Dewanna
A shortened form of Deborah, with an uncertain meaning but often interpreted as "bee".
Name Census estimates that about 604 living Americans carry the first name Dewanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dewanna today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dewanna births was 1957 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dewanna. 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
604
~ 1 in 567,474 Americans
Peak year
1957
30 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1997 SSA rank
#10,052
Tracked since 1930
Census
Dewanna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 633 people with the first name Dewanna, which placed it at #17,430 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
#17,430
National first-name rank
People counted
633
633 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
49.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dewanna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dewanna is Black at 49.1%. The next largest groups are White (44.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Dewanna 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 Dewanna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.1% · 311
- White44.1% · 279
- Two or more races4.4% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 3
Popularity
Dewanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dewanna 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 208 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
Dewanna 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 Dewanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dewannas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dewanna
The name Dewanna has its origins in the Arabic language, with roots that can be traced back to the 7th century AD. It is believed to be derived from the Arabic word "duwan," which means "book" or "collection." This suggests that the name may have been associated with scholars or literary figures in its early origins.
In the early centuries of Islam, during the Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 AD), the name Dewanna gained popularity among Arab intellectuals and writers. It was a time when the study of literature, poetry, and the arts flourished, and the name may have been chosen to represent a connection to this rich cultural heritage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dewanna can be found in the works of the renowned Arab poet and scholar, Abu Nuwas (756-814 AD). He was a celebrated figure in the literary circles of Baghdad and is known for his contribution to Arabic poetry and his unconventional lifestyle.
As the centuries passed, the name Dewanna continued to be used across various regions of the Arab world, from North Africa to the Middle East. It became associated with a sense of refinement, intellect, and a love for knowledge and literature.
During the 12th century, a notable figure named Dewanna al-Qaysi was a well-known calligrapher and poet in Andalusia (present-day Spain). Her exquisite calligraphy works and poetic verses were highly regarded during her time, and she played a significant role in preserving the artistic and literary traditions of the region.
In the 14th century, Dewanna al-Mawsiliyya was a renowned musician and singer from Mosul, Iraq. She was celebrated for her exceptional vocal talents and her ability to compose intricate melodies and lyrics. Her legacy lived on through the preservation of her musical compositions, which were widely appreciated and studied by subsequent generations of musicians.
Another notable figure bearing the name Dewanna was Dewanna al-Baghdadi, a prominent scholar and mathematician who lived in Baghdad during the 16th century. She made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and was respected for her vast knowledge and intellectual prowess.
As the name Dewanna traveled across different cultures and regions, it adapted to various spellings and pronunciations. However, its connection to literature, knowledge, and artistic expression remained a common thread throughout its history.
People
Dewanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dewanna 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
Dewanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dewanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 604 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dewanna 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 567,474 US residents.
Is Dewanna a common name?
We classify Dewanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 727 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dewanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Dewanna was 1957, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dewanna is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dewanna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 633 people with the name Dewanna, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,430 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 Dewanna 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 Dewanna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dewanna appears almost entirely female. Of the 627 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Dewanna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dewanna is Black at 49.1%. The next largest groups are White (44.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Dewanna most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dewanna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.1% (311 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 Dewanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dewanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dewanna 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 Dewanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dewanna 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 Dewanna 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 named Dewanna?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.