Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

name

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

, 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 lover of peace—as well as the patron deity of both agriculture and the theater. Dionysus is a god of mystery religious rites, such as those practiced in honor of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

and Persephone at

Eleusis Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest ...

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 Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402–14 ...

, Denys, Dennys, Denish, Deon, Deonne, Deonte, and Dion, Dionice.

Diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

forms include Den, Dennoh, Deno, Denny, Deny and Deen. The name Sydenie (alternate spellings: Sydney or

Sidney Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...

) 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. Denis is a very popular

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

name, common throughout the

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

world, but is also a common English, Irish, German, Italian, Dutch, Croatian,

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

, Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, Brazilian, Bosnian, and

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

name. ''Dionizy'' is the Polish version of the name. ''Dionigi'' and ''Dionisio'' are the Italian versions of the name. The Irish name Donnchadh may be anglicised as ''Denis'', but has a different origin and is in fact related to the name

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (d ...

. Feminine versions of the name include:

Denise Denise may refer to: * Denise (given name), people with the given name ''Denise'' * Denise (computer chip), a video graphics chip from the Amiga computer * "Denise" (song), a 1963 song by Randy & the Rainbows * Denise, Mato Grosso, a municipalit ...

, Denisa, Deni, Denice, Deniece, Dione, and Dionne.

Variants

* Dānnísī (丹尼斯): Chinese * Dénes, Dienes, Gyenis, Gyenes: Hungarian * Denis:

, Bosnian, Bulgarian (Денис), Croatian, Czech, English,

, German, Italian,

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

(Денис), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian (Денис), Serbo-Croatian (also Денис), Slovak, Slovene * Deniseu (데니스): Korean * Deniss: Latvian * Denisu (デニス): Japanese * Denijs: Middle Dutch * Deniz:

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

(''actual meaning is sea'') * Dêniz: Portuguese (''Brazilian'') * Dennis: Danish, Dutch, English, German, Norwegian,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

* Denny: English * Denys (Денис): Ukrainian * Dinis, Diniz, Dionísio: Portuguese * Dion: English,

(''medieval diminutive''), Greek (''diminutive'': Δίων) * Dionigi: Italian * Dionís: Catalan * Dionise, Dionisie: Romanian * Dionisije (Дионисије):

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

* Dionisio: Italian, Spanish * Dionisos (Դիոնիսոս): Armenian * Dionizy; Dionizjusz (archaic): Polish * Dionysios (Διονύσιος): Greek * Dionýz: Slovak * Diviš: Czech * Dzianis (Дзяніс):

* Genis (Генис): Udmurt * Tõnis:

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

People with the given name Dennis

Dennis Albaugh Dennis Ray Albaugh (born 1949 or 1950) is an American billionaire businessman, and the founder and chairman of Albaugh LLC, a pesticide and fertilizer company. He is a car collector, especially Chevrolets, and owns one of the biggest collections ...

(born 1949/50), American billionaire, founder and chairman of Albaugh LLC * Dennis Alexio, American kickboxer * Dennis Aogo, German footballer *

Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was moved to main striker and then to second striker, where he remained throughout his playing ...

, Dutch footballer *

Dennis Blake Dennis Anthony Blake (born 6 September 1970 in Saint Elizabeth Parish) is a retired male sprinter from Jamaica. He is a two-time Olympian, winning the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he ran in the qualifyin ...

, Jamaican track and field athlete *

Dennis C. Bottorff Dennis C. Bottorff (born 1944) is an American businessman, banker and philanthropist. As chairman and chief executive officer of the First American Corporation, he was responsible for its merger with the AmSouth Bancorporation. He served as the ch ...

, American business executive. * Dennis Brain, English virtuoso horn player *

Dennis Brinkmann Dennis Brinkmann (born 22 November 1978 in Essen) is a German football coach and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Defensive, defensive midfielder. Life In his youth, Brinkmann played for various cl ...

, German footballer and manager * Dennis Brunod, Italian ski mountaineer and skyrunner * Dennis Buschening, German-Thai professional footballer *

Dennis Cagara Dennis Mengoy Cagara (born 19 February 1985) is a retired Danish–Filipino professional association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left back. He represents the Philippines national football team, P ...

, Danish footballer * Dennis Chambers, American drummer *

Dennis Clifford Dennis Clifford (born February 29, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who plays the center position. College career Clifford played college basketball for Boston College. He was named team captain after his sophomore year. As ...

, American basketball player * Dennis Cole, American actor * Dennis Coles, American rapper known as Ghostface Killah * Dennis Daley (born 1996), American football player *

Dennis Danell Dennis Eric Danell (June 24, 1961 – February 29, 2000) was an American musician, guitarist and co-founding member of the Southern California punk rock band Social Distortion. Biography Danell joined Social Distortion in 1979 while he and ...

, guitarist with band Social Distortion * Dennis Day (1942–2018), American murder victim *

Dennis Delane Dennis Delane (died April 1750) was an Irish stage actor who appeared for many years at the leading London theatres. Beginnings in Dublin Delane was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and originally intended to become a lawyer.Highfill, Burni ...

, Irish actor * Dennis DeYoung, lead singer and keyboardist pop music group Styx *

Dennis Diekmeier Dennis Diekmeier (born 20 October 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays as a right-back for SV Sandhausen in the 2. Bundesliga. Coming through the ranks of Werder Bremen, Diekmeier moved to 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. His form there ...

, German footballer *

Dennis Daugaard Dennis Martin Daugaard (born June 11, 1953) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 32nd governor of South Dakota from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first chief executive of a U.S. state to be the c ...

, American politician * Dennis Eckersley, American baseball player * Dennis Eilhoff, German footballer * Dennis Endras, German ice hockey goaltender * Dennis Erickson, American football head coach * Dennis Farina (1944–2013), American character actor *

Dennis Fentie Dennis G. Fentie (November 8, 1950 – August 30, 2019) was a Canadian politician. He was the seventh premier of Yukon and leader of the Yukon Party, serving from 2002 to 2011, as well as the MLA for Watson Lake. Before entering politics, ...

, Canadian politician *

Dennis Ferrera Dennis Gustavo Ferrera (born December 3, 1980) is a retired Honduran football midfielder. Club career A holding midfielder, Ferrera started and played the majority of his career at hometown club Marathón in Liga Nacional de Honduras. He played ...

, Honduran footballer * Dennis Foggia, Italian motorcycle rider * Dennis Franz, American actor * Dennis Frederiksen (1951–2014), American singer * Dennis Gabor, Hungarian electrical engineer and inventor * Dennis Gansel, German film director *

Dennis Gardeck Dennis Gardeck (born August 9, 1994) is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia State and Sioux Falls, where he was a nominee for the Harlon Hil ...

, American football player * Dennis Gentenaar, Dutch footballer * Dennis Gile, American football player * Dennis González, American jazz musician, poet and visual artist * Dennis Green, American football head coach * Dennis Grote, German footballer * Dennis Hapugalle, Dennis Hapugalla (1930-2000), Sri Lankan Sinhala army brigadier * Dennis Hastert, American politician * Dennis Havrilla, American football player * Dennis Hayden (actor), American actor * Dennis Haysbert (born 1954), American actor * Dennis Hopper (1936–2010), American actor, filmmaker and artist * Dennis Houston (born 1999), American football player * Dennis James (disambiguation), several people * Dennis Johnson, American basketball player * Dennis Joseph, Malayalam scriptwriter and director * Dennis Kimetto, Kenyan long-distance runner * Dennis Kruppke, German footballer * Dennis Kucinich, American politician * Dennis Law (born 1963), Hong Kong film director * Denis Leary, American actor and comedian * Dennis Lennon (1918–1991), British architect and interior designer * Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer * Dennis Lisk, German rapper known as Denyo * Dennis Lo (born 1963), Hong Kong molecular biologist * Dennis Lundy, American football player * Dennis Lynds, pseudonym of Michael Collins (American author) * Dennis Lyxzén, Swedish musician * Dennis Miller, American comedian and talk show host * Dennis Muilenburg (born 1964), American businessman, CEO of Boeing * Dennis Nielsen, American colonel and politician * Dennis Nilsen (1945–2018), Scottish serial killer * Dennis Oli, English footballer * Dennis Patera, American football player * Dennis Paul, American politician * Denis Payton, British musician, saxophonist of Dave Clark Five * Dennis Prager, American radio host * Quentin Crisp, Denis Charles Pratt, birth name of British writer, raconteur and gay icon Quentin Crisp * Dennis Price, English actor * Dennis Quaid, American actor * Dennis Rader, American serial killer * Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist * Dennis Rodman, American basketball player * Dennis Rommedahl, Danish footballer * Dennis Sarfate (born 1981), American baseball player * Dennis Schröder (born 1993), German basketball player * Dennis Schulp, Dutch footballer * Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player * Dennis Smith (disambiguation), several people * Dennis Souza, Brazilian footballer * Dennis Stewart (judoka), British judoka * Dennis Taylor, Northern Irish snooker player * Dennis Tito, American engineer, multimillionaire and space tourist * Dennis Tufano (born 1946), American singer * Dennis Uy (born 1973), Chinese-Filipino businessman * Dennis van der Geest, Dutch judoka * Dennis Waterman (1948–2022), English actor and singer * Dennis Weaver, American actor * Dennis Wheatley, English author * Dennis Williams (basketball), Dennis Williams (born 1965), American basketball player * Dennis Wilson (1944–1983), American musician, co-founder of The Beach Boys * Dennis Wise, English footballer and manager

Fictional characters

* Hogwarts students#Colin and Dennis Creevey, Dennis Creevey, minor character from ''Harry Potter'' * Just Shoot Me!#Dennis Finch, Dennis Finch, main character from ''Just Shoot Me'' * Hotel Transylvania characters#Dennis, Dennis Loughran, aka Denisovich, from the 2015 animated sequel film ''Hotel Transylvania 2'' and its two sequels ''Hotel Transylvania 3, Hotel Transylvania 3: Monster Vacation'' and ''Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania'' is the young vampire/human hybrid son of vampire Mavis and human Johnathon. * List of characters in Jurassic Park#Dennis Nedry, Dennis Nedry, character from ''Jurassic Park'' * List of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia characters#Dennis Reynolds, Dennis Reynolds, main character from ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' * Stanley (2001 TV series), Dennis, Stanley's talking pet goldfish in the Playhouse Disney animated show Stanley (2001 TV series), Stanley * Dennis Tanner, character on Coronation Street from its first episode in 1960 until 2014. * Dennis the Hitman, is Plankton (Spongebob), Plankton's bounty hunter and the secondary main villain from ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie#Cast, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' (2004) * Railway engines (Thomas and Friends)#Dennis, Dennis the Locomotive, minor character from ''Thomas and Friends'' * Dennis the Menace (UK comics) in ''The Beano'' * Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics), a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip whose eponymous protagonist is named Dennis Mitchell ** Dennis the Menace (1993 film), ''Dennis the Menace'' (film) (released in the United Kingdom as ''Dennis''), a 1993 live-action American family film based on the comic strip * Dennis, character from ''Far Cry 3'' * Monty Python and the Holy Grail#Characters, Dennis the Peasant, minor character from ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' * Dennis Duffy, a minor character from ''30 Rock'' * "Phantom Dennis", Cordelia Chase's deceased roommate on ''Angel (1999 TV series), Angel'' * Dennis, the title character in the 2006 film ''Love Belongs to Everyone'' (released in Belgium as ''Dennis van Rita''), played by Matthias Schoenaerts * Dennis Lapman, character from ''Final Destination 5''

People with the surname Dennis

* Aubrey Dennis, South African cricketer * Bill Dennis (born 1935), American NASCAR driver * Bo Dennis, star of Lost Girl * C. J. Dennis, Australian poet * Carl Dennis, American poet and educator * Carolyn Dennis, American singer and actor * Cathy Dennis, English singer-songwriter, record producer and actress * Cecil Dennis, Liberian political figure who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs * Charles Dennis, Canadian actor, playwright, director and screenwriter * Cheri Dennis, American singer * Clare Dennis, Australian breaststroke swimmer * David W. Dennis, American politician * Derek Dennis, American football player * Diana Dennis, American female bodybuilder * Eddie Dennis, Welsh professional wrestler * Elias Smith Dennis, American lawyer, politician and soldier * Liz Dennis, Elizabeth Salisbury Dennis, Australian plant molecular biologist * Emmanuel Dennis, Nigerian football player * Eugene Dennis, American politician and leader of the Communist Party USA * Everette Dennis, American scholar * Felix Dennis, English magazine publisher and philanthropist * Ferdinand Dennis, Jamaican-born writer, broadcaster, journalist * Franklyn Dennis, Canadian cricketer * Gabriel Lafayette Dennis, Liberian politician * Geoffrey Dennis (1892–1963), English writer * George Dennis (disambiguation), several people * Hershel Dennis, American football player * Hugh Dennis, English actor, comedian, writer * Jack Dennis, American electrical engineer and computer scientist * Jake Dennis, British Formula E driver * John Dennis (disambiguation), several people * Kristian Dennis, English footballer * Lawrence Dennis, American diplomat, consultant and author * Les Dennis, English comedian and actor * Matt Dennis, American singer and bandleader * Morgan Dennis, American illustrator and author * N. Dennis (1929–2013), Indian politician * Nick Dennis, American actor * Nigel Dennis, English writer, critic, playwright and magazine editor * Patrick Dennis, American author * Richard Dennis, American commodities trader * Robert J. Dennis, American businessman, chairman and CEO of Genesco * Ron Dennis, English former executive chairman of McLaren Automotive * Roy L. Dennis, American boy afflicted with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia * R. W. G. Dennis, British mycologist * Samuel Dennis (1870–1945), Australian politician * Samuel Dennis (academic), English academic administrator * Samuel K. Dennis (died 1892), American politician * Samuel K. Dennis Jr. (1874–1953), American politician and judge * Sandy Dennis, American theater and film actress * Shaun Dennis, Scottish footballer * Simon Dennis (disambiguation), several people * Tom Dennis (disambiguation), several people * Wesley Dennis, American country music artist * Weston Dennis, also known as Westballz, American ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' player * William Dennis (disambiguation) * Willie Dennis, American jazz trombonist * Willye Dennis, American librarian and civil rights activist

External links

* {{given name Given names of Greek language origin English given names English masculine given names Theophoric names English-language surnames