Dennis
Dennis or Denis is either the first or last name of a male derived from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius meaning "servant of Dionysus", the Thracian god of wine, which is ultimately derived from the Greek Dios (Διός, "of Zeus") combined with Nysos or Nysa (Νυσα), where the young god was raised.
Alternative forms and spellings of the name include Denis, Denys, Denish, Deon, Deonne, Deonte, and Dion, Dionice. Diminutive forms include Den, Dennoh, Deno and Denny. The name Sydenie (alternate spellings: Sydney or Sidney) may derive from a village in Normandy called Saint-Denis, although evidence is slim, and results in the diminutive forms Syd and Sid. A medieval diminutive was Dye, from which the names Dyson and Tyson are derived.
Dennis is a very popular English and Irish name, common throughout the English-speaking world.
Denis is a very popular French name, common throughout the Francophone world, but is also a common English, Irish, German, Italian, Dutch, Croatian, Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian and Bosnian.
Dionizy is the Polish version of the name. The Irish name Donnchadh may be anglicised as Denis, but has a different origin. Dionigi or Dionisio are Italian versions of the name, although Denis is quite common in Italy.
Feminine versions of the name include: Denise, Denisa, Deni, Denice, Deniece, Dione, and Dionne.
Variants
- Den English
- Dénes Hungarian
- Denis Czech, English, French, German, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovene
- Денис (Denis) Russian
- Dennis Dutch, English, German
- Denny English
- Denys Ukrainian
- Dinis Portuguese
- Diniz Portuguese
- Dionisie Romanian
- Dionísio Portuguese
- Dionisio Italian, Spanish
- Dionysios Greek
- Dionýz Slovak
- Tõnis Estonian
People with the given name Dennis
- Dennis Alexio, American kickboxer
- Dennis Aogo, German football player
- Dennis Brain, English virtuoso horn player
- Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch football player, former Arsenal FC Player, now retired
- Dennis Blake, Jamaican track and field athlete
- Dennis Brinkmann, German football player
- Dennis Brunod, Italian ski mountaineer and skyrunner
- Dennis Cagara, Danish football player
- Dennis Chambers, American drummer
- Dennis Cole, American actor
- Dennis Coles, American rapper
- Dennis Danell, Social Distortion guitarist
- Dennis Diekmeier, German football player
- Dennis Eckersley, American baseball player
- Dennis Eilhoff, German football goalkeeper
- Dennis Endras, German ice hockey goaltender
- Dennis Erickson, American football head coach
- Dennis Farina, American character actor
- Dennis Fentie, Canadian politician
- Dennis Ferrera, Honduran football player
- Dennis Franz, American actor
- Dennis Gabor, Hungarian electrical engineer and inventor
- Dennis Gansel, German film director
- Dennis Gentenaar, Dutch football goalkeeper
- Dennis González, American jazz musician, poet and visual artist
- Dennis Green, American football head coach
- Dennis Grote, German football player
- Dennis Hastert, American politician
- Dennis Hayden, American actor
- Dennis Haysbert, American actor
- Dennis Hopper, American actor, filmmaker and artist
- Dennis Horstmann, German DJ and dance music artist
- Dennis James, several people
- Dennis Johnson, American basketball player
- Dennis Kruppke, German football player
- Dennis Kucinich, American politician
- Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer
- Dennis Lisk, German rapper
- Dennis Lynds, American author
- Dennis Lyxzén, Swedish musician
- Dennis Miller, American comedian and talk show host
- Dennis Nielsen, American colonel and politician
- Dennis Nilsen, Scottish serial killer
- Dennis Oli, English football player
- Dennis Prager, American radio host
- Dennis Price, English actor
- Dennis Quaid, American actor
- Dennis Rader, American serial killer
- Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist
- Dennis Rodman, American basketball player
- Dennis Schulp, Dutch football player
- Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player
- Dennis Smith, several people
- Dennis Souza, Brazilian football player
- Dennis Stewart (judoka), British judoka
- Dennis Taylor, Northern Irish snooker player
- Denny Honey Badger Trump Thunder, 4th prince of Dubai, Son of Muhtar Taluud Bajahn, heir to all the moneys of the world
- Dennis Tito, American engineer, multimillionaire and space tourist
- Dennis van der Geest, Dutch judoka
- Dennis Wheatley, English author
- Dennis Wilson, American musician
- Dennis Wise, English football player and manager
Fictional
People with the surname Dennis
- Allan Dennis, American founder and director of the Midwest Young Artists youth orchestra program
- Bill Dennis, American NASCAR driver
- 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
- Cheri Dennis, American singer
- Clare Dennis, Australian breaststroke swimmer
- David W. Dennis, American politician
- Diana Dennis, American female bodybuilder
- Elias Smith Dennis, American lawyer, politician and soldier
- Eugene Dennis, American politician and long-time leader of the Communist Party USA
- Felix Dennis, English magazine publisher and philanthropist
- Franklyn Dennis, Canadian cricketer
- Gabriel Lafayette Dennis, Liberian politician
- Geoffrey W. Dennis, American rabbi and author
- George Dennis, several people
- Hershel Dennis, American football running back
- Hugh Dennis, English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist
- Jack Dennis, American electrical engineer and computer scientist
- John Dennis, several people
- Kristian Dennis, English football player
- Lawrence Dennis, American diplomat, consultant and author
- Les Dennis, English comedian, celebrity, television presenter and actor
- Matt Dennis, American singer, pianist, bandleader, arranger, and writer of music
- Morgan Dennis, American illustrator and author
- Neleh Dennis, American runner-up in Survivor: Marquesas
- Nick Dennis, American actor
- Nigel Dennis, English writer, critic, playwright and magazine editor
- Patrick Dennis, American author
- Richard Dennis, American commodities trader
- Ron Dennis, English executive chairman of McLaren Automotive
- Roy L. Dennis, American boy afflicted with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia
- R.W.G. Dennis, British mycologist
- Sandy Dennis, American theater and film actress
- Shaun Dennis, Scottish football player and assistant manager
- Simon Dennis, English rower
- Tom Dennis, English snooker and billiards player
- Wesley Dennis, American English Teacher, born in Texas
- Willie Dennis, American jazz trombonist
- Willye Dennis, American librarian, civil rights activist and former Florida state legislator
See also