Deshawn
A masculine name derived from French meaning "of Shaw", referring to a town.
Name Census estimates that about 16,659 living Americans carry the first name Deshawn. It is a predominantly male name (93.1% of registrations). The average person named Deshawn today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deshawn births was 1994 (591 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deshawn. 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 Deshawn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
17K
~ 1 in 20,575 Americans
Peak year
1994
591 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,442
Tracked since 1962
Census
Deshawn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,263 people with the first name Deshawn, which placed it at #2,169 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
#2,169
National first-name rank
People counted
12K
12,263 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deshawn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deshawn is Black at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Deshawn 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 Deshawn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.0% · 10,304
- Two or more races8.0% · 975
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 465
- White2.7% · 335
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 129
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 55
Gender
Gender distribution for Deshawn
Deshawn leans heavily male at 93.1% of total registrations, but 1,183 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Deshawn as a male name
- Ranked #1,442 in 2024
- 125 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (563 births)
Deshawn as a female name
- Ranked #15,477 in 2010
- 6 female births in 2010
- Peak: 1971 (82 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deshawn leans strongly male. 11,411 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 845 female bearers (6.9%).
Popularity
Deshawn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deshawn from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 5,225 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
Deshawn 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 Deshawn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deshawns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Michigan, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Deshawn, while Oregon, Alaska, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 381 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Deshawn
The name Deshawn is a modern English name with roots in both French and African American culture. Its origins can be traced back to the late 20th century, particularly in urban communities within the United States.
The name Deshawn is believed to be a combination of the French prefix "de-" meaning "of" or "from," and the English name "Shawn," which itself is derived from the Irish name Seán or Séamus. The prefix "de-" was likely added to create a more unique and distinctive name, reflecting a desire for individuality and cultural identity.
While the name Deshawn does not have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its emergence can be seen as a reflection of the African American experience and the blending of different cultural influences. The use of French prefixes with English or Irish names was a way for African Americans to create new, distinctive names that celebrated their unique heritage and identity.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Deshawn can be found in the 1970s, when it began to gain popularity within African American communities. However, it was not until the 1980s and 1990s that the name truly gained widespread recognition and usage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Deshawn. One of the earliest and most prominent was Deshawn Stevenson (born 1981), an American professional basketball player who played in the NBA for teams such as the Utah Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks. Another well-known Deshawn was Deshawn Wynn (born 1984), a former American football running back who played for teams like the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers.
In the entertainment industry, Deshawn Stevenson (born 1989) is an American actor and model, best known for his roles in television shows like "Empire" and "Power." Deshawn Goncalves (born 1984) is a Canadian actor and producer who has appeared in films such as "Saw IV" and "The Strain."
Finally, Deshawn Painter (born 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who has competed in various promotions, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA.
These individuals, spanning various fields and professions, have helped to popularize and establish the name Deshawn as a distinct and recognizable moniker within modern society.
People
Deshawn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deshawn 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
Deshawn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deshawn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16,659 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deshawn 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 20,575 US residents.
Is Deshawn a common name?
We classify Deshawn as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17,153 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deshawn most popular?
The single biggest year for Deshawn was 1994, when 591 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deshawn is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deshawn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,263 people with the name Deshawn, or 4.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,169 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 Deshawn 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 Deshawn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deshawn leans strongly male. 11,411 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 845 female bearers (6.9%). 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 Deshawn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deshawn is Black at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Deshawn most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Deshawn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (10,304 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 Deshawn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deshawn a male name?
Yes, 93.1% of people registered as Deshawn in the SSA data are male. 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 Deshawn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deshawn 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 Deshawn 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 called Deshawn?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.