Tanner may be a surname of either English, German or Finnish origin. The Anglo-Saxon Tanner was an occupational surname while 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, (born 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 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 (born 1929), 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