My Anning One-Name study started in the 1980s, when I found that my Dad’s maternal great grandmother was born an Anning and I wondered if she was related to Mary Anning of fossil fame. I began to look for mentions of the Anning name everywhere and, having completed the One-Name Study courses through Pharos Tutors, I decided to register my by-now serious study in 2021.

Although some sources suggest a French origin, The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland (Oxford University Press; 2016) asserts that the name ANNING is an English name: a relationship name from the Middle English personal name Anning, from Old English Anna (a male name) plus the suffix -ing, indicating a diminutive or pet form of the name.

Some of the more well-known are:

• Mary Anning (1799-1847): palaeontologist, Lyme Regis, Dorset, England
• Yvette Anning (1904-1977): musical comedy actress/singer on stage, radio & early television in 1920s & 1930s
• William Patrick Leslie Anning ('Les') (1927-2008): the ‘Rimouski Rocket’ - Canadian ice hockey player whose career was predominantly in Britain
• Cyril Anning: British artist
• Fraser Anning: Australian politician
• Sam Anning: Australian jazz musician

In 1881, results from the England and Wales census show 504 Annings living in England.

According to an ONS database there were 870 Annings in England and Wales in September 2002, making it the 7383^rd most popular surname there at that time.

This indicates a slow rate of increase (72%) in the name in England and Wales during those 122 years but more research is required to see whether that was due to emigration alone.

In the US 1880 census, there just 29 Annings recorded, compared with 237 by 2014, an increase of over 700% in 134 years.

[figures obtained from forebears.io]

The England and Wales 1881 census indicates that most Annings lived in Devon (262), London (91) and Lancashire (40).

By the time of the 1911 census, Annings were represented in significantly more counties than 30 years previously but were still predominantly in Devon (268) and London (122), with Kent taking third place (43) [figures obtained from www.thegenealogist.co.uk]  

In 2014, worldwide, the largest number of instances of the surname were to be found in Ghana (5334) followed by Australia (959), with England coming a close third (900) – followed by the US (237) and Canada (130) [figures obtained from forebears.io].

The study is still in its early stages but births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales have been indexed, as have all Anning wills/ admons in England & Wales from 1858-1980. A variety of other materials have been collected and are searchable but not yet indexed, for example PCC wills pre-1858, Royal Navy and Merchant Navy records etc.

This page will be updated whenever a collection has been fully indexed.

The Anning one name study is very much a continuing work in progress – contact and enquiries are welcome from those interested in the surname, as are any additions to the study.