DENIS, DENNIS, DION, DIONNE
and the feminine DENISE are from the name of the Greek god of wine Dionysius. In ancient Greece the festival of Dionysius was held each year in the fall to celebrate the grape harvest. In ancient Hawaii there was a similar harvest festival called the MAKAHIKI. MAKAHIKI was celebrated with the bringing of gifts of produce to the chiefs, games, and the suspension of wars and kapus. In Hawaiian the word HIWAHIWA means festive and also precious and beloved. The Hawaiianized-English form of DENIS, is KENIKA which is the word the Hawaiians used for the English game of tennis.