Diane
Diane was the 2620th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 66 babies. Its best year was 1955, when it ranked 14th with 23,290 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 515 places. More babies were named Diane in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning French form of Diana (goddess; origin uncertain) · French, Latin
Say it dy-AN /daɪˈæn/
- Rank in 2025
- #2,620 girls, down 272 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 66girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195523,290 babies
- Total since 1880
- 520,034babies recorded
What does the name Diane mean?
Diane is the anglicized French form of Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt, as Wiktionary notes. DMNES calls Diana a goddess name of uncertain origin; it is often connected with Latin dīus 'divine' and an old word for 'sky, daylight', but that is not proven. Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II of France, made the French form famous. It was very common in the US in the 1940s and 1950s.
Diāna (Latin, “the goddess Diana”)dīus (Latin, “divine, heavenly”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. DMNES: of uncertain origin; the 'divine, sky' link is a common proposal.
Related names: Diana, Dianne, Deanna, Dian.
See also: Latin names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Diane', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Diana', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Diane
The usual nicknames for Diane are Di.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Di · also for Diana | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Dianes go by each one.
Diane popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,383 since 1933.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,620 | 66 |
| 2020 | #2,348 | 75 |
| 2010 | #1,570 | 140 |
| 2000 | #712 | 326 |
| 1990 | #363 | 730 |
| 1980 | #201 | 1,287 |
| 1970 | #70 | 5,188 |
| 1960 | #22 | 17,909 |
| 1950 | #16 | 17,636 |
| 1940 | #45 | 5,172 |
| 1930 | #225 | 742 |
| 1920 | #814 | 80 |
| 1910 | #741 | 33 |
| 1900 | #1,467 | 8 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Diane, counting every spelling?
Diane is the most common spelling of a name family that had 87 girls in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 87 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diane | 66 | #2,620 | 400 |
| Dianne | 21 | #5,775 | 98 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Diane?
66 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Diane (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Diane born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 127 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Diane.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Diane?
About 386,200 people born in the US named Diane are alive today, with a median age of 69; half are between 63 and 75. That makes Diane a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Diane by state
How common Diane was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 43 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Diane: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Diane, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Diane · Sibling names for Diane
Questions about the name Diane
What does Diane mean?
Diane is usually explained as “French form of Diana (goddess; origin uncertain)”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Diane?
Diane was the 2620th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 66 babies. Its best year was 1955, when it ranked 14th with 23,290 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 515 places. More babies were named Diane in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Diane a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Diane in the US.
Where is Diane most popular?
In 2021–2025, Diane was most common in California (0.06 per 1,000 girls), followed by New York and Texas.