Denzil

Denzil is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, relationship name from the Middle English personal name Denisel, a diminutive of Denis.

  as a name·The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland

• In English, ‘little Denis’ (see Dennis (i)).

  as a name·Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history]

• In English, diminutive of Denis; first attested Denisel 1189 Sol

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, Cornish / Irish Gaelic; free from envy.

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• English: from the Cornish surname, the original spelling of which was Denzell , a local name from a place in Cornwall. It came to be used as a given name in the Hollis family in the 16th century, when the Hollis family and the Denzell family became connected by marriage, and spread from there into more general use.

  as a word

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Hollesb. 1599GBEnglish politician and army officer
• Denzil Roberts Onslowb. 1839GBBritish politician (1839-1908)
• Denzil Fortescue, 6th Earl Fortescueb. 1893GBBritish Earl (1893-1977)
• Denzil Keelorb. 1933INRecipient of Vir Chakra
• Denny Crumb. 1937USnot in their usual nameAmerican basketball player and coach
• Denzil Daviesb. 1938GBBritish politician (1938-2018)
• Denzil Douglasb. 1953KNPrime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Denzil Smithb. 1960INIndian actor
• Denzil Minnan-Wongb. 1963CACanadian municipal politician
• Denzil Haosebb. 1991NANamibian footballer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Where does the name Denzil come from?

From the Cornish surname, the original spelling of which was Denzell, a local name from a place in Cornwall. It came to be used as a given name in the Recorded by A concise dictionary of first names.

What does the name Denzil mean?

Recorded meaning: From the Cornish surname, the original spelling of which was Denzell, a local name from a place in Cornwall.

What are other forms of the name Denzil?

In the etymology graph, Denzel is a form of the same name in other languages.

Is Denzil a male or female name?

Denzil is a male name. National registers that list it by sex list it as male: United States (Census Bureau, 2020).

In which country does Denzil have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 2.1 thousand people named Denzil, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled denzil.

Where is Denzil most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Denzil is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 2.4 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Denzil?

In the United States, the national register counted 2,096 people named Denzil in 2020, about 1 in 159 thousand residents.