# Denning (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/denning/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 8,076 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,402 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 38,230 people |
| Change since 2000 | +6.1% (7,611 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Dinning |

## Etymology

Two main origins: * English patronymic surname from the Old English personal name Dynna. * Borrowed from German Denning, a habitational surname from a place in Bavaria.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Denning in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 5.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Denning in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Denning

- Richard Denning, American actor (1914–1998)
- William Frederick Denning, British amateur astronomer (1848-1931)
- Peter J. Denning, American computer scientist and writer
- Troy Denning, American writer and game designer
- Robert Denning, American interior designer (1927-2005)

## Similar surnames

Dunning, Deming, Dunnington, Dennington, Dominguez, Downing, Domingo, Dominick, Domingue, Dominique, Domingues, Domenech.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.