Daphney
Feminine · “laurel”
English writes one Greek letter with two of its own. The letter phi became ph in Latin, and English kept it, which is why philosophy, telephone, Sophia and Daphne all carry an h that does no work. Modern Greek simply says it as an f, and writes it with one letter, as it always did.
How old is the name Daphney?
Daphney first appears in US birth records in 1930 — 95 years ago. The typical Daphney alive today was born around 1991, making them about 34 years old. About 1,500 people named Daphney are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Daphney most popular?
Daphney peaked in 1962, reaching #1917 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 10,015 places below that high. See the whole 1962 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From daphne to Daphney
The story of Daphney
Greek had a letter for a sound English did not have, an aspirated p, and Latin transcribed it as ph. By the time Greek itself had turned that sound into an ordinary f, Latin and its descendants were committed to the two-letter spelling, and English inherited the whole system: ph for phi, th for theta, ch for chi, y for upsilon, rh for rho. That is why so many words look Greek at a glance. The name itself was carried into wide English use by a twentieth-century novelist whose books sold enormously and who was called Daphne; the American figures rise through the middle of the century, which is when her novels were most read.
Meaning
laurel, the bay tree
Greek daphne is the ordinary word for the bay laurel, the tree whose leaves were made into victors' crowns. It is also the name of the nymph in the story who becomes one. The -ey ending on this spelling is English and adds nothing; the name is said the same either way.
How the name formed
- daphne
- Daphne
- Daphney
Related forms: Dafni · Daphne · Dafne
Pronouncing Daphney
DAF-nee
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the ph said as an f. Daphne and Daphney are said identically; the extra letter is visual. Modern Greek gives it a fuller second vowel, DAF-nee with the weight more even.
Nicknames for Daphney
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
- 1930
- Most girls named
- 200149 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1917reached in 1962
- Change vs 2024
- −12.5%7 in 2025, from 8
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.
Daphney in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dafni in Greek — same name
- Daphne in French — same name
- Dafne in Italian — same name
Daphneys among us
people named Daphney are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Daphney
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 Sundra test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Daphney's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sundra climbed just as high around 1942, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sundra's path sketches the road Daphney is walking now.
Daphney sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Daphney beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Daphney in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Greek meaning naming a real and familiar tree.
- Two syllables that everyone can say correctly on first sight.
- It is recognized in French, Italian and Greek with only the spelling shifting.
- Daphne is the standard spelling and this one will be corrected toward it constantly.
- The -ey ending adds a letter and no sound at all.
- A long-running cartoon gave the name to a character for two generations of children, which is a fixed association.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Daphney
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Daphneys 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 Daphney are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Daphney in 2025?
- Daphney ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Daphney?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Daphney — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Daphney with classmates?
- Daphney will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Daphney
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vina#11932 · Retta#11932 · Missouri#11932 · Iola#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Thomas#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Daphney? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Daphney 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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