Dean

See also: dean, déan, deán, and dèan

English

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”)

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:
1. Any of various villages and hamlets in England:
  1. A village and civil parish in Allerdale borough, Cumbria (OS grid ref NY0725).
  2. A hamlet in Kentisbury parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS6245). [1]
  3. A hamlet in West Down parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS5042). [2]
  4. A hamlet in Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge parish, east Dorset (OS grid ref ST9715). [3]
  5. A hamlet in Bishop's Waltham parish, Winchester district, Hampshire (OS grid ref SU5619). [4]
  6. A hamlet in Sparsholt parish, Winchester district, Hampshire (OS grid ref SU4431). [5]
  7. A hamlet in Spelsbury parish, West Oxfordshire district, Oxfordshire (OS grid ref SP3422).
  8. A hamlet in Cranmore parish, Mendip district, Somerset (OS grid ref ST6744).
2. A small township in the Shire of Hepburn, central Victoria, Australia.
3. A small community in the Musquodoboit Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada.
4. A number of places in the United States:
  1. An unincorporated community in Monterey County, California.
  2. An unincorporated community in Appanoose County, Iowa.
  3. A ghost town in Lander County, Nevada.
  4. A township and village therein, in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
  5. A minor city in Clay County, Texas.

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