Dean: name meaning, origin & popularity
- Meaning
- “valley”
- Origin
- English
- Say it
- DEEN · 1 syllable
- Used for
- Boys (98% of all uses)
From an English surname derived from Old English denu meaning 'valley'; it also coincides with the occupational title dean from Latin decanus. As a given name, the surname origin is common.
How popular is Dean?
Babies named Dean in 20242,550
2024 rank#142 boys
Peak year1961
Total US babies since 1880192,948
Dean is rising: use over the last five years is 1.8× what it was a decade earlier.
Names like Dean
Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.
Dean questions
What does the name Dean mean?
Dean means "valley". It comes from English. From an English surname derived from Old English denu meaning 'valley'; it also coincides with the occupational title dean from Latin decanus. As a given name, the surname origin is common.
Is Dean a boy or girl name?
Dean is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).
How popular is Dean?
2,550 US babies were named Dean in 2024. Its peak year was 1961.
How do you pronounce Dean?
Dean is usually pronounced DEEN.
Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.