boy's name
Devin
DEV-in
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 181,218
the United States
#548
2025 births
Devin is a name from an Irish surname, and its meanings are contested — poet, and a word for a stag, are both proposed from different Irish originals. About 10 percent of the births in our records are female.
- Devin is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1995, when 6,938 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,229 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1947.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Devin over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 35 |
| 1950s | 436 |
| 1960s | 2,881 |
| 1970s | 7,341 |
| 1980s | 25,525 |
| 1990s | 62,849 |
| 2000s | 52,433 |
| 2010s | 17,596 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,710 |
What Devin means
Devin is variously given as poet, from a word for a bard, or as a stag or fawn. The two readings come from different Irish surnames that anglicized to the same spelling.
Where Devin comes from
Devin anglicizes at least two Irish surnames that are not related. Ó Damháin is built on damh, a stag or ox, giving the deer reading; Ó Dubháin is built on dubh, black, giving a dark-haired sense. The poet reading circulates widely and appears to come from confusion with dámh, a poetic company. A separate Devin exists in French as a surname meaning a diviner or soothsayer, from the Latin divinus. English-language records cannot distinguish them, and the name's American use is late twentieth-century and unconnected to any of these.
Devin in use
Devin peaked in the United States in 1995, when 6,938 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 548th in the United States on 634 births, 765th in Scotland, 1552nd in England and Wales on 17 and 5498th in France, across 181,218 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. About 10 percent of recorded births are female. Our records carry it only from 1947.
How popular is Devin?
In 2025, Devin was given to 634 babies in the United States, ranking #548 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Devin 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 Devin
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Devin also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Devin over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Devin
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.
Devin 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 Devin
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Devin — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Devin
What does the name Devin mean?
Contested. A stag and a dark-haired person are both proposed from different Irish surnames; the poet reading looks like a confusion.
Is Devin the same as Devon?
Devon is an English county and a separate name, though the spellings are often used interchangeably.
Is Devin a girls' name?
For about 10 percent of the births in our records.
How popular is Devin?
548th in the United States, down from a 1995 peak of 6,938 births.
How many syllables are in Devin?
Devin has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Devin?
Devin is usually shortened to Dev.
Is Devin a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Devin currently ranks #548 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.