How rare is the name Dean?

132,116 people in the United States have the first name Dean, about 1 in 2,286. It ranks #427 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

DEAN

#427

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
132,116
About
1 in 2,286
This common or more
55.5%
Who bears it

Of the 132,116 people named Dean, 85.1% reported their origin as White, 4.5% as Hispanic or Latino and 3.3% as Black. 98.9% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Dean peaked in 1961, when 4,967 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1961
Births that year
4,967
In 2025*
2,882 ▼42%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 195,844 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Dean by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1960s, when it ranked #185. The largest share of babies named Dean, 33.9%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#1,010148
1890s#846299
1900s#776481
1910s#4734,080
1920s#32511,721
1930s#27614,189
1940s#30416,802
1950s#22534,892
1960s#18542,811
1970s#36614,045
1980s#5838,139
1990s#6698,138
2000s#7558,048
2010s#41017,525
2020s#28014,526
Before 19010.3%
Greatest Generation 1901–276.9%
Silent Generation 1928–4513.1%
Baby boom 1946–6433.9%
Generation X 1965–8017.5%
Millennials 1981–966.7%
Generation Z 1997–127.2%
2013 and later14.4%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Dean is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Dean has been most common in North Dakota (3.4×), South Dakota (3.2×), and Iowa (2.9×), and least common in Mississippi (0.2×).

190,033 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Dean

#425 Sergio · 133,220#426 Jake · 132,610#428 Edgar · 132,092#429 Lois · 131,667

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Dean, most common first.

#1,594 Deana · 20,148#2,096 Deon · 12,858#2,691 Deann · 8,731#6,763 Deane · 2,334#13,579 Dewan · 886#13,961 Deen · 853#15,735 Den · 727#31,690 Deano · 269

Also a last name

As a last name, Dean ranks #279 of 156,621, with 109,762 people. See Dean as a last name

Compare