Given name & surname
Denzel
“from a place in Cornwall”
Denzel is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from a place in Cornwall.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from a place in Cornwall.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1906. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Denzel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11,779
- 11,738 boys · 41 girls
- Most popular year
- 1993
- 869 babies
- 2025
- 177
- #1,166 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +5%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 177 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,166 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 5.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 864 in 1993. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (19). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,556 as a first name in 2020; 438 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.
Denzel’s family of names
Denzel has a related form in Denzil. Denzel has a related form in Denzell. Denzel has a related form in Denziel.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Denzel
- Denzel WashingtonAmerican actor (born 1954)
- Denzel DumfriesDutch association football player (born 1996)
- Denzel CurryAmerican rapper from Florida (born 1995)
- Denzel WhitakerAmerican actorborn 1990
- Denzel ValentineAmerican basketball player (born 1993)
- Denzel WardAmerican football player (born 1997)
- Denzel JubitanaSurinamese footballerborn 1999
- Denzel ComenentiaDutch athleteborn 1995
- Denzel PerrymanAmerican gridiron football playerborn 1992
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Denzel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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