Dewey

Where Dewey comes from

Possibly from a place name in Northern France, Douai. Welsh origin from Dewi (David) has also been suggested.
— Wiktionary's entry for Dewey
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1887
    First appearance
    #921 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1898
    Peak, #19
    1,115 babies named Dewey — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1899
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #39.
  4. 1923
    Dewey Martin born
    American actor
  5. 1931
    Dewey Redman born
    American saxophonist
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, of 1890s American usage.
Namesakes
  • Dewey Redman · American saxophonist, 1931–2006
  • Dewey Martin · American actor, 1923–2018
  • Dewey F. Bartlett · American politician, 1919–1979
  • Dewey Martin · Canadian rock drummer, best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield, 1940–2009
  • Dewey Bunnell · American folk-rock musician, founder of the group America, born 1952

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.