Tanner (surname) explained

Tanner
Meaning:	(English) derived from Old-French tannour, meaning "makes leather out of hide"

Tanner may be a surname of either English, German or Finnish origin. The Anglo-Saxon Tanner was an occupational surname referring to an individual involved in the tannery process. The German form, also spelled Danner, is likely topographic from German, meaning 'fir tree' and, a place name referring to this. In the Finnish language surname the word is a synonym for 'field' or 'ground'.

Arts and entertainment

Alain Tanner (1929–2022), Swiss film-maker
Antwon Tanner (born 1975), American actor
Beatrice Stella Tanner (1865–1940), British actress known as Mrs. Patrick Campbell
Charles R. Tanner (1896–1974), American science fiction and fantasy author
Dorothy Tanner (1923–2020), American artist
Elmo Tanner (1904–1990), American whistler, bandleader, singer, and radio personality
Erin Tanner (born 1985), American singer
Franz Tanner, Swiss curler, World and European champion
Gid Tanner (1885–1960), American fiddler
Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859–1937), American painter
Hermann Alfred Tanner (1873–1961), Swiss publisher and writer
James C. Tanner (1926–2019), American journalist
James T. Tanner (1858–1915), English dramatist
John Sigismund Tanner (1705–1775), British engraver, originally from Coburg in the Holy Roman Empire
Jürg Tanner, Swiss curler, World and European champion
Libby Tanner (born 1970), Australian actress
Marion Tanner (1929–2018), American actress known as Marion Marshall
Paul Tanner (1917–2013), American musician
Robin Tanner (artist) (1904–1988), British artist
Stella Tanner (1925–2012), British actress
Twila Tanner (born 1962), reality television contestant
William Cunningham Deane-Tanner (1872–1922), American film director known as William Desmond Taylor

Characters

Bill Tanner, from the James Bond series
Elsie Tanner, a character in Coronation Street British soap opera
D.J. Tanner, a character in Full House television series
Danny Tanner, a character in Full House television series
Evan Michael Tanner, from the novels of Lawrence Block
Dennis Tanner, a character in Coronation Street British soap opera
John "Jack" Tanner, a lead character in the George Bernard Shaw play Man and Superman (1903)
Michelle Tanner, a character in Full House television series
Officer John Tanner, main protagonist in the Driver video games
Stephanie Tanner, a character in Full House television series
Thomas and Cyril Tanner, characters from "The Infernal Devices" series by Cassandra Clare
Vin Tanner, a character in The Magnificent Seven tv series.
Tanner family, a character in ALF television series
Tanner, a title character in an episode of the Daniel Boone television series

Health and science

Adam Tanner (mathematician) (1572–1632), Austrian Jesuit mathematician and philosopher
Amy Tanner (1870–1956), American psychologist
Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson (1864–1901), African-American physician
Henry Schenck Tanner (1786–1858), American cartographer
Joseph R. Tanner (born 1950), American astronaut
James Mourilyan Tanner (1920–2010), British pediatrician
Rosalind Tanner (1900–1992), German-English mathematician
Väinö Tanner (1881–1948), Finnish geographer and diplomat
Wilmer W. Tanner (1909–2011), American zoologist
Zera Luther Tanner (1835–1906), American naval officer, inventor, and oceanographer
Zorica Pantic-Tanner (born c. 1951), engineer

Politics

Arto Tanner (1935–2002), Finnish diplomat
Charles Albert Tanner (1887–1970), Canadian politician
Gloria Tanner (1935–2022), American politician
H. B. Tanner (1922–2020), American politician and businessman
John Riley Tanner (1844–1901), American politician
John S. Tanner (born 1944), U.S. Congressman from Tennessee
Klaudia Tanner (born 1970), Austrian politician
Lindsay Tanner (born 1956), Australian politician
Myra Tanner Weiss (1917–1997), American communist
Nathan Eldon Tanner (1898–1982), Canadian politician
Tazewell B. Tanner (1821–1881), American politician
Väinö Tanner (1881–1966), Finnish Prime Minister

Religion

J. Paul Tanner (b. 1950), professor and author in the field of Old Testament studies
Conrad Tanner (1752–1825), Swiss abbot
Jacob Tanner (1865–1964), Norwegian American Lutheran educator and author
Jerald and Sandra Tanner (1938–2006 and born 1941), American critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Matthias Tanner (1630–1692), German Jesuit
Nathan Eldon Tanner (1898–1982), Canadian politician & LDS leader
Simon the Tanner (10th century), Coptic saint
Thomas Tanner (bishop) (1674–1735), English bishop and antiquary
Thomas Tanner (writer) (1630–1682), English clergyman and writer

Sports

Adam Tanner (footballer) (born 1973), English footballer
Chuck Tanner (1929–2011), American baseball manager
Debbie Tanner (born 1982), New Zealand triathlete
Elaine Tanner (born 1951), Canadian swimmer
Evan Tanner (1971–2008), American mixed martial arts fighter
Hamp Tanner (1927–2004), American football player
Haydn Tanner (1917–2009), Welsh rugby player
Lauri Tanner (1890–1950), Finnish gymnast and international footballer
Melissa Tanner (born 1973), Australian Paralympic archer
Nick Tanner (footballer) (born 1965), English footballer
Ray Tanner (born 1958), American baseball coach
Roscoe Tanner (born 1951), American tennis player
Troy Tanner (born 1963), American volleyball player

Other

Stephen J. Tanner, Canadian police officer
Joseph Robson Tanner, English historian