Dennison
Masculine
Dennison is a surname meaning son of Dennis, and Dennis goes back to a god whose history was rewritten by a single archive. He was taken for a latecomer to Greek religion until somebody deciphered a stack of clay tablets.
How old is the name Dennison?
Dennison first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Dennison alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 600 people named Dennison are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dennison most popular?
Dennison peaked in 1949, reaching #1754 nationally. See the whole 1949 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Dennison
Classical scholarship long held that Dionysus arrived in Greece late, from Thrace or Asia, and that the myths about resistance to his worship were a memory of that arrival. Then Linear B, the script of the Bronze Age palaces, was deciphered, and his name turned up on tablets from Pylos: he had been there all along, several centuries before the myths were written. The tablets are administrative records, mostly lists of commodities, and they have quietly rearranged a great deal of what was assumed about early Greek religion. The god of arriving from elsewhere turns out to have been one of the oldest residents.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The surname is built on Dennis with the ordinary English patronymic ending. Dennis itself goes back to the god's name, whose own elements are argued over. Whether the American first name comes from the surname or elsewhere is not recorded.
Pronouncing Dennison
DEN-ih-sun
Three syllables with the stress in front and a light ending. Nothing in it invites hesitation.
Nicknames for Dennison
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 197317 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1754reached in 1949
- Change vs 2022
- +40.0%7 in 2024, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Dennisons among us
people named Dennison are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Dennison sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is read correctly at first sight and never needs spelling out loud.
- Denny comes off the front as a short form and works for either sex.
- It sits in the familiar family of -son surnames used in front position.
- It reads as a surname to most listeners, which suits some families and not others.
- Denison, with one n, is also in the record, so the spelling will be checked back with you.
- No origin is documented for the first name, so the meaning question has nothing settled behind it.
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Dennison
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Dennisons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Dennison are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dennison in 2025?
- Dennison is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Dennison with classmates?
- Dennison will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
David#35 · Daniel#22 · Donald#690 · Dennis#707 · Douglas#807 · Dylan#41 · Danny#628 · Dale#1409
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dennison? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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