Devon

See also: devon

English

Etymology

From Old English Defenas, which meant both "Devonians" and "Devon," exemplifying the common Anglo-Saxon practice of naming a place after the people who inhabit it.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛv.ən/, /ˈdiː.vən/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvən, -iːvən

Usage notes

The former pronunciation should be used for all except the river; the latter pronunciation should be used for the river only.

Proper noun

Devon (countable and uncountable, plural Devons)

1. A placename
   1. A place in the United Kingdom
      2. A county of England bordered by Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, the Bristol Channel and the English Channel.
      4. A river in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, England, a tributary to the Trent.
      6. A river in Clackmannanshire council area and Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, a tributary of the Forth.
   2. A place in Canada:
      2. A town in Leduc County, Alberta.
      3. A small rural community in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
      4. A former town in New Brunswick, amalgamated in 1945 into the city of Fredericton.
   3. A place in the United States:
      1. A village and neighborhood of the city of Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut.
      2. An unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware.
      4. An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Bourbon County, Kansas.
      6. A census-designated place in Easttown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
      7. An unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia.
   4. A settlement in Gauteng province, South Africa.
2. An English earldom.
3. A unisex given name
   1. A male given name
      • 2013, Diane Chamberlain, Necessary Lies, Pan Books, →ISBN, page 59:

        "Is that his real name?" I asked, touching the corner of the picture. "Devil?"
        "I named him Devon James Jordan, but my oldest―my girl Sheena―she had trouble saying Devon and it came out Devil, and that stuck […] "

      • 2021 June 4, Shellie Murdaugh, “Man found not guilty of former Hardeeville fire chief's murder”, in Bluffton Today‎^[1], archived from the original on 30 July 2021:

        Devon Dunham of Hardeeville was found not guilty of murder in the shooting death of 77-year-old Ernest Stevens after a two-day trial May 25-27, the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office said.

      1. A male given name transferred from the place name
      2. A male given name, variant of Devin
   2. A female given name transferred from the place name, of modern American usage.
      • 2014, Molly Smith Metzler, Elemeno Pea, →ISBN, page 61:

        ETHAN: She's good and sweet and let me tell you somethng I've learned about myself, Dor— Darb? — Derf? — / DEVON: Devon. Just like Kevin. / ETHAN: Devon. Devon. Kevin, Devon, Kevin. Let me tell you something I've learned about myself...Devon.

      • 2025 August 15, Jusolyn Flower, “Assistant attorney general arrested in Newport”, in WPRI‎^[2], archived from the original on 27 August 2025:

        According to the attorney general’s office, Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan was arrested. She has worked for the office for about seven years and is currently assigned to the Appellate Unit of the Criminal Division.

4. A surname.

Synonyms

county

• Devonshire

Derived terms

• Crook of Devon (Scotland)
• Devon colic
• Devon Hills
• Devonian
• Devon Island
• Devon Meadows
• Devon North
• Devon pie
• Devonport
• Devonwall
• East Devon
• Mid Devon
• North Devon
• West Devon

Descendants

• → Russian: Де́вон (Dévon)

Translations

English county

• Arabic: دِيفُون (dīfūn)
• Breton: Devnent (br)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 德文郡 (Déwén jùn)

• Cornish: Dewnens, Pow Densher m
• Danish: Devon
• Esperanto: Devono
• German: Devon (de)
• Japanese: デヴォン (Debon)
• Lao: ເດວົນ (dn)
• Latin: Devōnia f (Medieval Latin)
• Marathi: डेव्हन (ḍevhan)
• Norman: Dévon m
• Old English: Defena sċīr f, Defenas m pl
• Portuguese: Devon m
• Russian: Девон (ru) m (Devon)
• Thai: เดว็อน

  Northern Thai: ᨯᩯᩅᩫ᩠ᨶ

• Ukrainian: Девон m (Devon)
• Welsh: Dyfnaint (cy)

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Devon is the 34353^rd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 660 individuals. Devon is most common among White (72.73%) and Black/African American (17.12%) individuals.

Noun

Devon (plural Devons)

1. One of a breed of hardy cattle originating in Devon, England.

See also

• Devin
• Devyn

Anagrams

• doven

German

Pronunciation

• (the Devonian) IPA^(key): /deˈvoːn/

  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

    (file)

• (Place name) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛvən/

Proper noun

Devon n (proper noun, genitive Devons or (optionally with an article) Devon)

1. Devon (a county of England)
2. Devon (a town in Alberta, Canada)
3. Devon (a small rural community of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)
4. Devon (a former town in New Brunswick, Canada, now a part of Fredericton)
5. Devon (a village and neighborhood of Milford, Connecticut, United States)
6. Devon (an unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States)
7. Devon (an unincorporated community in Bourbon County, Kansas, United States)
8. Devon (a census-designated place in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States)
9. Devon (an unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States)
10. the Devonian

Declension

Declension of Devon [sg-only, neuter, strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Devon
genitive	eines	des	Devons
dative	einem	dem	Devon
accusative	ein	das	Devon

See also

• Silur
• Karbon
• Paläozoikum

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Devon.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛ.võ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛ.vɔn/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛ.vɔn/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛ.bɔn/ [ˈdɛ.βɔn]

Proper noun

Devon ?

1. Devon (a county of England)