Devon
A masculine name of English origin derived from a region in Britain.
Name Census estimates that about 88,885 living Americans carry the first name Devon. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 78.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Devon today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Devon births was 1995 (4,000 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Devon. 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 Devon with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Compared to the 1990s, recent registration numbers for Devon have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
89K
~ 1 in 3,856 Americans
Peak year
1995
4,000 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#955
Tracked since 1914
Census
Devon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 78,789 people with the first name Devon, which placed it at #669 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
#669
National first-name rank
People counted
79K
78,789 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
26.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devon is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (25.1%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Devon 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 Devon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.9% · 45,600
- Black or African American25.1% · 19,788
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 5,896
- Two or more races7.3% · 5,729
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 1,075
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 701
Gender
Gender distribution for Devon
Devon is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 92,706 total registrations, 72,448 (78.1%) were male and 20,258 (21.9%) were female.
Devon as a male name
- Ranked #955 in 2024
- 236 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (3,189 births)
Devon as a female name
- Ranked #3,699 in 2024
- 41 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1991 (1,205 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Devon on both sides of the split. Of the 78,789 people counted with this name, 60,541 were male (76.8%) and 18,248 were female (23.2%).
Popularity
Devon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Devon 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 36,229 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
Devon 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 Devon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Devons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Devon, while Wyoming, Hawaii, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,694 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Devon
The name Devon is derived from the Celtic word "Dyfnaint," which means "deep valley" or "deep stream." This name has its origins in the southwestern region of England, particularly in the county of Devon, which is where it likely originated.
In the early medieval period, the name Devon was used as a place name, referring to the geographical location of Devon in England. Over time, it transitioned into a personal name, likely influenced by the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, when it became common for people to adopt place names as surnames or given names.
One of the earliest known records of the name Devon as a personal name dates back to the 13th century. In 1273, a man named Devon de Wycombe was mentioned in historical records from Buckinghamshire, England.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Devon. One of the earliest examples is Devon Monson (c. 1280 - c. 1349), an English nobleman and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
Another historical figure with the name Devon was Devon Courtney (1486 - 1556), an English courtier and diplomat during the reign of King Henry VIII. He served as a member of the Privy Council and was involved in negotiations with France and the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 17th century, Devon Petty (1620 - 1687) was an English philosopher and scientist who made significant contributions to the fields of economics and political theory. He is best known for his work "Political Arithmetic," which laid the foundations for modern statistical analysis.
Moving forward, Devon Sanderson (1777 - 1842) was a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He participated in several notable battles, including the Battle of Trafalgar, and rose to the rank of admiral.
Another notable figure was Devon Fairchild (1892 - 1966), an American aviator and pioneer of early commercial aviation. He played a crucial role in establishing transcontinental air routes and was instrumental in the development of the aviation industry in the United States.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Devon, highlighting its rich cultural and historical significance across various periods and contexts.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Devon
People
Devon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Devon 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
Devon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Devon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 88,885 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Devon 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 3,856 US residents.
Is Devon a common name?
We classify Devon 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, 92,706 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Devon most popular?
The single biggest year for Devon was 1995, when 4,000 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Devon is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Devon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 78,789 people with the name Devon, or 26.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #669 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 Devon 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 Devon?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Devon on both sides of the split. Of the 78,789 people counted with this name, 60,541 were male (76.8%) and 18,248 were female (23.2%). 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 Devon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devon is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (25.1%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Devon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Devon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.9% (45,600 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 Devon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Devon a male name?
Yes, 78.1% of people registered as Devon 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 Devon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Devon 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 Devon 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 Devon as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.