Bonner
A surname most often explained as from a nickname meaning “debonair” or “courteous,” though in some cases it may reflect other sources such as French place- or personal-name forms.
The #1,042 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,231 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Bonner is usually linked by older surname dictionaries to a nickname based on Old French and Anglo-Norman forms meaning “good,” “handsome,” or “debonair.” In this reading, it comes from phrases like de bon aire, literally “of good bearing” or “of good appearance,” which could be used as a compliment or characteristic nickname. Some 19th-century writers also connected similar-looking spellings to French names such as Bonnet or Bonnard, and one source suggested a Welsh patronymic explanation in a separate line of discussion, so the origin is not entirely uniform.
History
The name is well attested in medieval and early modern records in England, including examples from Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and London cited by older onomastic works. A famous bearer was Bishop Edmund Bonner of London, whom 19th-century writers liked to mention because the surname’s “kindly” meaning seemed ironic. In later centuries Bonner spread more widely in Britain and Ireland and became established in North America as well.
Origin
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Fun fact
Older writers loved pointing out that Bishop Bonner’s surname seemed to mean something like “courteous” or “good-natured,” making him a favorite example of a name that appears to work “by contraries.”
From the historical record
“Bonnell; v. Bonehill. Bonner, Bonnor. Boner.— Nick. ' the debonair ' ; bottair, civil, gentle, courteous \ spelt also boiure ; v. Kyng Alisaunder, 673a, &c. (Halliwell) ! cf. O.F. dtboHtrt,”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances