Recorded 1882–2025 · United States
Denise was most popular in 1961, when 15,422 American babies were given the name — ranking #59 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,074, with 123 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 374,789 people named Denise.
Denise first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1882, which makes it about 143 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 128 of the 144 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 374,789 American births named Denise between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 327,896 are estimated to be alive today.
123 American babies were named Denise in 2025, ranking #3,074 that year.
Denise is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 148 births a year, against 374 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -60% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Denise is a girl’s name — 99.6% of the 374,789 Americans given it were girls and 0.4% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 327,896 Americans named Denise are alive today — 87% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 62 years old, and half are between 54 and 69.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
French · feminine of Denis, from Dionysius
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Denise on the interactive charts
About · Privacy · Contact
Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org