Denny
Usually a pet-form surname from Dennis, and sometimes a shortened or altered form of a place-based name.
The #2,062 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,640 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In the main English tradition, Denny is explained as coming from the pet form of Dennis, ultimately from Latin Dionysius. In that sense it means “son of Dennis” or “descendant of Dennis.” Some writers also note place-name or regional influences in certain families, so the surname may not have only one source everywhere.
History
Bardsley treats Denny as a baptismal surname linked to Dennis, and notes an old Cumberland and Furness family. Lower likewise gives Denny/Denney under Denis and remarks that some families with the name came from France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The name appears in northern English records and later also among Huguenot-descended families in Britain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname dictionary records Denny and Denney together, reflecting how spelling often shifted between families and parish records.
From the historical record
“fought at Marston Moor. B.L.G. DENNY. DENNEY. Denis— the bap- tismal name. Some families so called are known to have settled here from France after the Rev. of the Edict of Nantes, 1685. DENSILL. DENZIL. An estate in Mawgan, co. Cornwall, which was possessed by the family do^^^l to the sixteenth cent., ^^•heu one…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom