Despina
Despina was given to 5 girls in 2025, #15,504 among girls’ names; 1,523 Americans have been recorded with it since 1914 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,160 Americans named Despina and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (76% of everyone recorded); the median is 43 years old and half are between 24 and 56.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Despina by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Despina mean?
Wiktionary, Italian section
Despina is “a female given name”
From Ancient Greek Δέσποινα (Déspoina).
/desˈpi.na/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Italian section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Despina?
#15,504 among girls’ names, 2025
Despina fell from #11,134 in 2015 to #15,504 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 5.0 to 3.1 per million.
36 babies in 1976, the peak
Despina peaked in 1976, when 36 girls were given it, #2,303 among girls’ names. The 5 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #15,504 | 3.1 |
| 2024 | 16 | #7,010 | 9.9 |
| 2023 | 14 | #7,738 | 8.7 |
| 2022 | 8 | #11,470 | 4.9 |
| 2021 | 11 | #9,120 | 6.7 |
| 2020 | 11 | #9,096 | 6.8 |
| 2019 | 14 | #7,844 | 8.3 |
| 2018 | 14 | #7,872 | 8.2 |
| 2017 | 9 | #10,918 | 5.2 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,282 | 5.6 |
Every recorded year (110)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 9 | #11,134 | 5.0 |
| 2014 | 17 | #7,075 | 9.5 |
| 2013 | 12 | #9,170 | 6.8 |
| 2012 | 8 | #12,521 | 4.5 |
| 2011 | 12 | #9,302 | 6.8 |
| 2010 | 9 | #11,500 | 5.1 |
| 2009 | 17 | #7,430 | 9.3 |
| 2008 | 14 | #8,645 | 7.4 |
| 2007 | 16 | #7,827 | 8.3 |
| 2006 | 15 | #7,978 | 7.9 |
| 2005 | 12 | #9,045 | 6.5 |
| 2004 | 12 | #8,850 | 6.5 |
| 2003 | 14 | #7,691 | 7.7 |
| 2002 | 17 | #6,464 | 9.5 |
| 2001 | 11 | #8,917 | 6.1 |
| 2000 | 8 | #10,999 | 4.4 |
| 1999 | 16 | #6,261 | 9.0 |
| 1998 | 20 | #5,189 | 11.3 |
| 1997 | 7 | #11,152 | 4.0 |
| 1996 | 16 | #5,855 | 9.1 |
| 1995 | 20 | #4,885 | 11.4 |
| 1994 | 14 | #6,408 | 7.8 |
| 1993 | 17 | #5,479 | 9.4 |
| 1992 | 8 | #9,702 | 4.3 |
| 1991 | 23 | #4,369 | 12.3 |
| 1990 | 10 | #8,035 | 5.3 |
| 1989 | 16 | #5,351 | 8.7 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,109 | 9.0 |
| 1987 | 18 | #4,510 | 10.4 |
| 1986 | 13 | #5,514 | 7.6 |
| 1985 | 22 | #3,758 | 12.8 |
| 1984 | 23 | #3,538 | 13.7 |
| 1983 | 28 | #2,995 | 16.8 |
| 1982 | 19 | #4,055 | 11.2 |
| 1981 | 14 | #5,036 | 8.4 |
| 1980 | 27 | #3,145 | 16.3 |
| 1979 | 25 | #3,264 | 15.6 |
| 1978 | 28 | #2,884 | 18.3 |
| 1977 | 30 | #2,731 | 19.6 |
| 1976 | 36 | #2,303 | 24.6 |
| 1975 | 22 | #3,186 | 15.1 |
| 1974 | 21 | #3,235 | 14.3 |
| 1973 | 18 | #3,518 | 12.3 |
| 1972 | 21 | #3,086 | 13.8 |
| 1971 | 21 | #3,192 | 12.6 |
| 1970 | 20 | #3,238 | 11.4 |
| 1969 | 19 | #3,120 | 11.3 |
| 1968 | 19 | #2,988 | 11.6 |
| 1967 | 17 | #3,110 | 10.3 |
| 1966 | 27 | #2,312 | 16.0 |
| 1965 | 16 | #3,170 | 9.1 |
| 1964 | 17 | #3,139 | 9.0 |
| 1963 | 10 | #4,330 | 5.2 |
| 1962 | 18 | #2,949 | 9.2 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,085 | 8.4 |
| 1960 | 18 | #2,922 | 8.9 |
| 1959 | 12 | #3,665 | 5.9 |
| 1958 | 7 | #5,017 | 3.5 |
| 1957 | 10 | #3,994 | 4.9 |
| 1956 | 7 | #4,952 | 3.5 |
| 1955 | 8 | #4,471 | 4.1 |
| 1954 | 7 | #4,774 | 3.6 |
| 1953 | 13 | #3,153 | 6.9 |
| 1952 | 13 | #3,074 | 7.0 |
| 1950 | 7 | #4,413 | 4.1 |
| 1949 | 9 | #3,683 | 5.3 |
| 1948 | 13 | #2,862 | 7.7 |
| 1947 | 6 | #4,878 | 3.4 |
| 1946 | 6 | #4,553 | 3.8 |
| 1944 | 8 | #3,447 | 6.0 |
| 1943 | 7 | #3,890 | 5.0 |
| 1942 | 6 | #4,230 | 4.4 |
| 1941 | 6 | #4,065 | 5.0 |
| 1940 | 8 | #3,277 | 7.0 |
| 1939 | 7 | #3,517 | 6.4 |
| 1938 | 14 | #2,255 | 12.7 |
| 1937 | 8 | #3,211 | 7.5 |
| 1936 | 6 | #3,800 | 5.8 |
| 1935 | 9 | #2,977 | 8.6 |
| 1934 | 7 | #3,542 | 6.7 |
| 1933 | 8 | #3,178 | 7.9 |
| 1932 | 17 | #1,972 | 15.9 |
| 1931 | 17 | #1,963 | 16.0 |
| 1930 | 15 | #2,220 | 13.3 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,466 | 11.6 |
| 1928 | 12 | #2,651 | 10.4 |
| 1927 | 19 | #2,040 | 15.9 |
| 1926 | 14 | #2,497 | 11.8 |
| 1925 | 18 | #2,130 | 14.8 |
| 1924 | 17 | #2,230 | 13.6 |
| 1923 | 9 | #3,432 | 7.5 |
| 1922 | 10 | #3,206 | 8.3 |
| 1921 | 11 | #2,981 | 8.9 |
| 1920 | 13 | #2,621 | 10.8 |
| 1919 | 12 | #2,684 | 10.6 |
| 1918 | 8 | #3,578 | 6.9 |
| 1917 | 8 | #3,420 | 7.4 |
| 1916 | 5 | #4,593 | 4.8 |
| 1915 | 6 | #3,889 | 6.1 |
| 1914 | 5 | #3,751 | 6.6 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Despina a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Despina has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 110 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Despina: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Despina, and how old are they?
1,160 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 76% of the 1,523 Americans ever recorded as Despina. The median Despina alive today is 43 years old; half are between 24 and 56.
The 2020 Census counted 1,911 people named Despina (1,907 women and girls, 4 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,164 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.6 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 | 40 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 157 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 342 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 269 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 206 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 149 |
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 Despina born?
The states with the most babies named Despina are New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, with 99% of its births recorded by state since 1910; New Jersey and Massachusetts are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 339 | not ranked | 2.9× |
| New Jersey | 18 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Massachusetts | 6 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Ohio | 5 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Despina is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Despina is most over-represented in New York: since 1914 it was given 2.9 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 Despina with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Despina
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 Despina and names like it
- Compare Despina and AngeleneBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sDespina peaked in 1976.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Despina since 1910.
- Italian namesWiktionary’s origin for Despina: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1976The year the most babies were named Despina.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Despina alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with DMost given first.