Dunning
Likely a patronymic surname meaning “son of Dunning,” from an old personal name.
The #3,330 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,630 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is generally understood as a patronymic, originally meaning “the son of Dunning.” In early records, Dunning appears as a personal name, which may go back to an older English or Norse name base, though the exact root is not certain. Some 19th-century writers also noticed medieval forms such as Dunnig and Dunnigs, supporting the idea that the surname developed from a given name rather than from a place or occupation.
History
The name is found in medieval English records as both a personal name and later a hereditary surname. Lower mentions bearers in Cheshire, including a Dunning connected with Latham/Lathom, and Bardsley treats Downing as a related patronymic form. The surname later spread more widely in England and then overseas, where it survives as a relatively uncommon name.
Origin
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Fun fact
A medieval Cheshire landholder named Dunning is cited by early antiquarian writers as an ancestor of the family of Lathom or Latham.
From the historical record
“Donald. DUNNING. Dunning, proprietor of Latham, co. Chester, and ancestor of the family of Lathom, or Latham, of that place, was contemporary with the malving of Domesday Book. Whether he was a continued possessor, of the Saxon race, or a Norman grantee, is, Dr. Ormerod thinks, doubtful. His son was called Siward…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom