Denna
A feminine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "little fawn".
Name Census estimates that about 1,916 living Americans carry the first name Denna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Denna today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Denna births was 1969 (102 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Denna. 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 Denna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 178,891 Americans
Peak year
1969
102 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,134
Tracked since 1921
Census
Denna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,218 people with the first name Denna, which placed it at #7,029 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
#7,029
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,218 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Denna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denna is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Denna 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 Denna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.5% · 1,696
- Black or African American12.1% · 268
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 112
- Two or more races3.5% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 28
Popularity
Denna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Denna from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 720 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
Denna 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 Denna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dennas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Denna, while Virginia, Louisiana, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Denna
The given name Denna is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "dene," which means "valley" or "dell." It was initially a topographic surname used to identify someone who lived in or near a valley.
The earliest recorded use of the name Denna dates back to the 13th century in England. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Denna de Clopton, who lived in the town of Clopton in Warwickshire, England, during the late 1200s.
In the Middle Ages, the name Denna appeared in various historical documents and records, such as the Domesday Book, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Denna. One of the most prominent was Denna Bunnell (1638-1712), a English colonist who settled in New Haven, Connecticut, in the mid-17th century. She is known for her involvement in the controversial witchcraft trials of the time.
Another significant figure was Denna Falconer (1785-1865), a Scottish poet and novelist who gained recognition for her works depicting the rural life and landscapes of her native country.
In the 19th century, Denna Willoughby (1822-1892) was a British philanthropist and social reformer who dedicated her life to improving the living conditions of the working class in London's East End.
The name Denna also has connections to the arts. Denna Mackay (1891-1972) was an American actress and singer who performed on Broadway and in several Hollywood films during the early 20th century.
More recently, Denna Laing (born 1984) is a former professional ice hockey player from Canada who represented her country in international competitions and played in the Canadian Women's Hockey League.
While the name Denna has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, its origins and associations with notable individuals across various fields have contributed to its unique character and enduring legacy.
People
Denna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Denna 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
Denna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,916 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Denna 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 178,891 US residents.
Is Denna a common name?
We classify Denna as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,377 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Denna most popular?
The single biggest year for Denna was 1969, when 102 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Denna is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Denna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,218 people with the name Denna, or 0.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,029 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 Denna 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 Denna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Denna appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,212 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Denna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Denna is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Denna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Denna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (1,696 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 Denna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Denna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Denna 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 Denna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Denna 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 Denna 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 share the name Denna?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.