Donner
A surname most often linked to German and Dutch words for thunder, with some later overlap from Scandinavian and French forms.
The #6,664 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 60,921 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Donner is most commonly explained from German and Dutch 'donner,' meaning 'thunder,' making it a descriptive or nickname surname. In some cases it may also reflect a French surname form, such as Donnet or related spellings, that entered English records through migration and local spelling shifts. Because surnames often traveled across languages, the same modern spelling can conceal several parallel origins.
History
The name appears in English and American records in forms such as Donner, Donnet, and Donnett, reflecting normal spelling variation before standardization. In onomastic lists, it is grouped with other surnames built from weather words like Storm, Gale, and Rain, suggesting an expressive nickname tradition. The surname is also found in German-speaking contexts and later became familiar in North America through immigration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers liked to place Donner alongside dramatic weather names like Blitz, Storm, and Gale because it literally means 'thunder' in German.
From the historical record
“■573-4- WilllkiD Hawtire and Joan Donner : UaniaEc Lie. (LoBdon), i._<o. i6m. UaiTlcdl John W<>e uid 'f^o■ muine DonneT : 8(. Dknta Biduhnrch. iSoQ. — Williun H«)e»n and Sinh”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances