Dewanda
An invented name likely derived from Sanskrit meaning "heavenly gift".
Name Census estimates that about 582 living Americans carry the first name Dewanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dewanda today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dewanda births was 1965 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dewanda. 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
582
~ 1 in 588,925 Americans
Peak year
1965
32 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1994 SSA rank
#12,201
Tracked since 1933
Census
Dewanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 561 people with the first name Dewanda, which placed it at #19,036 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
#19,036
National first-name rank
People counted
561
561 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dewanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dewanda is Black at 71.7%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Dewanda 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 Dewanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.7% · 402
- White24.4% · 137
- Two or more races1.6% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Popularity
Dewanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dewanda from the 1930s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 229 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
Dewanda 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 Dewanda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dewandas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama recorded the most babies named Dewanda, while Tennessee, Illinois, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dewanda
The name Dewanda is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language, with roots dating back to the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit words "deva" meaning "divine" and "anda" meaning "egg" or "source of life." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with concepts of divinity, fertility, and the cyclical nature of existence.
In the ancient Hindu texts, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, there are references to deities and cosmic principles that share similarities with the name Dewanda. For instance, the Vedic deity Prajapati, known as the "Lord of Creatures," was often depicted as the source of all life and was associated with the cosmic egg from which the universe emerged.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Dewanda can be traced back to ancient inscriptions and manuscripts found in the Indian subcontinent. One notable example is the Gupta Empire, which ruled over a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent from the 4th to the 6th century CE. During this period, the name Dewanda appeared in various historical records and inscriptions, suggesting its use among the ruling elite and influential families of the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dewanda. One of the earliest recorded figures was Dewanda Nath, a renowned Hindu philosopher and scholar who lived in the 8th century CE. He was widely respected for his contributions to the study of the Vedas and his teachings on the nature of consciousness and the self.
Another prominent figure was Dewanda Kumari, a powerful queen who ruled over the Chalukya Empire in the 7th century CE. She was known for her military prowess and her patronage of the arts and culture, leaving a lasting impact on the region's architectural and artistic heritage.
In the 12th century CE, Dewanda Rishi was a revered Hindu sage and mystic, renowned for his spiritual teachings and his ability to perform miracles. His teachings and writings have been influential in various Hindu philosophical traditions, particularly in the areas of devotion and self-realization.
During the Mughal era in the 16th century CE, Dewanda Khan was a prominent military commander and governor under the reign of Emperor Akbar. He played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of the Mughal Empire and was known for his strategic military prowess.
In the realm of literature, Dewanda Devi was a celebrated poet and writer who lived in the 18th century CE. Her poetry, written in the Sanskrit and Braj Bhasha languages, explored themes of love, devotion, and the divine, and her works continue to be studied and appreciated by scholars and literary enthusiasts alike.
People
Dewanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dewanda 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
Dewanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dewanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 582 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dewanda 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 588,925 US residents.
Is Dewanda a common name?
We classify Dewanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 694 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dewanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Dewanda was 1965, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dewanda is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dewanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 561 people with the name Dewanda, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,036 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 Dewanda 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 Dewanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dewanda appears almost entirely female. Of the 567 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Dewanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dewanda is Black at 71.7%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Dewanda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dewanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.7% (402 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 Dewanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dewanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dewanda 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 Dewanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dewanda 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 Dewanda 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 the name Dewanda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.