Dean

Dean is (yet another) surname that gets used as a given name. The surname means "valley," describing someone who lived in a valley. Dean is also borrowed from the occupational title "dean," as in College Dean. That word comes from the Latin decanus. Famous Deans include Dean Martin, and author Dean Koontz, with James Dean and Howard Dean representing bearers of the surname. Dean has remained in consistent use in the United States for at least the last 100 years, but used just enough to keep it from being "rare." Dean is a considerably more popular name in Ireland and Scotland, so if you're looking for a name for a modern Irish or Scots fictional character, there's one now. I really like this name. I like it enough that if I were about to have a baby, Dean would definitely be on the "possible" list for a boy. One added note: Dean has very occasionally been used a name for baby girls in the U.S. (I don't know about anywhere else.)