Divine
Of Greek origin, meaning heavenly or relating to the supreme being.
Name Census estimates that about 4,103 living Americans carry the first name Divine. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 57.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Divine today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Divine births was 2022 (219 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Divine. 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 Divine with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Divine started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
- • Divine sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Divine is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.1K
~ 1 in 83,537 Americans
Peak year
2022
219 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,628
Tracked since 1976
Census
Divine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,464 people with the first name Divine, which placed it at #5,077 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
#5,077
National first-name rank
People counted
3.5K
3,464 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Divine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Divine is Black at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Divine 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 Divine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.9% · 2,559
- Hispanic or Latino11.5% · 397
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 249
- Two or more races3.8% · 133
- White3.0% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 22
Gender
Gender distribution for Divine
Divine is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 4,154 total registrations, 1,772 (42.7%) were male and 2,382 (57.3%) were female.
Divine as a male name
- Ranked #1,628 in 2024
- 104 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (104 births)
Divine as a female name
- Ranked #2,010 in 2024
- 97 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (118 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Divine on both sides of the split. Of the 3,467 people counted with this name, 1,360 were male (39.2%) and 2,107 were female (60.8%).
Popularity
Divine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Divine from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,321 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Divine remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Divine 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 Divine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Divines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Divine, while Minnesota, Louisiana, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 110 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Divine
The name Divine is derived from the Latin word "divinus," which means "of or pertaining to God." Its origins can be traced back to ancient Roman times when it was used to refer to anything related to deities or the divine realm. This name is closely associated with religious and spiritual connotations.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Divine was sometimes used to describe individuals who were deeply devoted to their faith or possessed exceptional spiritual qualities. It also became a common name among members of religious orders, particularly monks and nuns, who dedicated their lives to the service of God.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Divine can be found in the writings of St. Augustine, a renowned Christian philosopher and theologian who lived in the 4th and 5th centuries. He referred to the concept of the "Divine Nature" in his theological works, further solidifying the name's connection to the realm of the sacred.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Divine. For example, Divine of Caesarea, also known as Dionysius the Areopagite, was a Christian theologian and philosopher who lived in the 1st century. His writings on the celestial hierarchy and mystical theology had a significant influence on medieval Christian thought.
Another prominent figure with the name Divine was Divine of Plaisance, a French Catholic nun who lived in the 13th century. She founded the Order of the Sisters of the Annunciation and was known for her devotion to the Virgin Mary and her charitable works.
In the realm of literature, Divine was the pen name of the American writer and filmmaker Harris Glenn Milstead, who lived from 1945 to 1988. He gained fame for his transgressive and satirical performances as a drag queen, challenging societal norms and exploring themes of gender and identity.
Diving further back into history, the name Divine was also associated with royalty and nobility. For instance, Divina Galla, who lived in the 4th century, was a Roman empress and the wife of Emperor Theodosius I. Her name, derived from the word "divine," reflected her exalted status and the reverence bestowed upon her as the imperial consort.
Finally, it is worth mentioning Divine of Sora, an Italian Catholic priest and mystic who lived in the 16th century. He was known for his profound spiritual experiences and was revered for his piety and devotion to the Church. His life and teachings were influential in his time and continue to be studied by religious scholars.
People
Divine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Divine 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
Divine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Divine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Divine 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 83,537 US residents.
Is Divine a common name?
We classify Divine as "Rare". It ranks above 96.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,154 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Divine most popular?
The single biggest year for Divine was 2022, when 219 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Divine is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Divine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,464 people with the name Divine, or 1.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,077 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 Divine 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 Divine?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Divine on both sides of the split. Of the 3,467 people counted with this name, 1,360 were male (39.2%) and 2,107 were female (60.8%). 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 Divine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Divine is Black at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Divine most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Divine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (2,559 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 Divine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Divine a female name?
Yes, 57.3% of people registered as Divine 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 Divine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Divine 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 Divine 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 called Divine?
You can see how many Americans are named Divine on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.