Roncalli ItalianFrom the names of places like Ronco or Ronchi, quite common in northern Italy, derived from
ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It was the surname of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1881-1963), the pope John XXIII.
Ronchi ItalianFrom Italian places named Ronchi, derived from
ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It is most common in northern and central Italy.
Roosevelt DutchMeans
"rose field" from Dutch
roos "rose" and
veld "field". This was the surname of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
Rosário PortugueseMeans
"rosary" in Portuguese. This name was often given to people born on the day of the festival of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Roscoe EnglishFrom the name of a town in Lancashire, derived from Old Norse
rá "roebuck" and
skógr "wood, forest".
Rose 1 English, French, German, JewishMeans
"rose" from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German
rose, all from Latin
rosa. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in an area abundant with roses. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental, from Yiddish
רויז (roiz).
Ross English, ScottishFrom various place names (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), which are derived from Scottish Gaelic
ros meaning "promontory, headland".
Rossi ItalianDerived from a nickname for a red-haired person, from Italian
rosso, Latin
russus meaning "red". This is the most common surname in Italy.
Rossini ItalianDiminutive form of
Rossi. A famous bearer was the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).
Roth German, JewishFrom Middle High German
rot meaning
"red". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.
Rothbauer GermanFrom Old High German
riuten "to clear land" and
bur "peasant, farmer".
Rothenberg German, JewishFrom Middle High German
rot meaning "red" and
berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish name it may be ornamental.
Rothschild JewishFrom Middle High German
rot "red" and
schilt "shield", or Yiddish
רויט (roit) and
שילד (shild). The famous Rothschild family of bankers took their name from a house with a red shield on it.
Rotolo ItalianFrom the Italian word for a measure of weight, from southern Italian dialects, derived from Greek via Arabic.
Rounds EnglishPatronymic derived from Middle English
rond meaning
"round, plump", ultimately from Latin
rotundus.
Rousseau FrenchDiminutive of
Roux. A famous bearer was the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) whose ideas influenced the French Revolution.
Roux FrenchDerived from Old French
ros meaning
"red", from Latin
russus, a nickname for a red-haired person.
Rovigatti ItalianFrom the name of the city of Rovigo in northeastern Italy near Venice. It was called
Rodigium in Latin, and is of unknown meaning.
Rowbottom EnglishOriginally indicated a person who lived in an overgrown valley, from Old English
ruh "rough, overgrown" and
boðm "valley".
Rowe 1 EnglishMeans
"row" in Middle English, indicating a dweller by a row of hedges or houses.
Rowntree EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash.
Royce EnglishOriginally derived from the medieval given name
Royse, a variant of
Rose.
Roydon EnglishOriginally derived from a place name meaning
"rye hill", from Old English
ryge "rye" and
dun "hill".
Royer FrenchFrom French
roue meaning
"wheel", ultimately from Latin
rota, an occupational name for a wheelwright.
Royle EnglishOriginally derived from a place name meaning
"rye hill" from Old English
ryge "rye" and
hyll "hill".
Royston EnglishOriginally taken from an Old English place name meaning "Royse's town". The given name
Royse was a medieval variant of
Rose.
Ruan ChineseFrom Chinese
阮 (ruǎn), which refers to a type of musical instrument, similar to a lute.
Rubio SpanishNickname for a person with red hair, from Latin
rubeus "red".
Rudawski PolishIndicated a person who lived near the Rudawa, a river in Poland.
Rush EnglishIndicated a person who lived near rushes, the grasslike plant that grows in a marsh, from Old English
rysc.
Russell EnglishFrom a Norman French nickname that meant
"little red one", perhaps originally describing a person with red hair.
Rutherford ScottishFrom the name of places in southern Scotland and northern England, derived from Old English
hriðer meaning "cattle, ox" and
ford meaning "ford, river crossing".
Ruzzier ItalianFrom a dialectal variant of
Ruggiero. It is typical of northeastern Italy, the area around Trieste.
Ryba Czech, PolishMeans
"fish" in Czech and Slovak, an occupational name for a fisher.
Rybář CzechMeans
"fisher" in Czech, from
ryba meaning "fish".
Ryder EnglishOccupational name for a mounted warrior, from Old English
ridere meaning
"rider".
Rye EnglishTopographic name. It could be a misdivision of the Middle English phrases
atter ye meaning
"at the island" or
atter eye meaning
"at the river". In some cases it merely indicated a person who lived where rye was grown or worked with rye (from Old English
ryge).
Ryskamp DutchMeaning unknown, probably ending with Dutch
kamp meaning "camp".
Sabbadin ItalianFrom a nickname from Italian
sabbato "Saturday", a name for one born on that day of the week.
Sacco ItalianOccupational name for a maker of sacks, from Italian
sacco, Latin
saccus.
Sachs GermanOriginally indicated a person from Saxony (German
Sachsen). The region was named for the Germanic tribe of the Saxons, ultimately derived from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife".
Sadler EnglishOccupational name for a maker of saddles, from Old English
sadol "saddle".
Sadowski PolishDenoted someone who lived in Sadowo, Sadowice or other places beginning with Polish
sad "garden, orchard".
Şahin TurkishMeans
"hawk" in Turkish (of Persian origin), probably used to refer to someone who was a hawk tamer.
Saitō JapaneseFrom Japanese
斎 (sai) meaning "purification, worship" and
藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The latter character could indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.
Salamanca SpanishOriginally indicated a person from Salamanca, a city in western Spain that is of unknown meaning.
Salazar BasqueFrom Spanish
sala meaning "hall" and Basque
zahar meaning "old". It can also refer to the town of Salazar in Burgos, Spain, which is of the same origin.
Salcedo SpanishDerived from Latin
salix meaning
"willow tree". The name was originally given to one who lived near a willow tree.
Salinas SpanishOccupational name for a salt worker or someone who lived bear a salt works, from Spanish
salina "salt works, salt mine", ultimately from Latin
sal "salt".
Saller 1 GermanOriginally denoted a person from the town of Sallern in Bavaria, possibly from a Celtic element meaning "stream".
Saller 2 GermanDenoted a person who lived by a prominent sallow tree, from Middle High German
salhe "sallow tree".
Salzwedel GermanOriginally denoted a person from Salzwedel, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "salt ford".
Sanada JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (sana) meaning "real, genuine" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Sandberg Swedish, Norwegian, JewishFrom Swedish and Norwegian
sand (Old Norse
sandr) meaning "sand" and
berg meaning "mountain" (or in the case of the Jewish surname, from the Yiddish or German cognates).
Sandford EnglishIndicated a person from Sandford, England, which means simply "sand ford".
Sandoval SpanishDerived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin
saltus "forest, glade" and
novalis "unploughed land".
Sands EnglishFrom Old English, indicated the original nearer lived on sandy ground.
Sanna ItalianFrom Italian
sanna or
zanna meaning
"tusk, fang", a nickname for a person with a protruding tooth.
Sano JapaneseFrom Japanese
佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Santana Spanish, PortugueseFrom any of the numerous places named after Saint
Anna. A famous bearer is the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-).
Santoro ItalianMeans
"all saint's day" in Italian, a nickname for one born on that day.
Santos Portuguese, SpanishMeans
"saint" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin
sanctus. This was a nickname for a pious person.
Sappington EnglishPossibly from the city of Sapperton, England, derived from Old English
sapere meaning "soap maker" and
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
Šarić Croatian, SerbianPatronymic of (possibly) Serbo-Croatian
šaren meaning
"colourful, patterned".
Sárközi HungarianOriginally indicated someone from
Sárköz, a region in Hungary, derived from
sár "mud" and
köz "margin, lane".
Sarno ItalianOriginally denoted a person from Sarno in Italy, named for the Sarno River (called
Sarnus in Latin).
Sarto ItalianOccupational name meaning
"tailor" in Italian, from Latin
sartor, from
sarcire meaning "to mend".
Sasaki JapaneseFrom Japanese
佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" (repeated, indicated by the iteration mark
々) and
木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
Satō JapaneseFrom Japanese
佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" and
藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The final character might indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan. This is the most common surname in Japan.
Sauer GermanMeans
"sour" in German, a nickname for an embittered or cantankerous person.
Sauter GermanOccupational name for a cobbler, from Latin
sutor "sewer, cobbler".
Sauveterre FrenchFrom the name of various towns in France, derived from French
sauve "safe" and
terre "land".
Savage EnglishEnglish nickname meaning
"wild, uncouth", derived from Old French
salvage or
sauvage meaning "untamed", ultimately from Latin
silvaticus meaning "wild, from the woods".
Savatier FrenchFrom Old French
savatier "shoemaker", derived from
savate "shoe", of uncertain ultimate origin.
Savona ItalianFrom the name of the city of Savona in northern Italy, called
Savo by the Romans, of uncertain meaning.
Sawyer EnglishOccupational name meaning
"sawer of wood, woodcutter" in Middle English, ultimately from Old English
sagu meaning "saw". Mark Twain used it for the main character in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
Saylor EnglishOccupational name meaning
"acrobat, dancer", derived from Old French
sailleor, from Latin
sallitor.
Scarlett EnglishDenoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet, a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian
سقرلاط (saqrelat).
Scarpa ItalianMeans
"shoemaker" from Italian
scarpa meaning
"shoe".
Scarsi ItalianNickname for a poor or miserly person, from Italian
scarso "scarce, scant".
Scheinberg JewishOrnamental name meaning
"beautiful mountain" from German
schön "beautiful, good, nice" and
berg "mountain".
Schenk German, DutchFrom Middle High German, Middle Dutch
schenke meaning
"wine server" (from Old High German
scenken "to pour out").
Scherer GermanOccupational name for a cutter of cloth or a sheep-shearer, from Old High German
skeran "to cut".
Schindler GermanOccupational name for a roof tiler, from Middle High German
schindel "shingle". A famous bearer was Oskar Schindler (1908-1974), who saved over a thousand Polish Jews during World War II.
Schipper DutchOccupational name meaning
"skipper, ship captain" in Dutch.
Schirmer GermanMeans
"fencer, fencing master", from Old High German
skirmen meaning "to defend".
Schlender GermanFrom Middle High German
slinderen "to dawdle" or Middle Low German
slinden "to swallow, to eat".
Schlosser GermanOccupational name for a locksmith, derived from Old High German
sloz meaning "lock".
Schmidt GermanOccupational name derived from Middle High German
smit "smith, metalworker", a cognate of
Smith.
Schnur German, JewishFrom Old High German
snuor meaning
"rope, cord", an occupational name for a maker of rope.
Schofield EnglishFrom various northern English place names, which were derived from Old Norse
skáli "hut" and Old English
feld "field".
School DutchFrom Dutch
school, ultimately from Latin
schola meaning
"school", indicating a person who worked at or lived near a school.
Schoorl DutchOriginally indicated a person from the town of Schoorl in the province of Noord-Holland in the Netherlands. It means "forest by the shore" in Dutch.
Schöttmer GermanOriginally indicated a person from Schötmar, Germany (now part of the city of Bad Salzuflen in North Rhine-Westphalia).
Schouten DutchOccupational name derived from Middle Dutch
schout meaning
"sheriff, bailiff".
Schreck GermanFrom Middle High German
schrecken meaning
"to frighten, to scare".
Schreier German, JewishOccupational name for a town crier, from Old High German
scrian meaning "to shout, to yell".
Schrijnemakers DutchOccupational name for a cabinet maker, from Dutch
schrijn "box, container" and
maker "maker".
Schröder 1 Low GermanOccupational name for a tailor, from Middle Low German
schroden meaning "to cut".
Schröter GermanMeans
"beer-porter, wine-porter" in German, an occupational name for a carrier of wine or beer barrels.
Schuchardt GermanFrom Middle High German
schuochwürte meaning
"shoemaker, cobbler".
Schuhmacher GermanFrom the Middle High German occupational name
schuochmacher meaning
"shoemaker".
Schuler GermanMeans
"scholar, student" in German, ultimately from Latin
schola meaning "school".
Schultheiß GermanOccupational name derived from Middle High German
schultheiße meaning
"mayor, judge".
Schuster GermanMeans
"shoemaker, cobbler", from Middle High German
schuoch "shoe" and
suter, from Latin
sutor "sewer, cobbler".
Schüttmann GermanMeans
"watchman, guard" from Middle High German
schützen "to protect".
Schwangau GermanFrom the name of a town in southern Germany, possibly related to German
Schwan meaning "swan".
Schwarz German, JewishMeans
"black" in German, from Old High German
swarz. It originally described a person with black hair or a dark complexion.
Schwarzenegger GermanFrom a place name, derived from Old High German
swarz meaning "black" and
ekka meaning "edge, corner". A famous bearer of this name is actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).