Dean

Dean has the quick cool of a jazz record and a leather jacket slung over one shoulder. An English surname from the Old English denu meaning valley, or from the ecclesiastical and academic title for one who leads, it became a first name in the twentieth century, carried memorably by James Dean and Dean Martin into the American imagination. After years in the middle of the chart, it has climbed back to 142, a steady contemporary favorite. One crisp syllable, a long bright vowel landing softly on the N. Short, handsome, a touch of mid-century romance still clinging to it. Simple, unimpeachable, a little bit unforgettable.