Del
Del was given to 9 boys in 2025, #8,413 among boys’ names; 4,970 Americans have been recorded with it since 1909 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,180 Americans named Del and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (64% of everyone recorded); the median is 63 years old and half are between 52 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Del by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Del mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Del is “a diminutive of the male given name Derek.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Del?
#8,413 among boys’ names, 2025
Del rose from #9,790 in 2015 to #8,413 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 3.7 to 5.3 per million.
168 babies in 1958, the peak
Del peaked in 1958, when 168 babies were given it (143 boys, #643 among boys’ names). The 9 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | under 5 | 9 | #8,413 | |
| 2024 | under 5 | 12 | #6,921 | |
| 2023 | under 5 | 14 | #6,282 | |
| 2022 | under 5 | 9 | #8,466 | |
| 2021 | under 5 | 12 | #6,793 | |
| 2020 | under 5 | 15 | #5,769 | |
| 2019 | under 5 | 10 | #7,767 | |
| 2018 | under 5 | 8 | #9,022 | |
| 2017 | under 5 | 6 | #11,086 | |
| 2016 | under 5 | 12 | #6,815 |
Every recorded year (117)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | under 5 | 7 | #9,790 | |
| 2014 | under 5 | 11 | #7,167 | |
| 2013 | under 5 | 15 | #5,724 | |
| 2012 | under 5 | 6 | #11,123 | |
| 2011 | under 5 | 5 | #12,731 | |
| 2010 | under 5 | 10 | #7,715 | |
| 2009 | under 5 | 9 | #8,456 | |
| 2008 | under 5 | 10 | #7,822 | |
| 2007 | under 5 | 13 | #6,343 | |
| 2006 | under 5 | 13 | #6,182 | |
| 2005 | under 5 | 15 | #5,352 | |
| 2004 | under 5 | 5 | #11,764 | |
| 2003 | under 5 | 9 | #7,372 | |
| 2002 | under 5 | 9 | #7,168 | |
| 2001 | under 5 | 9 | #7,046 | |
| 2000 | under 5 | 12 | #5,644 | |
| 1999 | under 5 | 17 | #4,193 | |
| 1998 | under 5 | 12 | #5,215 | |
| 1997 | under 5 | 15 | #4,287 | |
| 1996 | under 5 | 16 | #4,050 | |
| 1995 | under 5 | 11 | #5,212 | |
| 1994 | under 5 | 15 | #4,130 | |
| 1993 | under 5 | 18 | #3,530 | |
| 1992 | under 5 | 14 | #4,150 | |
| 1991 | under 5 | 27 | #2,556 | |
| 1990 | under 5 | 22 | #2,876 | |
| 1989 | under 5 | 21 | #2,919 | |
| 1988 | under 5 | 18 | #2,987 | |
| 1987 | under 5 | 25 | #2,284 | |
| 1986 | under 5 | 18 | #2,805 | |
| 1985 | under 5 | 25 | #2,182 | |
| 1984 | under 5 | 27 | #1,990 | |
| 1983 | under 5 | 16 | #2,814 | |
| 1982 | under 5 | 10 | #4,013 | |
| 1981 | under 5 | 21 | #2,359 | |
| 1980 | under 5 | 20 | #2,460 | |
| 1979 | under 5 | 37 | #1,576 | |
| 1978 | under 5 | 31 | #1,731 | |
| 1977 | under 5 | 24 | #2,018 | |
| 1976 | under 5 | 33 | #1,618 | |
| 1975 | under 5 | 38 | #1,436 | |
| 1974 | under 5 | 43 | #1,295 | |
| 1973 | 5 | #8,733 | 30 | #1,593 |
| 1972 | under 5 | 50 | #1,155 | |
| 1971 | under 5 | 61 | #1,044 | |
| 1970 | 7 | #6,500 | 80 | #899 |
| 1969 | 8 | #5,557 | 77 | #875 |
| 1968 | 15 | #3,482 | 81 | #822 |
| 1967 | 8 | #5,085 | 72 | #843 |
| 1966 | 11 | #4,011 | 76 | #836 |
| 1965 | 13 | #3,588 | 105 | #726 |
| 1964 | under 5 | 100 | #764 | |
| 1963 | 17 | #3,094 | 122 | #703 |
| 1962 | 11 | #4,061 | 109 | #735 |
| 1961 | 26 | #2,375 | 90 | #803 |
| 1960 | 17 | #3,015 | 135 | #672 |
| 1959 | 12 | #3,661 | 140 | #650 |
| 1958 | 25 | #2,273 | 143 | #643 |
| 1957 | 24 | #2,290 | 130 | #665 |
| 1956 | 31 | #1,935 | 112 | #699 |
| 1955 | 20 | #2,486 | 113 | #690 |
| 1954 | 21 | #2,391 | 122 | #655 |
| 1953 | 22 | #2,248 | 90 | #749 |
| 1952 | 23 | #2,145 | 90 | #741 |
| 1951 | 17 | #2,502 | 83 | #767 |
| 1950 | 21 | #2,140 | 72 | #800 |
| 1949 | 10 | #3,433 | 63 | #868 |
| 1948 | 11 | #3,187 | 83 | #738 |
| 1947 | 12 | #3,093 | 87 | #737 |
| 1946 | 8 | #3,738 | 64 | #820 |
| 1945 | 15 | #2,256 | 41 | #998 |
| 1944 | 11 | #2,802 | 37 | #1,090 |
| 1943 | 9 | #3,298 | 49 | #961 |
| 1942 | 12 | #2,697 | 50 | #935 |
| 1941 | 10 | #2,875 | 37 | #1,071 |
| 1940 | 11 | #2,601 | 45 | #954 |
| 1939 | 14 | #2,226 | 42 | #981 |
| 1938 | 15 | #2,136 | 43 | #968 |
| 1937 | 14 | #2,221 | 41 | #990 |
| 1936 | 13 | #2,295 | 41 | #976 |
| 1935 | 11 | #2,609 | 29 | #1,253 |
| 1934 | 10 | #2,783 | 32 | #1,177 |
| 1933 | 14 | #2,187 | 34 | #1,127 |
| 1932 | 14 | #2,263 | 22 | #1,519 |
| 1931 | 9 | #3,031 | 27 | #1,339 |
| 1930 | 9 | #3,115 | 22 | #1,572 |
| 1929 | 10 | #2,968 | 25 | #1,453 |
| 1928 | 8 | #3,496 | 19 | #1,775 |
| 1927 | 7 | #3,941 | 20 | #1,754 |
| 1926 | 6 | #4,424 | 19 | #1,807 |
| 1925 | 6 | #4,548 | 16 | #2,027 |
| 1924 | 9 | #3,457 | 17 | #1,977 |
| 1923 | 11 | #2,962 | 18 | #1,887 |
| 1922 | 12 | #2,820 | 9 | #3,066 |
| 1921 | under 5 | 13 | #2,406 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 10 | #2,811 | |
| 1919 | 6 | #4,376 | 15 | #2,079 |
| 1918 | 6 | #4,403 | 13 | #2,283 |
| 1917 | under 5 | 9 | #2,783 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 14 | #2,069 | |
| 1915 | 5 | #4,440 | 28 | #1,243 |
| 1914 | under 5 | 9 | #2,313 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 9 | #1,979 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 8 | #1,919 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 6 | #1,582 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 5 | #1,646 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 5 | #1,505 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Del a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 4,970 Americans recorded as Del, 14% are girls and 86% boys. In 2025 it went to 9 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Del: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Del, and how old are they?
3,180 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 64% of the 4,970 Americans ever recorded as Del. The median Del alive today is 63 years old; half are between 52 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 3,977 people named Del (576 women and girls, 3,401 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 3,489 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Del rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 205 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,570 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 806 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 288 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 166 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 139 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Del born?
The states with the most babies named Del are California, Washington and Texas, with 51% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Washington is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 442 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Washington | 127 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Texas | 106 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Ohio | 103 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Illinois | 99 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Michigan | 85 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 71 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Florida | 46 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Indiana | 33 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Wisconsin | 28 | not ranked | 0.2× |
Where Del is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Del is most over-represented in Washington: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Del with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 11,522 babies since 1880, Del is the second most given (43% of them).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Del
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Del and names like it
- Compare Del and DellBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sDel peaked in 1958.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Del since 1910.
- The top names of 1958The year the most babies were named Del.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Del alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with DMost given first.