Dimple
Feminine · “a small hollow”
A dimple was a hollow in the ground before it was one in a cheek. The word is related to the German for a pool, it originally described a small depression in a landscape, and only later did English narrow it to the one in a face.
How old is the name Dimple?
Dimple first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Dimple alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 800 people named Dimple are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dimple most popular?
Dimple peaked in 1919, reaching #800 nationally. See the whole 1919 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From dympel to Dimple
The story of Dimple
Word names in English almost always take a virtue, a flower or a gem — Faith, Grace, Rose, Ruby, Pearl. Taking a physical feature is much rarer and reads differently: it describes the child rather than a hope for them. Dimple appears in American records from the eighteen-nineties, given as a first name rather than only a nickname, alongside Pinkie and Birdie in the same decades and regions. The name is also in wide current use in India, arrived at entirely separately through English-language schooling, which is why it is far commoner there now than here.
Meaning
a small hollow
The Old English original is related to a Germanic word for a pool or hollow. The narrowing to a facial feature is a later English development, and that is the sense a name uses.
How the name formed
- dympel
- dimple
- Dimple
Pronouncing Dimple
DIM-pul
Two syllables with the weight at the front, said exactly like the word.
Nicknames for Dimple
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
- 1893
- Most girls named
- 191977 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #800reached in 1919
- Change vs 1996
- −44.4%5 in 2003, from 9
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.
Dimples among us
people named Dimple 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
Dimple 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
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing.
- The word behind it is warm, familiar and needs no explanation.
- It is in current use in India, so it is not confined to one country.
- It describes a physical feature, which a child may or may not have.
- It reads as a nickname to most Americans, and formal settings will notice.
- It belongs clearly to the turn of the twentieth century in American records.
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Dimple
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Dimples are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Dimple are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dimple in 2025?
- Dimple is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Dimple with classmates?
- Dimple will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
Dorothy#421 · Donna#1962 · Deborah#862 · Debra#4460 · Diane#2607 · Doris#2895 · Denise#1673 · Danielle#549
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dimple? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dimple and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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