Dunne
A surname that can mean either “the dark one” or someone from a place called Dun/Downe.
The #3,974 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,531 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually explained in two possible ways. One is as a nickname from Old English dun / Middle English dun, meaning “dark brown” or “dusky,” applied to a person’s complexion or coloring. The other is as a locative surname from the same word meaning “hill,” used for someone who lived near or at a hill, or from a place-name formed from it.
History
The medieval records cited by early surname scholars show both forms, with spellings such as atte Dune, de la Dune, and le Dunne. That makes it hard to separate a true nickname origin from a local-place origin in every family line. The surname became established in England and later spread widely in Ireland as well, where Dunne is now a well-known name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early sources even describe Dun/Dunne as an old Anglo-Saxon personal name, so some lines may preserve a very ancient name rather than a straightforward nickname.
From the historical record
“(a) Nick.'tbe dun,' a dull brown, a name given from the complexion of the b^rer. 'Dunne of hewe": Rom. of Rose, 1313. 1e Dan, co. Derby, Hen. Ill-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances