The Tennyson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,110 people carried this name — #8,060 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 71,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,008 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Tennyson surname

From a Middle English variant of Dennis + -son.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Tennyson» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Dennis’.

His entry covers Tennyson, Tenison and Tenneson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 742 · public domain.

In print

Tennyson in American newspapers,
1909–1917.

Newspaper page from Ellsworth American carrying the name Tennyson
Ellsworth American 1917-10-10
Newspaper page from Frostburg Mining Journal carrying the name Tennyson
Frostburg Mining Journal 1909-08-07
Newspaper page from The Bossier Banner carrying the name Tennyson
The Bossier Banner 1917-08-16

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 128,905 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Tennyson in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1980s.

14,368 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tennyson. The most, 3,448, date from the 1890s. Victoria has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Northern Territory, at 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 5,772
New South Wales 3,107
South Australia 1,979
Queensland 1,455
Tasmania 1,029
Western Australia 960
Northern Territory 39
ACT (Canberra) 17

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tennyson.

Who carried it

People named Tennyson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • George Tennyson
    George Tennyson 1750–1835 · lawyer
  • George Tennyson
    George Tennyson 1750–1835 · lawyer
  • Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt
    Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt 1784–1861 · politician
  • Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt
    Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt 1784–1861 · politician
  • Alfred Tennyson
    Alfred Tennyson 1809–1892 · writer
  • George Clayton Tennyson 1778–1831 · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Tennyson,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States275 records

275 records of the Tennyson name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 118
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 68
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 40
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 33
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Thomas B. Tennyson

    Born 1920 in Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Roanoke; mechanic from Elizabeth City. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1967, buried at Hampton National Cemetery, Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Peter Tennyson

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the Baltic from Liverpool, aged 25; laborer. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Virgil H. Tennyson

    U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War. Born 1931, died 2001; buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 275 records for Tennyson in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia55 records

55 records of the Tennyson name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 32
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 11
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 10
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thomas Tennyson

    Arrived in Queensland in 1883 aboard the Berwick Law, aged 29.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Patrick Tennyson

    Publican of Pt Fairy, Victoria; died 1904.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Lionel Tennyson

    Arrived in Victoria in 1899 aboard the Ophir, aged 9.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 55 records for Tennyson in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Tennyson name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Arminella Tennyson

    Buried in 1969 at Mount Hope Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record John Leonard Tennyson

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Charles Tennyson

    Married 1911 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 6 records for Tennyson in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Tennyson name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sydney Charles Tennyson

    Died 1930, aged 38; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Tennyson name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. L. Tennyson

    Bedfordshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Tennyson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Tennyson is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Tennyson volume
Scroll to Top