Name Awesome

Dempsey

#3,003 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed

Dempsey has been given to 4,799 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #3,003 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1921, with 108 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 89% boys, 11% girls all-time.

Babies named Dempsey, 2025

1 in 80,900

Dempsey over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Dempsey over time

In 2025, Dempsey went to 52% girls and 48% boys.

18802025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Dempsey: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Dempsey means

Dempsey is a given name.

The naming story behind Dempsey

Wikidata records Dempsey as a given name. The entity identifier is Q63204650, and the classification was checked on 2026-10-20. The spelling matches a source label or alias exactly, without removing accents or linking it to a name merely because the letters look similar.

A database classification is different from an etymological explanation, so those questions remain open in the short meaning.

A modern root explanation needs an additional naming or linguistic reference.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 4,249 boys were recorded with the name Dempsey between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 108 in 1921; its best national rank was #579 in 1880.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,519 in 2020 to #3,003 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,003 in 2015 to #3,003 in 2025.

In the United States, 550 girls were recorded with the name Dempsey between 1920 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 44 in 2025; its best national rank was #3,478 in 2025.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #5,047 in 2020 to #3,478 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #4,011 in 2015 to #3,478 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Dempsey?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 80,900
41 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 41,700
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#3,003
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
56,047 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Dempsey sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 56,047 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Dempsey. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Dempseys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Dempsey was born before 1954 — so the typical Dempsey is around 71 today.

Median birth year
1954
About 71 years old
Biggest decade
1920s
16.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
27.6%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
2,279
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1920s — 16.6% of all recorded uses (704).

Is Dempsey rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−162
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−484
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,000
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.57×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
38.0%
Peak was 1921 (108)
Years since peak
104
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
21.0% average annual change
Best rank ever
#579
1880

Where Dempsey is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Dempsey was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 50,000 boys, against 1 in 65,388 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in 100,000).

12 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 50,000
  2. 2Colorado1 in 50,000
  3. 3Indiana1 in 50,000
  4. 4Ohio1 in 50,000
  5. 5Florida1 in 100,000
  6. 6North Carolina1 in 100,000
  7. 7Tennessee1 in 100,000
  8. 8Texas1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Dempsey is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Dempsey was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 1,008,275 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Ohio1 in —
  3. 3Texas1 in —
  4. 4Washington1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Dempsey has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Dempsey around the world

Where Dempsey ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #4,275
    in 2025
  • France
    1986–2007
    #4,671
    in 2007
  • Canada
    2006–2006
    #2,447
    in 2006
  • South Australia
    1970–2011
    #784
    in 2011

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Dempsey

People whose public names include Dempsey, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Dempsey by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#3,003
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 484
Best rank ever
#579
1880
Peak year
1921
108 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,249
Count in 2025
41

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,478
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 1,569
Best rank ever
#3,478
2025
Peak year
2025
44 that year
First recorded
1920
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
550
Count in 2025
44

Names similar to Dempsey

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

DemetriDemarcoDemarioDemonteDemitriDemarionDemondDemetrioDemariDemetrisDemetricDemianDemariusDemontaDemarkoDemetreDemarcusDemetriosKelseyDemitriusDemauriRamseyDemontaeDemir

Names with a curve like Dempsey

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Dempsey, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

ConleyFerrisCrawfordArleyMerrittJenningsHarlenOrinHendersonBaxterMahlonEmmit

Sibling names for Dempsey

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Dempsey

Top names of 1921, Dempsey's peak yearThe 1920s in fullOther names that peaked in 1880Boys' names starting with D