unisex name
Desire
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 24,603
Desire is a unisex name with 3 syllables. It is given to both girls and boys — about 23% of recorded births with this name are girls. In 2025 it was given to 95 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
- Peaked in 2008, when 164 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 34,899 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1915.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Desire over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2023, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 5,515 |
| 1910s | 4,335 |
| 1920s | 3,960 |
| 1930s | 2,115 |
| 1940s | 1,005 |
| 1950s | 660 |
| 1960s | 460 |
| 1970s | 220 |
| 1980s | 235 |
| 1990s | 150 |
| 2000s | 135 |
| 2010s | 85 |
| 2020s (to 2023) | 60 |
How popular is Desire?
In 2025, Desire was given to 95 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Desire 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.
How Desire is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Désiré | Désiré is Desire written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #2,376 in France, against #7,352 for Desire. | 18,910 |
Names that peaked alongside Desire
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Desire also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Desire over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Desire
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Desire — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Desire
How popular is the name Desire?
In 2025, Desire was given to 95 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Desire a girl's or a boy's name?
Desire is used for both girls and boys. About 23% of recorded births with this name are girls.
How many syllables are in Desire?
Desire has 3 syllables.
When was Desire most popular?
Desire peaked in 2008, when 164 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Desire a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Desire currently ranks #2,251 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.