This interesting name is one of a group of medieval forms of the highly popular "John" and found with the basic origins of "Jan, Jon or Jeri". To these early personal name forms have been grafted the patronymic "son" as in "Johnson, Jonson, Janson" etc., or the diminutve "Kin" to produce Jenkin, Jonkin, Jankin etc.. Later the names have been further developed to add a second or even a third diminutive to create - "The son of the son of John" as in Jenning(s), Jennion(s), Janning(s) etc. The name is one of the earliest into America, Thomas Jennions being a passenger\settler on the Brig Safety to Virginia in August 1635. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Jonyng. which was dated 1296, The County Pipe Rolls of Sussex. during the reign of King Edward I, The Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.