Given name & surname
Debs
“bee”
In English use, Debs is an affectionate form of Deborah. One Hebrew interpretation is “bee.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Debs is an affectionate form of Deborah. One Hebrew interpretation is “bee.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Debs is an affectionate form of Deborah. An origin associated with Deborah is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Debs is a short form of Deborah.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Debs is an affectionate form of Deborah. The history of Deborah gives this family its wider story. Deborah has a place in biblical naming traditions.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Debs through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 15
- 15 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1912
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 1921. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9 in 1912. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 368 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Debs’s family of names
Debs is an affectionate form of Deborah. In Russian usage, Debs as a surname is a Roman-alphabet rendering of Дебс. In English usage, Debs is a short form of Deborah.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Debs, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ziba
“alliance” · “collective”
>99% boys
Beno
“his son”
>99% boys
Alvah
“rising”
96% boys · 4% girls
Ruel
“friend of God” · “a friend of God”
>99% boys
Benjamon
“son of the right hand” · “son of the south”
>99% boys
El
“much debated but ultimately unclear”
87% boys · 13% girls
Gomer
“complete” · “of the good fight”
>99% boys
Moe
“a dark-skinned man”
93% boys · 7% girls