Given name & surname
Dewey
“a highly valued man”
Dewey is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “a highly valued man.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Welsh interpretation is “a highly valued man.” Its derivation is not certain.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Welsh, although the derivation remains uncertain.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1887. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Dewey through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 34,920
- 34,373 boys · 547 girls
- Most popular year
- 1898
- 1,219 babies
- 2025
- 28
- #3,870 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 28 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,870 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 6.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,115 in 1898. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 11,845 as a first name in 2020; 11,620 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.
Dewey’s family of names
Dewey has a related form in Dewi. Dewey has a related form in Dewea. Dewey has a related form in Dewee.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Dewey
- Dewey MartinAmerican actor (1923-2018)
- Dewey F. BartlettAmerican politician (1919–1979)
- Dewey MartinCanadian rock drummer, best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield (1940–2009)
- Dewey BunnellAmerican folk-rock musician, founder of the group Americaborn 1952
- Dewey Robinsonactor (1898-1950)
- Dewey TomkoAmerican professional poker player (born 1946)
- Dewey JohnsonAmerican lawyer and politician from Minnesota (1899-1941)
- Spooner OldhamAmerican songwriter and session musicianborn 1943
- Dewey Starkeyfilm director (1898-1974)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Dewey, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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