Delanna
A feminine name derived from the English word "dell", meaning a small valley.
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Delanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delanna today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delanna births was 1967 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delanna. 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
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
1967
10 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2012 SSA rank
#17,551
Tracked since 1950
Census
Delanna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 266 people with the first name Delanna, which placed it at #31,950 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
#31,950
National first-name rank
People counted
266
266 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delanna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delanna is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Delanna 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 Delanna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.9% · 170
- Black or African American19.9% · 53
- Two or more races5.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.3% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 4
Popularity
Delanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delanna from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 55 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Delanna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delanna 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 Delanna 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 Delanna
The name Delanna is believed to originate from the Gaelic language, with roots tracing back to the medieval era in Ireland and Scotland. It is a feminine name derived from the combination of two Gaelic words, "dea" meaning "divine" or "goddess," and "lanna," which can be interpreted as "meadow" or "open field."
This name gained prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly among the Celtic populations of the British Isles. Its association with divinity and nature made it a popular choice for families seeking to imbue their daughters with a sense of reverence and connection to the natural world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delanna can be found in the Irish Annals, a series of historical chronicles documenting events and notable figures from the 5th to the 16th century. The name appears in reference to a woman named Delanna of Connemara, who lived in the 9th century and was renowned for her skill in weaving and textile arts.
In the 12th century, a Scots noblewoman named Delanna MacAlpin gained recognition for her role in negotiating peace treaties between warring clans. Her diplomatic efforts were celebrated in the bardic traditions of the time, further cementing the name's association with wisdom and peacemaking.
During the 16th century, a nun named Delanna O'Donnell founded a convent in County Donegal, Ireland, which became a center of learning and spiritual guidance for the local community. Her legacy as an educator and religious leader contributed to the enduring popularity of the name among devout Christian families.
In more recent history, notable individuals bearing the name Delanna include:
1. Delanna Studi (born 1947), an American actress and activist of Cherokee descent, known for her roles in films such as "Dances with Wolves" and "Geronimo: An American Legend."
2. Delanna Bordiga (1949-2008), an Italian painter and sculptor whose works explored themes of femininity and nature, often incorporating elements of Celtic symbolism.
3. Delanna Dunlap (born 1963), an American basketball player and coach who won multiple NCAA championships as a player at the University of Tennessee and later served as the head coach at Ohio State University.
4. Delanna Longino (born 1976), an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name Leilani Kai, who gained popularity in various independent promotions throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
5. Delanna Pawlowski (born 1981), a Canadian playwright and screenwriter whose works have been acclaimed for their exploration of contemporary social issues and familial dynamics.
The name Delanna continues to resonate with individuals seeking a connection to their Celtic heritage, while also embodying themes of divinity, nature, and peacefulness. Its enduring presence throughout history serves as a testament to the cultural significance and adaptability of this evocative name.
People
Delanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delanna 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
Delanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delanna 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Delanna a common name?
We classify Delanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 217 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Delanna was 1967, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delanna is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delanna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 266 people with the name Delanna, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,950 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 Delanna 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 Delanna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delanna appears almost entirely female. Of the 268 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 Delanna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delanna is White at 63.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Delanna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Delanna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.9% (170 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 Delanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delanna 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 Delanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delanna 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 Delanna 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 Delanna?
See how many people have the name Delanna on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.