MEANING & HISTORY
What does Denis mean?
Denis belongs to the name family of Dionysius, the Latin form of Greek Dionysios. The Greek personal name was derived from the god Dionysus.
French medieval forms helped transmit Denis into English, where the dictionary also relates it to Dennis. This is a historical name relationship, not a literal statement about the bearer's worship or personality. Denis and Dennis should remain distinct spellings even though they share that background.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
A male given name from Ancient Greek, a mostly British and Irish spelling variant of Dennis.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
1
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Denis in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Denis
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Denisa·Feminine name in the Dionysus name family
- Denise♀Feminine form of Denis; related to Dionysus
- Dennis♂Related to Dionysus
- Adonis·Lord or master, through a Phoenician title
- Delia♀Of Delos
- Delio♂Cebuano short form of Rodelio
- Denisse♀Spanish feminine form of Denis
- Denny·Familiar form of Denis or Dennis
What rhymes with Denis?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Denis
1 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
Explore combinations →Explore Denis further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wiktionary contributors — Denis (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — denis (opens in a new tab)
Consulted editorial entry, not user submissions: Medieval French form of Dionysius.
- Behind the Name — dionysios (opens in a new tab)
Consulted editorial entry, not user submissions: Greek personal name derived from Dionysus; cites Lexicon of Greek Personal Names.