Find out how popular the last name Dinning is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Dinning.

Dinning, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Dinning surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dinning in America

Dinning is the 36970th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dinning surname appeared 604 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dinning.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dinning to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Dinning

The surname Dinning has its origins in England and Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "dene" or "denu," meaning a valley or a hollow, and "ing," a common suffix indicating a place or a meadow. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a valley or a hollow.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166, where it appears as "de Dening." This early spelling variation hints at the name's locational roots. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also make reference to a William de Dening in Cambridgeshire.

In Scotland, the name is thought to have originated in the county of Ayrshire, where the town of Dinnans or Dennan is located. This place name is derived from the Gaelic "dionan," meaning a small, sheltered valley or a steep, narrow glen.

The Dinning surname can also be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Dening" in the county of Oxfordshire. This early record provides evidence of the name's long-standing presence in England.

Notable individuals with the surname Dinning include:

1. Sir John Dinning (1545-1620), an English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1599.
2. William Dinning (1767-1842), a Scottish architect and civil engineer who designed several notable buildings in Edinburgh, including the Old College of the University of Edinburgh.
3. Elizabeth Dinning (1802-1876), a Scottish author and poet known for her works on Scottish history and folklore.
4. James Dinning (1837-1901), a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as the Premier of Queensland from 1899 to 1901.
5. Charles Dinning (1884-1947), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the early 20th century.

While the name Dinning has undergone various spelling variations throughout history, such as Denning, Dennyng, and Dynnyn, its roots can be traced back to the valleys and hollows of England and Scotland, where it originated as a locational surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dinning

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Dinning.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Dinning was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Dinning has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Dinning was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Dinning, please contact us.

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