Denis

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Denis

Gender: Masculine, Feminine (obsolete)
Language: English, French
Etymology:
Denis is the French form of Dionysios. Originally a Greek name, it meant “Honored by Dionysos,” the Greek god of wine.

History:
Dionysios was the name of several popular early saints. One of whom, St. Denis, became the patron saint of France. It crossed to England with the Norman French, when they invaded in 1066. Denis was a common name from the 15th to 17th centuries, and was revived again at the beginning of the twentieth century.

In the Middle Ages England, the translations of both the masculine Dionysius and the feminine Dionysia read as Denis. Much later, Denis-for-girls (pronounced DEN-iss) was replaced with the French Denise (pronounced den-EES).

Please see Dionysius for more information.

Pronunciation: DEN-iss (English), den-EE (French)

Diminutives:
English: Denny.

Alternates: Denys.
French: Denis.
Hungarian: Dénes.

Surnames:
English: Denis, Dennet, Dennett, Dennis, Denniss, Denison, Dennison, Denny, Dyson, Tennyson, Tyson.

Feminine: Denise.

See also: Dwight.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Denys Diderot (1603-1672)
French lute player.
Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin (1744-1792)
Russian playwright.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
French philosopher.
Denis Winston Healey, Baron of Riddlesden (1917-)
British economist.
Sir Denis Hamilton (1918-1988)
British publisher.

Sports Stars:
Denis Charles Scott Compton (1918-1997)
British cricketer.

Religious Figures:
Saint Denis (?-258)
Patron saint of France.
Denis-Auguste Affre (1793-1848)
Archbishop of Paris. Accidentally killed trying to stop the 1848 riots.

Scientists and Inventors:
Denis Papin (1647-1712)
French-British physicist.
Denis Parsons Burkitt (1911-1993)
British surgeon.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.014 % named Denis

Popularity of Denis:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 946th most popular.
1910-1920: N/A
1920-1930: 862nd most popular.
1930-1940: 488th most popular.
1940-1950: 357th most popular.
1950-1960: 348th most popular.
1960-1970: 494th most popular.
1970-1980: 658th most popular.
1980-1990: 855th most popular.
1990: 672nd most popular.
1991: 667th most popular.
1992: 725th most popular.
1993: 766th most popular.
1994: 815th most popular.
1995: 799th most popular.
1996: 874th most popular.
1997: 854th most popular.
1998: N/A

In France...
1900: 101st most popular.
1910: 107th most popular.
1920: 71st most popular.
1930: 57th most popular.
1940: 43rd most popular.
1950: 36th most popular.
1960: 27th most popular.
1970: 36th most popular.
1980: 81st most popular.
1990: 132nd most popular.
1995: 184th most popular.
2000: N/A