Denison
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Denis” or “son of Dennis.”
The #5,364 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,573 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Denison is a patronymic surname built from the forename Denis, Dennis, ultimately from Latin Dionysius, the name associated with Dionysus. In plain terms, it means “son of Denis/Dennis.” The older dictionaries also note variant spellings such as Dennison and historical forms influenced by French usage of Denis.
History
The name appears in English records as a straightforward family-name formation from the popular medieval given name Dennis. It is also found in Irish contexts, where it can reflect the same Christian personal name rather than a separate native Gaelic source. Over time, Denison and Dennison have both remained in use, with Denison the shorter spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root also lies behind the much more common surname Dennis and the given name Denis.
From the historical record
“DENIS. See Dennis. DENISON. DENNISON. The son of Denis. See, however, Dennistoun. DENMAN. See the termination, den and 31AN. The form in H.R. is Ate Dene. A dweller in a dene or ' den' would be called a Denman or a Denyer. The writer of the article on Surnames in Ediub. Rev. April, 1855, thinks the original Denman…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom