Talk:Henning (surname)
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origins[edit]
"In the old Baltic dialect a rooster was called a “Hen” (hen = male, henne = female). The Baltic (or North German) “ing” was added to indicate that it was a name deduced from the name of a father or ancestor."
Really? I don't know anything about the Baltic languages but "Henne" is the normal German word for a female chicken, which sounds pretty comparable to Hahn (male chicken) and Huhn (chicken). In Bavarian a grilled chicken is called "Hendl" which also sounds very closely related. So unless a small branch of languages like the Baltic one had such a great impact on the German language I think it would be of Germanic origin.
Also about the "-ing". Still no idea if it had a meaning in the Baltic languages but in Northern German dialects (I can say it for Mecklenburg) the "-ing" is simply a diminutive form you can apply to almost anything. In that case "Henning" would just mean "little John" or "little Henry". --MacX85 (talk) 08:02, 2 August 2013 (UTC)