Fun Facts About the Name Dafne
- More than 3 thousand babies named Dafne: U.S. records list 3,521 babies given the name Dafne from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Dafne Mean?
Dafne is the Italian and Spanish form of the Greek name Daphne (Δάφνη), which means "laurel" or "bay tree" - specifically the sweet bay, Laurus nobilis, the evergreen whose leaves were used for wreaths. The Greek noun δάφνη names that tree; the literal sense is botanical, and the later associations with victory and poetry come from how the leaves were used, not from the word's meaning.
The deeper origin of the Greek word is not securely known. It is generally treated as a pre-Greek or substrate word of the Aegean region rather than a formation from a recognizable Indo-European root, so its ultimate etymology is uncertain.
The spelling Dafne reflects the regular Italian and Spanish rendering of Greek ph as f; Latin and English kept the ph and use Daphne.
Dafne Name History & Origins
In Greek myth, Daphne was a nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus (in some versions, of Ladon), who was pursued by Apollo. As she fled, she called on her father for help and was transformed into a laurel tree. The story is told by Ovid in the Metamorphoses and by other ancient writers. Because the laurel was sacred to Apollo, its leaves were used for the wreaths given to victors and poets, and that link gave the name its later poetic overtones.
The name was used in the Greek-speaking world and passed into Latin as Daphne. Modern European use of the name grew mainly out of classical and pastoral traditions, and England adopted the ph form in the 18th century. The Italian and Spanish Dafne keeps the simplified f spelling natural to those languages; in German-speaking areas both Daphne and Dafne appear.
Dafne is also the title of Jacopo Peri's setting of the Daphne story, first performed in 1598 to a libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini and commonly described as the earliest opera. Marco da Gagliano set the same libretto in 1608, and Heinrich Schütz composed a Dafne in 1627. These works drew on the ancient myth; they did not originate the name.
How Popular is the Name Dafne?
Dafne recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2024. Its best rank was #876 in 2024.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,047 | 237 | 0.0147% |
| 2024 | #876 | 307 | 0.0190% |
| 2023 | #1,019 | 248 | 0.0155% |
| 2022 | #1,415 | 160 | 0.0098% |
| 2021 | #1,875 | 106 | 0.0065% |
| 2020 | #2,261 | 79 | 0.0049% |
| 2019 | #2,220 | 83 | 0.0049% |
| 2018 | #1,981 | 99 | 0.0058% |
| 2017 | #2,011 | 98 | 0.0057% |
| 2016 | #2,096 | 93 | 0.0052% |
| 2015 | #2,095 | 93 | 0.0052% |
| 2014 | #1,460 | 154 | 0.0086% |
| 2013 | #2,126 | 89 | 0.0051% |
| 2012 | #2,213 | 85 | 0.0048% |
| 2011 | #2,197 | 86 | 0.0049% |
| 2010 | #1,901 | 106 | 0.0060% |
| 2009 | #1,953 | 107 | 0.0058% |
| 2008 | #1,764 | 125 | 0.0066% |
| 2007 | #1,746 | 124 | 0.0065% |
| 2006 | #1,897 | 107 | 0.0056% |
| 2005 | #1,732 | 114 | 0.0062% |
| 2004 | #1,619 | 120 | 0.0065% |
| 2003 | #1,788 | 105 | 0.0057% |
| 2002 | #1,588 | 117 | 0.0065% |
| 2001 | #968 | 224 | 0.0124% |
| 2000 | #2,574 | 58 | 0.0032% |
| 1999 | #4,901 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1998 | #4,826 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1997 | #5,684 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1996 | #6,135 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1995 | #5,062 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1994 | #5,069 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1993 | #6,020 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1992 | #5,780 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1991 | #5,035 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1990 | #7,417 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1989 | #7,075 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1988 | #6,744 | 11 | 0.0006% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Dafne Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are strong in material matters, determined and stubborn. You have good business ability. You are a good worker, steady and practical, a builder who takes responsibility well. These qualities may bring you a position of authority and power. You are a doer, down-to-earth, serious-minded, reliable, and self-disciplined; have good power of concentration. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Dafne's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Dafne's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.