Frequency: (188)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Greek: derogatory nickname from Turkish deli ‘fool’, ‘foolish’, or a shortened form of any of the surnames formed with Deli as a prefix, e.g. Deligiannis ‘crazy John’.
2. French: habitational name from Lys-les-Lannoy, Lisse in the Netherlands, or Lies in the Belgian province of Brabant.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
