# Duane (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/duane/  
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 | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “black”, “dark”, “descendant of dubhán” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Dwayne, Duwayne |
| US babies named this | 116,456 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 115,442 / 1,014 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 155, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of the Irish name Dubhán (from Primitive Irish ᚇᚑᚃᚐᚌᚅᚔ (dovagni)), from dubh (“black, dark”); or transferred from the surname, which is from Irish Ó Dubháin (literally “descendant of Dubhán”).

## What it means

Duane is grouped under black.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 10 | 4,574 |
| 1969 | 12 | 4,247 |
| 1970 | 19 | 3,338 |
| 1971 | 15 | 3,994 |
| 1972 | 14 | 4,141 |
| 1973 | 11 | 4,968 |
| 1974 | 8 | 6,401 |
| 1975 | 12 | 4,935 |
| 1977 | 8 | 7,055 |
| 1979 | 8 | 7,500 |
| 1980 | 6 | 9,403 |
| 1985 | 7 | 8,593 |
| 1986 | 5 | 11,440 |
| 1987 | 8 | 8,210 |
| 1989 | 6 | 11,233 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 130 | 1,312 |
| 2012 | 128 | 1,332 |
| 2013 | 108 | 1,503 |
| 2014 | 100 | 1,578 |
| 2015 | 113 | 1,477 |
| 2016 | 115 | 1,485 |
| 2017 | 102 | 1,587 |
| 2018 | 81 | 1,859 |
| 2019 | 70 | 2,066 |
| 2020 | 79 | 1,880 |
| 2021 | 81 | 1,890 |
| 2022 | 71 | 2,101 |
| 2023 | 70 | 2,102 |
| 2024 | 72 | 2,081 |
| 2025 | 51 | 2,578 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 7 | 1,799 |
| 2003 | 8 | 1,771 |
| 2004 | 9 | 1,732 |
| 2005 | 5 | 2,754 |
| 2006 | 4 | 3,385 |
| 2007 | 7 | 2,435 |
| 2008 | 5 | 3,158 |
| 2009 | 10 | 1,981 |
| 2010 | 8 | 2,400 |
| 2011 | 6 | 2,892 |
| 2012 | 5 | 3,416 |
| 2013 | 6 | 2,954 |
| 2014 | 5 | 3,362 |
| 2015 | 7 | 2,707 |
| 2020 | 6 | 2,960 |

## People named Duane

- Duane Allman, American guitarist (1946–1971)
- Duane Eddy, American guitarist (1938–2024)
- Duane Jones, American actor (1937–1988)
- Duane G. Carey, American Air Force lieutenant colonel and astronaut
- Duane Michals, American photographer (1932-2026)
- Duane Swanson, basketball player (1913-2000)
- Duane Hanson, American sculptor (1925–1996)
- Duane Martin, American actor
- Duane Carter, American racing driver (1913–1993)
- Duane Washington Jr., German-American basketball player
- Duane Whitaker, American actor
- Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter

## 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.