Frequency: (359)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. German: variant of Senn.
2. German: habitational name from a place so named, for example near Bielefeld.
3. Dutch: from the Frisian personal name Senne.
4. French: from Old French senne ‘assembly’, ‘gathering’, or from the word in northern Middle French, which referred to a fine imposed on someone who worked on a Sunday, so this could be a nickname for someone who had had to pay such a fine.
5. French (Senné): nickname for a wise person, from Old French sené ‘wise’, ‘sensible’.
6. Italian: variant (plural) of Senna2.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
Dictionary of American Family Names. Copyright © 2006 Patrick Hanks. All rights reserved.
