Dell
Feminine · “a small wooded valley”
Dell is given to both — 2,544 girls and 4,008 boys since 1880. See Dell as a boy nameSee other names given to both
A dell is a small wooded valley, and the word is Old English and still alive — just. It survives mostly in place names and in poetry, it is related to the word dale, and it names a specific kind of ground: a hollow with trees in it.
How old is the name Dell?
Dell was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Dell alive today was born around 1936, making them about 89 years old. About 1,000 people named Dell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dell most popular?
Dell peaked in 1881, reaching #491 nationally. See the whole 1881 chart.
Where it comes from
From dell to Dell
The story of Dell
The word is also the back half of a long list of American names, which is why it turns up as a short form so often: Odell, Idell, Ardell, Wendell, Cordell and Rendell all end in it, and a family using any of them has Dell available without thinking about it. That gives the name two quite separate lives — a word name taken from the landscape, and a short form of half a dozen longer names that have nothing to do with valleys. Both are in the American record from the first year of the count.
Meaning
a small wooded valley
The Old English dell is related to dale and to the German Tal, the word behind Neanderthal. It has always meant a hollow in the ground, usually a small one and usually wooded.
How the name formed
- dell
- Dell
Pronouncing Dell
DEL
One syllable, rhyming with bell. There is nothing to explain and nothing to correct.
Nicknames for Dell
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 195457 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #491reached in 1881
- Change vs 1979
- 0.0%5 in 1984, from 5
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.
Dells among us
people named Dell are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Dell sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- One syllable and four letters, with no possible mispronunciation.
- It works as a full name and as a short form of half a dozen others.
- The meaning is concrete and can be pointed at.
- A very large computer company carries the name and is the first association for many.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
- It reads as a short form, and formal settings may look for something longer.
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What they receive
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Dell
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Dells are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Dell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dell in 2025?
- Dell is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Dell with classmates?
- Dell will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
Dorothy#421 · Donna#1962 · Deborah#862 · Debra#4460 · Diane#2607 · Doris#2895 · Denise#1673 · Danielle#549
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dell? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dell and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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