How Many People Are Named Denise?
An estimated 299,411 people in the United States have the first name Denise. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #164 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 58 years old, and Denise peaked in popularity in 1961 with 15,424 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Denise as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Denise paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Denise is overwhelmingly female, 1,368 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Denise has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
299,411
About 1 in 1,145 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
58
years old
Peak Year
1961
15,424 births
Total Registered
374,664
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Denise
Denise is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 374,664 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Denise as a male name
Ranked #12,585 in 2021
5 male births in 2021
Peak: 1958 (56 births)
Denise as a female name
Ranked #1,894 in 2024
105 female births in 2024
Peak: 1961 (15,381 births)
Denise: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Denise span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 129,280 babies were registered. Denise has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Denise by Decade
How has Denise tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 12 | 0 | 12 | |
| 1890s | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
| 1900s | 58 | 0 | 58 | |
| 1910s | 203 | 0 | 203 | |
| 1920s | 633 | 0 | 633 | |
| 1930s | 1,651 | 5 | 1,646 | |
| 1940s | 10,122 | 17 | 10,105 | |
| 1950s | 124,104 | 321 | 123,783 | |
| 1960s | 129,280 | 457 | 128,823 | |
| 1970s | 56,112 | 244 | 55,868 | |
| 1980s | 25,319 | 205 | 25,114 | |
| 1990s | 13,838 | 91 | 13,747 | |
| 2000s | 9,085 | 23 | 9,062 | |
| 2010s | 3,317 | 0 | 3,317 | |
| 2020s | 924 | 5 | 919 | |
Denise by State
Birth registrations for Denise span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont. On average, about 7,265 Denises were registered per state.
Denise + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Denise as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Denise
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Denise: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Denise?
We estimate approximately 299,411 people named Denise are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,145 Americans share this first name.
Is Denise a common name?
Denise is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 374,664 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Denise most popular?
Denise reached peak popularity in 1961, when 15,424 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Denise is approximately 58 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Denise a female name?
Denise is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Denise Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Denise Smith, Denise Johnson, Denise Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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