Frequency: (1249)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a woodland pasture, from Middle English denn ‘woodland pasture, especially for swine’ (Old English denn, dænn).
2. Scottish: from a short form of the personal name Daniel.
3. German and French (Alsace): topographic name for someone who lived by a pine tree, from Old High German tanna ‘pine tree’.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
