Given name & surname
Dempsey
“a proud man”
Dempsey is used as a given name and a surname. One Irish interpretation is “a proud man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Irish interpretation is “a proud man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish.
How it developed
From Irish Ó Díomasaigh (“descendant of Díomasach”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Dempsey through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,799
- 4,249 boys · 550 girls
- Most popular year
- 2014
- 124 babies
- 2025
- 85
- #3,479 for girls · #3,004 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- 0%
- Steady
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 66% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 44 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 3,479 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 30.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 41 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Ohio had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,277 as a first name in 2020; 25,900 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.
Dempsey’s family of names
Dempsey has a related form in Dempsea. Dempsey has a related form in Dempsee. Dempsey has a related form in Dempsi.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Dempsey
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Dempsey, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Findley
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75% boys · 25% girls
Conley
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50% boys · 50% girls
Ramsay
Ramsay is a variant of Ramsey. One English interpretation is “from the raven island; from the island of wild garlic.”
74% boys · 26% girls
Finley
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46% boys · 54% girls
Kiernan
“having dark features; the little dark one”
69% boys · 31% girls
Bowie
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62% boys · 38% girls
Clancy
“red warrior” · “son of the red-haired warrior”
69% boys · 31% girls