Lennon
An Irish surname often explained as meaning “lover” or “sweetheart,” though some bearers may come from a related Gaelic form with different spellings.
The #3,343 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,801 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually connected with Irish Gaelic forms such as Leannán or Lionnán, words associated with a lover or sweetheart. The name may also reflect Irish spelling and anglicization variants that ended up as Lennon, Lannan, Linnen, and similar forms. Because the historical sources show more than one Gaelic-looking source form, the etymology is best treated as close but not absolutely certain in every family line.
History
The name is strongly associated with Ireland and became fixed in English spelling through anglicization of Gaelic surnames. Historical Irish surname collections record several variant spellings and related forms, which suggests that Lennon sometimes developed from different but similar Gaelic originals in different districts. It is a familiar Irish name today and is especially well known internationally because of John Lennon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Irish surname references note that Lennon could be recorded under several spellings in the same broad family group, reflecting how fluid surname spelling was before standardization.
From the historical record
“182 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY LENNON. (G-aelic.) Leannon, a lover, a sweetheart. LENNOX. (Gaelic.) Local. From the County of Lennox, Scotland. The original name was Leven-ach, the field on the Leven, from the river Leven, which flows through the county, called in Latin Levinia. The river was so called from Llyfn, in…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names