Tenant Family Crest & Name History

Tenant belongs to the Tennant family of names, which has Scottish roots. The family name meaning is “Tenant farmer”, the same as for Tennant. Tenant drops the “n” of Tennant, a shortening that clerks often made. Local scribes, dialects and emigration all left their mark on how the name was written. Other spellings include Tennent.

The 2010 US Census counted 218 people named Tenant, ranking it number 85,659 among American surnames. French civil records give 208 births under the name Tenant from 1891 to 2000, peaking in 1941–1950.

Looking for a Tenant coat of arms? Arms were granted to families, not to surnames, and our research shows which heraldic tradition fits yours. Get the complete Tenant report, with a museum-style coat of arms.