Denis

“Variant of Dennis — Follower of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine” — Ancient Greek via Latin and Old French origin

Boy's name · #1712 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Few names move less than Denis — on the books since 1880, #1712 in 2025, and dependable in between. Roughly 21,000 boys share it. Denny is a short form of Denis. Together with its spelling variant Dennis (#707), Denis would rank around #599 with about 480 births last year — the newborns split about 80/20 between Dennis and Denis.

Around the world: #74 in Czechia (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 9 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Denises

Denis Diderot — French Enlightenment philosopher writer and encyclopædist (1713–1784)
Denis Mukwege — Congolese gynecologist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Denis Sassou-Nguesso — President of the Republic of the Congo (1979–1992; 1997–present)
Denis Villeneuve — Canadian film director and screenwriter (born 1967)
Denis Cheryshev — Russian footballer

In stories & tradition

Denis Nayland Smith — The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu · The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu
Denis Breen — Ulysses · Lestrygonians
Denis — Guilt

What Denises become

Among 4,053 notable people named Denis:

Sports figures appear 1.44× more often than among typical names — e.g. Denis Cheryshev, Russian footballer.

Similar names: Dennis · Monte · Denim · Gerard · Jacques · Daryl

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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