Dennis is a moderately popular boys' name in United States, ranking #308 in 2004 with 1,016 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 1996 with 1,539 births ranking #203. Since 1996, the popularity has decreased by 34.0%. In 2004, approximately 1 in every 1,954 boys born was named Dennis. FALLING Recent data shows the name is currently falling.
Dennis is the familiar English form of a Greek-rooted name meaning "devoted to Dionysus". In modern use, the classical mythological root matters much less than the name's long, stable history.
The name spread through Christian tradition, especially through Saint Denis and later forms across Europe. In English it became a dependable twentieth-century classic.