Deborah
Meaning of Deborah
Deborah, a feminine given name derived from the Hebrew דְּבֹורָה (Devorah, “bee”), entered English usage through the Authorized Version of the Bible, where the prophet-judge of Judges 4–5 lends the designation an enduring association with decisiveness, strategic intelligence, and civic leadership. After intermittent Puritan adoption, the name remained statistically modest in the United States until a pronounced post-war surge: registrations climbed from a few hundred at the close of the 1940s to nearly 30,000 in 1959, securing Top-10 status, before receding in a gradual, data-documented decline to 316 births and rank 640 in 2024. Contemporary pronunciation is most commonly either DEB-ruh /ˈdɛbrə/ or, especially in North America, dih-BOR-uh /dɪˈbɔrə/, with casual forms Debbie, Deb, and Debs persisting in colloquial registers. Although its numerical popularity has waned, Deborah’s scriptural provenance and mid-century cultural footprint confer on it a balanced blend of historical gravitas and understated modernity.
Pronunciation
British English
- Pronunced as DEB-ruh (/ˈdɛbrə/)
American English
- Pronunced as dih-BOR-uh (/dɪˈbɔrə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Deborah
| Deborah Birx is an American physician and diplomat who coordinated the White House Coronavirus Task Force and has extensive expertise in HIV/AIDS and global health. |
| Deborah Kerr, a Scottish actress, earned six Oscar nominations and was renowned for her elegant portrayals of proper women. |
| Deborah Cox is a Canadian singer best known for her 1998 platinum album "One Wish" and the hit single "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here." |
| Deborah Sampson Gannett was a woman who disguised herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and her identity was discovered after 17 months. |
| Deborah Esther Lipstadt is an American historian and diplomat recognized for her influential work on Holocaust studies and combating anti-Semitism. |
| Deborah Fialho Secco is a renowned Brazilian actress and model who gained fame in 1994 and has starred in many popular TV series and films. |
| Deborah Willis is an acclaimed African-American artist, photographer, and educator, a MacArthur Fellow who chairs NYU's photography department and was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2024. |
| Deborah Cadbury is a British author, historian, and BBC television producer who has earned numerous international awards, including an Emmy. |
| Deborah Anne Norville is an American television journalist and businesswoman, best known for anchoring Inside Edition, authoring a New York Times best-seller, and running a yarn company for knitting and crochet enthusiasts. |
| Deborah Meaden is a British businessperson and TV personality, best known for her role as a Dragon on Dragons' Den after running a successful family holiday business. |
| Deborah Squash escaped slavery from George Washington's plantation in 1781 and later sailed to Nova Scotia as one of the 3,000 blacks recorded in the Book of Negroes. |
| Deborah Levy is a South African novelist, playwright, and poet who transitioned from acclaimed theatre work to writing Booker-shortlisted novels such as Swimming Home and Hot Milk. |
| Deborah Lee James - Deborah Roche Lee James was the 23rd Secretary of the Air Force and the second woman to serve in that role. |
| Deborah Harkness is an American scholar and novelist best known for her All Souls Trilogy, including the best-selling "A Discovery of Witches," and its sequel "The Black Bird Oracle." |
| Deborah Eisenberg is an American short story writer, actress, and professor at Columbia University. |
