Name Awesome

Des

UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Short form of Desmond

Des has been given to 16 babies in the U.S. since 1957. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1971, with 6 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 69% boys, 31% girls all-time.

Babies named Des, 1971

1 in 572,000

Des over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
024618801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.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 — Des over time

In 1971, Des went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19551971

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.

Des: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Desmond

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Des means

Des is a short form of Desmond.

Origin, language, and formation

Des is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Desmond.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Des is pronounced /dɛz/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 11 boys were recorded with the name Des between 1957 and 1971. Its highest annual count was 6 in 1971; its best national rank was #4,125 in 1957.

In the United States, 5 girls were recorded with the name Des between 1955 and 1955. Its highest annual count was 5 in 1955; its best national rank was #6,049 in 1955.

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.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Des?

Des had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1971, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1971
1 in 572,000
6 of 3,432,187 births
Among boys only
1 in 295,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 1971
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
396,503 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Des 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 1971 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 396,503 children born in 1971 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Des. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Dess were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Des was born before 1971 — so the typical Des is around 54 today.

Median birth year
1971
About 54 years old
Biggest decade
1970s
54.5% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
100.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
11
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1970s — 54.5% of all recorded uses (6).

Is Des 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
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 1971 (6)
Years since peak
54
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Not enough data
Too few years
Best rank ever
#4,125
1957

Des around the world

Where Des 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.

  • South Australia
    1996–1996
    #540
    in 1996

Popularity data from Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Des by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#4,125
1957
Peak year
1971
6 that year
First recorded
1957
Last recorded
1971
All-time count
11
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#6,049
1955
Peak year
1955
5 that year
First recorded
1955
Last recorded
1955
All-time count
5
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Des

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

DestaDeshaiAndesDesaiDeshaDesterDesaniDeshaeDesheaDesaunDeshadDesiahDesteryDesmandDesuanDestriDesjonDesmendDeshuanDestanDesireDeshaudDeshardDeshown

Sibling names for Des

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 Des

Top names of 1971, Des's peak yearThe 1970s in fullOther names that peaked in 1957Boys' names starting with D