Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius.
The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is sometimes said to be derived from the Greek Dios (Διός, "of Zeus") and Nysos or Nysa (Νῦσα), where the young god was raised. Dionysus (or Dionysos; also known as Bacchus in Roman mythology and associated with the Italic Liber), the Thracian god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its social and beneficent influences. He is viewed as the promoter of civilization, a lawgiver, and a lover of peace—as well as the patron deity of both agriculture and the theatre.
Dionysus is a god of mystery religious rites, such as those practised in honour of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis near Athens. In the Thracian mysteries, he wears the "bassaris" or fox-skin, symbolizing new life. (See also Maenads.)
A mediaeval Latinised form of the Anglo-Norman surname Le Denys was Dacus, which correctly meant Dacian, but when the Vikings were about was often used to mean "Danish" or "The Dane". The name became modernised as Denys, then later as Dennis.
Alternative forms and spellings of the name include Denis, Denys, Dennys, Denish, Deon, Deonne, Deonte, and Dion, Dionice. Diminutive forms include Den, Dennoh, Deno, Denny, Deny and Deen.
The name Sydenie (alternate spellings: Sydney or Sidney) may derive from a village in Normandy called Saint-Denis. A medieval diminutive was Dye, from which the names Dyson and Tyson are derived.
Dennis is a very popular English, Irish and Danish name, common throughout the English-speaking world, and a very popular French name, common throughout the Francophone world. It is also common as a German, Italian, Dutch, Croatian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, Brazilian, Bosnian, and Albanian name.
Dionizy is the Polish version of the name, while Dionigi and Dionisio are the Italian versions of the name. The Irish name Donnchadh is sometimes anglicised as Denis, but has a different origin and is in fact related to the names Duncan and Donagh. Feminine versions of the name include: Denise, Denisa, Deni, Denice, Deniece, Dione, and Dionne.
Variants
Dānnísī (丹尼斯): Chinese Dénes, Dienes, Gyenis, Gyenes: Hungarian Denis: Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian (Денис), Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Macedonian (Денис), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian (Денис), Serbian (also Денис), Slovak, Slovene Deniseu (데니스): Korean Denisas: Lithuanian Deniss: Latvian Denisu (デニス): Japanese Denijs: Middle Dutch Deniz: Turkish (actual meaning is sea) A common male and female Turkish name, etymologically not related to "Dennis", but based on the Turkish word for "sea": 'deniz'. Dênis: Portuguese (Brazilian) Dennis: Danish, Dutch, English, German, Norwegian, Swedish Denny: English Denys (Денис): Ukrainian Dinis, Diniz, Dionísio: Portuguese Dion: English, French (medieval diminutive), Greek (diminutive: Δίων) Dionigi: Italian Dionisius, Dennis : Indonesian Dionís: Catalan Dionise, Dionisie: Romanian Dionisije (Дионисије): Serbian Dionisio: Italian, Spanish Dionisos (Դիոնիսոս): Armenian Dionizy; Dionizjusz (archaic): Polish Dionysios (Διονύσιος): Greek Dionýz: Slovak Diviš: Czech Donncha: Irish Dzianis (Дзяніс): Belarusian Genis (Генис): Udmurt Tõnis: Estonian
People with the given name Dennis Common combinations with the given name Dennis
Dennis Allen Dennis Anderson Dennis Avery Dennis Bailey Dennis Baker Dennis Bell Dennis Bennett Dennis Blair Dennis Boles Dennis Boyd Dennis Brown Dennis Burton Dennis Carter Dennis Casey Dennis Davis Dennis Donovan Dennis Dougherty Dennis Edwards Dennis Elwell Dennis Evans Dennis Flores Dennis Francis Dennis Freeman Dennis Gallagher Dennis Geiger Dennis Gibson Dennis Gilbert Dennis Green Dennis Greene Dennis Hale Dennis Hampson Dennis Harris Dennis Hayden Dennis Hayes Dennis Hickey Dennis Hughes Dennis Isherwood Dennis James Dennis Jennings Dennis Jensen Dennis John Dennis Johnson Dennis Jones Dennis Kelly Dennis Kennedy Dennis King Dennis Law Dennis Lawrence Dennis Lee Dennis Leigh Dennis Leonard Dennis Lloyd Dennis Lyons Dennis Marks Dennis Marshall Dennis Matthews Dennis McCarthy Dennis McCord Dennis McCoy Dennis McGuire Dennis McNamara Dennis Millar Dennis Miller Dennis Montgomery Dennis Moore Dennis Moran Dennis Morgan Dennis Morris Dennis Mullins Dennis Murphy Dennis Murray Dennis Nelson Dennis Nolan Dennis O'Brien Dennis O'Connor Dennis O'Neill Dennis O'Sullivan Dennis Olsen Dennis Peters Dennis Phillips Dennis Rasmussen Dennis Richardson Dennis Rivera Dennis Roberts Dennis Robertson Dennis Schmidt Dennis Scott Dennis Smith Dennis Stewart Dennis Sullivan Dennis Taylor Dennis Thompson Dennis Walker Dennis Ward Dennis Waterman Dennis White Dennis Williams Dennis Wilson Dennis Young
A–E Dennis van Aarssen (born 1994), Dutch singer Dennis Aase (1942–2023), American race car driver Dennis Abgrall (born 1953), Canadian ice hockey player Dennis Edward Aboagye (born 1985), Ghanaian politician Dennis Acton, American politician Dennis Adams (born 1948), American artist Dennis Adams (boxer) (1934–1971), American boxer Dennis Adeniran (born 1999), English footballer Dennis Dominic Adjei (born 1964), Ghanaian judge Dennis Adkins, American politician Dennis Agajanian, American musician Dennis Agyekum (born 1996), Ghanaian footballer Dennis A. Ahlburg, Australian economist Dennis Akumu (1934–2016), Kenyan politician and trade union leader Dennis Alas (born 1985), Salvadoran football player Dennis Albaugh (born 1955), American billionaire, founder and chairman of Albaugh LLC Dennis Alcapone (born 1947), Jamaican reggae DJ and record producer Dennis Alexander (1935–2011), English footballer Dennis Alexio (born 1959), American kickboxer Dennis Algiere (born 1960), American politician Dennis Allison, American academic Dennis Altman, Australian academic and gay rights activist
Dennis E. Alward (1859–1930), American government official Dennis Oguerinwa Amadi, Nigerian politician Dennis Amato (born 1980), German footballer Dennis Amiss (born 1943), English cricketer and administrator Dennis Dengsø Andersen (born 1949), Danish sailor Dennis Andersson (born 1991), Swedish motorcycle rider Dennis Andres (born 1987), German-Canadian actor and stuntman Dennis Andries (born 1953), Guyanese boxer Dennis Antal (born 2005), English footballer Dennis Aogo (born 1987), German footballer Dennis Appiah (born 1992), French footballer Dennis Apuan (1964–2020), American politician Dennis Arakaki (born 1942), American politician and social worker Dennis Archer (born 1942), American jurist and politician Dennis Archer (cricketer) (born 1963), Bermudian cricketer Dennis Argall (1943–2023), Australian diplomat Dennis Armfield (born 1986), Australian rules footballer Dennis Armitage (1928–2005), British artist Dennis Arundell (1898–1988), English actor Dennis Ashbaugh, American painter Dennis Lee Askew (1953–2016), American author and musician Dennis Aspinall (born 1947), Australian rules footballer Dennis Assanis (born 1959), Greek-American mechanical engineer Dennis Atiyeh (born 1963), Syrian wrestler Dennis Atkins, Australian journalist Dennis Aust (born 1940), American baseball player Dennis Austin (1947–2023), American software developer Dennis Avoth (1947–2023), Egyptian-born British boxer Dennis Awtrey (born 1948), American basketball player Dennis Ayling (1917–1998), British cinematographer Dennis Baddeley (1921–2006), English rugby league footballer Dennis Bain (born 1990), Bahamian sprinter and hurdler Dennis Baino (born 1975), Surinamese footballer Dennis Bakhtov (born 1979), Russian boxer Dennis Baldry (born 1931), English cricketer Dennis Bamburg Jr., American politician Dennis Banda (born 1988), Zambian footballer Dennis Banda (politician) (born 1941), Canadian politician Dennis Banks (1937–2017), American indigenous activist, teacher and author Dennis Banton (1930–2010), English cricketer Dennis Barden (born 1936), British mathematician Dennis Bardens (1911–2004), British writer Dennis Barker (1929–2015), British journalist Dennis Baron (born 1944), American linguist Dennis Barrie, American museum director Dennis Barth (1951–1978), Jamaican gangster Dennis Bartley (born 1944), Australian rules footballer Dennis Barton (1939–2022), Canadian politician Dennis Báthory-Kitsz (born 1949), Hungarian-American author and composer Dennis E. Batt, American journalist and activist Dennis Bauer (born 1980), German fencer Dennis Baxley (born 1952), American politician Dennis Beecraft (born 1968), Australian rugby league footballer Dennis Beemsterboer (born 1982), Dutch rower Dennis Bekkers (born 1980), Dutch taekwondo practitioner Dennis Belindo (1938–2009), Kiowa-Diné painter, educator, analyst and activist Dennis Bendall (born 1956), Australian rugby league player Dennis Bennie, American venture capitalist Dennis Bergkamp (born 1969), Dutch footballer Dennis D. Berkey, mathematician and college administrator Dennis Berkholtz (born 1945), American handball player Dennis Bermudez (born 1986), American mixed martial artist Dennis Berran (1887–1943), American baseball player Dennis Berry (1921–1994), English musician, composer, arranger and producer Dennis Berry (director) (1944–2021), American-French film director, actor and screenwriter Dennis Bevington (born 1953), Canadian politician Dennis Beyak, Canadian sportscaster Dennis Biddle (born 1935), American baseball player Dennis Bilde (born 1989), Danish bridge player Dennis Binder (born 1928), American singer-songwriter Dennis Bingham (1880–1940), British polo player Dennis Biodrowski (1940–2014), American football player Dennis Black (born 1939), American politician Dennis Blake (born 1970), Jamaican track and field athlete Dennis A. Blakeslee (1856–1933), American politician Dennis Bland (1911–1997), English cricketer Dennis Bligen (born 1962), American football player Dennis Bloem (born 1952), South African politician Dennis Blundell (1921–2003), British speed skater Dennis Bock, Canadian writer and lecturer Dennis E. Bolen, Canadian novelist Dennis Bond (1947–2025), English footballer Dennis Bonnen (born 1972), American businessman and politician Dennis Bonner (born 1964), American politician Dennis Bonvie (born 1973), Canadian ice hockey player Dennis Booth (born 1949), English footballer Dennis Jose Borbon, Filipino fraudster Dennis Borcky (born 1964), American football player Dennis Borkowski (born 2002), German footballer Dennis Bots (born 1974), Zambian-Dutch film director Dennis C. Bottorff (born 1944), American business executive Dennis Bounds, American news anchor Dennis Boutsikaris (born 1952), American character actor Dennis Bovell (born 1953), Barbadian-British reggae musician Dennis Bowen (1950–2012), American character actor Dennis Bowsher (born 1983), American modern pentathlete Dennis Bozic (born 1990), Swedish ice hockey player Dennis Bradley, American attorney and politician Dennis Bradshaw (born 1936), American tennis player Dennis Bradwell, 19th-century British businessman Dennis Brain (1921–1957), English virtuoso horn player Dennis Bray (born 1939), British biologist Dennis Breakwell (born 1948), English cricketer Dennis Eugene Breedlove (1939–2012), American botanist Dennis Brickley (1929–1983), English footballer Dennis Bright, Sierra Leonean politician Dennis Brinkmann (born 1978), German footballer and manager Dennis Broad (born 1956), South African cricketer Dennis Brock (born 1995), German footballer Dennis Brockenborough, American musician Dennis Bromley (1924–2015), British gerontologist Dennis Brookes (1915–2006), English cricketer Dennis G. Brummitt (1881–1935), American politician Dennis Brunod (born 1978), Italian ski mountaineer and sky-runner Dennis Brutus (1924–2009), South African activist and writer Dennis Bryon (1949–2024), Welsh rock drummer