Henn
A surname with several possible roots, most likely from an English place-name or from the word for a female bird.
The #8,763 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 82,486 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Henn is not straightforwardly settled in the older reference works. One line of explanation derives it from an English place-name, especially Heene near Worthing in Sussex, with early spellings such as Hene and Henne. Another possibility is that it began as a nickname from Middle English henn(e), meaning a hen or female bird, used either literally or figuratively. Old English hen and related forms also lie behind the word, so the name may be either locational or descriptive depending on the family.
History
Lower treated Henn as an English surname connected with the Sussex place-name Heene and noted early medieval spellings in that area. Bardsley also grouped Henn with other bird-based surnames such as Cock and Chicken, showing that some bearers may have taken the name as a nickname. In practice, modern Henn families may not all share one origin, since the name could have arisen independently in more than one place or context.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The older surname books explicitly place Henn alongside bird surnames like Cock, Chicken, and Fowl.
From the historical record
“like the 0. Germ. Enman. HENN. The L-ish family derive from an English one written Henne, but an- ciently Hene, and the name seems to have been originally derived from Hene now Heene, a hamlet or extinct parish, near Worthing, co. Sussex. A William de Hene is mentioned in Domesd., as holding of William de Braose in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom