US rank #142 Boys' name Peak 1961 190,040 births

Dean — #142 US boys' name

190,040 babies named Dean in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1961. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1321890s2471900s3811910s38121920s111551930s136291940s163561950s345871960s425231970s138991980s80631990s81222000s80342010s174932020s11607
#142
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.0% of names given to boys today.

1960s
Peak decade

22% of everyone ever named Dean was born in this single decade.

1961
Single peak year

4,931 babies were named Dean in 1961 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Dean

The Social Security Administration has registered 190,040 babies named Dean between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Dean currently holds the #142 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1961, when 4,931 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Dean performed strongest in the 1960s, accumulating 42,523 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Dean shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 18,444 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Dean in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Dean in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 190,040 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Dean at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

190,040

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1961

4,931 births that year

Strongest decade: 1960s

Current rank

#142

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Dean popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1961)
4,931
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-2,00002,0004,0006,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 14

Dean popularity over time — girls

2,908 total births recorded since 1884 (Dean as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 2,908 births
020406080100 202419871972195819441930191619021884 6

Dean by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1960s
Peak decade
1960s
42,523 births that decade — 22% of Dean's all-time total
1880s1321890s2471900s3811910s38121920s111551930s136291940s163561950s345871960s425231970s138991980s80631990s81222000s80342010s174932020s11607

Dean by state

Where Dean concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Dean
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
18,444 9.7%
#2 New York
12,445 6.5%
#3 Pennsylvania
11,318 6.0%
#4 Illinois
10,616 5.6%
#5 Ohio
10,514 5.5%
#6 Michigan
9,600 5.1%
#7 Minnesota
8,805 4.6%
#8 Wisconsin
8,356 4.4%
California share of Dean's total US births 9.7%
Even split

18,444 of 190,040 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Dean appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Dean?
190,040 babies have been named Dean since 1880. It currently ranks #142 among boys. The peak year was 1961 with 4,931 births.
When was Dean most popular?
Dean was most popular in the 1960s decade with 42,523 total births. The single peak year was 1961.
Where is Dean most popular?
The top states for the name Dean are California (18,444 births), New York (12,445 births), Pennsylvania (11,318 births).
How long has the name Dean been used?
Dean has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Dean?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Deandre, Deangelo, Deacon, Deanthony, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Dean

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.