# Daphne (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/daphne/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “laurel”, “bay” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdæfni/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Daffy, Daph |
| Variant spellings | Daphnë |
| US babies named this | 44,189 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 7 / 44,182 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,573, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δάφνη (dáphnē, “laurel, bay”).

## What it means

Daphne is grouped under laurel.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 673 | 451 |
| 2012 | 744 | 421 |
| 2013 | 777 | 396 |
| 2014 | 919 | 355 |
| 2015 | 864 | 378 |
| 2016 | 819 | 407 |
| 2017 | 812 | 385 |
| 2018 | 808 | 384 |
| 2019 | 734 | 435 |
| 2020 | 753 | 415 |
| 2021 | 1,103 | 289 |
| 2022 | 1,132 | 281 |
| 2023 | 1,266 | 241 |
| 2024 | 1,568 | 193 |
| 2025 | 1,740 | 178 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 7 | 3,376 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 42 | 858 |
| 2012 | 46 | 825 |
| 2013 | 52 | 750 |
| 2014 | 62 | 645 |
| 2015 | 87 | 496 |
| 2016 | 83 | 516 |
| 2017 | 93 | 472 |
| 2018 | 117 | 382 |
| 2019 | 115 | 382 |
| 2020 | 142 | 320 |
| 2021 | 214 | 234 |
| 2022 | 268 | 190 |
| 2023 | 299 | 172 |
| 2024 | 338 | 150 |
| 2025 | 390 | 125 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 達夫妮 /达夫妮
- French: Daphné
- Greek: Δάφνη
- Hebrew: דַּפְנָה
- Italian: Dafne
- Polish: Dafne
- Portuguese: Dafne, Daphne
- Turkish: Defne

## People named Daphne

- Daphne du Maurier, British writer (1907–1989)
- Daphne Zuniga, American actress
- Daphne Akhurst, Australian tennis player (1903–1933)
- Daphne Oram, British composer and electronic musician (1925–2003)
- Daphne Groeneveld, Dutch model
- Daphne Ashbrook, American actress (born 1963)
- Daphne van Domselaar, Dutch association football player (2000-)
- Daphne Maxwell Reid, American actress, comedian and former model (born 1948)
- Daphne Arden, British athlete and sprinter
- Daphne Guinness, British and Irish artist and personality
- Daphne Patakia, Belgian-Greek actress
- Daphne Odjig, Canadian artist (1919-2016)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.