How Many People Are Named Dewey?
An estimated 12,909 people in the United States have the first name Dewey. It is predominantly male (98.4%). The average bearer is 66 years old, and Dewey peaked in popularity in 1898 with 1,219 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Dewey 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 Dewey paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Dewey is overwhelmingly male, 547 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 66, Dewey is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1970.
Estimated Living Americans
12,909
About 1 in 26,552 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.4% confidence
Average Age
66
years old
Peak Year
1898
1,219 births
Total Registered
34,892
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Dewey
Dewey is predominantly male (98.4%), though 547 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Dewey as a male name
Ranked #3,613 in 2024
31 male births in 2024
Peak: 1898 (1,115 births)
Dewey as a female name
Ranked #6,189 in 1956
5 female births in 1956
Peak: 1898 (104 births)
Dewey: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Dewey span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 7,370 babies were registered. Dewey has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Dewey by Decade
How has Dewey 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 | 25 | 25 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 2,062 | 1,921 | 141 | |
| 1900s | 1,359 | 1,320 | 39 | |
| 1910s | 3,028 | 2,960 | 68 | |
| 1920s | 7,370 | 7,224 | 146 | |
| 1930s | 5,432 | 5,328 | 104 | |
| 1940s | 5,410 | 5,372 | 38 | |
| 1950s | 3,842 | 3,831 | 11 | |
| 1960s | 2,627 | 2,627 | 0 | |
| 1970s | 1,635 | 1,635 | 0 | |
| 1980s | 922 | 922 | 0 | |
| 1990s | 492 | 492 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 317 | 317 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 233 | 233 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 138 | 138 | 0 | |
Dewey by State
Birth registrations for Dewey span all 40 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama. The lowest are in Hawaii, District of Columbia, Arizona. On average, about 670 Deweys were registered per state.
Dewey + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Dewey as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Dewey
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Dewey: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dewey?
We estimate approximately 12,909 people named Dewey 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 26,552 Americans share this first name.
Is Dewey a common name?
Dewey is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 34,892 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Dewey most popular?
Dewey reached peak popularity in 1898, when 1,219 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Dewey is approximately 66 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Dewey a male name?
Dewey is predominantly male. 98.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Dewey Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Dewey Smith, Dewey Johnson, Dewey 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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