Dean is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

originally derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

word "denu" (

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

, "dene") meaning "valley." Retrieved 29 June 2018 Another common variant of this surname is Deane. The family originate from counties Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. Symonds Yat Rock View

Origin and variants

Dean is thought to be a habitational name from any of several places in various parts of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

that are known by a variation of the name. The first bearers of the name lived in

Anglo-Saxon England Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom o ...

in mountainous or hilly areas where they would have adopted the name as a habitational marker. The surname is historically concentrated in the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

, particularly in and around the county of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, Retrieved 29 June 2018 and there are several places called Dean in the area (including other areas of

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

), suggesting that this region may be the surname’s likely area of origin. Dean and Deane are also historically found as surnames in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Perhaps less likely, it may also be a descriptive name for someone thought to resemble an

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor * Angela Dean, British statistician *

Anna-Maria Ravnopolska-Dean Anna-Maria Yordanova Ravnopolska-Dean ( bg, Анна-Мария Йорданова Равнополска-Дийн), born 3 August 1960, Sofia, Bulgaria, is a Bulgarian and American harpist, composer, pedagogue, musicologist and TV host. Biogr ...

, harpist *

Ardie Dean Ardie Dean (born 1955) is an American electric blues drummer, audio engineer and record producer. In a varied career over fifty years, Dean has worked with the Giddens Sisters, Alabama Slim, Homesick James, Little Freddie King, Lee Gates, Ernie K ...

(born 1955), American blues drummer, audio engineer and record producer *

Austin Dean Austin James Dean (born October 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball left fielder for the LG Twins of the KBO League. He was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the fourth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He made his Major Leag ...

(born 1993), American baseball player *

Bashford Dean Bashford Dean (October 28, 1867 – December 6, 1928) was an American zoologist, specializing in ichthyology, and at the same time an expert in medieval and modern armor. He is the only person to have held concurrent positions at the America ...

, American ornithologist *

Billy Dean William Harold Dean Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition ''Star Search''. Active as a recording artist since 1990, h ...

, American singer *

Brenda Dean Brenda Dean, Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, (29 April 1943 – 13 March 2018) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. As general secretary of SOGAT from 1985 until 1991, she was "the first woman elected to head a major i ...

(1943–2018), British trade unionist and politician *

Brett Dean Brett Dean (born 23 October 1961) is an Australian composer, violist and conductor. Biography Brett Dean was born, raised and educated in Brisbane. He started learning violin at the age of eight, and later studied viola with Elizabeth Morgan a ...

(born 1961), Australian composer *

Charlbi Dean Charlbi Dean Kriek ( ; 5 February 1990 – 29 August 2022) was a South African actress and model. She was best known for her roles in the ''Spud'' films (2010–2013), the superhero drama series ''Black Lightning'' (2018) and the Palme d'Or-winn ...

(1990–2022), South African actress and model *

Charles Dean Charles Dean and Neil Sharman were American and Australian citizens, respectively, travelling through Southeast Asia on a backpacking trip in 1974 when they were kidnapped and killed by Communist guerillas. Charles "Charlie" Dean (aged 24) was ...

(died 1974), brother of Howard and Jim *

Charmaine Dean Charmaine B. Dean (born 1958) is a statistician from Trinidad. She is the vice president for research at the University of Waterloo, a professor of statistical and actuarial sciences at both Waterloo and Western University, the former president o ...

(born 1958), statistician from Trinidad, president of Statistical Society of Canada *

Christopher Dean Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics with his skating partner Jayne Torvill. They also won a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Early life Dean grew u ...

, British figure skater * Dean (Middlesex cricketer) ( fl. 1787–1790), English amateur cricketer *

Dixie Dean William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in ...

, English footballer *

Dizzy Dean Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career ...

(1910–1974), baseball pitcher *

Dora Dean Dora Dean (born Dora Babbige, c.1872 – December 13, 1949) was an African-American vaudeville dancer and entertainer. She was part of one of the most popular vaudeville acts of the pre-World War I period. She was best known for popularizing t ...

(c. 1872–1949), vaudeville dancer * Eddie Dean (disambiguation), several people *

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among oth ...

, jazz musician *

Everett Dean Everett Sterling Dean (March 18, 1898 – October 26, 1993) was an American college basketball and baseball coach. Biography Born in Livonia, Indiana, Dean played basketball for three years at Indiana University, where he was also a member of the ...

(1898–1993), American college sports coach *

Fred Dean Frederick Rudolph Dean (February 24, 1952 – October 14, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). A twice first-team All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler, he won two Super ...

(1952–2020), American football player * Gordon Dean (disambiguation), several people *

Henry Clay Dean Henry Clay Dean (27 October 1822 – 6 February 1887) was a Methodist Episcopal preacher, lawyer, orator and author who was a critic of the American Civil War and the Lincoln Administration. Early life and education Dean was born in Fayette Count ...

, American orator and author *

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...

, U.S. presidential candidate in 2004 *

Jackson Dean Jackson Dean Nicholson (born October 6, 2000) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Big Machine Records in 2021 and has charted with the singles "Don't Come Lookin'" and "Fearless (The Echo)". Biography Dean was born i ...

, American singer *

Jamel Dean Jamel Dean (born October 15, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn. College career After spending a semester at Ohio State while medical ...

(born 1996), American football player * James Dean (disambiguation), several people *

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

(1931–1955), American actor *

Janet Dean Fodor Janet Dean Fodor (born 1942) is distinguished professor of linguistics at the City University of New York. Her primary field is psycholinguistics, and her research interests include human sentence processing, prosody, learnability theory a ...

, American professor of linguistics *

Jim Dean (activist) James H. Dean is an American political operative who previously served as chair of Democracy for America (DFA), the nation's largest political action committee. The brother of former Vermont governor Howard Dean, DFA was founded in 2004 following ...

, chairman of Democracy for America *

Jimmy Dean Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV commercials. He became ...

(1928–2010), American singer and actor *

Joe Dean Joe Dean (April 26, 1930 − November 17, 2013) is known as "Mr. String Music" and was the voice of Southeastern Conference basketball for most of the 1970-80s. In 2012, he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, as a contri ...

(1930–2013), American basketball player, sportscaster, and sports administrator *

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...

(born 1938), White House counsel to President Nixon and central Watergate figure *

Julia Dean (actress, born 1830) Julia Dean (July 22, 1830 – March 6, 1868) was an American actress who made her New York debut at 16 in a starring role with the James Sheridan Knowles comedy, '' The Hunchback''. Her performance was met with such praise that she continued to ...

(1830–1868), actress *

Julia Dean (actress, born 1878) Julia Dean (May 13, 1878 – October 17, 1952) was a stage and film actress who began her career in the 1890s. Biography Julia Dean was born to Albert Clay Dean and Susan Jane Morton in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1878. She had a sister Elois ...

(1878–1952), actress * Kasseem Dean (born 1978), American record producer, rapper, DJ, and songwriter * Kevin Dean (disambiguation), multiple people *

Letitia Dean Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again ...

(born 1967), English actress and singer *

Madeleine Dean Madeleine Dean Cunnane (born June 6, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. The district includes almost all of Montgomery County, a suburban county north of P ...

, American politician *

Margia Dean Marguerite Louise Skliris-Alvarez ( Skliris; born April 7, 1922), known as Margia Dean, is an American former beauty queen and stage and screen actress of Greek descent, who had a successful career in Hollywood films during the 1940s until the ...

, (born 1922), American actress * Mark Dean (swimmer), American swimmer *

Matt Dean Matthew T. "Matt" Dean (born April 15, 1966) is an American politician. He served as the Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented District 38B, whic ...

(born 1966), American politician * Matthew Deane (disambiguation), several people * Mike Dean (disambiguation), multiple people *

Millvina Dean Eliza Gladys Dean (2 February 1912 – 31 May 2009), known as Millvina Dean, was a British civil servant, cartographer, and the last living survivor of the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' on 15 April 1912. At two months old, she was also the yo ...

(1912–2009), British civil servant, last living survivor of the Titanic disaster * Nakobe Dean (born 2000), American football player *

Nathan Dean Nathan Dean (May 9, 1934 – June 8, 2013) was an insurance executive from Rockmart, Georgia, who served 15 consecutive terms in the Georgia General Assembly as Senator for district 31.

(1934–2013), American businessman and politician *

Nathaniel Dean Nathaniel Dean is an Australian actor and voiceover artist. His most recent performances include Sergeant Hallett in Ridley Scott's '' Alien: Covenant'', as well as colonial Australian settler William Thornhill in ''The Secret River'' for the ...

, Australian actor * Nathaniel W. Dean (1817–1880), American politician * Nelson Dean, American baseball player * Norman Dean, footballer *

Oliver Dean Oliver Dean (1783–1871) was an American physician, businessman, and philanthropist who became the founder and namesake of Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. Early life and career Dean was born in Franklin on February 18, 1783, to Seth an ...

(1783–1871), American physician and businessman, founder of Dean College * Paul Dean (disambiguation), multiple people *

Ralph Dean Ralph Stanley Dean (1913, London23 August 1987) was the fifth Bishop of Cariboo and sixth Metropolitan of British Columbia. Dean was born in London in 1913, educated at The John Roan School and ordained in 1939. After curacies at St Mary, Isli ...

(1913–1987), Canadian Anglican cleric *

Roger Dean (artist) William Roger Dean (born 31 August 1944), known as Roger Dean, is an English artist, designer, and publisher. He began painting posters and album covers for musicians in the late 1960s. The groups for whom he did the most art are the English ro ...

, album cover designer *

Ruth Dean Ruth Josephine Dean (1902–2003) was an American scholar of Anglo-Norman literature. Throughout her career, she worked hard to establish the legitimacy of Anglo-Norman literature as a subject of study, and her definitive work, ''Anglo-Norman ...

(1902–2003), American scholar of Anglo-Norman literature * Simon Dean, one of the stage names of

Mike Bucci Michael Bucci (born June 5, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. Bucci is best known for his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as Nova, Super Nova, and "Hollywood" Nova and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as S ...

, World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler *

Theodosia Ann Dean Theodosia Ann Dean (March 29, 1819 – March 29, 1843) was an English missionary to China where she founded and taught at a school. During her career of five years among the Chinese, she learned to read, write, and speak the Chinese language with r ...

(1819-1843), English missionary * Thomas Dean (1920–2004), English cricketer *

Tony Dean (racing driver) Anthony Gordon Dean (23 July 1932 – 17 January 2008) was a British racing driver from England who competed in sports car racing, touring car racing, the Can-Am series and various single seat formulae, including non-championship Formula One, i ...

(1932–2008), British racing driver *

Winton Dean Winton Basil Dean (18 March 1916 – 19 December 2013) was an English musicologist of the 20th century, most famous for his research on the life and works—in particular the operas and oratorios—of George Frideric Handel, as detailed in his boo ...

(1916–2013), English musicologist

Fictional Characters

*Jason "J.D." Dean, the antagonist of the 1988 teen film ''

Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 American black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and ...

'', and it's

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

and TV adaptations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean English-language surnames Surnames of British Isles origin

Origin and variants

Fictional Characters

See also

References