Desire

Desire: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “desired; longed for”
Origin: French
Say it: deh-ZEER · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls (98% of all uses)

Desire is from French Désiré or Désirée, ultimately from Latin desiderare 'to desire, long for'. As an English word-name spelling, it may also reflect direct use of the vocabulary word.

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How popular is Desire?

202430.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Desire in 202499

2024 rank#2,193 girls

Peak year2008

Total US babies since 18805,372

Desire has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Desire

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Charlottefree man · French
Eleanormeaning uncertain · French
Eloisehealthy; wide · French
Claireclear, bright · French
Nataliebirthday of the Lord · French
Madelineof Magdala · French
Carolinefree woman · French
Allisonnoble kind · French

Desire questions

What does the name Desire mean?

Desire means "desired; longed for". It comes from French. Desire is from French Désiré or Désirée, ultimately from Latin desiderare 'to desire, long for'. As an English word-name spelling, it may also reflect direct use of the vocabulary word.

Is Desire a boy or girl name?

Desire is mainly a girl's name in US records (98% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Desire?

99 US babies were named Desire in 2024. Its peak year was 2008.

How do you pronounce Desire?

Desire is usually pronounced deh-ZEER.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.