Devany
Feminine · “descendant of the dark one”
Devany is an Irish surname anglicized from Ó Duibheannaigh, and the dubh at the front is the Irish word for black.
How old is the name Devany?
Devany first appears in US birth records in 1981 — 44 years ago. The typical Devany alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 1,100 people named Devany are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Devany most popular?
Devany peaked in 2009, reaching #3088 nationally. Today it ranks #4352, 1,264 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From dubh to Devany
The story of Devany
Dubh is one of the most productive elements in Irish naming — Dubhghall, dark stranger, gave Dougal; Duibhshíth gave Devitt; and a great many surnames record whether an ancestor was dark or fair, because that was the ordinary way to tell two men of the same name apart. Ó Duibheannaigh anglicized as Devaney and Devany. Its use as a given name is recent and American.
Meaningscholars disagree
descendant of the dark one
From Irish Ó Duibheannaigh, built on dubh, black or dark, with a second element that is not securely read. The same first element gives Devlin, Duff and Dougal, and it described hair or complexion.
How the name formed
- dubh
- Ó Duibheannaigh
- Devany
Related forms: Ó Duibheannaigh · Devaney
Pronouncing Devany
DEV-uh-nee
Three syllables, first stressed. There is little variation.
Nicknames for Devany
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
- 1981
- Most girls named
- 200955 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3088reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- +14.3%32 in 2025, from 28
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.
Devany in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Duibheannaigh in Irish — same name
- Devaney in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California.
Devanys among us
people named Devany are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 50,227 born in 2025 was named Devany
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Devany
- #4352
- Devany on the 2025 chart
- #904
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Devany went to 32 girls in 2025, but Devani is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 56, which makes it the 904th most-given girls’ name of the year — 3,448 places above the chart.
- Devany32
- Devani24
About 1 girl in 28,701 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 50,227 for Devany itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Kassey test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Devany's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kassey climbed just as high around 1992, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kassey's path sketches the road Devany is walking now.
Devany 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 Devany is headed
Devany looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 16% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Devany beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Devany 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 surname with a real and productive root behind it.
- Dev is a complete short form in current use.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- It reads as a surname to people meeting it in front of another one.
- Devany, Devaney and Devanie are all in use and none is dominant.
- The second element of the Irish original is not securely read.
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What they receive
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Devany
Feminine · #4352 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Devanys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Devany are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Devany?
- Devany is the most-used spelling in US records — 32 of the 56 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Devani.
- How popular is the name Devany in 2025?
- Devany ranks #4352 among US girl names in 2025, with 32 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Devany?
- About 1 in every 50,227 US girls born in 2025 was named Devany — 32 in all.
- Will my child share the name Devany with classmates?
- Devany will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Devany
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sigrid#4352 · Adel#4352 · Lovella#4352 · Kaysha#4352 · Arissa#4352 · Joseline#4352 · Yajaira#4352 · Elma#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Devany? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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