Desmond is a given name and a surname, derived from the Irish place-name ''Desmond'', an

anglicization Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

of the Irish ''Deas-Mhumhna'' ("South

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

"). The Irish peerages of

Ormonde Ormonde is a surname originated in Ireland (Ormonde) and Scotland (Ormond (surname), Ormond), but also occurring in England, United States, Portugal (mainly in Azores, as a variation of the scottish surname Drummond_(surname), Drummond) and Brazil. ...

, Desmond, and

Thomond Thomond ( Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the Kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nena ...

represented the old sub-kingdoms of East, South, and North Munster, respectively.Isaac Taylor, ''Names and their histories, alphabetically arranged as a handbook of historical geography and topographical nomenclature'' (1896), p. 199. South Munster existed as an independent territory between 1118 and 1543. The title of

Earl of Desmond Earl of Desmond ( meaning Earl of South Munster) is a title of nobility created by the English monarch in the peerage of Ireland. The title has been created four times. It was first awarded in 1329 to Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, Maur ...

(fourth creation) in the Peerage of Ireland originates in 1628; it is currently held by Alexander Feilding, 12th Earl of Denbigh (born 1970).

Notable people with the given name

*Desmond Amofah (1990–2019), American YouTuber better known as Etika * Desmond Arthur (1884–1913), Irish Lieutenant in the No. 2 Squadron RAF, known for being the Montrose Ghost * Desmond Claude (born 2003), American basketball player *

Desmond Connell Desmond Connell (24 March 1926 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was an Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticise ...

(1926–2017), Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin * Desmond de Silva (1944–2022), Sri Lankan musician *

Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker (born Desmond Adolphus Dacres; 16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Ho ...

(1941–2006), Jamaican singer * Desmond Devenish, English-American filmmaker * Desmond Devlin, American comedy writer *

Dez Dickerson Desmond D'andrea Dickerson (born August 7, 1955) is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's band, the Revolution. Life and career Dickerson was born in 1955 as Desmond D'andrea Dickerson, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A v ...

(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 Desmond Douglas MBE (born 20 July 1955 in Jamaica) is a British table tennis player. He lived and was brought up in the area of Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands. He was an attacking, left-handed, player, notable for his scissor jump sma ...

(born 1955), Jamaican-born British table tennis player *

Desmond Elliot Desmond Oluwashola Elliot (born 4 February 1974) is a Nigerian actor, director and politician. He was elected as a lawmaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Surulere Constituency in the 11 April 2015 Nigerian General Elections. Elliot c ...

(born 1974), Nigerian actor, director and politician * Des Ferrow (1933–2020), New Zealand cricketeer * Desmond Fitzgerald (disambiguation), various people * Desmond Ford (1929–2019), Christian speaker and theologian *

Desmond Green Desmond Green (born October 11, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division for Ultimate Fighting Championship. Green is a bare-knuckle boxer for BYB Extreme Fighting Series, where he is the current BYB ...

(born 1989), American mixed martial artist *

Desmond Harrington Desmond Harrington (born October 19, 1976) is an American actor. He made his film debut in 1999, playing Jean d'Aulon in '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc''. His later credits include '' Riding in Cars with Boys'', '' The Hole'' (both ...

(born 1976), American actor * Desmond Harrison (American football) (born 1993), American football player *

Desmond Haynes Desmond Leo Haynes (born 15 February 1956) is a former Barbadian cricketer and cricket coach who played for the West Indies cricket team between 1978 and 1994. He was a member of the squads which won the 1979 Cricket World Cup as well as finis ...

(born 1956), West Indian international cricketer *

Des Headland Desmond John Headland, Jr (born 21 January 1981) is a retired Australian rules footballer, Following on from his AFL career he continued on finishing his playing career for Subiaco in the West Australian Football League. He was also a former c ...

(born 1981), Australian Rules footballer * Desmond Howard (born 1970), former National Football League player and Heisman Trophy winner *

Desmond Jennings Desmond Delane Jennings (born October 30, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays. Early life Jennings was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the second of three so ...

(born 1986), American Major League Baseball player * Des Kelly (born 1965), British journalist * Desmond Kitchings, American football coach * Desmond King (American football) (born 1994), American football player * Des Lee (born 1946), Irish musician in

The Miami Showband The Miami Showband were an Irish showband in the 1960s and 1970s led firstly in 1962 by singer Jimmy Harte, followed by Dickie Rock and later by Fran O'Toole. They had seven number-one records on the Irish singles chart. The band's career was ...

* Desmond Lewis (1946–2018), Jamaican cricketer *

Desmond Llewelyn Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (; 12 September 1914GRO Register of Births: DEC 1914 11a 490 NEWPORT M. – Desmond W. Llewelyn, mmn = Wilkinson – 19 December 1999GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 2000 A70E 247 EASTBOURNE – Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn, D ...

(1914–99), Welsh actor *

Des Lynam Desmond Michael Lynam (born 17 September 1942) is an Irish-born British television and radio presenter. In a broadcasting career spanning more than forty years, he has hosted television coverage of many of the world's major sporting events, pr ...

(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 Desmond John Morris FLS ''hon. caus.'' (born 24 January 1928) is an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology. He is known for his 1967 book ''The Naked Ape'', and for his televis ...

(born 1928) English zoologist, ethologist, surrealist painter and author (''The Naked Ape'') * Desmond Muirhead (1923–2002), English-born American golf course designer * Desmond Mullen (born 1966), American producer, director, actor, and writer * Desmond Norman (1929–2002), English aircraft designer and businessman * Desmond N'Ze (born 1989), Italian footballer playing in the Japanese league *

Des O'Connor Desmond Bernard O'Connor (12 January 1932 – 14 November 2020) was an English comedian, singer and television presenter. He was a long-time TV chat-show host, beginning with '' The Des O'Connor Show'' in 1963, which ran for ten years as we ...

(1932–2020), British entertainer *

Desmond O'Malley Desmond Joseph O'Malley (2 February 1939 – 21 July 2021) was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1977 to 1981 and 1989 to 1992, Progressive Democrats, Leader ...

(1939–2021), Irish politician, government minister and founder and leader of the Progressive Democrats * Des O'Neil (1920–1999), Australian politician * Desmond Reid (born 2004), American football player * Desmond Rice (1924–2020), British Army officer * Desmond Ricks, American football player *

Desmond Ridder Desmond Kelly Ridder (born August 31, 1999) is an American professional American football, football quarterback. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats football, Cincinnati Bearcats, twice earning American Athletic Conference foot ...

(born 1999), American football player * Desmond Tan (disambiguation), various people * Desmond Trotter (born 2000), American football player *

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

(1931–2021), South African archbishop, civil rights activist and opponent of apartheid * Desmond "Dee" Williams (born 1999), American football player

Stage name

Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and record producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, a Primet ...

, 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 * Connie Desmond (1908–1983), American sportscaster * Cornelius Desmond (American politician) (1893–1974), Massachusetts state Representative * Cornelius "Con" Desmond (1898-1974), Irish politician * Dan Desmond (1913–1964), Irish politician * Eileen Desmond (1932–2005), Irish politician * George Henri Desmond (1874–1965), American architect * 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 * Mabel Desmond (1929–2023), former Maine state Representative * Matthew Desmond, American sociologist * Meighan Desmond (born 1977), New Zealand actor * Michael J. Desmond, American lawyer *

Paul Desmond Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer and proponent of cool jazz. He was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet and composed the group's biggest hit, " ...

(1924–1977), American jazz saxophonist *

Richard Desmond Richard Clive Desmond (born 8 December 1951) is a British publisher, businessman, and former Pornography, pornographer. According to the 2021 ''Sunday Times Rich List'', Desmond was the 107th richest person in the United Kingdom. He is the fo ...

(born 1951), British publisher * Robert Desmond (1928–2002), English actor *

Thomas C. Desmond Thomas Charles Desmond (September 15, 1887 – October 6, 1972) was an American engineer and politician from New York (state), New York. Life He was born on September 15, 1887, in Middletown, Orange County, New York, Middletown, Orange County, N ...

(1887–1972), New York state senator * Viola Desmond (1914–1965), Canadian beautician and civil rights advocate * Walter Desmond (1876–1951), American judge

Stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

* 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 *

, stage name of jazz saxophonist Paul Emil Breitenfeld (1924–1977)

Fictional characters

Given name

*Desmond, mascot of '' Auto Magazin'' * Desmond Ambrose, lead character in the British sitcom ''

Desmond's ''Desmond's'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by Channel 4 from 5 January 1989 to 19 December 1994. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, ''Desmond's'' stars Norman Beaton as b ...

'' *

Des Barnes Des Barnes is a fictional character from the English ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Philip Middlemiss. Storylines Des was deeply in love with Steph Jones ( Amelia Bullmore), but she did not seem to care as deeply for hi ...

, in the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'' * Desmond Belmont, the only playable in '' Castlevania: Order of Shadows'' * 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 "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Following t ...

'' * Desmond Larochette in the movie '' The List'' * Desmond Miles in the ''

Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is a historical fiction, historical action-adventure video game series and media franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil (game engine), Anvil and its m ...

'' series of video games (2007) * Desmond Sycamore, one of the main characters in the video game '' Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy'', but it was actually Jean Descole in disguise. *

Des Tiny Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include: People * Des Buckingham, English football manager * Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician * Des Dillon (disambiguation), sev ...

in the book series ''

The Saga of Darren Shan ''The Saga of Darren Shan'' (known as ''Cirque Du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan'' in the United States) is a young adult 12-part book series written by Darren O'Shaughnessy about the struggle of Darren Shan, a boy who has become involved in ...

'' (2006) * Desmond or Des,

John Constantine John Constantine (), also known as Hellblazer, is an antihero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben, and first appeared in ''Swamp Thing'' #37 (June 1985). I ...

's ex-boyfriend in ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, ...

'' * Desmond, the brother of Sigurd, mentioned in the logs of '' Lethal Company''

Surname

* Damian Desmond, a character from anime/manga series ''

Spy × Family ''Spy × Family'' (stylized as ''SPY×FAMILY'' and pronounced "spy family") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. The story follows Loid Forger, an enigmatic spy who has to "build a family" to execute a missio ...

'' * Francine Desmond in the 1980s American TV show ''

Scarecrow and Mrs. King ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987, on CBS. The music underscore was composed by Arthur B. Rubinstein. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, as divorced ...

'' * Norma Desmond, central character in the 1950 film ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

References

{{given name, type=both Masculine given names Irish masculine given names English masculine given names