# Dennis (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/dennis/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “follower of (the wine god) dionysus” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɛnɪs/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Den, Dyson, Tyson |
| Variant spellings | Denis, Denys |
| US babies named this | 623,692 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 621,000 / 2,692 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,725, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Denis, from Old French saint's name Denis, brought to England by Normans; from Latin Dionysius, a masculine name literally meaning “follower of (the wine god) Dionysus”.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 25 | 5,102 |
| 2005 | 15 | 7,606 |
| 2006 | 13 | 8,862 |
| 2007 | 21 | 6,389 |
| 2008 | 17 | 7,499 |
| 2009 | 14 | 8,563 |
| 2010 | 8 | 12,596 |
| 2011 | 15 | 7,898 |
| 2014 | 6 | 15,074 |
| 2016 | 7 | 13,276 |
| 2017 | 5 | 16,505 |
| 2020 | 6 | 13,871 |
| 2021 | 8 | 11,383 |
| 2022 | 5 | 15,921 |
| 2024 | 5 | 15,891 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 685 | 413 |
| 2012 | 661 | 424 |
| 2013 | 625 | 454 |
| 2014 | 578 | 486 |
| 2015 | 592 | 494 |
| 2016 | 587 | 510 |
| 2017 | 516 | 545 |
| 2018 | 497 | 556 |
| 2019 | 510 | 553 |
| 2020 | 414 | 647 |
| 2021 | 385 | 690 |
| 2022 | 423 | 652 |
| 2023 | 427 | 644 |
| 2024 | 376 | 709 |
| 2025 | 381 | 707 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 100 | 392 |
| 2012 | 93 | 425 |
| 2013 | 118 | 348 |
| 2014 | 114 | 365 |
| 2015 | 120 | 368 |
| 2016 | 133 | 350 |
| 2017 | 139 | 343 |
| 2018 | 131 | 349 |
| 2019 | 109 | 399 |
| 2020 | 104 | 398 |
| 2021 | 126 | 356 |
| 2022 | 109 | 388 |
| 2023 | 87 | 461 |
| 2024 | 89 | 453 |
| 2025 | 81 | 478 |

## In other languages

- Bulgarian: Денис
- Catalan: Dionís
- Chinese: 丹尼斯
- Czech: Denis
- Danish: Dennis
- Dutch: Dennis
- French: Denis
- German: Dennis, Denis
- Greek: Ντένις
- Hungarian: Dénes
- Italian: Dionisio
- Japanese: デニス
- Korean: 데니스
- Norwegian: Dennis
- Polish: Dionizy
- Portuguese: Dinis, Diniz, Dênis
- Russian: Дени́с, Дэ́ннис
- Spanish: Dionisio
- Swedish: Dennis
- Tagalog: Densyo

## People named Dennis

- Dennis M. Ritchie, American computer scientist, co-inventor of the Unix operating system and the C programmin
- Dennis Hopper, American actor and film director (1936–2010)
- Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch association football player (born 1969)
- Dennis Quaid, American actor
- Dennis Rodman, American basketball player (born 1961)
- Dennis Tito, American businessman
- Dennis Rommedahl, Danish footballer
- Dennis Kucinich, American politician (born 1946)
- Dennis Aogo, German association football player
- Dennis Lehane, American novelist (born 1965)
- Dennis Farina, American actor (1944–2013)
- Dennis Haysbert, American actor (born 1954)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.