Desmond (name)

Desmond
Gender	male
Origin
Word/name	anglicized Irish
Region of origin	Anglosphere
Other names
Related names	Des

Desmond is a given name and surname of, derived from the Irish place-name Desmond, an anglicization of Gaelic Deas-Mhumhna "South Munster".^[1] The Irish peerages of Ormonde, Desmond, and Thomond represented the old sub-kingdoms of East, South and North Munster, respectively.^[2] South Munster existed as an independent territory between 1118 and 1543. The title of Earl of Desmond (fourth creation) in the Peerage of Ireland originates in 1628; it is currently held by Alexander Feilding, 12th Earl of Denbigh (b. 1970).

Notable people with the given name

• Dez Bryant (born 1988), American football player
• Desmond Connell (born 1926), Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin
• Desmond de Silva, Sri Lankan musician
• Desmond Dekker (1941–2006), Jamaican singer
• Dez Dickerson (born 1955), American guitarist and singer, former member of Prince's former band The Revolution
• Desmond Digby (1933–2015), Australian set and costumer designer and illustrator
• Desmond Doss (1919–2006), first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor
• Desmond Douglas (born 1955), Jamaican-born British table tennis player
• Desmond Elliot (born 1974), Nigerian actor, director and politician
• Desmond FitzGerald (disambiguation)
• Desmond Ford (born 1929), Christian speaker and theologian
• Desmond Green (born 1989), American mixed martial artist
• Desmond Harrington (born 1976), American actor
• Desmond Haynes (born 1956), West Indian international cricketer
• Desmond Howard (born 1970), former National Football League player and Heisman Trophy winner
• Desmond Jennings (born 1986), American Major League Baseball player
• Des Kelly (born 1965), British journalist
• Desmond Lewis (born 1946), Jamaican cricketer
• Desmond Llewelyn (1914–99), Welsh actor
• Des Lynam (born 1942), British television presenter
• Des Lyttle (born 1971), English footballer
• Desmond Mason (born 1977), American basketball player
• Desmond McKenzie (born 1952), Jamaican politician
• Desmond Morris (born 1928) English zoologist, ethologist, surrealist painter and author (The Naked Ape)
• Desmond Mullen (born 1966), American producer, director, actor, and writer
• Desmond N'Ze (born 1989), Italian footballer playing in the Japanese league
• Des O'Connor (born 1932), British entertainer
• Desmond O'Malley (born 1939), Irish former politician, government minister and founder and leader of the Progressive Democrats
• Des O'Neil (1920–1999), Australian politician
• Desmond Tutu (born 1931), South African archbishop, civil rights activist and opponent of apartheid

Stage name

• Desmond Child, stage name of John Charles Barrett (born 1953), American songwriter

Notable people with the surname

• Casey Desmond (born 1986), American singer-songwriter
• Charles S. Desmond (1896–1987), Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
• Dan Desmond (1913–1964), Irish politician
• Eileen Desmond (1932–2005), Irish politician
• Gerald Desmond (1915–1964), American civic leader and politician
• Humphrey J. Desmond (1858-1932), Wisconsin state legislator, lawyer, writer, and newspaper editor
• Ian Desmond (born 1985), American Major League Baseball player
• Meighan Desmond (born 1977), New Zealand actor
• Paul Desmond (1924-1977), American jazz saxophonist
• Richard Desmond (born 1951), British publisher
• Thomas C. Desmond (1887–1972), New York state senator
• Viola Desmond (1914–1965), Canadian beautician and civil rights advocate
• Walter Desmond (1876–1951), American judge

Stage name

• Johnny Desmond, stage name of Giovanni Alfredo De Simone (1919–1985), American singer active in the 1940s and 1950s
• Olga Desmond, pseudonym taken by Olga Sellin (1891–1964), German dancer and actress who promoted nudity on the stage
• Paul Desmond, stage name of jazz saxophonist Paul Emil Breitenfeld (1924–1977)

Fictional characters

• Desmond Ambrose, lead character in the British sitcom Desmond's
• Des Barnes, in the British soap opera Coronation Street
• Des Clarke (Neighbours), in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
• Desmond Hume in the television series Lost (2004)
• Desmond Jones, one of the central characters of the Beatles song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
• Desmond Larochette in the movie The List
• Desmond Miles in the Assassin's Creed series of video games (2007)
• Des Tiny in the book series The Saga of Darren Shan (2006)

Surname

• Francine Desmond in the 1980s American TV show Scarecrow and Mrs. King
• Norma Desmond, central character in the movie Sunset Boulevard

References

1. Teresa Norman, A World of Baby Names (2003), p. 100.
2. Isaac Taylor, Names and their histories, alphabetically arranged as a handbook of historical geography and topographical nomenclature (1896), p. 199.

See also

• List of Irish-language given names
• Dez (disambiguation), sometimes a short form of Desmond (or Dezmond)
• Des, frequently a short form of Desmond