Devonn
A masculine name of Gaelic origin derived from "dubh" meaning "dark-haired".
Name Census estimates that about 443 living Americans carry the first name Devonn. It is a predominantly male name (94.9% of registrations). The average person named Devonn today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Devonn births was 1992 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Devonn. 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
443
~ 1 in 773,712 Americans
Peak year
1992
32 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2020 SSA rank
#8,927
Tracked since 1973
Census
Devonn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 418 people with the first name Devonn, which placed it at #23,409 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
#23,409
National first-name rank
People counted
418
418 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Devonn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devonn is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Two or More Races (12.0%). 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 Devonn 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 Devonn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.2% · 239
- White21.1% · 88
- Two or more races12.0% · 50
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Devonn
Devonn leans heavily male at 94.9% of total registrations, but 23 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Devonn as a male name
- Ranked #8,927 in 2020
- 8 male births in 2020
- Peak: 1992 (27 births)
Devonn as a female name
- Ranked #12,257 in 1996
- 6 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1990 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Devonn leans strongly male. 333 people counted with this name were male (81.4%), compared with 76 female bearers (18.6%).
Popularity
Devonn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Devonn from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 177 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
Devonn 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 Devonn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Devonns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Devonn
The name Devonn has its origins rooted in the Celtic languages spoken in ancient Britain and parts of northwestern Europe. It is derived from the Welsh word "defn," which means "poet" or "bard." This connection to the bardic tradition suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were revered for their storytelling abilities or their skill with language.
In the early medieval period, the name was primarily found in regions with strong Celtic cultural influences, such as Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 6th century, when a Welsh bard named Devonn ap Gwrtheyrn was renowned for his lyrical compositions and his mastery of the ancient bardic traditions.
As the centuries passed, the name Devonn remained prevalent in Celtic communities, and its spelling variations, such as Devonne and Devonney, emerged. In the 11th century, a renowned Welsh scholar and historian named Devonn ap Caradog documented the exploits of the legendary King Arthur and his knights, contributing to the enduring legacy of Arthurian legends.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity among the educated elite, who appreciated its literary connotations. One notable figure from this era was Devonn Pryse, a 16th-century Welsh scholar and translator who played a crucial role in preserving and disseminating Welsh literature and poetry.
In the 19th century, the name Devonn crossed the Atlantic and found its way to the United States. Devonn Whittlesey, born in 1809, was a prominent American lawyer and politician who served as the 12th Governor of Ohio from 1836 to 1838.
Another noteworthy individual bearing the name Devonn was Devonn Eyre, a British explorer and adventurer born in 1872. He embarked on numerous expeditions to remote regions of Africa and Asia, documenting his travels and contributing to the understanding of diverse cultures and landscapes.
Throughout history, the name Devonn has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to literature, scholarship, and exploration. Its Celtic roots and connection to the bardic tradition have imbued it with a sense of creativity, eloquence, and a love for storytelling that has endured across centuries and cultures.
People
Devonn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Devonn 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
Devonn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Devonn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 443 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Devonn 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 773,712 US residents.
Is Devonn a common name?
We classify Devonn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 455 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Devonn most popular?
The single biggest year for Devonn was 1992, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Devonn 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 Devonn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 418 people with the name Devonn, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,409 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 Devonn 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 Devonn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Devonn leans strongly male. 333 people counted with this name were male (81.4%), compared with 76 female bearers (18.6%). 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 Devonn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Devonn is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are White (21.1%) and Two or More Races (12.0%). 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 Devonn most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Devonn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.2% (239 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 Devonn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Devonn a male name?
Yes, 94.9% of people registered as Devonn 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 Devonn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Devonn 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 Devonn 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 Devonn?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.