Jennings surname meaning

Jennings is a patronymic surname from Jenning, a medieval pet or shortened form of John. In that sense it means “son of Jenning” or descendant of John, with the older -ing element carrying a family or descent sense in English naming. John ultimately comes from the Hebrew name often rendered Yochanan, but the surname’s immediate path is through medieval English forms. Jenning, Jennins, and Jenkins are spelling neighbors shaped by regional pronunciation, not automatic evidence of one lineage. Parent’s name is the catalog type, and two independent surname references support the core explanation with high confidence.