Denis
Denis was given to 95 boys in 2025, #1,712 among boys’ names; 21,606 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 14,400 Americans named Denis and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (67% of everyone recorded); the median is 58 years old and half are between 28 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Denis by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Denis mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Denis is “a male given name from Ancient Greek, a mostly British and Irish spelling variant of Dennis.”
/ˈdɛnɪs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Denis?
#1,712 among boys’ names, 2025
Denis fell from #1,505 in 2015 to #1,712 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 57.4 to 55.6 per million.
625 babies in 1952, the peak
Denis peaked in 1952, when 625 babies were given it (618 boys, #277 among boys’ names). The 101 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 16% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 95 | #1,712 | 0.06 |
| 2024 | 103 | #1,643 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 113 | #1,551 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 102 | #1,681 | 0.06 |
| 2021 | 92 | #1,755 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 95 | #1,675 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 123 | #1,421 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 90 | #1,726 | 0.05 |
| 2017 | 95 | #1,664 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 88 | #1,756 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (141)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 110 | #1,505 | 0.06 |
| 2014 | 102 | #1,560 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 120 | #1,401 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 124 | #1,360 | 0.07 |
| 2011 | 117 | #1,415 | 0.06 |
| 2010 | 125 | #1,358 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 144 | #1,244 | 0.07 |
| 2008 | 132 | #1,320 | 0.06 |
| 2007 | 158 | #1,134 | 0.08 |
| 2006 | 158 | #1,107 | 0.08 |
| 2005 | 141 | #1,144 | 0.07 |
| 2004 | 147 | #1,081 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 144 | #1,075 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 117 | #1,193 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 114 | #1,190 | 0.06 |
| 2000 | 110 | #1,218 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 99 | #1,248 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 110 | #1,131 | 0.06 |
| 1997 | 105 | #1,158 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 102 | #1,154 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 105 | #1,107 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 95 | #1,166 | 0.05 |
| 1993 | 101 | #1,115 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 113 | #1,027 | 0.06 |
| 1991 | 121 | #962 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 111 | #997 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 115 | #950 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 88 | #1,057 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 101 | #938 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 111 | #861 | 0.06 |
| 1985 | 98 | #919 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 79 | #1,001 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 99 | #885 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 86 | #973 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 125 | #781 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 123 | #790 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 108 | #835 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 107 | #828 | 0.07 |
| 1977 | 129 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1976 | 138 | #711 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 122 | #754 | 0.08 |
| 1974 | 134 | #710 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 131 | #702 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 158 | #626 | 0.10 |
| 1971 | 169 | #633 | 0.10 |
| 1970 | 202 | #570 | 0.11 |
| 1969 | 200 | #556 | 0.11 |
| 1968 | 224 | #504 | 0.13 |
| 1967 | 212 | #515 | 0.12 |
| 1966 | 273 | #461 | 0.15 |
| 1965 | 270 | #474 | 0.15 |
| 1964 | 275 | #477 | 0.14 |
| 1963 | 302 | #455 | 0.15 |
| 1962 | 326 | #439 | 0.16 |
| 1961 | 310 | #459 | 0.15 |
| 1960 | 363 | #416 | 0.17 |
| 1959 | 374 | #410 | 0.18 |
| 1958 | 409 | #387 | 0.19 |
| 1957 | 389 | #387 | 0.18 |
| 1956 | 493 | #335 | 0.23 |
| 1955 | 491 | #333 | 0.24 |
| 1954 | 574 | #297 | 0.28 |
| 1953 | 583 | #291 | 0.30 |
| 1952 | 618 | #277 | 0.32 |
| 1951 | 541 | #296 | 0.29 |
| 1950 | 481 | #312 | 0.27 |
| 1949 | 393 | #338 | 0.22 |
| 1948 | 428 | #323 | 0.24 |
| 1947 | 496 | #309 | 0.27 |
| 1946 | 448 | #307 | 0.28 |
| 1945 | 327 | #329 | 0.24 |
| 1944 | 312 | #337 | 0.23 |
| 1943 | 343 | #330 | 0.24 |
| 1942 | 392 | #311 | 0.28 |
| 1941 | 302 | #332 | 0.25 |
| 1940 | 272 | #346 | 0.23 |
| 1939 | 296 | #317 | 0.27 |
| 1938 | 242 | #359 | 0.22 |
| 1937 | 198 | #394 | 0.19 |
| 1936 | 166 | #434 | 0.16 |
| 1935 | 170 | #431 | 0.16 |
| 1934 | 143 | #476 | 0.14 |
| 1933 | 146 | #457 | 0.15 |
| 1932 | 102 | #587 | 0.10 |
| 1931 | 97 | #596 | 0.09 |
| 1930 | 88 | #664 | 0.08 |
| 1929 | 72 | #745 | 0.07 |
| 1928 | 69 | #781 | 0.06 |
| 1927 | 74 | #763 | 0.07 |
| 1926 | 82 | #700 | 0.07 |
| 1925 | 68 | #804 | 0.06 |
| 1924 | 58 | #920 | 0.05 |
| 1923 | 47 | #1,031 | 0.04 |
| 1922 | 54 | #950 | 0.05 |
| 1921 | 44 | #1,058 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 48 | #992 | 0.05 |
| 1919 | 35 | #1,193 | 0.04 |
| 1918 | 48 | #967 | 0.05 |
| 1917 | 47 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 38 | #1,048 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 38 | #1,042 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 30 | #1,030 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 21 | #1,121 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 22 | #974 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 12 | #997 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 9 | #1,135 | 0.05 |
| 1909 | 6 | #1,313 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,039 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,034 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 8 | #941 | 0.06 |
| 1904 | 8 | #899 | 0.06 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,090 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 13 | #703 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 11 | #670 | 0.09 |
| 1896 | 10 | #736 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 12 | #614 | 0.10 |
| 1894 | 6 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 7 | #851 | 0.06 |
| 1892 | 10 | #697 | 0.08 |
| 1891 | 5 | #1,006 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 7 | #826 | 0.06 |
| 1889 | 6 | #900 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 7 | #836 | 0.06 |
| 1887 | 8 | #700 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 7 | #781 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 9 | #658 | 0.08 |
| 1884 | 6 | #878 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 7 | #741 | 0.07 |
| 1882 | 12 | #547 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 9 | #611 | 0.09 |
| 1880 | 10 | #609 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Denis a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 21,606 Americans recorded as Denis, 4% are girls and 96% boys. In 2025 it went to 6 girls and 95 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Denis: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Denis, and how old are they?
14,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 67% of the 21,606 Americans ever recorded as Denis. The median Denis alive today is 58 years old; half are between 28 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 27,745 people named Denis (1,738 women and girls, 26,007 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 15,330 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.8 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 970 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,450 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,480 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,780 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,340 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,400 |
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 Denis born?
The states with the most babies named Denis are New York, California and Massachusetts, with 43% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 3,667 | #1,331 | 2.1× |
| California | 1,783 | #2,036 | 0.9× |
| Massachusetts | 1,402 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Illinois | 1,095 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 951 | #1,131 | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 743 | #1,065 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 699 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 636 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Texas | 563 | #1,952 | 0.4× |
| Wisconsin | 517 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Denis is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Denis is most over-represented in New Hampshire: since 1910 it was given 3.7 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 Denis 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 4 names spelled alike, given to 645,923 babies since 1880, Denis is the second most given (3.3% of them). In 2025 it was given to 101 of their 482 babies (21%), again the second most given.
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 Denis
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 Denis and names like it
- Compare Denis and DennisBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sDenis peaked in 1952.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Denis since 1910.
- The top names of 1952The year the most babies were named Denis.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Denis alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with DMost given first.