| Pronunciation | /dɛnt/ |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old English; Old French |
| Word/name | Habitational (from Dent, Yorkshire/Cumbria) or descriptive nickname (Old French *dent*, "tooth") |
| Meaning | From a valley; or "tooth" |
| Region of origin | England with diaspora to United States, Australia, etc. |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Dente, Dentt, Dente, Dentith, Dennett |
Dent is an English surname with two primary origins: a habitational name from places called Dent in Yorkshire and Cumbria, and a nickname derived from the Old French word dent meaning "tooth."
The surname most likely originates as a locational name from the villages of Dent in West Yorkshire and Cumberland—recorded circa 1200 as "Denet" and "Dinet"—from a British hill-name akin to Old Irish dinn/dind ("hill") and Old Norse tindr ("point, crag"). [1] [2] Alternatively, it may have arisen as a medieval nickname for someone notable for their teeth, from Old French *dent* (tooth). [3]
As of recent data, approximately 40,600 people worldwide bear the surname Dent, with the greatest numbers in the United States, followed by England and Australia. [4] In the UK, around 11,300 individuals bear the name, ranking it the 929th most common surname. [5] U.S. census data shows the number rose from about 14,082 in 2000 to 14,873 in 2010, though the per-capita incidence dipped slightly. [6]
A non-exhaustive list of notable people with the surname includes:
Media related to Dent (surname) at Wikimedia Commons