Denay
Of Scandinavian origin meaning "valley with reference to geography".
Name Census estimates that about 483 living Americans carry the first name Denay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Denay today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denay births was 1991 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denay. 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
483
~ 1 in 709,636 Americans
Peak year
1991
23 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,470
Tracked since 1963
Census
Denay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 526 people with the first name Denay, which placed it at #19,885 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
#19,885
National first-name rank
People counted
526
526 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
38.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denay is White at 38.8%. The next largest groups are Black (38.0%) and Hispanic (17.3%). 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 Denay 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 Denay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White38.8% · 204
- Black or African American38.0% · 200
- Hispanic or Latino17.3% · 91
- Two or more races3.2% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 4
Popularity
Denay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denay from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 136 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Denay 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 Denay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Denays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Denay
The name Denay is believed to have originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the French name Denise, which itself is derived from the Greek name Dionysia. Dionysia was the feminine form of Dionysios, the name of the Greek god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, and fertility.
The name Denise and its variants like Denay became popular in France after the cult of St. Denis, the patron saint of France, spread throughout the country in the 6th century. St. Denis was a Christian martyr who is said to have brought Christianity to the region that is now Paris.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Denay can be found in the 13th-century French epic poem, Le Roman de la Rose, where a character named Denay is mentioned. However, it is unclear whether this was intended as a given name or a surname.
In the 15th century, there was a French noblewoman named Denay de Châlons, who was the wife of Louis de Luxembourg, Count of St. Pol. She played a prominent role in the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
Another notable figure with the name Denay was Denay Terrio, a French poet and writer who lived in the 16th century. She is best known for her collection of poems titled Les Amours de Denay, published in 1588.
In the 17th century, there was a French actress named Denay Leclerc, who performed in several plays at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris. She was known for her comedic roles and was a popular figure in the Parisian theater scene of her time.
Finally, in the 19th century, there was a French artist named Denay Gabrielle, who was part of the Impressionist movement. She is particularly known for her paintings of landscapes and scenes from daily life in rural France.
While the name Denay has its roots in France, it has also been used in other parts of the world, likely due to French cultural influence. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, especially in more recent times.
People
Denay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denay 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
Denay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 483 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denay 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 709,636 US residents.
Is Denay a common name?
We classify Denay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 510 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denay most popular?
The single biggest year for Denay was 1991, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denay is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Denay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 526 people with the name Denay, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,885 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 Denay 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 Denay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Denay leans strongly female. 511 people counted with this name were female (96.4%), compared with 19 male bearers (3.6%). 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 Denay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denay is White at 38.8%. The next largest groups are Black (38.0%) and Hispanic (17.3%). 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 Denay most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Denay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.8% (204 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 Denay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Denay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Denay 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 Denay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Denay 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 Denay 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 Denay as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Denay on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.