Surnames from Nicknames

König German
German cognate of King.

Königsmann German
Means "king's man", or someone who played a king in a play.

Koning Dutch
Dutch cognate of King.

Konishi Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" and 西 (nishi) meaning "west".

Kontos m Greek
Means "short" in Greek.

Kontou f Greek
Feminine form of Kontos.

Korhonen Finnish
Possibly from archaic Finnish korho meaning "deaf, hard of hearing". This is the most common surname in Finland.

Kos Slovene
Means "blackbird" in Slovene.

Kosmatka Polish
Derived from Polish kosmaty meaning "shaggy, hairy".

Kövér Hungarian
Means "fat" in Hungarian.

Král m Czech
Czech form of Król.

Kráľ m Slovak
Slovak form of Król.

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

Krall Czech (Anglicized), Slovak (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Král or Kráľ.

Kráľová f Slovak
Feminine form of Kráľ.

Králová f Czech
Feminine form of Král.

Kratochvil m Czech
Derived from Czech kratochvíle meaning "pastime".

Kratochvilová f Czech
Feminine form of Kratochvil.

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.

Krebs German
Means "crab" in German, perhaps a nickname for a person with a crab-like walk.

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

Križman Slovene
From Slovene križ meaning "cross".

Křížová f Czech
Feminine form of Kříž.

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).

Krückel German
Nickname for a crippled person or someone who walked with a cane, from Middle High German krücke meaning "cane".

Krūmiņa f Latvian
Feminine form of Krūmiņš.

Krūmiņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian krūms meaning "bush, shrub".

Krupa Polish
Means "groats, grain" in Polish.

Kruse German
Variant of Kraus.

Kučera m Czech, Slovak
Means "curl" in Czech and Slovak, a nickname for a person with curly locks of hair.

Kučerová f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Kučera.

Küçük Turkish
Means "small" in Turkish.

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

Kudrnová f Czech
Feminine form of Kudrna.

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

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

Kumięga Polish
Possibly from Polish kum "godfather, friend" or komięga "raft, barge".

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

Kurzmann German
Means "short man" in German.

Kyselá f Czech
Feminine form of Kyselý.

Kyselý m Czech
Means "sour" in Czech. It was most likely used to denote a person known for having a bad mood.

Labelle French
Means "fair, beautiful" in French.

Lachance French
Means "chance, luck" in French, a nickname for a lucky person.

Lager Swedish
Means "laurel" in Swedish.

Lagorio Italian
From a nickname derived from Ligurian lagö, referring to a type of lizard, the European green lizard. This little reptile is respected because it supposedly protects against vipers.

Lamb English
From the name of the animal, perhaps a nickname for a shy person.

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.

Langley 2 French (Anglicized)
Americanized spelling of Langlais.

Langlois French
Variant of Langlais.

Łaska Polish
Means "grace, mercy" in Polish.

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

Lásková f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Láska.

Lau Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Liu.

Laukkanen Finnish
From a nickname for a person who took big steps, from Finnish laukka meaning "canter, gallop".

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".

Lebedev m Russian
From Russian лебедь (lebed) meaning "swan".

Lebedeva f Russian
Feminine form of Lebedev.

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".

Lee 2 Korean, Chinese
Korean form of Li 1, from Sino-Korean 李 (i). This is the second most common surname in South Korea. It is also a variant Chinese romanization of Li 1.

Leggièri Italian
Means "light, thin" in Sicilian.

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

Lehtinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehti meaning "leaf".

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

Lenz German
From a nickname meaning "springtime" in German.

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.

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".

Liepa Latvian
Means "linden tree" in Latvian.

Liepiņa f Latvian
Feminine form of Liepiņš.

Liepiņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian liepa meaning "linden tree".

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

Little English
Meaning simply "little", it was originally a nickname given to a short 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, English
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.

Lomidze Georgian
Means "son of the lion", from Georgian ლომი (lomi) meaning "lion".

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

Longo Italian
Italian cognate of Long.

Longstaff English
Occupational name for an official who was equipped with a ceremonial staff, or a nickname for a tall person.

Lovel English
Variant of Lowell.

Lovell English
Variant of Lowell.

Löwe German, Jewish
Means "lion" in German.

Lowe 1 Jewish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Löwe.

Lowell English
From a nickname derived from a Norman French lou meaning "wolf" and a diminutive suffix.

Lozano Spanish
Means "healthy, exuberant, lively" in Spanish, originally used as a nickname for an elegant or haughty person.

Lungu Romanian
Romanian cognate of Long.

Lupei Romanian
Variant of Lupu.

Lupo Italian
From an Italian nickname meaning "wolf".

Lupu Romanian
From Romanian lup meaning "wolf".

Lykke Danish
Means "happiness" in Danish.

Lyon 2 English, French
From a nickname derived from Old French and Middle English lion meaning "lion".

Lysenko Ukrainian
From a nickname, either from Ukrainian лис (lys) meaning "fox" or лисий (lysy) meaning "bald".

Ma Chinese
From Chinese 马 (mǎ) meaning "horse".

Mac an Ghoill Irish, Scottish Gaelic
Gaelic form of McGill.

Macar Turkish
Means "Hungarian" in Turkish.

Mac Giolla Dhuibh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Kilduff.

Maestri Italian
Means "master" in Italian.

Magro Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "thin, lean", ultimately from Latin macer.

Mah Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 马 (see Ma).

Maier 2 Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Majewska f Polish
Feminine form of Majewski.

Majewski m Polish
Derived from Polish maj meaning "May". It may have been given in reference to the month the bearer was baptized.

Maki 2 Japanese
From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree".

Makri f Greek
Feminine form of Makris.

Makris m Greek
Means "long, tall" in Greek.

Malá f Czech
Feminine form of Malý.

Maldonado Spanish
From a nickname meaning "badly given, ill-favoured" in Spanish.

Mallory English
From Old French maloret meaning "unfortunate, unlucky", a term introduced to England by the Normans.

Mały Polish
Polish cognate of Malý.

Malý m Czech
Means "small" in Czech.

Man Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Wen.

Mancini Italian
Diminutive of Manco.

Manco Italian
Means "left-handed" in Italian, derived from Latin mancus meaning "maimed".

Mancuso Sicilian
Sicilian variant of Manco.

Mann German, English
From a nickname meaning "man". This may have originally been given in order to distinguish the bearer from a younger person with the same name.

Marchesi Italian
From the Italian title marchese meaning "marquis". It was probably a nickname for a person who behaved like a marquis or worked in the household of a marquis.

Mårdh Swedish
From Swedish mård meaning "pine marten".

Maroz Belarusian
Belarusian form of Moroz.

Maus German
From a nickname meaning "mouse", from Old High German mus.

Mayer 2 Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Mazza Italian
From a nickname (perhaps occupational) meaning "maul, mallet" in Italian.

McGill Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Ghoill meaning "son of the foreigner", derived from gall "foreigner".

Medved Slovene, Croatian, Ukrainian
Means "bear" in several languages, from the Old Slavic root medvědĭ.

Medveď m Slovak
Slovak cognate of Medved.

Medvedev m Russian
Derived from Russian медведь (medved) meaning "bear".

Medvedeva f Russian
Feminine form of Medvedev.

Medveďová f Slovak
Feminine form of Medveď.

Megalos m Greek
Means "big, great" in Greek.

Megalou f Greek
Feminine form of Megalos.

Meier 2 Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Meir Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Mejía Spanish
Possibly from a nickname derived from Spanish Mesías meaning "Messiah", from Latin Messias, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (mashiyach) meaning "anointed".

Melo Portuguese
Portuguese form of Merlo.

Merle French
French form of Merlo.

Merlo Italian, Spanish
Means "blackbird", ultimately from Latin merula. The blackbird is a symbol of a naive person.

Meyer 2 Jewish
From Hebrew מֵאִיר (meir) meaning "enlightened".

Miazga Polish
Derived from Polish miazga "pulp, crush".

Mishra Hindi, Marathi
Means "mixed, mingled, honourable" in Sanskrit.

Misra Hindi
Alternate transcription of Hindi मिश्र (see Mishra).

Mitchell 2 English
Originally a nickname for a large person, from Old English micel "big".

Mittelman Jewish
Nickname for a man of moderate means, from Yiddish, ultimately from Old High German mittil "means, resources".

Mochizuki Japanese
Means "full moon" in Japanese, a compound of 望 (mochi) meaning "wish, desire" and 月 (tsuki) meaning "moon".

Monday 2 English
Denoted a person for whom this was a significant day, often the day they would pay their feudal fees.

Mondy English
Variant of Monday 1 or Monday 2.

Monk English
Nickname or occupational name for a person who worked for monks. This word is derived from Latin monachus, from Greek μοναχός (monachos) meaning "alone".

Moon 1 Korean
Korean form of Wen, from Sino-Korean 文 (mun).

Moore 3 English
Nickname for a person of dark complexion, from Old French more, Latin maurus, meaning "Moorish".

Moreno Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "dark" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Moroz Ukrainian
Means "frost" in Ukrainian.

Morozov m Russian
Derived from Russian мороз (moroz) meaning "frost".

Morozova f Russian
Feminine form of Morozov.

Moschella Italian
From a diminutive of Italian mosca meaning "housefly", perhaps originally a nickname for an annoying person.

Mosconi Italian
Variant of Moschella.

Mun Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 문 (see Moon 1).

Munson English
Patronymic formed from the Norman French nickname moun meaning "monk".

Musiał Polish
Polish cognate of Musil.

Musil m Czech
Possibly from a nickname meaning "the one who had to", from the past participle of the Czech verb muset meaning "must" (of Germanic origin).

Musilová f Czech
Feminine form of Musil.

Mustonen Finnish
Derived from Finnish musta meaning "black".

Mutton English
Referred to a shepherd or else someone who in some way resembled a sheep, derived from Norman French mouton "sheep".

Muyskens Dutch
Means "little mouse" in Dutch.

Myška m Czech
From a nickname derived from Czech myš meaning "mouse".

Myšková f Czech
Feminine form of Myška.

Nagy u & m Hungarian, Slovak
From a nickname meaning "big, great" in Hungarian, referring to one's characteristics. This is the most common Hungarian surname.

Nagyová f Slovak
Slovak feminine form of Nagy.

Nasato Italian
Nickname for someone with a prominent nose, from Italian naso "nose".

Navrátil m Czech
Means "returned" in Czech, from the verb navrátit "to return", perhaps used to denote a person who came home following a long absence.

Navrátilová f Czech
Feminine form of Navrátil.

Nedbálek m Czech
From Czech nedbalý meaning "careless".

Nedbálková f Czech
Feminine form of Nedbálek.

Nedvěd m Czech
Czech cognate of Medved, derived from the dialectal nedvěd.

Nedvědová f Czech
Feminine form of Nedvěd.

Negrescu Romanian
Patronymic derived from Romanian negru "black".

Negri Italian
Nickname derived from Italian negro "black", used to refer to someone with dark hair or dark skin.

Negrini Italian
Variant of Negri.

Nemes Hungarian
Means "noble, gentle" in Hungarian.

Neri Italian
From Italian nero "black", indicating a person with a dark complexion or dark hair.

Neroni Italian
Variant of Neri.

Neuman German, Jewish
Variant of Neumann.

Neumann German, Jewish
From Middle High German niuwe and man meaning "new man, newcomer".

Newman English
English cognate of Neumann.

Ng 2 Chinese (Hokkien)
Min Nan romanization of Huang.

Nguyễn Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Ruan, from Sino-Vietnamese 阮 (nguyễn). This is the most common Vietnamese surname, accounting for over a third of the population.

Nguyen Vietnamese
Simplified variant of Nguyễn.

Nieddu Italian
From Sardinian nieddu meaning "black", derived from Latin niger.

Niemczyk Polish
From Polish Niemiec meaning "German" and the patronymic suffix -czyk.

Niemec Polish
Means "German" in Polish.

Nieri Italian
Either a variant of Neri, or from the Italian name Raniero.

Nieto Spanish
From a nickname meaning "grandson" in Spanish.

Nigro Italian
Variant of Negri.

Noel French, English
Either from the given name Noël, or else derived directly from Old French noel "Christmas" and given to a person who had a particular connection with the holiday.

Nosek m & u Czech, Polish
Means "small nose" in Czech and Polish.

Nosková f Czech
Czech feminine form of Nosek.

Nováček m Czech
Diminutive of Novak.

Nováčková f Czech
Feminine form of Nováček.

Novák m & u Czech, Slovak, Hungarian
Czech, Slovak and Hungarian form of Novak.

Novak Slovene, Croatian, Serbian
Derived from Slavic novŭ "new", originally a name for someone who was new to a village.

Nováková f Czech, Slovak
Czech and Slovak feminine form of Novák.

Novik Belarusian
From Belarusian новы (novy) meaning "new".

Novikov m Russian
Derived from Russian новый (novy) meaning "new".

Novikova f Russian
Feminine form of Novikov.

Novosad m Czech
From place names meaning "new orchard" in Czech.

Novosadová f Czech
Feminine form of Novosad.

Novotná f Czech
Feminine form of Novotný.

Novotný m Czech
Czech variant of Novak.

Nowak Polish
Polish cognate of Novak. This is the most common surname in Poland.

Nowell English
Variant of Noel.

Ó Buachalla Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Buckley 2.

Ochoa Spanish
Spanish form of Otxoa.

Ohme German
From Middle High German oem meaning "maternal uncle".

Oláh Hungarian
Means "Romanian, Wallachian" in Hungarian, from Old Slavic volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).

Olasz Hungarian
Means "Italian" in Hungarian, from Old Slavic volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).

Olguín Spanish
Variant of Holguín.

Ong Chinese (Hokkien)
Min Nan romanization of Wang 1.

Oomen Dutch
Patronymic derived from Middle Dutch oom meaning "(maternal) uncle".

Oriol Catalan
From Catalan or meaning "gold", originally a nickname for a person with blond hair.

Orlov m Russian
Derived from Russian орёл (oryol) meaning "eagle".

Orlova f Russian
Feminine form of Orlov.

Orsini Italian
From a nickname meaning "little bear" in Italian, from Latin ursus "bear".

Otxoa Basque
From Basque otso meaning "wolf".

Outlaw English
Means simply "outlaw" from Middle English outlawe.

Ozola f Latvian
Feminine form of Ozols.

Ozoliņa f Latvian
Feminine form of Ozoliņš.

Ozoliņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian ozols meaning "oak tree".

Ozolinsh Latvian (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Ozoliņš.

Ozols m Latvian
Means "oak tree" in Latvian.

Pabst German
From German Papst, a cognate of Pope.

Pachi f Greek
Feminine form of Pachis.

Pachis m Greek
Means "fat, thick" in Greek.

Pagani Italian
Italian cognate of Payne.

Pagano Italian
Italian cognate of Payne.

Pahlke German
Low German cognate of Peel.

Pain English
Variant of Payne.

Palomo Spanish
Means "pigeon, dove", from Latin palumbes.

Palumbo Italian
From Italian palombo meaning "pigeon" (also "dogfish"). This form is typical of southern Italy.

Pan 1 Provençal
Means "baker", from Latin panis meaning "bread".

Panzavecchia Maltese
From a nickname meaning "old stomach" in Italian.

Pape French
French cognate of Pope.

Papke Low German
Low German diminutive form of papa (see Pope).

Papp 1 Hungarian
From a nickname meaning "priest, cleric" in Hungarian.

Papp 2 German
Nickname perhaps related to Late Latin pappare meaning "to eat".

Pardo Spanish
Means "brown" in Spanish, originally a nickname for someone with brown hair.

Parent English, French
Derived from Old French parent meaning either "notable" (from Latin pārēre meaning "to be apparent") or "parent" (from Latin parere meaning "to produce, to give birth").

Park 1 Korean
From Sino-Korean 樸 or 朴 (bak) meaning "plain, unadorned, simple". This is the third most common surname in South Korea.

Parrino Sicilian
From a Sicilian variant of Italian padrino meaning "godfather".

Partanen Finnish
Derived from Finnish parta meaning "beard".

Passerini Italian
From Italian passero meaning "sparrow".

Pavone Italian
Means "peacock" in Italian. It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.

Pavoni Italian
Variant of Pavone.

Payne English
From a medieval given name or nickname derived from Latin paganus meaning "heathen, pagan" (from an earlier sense "rural, rustic"), which was given to children whose baptism had been postponed or adults who were not overly religious.

Paz Spanish
Means "peace" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a calm person.

Peacock English
From Middle English pecok meaning "peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.

Peel English
Nickname for a thin person, derived from Old French pel, Latin palus meaning "stake, post" (related to English pole).

Pellé French
From French pelé meaning "bald".

Pellegrini Italian
Variant of Pellegrino.

Pellegrino Italian
Means "pilgrim, traveller" in Italian, ultimately from Latin peregrinus.

Pelley French
Anglicized form of Pellé.

Penny English
Nickname meaning "penny, coin" from Old English penning.

Pesce Italian
Means "fish" in Italian, referring either to a fisherman or to a person who resembled a fish in some way.

Petit French, Catalan, English
Means "small, little" derived from Old French and Catalan petit. It was perhaps used for a short, small person or to denote the younger of two individuals.

Pettigrew English
Derived from Norman French petit "small" and cru "growth".

Peura Finnish
Means "deer" in Finnish.

Pfaff German
From a nickname meaning "priest, cleric" from Old High German pfaffo, from Latin papa.

Pfenning German
From Old High German pfenning meaning "penny, coin". It was used in reference to feudal tax obligations.

Phạm Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Fan, from Sino-Vietnamese 范 (phạm). This is the fourth most common surname in Vietnam.

Piątek Polish
Means "Friday" in Polish, derived from the word piąty meaning "fifth".

Picasso Italian
From Italian pica meaning "magpie". This probably denoted someone who was talkative or prone to stealing, although it may have described someone's unusual colouring. The Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a famous bearer of this name.

Piccirillo Italian
From Neapolitan piccerillo meaning "small, young".

Piccoli Italian
Nickname for a short person, from Italian piccolo "small".

Pilgrim English, German
Nickname for a person who was a pilgrim, ultimately from Latin peregrinus.

Pinto Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
Means "mottled" in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, derived from Late Latin pinctus, Latin pictus "painted".

Piontek Polish
Variant of Piątek.

Pittaluga Italian
Originally a nickname for somebody who steals grapes from vineyards. In the Genoese dialect pittà means "to pick" and uga means "grapes" (uva in Italian).

Planche French
French form of Plank.

Planck German
German variant of Plank.

Plank German, English
Means "plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.

Planque French
French form of Plank.

Platt English
From Old French plat meaning "flat, thin", from Late Latin plattus, from Greek πλατύς (platys) meaning "wide, broad, flat". This may have been a nickname or a topographic name for someone who lived near a flat feature.

Plešec Slovene
Variant of Pleško.

Pleško Slovene
Nickname for a bald person, from Slovene pleša meaning "bald patch".

Pocock English
Variant of Peacock.