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Boy · Old English and Latin
Dean
Say it: DEEN
Meaning
From an English surname with two sources: Old English denu 'valley', or the church office of dean (Latin decanus 'leader of ten').
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
A surname used as a given name in the US throughout the 20th century, especially from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Its wave through time
Most used in the 1960s
In the United States
- 183,444 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1961, about 1 in 431 boys
- 2,154 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Deane
Famous bearers
- Dean Martin, American singer
- James Dean, American actor
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.