Given name & surname
Tennyson
“son of Dennis”
Tennyson is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “son of Dennis.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “son of Dennis.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Tennyson through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,586
- 1,188 boys · 398 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 80 babies
- 2025
- 31
- #4,521 for boys · #11,833 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −45%
- Cooling
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 61% boys.
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 23 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,521 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 33.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 48 in 2014. It also appeared in 8 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,269 as a first name in 2020; 3,921 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Tennyson’s family of names
Tennyson has a related form in Tennie. Tennyson has a related form in Tenny. Tennyson has a related form in Tennea.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Dennisvariant · English
- Tenneyvariant
- Tennievariant
- Tennyvariant
- Tennesonvariant
- Tennisonvariant
- Tenneavariant
- Tenneevariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Tennyson
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Tennyson, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Ramsay is a variant of Ramsey. One English interpretation is “from the raven island; from the island of wild garlic.”
74% boys · 26% girls
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Ramsey
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39% boys · 61% girls
Roe
“one who hunts deer”
46% boys · 54% girls
Gentry
“woman with a high social standing” · “of good breeding; holding a high social standing”
52% boys · 48% girls