Denis is a distinctive girls' name in United States, ranking #13868 in 2012 with 7 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 2008 with 34 births ranking #4476. Since 1996, the popularity has decreased by 68.2%. In 2012, approximately 1 in every 251,535 girls born was named Denis. FALLING Recent data shows the name is currently falling.
Denis is a continental form of Dennis and ultimately comes from a Greek name meaning "devoted to Dionysus". It feels traditional and slightly more European in flavour than Dennis.
The name spread through Christian Europe partly because of Saint Denis, the patron saint of France. That saintly connection helped separate it in feeling from its older pagan root.