Male name
Dean
5,371 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 1996. Expression number: 6.
Origin
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”)From Wiktionary, entry “Dean”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know a Dean?
Send them the page about their name.
How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 1996: 719 births. 5,371 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s and 2000s. At its peak, it ranked 80th among boys' names in 1996. It is still given: 273 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1961: 4,967 births. 195,844 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1950s, 1960s, 2010s and 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 78th among boys' names in 1967. It really came into use around 1889. It is still given: 12,356 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 1993: 310 births. 5,647 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s and 2000s. At its peak, it ranked 24th among boys' names in 1993. It really came into use around 1969. It is still given: 63 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 1,110 | 1900–2025 | — |
| Switzerland | 1,031* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Berlin | 445 | 2012–2023 | — |
| Quebec | 297 | 1980–2025 | — |
| Austria | 226 | 1984–2025 | — |
| Belgium | 34 | 2014–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first); Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Statistik Austria, Vornamen, CC BY 4.0; Statbel, first names of newborns, CC BY 4.0 (one total for the whole period, no yearly breakdown).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
6
responsibility, harmony, commitment to others
4 + 5 + 1 + 5 = 15 → 6
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
6
responsibility, harmony, commitment to others
5 + 1 = 6
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
9
humanity, generosity, completion
4 + 5 = 9
- Digits missing from the name
- 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
- Most frequent digit
- 5 · freedom, change, movement
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.