PENNING
Penning is a surname of English provenance, with its earliest attestations dating back to the late twelfth century. The name is situated within the British Isles, predominantly in England, and is traditionally associated with Christian families.
The etymology of Penning is firmly rooted in the Old English word pening, meaning a penny or a coin. As a nickname it was employed for individuals involved in monetary matters, including those who acted as moneyers, the craftsmen who minted coins. The term pening itself derives from pre‑seventh‑century Old English pening, penig and from the Middle English peni, which was the common Germanic unit of value. The penny was a silver coin of considerable worth; it remained the sole unit of coinage in England until the groat and noble were introduced in the early thirteenth century.
Historical records provide concrete evidence of the name’s antiquity. The Pipe Rolls of Huntingdonshire record the first spelling of the family name as Ralph Penig in 1191, during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart. Subsequent entries include Ailnoth Peni of the Curia Regis Rolls of Surrey (1204), William Peny in the Assize Court Rolls of Shropshire (1221), and Geoffrey Penings of Clerkenwell, London (1305). Church registers later record christenings such as Henry Pynnye on 10 September 1552 at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, and Rachel Penney on 5 November 1593 at St. Giles Cripplegate.
The surname has accrued a number of orthographic variants. These include Penney, Penny, Penning, and the patronymic Pennings. Other related spellings, although less common, are found in ancient records and comprise: Pening, Penninge, Pennington, Penknott, Pennicott, Pennig, Penneg, and Pennin. The existence of these variants reflects both dialectal pronunciation differences and the evolving orthographic conventions of the English language.
Geographically, the name is most concentrated within England, especially in the West Midlands region. It is also represented in the wider United Kingdom, with documented occurrences in Wales and Scotland, although to a lesser extent. In recent centuries, standardised census and civil registration records indicate that the surname is now found in North America, particularly in the United States where it is most common in Pennsylvania and to a reduced degree in Ohio and New Jersey. Small populations also exist in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, a distribution that aligns with historic patterns of British emigration.
In addition to its English heritage, the surname Penning is observed in the Netherlands. Here it originates from the Dutch word penning, meaning money. The Dutch derivation is often linked to occupation, describing a person involved in coin trading or banking. Historically, some bearers arise from the small village of Penning in Overijssel, while others are connected to Dutch industry, notably the nineteenth‑century iron and steel sector. This dual presence, although sharing a common semantic root related to coinage, illustrates how the same surname can evolve independently in distinct linguistic and cultural settings.
In summary, the surname Penning possesses a well-documented foundation in English history, grounded in the Old English word for penny. Its earliest surviving forms appear in legal and ecclesiastical records of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Variants of the name proliferated through English orthographic change, while its distribution expanded with subsequent waves of emigration. Concomitantly, a separate Dutch lineage exists, underscoring the surname’s broad European reach and its enduring association with monetary themes throughout history.
Typical given names associated with the Penning surname
Male
- Adam
- Barry
- Daniel
- David
- Henk
- Ian
- Martin
- Michael
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Claire
- Doreen
- Freda
- Hannah
- Harriet
- Helen
- Joan
- Kate
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sharron
- Victoria
- Yvonne
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Penning in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 313 people named Penning in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around five in a million people in Britain are named Penning.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Penning
- Mike Penning - Politician
- Les Penning - Folk musician
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.