Denise
Denise was given to 123 girls in 2025, #1,677 among girls’ names; 374,789 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 322,000 Americans named Denise and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (86% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 53 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Denise by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Denise mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Denise is “a female given name from French, Latin, or Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the sense “follower of Dionysus” (meaning).
From French Denise, from Latin Dionȳsia (feminine form of Dionȳsius, a male name of Ancient Greek origin meaning “follower of Dionysus”). Dionysus is the mythological Greek god of wine responsible for growth of the vines and the originator of winemaking. Doublet of Dionysia.
/dəˈniːs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Denise?
#1,677 among girls’ names, 2025
Denise fell from #997 in 2015 to #1,677 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.15 to 0.08 per 1,000.
15,422 babies in 1961, the peak
Denise peaked in 1961, when 15,422 babies were given it (15,379 girls, #30 among girls’ names). The 123 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 123 | #1,677 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 105 | #1,900 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 151 | #1,462 | 0.09 |
| 2022 | 165 | #1,389 | 0.10 |
| 2021 | 192 | #1,225 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 307 | #877 | 0.19 |
| 2019 | 162 | #1,384 | 0.10 |
| 2018 | 239 | #1,067 | 0.14 |
| 2017 | 217 | #1,143 | 0.13 |
| 2016 | 210 | #1,188 | 0.12 |
Every recorded year (128)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 270 | #997 | 0.15 |
| 2014 | 359 | #780 | 0.20 |
| 2013 | 359 | #757 | 0.20 |
| 2012 | 411 | #685 | 0.23 |
| 2011 | 473 | #610 | 0.27 |
| 2010 | 619 | #488 | 0.35 |
| 2009 | 692 | #450 | 0.38 |
| 2008 | 897 | #365 | 0.47 |
| 2007 | 881 | #371 | 0.46 |
| 2006 | 853 | #380 | 0.45 |
| 2005 | 918 | #342 | 0.50 |
| 2004 | 894 | #354 | 0.49 |
| 2003 | 957 | #326 | 0.52 |
| 2002 | 957 | #321 | 0.53 |
| 2001 | 1,050 | #298 | 0.58 |
| 2000 | 963 | #329 | 0.53 |
| 1999 | 965 | #322 | 0.54 |
| 1998 | 999 | #303 | 0.57 |
| 1997 | 1,074 | #271 | 0.62 |
| 1996 | 1,230 | #229 | 0.70 |
| 1995 | 1,301 | #216 | 0.74 |
| 1994 | 1,391 | #211 | 0.78 |
| 1993 | 1,458 | #201 | 0.81 |
| 1992 | 1,628 | #188 | 0.88 |
| 1991 | 1,746 | #172 | 0.93 |
| 1990 | 1,955 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1989 | 2,034 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1988 | 2,064 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1987 | 2,104 | #132 | 1.2 |
| 1986 | 2,205 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1985 | 2,433 | #120 | 1.4 |
| 1984 | 2,461 | #115 | 1.5 |
| 1983 | 2,570 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1982 | 2,896 | #100 | 1.7 |
| 1981 | 3,201 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 1980 | 3,145 | #95 | 1.9 |
| 1979 | 3,267 | #92 | 2.0 |
| 1978 | 3,519 | #85 | 2.3 |
| 1977 | 3,681 | #78 | 2.4 |
| 1976 | 3,986 | #69 | 2.7 |
| 1975 | 4,461 | #64 | 3.1 |
| 1974 | 5,395 | #53 | 3.7 |
| 1973 | 6,615 | #38 | 4.5 |
| 1972 | 7,382 | #35 | 4.9 |
| 1971 | 8,219 | #36 | 4.9 |
| 1970 | 9,343 | #36 | 5.3 |
| 1969 | 9,798 | #35 | 5.8 |
| 1968 | 9,877 | #35 | 6.0 |
| 1967 | 11,078 | #34 | 6.7 |
| 1966 | 11,797 | #32 | 7.0 |
| 1965 | 13,036 | #28 | 7.4 |
| 1964 | 14,726 | #25 | 7.8 |
| 1963 | 14,092 | #27 | 7.3 |
| 1962 | 13,975 | #30 | 7.1 |
| 1961 | 15,379 | #30 | 7.6 |
| 1960 | 15,066 | #29 | 7.5 |
| 1959 | 14,662 | #29 | 7.2 |
| 1958 | 14,959 | #27 | 7.4 |
| 1957 | 15,145 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1956 | 14,509 | #23 | 7.2 |
| 1955 | 14,560 | #23 | 7.4 |
| 1954 | 13,716 | #24 | 7.1 |
| 1953 | 11,950 | #31 | 6.4 |
| 1952 | 11,652 | #33 | 6.3 |
| 1951 | 8,116 | #48 | 4.5 |
| 1950 | 4,514 | #82 | 2.6 |
| 1949 | 2,236 | #140 | 1.3 |
| 1948 | 1,930 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1947 | 1,699 | #170 | 1.0 |
| 1946 | 1,585 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1945 | 633 | #273 | 0.48 |
| 1944 | 444 | #322 | 0.33 |
| 1943 | 462 | #328 | 0.33 |
| 1942 | 444 | #328 | 0.33 |
| 1941 | 346 | #358 | 0.29 |
| 1940 | 326 | #362 | 0.29 |
| 1939 | 260 | #420 | 0.24 |
| 1938 | 236 | #436 | 0.21 |
| 1937 | 255 | #404 | 0.24 |
| 1936 | 200 | #451 | 0.19 |
| 1935 | 157 | #511 | 0.15 |
| 1934 | 125 | #580 | 0.12 |
| 1933 | 111 | #617 | 0.11 |
| 1932 | 117 | #607 | 0.11 |
| 1931 | 102 | #658 | 0.10 |
| 1930 | 83 | #773 | 0.07 |
| 1929 | 107 | #679 | 0.10 |
| 1928 | 88 | #761 | 0.08 |
| 1927 | 78 | #837 | 0.07 |
| 1926 | 60 | #964 | 0.05 |
| 1925 | 50 | #1,077 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 52 | #1,087 | 0.04 |
| 1923 | 47 | #1,115 | 0.04 |
| 1922 | 53 | #1,035 | 0.04 |
| 1921 | 37 | #1,283 | 0.03 |
| 1920 | 61 | #931 | 0.05 |
| 1919 | 28 | #1,489 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 27 | #1,547 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 29 | #1,380 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 29 | #1,361 | 0.03 |
| 1915 | 25 | #1,449 | 0.03 |
| 1914 | 23 | #1,311 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 17 | #1,417 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 13 | #1,555 | 0.02 |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,562 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 7 | #1,985 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,807 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,912 | 0.02 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,677 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,788 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 7 | #1,574 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,703 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,647 | 0.02 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,647 | 0.02 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,610 | 0.02 |
| 1894 | 6 | #1,390 | 0.03 |
| 1889 | 7 | #1,047 | 0.04 |
| 1882 | 5 | #940 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Denise a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Denise has been given almost only to girls: 1,367 boys in 128 years of records.
Girls and boys named Denise: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Denise, and how old are they?
322,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 86% of the 374,789 Americans ever recorded as Denise. The median Denise alive today is 62 years old; half are between 53 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 327,824 people named Denise (327,011 women and girls, 813 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 336,282 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,790 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 166,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 106,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 32,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 13,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,850 |
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 Denise born?
The states with the most babies named Denise are California, New York and Pennsylvania, with 32% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 47,074 | #1,006 | 1.3× |
| New York | 43,904 | #1,253 | 1.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 28,435 | #1,448 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 23,454 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 21,154 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 20,455 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 17,427 | #1,322 | 0.7× |
| New Jersey | 16,258 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Massachusetts | 12,673 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Florida | 8,333 | #1,742 | 0.8× |
Where Denise is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Denise is most over-represented in New Jersey: since 1910 it was given 1.4 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 girls’ 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 Denise 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 390,272 babies since 1880, Denise is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 123 of their 234 babies (53%), again the 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 Denise
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 Denise and names like it
- Compare Denise and DenisseBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sDenise peaked in 1961.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Denise since 1910.
- French namesWiktionary’s origin for Denise: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1961The year the most babies were named Denise.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Denise alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with DMost given first.