Dante
Dante is an Italian given name and surname. Etymologically, it is short for an old given name, Durante, and was first made popular by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, whose real name was Durante.
- Italian
Meaning & Origin of Dante
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Dante is an Italian given name and surname. Etymologically, it is short for an old given name, Durante, and was first made popular by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, whose real name was Durante.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Italian
The Story of Dante
Dante first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1908, with 7 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1998, when 1,670 Dantes were born — ranking #201 that year. As of 2026, Dante ranks #329 for baby boys with 1,054 births, holding steady (-2%). In total, more than 53K Dantes have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1900s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Dante
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Dante. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Dante
Phonetically similar names — useful when Dante is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dante
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About the name Dante
Dante is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1908 and has accumulated 53K births in the dataset. Dante's peak popularity came in 1998 when it ranked #200. Use the chart and map above to compare Dante's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1998 →
- Names of the 1990s →
- Names starting with "D" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.