US rank #707 Boys' name Peak 1952 620,615 births

Dennis — #707 US boys' name

620,615 babies named Dennis in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1952. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s11071890s9191900s9881910s41661920s81451930s263661940s1621131950s2042671960s949831970s505531980s304661990s181002000s104432010s59752020s2024
#707
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 95% of names given to boys today.

1950s
Peak decade

33% of everyone ever named Dennis was born in this single decade.

1952
Single peak year

24,552 babies were named Dennis in 1952 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Dennis

The Social Security Administration has registered 620,615 babies named Dennis between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Dennis currently holds the #707 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1952, when 24,552 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Dennis performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 204,267 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Dennis shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 52,304 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Dennis in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Dennis 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 620,615 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.

Dennis at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

620,615

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1952

24,552 births that year

Strongest decade: 1950s

Current rank

#707

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Dennis popularity over time — boys

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

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1952)
24,552
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 128

Dennis popularity over time — girls

2,691 total births recorded since 1914 (Dennis as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 2,691 births
020406080 202420051992197919661953194019271914 8

Dennis by decade

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

Peak: 1950s
Peak decade
1950s
204,267 births that decade — 33% of Dennis's all-time total
1880s11071890s9191900s9881910s41661920s81451930s263661940s1621131950s2042671960s949831970s505531980s304661990s181002000s104432010s59752020s2024

Dennis by state

Where Dennis concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Dennis
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
52,304 8.4%
#2 New York
46,243 7.5%
#3 Pennsylvania
42,396 6.8%
#4 Michigan
38,669 6.2%
#5 Illinois
37,394 6.0%
#6 Ohio
35,691 5.8%
#7 Wisconsin
22,659 3.7%
#8 Texas
20,997 3.4%
California share of Dennis's total US births 8.4%
Even split

52,304 of 620,615 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Dennis appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Dennis?
620,615 babies have been named Dennis since 1880. It currently ranks #707 among boys. The peak year was 1952 with 24,552 births.
When was Dennis most popular?
Dennis was most popular in the 1950s decade with 204,267 total births. The single peak year was 1952.
Where is Dennis most popular?
The top states for the name Dennis are California (52,304 births), New York (46,243 births), Pennsylvania (42,396 births).
How long has the name Dennis been used?
Dennis has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Dennis?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Denis, Denver, Denny, Denzel, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Dennis

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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.