boys' name ★ peaked 1961

Dean

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #125 Trend ↑ Rising 21%

The surname or given name is of multiple origins, depending on context:

Rank 2025
#125
among boys · ↑17 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,882
named Dean · +13% vs 2024
How common
1 in 594
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1961
4,967 babies
All-time total
195,844
#189 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Dean popularity over time

195,844 babies have been named Dean since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.631.251.882.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 16 132 148 15 – #390
1890s 52 247 299 30 +102% #285
1900s 100 381 481 48 +61% #302
1910s 268 3,812 4,080 408 +748% #181
1920s 566 11,155 11,721 1,172 +187% #133
1930s 560 13,629 14,189 1,419 +21% #118
1940s 446 16,356 16,802 1,680 +18% #129
1950s 308 34,584 34,892 3,489 +108% #93
1960s 284 42,527 42,811 4,281 +23% #78
1970s 147 13,898 14,045 1,405 -67% #112
1980s 80 8,059 8,139 814 -42% #263
1990s 16 8,122 8,138 814 0% #286
2000s 13 8,035 8,048 805 -1% #304
2010s 28 17,497 17,525 1,753 +118% #172
2020s (to 2025) 30 14,496 14,526 2,421 +38% #125

Where Dean is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 2,970 1.74 #120
2027 3,052 1.79 #118
2028 3,124 1.83 #112
2029 3,186 1.87 #111
2030 3,240 1.90 #108

Where Dean is most popular

Boys named Dean per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.43 per 1,000. Strongest in Idaho, Utah, and Alaska.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Dean born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Idaho 152 3.71 +160%
Utah 333 3.49 +144%
Alaska 41 3.44 +141%
Wyoming 19 3.28 +130%
New Hampshire 70 3.15 +121%
Montana 53 3.01 +110%
South Dakota 55 2.96 +107%
Kansas 189 2.76 +93%
Oregon 199 2.62 +84%
Missouri 349 2.52 +76%
Nebraska 109 2.51 +76%
Nevada 138 2.42 +70%
Iowa 160 2.32 +63%
Colorado 289 2.24 +57%
Delaware 33 2.18 +52%
Hawaii 32 2.06 +44%
West Virginia 67 2.05 +44%
Michigan 420 2.05 +44%
Connecticut 137 2.02 +42%
Arkansas 128 2.02 +42%
Ohio 533 2.01 +41%
New Mexico 66 2.00 +40%
New Jersey 395 1.96 +37%
Arizona 320 1.96 +37%
Indiana 312 1.95 +36%
Washington 316 1.93 +35%
Vermont 12 1.91 +34%
Maine 37 1.91 +34%
Rhode Island 31 1.90 +33%
Illinois 477 1.87 +31%
Oklahoma 161 1.82 +27%
Kentucky 179 1.78 +25%
Pennsylvania 468 1.76 +23%
District of Columbia 25 1.69 +19%
North Dakota 28 1.64 +15%
Wisconsin 183 1.54 +8%
California 1,405 1.54 +8%
Tennessee 269 1.49 ≈ national
Virginia 277 1.46 ≈ national
New York 609 1.41 ≈ national
Louisiana 140 1.37 ≈ national
Minnesota 167 1.36 -5%
Maryland 161 1.35 -5%
North Carolina 344 1.35 -6%
Massachusetts 182 1.32 -7%
Texas 1,101 1.25 -12%
Alabama 129 1.18 -17%
Florida 558 1.18 -17%
Mississippi 65 1.14 -20%
South Carolina 113 1.09 -23%
Georgia 259 1.02 -28%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Dean

Dean is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #125 in 2025 with 2,876 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 195,844 American babies have been named Dean. Its peak came in 1961, when 4,967 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1960s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Dean stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Dean?

The median living Dean is about 56 years old; half are between 19 and 66. An estimated 141 thousand people named Dean are alive in the United States today.

median 56 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Dean year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 6 #13,626 2,876 #125
2024 5 #15,868 2,549 #142
2023 5 #15,773 2,289 #159
2022 – – 2,265 #164
2021 9 #10,485 2,352 #166
2020 5 #15,706 2,165 #176
2019 – – 2,220 #174
2018 8 #11,667 2,257 #172
2017 – – 2,083 #187
2016 8 #12,058 1,966 #205
2015 – – 1,950 #204
2014 6 #15,053 1,711 #222
2013 – – 1,512 #240
2012 – – 1,380 #260
2011 6 #15,314 1,235 #284
2010 – – 1,183 #286
2009 – – 1,061 #304
2008 – – 951 #344
2007 – – 906 #351
2006 – – 779 #384
2005 8 #12,120 756 #383
2004 – – 746 #372
2003 – – 685 #383
2002 – – 711 #371
2001 5 #15,958 744 #356
2000 – – 696 #376
1995 – – 769 #333
1990 5 #13,490 894 #286
1985 5 #11,061 801 #267
1980 14 #5,037 817 #267
1975 16 #3,986 1,025 #211
1970 31 #2,408 2,941 #112
1965 27 #2,308 4,096 #88
1960 36 #1,896 4,518 #94
1955 32 #1,889 3,084 #111
1950 35 #1,582 2,337 #120
1945 45 #1,175 1,585 #136
1940 47 #1,047 1,223 #143
1935 47 #1,006 1,435 #120
1930 63 #918 1,365 #129
1925 57 #992 1,195 #140
1920 47 #1,090 788 #180
1915 39 #1,079 453 #225
1910 12 #1,353 53 #347
1905 7 #1,573 42 #311
1900 13 #1,066 46 #308
1895 12 #942 20 #441
1890 8 #1,024 25 #352
1885 – – 10 #614
1880 – – 14 #488

Famous people named Dean

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Dean Martin Dean Martin American singer and actor (1917–1995) Contemporary
  2. 2 Dean Cain Dean Cain American actor (born 1966) Contemporary
  3. 3 Dean Corll Dean Corll American serial killer (1939–1973) Contemporary
  4. 4 Dean Winters Dean Winters American actor (born 1964) Contemporary
  5. 5 Dean Norris Dean Norris American actor (born 1963) Contemporary
  6. 6 Dean Stockwell Dean Stockwell American actor (1936–2021) Contemporary
  7. 7 Dean Henderson Dean Henderson English footballer (born 1997) Contemporary
  8. 8 Dean Koontz Dean Koontz American writer and screenwriter (born 1945) Contemporary
  9. 9 Dean Butler Dean Butler Canadian-American actor (born 1956) Contemporary
  10. 10 Dean Jagger Dean Jagger American actor (1903–1991) Contemporary
  11. 11 Dean Jones Dean Jones American actor (1931–2015) Contemporary
  12. 12 Dean Malenko Dean Malenko American professional wrestler (born 1960) Contemporary
  13. 13 Dean Kamen Dean Kamen American businessman (born 1951) Contemporary
  14. 14 Dean Saunders Dean Saunders Welsh footballer and manager b. 1964 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Dean Smith Dean Smith American basketball coach (1931–2015) Contemporary
  16. 16 Dean Devlin Dean Devlin American filmmaker b. 1962 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Dean Acheson Dean Acheson American politician and lawyer (1893–1971) 19th century
  18. 18 Dean Rusk Dean Rusk American statesman (1909–1994) Contemporary
  19. 19 Dean DeBlois Dean DeBlois Canadian filmmaker (born 1970) Contemporary
  20. 20 Dean O'Gorman Dean O'Gorman New Zealand actor b. 1976 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Dean, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Dean?

The median living Dean is about 56 years old. Half of all living Deans are between 19 and 66 years old.

How many people named Dean are alive today?

An estimated 141 thousand people named Dean are alive in the United States, based on 195,844 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Dean mean?

The surname or given name is of multiple origins, depending on context:

How popular is the name Dean in 2025?

Dean ranked #125 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,876 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Dean?

195,844 babies have been named Dean in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Dean most popular?

Dean peaked in 1961, when 4,967 newborns received the name.

Is Dean a boy or girl name?

Dean is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Dean rising or falling?

Dean is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Dean become more popular?

Dean is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 3,240 boys named Dean in 2030, which would rank around #108. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Dean?

Well-known people named Dean include Dean Martin (musician), Dean Cain (actor), Dean Corll (extremist).

Names like Dean

Names that sound and feel close to Dean: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Dean with similar names → More names starting with D →