Tanner (surname)

Template:Infobox surname 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
• Carol Tanner, American physicist
• 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
• Harold E. Tanner (1892–1982), WWI soldier, teacher and Canadian politician
• 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
• Roland Tanner, Swiss bobsledder
• Roscoe Tanner (born 1951), American tennis player
• Troy Tanner (born 1963), American volleyball player

Other

• Harold Tanner (1932–2025), American investment banker and philanthropist
• Joseph Robson Tanner, English historian
• Stephen J. Tanner, Canadian police officer

See also

• Tanner (disambiguation)
• John Tanner (disambiguation)
• Thomas Tanner (disambiguation)