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 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 Roma ...

, the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

, which is sometimes said to be derived from the Greek Dios (Διός, "of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

") 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 In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of the ...

), the

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

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 and

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

at Eleusis near Athens. In the Thracian mysteries, he wears the "bassaris" or fox-skin, symbolizing new life. (See also

Maenads In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Maenads were known as Bassarids, ...

.) A mediaeval Latinised form of the Anglo-Norman surname ''Le Denys'' was ''Dacus'', which correctly meant

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...

n, 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 Dyson may refer to: * Dyson (surname), people with the surname Dyson * Dyson (company), a Singaporean multinational home appliances company founded by James Dyson * Dyson (crater), a crater on the Moon * Dyson (operating system), a Unix general-pur ...

and

Tyson Tyson is a male given name of old French origin meaning 'high-spirited', 'fire'. It is from this that a surname arose 'son of Tyson'. Surname *Alan Tyson (1926–2000), British musicologist * Barbara Tyson (born 1964), Canadian actress * Bill Tys ...

are derived. Dennis is a very popular

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

name, common throughout the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

. Denis is a very popular French name, common throughout the Francophone world, but is also a common

, German,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, Croatian, Belarusian, Ukrainian,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, Bulgarian,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian, Bosnian, and Albanian name. ''Dionizy'' is the Polish version of the name. ''Dionigi'' and ''Dionisio'' are the

versions of the name. The

name

Donnchadh Donnchadh () is a masculine given name common to the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages. It is composed of the elements ''donn'', meaning "brown" or "dark" from Donn a Gaelic God; and ''chadh'', meaning "chief" or "noble". The name is also written ...

may be anglicised as ''Denis'', but has a different origin and is in fact related to the name Duncan. 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 Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, French, German,

, Lithuanian, Macedonian (Денис), Polish,

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, Romanian,

(Денис),

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

(also Денис), Slovak, Slovene * Deniseu (데니스):

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

* Deniss: Latvian * Denisu (デニス):

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

* Denijs:

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarc ...

* Deniz: Turkish (''actual meaning is sea'') * Dêniz:

(''Brazilian'') * Dennis:

, German,

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

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:

* Denys (Денис): Ukrainian * Dinis, Diniz, Dionísio:

* Dion:

, French (''medieval diminutive''),

(''diminutive'': Δίων) * Dionigi:

* Dionís: Catalan * Dionise, Dionisie: Romanian * Dionisije (Дионисије): Serbian * Dionisio:

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

* Dionisos (Դիոնիսոս):

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

* Dionizy; Dionizjusz (archaic): Polish * Dionysios (Διονύσιος):

* Dionýz: Slovak * Diviš:

* Dzianis (Дзяніс): Belarusian * Genis (Генис): Udmurt * Tõnis: Estonian

People with the given name Dennis

* Dennis Albaugh (born 1949/50), American billionaire, founder and chairman of Albaugh LLC *

Dennis Alexio Dennis Raymond Alexio (born March 12, 1959) is an American former professional kickboxer and actor who competed in the light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Starting out as a light heavyweight, Alexio kicked off his career ...

, American kickboxer *

Dennis Aogo Dennis Aogo (born 14 January 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a left back and midfielder. Early life Born to a German mother and a Nigerian father, Aogo grew up in Oberreut, a suburb in the south-west of Karlsruhe, ...

, German footballer * Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer * Dennis Blake, Jamaican track and field athlete * Dennis C. Bottorff, American business executive. *

Dennis Brain Dennis Brain (17 May 19211 September 1957) was a British horn player. From a musical family – his father and grandfather were horn players – he attended the Royal Academy of Music in London. During the Second World War he served in the Roya ...

, English virtuoso horn player * Dennis Brinkmann, German footballer and manager *

Dennis Brunod Dennis Brunod (born 16 June 1978 in Aosta) is an Italian ski mountaineer, mountain and skyrunner. Life Born in Aosta but living in Châtillon, Brunod added ski mountaineering to his favorite sports in 2000, when he first competed in the Mou ...

, Italian ski mountaineer and skyrunner * Dennis Buschening, German-Thai professional footballer * Dennis Cagara, Danish footballer *

Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959. He began drumming at the age of four years, and was gigging in Bal ...

, American drummer * Dennis Clifford, American basketball player *

Dennis Cole Dennis Cole (July 19, 1940 – November 15, 2009) was an American actor in film and television. A familiar face on the screen during the 1960s and 1970s, Cole made guest appearances in numerous television series. After the 1991 murder of Jo ...

, American actor * Dennis Coles, American rapper known as

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

* Dennis Daley (born 1996), American football player * Dennis Danell, guitarist with band Social Distortion *

Dennis Day Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...

(1942–2018), American murder victim * Dennis Delane, Irish actor *

Dennis DeYoung Dennis DeYoung (born February 18, 1947) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx, and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was th ...

, lead singer and keyboardist pop music group Styx * Dennis Diekmeier, German footballer * Dennis Daugaard, 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, Canadian politician * Dennis Ferrera, 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, 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