Dineen
A variant of the Irish form of Dineen, meaning "beautiful."
Name Census estimates that about 356 living Americans carry the first name Dineen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dineen today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dineen births was 1964 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dineen. 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
356
~ 1 in 962,793 Americans
Peak year
1964
68 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1991 SSA rank
#13,757
Tracked since 1950
Census
Dineen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 445 people with the first name Dineen, which placed it at #22,388 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
#22,388
National first-name rank
People counted
445
445 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dineen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dineen is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Dineen 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 Dineen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.0% · 338
- Black or African American17.3% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 16
- Two or more races2.0% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Dineen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dineen from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 257 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
Dineen 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 Dineen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dineens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Dineen, while Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dineen
The name Dineen originates from the Irish language and culture, with its roots dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "Dónall," which means "world mighty" or "world ruler." This name was popularized in Ireland during the Middle Ages and was often associated with Irish nobility and royalty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dineen can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle compiled in the 17th century. The Annals mention several individuals with the name Dónall, including Dónall Ua Briain, a powerful king of Munster who reigned in the 11th century.
In the 12th century, Díneen Mac Cárthaigh, a member of the renowned McCarthy clan, was a prominent figure in the Irish cultural and political landscape. He served as the Lord of Desmond, a historic territory in southwestern Ireland, and played a significant role in the affairs of the region.
During the 16th century, Dineen O'Mulconry was a renowned Irish historian and poet. He was responsible for preserving and recording many aspects of Irish history, literature, and culture, making significant contributions to the preservation of the country's rich heritage.
In the 17th century, Dineen O'Daly was a celebrated Irish harper and composer. He was renowned for his mastery of the traditional Irish harp and his compositions, which have become an integral part of the Irish musical tradition.
Dineen O'Donovan, born in the late 18th century, was an Irish scholar and author. He was a prominent figure in the Irish literary scene and wrote extensively on Irish history, language, and culture, contributing significantly to the preservation and promotion of Ireland's cultural heritage.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Dineen or its variations. The name has a rich and deeply rooted history within Irish culture, reflecting the country's ancient traditions, historical events, and literary achievements.
People
Dineen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dineen 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
Dineen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dineen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 356 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dineen 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 962,793 US residents.
Is Dineen a common name?
We classify Dineen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 430 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dineen most popular?
The single biggest year for Dineen was 1964, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dineen is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dineen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 445 people with the name Dineen, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,388 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 Dineen 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 Dineen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dineen leans strongly female. 432 people counted with this name were female (97.5%), compared with 11 male bearers (2.5%). 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 Dineen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dineen is White at 76.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Dineen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dineen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.0% (338 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 Dineen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dineen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dineen 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 Dineen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dineen 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 Dineen 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 Dineen?
Want to know how many Americans are named Dineen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.