Warner

Warner is an English surname and given name related to the Germanic Werner family. The older personal name includes an element referring to an army, although the whole name has a more complex history than the single-word gloss suggests. Its use as a surname helped carry it into later English naming.

Warner Bros. gives the name an immediate connection with film and entertainment. That public association exists alongside family and place connections held by individual bearers. Warner has documented use as a first name in older American records, so its surname style has a long precedent. Werner is a useful comparison for tracing the older family, while Warner preserves the familiar English form.