Dewaine
Masculine · “little dark one”
Dewaine sits between Duane and DeWayne, spelled so that the name Wayne shows through at the end. It is two syllables with the stress on the second, and it carries the sound of an American general's surname.
How old is the name Dewaine?
Dewaine first appears in US birth records in 1920 — 105 years ago. The typical Dewaine alive today was born around 1951, making them about 74 years old. About 300 people named Dewaine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dewaine most popular?
Dewaine peaked in 1945, reaching #1926 nationally. See the whole 1945 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ó Dubháin / Wayne to Dewaine
The story of Dewaine
Wayne became an American name largely through Anthony Wayne, the Revolutionary general known as Mad Anthony, who took the British fort at Stony Point on the Hudson in a night attack in which most of his men carried unloaded muskets and used only bayonets, so that no stray shot would give them away. Duane came separately from Ireland. Dewaine lets both be heard, and its spelling adds a small puzzle: the letters ew can be read as the vowel of dew, so a stranger may begin it DOO- before seeing the Wayne.
Meaningscholars disagree
little dark one, through Duane, or Wayne with De-
Duane comes from the Irish surname Ó Dubháin, descendant of the little dark one. Dewaine can also be read as De- joined to Wayne, an English surname for a wagon-maker, and the record does not say which a family meant.
How the name formed
- Ó Dubháin / Wayne
- Duane / DeWayne
- Dewaine
Pronouncing Dewaine
duh-WAYN
Stress on the second syllable. Some say DWAYN in one syllable, as in Dwayne.
Nicknames for Dewaine
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 boys named
- 196615 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1926reached in 1945
- Change vs 1997
- −28.6%5 in 1998, from 7
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.
Dewaines among us
people named Dewaine 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
Dewaine 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
- It sounds like familiar names, so it is easy to say once heard.
- Wayne gives it a ready short form.
- It is rare as a spelling, so it stands out.
- It will be written Duane, Dwayne or DeWayne by almost everyone.
- Readers may start it as DOO-wayne because of the ew.
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Dewaine
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Dewaines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Dewaine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dewaine in 2025?
- Dewaine is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Dewaine with classmates?
- Dewaine 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 Dewaine? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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