Boys' name · since 1889
Denny
Denny has 15,417 recorded births since 1889 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1947 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #956 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #4,258 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 15,417
- born since 1889
- 1940s
- peak decade
15,417 babies have been named Denny since 1889, making it today's #4258 boys' name.
Denny has 15,417 recorded births among boys since 1889, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #4258 as of the latest data, more common than 69% of boys, busiest in the 1940s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1889 to 2025.
- #956 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #4,258 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 15,417 born since 1889
- 1940s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Denny ranks #956 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #4,258 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 15,417 born since 1889, peaking in the 1940s.
- #956 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #4,258 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 15,417
- born since 1889
- 1940s
- peak decade
Denny's 15,417 recorded births place it above 97.89% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
39 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Denny compares
15,417 Top 7% higher than 93% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Denny's all-time total is 42x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Denny | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 15,417 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 439 | 34 | 22,252 |
Denny's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Denny splits its recorded history at 1964: 43% of all births land in the more recent half, 57% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1889 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1947 peak of 439 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Denny popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1889–2025
- Peak year (1947)
- 439
- Annual births at peak, across 137 years of records
Denny popularity over time - girls
402 total births recorded since 1926 (Denny as girls' name)
Denny by decade
1940s is the heaviest window (3,011 births, 20% of the file).
1940s was Denny's strongest decade.
3,011 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 20% of all-time use.
Denny births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 5
1880s
5 births
- 1890s 11
1890s
11 births
- 1900s 26
1900s
26 births
- 1910s 157
1910s
157 births
- 1920s 458
1920s
458 births
- 1930s
1930s
1,250 births
- 1940s
1940s
3,011 births
- 1950s
1950s
2,693 births
- 1960s
1960s
2,447 births
- 1970s
1970s
1,942 births
- 1980s
1980s
1,223 births
- 1990s 895
1990s
895 births
- 2000s 707
2000s
707 births
- 2010s 439
2010s
439 births
- 2020s 153
2020s
153 births
What this shows Peak: 1940s at 3,011 births (20% of all-time use).
How Denny compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Denny's total volume
Denny by state
Where Denny concentrates geographically, total births since 1889
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,688 | 10.9% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 1,002 | 6.5% |
| #3 | Texas | | 730 | 4.7% |
| #4 | Indiana | | 662 | 4.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 563 | 3.7% |
| #6 | Kentucky | | 499 | 3.2% |
| #7 | New York | | 491 | 3.2% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 465 | 3.0% |
1,688 of 15,417 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 39 reporting states.
Denny appears in 39 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where does Denny sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Denny most popular? ▼
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What to do with Denny's data
- Denny's decade-level peak was the 1940s (3,011 total births); usage has since declined to 153 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Dennys (1,688 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Denny
Nearby Names Like Denny
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Denny
Compare Denny side by side: Denny vs Dennis Denny vs Denis Denny vs Denver
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Denny
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Denny: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1947)
Similar record span (~136 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1889–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Denny draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.