Dede

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Dede is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Indonesian given name114K records spelled Dede10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Malaysia, Russia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Dede, Dédé, Dede', Dedë, Dèdè

• English given name39K records spelled Dede16 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Canada

  Languages: English, Western Frisian

  Also written Dédé, De-De, Dedè, Dèdè, Dede'

• Portuguese given name14K records spelled Dede25 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, Argentina, Spain

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish

  Also written Dedé, Dedê, Dédé, Dêdê, Dedè

• French given name13K records spelled Dede10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, Côte d’Ivoire

  Also written Dédé, Dèdè, Dède, Dedé, Dėdė

• Hindi given name9.6K records spelled Dede7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Nigeria, Malaysia

  Also written Dëdë, Dedë, Dédé, Dèdè, Dedè

• Chinese given name3.2K records spelled Dede4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Taiwan, Türkiye, Malaysia

  Also written Dedé, De-De, Dédé

• a separate given name2.8K records spelled Dede8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, Türkiye, United Kingdom

  Also written Dédé, Dèdè, Dedè, Dedé, Dėdė

66 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Dede is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Turkish, grandfather

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Turkish, 1. Babanın veya ananın babası. 2. Ata. 3. Mevlevi tarikatında çile doldurmuş dervişlere verilen san.

  as a word·TDK Kişi Adları Sözlüğü (official Turkish given-name dictionary)

• First daughter.

  as a name·The African book of names

• In Latin, second-person singular present active imperative of dēdō

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In dum, first/third-person singular past indicative of doen

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 55 years between 1933–2022. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Dede Allenb. 1923USAmerican film editor (1923-2010)
• Dede Wilsonb. 1937USAmerican poet
• Dede Wilseyb. 1944USAmerican socialite and philanthropist
• DeDe Lindb. 1947USAmerican glamour model (1947–2020)
• Dede Feldmanb. 1947USAmerican politician
• Dede Oetomob. 1953IDIndonesian LGBT rights activist
• Dede Yusufb. 1966IDIndonesian actor and politician
• Dede Gardnerb. 1967USAmerican film producer
• Dede Supriatnab. 1971IDIndonesian carpenter (1971–2016)
• Dede Camarab. 1991GNGuinean swimmer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 222 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Dede?

We estimate roughly 2.3 thousand people bear Dede (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Dede have the most bearers?

Dede is most frequently recorded in Türkiye, where it is most often spelled dede.

How common is Dede compared with other names?

In Türkiye, Dede is the 904th most common given name of 294,597 given names recorded there.

Is Dede a male or female name?

Dede is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Dede mean?

Recorded meaning: Obsolete spelling of deed.