Desiree
Desired, deserved, beloved one; French feminine name of Latin origin.
Name Census estimates that about 78,135 living Americans carry the first name Desiree. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Desiree today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Desiree births was 1983 (2,925 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Desiree. 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 Desiree with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Desiree is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 198 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1990s, recent registration numbers for Desiree have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
78K
~ 1 in 4,387 Americans
Peak year
1983
2,925 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2004 SSA rank
#1,130
Tracked since 1910
Census
Desiree in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 69,938 people with the first name Desiree, which placed it at #728 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
#728
National first-name rank
People counted
70K
69,938 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
23.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
41.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Desiree
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Desiree is White at 41.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.2%) and Black (18.8%). 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 Desiree 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 Desiree at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.5% · 29,007
- Hispanic or Latino30.2% · 21,096
- Black or African American18.8% · 13,125
- Two or more races5.7% · 3,972
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 1,919
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 819
Gender
Gender distribution for Desiree
Out of the 83,607 babies given the name Desiree since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Desiree as a male name
- Ranked #8,318 in 2004
- 8 male births in 2004
- Peak: 1986 (12 births)
Desiree as a female name
- Ranked #1,130 in 2024
- 213 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1983 (2,915 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Desiree appears almost entirely female. Of the 69,937 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Desiree: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Desiree from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 23,527 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
Desiree 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 Desiree during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Desirees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Desiree, while Vermont, Delaware, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,581 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Desiree
The name Desiree is derived from the French word "desirer," which means "to desire" or "to wish for." The name traces its origins back to the medieval period in France, where it was initially used as a term of endearment or affection.
During the Renaissance, the name Desiree gained popularity among the French nobility and aristocracy. It was often bestowed upon daughters as a way of expressing the parents' wish or desire for their child's happiness and success.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Desiree can be found in the writings of the 16th-century French poet Pierre de Ronsard, who dedicated a poem to a woman named Desiree. This literary reference helped establish the name's association with beauty, grace, and romantic love.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Desiree. One of the most famous was Desiree Clary (1777-1860), who became the first wife of the Swedish King Charles XIV John (formerly Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte). Their marriage, which took place in 1798, was a result of Napoleon Bonaparte's efforts to strengthen his political alliances.
Another prominent figure named Desiree was Desiree Gould (1885-1964), a British actress and singer who rose to fame in the early 20th century. She appeared in numerous West End productions and was celebrated for her performances in light operas and musical comedies.
In the field of literature, Desiree Bartry (1853-1910) was a French writer and journalist known for her novels and contributions to feminist literature. Her works explored themes of women's rights and societal expectations during the late 19th century.
Desiree Armfeldt (1925-2020) was a Swedish countess and member of the Swedish royal family. She was the daughter of Count Carl Bernadotte and gained recognition for her philanthropic work and support of various charitable causes.
Lastly, Desiree Goyette (born 1964) is a Canadian ice hockey player and coach. She represented Canada in four Olympic Games, winning gold medals in 2002 and 2006, and has been inducted into several sports halls of fame for her contributions to women's hockey.
People
Desiree + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Desiree 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
Desiree: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Desiree?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 78,135 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Desiree 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 4,387 US residents.
Is Desiree a common name?
We classify Desiree as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 83,607 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Desiree most popular?
The single biggest year for Desiree was 1983, when 2,925 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Desiree is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Desiree in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 69,938 people with the name Desiree, or 23.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #728 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 Desiree 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 Desiree?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Desiree appears almost entirely female. Of the 69,937 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Desiree?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Desiree is White at 41.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.2%) and Black (18.8%). 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 Desiree most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Desiree in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.5% (29,007 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 Desiree in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Desiree a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Desiree 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 Desiree still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Desiree 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 Desiree 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 Americans are named Desiree?
Want to know how many Americans are named Desiree? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.