Vining
A surname probably from Vince/Vincent or the word vine, with an old English spelling history that later settled into Vining.
The #6,468 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 58,775 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The main scholarly suggestion is that Vining developed as a variant of Winning/Vinning, and ultimately from Vincent through short forms like Vinn. Harrison also notes a possible connection with names built on vine, comparing it to French forms meaning a vine-grower. Because the evidence is mixed, the safest reading is that it may reflect either a personal name (Vincent/Winning) or a vine-related byname.
History
The surname appears in English and later American records in the 19th century, with spellings that overlap other Vinn-/Vin- names. Earlier writers tried to connect it with both Vincent-derived forms and occupational or descriptive vine names. The modern spelling Vining became established as a hereditary surname rather than a transparent word-name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century antiquaries noticed Vining alongside a cluster of other vine-like surnames such as Vinson and Vinton, showing how easily these names were grouped by sound as well as by meaning.
From the historical record
“VINING 1 prob. labio-dentalized forms VINNING / (through Fr.) of Winning, q.v. VINN, a dim. of Vincent, q.v. VINRACE is prob. for Vineress, a fern, form of Vinep (q.v.) : cp. Fr. vigneronne, 'female vine-grower'. The 'Genealogy of Vinyace', by Mr. Den- nis Vinrace, is of too modern a character to be of use to the…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)