100,117 JENNINGS members around the world

JENNINGS Family History

This interesting surname, is of early medieval English origin, although later strongly associated with both Wales and Ireland. Recorded in the spellings of Jennings, Jennins and Jennens, it is a patronymic. It derives from the given name Janyn or Jenyn, a diminutive of the personal name John, and meaning "Little John". John itself derives from the Hebrew name "Yochanan", meaning "Jehovah has favoured (me with a son)". The patronymic surname which in this case means "the son of Little John", dates back to the late 13th Century (see below), "John" being a 12th century Crusader introduction. Soldiers of the crusades returning from the Holy Land, gave to their children and specifically sons, Hebrew and Greek names as a reminder of the fathers "pilgrimage"...