Dempsey is a boy name with a rare feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Dempsey means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Dempsey across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Dempsey has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Dempsey is a boy name of Irish (Gaelic) origin meaning “proud”. An Irish surname used as a given name.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 4,799 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 297 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Dempsey per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 2014 (124/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2012 (16/yr).
Dempsey is an uncommon baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2014, when it ranked #3,042 nationally (given to 136 babies that year).
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