Penny
A surname that most often began as a nickname from the coin name “penny,” though some bearers may also come from place-names in Scotland.
The #3,485 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 30,124 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest early evidence treats Penny as a nickname built on the word for the coin, Middle English and Old English peny / peni(n)g, with the sense of someone associated with a penny, money, or small value. Some 19th-century writers also thought the name could be local in origin in certain cases, especially where it overlaps with Scottish place-names such as Pennycuick and similar forms. The surname may therefore have more than one source in practice, but the coin nickname is the clearest explanation for the English surname.
History
Early records cited by Harrison include forms such as Alexander Peny and Robert Peni, showing the name in medieval England. Later antiquarians also noticed that many Scottish places begin with Penny-, so some families may have taken the surname from local origin rather than from the coin-word itself. The name remains fairly uncommon but recognizable in the modern English-speaking world.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname books grouped Penny with surnames like Pennycook and Pennycuick because they began with the same element, even though not every Penny family has the same origin.
From the historical record
“Pennyngton and Pynnyngton. PENNY (Fr.) the common French Peny, also Peney, Pennd, a deriv. from Pene, Penne : v. Penn (Fr.) (Eng.) a nickname from the coin [M.E. ' peny, pent, O.E. peni(n)g] Alexander Peny, — Hund. Rolls. Robert Peni. — do. PEN NYCOOK (Celt.) Bel. to Penicui(c)k”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)