Denene
A feminine name derived from the French word for "nut tree".
Name Census estimates that about 296 living Americans carry the first name Denene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Denene today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denene births was 1964 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denene. 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
296
~ 1 in 1,157,954 Americans
Peak year
1964
66 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1985 SSA rank
#8,569
Tracked since 1953
Census
Denene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 370 people with the first name Denene, which placed it at #25,584 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
#25,584
National first-name rank
People counted
370
370 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denene is White at 64.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Denene 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 Denene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.9% · 240
- Black or African American28.4% · 105
- Two or more races2.7% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
Popularity
Denene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denene from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 232 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Denene 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 Denene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Denenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Denene, while North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Denene
The name Denene is believed to have its origins in the Akan language spoken by the Akan people of West Africa, particularly in present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast. It is thought to be derived from the Akan word "dene," which means "to wander" or "to roam."
This name first emerged in the 17th century, during the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, when many Africans were forcibly taken to the Americas and the Caribbean. It is possible that the name Denene was brought to these regions by enslaved Africans from the Akan ethnic group, who sought to preserve their cultural identities and traditions, including their naming practices.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Denene was Denene Millner, an African American author, journalist, and activist born in 1968 in Detroit, Michigan. She is best known for her work advocating for diversity and representation in children's literature.
Another notable figure with this name is Denene Cager, an American television news anchor and reporter born in 1962. She has worked for various news stations across the United States, including WLKY in Louisville, Kentucky, and WSMV in Nashville, Tennessee.
In the realm of sports, Denene Kleman was a professional tennis player from the United States who competed in the 1980s and 1990s. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 54 in the world and won one singles title on the WTA Tour.
Denene Erasmus, born in 1986, is a South African actress and model. She has appeared in several television shows and films, including the popular South African soap opera "7de Laan."
Finally, Denene Graham is an American author and journalist who has written extensively on topics related to parenting, relationships, and popular culture. She has been a contributing writer for various publications, including Essence magazine and The Root.
While the name Denene is not as common as some other names, it has persisted throughout history, carrying with it the cultural significance and resilience of the Akan people. The individuals mentioned above are just a few examples of the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments associated with this name.
People
Denene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denene 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
Denene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 296 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denene 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 1,157,954 US residents.
Is Denene a common name?
We classify Denene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 351 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denene most popular?
The single biggest year for Denene was 1964, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denene is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Denene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 370 people with the name Denene, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,584 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 Denene 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 Denene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Denene leans strongly female. 363 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 5 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Denene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denene is White at 64.9%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Denene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Denene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.9% (240 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 Denene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Denene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Denene 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 Denene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Denene 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 Denene 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 are named Denene?
Want to know how many Americans are named Denene? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.