Dem as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Dem

What is the meaning of the name Dem ?

The baby name Dem is a Unisex name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /dɛm/ ("dem", rhymes with "them").

Dem is English, Greek, Vietnamese in Origin.

Dem is a compact, modern given name most often functioning as a hypocoristic of Greek names beginning with Dem-, especially Demetrios (and its feminine Demetria/Dimitra), meaning “belonging to Demeter,” the ancient goddess of agriculture. In broader Greek onomastics the element demos “people” appears in names like Demosthenes, so Dem may also echo the sense “of the people” when clipped from those forms. Independently, in Turkish and Kurdish dem denotes “moment, time” and the “strength of steeped tea,” lending the name a poetic, time-evoking feel and making it usable as a unisex word-name.

As a call-name it appears in Greek and international diasporas for Dimitrios/Demetrius and related forms, and since the late 20th century has been adopted in English- and Turkish-speaking contexts as a minimalist standalone. Related variants include Demetrios/Demetrius, Dimitrios/Dimitri/Demetri, Demetris; feminine Demetria, Dimitra, Demi. Nicknames and short forms: Demi, Dimi, Dimo, Mitsos.