girl's name
Deanna
dee-AN-uh
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 138,542
Scotland
#757
2009 births
Deanna was popularized by a stage name — the actress born Edna Mae Durbin was renamed Deanna Durbin in 1936, and American births rose from almost nothing to a peak of 4,331 in 1970.
- Deanna is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1970, when 4,344 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 39,005 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1899.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Deanna over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 5 |
| 1910s | 30 |
| 1920s | 127 |
| 1930s | 5,859 |
| 1940s | 13,759 |
| 1950s | 11,260 |
| 1960s | 32,337 |
| 1970s | 27,069 |
| 1980s | 18,209 |
| 1990s | 16,234 |
| 2000s | 6,934 |
| 2010s | 2,348 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 572 |
What Deanna means
Deanna means divine, taken from Diana, though the derivation is not certain. It can also be read as a feminine of Dean, which is a separate English occupational word.
Where Deanna comes from
Deanna elaborates Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon, whose name is usually connected to an Indo-European root meaning bright or divine — the same root as the Latin dies, day, and the god-name Jupiter. Diana was identified with the Greek Artemis, though the two began separately. A second and unrelated reading takes Deanna as a feminine of Dean, from the Old French deien, a church official set over ten. The modern name owes its volume to the film industry rather than to either root.
Deanna in use
Deanna peaked in the United States in 1970, when 4,344 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in three of the seven markets we track — 1387th in Canada, 2188th in the United States on 85 births and 4731st in England and Wales — across 138,542 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1899 at negligible volume; the name only becomes substantial after 1936, when Edna Mae Durbin was renamed Deanna Durbin.
How popular is Deanna?
In 2025, Deanna was given to 85 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Deanna is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Deanna
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Deanna also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Deanna over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Deanna
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Deanna in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Deanna
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Deanna — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Deanna
What does the name Deanna mean?
Divine, taken from Diana — though it can also read as a feminine of Dean.
Where did Deanna come from?
It had almost no use before 1936, when the actress Edna Mae Durbin was renamed Deanna Durbin.
Is Diana the same as Artemis?
They were identified with each other, but began as separate goddesses.
How popular is Deanna?
2188th in the United States, down from a 1970 peak of 4,331 births.
Is Deanna a girl's or a boy's name?
Deanna is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Deanna?
Deanna has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Deanna?
Deanna is usually shortened to Dee.
Is Deanna a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Deanna currently ranks #1,387 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.