Denis vs Denym
American parents have registered 21,606 Denises since 1880, against 774 Denyms. But in 2025 it was Denym that was commoner, 105 babies to 101.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Denis Denym
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 141 years in which either name was published, Denis for 140 years and Denym for 1 year. The lead changed hands once.
Side by side
| Denis | Denym | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 21,606 | 774 |
| Most in one year | 625 | 105 |
| Babies in 2025 | 101 | 105 |
| Estimated living today | 15,000 | 770 |
| Median age today | 57 | 5 |
| Peak year | 1952 | 2025 |
| Best rank | 277th boys | 2,957th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 1,708th | 2,957th |
| First recorded | 1880 | 2002 |
| Girls / boys | 873 / 20,733 | 431 / 343 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Denises alive today are over 57; half the Denyms are over 5. That is 52 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Denis New Hampshire (6.3×), Rhode Island (3.8×), Massachusetts (3.5×)
- Denym Louisiana (25.8×), Texas (4.7×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Denis and Denym.