Diminutive of names like Renard or from Irish 'ré' meaning prosperous; also a surname.
Renny is a name of multiple possible lineages, and that ambiguity is part of its appeal. It most commonly functions as a diminutive of Renée or Renata, both from the Latin renatus, meaning reborn — a name with deep Christian resonance, evoking baptismal rebirth, that was widely used in Catholic Europe from the Renaissance onward. Renée was especially popular in France and French Canada, and Renny as a short form carries that Gallic elegance in a stripped-down, energetic package.
It can also derive from Reginald or Reynold, from the Old Germanic ragin (counsel) combined with wald (rule), making it a name associated historically with advisers and governors. In Ireland and Scotland, Renny appears as both a given name and a surname, sometimes connected to the Gaelic Raghnaill (a form of Reginald) or to place names in the Scottish Highlands. The surname Renny appears in Scottish records from the sixteenth century, and like many Scottish surnames it migrated into the given-name column over generations.
Sir George Renny was a nineteenth-century British military officer decorated at the Siege of Delhi during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, one of the earliest Victoria Cross recipients. As a contemporary given name, Renny occupies the cheerful, accessible end of the vintage revival — related in spirit to Benny, Denny, and Penny, names that feel warm and slightly retro without being heavy. It works well across genders in an era when parents are seeking names that feel personal rather than fashionable. The rebirth etymology gives it an unexpectedly meaningful foundation beneath what appears, at first glance, to be simply a friendly, bouncing nickname.