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Dean Surname Meaning
English: topographic name from Middle English dene ‘valley’ (Old English denu) or a habitational name from any of several places in various parts of England named Dean or Dene from this word. English: nickname or occupational name for the servant of a dean or nickname for someone thought to resemble a dean. A dean was an ecclesiastical official the head of a chapter of canons or a church official with jurisdiction over a sub-division of an archdeaconry. Though no doubt some deans had illegitimate children they were officially celibate and in the main the surname is probably a nickname in origin similar to Bishop Prior Priest and Monk . The Middle English word deen dien dein is a borrowing of Old French d(e)ien doien from Latin decanus (originally a leader of ten men from decem ‘ten’) and thus is a cognate of Deacon . English: from the Middle English personal name Deyne (or Dene) a rhyming pet form of Reynald (see Reginald ). Italian: occupational name cognate with 2 above from Venetian dean ‘dean’ a dialect form of degan from degano (Italian decano). Irish: variant of Deane . Scottish: habitational name from Den in Kildrummy Aberdeenshire or Dean in Kilmarnock Ayrshire.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022