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 [ 1 syll. dea(n), de-an ] The boy name Dean is pronounced as DIYN KEY. Dean is largely used in the English and German languages, and it is derived from Old English origins. The name is of the meaning dean; valley. Derived from the elements 'dean' ; 'decanus' meaning dean ; 'denu' meaning valley. The first name could be from the surname and job title for someone who worked as a church dean; the word 'dean' is itself from the Latin decanus. The surname could also have been originally given for someone living in a valley or a place named with the Old English element 'denu' (valley). The given name was first used in the USA at the end of the 19th century, and it was later popularized by the US actor and cultural icon James Dean (1931-55). The name Deana (English) is the female equivalent of Dean. Forms of Dean include the variant spellings Deane (English) and Dene (English). See also the related form, Dane (English, Dutch, and Lithuanian). Dean is a classic favorite. Currently it is still fairly popular as a baby name for boys, though to a lesser extent than it was before. The name's popularity jumped from the 1900s up to the 1960s. At the modest peak of its usage in 1961, 0.229% of baby boys were given the name Dean. Its ranking then was #84. The baby name has since declined in popularity. In 2008, its usage was only 0.044% and its ranking #345, but it was nonetheless the most popular out of all boy names in its group. In 2008, Dean was more commonly used than the subsequent ranked name, Dane (English, Dutch, and Lithuanian), by 3.066% . The name Dean has predominantly been a boy name, though it has also been given to girls in the past century. In 1937, boys named Dean outnumbered girls by 26 times. Baby names that sound like Dean include Deane (English), Dene (English), Daan (Dutch), Dain (English), Daine (English), Dan (German, English, and Romanian), Dane (English, Dutch, and Lithuanian), Dann (English), Dayne (English), Den (English), Dinh (Vietnamese), Dom (English), Don (English and Scottish), Donagh (Irish), Donn (English, Irish, and Scottish), Down (English), Duane (English and Irish), Dun (English), Dune (English), and Dunn (English). Details of famous persons named Dean: KEY: Pronunciation for Dean: D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"   |
