Fun Facts About the Name Denise
- An established favorite: Denise held a place in the U.S. top 100 for 33 consecutive years, from 1950 through 1982.
- More than 374 thousand babies named Denise: U.S. records list 374,787 babies given the name Denise from 1880 through 2025. Even 1,368 boys received the name Denise - about 1 boy for every 273 girls.
What Does the Name Denise Mean?
Denise is the French feminine form of Denis, which descends from the Latin Dionysius, itself from the Greek Dionysios, a name built on Dionysos, the god of wine, fertility, and ecstatic ritual. The Greek ending -ios marks belonging or attachment, so Dionysios is conventionally rendered as "of Dionysos" or "follower of Dionysos." That "follower" wording is a customary interpretation of the suffix rather than a word-for-word translation. The origin of the god's own name is disputed: one long-standing suggestion links it to Nysa, the mountain or region where myth places his upbringing, while other scholars treat Dionysos as a pre-Greek name whose parts cannot be securely analyzed. The Turkish name Deniz, meaning "sea," looks similar but is unrelated.
Denise Name History & Origins
The name reached Western Europe through the cult of Dionysius, a third-century bishop of Paris who was martyred and became one of the most venerated saints of France, where he is called Saint Denis. Latin Dionysius became Old French Denis, and a feminine Denise formed alongside it through the ending -e that marks feminine names in French. Churches, monasteries, and towns dedicated to the saint, above all the basilica of Saint-Denis north of Paris, kept both forms in circulation in France and in other Catholic regions of Europe.
Denis and Denise entered English through French, and Denise serves as the feminine counterpart of Denis in both languages. In French literature, Émile Zola gave the name to the heroine of his 1883 novel Au Bonheur des Dames. Related feminine forms in other languages include Denisa, used in Czech, Slovak, and Romanian, while the masculine line includes the English spelling Denys and the learned form Dionysius.
How Popular is the Name Denise?
Denise remained among the top 100 girl names in the U.S. from 1950 to 1982. Its highest annual birth count was in 1961, and people born that year turn 65 in 2026.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,677 | 123 | 0.0077% |
| 2024 | #1,894 | 105 | 0.0065% |
| 2023 | #1,462 | 151 | 0.0094% |
| 2022 | #1,395 | 164 | 0.0100% |
| 2021 | #1,225 | 192 | 0.0117% |
| 2020 | #876 | 307 | 0.0190% |
| 2019 | #1,384 | 162 | 0.0097% |
| 2018 | #1,067 | 239 | 0.0141% |
| 2017 | #1,143 | 217 | 0.0126% |
| 2016 | #1,192 | 209 | 0.0118% |
| 2015 | #997 | 270 | 0.0151% |
| 2014 | #780 | 359 | 0.0201% |
| 2013 | #760 | 358 | 0.0204% |
| 2012 | #685 | 411 | 0.0233% |
| 2011 | #610 | 473 | 0.0269% |
| 2010 | #488 | 619 | 0.0348% |
| 2009 | #450 | 692 | 0.0377% |
| 2008 | #365 | 897 | 0.0474% |
| 2007 | #371 | 881 | 0.0458% |
| 2006 | #380 | 853 | 0.0449% |
| 2005 | #342 | 918 | 0.0497% |
| 2004 | #354 | 894 | 0.0487% |
| 2003 | #326 | 957 | 0.0524% |
| 2002 | #321 | 957 | 0.0533% |
| 2001 | #298 | 1,050 | 0.0583% |
| 2000 | #329 | 963 | 0.0530% |
| 1999 | #322 | 965 | 0.0544% |
| 1998 | #303 | 999 | 0.0565% |
| 1997 | #271 | 1,074 | 0.0617% |
| 1996 | #229 | 1,230 | 0.0702% |
| 1995 | #216 | 1,301 | 0.0740% |
| 1994 | #211 | 1,391 | 0.0779% |
| 1993 | #201 | 1,458 | 0.0806% |
| 1992 | #188 | 1,628 | 0.0883% |
| 1991 | #172 | 1,746 | 0.0931% |
| 1990 | #152 | 1,955 | 0.1030% |
| 1989 | #145 | 2,034 | 0.1103% |
| 1988 | #139 | 2,065 | 0.1160% |
| 1987 | #132 | 2,104 | 0.1210% |
| 1986 | #128 | 2,205 | 0.1285% |
| 1985 | #120 | 2,432 | 0.1413% |
| 1984 | #115 | 2,461 | 0.1462% |
| 1983 | #109 | 2,571 | 0.1539% |
| 1982 | #100 | 2,895 | 0.1710% |
| 1981 | #96 | 3,201 | 0.1919% |
| 1980 | #95 | 3,146 | 0.1895% |
| 1979 | #92 | 3,267 | 0.2035% |
| 1978 | #85 | 3,519 | 0.2297% |
| 1977 | #78 | 3,681 | 0.2401% |
| 1976 | #69 | 3,986 | 0.2721% |
| 1975 | #64 | 4,462 | 0.3061% |
| 1974 | #53 | 5,396 | 0.3677% |
| 1973 | #38 | 6,615 | 0.4536% |
| 1972 | #35 | 7,381 | 0.4852% |
| 1971 | #36 | 8,219 | 0.4940% |
| 1970 | #36 | 9,342 | 0.5344% |
| 1969 | #35 | 9,797 | 0.5807% |
| 1968 | #35 | 9,877 | 0.6021% |
| 1967 | #34 | 11,081 | 0.6712% |
| 1966 | #32 | 11,795 | 0.6970% |
| 1965 | #28 | 13,034 | 0.7384% |
| 1964 | #25 | 14,727 | 0.7772% |
| 1963 | #27 | 14,092 | 0.7311% |
| 1962 | #30 | 13,975 | 0.7106% |
| 1961 | #30 | 15,381 | 0.7621% |
| 1960 | #29 | 15,064 | 0.7450% |
| 1959 | #29 | 14,663 | 0.7246% |
| 1958 | #27 | 14,958 | 0.7436% |
| 1957 | #25 | 15,144 | 0.7406% |
| 1956 | #23 | 14,509 | 0.7227% |
| 1955 | #23 | 14,560 | 0.7447% |
| 1954 | #24 | 13,717 | 0.7064% |
| 1953 | #31 | 11,950 | 0.6352% |
| 1952 | #33 | 11,652 | 0.6284% |
| 1951 | #48 | 8,116 | 0.4507% |
| 1950 | #82 | 4,514 | 0.2635% |
| 1949 | #140 | 2,236 | 0.1307% |
| 1948 | #147 | 1,930 | 0.1137% |
| 1947 | #170 | 1,699 | 0.0958% |
| 1946 | #169 | 1,585 | 0.1009% |
| 1945 | #273 | 633 | 0.0484% |
| 1944 | #322 | 444 | 0.0335% |
| 1943 | #328 | 462 | 0.0331% |
| 1942 | #328 | 444 | 0.0329% |
| 1941 | #358 | 346 | 0.0286% |
| 1940 | #362 | 326 | 0.0285% |
| 1939 | #420 | 260 | 0.0237% |
| 1938 | #436 | 236 | 0.0214% |
| 1937 | #404 | 255 | 0.0240% |
| 1936 | #451 | 200 | 0.0192% |
| 1935 | #511 | 157 | 0.0150% |
| 1934 | #580 | 125 | 0.0120% |
| 1933 | #617 | 111 | 0.0110% |
| 1932 | #607 | 117 | 0.0110% |
| 1931 | #658 | 102 | 0.0096% |
| 1930 | #773 | 83 | 0.0074% |
| 1929 | #679 | 107 | 0.0096% |
| 1928 | #761 | 88 | 0.0076% |
| 1927 | #837 | 78 | 0.0065% |
| 1926 | #964 | 60 | 0.0051% |
| 1925 | #1,077 | 50 | 0.0041% |
| 1924 | #1,087 | 52 | 0.0042% |
| 1923 | #1,115 | 47 | 0.0039% |
| 1922 | #1,035 | 53 | 0.0044% |
| 1921 | #1,283 | 37 | 0.0030% |
| 1920 | #931 | 61 | 0.0051% |
| 1919 | #1,489 | 28 | 0.0025% |
| 1918 | #1,547 | 27 | 0.0023% |
| 1917 | #1,380 | 29 | 0.0027% |
| 1916 | #1,361 | 29 | 0.0028% |
| 1915 | #1,449 | 25 | 0.0025% |
| 1914 | #1,311 | 23 | 0.0030% |
| 1913 | #1,417 | 17 | 0.0027% |
| 1912 | #1,555 | 13 | 0.0023% |
| 1911 | #2,562 | 5 | 0.0012% |
| 1910 | #1,985 | 7 | 0.0018% |
| 1909 | #1,807 | 7 | 0.0020% |
| 1908 | #1,912 | 6 | 0.0018% |
| 1907 | #1,678 | 7 | 0.0022% |
| 1906 | #1,788 | 6 | 0.0020% |
| 1905 | #1,575 | 7 | 0.0024% |
| 1904 | #1,704 | 6 | 0.0022% |
| 1903 | #1,647 | 6 | 0.0023% |
| 1902 | #1,648 | 6 | 0.0023% |
| 1900 | #1,611 | 7 | 0.0023% |
| 1894 | #1,391 | 6 | 0.0027% |
| 1889 | #1,048 | 7 | 0.0039% |
| 1882 | #940 | 5 | 0.0046% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | #12,585 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #9,669 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2001 | #6,120 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #9,386 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #8,396 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #9,348 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #6,037 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #4,855 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1993 | #4,783 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #3,487 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1991 | #4,843 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #3,342 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1989 | #3,121 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 1988 | #3,568 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1987 | #2,584 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1986 | #2,538 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1985 | #2,445 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1984 | #2,459 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1983 | #2,155 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1982 | #2,533 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1981 | #2,005 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1980 | #2,560 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1979 | #2,489 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1978 | #2,699 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1977 | #3,920 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #1,889 | 26 | 0.0017% |
| 1975 | #2,559 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1974 | #1,708 | 28 | 0.0018% |
| 1973 | #1,667 | 28 | 0.0018% |
| 1972 | #1,782 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 1971 | #1,259 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 1970 | #1,472 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1969 | #1,205 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 1968 | #1,195 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 1967 | #1,139 | 43 | 0.0025% |
| 1966 | #1,044 | 49 | 0.0027% |
| 1965 | #1,058 | 49 | 0.0026% |
| 1964 | #1,018 | 55 | 0.0028% |
| 1963 | #1,059 | 52 | 0.0026% |
| 1962 | #1,125 | 47 | 0.0023% |
| 1961 | #1,207 | 43 | 0.0020% |
| 1960 | #1,345 | 35 | 0.0016% |
| 1959 | #1,062 | 53 | 0.0025% |
| 1958 | #1,019 | 56 | 0.0026% |
| 1957 | #1,220 | 41 | 0.0019% |
| 1956 | #1,489 | 28 | 0.0013% |
| 1955 | #1,349 | 32 | 0.0016% |
| 1954 | #1,231 | 37 | 0.0018% |
| 1953 | #1,723 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1952 | #1,675 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1951 | #1,434 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1950 | #3,409 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #3,403 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #3,801 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #3,452 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1939 | #3,610 | 5 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore Name Lists Featuring Denise
Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.
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How the Name Denise Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are strong in material matters, determined and stubborn. You have good business ability. You are a good worker, steady and practical, a builder who takes responsibility well. These qualities may bring you a position of authority and power. You are a doer, down-to-earth, serious-minded, reliable, and self-disciplined; have good power of concentration. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Denise's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Denise's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.