Daenerys
Feminine
Daenerys is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 1,472 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Daenerys was invented for a 1996 novel, and its author built the whole Valyrian naming system it belongs to — a family where the -rys ending marks the dragonlords.
How old is the name Daenerys?
Daenerys first appears in US birth records in 2012 — 13 years ago. The typical Daenerys is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,500 people named Daenerys are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Daenerys most popular?
Daenerys peaked in 2018, reaching #1360 nationally. Today it ranks #1758, 398 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Daenerys appears on this list:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Daenerys
Our story of Daenerys is a story of an invented family. Its author built a naming system before he built the name: the Targaryens all carry a -rys, -ys or -ar ending, and the pattern is consistent enough across dozens of characters that it reads as a real language's morphology. Daenerys belongs to that system. The novel appeared in 1996 and the television series in 2011, and the American registers show the name arriving with the second. Its history is a quarter of a century long and entirely documented.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No etymology outside the fiction. George R. R. Martin invented the name for A Game of Thrones, published in 1996, within a constructed Valyrian naming pattern that gives Aerys, Rhaenys, Viserys and Daenerys. It does not correspond to a word in any natural language.
Pronouncing Daenerys
duh-NAIR-iss
Three syllables, stress in the middle. The ae is said as a plain e; some readers say DAY-nuh-ris.
Nicknames for Daenerys
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 2012
- Most girls named
- 2018166 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1360reached in 2018
- Change vs 2024
- −15.4%115 in 2025, from 136
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Daenerys in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Daenarys in English — spelling variant
- Danaerys in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Daeneryss among us
people named Daenerys are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 13,976 born in 2025 was named Daenerys
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Renate test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Daenerys's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Renate climbed just as high around 1961, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Renate's path sketches the road Daenerys is walking now.
Daenerys is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Daenerys is headed
Daenerys should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Daenerys beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Daenerys in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Its invention is unusually well documented — one author, one book, one year.
- The constructed naming system behind it is genuinely coherent.
- Dany is available as a short form the books themselves use.
- There is no meaning; the name is an invention.
- The association with one character is total, and her ending is dark.
- The spelling will need dictating every single time.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Daenerys to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Daenerys
Feminine · #1758 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Daeneryss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Daenerys are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Daenerys in 2025?
- Daenerys ranks #1758 among US girl names in 2025, with 115 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Daenerys?
- About 1 in every 13,976 US girls born in 2025 was named Daenerys — 115 in all.
- Will my child share the name Daenerys with classmates?
- Daenerys will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Daenerys
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rosemarie#1758 · Clarity#1758 · Mylee#1758 · Mayla#1758 · Ariadne#1758 · Misk#1758 · Lenna#1758 · Yarely#1758
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Daenerys? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Daenerys and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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