Fann
A surname that most likely began as a nickname or occupational name connected with a winnowing fan or a local place-name.
The #9,301 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 88,238 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Fann is most likely tied to Middle English fan, meaning a winnowing fan or sieve used to separate grain from chaff. Some early writers also linked it with West Country Vann, a local or dialectal form of the same word. A few older sources suggested other explanations, but the fan/sieve origin is the clearest and best supported from the historical references.
History
Historical surname writers record Fann mainly in English contexts, especially where it appears alongside forms like Vann and Fanner. The name may have been used for someone associated with grain cleaning, or for a person living near a place known by that name. Because the evidence in older dictionaries is brief and sometimes speculative, the surname is best treated as having an uncertain but probably occupational or descriptive origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries sometimes gloss Fann simply as “the winnowing fan,” showing how closely surnames could track everyday tools and work.
From the historical record
“Cp. Fann(e. VANCE for Vannes or Vans, pi. of Van(n, q.v. VANDERBILT (Dut.) Of the Heap: v. the Appendix of Foreign Names.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)