Dean
A common English surname either from a dean of the church or, more often, from someone who lived near a valley or plain.
The #269 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,708 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English surname history, Dean has two main explanations. One is occupational or status-based: it can come from the church title "dean," from Latin "decanus" meaning a leader of ten, later a senior cleric. Another, noted in older surname dictionaries, is locational from Old English "denu," meaning a valley or hollow; people "at the dene" were living by such a place. The same spelling also became attached to many different localities named Dean in England, which helped it spread as a surname.
History
The locational form appears early in medieval records as "atte Dene" and similar spellings, showing the surname could simply mean "at the valley." Because many English places are called Dean, the name arose independently in several regions. In later centuries it was reinforced by the ecclesiastical title, so modern bearers may descend from either source.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers pointed out that there were many English parishes and places called Dean, so the same surname could have several separate origins.
From the historical record
“DEALTRY. See Hawtrey. DEAN. DEANE. A-Sax. denu, a valo or plain. Atte Dene is the common form in old times, implying residence at such a place. Tliere arc, however, eighteen pa- rislies or places called Dean in the Gazet- teer of Engl., and Dene occurs in Domesd. as a personal appellation. DEANS. A village district…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom