The English Jennings Surname Groups The Jennings surname is an English patronymic surname meaning 'The family of a man named Jenyn'(Little Jon/John/Jean) - Jonyn and Janyn spellings were also used. Jennings and its variants were first recorded in the 13th century and have since been used by various families from many regions of England and are also now found in Wales and Scotland (and on into Ulster, due to plantation of English and Scots after the 16th century). The early English parish records and census locations for the Jennings surname include Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Surrey, Worcestershire, Yorkshire and in the cities of Birmingham and London. The Irish Surname Groups The Irish Jennings surname is believed to have been Anglicised from the original Irish Gaelic surname 'Mac Sheoinin' - meaning son or follower of Little Seán (anglicised to John) - the Seán/John in this case is believed to be a John Burke a Clan Chief/Lord from Connacht with further land holdings in County Mayo and County Galway. The Burke(De Burgh)family were of Cambro-Norman heritage (so Viking/French with connections to the Welsh Marches). Early Jennings(Mac Sheoinin) Irish surnames may have been inherited more by Clan affiliation and patronage rather than by blood. Also some sources state that 'Jenyns' is a Breton name, coming to England with William the Conqueror and the Normans in 1066CE, however without a tested Jennings male with a proven Breton or French heritage this surname etymology has yet to be proven. Like the majority of men with a Western European heritage most Jennings men fall on the various branches below Haplogroup R1b(M269), but there are also others of us in Haplogroups E1b, G2a, I1, I2, J2a, R1a and T. JENNINGS, JENNING, JENNENS, JANNING, GINNINGS, GENNINGS, JINNINGS, and any other reasonable spelling variations are welcome to join the project. Only males have Y-chromosomes, so only male JENNINGS (or surname variants) results will be used in our charts. If you are female, you can have a male JENNINGS (or variant) relative submit a sample for your line. In your membership join request please state your Y-DNA Haplogroup, your earliest known Jennings paternal Grandfathers name and his date of birth and place of birth (if known). If you have a different surname and believe you are from a Jennings paternal line NPE (Non Paternal Event/Not Parent Expected) or a SDS (Surname DNA Switch - Adoption etc) please state that in your join request.