Denali
Feminine · “the tall one”
Denali is given to both — 1,795 girls and 684 boys since 1880. See Denali as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Denali is the tall one in Koyukon Athabaskan — the mountain's own name, restored officially in 2015 after a century as McKinley.
How old is the name Denali?
Denali first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Denali is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,800 people named Denali are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Denali most popular?
Denali peaked in 2022, reaching #2048 nationally. Today it ranks #2326, 278 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Deenaalee to Denali
The story of Denali
The mountain was named McKinley in 1896 by a prospector who liked the presidential candidate, and Alaska spent forty years petitioning to restore the Koyukon name; the federal change came in 2015. Denali entered American given-name use for both sexes and appears in the registers in current use.
Meaning
the tall one, the high one
From the Koyukon Athabaskan Deenaalee, 'the high one' or 'the tall one', the indigenous name for the highest mountain in North America. The Koyukon is documented and the reading undisputed. The name was restored federally in 2015.
How the name formed
- Deenaalee
- Denali
Related forms: Deenaalee · Denalee
Pronouncing Denali
duh-NAH-lee
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Koyukon gives the vowels a longer value.
Nicknames for Denali
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
- 1977
- Most girls named
- 202294 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2048reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −14.3%78 in 2025, from 91
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.
Denali in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Deenaalee in Koyukon — related form
- Denalee in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Denalis among us
people named Denali are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 20,606 born in 2025 was named Denali
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 Noemy test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Denali's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Noemy climbed just as high around 1998, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Noemy's path sketches the road Denali is walking now.
Denali 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 Denali is headed
Denali 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.
Denali beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Denali in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the mountain's own name was restored after a century is a first-rate history.
- The tall-one meaning is concrete and undisputed.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- It is a mountain name and reads as one.
- Using an indigenous place name is a choice some families will weigh.
- It is used for both sexes in America.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Denali
Feminine · #2326 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Denalis 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 Denali are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Denali in 2025?
- Denali ranks #2326 among US girl names in 2025, with 78 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Denali?
- About 1 in every 20,606 US girls born in 2025 was named Denali — 78 in all.
- Will my child share the name Denali with classmates?
- Denali will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Denali
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ria#2326 · Malaika#2326 · Delta#2326 · Caitlin#2326 · Tommie#2326 · Azalia#2326 · Audrina#2326 · Sitara#2326
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Denali? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Denali 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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