the Renaissance period, there was Deijah de' Medici, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, born in 1462. She was known for her support of artists and intellectuals, and her influence on the cultural Renaissance in Florence.
In more recent times, Deijah Bey was an African-American activist and educator who lived from 1900 to 1984. She was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement and worked tirelessly to promote education and empowerment within the African-American community.
Lastly, Deijah Khalil was a renowned Syrian architect who lived from 1920 to 2002. She was celebrated for her innovative and sustainable designs, which blended traditional Syrian architecture with modern elements.
These are just a few examples of the diverse individuals who have carried the name Deijah throughout history, each contributing to their respective fields and leaving a lasting impact on the world around them.
People
Deijah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deijah 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
Deijah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deijah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 278 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deijah 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 1,232,929 US residents.
Is Deijah a common name?
We classify Deijah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 283 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deijah most popular?
The single biggest year for Deijah was 1999, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deijah 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 Deijah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 249 people with the name Deijah, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,298 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 Deijah 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 Deijah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deijah leans strongly female. 244 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Deijah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deijah is Black at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.7%) and Two or More Races (12.9%). 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 Deijah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Deijah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.8% (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 Deijah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deijah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deijah 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 Deijah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deijah 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 Deijah 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 Deijah?
See how many Americans are named Deijah on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.