Debbie (or Debby or Deb) is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

, commonly but not always short for

Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...

(or

Debra Debra is a feminine given name. Debra may refer to: People * Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer * Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet * Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician * Debra Austin (born 1955), American ba ...

and related variants). Debbie is a name of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

origin, derived from the Hebrew name

, which means “

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

”.

Notable people

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

, American actress, choreographer and film director *

Debbie Abrahams Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (; born 15 September 1960) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Oldham East and Saddleworth since 2011. Abrahams was a member of the Shadow Cabinet of Jerem ...

, British Labour Party politician *

Debbie Amis Bell Debbie Amis Bell (1940 – February 5, 2017) was an American Civil Rights activist, SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) member, and active associate of the Communist Party USA. Bell was a Field Organizer for the SNCC. She is most we ...

, American Civil Rights activist *

Debbie Armstrong Debra Rae "Debbie" Armstrong (born December 6, 1963) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Seattle, Washington. She was the first Olympic gold medalist from the U.S. in women's alpine skiing in twelve years, winning the giant slalom at the ...

, American athlete *

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

, American singer and author *

Debbie Brill Debbie Arden Brill, (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian high jump athlete who at the age of 16 became the first North American woman to clear 6 feet. Her reverse jumping style—which is now almost exclusively the technique of elite high jumpers ...

, Canadian high jumper * Debbie Cook, Californian politician, mayor of Huntington Beach, California * Debbie Crosbie (born 1969/1970), British banker *

Debbie Deb Deborah Claire Wesoff-Kowalski (born March 10, 1966), known professionally as Debbie Deb, is an American singer and songwriter best known for her 1980s freestyle dance singles "Lookout Weekend" and " When I Hear Music". Early life Debbie Deb wa ...

, American singer *

Debbie Fuller Deborah Lynne Fuller (born 24 June 1966) is a former competition diver who represented Canada at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1984. She won a bronze medal at the 1987 Pan American Games in and two gold medals at the 1986 Comm ...

, Canadian diver *

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She released her debut album ''Out of the Blue (Debbie Gibson album), Out of the Blue'' (1987) at age 16, writing and largely producing the material. The a ...

, American singer, songwriter and actress *

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

, lead singer from the band Blondie *

Debbie Lesko Debra Kay Lesko ( ; née Lorenz; born November 14, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Arizona. Lesko, a member of the Arizona Republican Party, Republican Party, serves on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors representing the 4 ...

, American politician *

Debbie Marti Deborah Jane Marti (born 14 May 1968) is a former high jumper from England, who was born in Switzerland. She represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, finishing ninth in the 1992 final. She set her out ...

, English high jumper *

Debbie Matenopoulos Despina "Debbie" Matenopoulos (born ) is an American television host, journalist, and lifestyle expert. Early life Matenopoulos was born in Richmond, Virginia, of Greek ancestry. She is the daughter of Efrosini, a hair stylist, and Nicolaos T. ...

, American television personality and actress *

Debbie McLeod Debbie McLeod (born 20 October 1972 in Dundee) is a female field hockey goalkeeper from Scotland. She played club hockey for Bonagrass Grove, and made her debut for the Women's National Team in 1999. McLeod works as a swimming pool technician ...

, Scottish field hockey player *

Debbie Meyer Deborah Elizabeth Meyer (born August 14, 1952), also known by her married name Deborah Meyer Weber, is an American former competition swimmer, a 1968 three-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in five freestyle events, 200,400 ...

, American swimmer *

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell Deborah Mucarsel-Powell ( ; born January 18, 1971) is an American politician and academic administrator who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party (Unit ...

, American politician *

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer Debbie Anne Ngarewa-Packer is a New Zealand politician, iwi leader and activist. She is a Member of Parliament and co-leader of Te Pāti Māori alongside Rawiri Waititi, and is the chief executive of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi. Ngarewa-Packer st ...

, New Zealand politician *

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...

, American actress (born Mary Frances Reynolds) *

Debby Ryan Deborah Ann Ryan (born May 13, 1993) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She started acting professionally onstage at the age of seven, and was later discovered during Disney Channel's nationwide search for new talent. She had starrin ...

, American actress *

Debbie Ryan Debbie Ryan (born November 4, 1952) is an American former women's basketball coach who coached at the University of Virginia. Ryan also coached the American women's basketball team at the 2003 Pan American Games. She was diagnosed with pancreat ...

, American basketball coach *

Debby Susanto Debby Susanto (born 3 May 1989) is an Indonesian former badminton player who specializes in doubles. She joined PB Djarum, a badminton club in Kudus, Central Java from 2006 until her retirement. Susanto known as Muhammad Rijal's longtime partn ...

, Indonesian former badminton player * Debbie Muir (born 1953), Canadian former synchronized swimmer and coach *

Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer; born April 29, 1950) is an American politician who served from 2001 to 2025 as a United States senator from Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, she was Michigan's first female U.S. senator. Before he ...

, American legislator *

Debbie Turner Debbie Turner (born September 5, 1956) is an American actress who played the role of Marta von Trapp in the film ''The Sound of Music''. Life and career Turner was born and raised in Arcadia, California. In 1964 she won the role of Marta Von Tr ...

, actor, Marta von Trapp in 'The Sound of Music' * Debbye Turner, Miss America 1990 *

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Deborah Wasserman Schultz ( Wasserman; ; born September 27, 1966) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , first elected to Congress in United States House of Representatives elec ...

, American legislator *

Debbie Rowe Deborah Jeanne Rowe (born December 6, 1958) is an American nurse known for being the wife of pop musician Michael Jackson, with whom she had two children. Early life Debbie Rowe was born on December 6, 1958, in Spokane, Washington, to Barbara C ...

, Michael Jackson’s ex wife * Debbie Young, British writer * Debbie Yow, American college basketball player

Fictional characters

* Debbie Bates'', a character from the BBC soap oprea ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' * Debbie Benton, (portrayed by

Bambi Woods Bambi Woods is an American former pornographic film actress and exotic dancer best known for her appearance as the title character in the 1978 film '' Debbie Does Dallas''. Her success during the Golden Age of Porn and later disappearance fueled ...

), the eponymous lead in the film, ''

Debbie Does Dallas ''Debbie Does Dallas'' is a 1978 American pornographic film produced and directed by Jim Clark, and starring Bambi Woods. The plot focuses on a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send the title character to Dallas, Texas to ...

'' *

Debbie Dean (Hollyoaks) Debra "Debbie" Dean is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Jodi Albert. She first appeared in 2002, before Albert quit the role in 2004. She made her final appearance during 2005, before making a b ...

(portrayed by

Jodi Albert Jodi Albert (born 22 July 1983) is a British actress and singer, best known for playing Debbie Dean (Hollyoaks), Debbie Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', as a member of Simon Cowell's British girl group Girl Thing, and as a member ...

), a character in the British soap opera, ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'' *

Debbie Dingle Debbie Dingle (also Jones and Barton) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Charley Webb. Webb has taken maternity leave three times, with the first time being in 2010, and the second in 2016, with ...

(portrayed by

Charley Webb Charlene Joanne Webb (born 26 February 1988), commonly known as Charley Webb, is an English actress. From 2002 to 2021, she portrayed the role of Debbie Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. In 2014, she was nominated for Best Female ...

), a character in the British soap opera, ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' *

Debbie Downer Debbie Downer is a fictional ''Saturday Night Live'' character who debuted in 2004, and was created and portrayed by Rachel Dratch. Dratch's character usually appears at social gatherings and interrupts the conversation to voice negative opinion ...

(portrayed by

Rachel Dratch Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. After she graduated from Dartmouth College, she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. Dratch's breakthr ...

), a character on

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

* Debbie Edwards (portrayed by

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...

and

Lana Wood Lana Wood (born Svetlana Lisa Gurdin; March 1, 1946) is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut in ''The Searchers'' as a child actress and later achieved notability for playing Sandy Webber on the TV series '' Peyton Place'' a ...

), character in the film'',

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...

'' *

Debbie Eagan ''GLOW (TV series), GLOW'' is an Television in the United States, American television series created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, based on the women's wrestling promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW). The following is a list of charact ...

, from the Netflix series '' GLOW'' * Debbie Gallagher (portrayed by

Rebecca Ryan Rebecca Ryan (born 27 April 1991) is a British actress from Manchester, England, best known for her role as Debbie Gallagher in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Shameless'' (2004–2009). Ryan also appeared as Vicki MacDonald in the BBC On ...

), one of the lead characters in British & American television drama, '' Shameless'' & '' Shameless'' (portrayed by

Emma Kenney Emma Rose Kenney (born September 14, 1999) is an American actress known as Debbie Gallagher on '' Shameless'' from 2011-2021, and Harris Conner-Healy in the tenth season of ''Roseanne'' and its spin-off, ''The Conners''. Early life Kenney w ...

) * Debbie Grayson, wife to

Omni-Man Omni-Man (Nolan Grayson) is a character in American comic books published by Image Comics. He was created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker (with Ryan Ottley) as an expansion of a character concept created by Alan Moore and Chris S ...

in ''Invincible'' * Debbie Jellinsky (portrayed by

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In ...

), main antagonist in the film ''

Addams Family Values ''Addams Family Values'' is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to ''The Addams Family'' (1991). The film ...

'' * Debbie Kang, minor character in '' Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja'' * Debbie Turnbull (voiced by

Lorraine Pilkington Lorraine Pilkington (born 18 April 1974) is an Ireland, Irish actress from Dublin who is best known for her roles as Katrina Finlay from ''Monarch of the Glen (TV series), Monarch of the Glen'' and Lulu in ''Human Traffic''. Early life and ed ...

), mother of protagonist Tommy Turnbull in the British-French animated series ''

Robotboy ''Robotboy'' is an animated television series that aired from 1 November 2005 to 27 September 2008 on Cartoon Network (British and Irish TV channel), Cartoon Network in the UK. In the United States, it aired on Cartoon Network, premiering on 14 ...

Songs

*"Debbie" by R. Stevie Moore from the album ''Everything You Always Wanted To Know About R. Stevie Moore But Were Afraid To Ask'' *"

Debbie Debbie (or Debby or Deb) is a feminine given name, commonly but not always short for Deborah (or Debra and related variants). Debbie is a name of Hebrew origin, derived from the Hebrew name Deborah, which means “ bee”. Notable people *Debb ...

," one of two new songs from

the B-52s The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant grocer's apostrophe, apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate ...

' 1998 compilation album ''Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation'' *"Debbie character used in the song "1985" by American pop-rock band Bowling for Soup *"Debbie", by

Johnny Crawford John Ernest Crawford (March 26, 1946 – April 29, 2021) was an American actor and singer. He first performed before a national audience as a Mouseketeer. At age 12, Crawford rose to prominence playing Mark McCain in the series ''The Rifleman ...

from ''A Young Man's Fancy'', 1962 *"Debbie", by

Wale Wale or WALE may refer to: Places * Wale, Devon, a hamlet in England * Wale, Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, a village in Poland People * Wale (surname) *Wale (rapper), stage name of American rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin Radio and televisi ...

from '' Wow... That's Crazy'', 2019

Other uses

*Little Debbie snacks *

List of storms named Debbie The name Debbie has been used for six tropical cyclones worldwide, four in the Atlantic Ocean and two in the Australian region. In the Atlantic: *Tropical Storm Debbie (1957), struck the Florida panhandle *Hurricane Debbie (1961), Category 1 ...

List of storms named Debby The name Debby has been used for eight tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean. * Hurricane Debby (1982) – reached Category 4 strength, grazed Bermuda, and caused high winds at Cape Race, but no significant damage * Hurricane Debby (1988) – m ...

* Debby (polar bear), the world's oldest polar bear *" Debbie (''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' episode)", a season 7 episode of the sitcom ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' *

, a 1978 film

References

{{given name English feminine given names English-language feminine given names Feminine given names

Notable people

Fictional characters

Songs

Other uses

See also

References