Surnames with Relationship "from word"

Guerra Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "war", given to a belligerent person or one engaged in warfare.

Gully English
Nickname for a big person, from Middle English golias meaning "giant" (ultimately from Goliath, the Philistine warrior who was slain by David in the Old Testament).

Guo Chinese
From Chinese 郭 (guō) meaning "outer city".

Gupta Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu
Means "protected" in Sanskrit.

Haan Dutch
Variant of De Haan.

Haas Dutch, German
Variant of Hase.

Haase German
Variant of Hase.

Haber German, Jewish
Occupational name for one who grew or sold oats, derived from Old High German habaro "oat". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Habich German
German cognate of Hawk.

Habicht German
German cognate of Hawk.

Hadžić Bosnian
From Bosnian hadž meaning "hajj, pilgrimage", ultimately derived from Arabic حَجّ (hajj). It originally denoted a person who had completed the hajj.

Hafner German
Occupational name for a potter, derived from Old High German hafan "pot, vessel".

Hagen Norwegian, Dutch
From Old Norse hagi or Old Dutch hago meaning "enclosure, pasture".

Haig English, Scottish
From Old English haga or Old Norse hagi meaning "enclosure, pasture".

Hale English
Derived from Old English halh meaning "nook, recess, hollow".

Hall English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).

Halle German
German variant of Hall.

Hamm English
Means "river meadow" in Old English.

Han Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 韩 (hán) referring to the ancient state of Han, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Shanxi and Henan provinces.

Hardie Scottish
Scots variant of Hardy.

Hardy English, French
From Old French and Middle English hardi meaning "bold, daring, hardy", from the Germanic root *harduz.

Hart English
Means "male deer". It was originally acquired by a person who lived in a place frequented by harts, or bore some resemblance to a hart.

Hase German
From Middle High German and Middle Low German hase meaning "hare, rabbit". This was a nickname for a person who was quick or timid.

Haupt German
German cognate of Head.

Häusler German
Name for someone who lived in a house with no land, derived rom Old High German word hus meaning "house".

Havener German
Variant of Hafner.

Hawk English
Originally a nickname for a person who had a hawk-like appearance or who acted in a fierce manner, derived from Old English hafoc "hawk".

Hawking English
From a diminutive of Hawk. A famous bearer was the British physicist Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).

Hayashi Japanese
From Japanese 林 (hayashi) meaning "forest".

Hayes 1 English
From various English place names that were derived from Old English hæg meaning "enclosure, fence". A famous bearer was American President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).

Hayter English
Name for a person who lived on a hill, from Middle English heyt meaning "height".

He Chinese
From Chinese 何 (hé), representing a southern pronunciation of the name of the ancient state of Han (see Han). After Han was destroyed by the state of Qin, those who resettled further south changed their name to this character in order to match the local pronunciation.

Head English
From Middle English hed meaning "head", from Old English heafod. It may have referred to a person who had a peculiar head, who lived near the head of a river or valley, or who served as the village headman.

Heath English
Originally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.

Heeren Dutch
From Dutch heer "lord, master", a nickname for a person who acted like a lord or who worked for a lord.

Herceg Croatian
Croatian form of Herzog.

Herczeg Hungarian
Hungarian form of Herzog.

Herczog Hungarian
Hungarian form of Herzog.

Herrema Frisian
Frisian variant of Heeren.

Herrera Spanish
Spanish form of Ferreira.

Herrero Spanish
Spanish cognate of Ferrari.

Hersch German, Jewish
Variant of Hirsch 1 or Hirsch 2.

Herschel German, Jewish
Diminutive form of Hirsch 1 or Hirsch 2. A famous bearer was the British-German astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822), as well as his sister Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) and son John Herschel (1792-1871), also noted scientists.

Herzog German
From a German title meaning "duke", a nickname for a person who either acted like a duke or worked in a duke's household.

Hierro Spanish
Spanish form of Ferro.

Higashi Japanese
From Japanese 東 (higashi) meaning "east".

Hill English
Originally given to a person who lived on or near a hill, derived from Old English hyll.

Hillam English
From English places by this name, derived from Old English hyll meaning "hill".

Hirsch 1 German
Means "deer, hart" in German. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a deer in some way, or who raised or hunted deer.

Hirschel German, Jewish
Diminutive form of Hirsch 1 or Hirsch 2.

Hjort Danish, Swedish
Danish and Swedish cognate of Hart.

Hlaváč Czech
From a nickname for a person with an oddly-shaped head, derived from Czech hlava "head".

Hlaváček Czech
Diminutive form of Hlaváč.

Hoàng Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Huang, from Sino-Vietnamese 黃 (hoàng).

Hoch German
Means "tall" in German.

Hoek Dutch
From Dutch hoek meaning "corner".

Hoekstra Frisian
From Frisian hoek meaning "corner".

Holguín Spanish
Possibly from Spanish holgar "to rest, to enjoy oneself".

Hollins English
Referred to someone living by a group of holly trees, from Old English holegn.

Holm Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Swedish, Danish and Norwegian holme, holm meaning "islet" (Old Norse holmr).

Holme English, Scottish
Referred either to someone living by a small island (northern Middle English holm, from Old Norse holmr) or near a holly tree (Middle English holm, from Old English holegn).

Holmes English, Scottish
Variant of Holme. A famous fictional bearer was Sherlock Holmes, a detective in Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887.

Holt English, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English, Old Dutch and Old Norse holt meaning "forest".

Holtz German
German cognate of Holt.

Holub Czech, Ukrainian
Means "dove, pigeon" in Czech and Ukrainian.

Hölzer German
German cognate of Holt.

Holzer German
German cognate of Holt.

Hood English
Metonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Old English hod.

Hooker English
Originally applied to one who lived near a river bend or corner of some natural feature, from Old English hoc "angle, hook".

Horáček Czech
Diminutive derived from Czech hora "mountain".

Horák Czech
Derived from Czech hora "mountain".

Horn English, German, Norwegian, Danish
From the Old English, Old High German and Old Norse word horn meaning "horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.

Horne English
Variant of Horn.

Horvat Croatian, Slovene
From Croatian and Slovene Hrvat meaning "Croat, person from Croatia".

Horváth Hungarian
Hungarian form of Horvat. This is the second most common surname in Hungary and the most common surname in Slovakia, where it is borne by the descendants of Hungarian settlers.

Hou Chinese
From Chinese 侯 (hóu) meaning "lord, nobleman".

House English
Referred to a person who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut.

Howe English
Name for one who lived on a hill, from Middle English how "hill" (of Norse origin).

Howse English
Variant of Howe.

Hu Chinese
From Chinese 胡 (hú) meaning "beard, whiskers, recklessly, wildly, barbarian".

Huang Chinese
From Chinese 黄 (huáng) meaning "yellow".

Hüber German
Variant of Huber.

Huber German
Occupational name for a farmer, derived from Old High German huoba "plot of land, farm".

Huff English
Means "spur of a hill", from Old English hoh.

Hull English
Variant of Hill.

Hult Swedish
Swedish form of Holt.

Hume Scottish, English
Variant of Holme. A famous bearer was the philosopher David Hume (1711-1776).

Hummel 2 German, Dutch
Nickname for a busy person, from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch hommel, Middle High German hummel, all meaning "bee".

Hunt English
Variant of Hunter.

Hurst English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a thicket of trees, from Old English hyrst "thicket".

Iglesias Spanish
From Spanish iglesia meaning "church", from Latin ecclesia (of Greek origin).

Im Korean
From Sino-Korean 林 (im) meaning "forest", making it the Korean form of Lin, or 任 (im) of uncertain meaning, making it the Korean form of Ren.

Innes 1 Scottish
From a place name derived from Gaelic inis meaning "island".

Izumi Japanese
From Japanese 泉 (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain".

Jaeger German
Variant of Jäger.

Jäger German
Means "hunter" in German, from Old High German jagon meaning "to hunt".

Jager German
Variant of Jäger.

Jagoda Polish
Means "berry" in Polish.

Jahoda Czech
Czech cognate of Jagoda.

Jain Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
Referred to a person who followed the principles of Jainism, a religion practiced in India. Jains are the followers of Lord Mahavira (599-527 BC).

Janvier French
Either from the given name Janvier or the French word janvier meaning "January", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.

Järvi Finnish
Means "lake" in Finnish.

Järvinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish järvi meaning "lake". It is one of the most common surnames in Finland.

Jaso Basque
Derived from Basque jats meaning "sorghum", a type of cereal grass.

Jasso Basque
Variant of Jaso.

Jelen Czech
From a nickname meaning "stag" in Czech.

Jeleń Polish
Polish form of Jelen.

Jelínek Czech
Diminutive of Jelen.

Jeong Korean
Korean form of Zheng, from Sino-Korean 鄭 (jeong).

Jež Slovene, Czech
Cognate of Jeż.

Jeż Polish
Means "hedgehog" in Polish. It may have originally been given to a person who resembled a hedgehog in some way.

Ježek Czech
Diminutive form of Jež.

Jiang 1 Chinese
From Chinese 江 (jiāng) meaning "river, Yangtze".

Jiang 2 Chinese
From Chinese 姜 (jiāng) meaning "ginger".

Jin Chinese
From Chinese 金 (jīn) meaning "gold".

Jó Hungarian
Means "good" in Hungarian.

Jokela Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".

Jokinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".

Joly French
From Old French joli meaning "happy, jolly, pretty".

Jonker Dutch
From the Dutch title jonkheer meaning "young lord". It was originally a medieval noble designation (not an actual title) for a young nobleman.

Jonkheer Dutch
Variant of Jonker.

Joó Hungarian
Variant of Jó.

Joshi Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Nepali
From Sanskrit ज्योतिश (jyotisha) meaning "astronomer".

Jung 1 German
Means "young" in German, from Middle High German junc.

Junge German
Variant of Jung 1.

Kadeř Czech
Variant of Kudrna.

Kafka Czech
Derived from Czech kavka "jackdaw".

Kaiser German
From Middle High German keiser meaning "emperor", originally a nickname applied to someone who acted kingly. The title ultimately derives from the Roman name Caesar.

Kalmár Hungarian
Occupational name meaning "merchant, shopkeeper" in Hungarian, of German origin.

Kałuża Polish
Means "puddle" in Polish.

Kaluža Slovene, Czech
Czech and Slovene form of Kałuża.

Kang Korean
Korean form of Jiang 2, from Sino-Korean 姜 (gang).

Kappel German, Dutch
Name for a person who lived near or worked at a chapel, ultimately from Late Latin cappella, a diminutive of cappa "cape", arising from the holy relic of the torn cape of Saint Martin, which was kept in small churches.

Käufer German
Variant of Kaufer.

Kaufer German
Means "trader" in German.

Kaur Indian (Sikh)
Means "princess", ultimately from Sanskrit कुमारी (kumari) meaning "girl". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his Sikh female followers the surname Kaur and all males Singh. In many instances, it is also used as a middle name with the family name serving as the surname.

Kawa Polish
Derived from Polish kawka "jackdaw".

Kay 2 English
Derived from Old French kay meaning "wharf, quay", indicating one who lived near or worked on a wharf.

Kaya Turkish
Means "rock, cliff" in Turkish.

Kędzierski Polish
From a nickname meaning "curly", describing a person with curly hair.

Keir Scottish
Variant of Kerr.

Kemp English
Derived from Middle English kempe meaning "champion, warrior".

Kempf German
German cognate of Kemp.

Kerper German
Variant of Gerber.

Kerr Scottish, English
From Scots and northern Middle English kerr meaning "thicket, marsh", ultimately from Old Norse kjarr.

Key 1 English
Variant of Kay 1 or Kay 2.

Keyes 1 English
Variant of Kay 1 or Kay 2.

Keys 1 English
Variant of Kay 1 or Kay 2.

Khan Urdu, Pashto, Bengali
From a title meaning "king, ruler", probably of Mongolian origin but used in many languages.

Kim Korean
Korean form of Jin, from Sino-Korean 金 (gim) meaning "gold". This is the most common surname in Korea.

King English
From Old English cyning "king", originally a nickname for someone who either acted in a kingly manner or who worked for or was otherwise associated with a king. A famous bearer was the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).

Király Hungarian
Means "king" in Hungarian, of Slavic origin (a cognate of Król).

Kirch German
German cognate of Church.

Kirk English
From northern Middle English kirk meaning "church", from Old Norse kirkja (cognate of Church). A famous fictional bearer is the starship captain James Kirk from the Star Trek television series (1966-1969), and subsequent films.

Kis Hungarian
Variant of Kiss.

Kiss Hungarian
Nickname meaning "small" in Hungarian.

Kita Japanese
From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north".

Kitchen English
Occupational name for a person who worked in a kitchen (of a monastery for example), derived from Old English cycene, ultimately from Latin coquina.

Kitchens English
Variant of Kitchen.

Kjær Danish
Topographic name for someone living near a wetland, from Danish kær "marsh", from Old Norse kjarr "thicket".

Klein German, Dutch, Jewish
Means "small, little" from German klein or Yiddish kleyn. A famous bearer of this name is clothes designer Calvin Klein (1942-).

Klerk Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Klerken Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Klerks Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Klerkse Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Klerkx Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Klerx Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Kloet Dutch
Possibly from Middle Dutch cloet meaning "lump, ball". In some cases this was a nickname for an oafish person. In other cases it may have been a name for someone who lived near a sign that had a globe on it.

Kloeten Dutch
Variant of Kloet.

Knef German
Occupational name for a shoemaker, derived from Low German knif meaning "shoemaker's knife".

Kneib German
Variant of Knef.

Knepp German
Variant of Knopf.

Knight English
From Old English cniht meaning "knight", a tenant serving as a mounted soldier.

Knopf German
Means "button" in German, originally belonging to a button maker or button seller.

Knopp German
Variant of Knopf.

Koch German
German cognate of Cook.

Kock Low German, Dutch
Low German and Dutch cognate of Cook.

Koenig German
German cognate of King.

Köhl German
Variant of Kohl.

Kohl German
Derived from Middle High German kol "cabbage".

Kohout Czech
Czech cognate of Kohut.

Kohut Ukrainian
Means "rooster" in Ukrainian, a nickname for a proud person.

Kok Dutch
Dutch cognate of Cook.

Kokot Slovene, Croatian
Slovene and Croatian cognate of Kohut.

König German
German cognate of King.

Koning Dutch
Dutch cognate of King.

Koppel Estonian, Danish
From Low German koppel meaning "paddock, pasture" (a word borrowed into Estonian).

Kováč Slovak, Czech
Slovak and Czech cognate of Kovač.

Kovač Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Slovene
Means "blacksmith", a derivative of Slavic kovati meaning "to forge".

Kovách Hungarian
Variant of Kovács.

Kovács Hungarian
Hungarian form of Kovač.

Kovalchuk Ukrainian, Russian
Derived from Ukrainian and Russian коваль (koval) meaning "blacksmith".

Kovalenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian коваль (koval) meaning "blacksmith".

Kovář Czech
Czech cognate of Kovač.

Kováts Hungarian
Variant of Kovács.

Kowalski Polish
From Polish kowal meaning "blacksmith". This is the second most common surname in Poland.

Kozel Czech
Czech cognate of Kozioł.

Kozieł Polish
Variant of Kozioł.

Kozioł Polish
Means "male goat" in Polish, probably used to denote a goatherd.

Král Czech
Czech form of Król.

Kráľ Slovak
Slovak form of Król.

Kralj Slovene, Croatian, Serbian
Slovene, Croatian and Serbian form of Król.

Kramář Czech
Czech form of Krämer.

Krantz German, Jewish
Variant of Kranz.

Kranz German, Jewish
Derived from Old High German kranz meaning "wreath", an occupational name for a maker of wreaths or an ornamental Jewish name.

Kraus German
From Middle High German krus meaning "curly", originally a nickname for a person with curly hair.

Krause German
Variant of Kraus.

Krauss German
Variant of Kraus.

Krauß German
Variant of Kraus.

Kravchenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian кравець (kravets) meaning "tailor".

Kravitz Jewish
Occupational name derived from Polish krawiec meaning "tailor".

Krawczyk Polish
From a diminutive of krawiec meaning "tailor".

Krawiec Polish
Means "tailor" in Polish.

Krejči Czech
Means "tailor" in Czech.

Kříž Czech
Means "cross" in Czech, ultimately from Latin crux.

Križman Slovene
From Slovene križ meaning "cross".

Kröger German
Variant of Krüger 1 and Krüger 2.

Król Polish
Means "king" in Polish. The name referred to one who acted like a king or was connected in some way with a king's household.

Kron German, Swedish
From German Krone and Swedish krona meaning "crown" (from Latin corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.

Kroon Dutch, Estonian
Means "crown" in Dutch and Estonian (from Latin corona).

Krüger 1 German
In northern Germany an occupational name for a tavern keeper, derived from Middle Low German kroch meaning "tavern".

Krüger 2 German
In southern Germany an occupational name for a potter, derived from Middle High German kruoc meaning "jug, pot".

Kruger German
Variant of Krüger 1 and Krüger 2.

Krupa Polish
Means "groats, grain" in Polish.

Krupin Russian
Derived from Russian крупа (krupa) meaning "grain".

Kruse German
Variant of Kraus.

Kuang Chinese
From Chinese 邝 (kuàng), which refers to the clan of the same name.

Kudrna Czech
Means "curl" in Czech, a nickname for someone with curly hair.

Kuijlaars Dutch
Derived from Middle Dutch cule "hole, pit".

Kukk Estonian
Means "rooster" in Estonian, ultimately of Germanic origin.

Kumar Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "boy, prince" in Sanskrit.

Kunkel German
Occupational name for a maker of distaffs, from Middle High German kunkel "distaff, spindle", of Latin origin.

Kunkle German
Variant of Kunkel.

Kurz German
Means "short" in German, ultimately from Latin curtus.

Kyle Scottish
Derived from Scottish Gaelic caol meaning "narrows, channel, strait", originally given to a person who lived by a strait.

Kyles Scottish
Variant of Kyle.

Labelle French
Means "fair, beautiful" in French.

Lachapelle French
Means "the chapel" in French, most likely used to denote a person who lived by a church or a chapel.

Lacroix French
Means "the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.

Laguardia Italian
Occupational name meaning "sentry, sentinel" in Italian, also a locative name referring to a person who lived near a watchtower. Fiorello Laguardia (1882-1947) was the first mayor of New York of Italian origin.

Lahti Finnish
Means "bay, cove" in Finnish.

Lahtinen Finnish
From Finnish lahti meaning "bay, cove".

Laine Finnish, Estonian
Means "wave" in Finnish and Estonian.

Lång Swedish
Swedish cognate of Long.

Lang German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian cognate of Long.

Lange German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian cognate of Long.

Langer German, Jewish
German cognate of Long.

Langlais French
Means "the Englishman" in French.

Langlois French
Variant of Langlais.

Łaska Polish
Means "grace, mercy" in Polish.

Láska Czech, Slovak
Means "love" in Czech and Slovak.

Law English
Derived from Old English hlaw "hill".

Lê Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Li 2, from Sino-Vietnamese 黎 (lê). This is the third most common surname in Vietnam.

Lebeau French
Nickname for a handsome person, from French le "the" and beau "beautiful, handsome".

Leblanc French
Means "the white", from French blanc "white". The name referred to a person who was pale or whose hair was blond.

Lebrun French
From a nickname meaning "the brown", from French brun "brown".

Leclair French
Either a variant of Leclerc or from French clair meaning "bright".

Leclerc French
Means "the clerk" in French.

Leclercq French
Variant of Leclerc.

Lee 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived on or near a leah, Old English meaning "woodland, clearing".

Lee 2 Korean, Chinese
Korean form of Li 1, from Sino-Korean 李 (i). It is also a variant Chinese romanization of Li 1.

Lefebvre French
Variant of Lefèvre.

Lefèvre French
Occupational name meaning "blacksmith" in Old French, derived from Latin faber.

Legrand French
Means "the tall, the large" in French.

Leigh English
Variant of Lee 1.

Lemaire French
Means "the mayor" in French. It was a title given to a town official, or else a nickname for someone who was pompous and officious.

Lemoine French
Means "the monk" in French. This was typically a nickname or an occupational name for a person who worked in a monastery.

Léon French
Variant of Lyon 1, Lyon 2 or Lyon 3.

Leon English
Variant of Lyon 1, Lyon 2 or Lyon 3.

Leroux French
Means "the red", from Old French ros "red". This was a nickname for a person with red hair.

Leroy French
Variant of Rey 1, using the definite article.

Lesauvage French
French form of Savage.

Lestrange French
From Old French estrange, a cognate of Strange.

Lévêque French
Variant of Lévesque.

Lévesque French
Derived from French évêque, a cognate of Bishop.

Li 1 Chinese
From Chinese 李 (lǐ) meaning "plum, plum tree". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Tang dynasty.

Li 2 Chinese
From Chinese 黎 (lí) meaning "black".

Liang Chinese
From Chinese 梁 (liáng) referring to the ancient state of Liang, which existed from the 8th to 7th centuries BC in what is now Shaanxi province.

Liao Chinese
From Chinese 廖 (liào) referring to the ancient state of Liao, which was located in present-day Henan province.

Lie Norwegian
From Norwegian li, Old Norse hlíð meaning "hillside, slope".

Lien Norwegian
Variant of Lie.

Liepa Latvian
Means "linden tree" in Latvian.

Liepiņš Latvian
From Latvian liepa meaning "linden tree".

Lin Chinese
From Chinese 林 (lín) meaning "forest".

Lind Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Derived from Old Norse lind meaning "linden tree".

Linden German, Dutch
Indicated a person who lived near a linden tree, derived from Old High German linta or Old Dutch linda.

Lindner German
Variant of Linden.

Lis Polish
Means "fox" in Polish, a nickname for a sly person.

Liu Chinese
From Chinese 刘 (liú) meaning "kill, destroy". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Han dynasty.

Ljung Swedish
Means "heather" in Swedish.

Lloyd Welsh
Originally a nickname from the Welsh word llwyd meaning "grey".

Lobo Spanish, Portuguese
Originally a nickname meaning "wolf" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Loewe German
Variant of Löwe.

Lončar Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Means "potter", from Serbo-Croatian lonac, Slovene lonec meaning "pot".

Long English
Originally a nickname for a person who had long limbs or who was tall.

Longo Italian
Italian cognate of Long.

Lovel English
Variant of Lowell.

Lovell English
Variant of Lowell.

Low English
Variant of Law.

Löwe German, Jewish
Means "lion" in German.