Denard
Masculine
Denard is both a genuine French surname and exactly the shape American families were building names in during the decades it charted, so the record contains two different things under one spelling. The syllable at the back of it is an English word almost nobody has met outside one story.
How old is the name Denard?
Denard first appears in US birth records in 1953 — 72 years ago. The typical Denard alive today was born around 1985, making them about 40 years old. About 700 people named Denard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Denard most popular?
Denard peaked in 1982, reaching #1734 nationally. See the whole 1982 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Denard
Nard, or spikenard, is an aromatic oil pressed from the root of a plant that grows high in the Himalayas, and in the ancient Mediterranean it was among the most expensive substances available: it had to cross the whole of Asia to get there. That is the point of the gospel story in which a woman breaks a sealed alabaster jar of it over Jesus's feet and the disciples complain about the waste — the text puts a number on it, and the number is roughly a laborer's wages for a year. The jar had to be broken because it was sealed; there was no reclosing it. The word traveled as far as the substance did, reaching Greek from Sanskrit by way of Persian, and English still uses it in the phrase from that story and essentially nowhere else.
Meaningnot established
Not established
As a French surname it is a worn-down form of a Germanic personal name, of the kind that ends dozens of French family names. As an American build it is a free prefix and a free ending, meaning nothing. Nothing in the record separates the two.
Pronouncing Denard
duh-NARD
Two syllables with the stress at the back. The French surname would put the weight differently and nasalise nothing, so the American reading is its own thing.
Nicknames for Denard
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
- 1953
- Most boys named
- 198233 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1734reached in 1982
- Change vs 2016
- +40.0%7 in 2017, 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.
Denards among us
people named Denard 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
Denard 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
- Back stress gives a two-syllable name a firm landing.
- The spelling is phonetic by English rules and needs no explanation.
- It is rare while being entirely readable at first sight.
- Denarde, Dennard and Kennard will all be written for it.
- The unstressed first syllable means the spelling has to be given every time.
- Which of the two possible origins applies is not recorded.
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Denard
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Denards are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Denard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Denard in 2025?
- Denard is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Denard with classmates?
- Denard will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
David#35 · Daniel#22 · Donald#690 · Dennis#707 · Douglas#807 · Dylan#41 · Danny#628 · Dale#1409
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Denard? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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