Dent
A surname that most often began as a local name for someone from Dent in Yorkshire.
The #2,436 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 20,759 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a locational name, referring to Dent, the township in Yorkshire. The place-name is generally connected with Old English roots for a valley or wooded hollow, though early writers sometimes treated it more simply as a local surname from the place itself. In some cases it may also overlap with the common word 'dent,' but the family-name sense is chiefly territorial.
History
English surname writers in the 19th century especially linked Dent to the Yorkshire township of that name, and noted that the surname spread into neighboring counties such as Westmorland. The name also appears in records as a place-based surname rather than a nickname in many lines. It remains established in England and later spread to North America and other English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Dent is short and topographic, it can be easy to confuse with the ordinary noun 'dent,' but the surname is usually a place-name, not a description of a notch or mark.
From the historical record
“Suftblk. DENT. A township and cliapclry in Yorkshire, and a place in Northumber- land. DENTON. Parishes in cos. Durham, Hunts, Kent, Lancaster, Lincoln, Norfolk, Oxon, Northampt., Sussex, York, and Nor- thumlierlaud. DENl^ER. See Denman. DE PUTPtON. The village or contree”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Dent
- Two-Face
- Julia Grant (1826–1902)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.