Gunning
A surname that likely began as a Norse personal-name form, later shaped in English records into its modern spelling.
The #9,646 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 91,779 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is generally explained as coming from an old Germanic personal name based on the element Gun- or Gunn-, a common early name prefix meaning "war" or "battle." In Lower’s treatment, Gunning is taken as an Old Norse personal-name surname, while later writers connect it with older English forms such as Gunwyn and Gunhere. The modern spelling may also reflect later English reshaping of an older name ending in -win or -wyn.
History
Historical surname dictionaries note that Gunning appears in English records as a surname formed from an older personal name rather than from a place-name. Bardsley specifically points to it as a development from Gunwin / Gunwyn-like forms, and Barber links it with early name elements such as Gunhere and Gunnar-type forms. The surname is uncommon in the modern United States but has long-standing English and Scandinavian naming roots.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Gun- element shows up in a whole family of old names, which is why related surnames like Gunn, Gunner, Gunter, and Gunning can look similar.
From the historical record
“nine. GUNNING. An O. Norse personal name. GUNSON. The son of Gun. 82c Guiin. Sackford Gunson, Esq., was one of the commissioners for Surrey, inlGlO. Bray- ley's Surrey, i. GS. GUNTER. GUNTHER. A tradition in the family says, from gaunt (Vor, allusive to the golden gauntlets in their arms ; but this is very…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom