Delaine
Feminine · “of wool”
Delaine is given to both — 2,377 girls and 242 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Delaine was a fabric before it was a name. Mousseline de laine — wool muslin — was one of the great dress materials of the nineteenth century, light enough for summer and cheap enough for everyone, and Americans shortened the phrase to delaine and used it in every dry-goods advertisement for fifty years. The word was in the air, and it became a name the way such words do.
How old is the name Delaine?
Delaine first appears in US birth records in 1919 — 106 years ago. The typical Delaine alive today was born around 1958, making them about 67 years old. About 1,800 people named Delaine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Delaine most popular?
Delaine peaked in 1936, reaching #1165 nationally. Today it ranks #14942, 13,777 places below that high. See the whole 1936 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From de laine to Delaine
The story of Delaine
Wool muslin arrived from France in the 1830s and became a staple of American clothing for decades; the shortened word delaine appears in catalogs, novels and newspapers throughout the period, and by the end of the century it was a word every household knew. Names taken from fabrics are not unusual — Satin, Velvet and Cashmere all appear in American records — and the timing here fits. Delaine appears from 1919 and peaked in 1936.
Meaningscholars disagree
of wool
The fabric name is French: de laine, of wool. Whether that is where the personal name came from cannot be shown — the name may equally be the De- prefix joined to the -laine ending, or a version of Delaney or Elaine. What is certain is that the word was extremely familiar in nineteenth-century America and the name appears shortly afterward.
How the name formed
- de laine
- delaine
- Delaine
Related forms: Delaine
Pronouncing Delaine
duh-LAYN
Two syllables with the stress at the back, and the ending rhyming with rain. French says the fabric name the same way, which is unusual for a borrowing this old.
Nicknames for Delaine
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
- 1919
- Most girls named
- 195465 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1165reached in 1936
- Change vs 2021
- −16.7%5 in 2025, from 6
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.
Delaine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Delaine in French — related form
Delaines among us
people named Delaine are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 321,453 born in 2025 was named Delaine
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 Avalon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Delaine's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Avalon climbed just as high around 1921, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Avalon's path sketches the road Delaine is walking now.
Delaine 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
Delaine beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Delaine in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Laine is available as a short form and works for a child of either sex.
- The fabric behind it is real, documented and was once in every American house.
- Seven letters, two syllables, and readable on sight.
- It is recorded for boys as well as girls, though nearly all are girls.
- Delaney, Delayne and Delane all sit close by and will be written instead.
- It belongs firmly to the early twentieth century and carries that flavor.
- Its meaning cannot be given flatly, since the fabric connection is likely rather than proven.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Delaine to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Delaine? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Delaine
Feminine · #14942 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Delaines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,800 people named Delaine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Delaine in 2025?
- Delaine ranks #14942 among US girl names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Delaine?
- About 1 in every 321,453 US girls born in 2025 was named Delaine — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Delaine with classmates?
- Delaine will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Delaine
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hester#14942 · Lyda#14942 · Zula#14942 · Zona#14942 · Ula#14942 · Belva#14942 · Lucetta#14942 · Leala#14942
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Delaine? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Delaine and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle