Show ContentsDement History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Dement

What does the name Dement mean?

The enchanting region of Bourgoigne was the historical homeland of the prominent surname Dement. Dement is a topographic surname, which is a type of hereditary surname. These were given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. The name Dement is derived from the Old French word mont, which means mountain or hill, and indicates that the original bearer lived at or near such a landmark.

Early Origins of the Dement family

The surname Dement was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family held a family seat from ancient times in the seigniory of St. Jean.

Early History of the Dement family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dement research. Another 217 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1527, 1529, 1557, 1610, 1666, 1684, 1707, 1726, 1759, 1790, 1819, 1829, 1842, 1849, 1853 and 1902 are included under the topic Early Dement History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dement Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dumont, Du Mont, du Mont, Dumonte, Du Monte, du Monte, de Mont, De Mont, De Monte, Dumond, Dumon, Dumons, Dement and many more.

Early Notables of the Dement family

Notable amongst the family at this time was the Marquis of Gages; the Barons of the Grand Duchy of Hesse; Henry de Thier Du Mont (1610-1684), a notable French composer; Arsène-Jean-François Dumont (1849-1902), a French sociologist and demographer; Henri Dumont (1610-1684), a Belgian organist and composer, former organist at St. Paul's Church, Paris, France and composer of the "Messes royales"; Jean Dumont (1666-1726), a French publicist and historian, he opposed Louis XIV and absolute monarchy. He later moved...
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dement Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dement Ranking

In the United States, the name Dement is the 7,218th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1


Dement migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dement Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Giles Dement, who landed in Virginia in 1664 2
Dement Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • W C Dement, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
  • J D Dement, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1855 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Dement (post 1700) +

  • William Charles Dement (1928-2020), American sleep researcher and founder of the Sleep Research Center at Stanford University
  • Kenneth "Redneck" Dement (b. 1933), former American football offensive tackle
  • John Dement (1804-1883), American politician and militia commander
  • Iris DeMent (b. 1961), American singer and songwriter
  • Walter F. Dement, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Leipzig, 1929; Durban, 1932 3
  • Thomas J. Dement, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1893-97 3
  • John Dement, American Democratic Party politician, Illinois State Treasurer, 1831-36; Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1844; Member of Illinois Democratic State Committee, 1856-58; Mayor of Dixon, Illinois, 1869-72, 1878-79 3
  • Ira DeMent, American politician, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, 1969-77 3
  • Henry D. Dement, American politician, Secretary of State of Illinois, 1881-89 3
  • Gary Dement, American Republican politician, Chair of Greer County Republican Party, 2014 3
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

USS Indianapolis
  • Dayle Pershing Dement, American crew member on board the ship "USS Indianapolis" when she was on a top secret trip for the first nuclear weapon, she was sunk by Japanese Navy on 30th July 1945, he was one of the many who were killed in the sinking due to exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning and shark attacks 4


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  4. Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew


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