Dewayne is an American spelling of Dwayne and Duane, which come from the Irish surname Ó Dubháin and mean "little dark one", from dubh, dark or black. Dwayne became a fixture of mid-century American naming, and Dewayne was its most common variant in the South. The name entered this century in the top 1000 at number 863 in 2000, fell out of it in the 2000s and has drifted to number 2457 in 2025 with 55 boys.