Despina
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- dess-PEE-na
- Origin
- Greek
- US rank, 2025
- #14,937 for girls
Despina is a girls' name of Greek origin, meaning “lady; mistress”. In 2025 it ranked 14,937th for girls in the US (5 babies).
What does Despina mean?
Greek: from despoina
“lady; mistress”
In Greek usage it honours the Virgin Mary as 'Our Lady'; Despina is also the scheming maid in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.
Is Despina a girl's or a boy's name?
Despina is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Despina in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1997, with 5 girls.
Despina in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | #7,582 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 5 | #4,148 |
| 2020 | 3 | #5,734 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 3 | #5,896 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,967 |
| 2016 | 4 | #4,980 |
| 2015 | 4 | #4,951 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 3 | #6,108 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 4 | #4,795 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 3 | #4,789 |
| 2003 | 4 | #3,768 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 5 | #2,896 |
How popular is Despina in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 14,937th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 5 about 1 in 320,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 5 girls in the US were named Despina, making it the 14,937th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,948th. Its busiest year was 1976, with 36 girls. It first appears in the records in 1914.
2025 had fewer girls named Despina than any year since 1951.
Half of all the girls named Despina in the US since 1880 were born between 1953 and 1995, the years shaded on the chart below.
Despina in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #14,937 |
| 2024 | 16 | #6,928 |
| 2023 | 14 | #7,635 |
| 2022 | 8 | #11,225 |
| 2021 | 11 | #8,973 |
| 2020 | 11 | #8,948 |
| 2019 | 14 | #7,712 |
| 2018 | 14 | #7,758 |
| 2017 | 9 | #10,685 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,109 |
| 2015 | 9 | #10,861 |
| 2014 | 17 | #6,985 |
| 2013 | 12 | #9,031 |
| 2012 | 8 | #12,193 |
| 2011 | 12 | #9,146 |
| 2010 | 9 | #11,240 |
| 2009 | 17 | #7,338 |
| 2008 | 14 | #8,525 |
| 2007 | 16 | #7,729 |
| 2006 | 15 | #7,865 |
| 2005 | 12 | #8,878 |
| 2004 | 12 | #8,711 |
| 2003 | 14 | #7,575 |
| 2002 | 17 | #6,386 |
| 2001 | 11 | #8,751 |
| 2000 | 8 | #10,738 |
| 1999 | 16 | #6,185 |
| 1998 | 20 | #5,119 |
| 1997 | 7 | #10,831 |
| 1996 | 16 | #5,766 |
| 1995 | 20 | #4,841 |
| 1994 | 14 | #6,313 |
| 1993 | 17 | #5,413 |
| 1992 | 8 | #9,483 |
| 1991 | 23 | #4,323 |
| 1990 | 10 | #7,874 |
| 1989 | 16 | #5,280 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,060 |
| 1987 | 18 | #4,471 |
| 1986 | 13 | #5,456 |
| 1985 | 22 | #3,729 |
| 1984 | 23 | #3,526 |
| 1983 | 28 | #2,974 |
| 1982 | 19 | #4,024 |
| 1981 | 14 | #4,962 |
| 1980 | 27 | #3,134 |
| 1979 | 25 | #3,236 |
| 1978 | 28 | #2,859 |
| 1977 | 30 | #2,715 |
| 1976 | 36 | #2,292 |
| 1975 | 22 | #3,155 |
| 1974 | 21 | #3,212 |
| 1973 | 18 | #3,480 |
| 1972 | 21 | #3,062 |
| 1971 | 21 | #3,166 |
| 1970 | 20 | #3,208 |
| 1969 | 19 | #3,101 |
| 1968 | 19 | #2,969 |
| 1967 | 17 | #3,084 |
| 1966 | 27 | #2,307 |
| 1965 | 16 | #3,148 |
| 1964 | 17 | #3,107 |
| 1963 | 10 | #4,271 |
| 1962 | 18 | #2,921 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,059 |
| 1960 | 18 | #2,903 |
| 1959 | 12 | #3,618 |
| 1958 | 7 | #4,889 |
| 1957 | 10 | #3,929 |
| 1956 | 7 | #4,836 |
| 1955 | 8 | #4,375 |
| 1954 | 7 | #4,653 |
| 1953 | 13 | #3,105 |
| 1952 | 13 | #3,039 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 7 | #4,313 |
| 1949 | 9 | #3,611 |
| 1948 | 13 | #2,827 |
| 1947 | 6 | #4,762 |
| 1946 | 6 | #4,416 |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 8 | #3,377 |
| 1943 | 7 | #3,800 |
| 1942 | 6 | #4,122 |
| 1941 | 6 | #3,952 |
| 1940 | 8 | #3,206 |
| 1939 | 7 | #3,427 |
| 1938 | 14 | #2,225 |
| 1937 | 8 | #3,145 |
| 1936 | 6 | #3,699 |
| 1935 | 9 | #2,924 |
| 1934 | 7 | #3,447 |
| 1933 | 8 | #3,108 |
| 1932 | 17 | #1,956 |
| 1931 | 17 | #1,940 |
| 1930 | 15 | #2,201 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,436 |
| 1928 | 12 | #2,622 |
| 1927 | 19 | #2,025 |
| 1926 | 14 | #2,473 |
| 1925 | 18 | #2,118 |
| 1924 | 17 | #2,211 |
| 1923 | 9 | #3,349 |
| 1922 | 10 | #3,150 |
| 1921 | 11 | #2,940 |
| 1920 | 13 | #2,590 |
| 1919 | 12 | #2,639 |
| 1918 | 8 | #3,511 |
| 1917 | 8 | #3,342 |
| 1916 | 5 | #4,415 |
| 1915 | 6 | #3,793 |
| 1914 | 5 | #3,617 |
Names like Despina
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Lara, Athena, Maria, Elena, Sophia, Diana, Sara, Selena, Ariana, Melissa, Jessica, Aurora
More Greek names
Luca, Theodore, George, Theo, Lucas, Sofia, Alexander, Sebastian, Penelope, Phoebe, Margot, Luke, Chloe, Sophie, Zoe, Iris
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Despina: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/despina, updated 20 October 2026.