Dempsey
Feminine · “proud”
Dempsey is given to both — 550 girls and 4,249 boys since 1880. See Dempsey as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Dempsey is an Irish surname with a good hard meaning: Ó Díomasaigh, descended from the proud one. It is given to girls and boys alike in current American records.
How old is the name Dempsey?
Dempsey first appears in US birth records in 1920 — 105 years ago. The typical Dempsey is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Dempsey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dempsey most popular?
Dempsey peaked in 2025, reaching #3459 nationally. Today it ranks #3459, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From díomasach to Dempsey
The story of Dempsey
The O'Dempseys were a Laois family who held their territory against English encroachment for centuries, and their name is one of the more legible Irish surnames — the byname behind it is an ordinary adjective. The surname reached America with Irish emigration and became widely known through boxing in the twentieth century. Its move into given names is recent and, unusually for a hard-sounding Irish surname, it is used for girls as often as boys.
Meaning
proud
From Irish díomasach, proud or haughty, used as a byname; Ó Díomasaigh names descent from a man so described, and the family held land in Laois and Offaly.
How the name formed
- díomasach
- Ó Díomasaigh
- Dempsey
Related forms: Ó Díomasaigh
Pronouncing Dempsey
DEMP-see
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation.
Nicknames for Dempsey
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
- 1920
- Most girls named
- 202544 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3459reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +51.7%44 in 2025, from 29
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.
Dempsey in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Díomasaigh in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Ohio, Washington, Texas.
Dempseys among us
people named Dempsey are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 36,529 born in 2025 was named Dempsey
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 Sheng test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Dempsey's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sheng climbed just as high around 1986, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sheng's path sketches the road Dempsey is walking now.
Dempsey 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
Where Dempsey is headed
Dempsey 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.
Dempsey beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dempsey in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Irish meaning that is direct and easy to explain.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- It works for a girl or a boy, which is useful before a birth.
- The boxing association is strong for older Americans.
- It reads as a surname to people meeting it in front of another one.
- Being used for both sexes means forms will sometimes guess wrong.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Dempsey
Feminine · #3459 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Dempseys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Dempsey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dempsey in 2025?
- Dempsey ranks #3459 among US girl names in 2025, with 44 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dempsey?
- About 1 in every 36,529 US girls born in 2025 was named Dempsey — 44 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dempsey with classmates?
- Dempsey will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dempsey
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Janey#3459 · Devon#3459 · Nitya#3459 · Zayah#3459 · Lively#3459 · Kynsley#3459 · Anaiya#3459 · Ena#3459
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dempsey? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dempsey and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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