Contents [hide]

Denison History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Denison History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Scotland
Ireland

The Denison surname comes from the place name Danzielstoun, in Scotland. Thus Denison is a local surname, which belongs to a category of hereditary surnames derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Denison family

The surname Denison was first found in Renfrewshire, at Danzielstoun, in the parish of Kilmalcolm. "The manor took its name from some man named Daniel, and it bore this name as early as the reign of Malcolm IV", 1 who died in 1165. It is generally thought that the town was founded about 1060.

Early History of the Denison family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Denison research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1694 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Denison History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Denison Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Denison, Denniston, Dennistoun, Deniston, Denistoun, Dinniston, Dinnistoun and many more.

Early Notables of the Denison family

More information is included under the topic Early Denison Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Denison Ranking

In the United States, the name Denison is the 5,587^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Denison family to Ireland

Some of the Denison family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Denison migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Denison Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Denison, aged 22, who landed in Virginia in 1622 aboard the ship "Truelove" 3
William Denison, his wife Margaret, and their three sons, who settled in Massachusetts in 1631
William Denison, who landed in Massachusetts in 1631 3
Margaret Denison, who landed in Massachusetts in 1632 3
John Denison, who arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1648 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Denison Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Catherine Denison, who settled in Maryland in 1735

Denison Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Denison, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1838 3

Denison migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Denison Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Ann Denison, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1760

Denison migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Denison Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Denison, aged 22, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Seringapatam" in 1856

Contemporary Notables of the name Denison (post 1700) +

Edward Fulton Denison (1915-1992), American economist
Edward E. Denison (1873-1953), American congressman
Ellery Denison (1900-1989), American philatelist who specialized in the postage stamps and postal history of China
Daniel Denison, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly, 1836-37, 1851 4
Charles Denison (1818-1867), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 12th District, 1863-67; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1864 4
Charles Denison, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Suffield, 1826 4
Charles Denison, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from New Haven, 1820 4
C. Lyman Denison, American politician, Mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, 1911-13 4
Andrew W. Denison, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maryland, 1868; Postmaster at Baltimore, Maryland, 1869-77 4
Andrew Denison, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Suffield, 1822-23, 1828; Member of Connecticut State Senate 2nd District, 1831-32 4
... (Another 33 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html