Given name
Deshawn
“God is gracious”
Deshawn is used as a given name. One interpretation is “God is gracious.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “God is gracious.”
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1962. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Deshawn through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 17,257
- 16,074 boys · 1,183 girls
- Most popular year
- 1994
- 591 babies
- 2025
- 100
- #1,663 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −36%
- Cooling
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 100% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 100 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,663 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 35.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 563 in 1997. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 12,256 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Deshawn’s family of names
In English usage, Deshawn has a related form in Dashawn. In English usage, Deshawn has a related form in Dashawn. In German usage, Deshawn has a related form in Johannes.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Johannesvariant · German
- Dashawnvariant · English
- DeShaunvariant · English
- Deseanvariant
- Dashaunvariant
- Deshonvariant
- Deshanevariant
- Deshawnnlikely variant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Deshawn
- DeShawn StevensonAmerican basketball player (born 1981)
- Deshawn StephensAmerican basketball player (born 1989)
- DeShawn SimsAmerican basketball player (b. 1988)
- DeShawn SheadAmerican football playerborn 1988
- Deshawn FreemanAmerican basketball player (born 1994)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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