Dean
English
Etymology
The surname or given name is of multiple origins, depending on context:
- As an English surname, from Middle English dene (“valley”).
- Also as an English surname, from the noun dean. Cognate to Deacon.
- Also as an English surname, from the personal name Deyne, a rhyming form of Reynald (see Reginald).
- As an Irish surname, variant of Deane.
- As a Scottish surname, from Dean Castle in Kilmarnock, itself from the noun meaning valley.
- Old English Dene (“Dane, Norseman”)
- Hebrew דין (“law, judgment”) and Arabic دين (“way of life, creed”)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /diːn/
- Rhymes: -iːn
- Homophone: dean
Proper noun
Dean (countable and uncountable, plural Deans)
- A title afforded to a dean.
- (countable) A habitational surname from Middle English from Middle English dene “valley”.
- (countable) A male given name transferred from the surname or originating as an occupation derived from the title.
- A placename:
- Any of various villages and hamlets in England:
- A village and civil parish in Cumberland, Cumbria, previously in Allerdale borough (OS grid ref NY0725). [1]
- A hamlet in Lynton and Lynmouth parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS7048). [2]
- A hamlet in Trentishoe parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS6245).
- A hamlet in West Down parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS5042).
- A hamlet in Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge parish, east Dorset (OS grid ref ST9715).
- A hamlet in Bishop's Waltham parish, Winchester district, Hampshire (OS grid ref SU5619).
- A hamlet in Sparsholt parish, Winchester district, Hampshire (OS grid ref SU4431).
- A locality between Water and Weir, Rossendale borough, Lancashire (OS grid ref SD8525).
- A hamlet in Spelsbury parish, West Oxfordshire district, Oxfordshire (OS grid ref SP3422).
- A hamlet in Cranmore parish, Mendip district, Somerset (OS grid ref ST6744).
- Synonym of Dean Village, Edinburgh, Scotland.
- A small township in the Shire of Hepburn, central Victoria, Australia.
- A small community in the Musquodoboit Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada.
- A number of places in the United States:
- An unincorporated community in Monterey County, California.
- An unincorporated community in Appanoose County, Iowa.
- A ghost town in Lander County, Nevada.
- A township and village therein, in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
- A minor city in Clay County, Texas.
- Any of various villages and hamlets in England: