The Dennis surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 78,482 people carried this name — #409 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,760 people counted. That is up 5% from 74,784 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Dennis surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

From Middle English Denis, from Old French saint's name Denis, brought to England by Normans; from Latin Dionysius, a masculine name literally meaning “follower of (the wine god) Dionysus”.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dennis» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Dennis’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Richard Dionys, 1307 — Writs of Parliament.

His entry covers Dennis, Denis and Denison.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 237 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 10 births for the Dennis name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 3 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin and Cork.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 4
Munster 4
Connacht 1
Ulster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

41 people named Dennis live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 15
Vaud 14
Geneva 6
Neuchâtel 3
Zug 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 37 people named Dennis.

Most of them — 21 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Seine-Maritime.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 21
Seine-Maritime 7
Alpes-Maritimes 2
Nord 2
Paris 2
Haute-Garonne 1
Somme 1
Hauts-de-Seine 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

54 people named Dennis is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 54

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Dennis was found among the farmers of 7 counties.

It was most frequent in Devon: 30 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 333. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Devon 30
Essex 27
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 20
Suffolk 16
Cornwall 14
Lincolnshire 9
Norfolk 9

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Dennis was recorded 13 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1564th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

174 families named Dennis, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 879 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New York 42
Massachusetts 30
North Carolina 20
Maryland 19
Pennsylvania 17
Connecticut 12
Rhode Island 10
South Carolina 9
Virginia 6
Vermont 5
Maine 2
New Hampshire 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 237 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Dennis in American newspapers,
1866–1919.

Newspaper page from The Nashville Daily Union carrying the name Dennis
The Nashville Daily Union 1866-05-31
Newspaper page from The Clovis News carrying the name Dennis
The Clovis News 1919-12-11
Newspaper page from The Spokane Press carrying the name Dennis
The Spokane Press 1907-12-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 18,247 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dennis in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2010s.

115,529 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dennis. The most, 22,012, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 35,198
Victoria 29,338
Queensland 16,693
South Australia 15,196
Western Australia 8,227
Tasmania 7,924
ACT (Canberra) 2,003
Northern Territory 136

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dennis.

Who carried it

People named Dennis,
with a public archive behind them.

  • George Dennis d. 1740 · politician
  • Robert Denys d. 1592 · politician
  • Liese Dennis d. 2005 · aristocrat
  • Maurice Dennis d. 1962 · boxer
  • Leonard G. Dennis d. 1885 · politician
  • William Dennis d. 1924

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Dennis,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States5,950 records

5,950 records of the Dennis name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,396
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,102
  • Other U.S. records 2,452
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Paul Leslie Dennis

    Born 1949; from Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania. U.S. Marine Corps, machinegunner; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Don A. Dennis

    Born 1905 in Utah. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles, California; painter from Los Angeles County, California. Veteran; died 1961, buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Catherine Dennis

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 5,950 records for Dennis in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,557 records

2,557 records of the Dennis name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 947
  • Tasmanian Names Index 651
  • Other Australian records 959
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Dennis

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Coromandel, sailing from Sheerness in 1838. Native of Bedford, Bedfordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844. Married 1844 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 25.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Emma Dennis

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Tasmania, sailing from London in 1844. Native of Holborn, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1846 in Spring Bay, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elizabeth Dennis

    Died 1890 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 70. Will registered in Tasmania in 1890.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,557 records for Dennis in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada357 records

357 records of the Dennis name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 191
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 35
  • Other Canadian records 131
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Sally Dennis

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the L'Abondence, bound for Port Roseway, aged 20.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mat Dennis

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the L. Nipigon, landing at Quebec, bound for Listowel, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ernest Dennis

    Buried in 2001 at Queen's Park Mausoleum, Calgary, Alberta, aged 83.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 357 records for Dennis in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom74 records

74 records of the Dennis name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 60
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 7
  • Other British records 7
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Francis Dennis

    Buried in 1825 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 34.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Dennis

    Will proved in 1932; of Gorseinon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. H. Dennis

    Lancashire Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 74 records for Dennis in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands74 records

74 records of the Dennis name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 46
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 20
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 8
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Margareta Dennis

    Married in 1814 in Hurwenen; born 1786 in Rossum. Died 1858 in Rossum, aged 72.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Robert Dennis

    Married in 1719 in Rotterdam; born in Londonderry.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jeanne Christine Dennis

    Died 1861 in Den Helder, aged 43.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 74 records for Dennis in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand53 records

53 records of the Dennis name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 50
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Francis Dennis

    Died 1969, aged 69; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Charles Ernest Dennis

    Buried in 1947 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 72.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Betty Dennis

    Died 1997, aged 71; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 53 records for Dennis in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France13 records

13 records of the Dennis name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean Augustin Dennis

    Born 1909 in Sainte-Adresse (Seine-Maritime); died 1997 in Nîmes (Gard).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Louise Olga Dennis

    Born 1896 in Nice; died 1978 in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 13 records for Dennis in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Dennis name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Eugen Dennis

    From Waxy, Château-Salins. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 6 March 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 130).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dennis.

When the index is not enough

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