Delaney
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The story
Delaney is an Irish surname, O Dubhshlaine, whose meaning our records honestly mark uncertain, and its first-name life detonated in one decade: about 460 in the 1980s became 7,700 in the 1990s, seventeen times over, one of the sharpest single-decade turns in tonight's batches, with no single cause on record; the Irish-surname wave that carried Riley and Kennedy crested exactly then, and we decline to name one wave-maker. The crest came fast, about 17,300 in the 2000s, and the settling has been gentle: 13,000, then 7,500 so far this decade. In our records it goes to girls about 45,400 to 1,200. Laney does the everyday work. An uncertain meaning, a certain sound, and a reminder the record keeps offering: a surname's daughter can outnumber all its sons within a generation.
How popular is Delaney around the world?
In the United States, 7,521 babies were named Delaney between 2020 and 2025.
Delaney is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, Mexico City, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 2,900
In the United States, 7,521 babies were named Delaney between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Delaney peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Delaney in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 8,100
In Canada, 45 girls named Delaney were born in 2024, the 633rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Mexico City City
1 in 24,000
In Mexico City, there were 5 registrations of Delaney in 2022.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
England and Wales
1 in 65,000
In England and Wales, 9 girls named Delaney were born in 2025, ranked 2,788th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
last on record 2017
Delaney is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 33 people in Brazil were named Delaney, ranked 88,550th, with a median age of 44.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Puerto Rico
last on record 2001
Delaney is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 5 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Not on the record in Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Delaney
Most people given the name Delaney in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Delaney · Names that go with Delaney · Nicknames for Delaney · Irish American baby names
The Delaney deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Delaney truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Delaney fits with your family’s names and surname.
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