Show ContentsRenn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Renn family

The surname Renn was first found in Durham where they held a family seat from early times, and were originally descended from Ralph de Raines who was granted lands by William, Duke of Albany in that shire. They were originally from Rennes in Normandy where they also held lands from their Lord, William de Aubigny of Belvoir.

The famed architect Sir Christopheer Wren (1632-1723), was born at East Knoyle, near Tisbury, Wiltshire.

Early History of the Renn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Renn research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1553, 1585, 1624, 1632, 1634, 1635, 1638, 1666, 1667, 1692 and 1723 are included under the topic Early Renn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Renn Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wren, Wrenn and others.

Early Notables of the Renn family

Notable of this family during the Middle Ages was

  • Ralph Wrenn (d. 1692), was an English naval Commodore

Renn Ranking

In the United States, the name Renn is the 9,512nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


United States Renn migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Renn Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Harry Renn, who landed in Virginia in 1654 2
Renn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Bernhart Renn, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 2
  • Fred Renn, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Renn (post 1700) +

  • Crystal Renn (b. 1986), American fashion model and author
  • Rudolph Renn, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Wisconsin 6th District, 1946, 1948 3
  • I. J. Renn, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Northumberland County, 1891-94 3
  • Samuel Renn (1786-1845), English organ builder from Derbyshire; he developed a factory for building organs with standard dimensions allowing him to build over 100 organs between 1822 and 1845
  • Veit Renn (b. 1967), German producer and songwriter
  • Ludwig Renn (1889-1979), born Arnold Friedrich Vieth von Golßenau, a German writer
  • Olaf Renn (b. 1969), former German footballer
  • Renn McDonnell Hawkey (b. 1974), American musician, songwriter, film producer, and occasional actor
  • Renn Crichlow (b. 1968), Canadian gold, silver and bronze medalist sprint kayaker who competed in the 1990s
  • Renn Dickson Hampden (1793-1868), English theologian and Professor at Oxford


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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