Surnames Categorized "plants"

Akamatsu Japanese
From Japanese 赤 (aka) meaning "red" and 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree".

Albero Italian
From Italian albero meaning "tree", ultimately from Latin arbor, referring to someone who lived in the woods or worked as a woodcutter.

Arbore Italian
From Latin arbor meaning "tree".

Barclay English, Scottish
From the English place name Berkeley, derived from Old English beorc "birch" and leah "woodland, clearing". The surname was imported to Scotland in the 12th century.

Beasley English
From the name of a place in Lancashire, from Old English beos "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Beauchêne French
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and chêne "oak".

Bellerose French
Means "beautiful rose" in French.

Belrose French
Variant of Bellerose.

Bentley English
From a place name derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

Bergqvist Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Blom Swedish
Means "bloom, flower" in Swedish.

Blomgren Swedish
From Swedish blomma (Old Norse blóm) meaning "flower" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Blomqvist Swedish
From Swedish blomma (Old Norse blóm) meaning "flower" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Blum German, Jewish
Means "flower" in German and Yiddish.

Blumenthal German, Jewish
Derived from German Blumen "flowers" and Thal "valley".

Blumstein Jewish
Ornamental name meaning "flower stone" in German.

Bobal m Czech
Derived from Czech bob meaning "bean".

Bokor Hungarian
Topographic name derived from Hungarian bokor "bush". This is also the name of a village in Hungary.

Bolkvadze Georgian
From Georgian ბოლქვი (bolkvi) meaning "tuber, bulb".

Brandon English
From the name of various places in England meaning "hill covered with broom" in Old English.

Breckenridge Scottish, English
Originally indicated someone from Brackenrig in Lanarkshire, derived from northern Middle English braken meaning "bracken" (via Old Norse brækni) and rigg meaning "ridge" (via Old Norse hryggr).

Brierley English
From an English place name, derived from brer "briar" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Broadbent English
From a place name derived from Old English brad "broad" and beonet "bent grass".

Busch German
Means "bush" in German, a name for someone who lived close to a thicket.

Bush English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a prominent bush or thicket.

Byqvist Swedish
Derived from Swedish by (Old Norse býr) meaning "village" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Cardoso Portuguese, Spanish
From a place name meaning "thorny" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin carduus.

Cardozo Spanish
Variant of Cardoso.

Carrasco Spanish
Topographic name derived from Spanish carrasca meaning "holm oak" (species Quercus ilex).

Chiba Japanese
From Japanese 千 (chi) meaning "thousand" and 葉 (ha) meaning "leaf".

Chmela m Czech
Derived from Czech chmel "hops", referring to a person who grew hops, a plant used in brewing beer.

Cracchiolo Italian
Derived from Italian cracchiola, referring to a chicory-like vegetable.

Cullen 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Coileáin or Ó Cuilinn.

Darnell 1 English
Derived from Old French darnel, a type of grass.

Delaney 1 English
Derived from Norman French de l'aunaie meaning "from the alder grove".

Desrosiers French
Means "from the rose bushes", from French rosier "rose bush". It probably referred to a person who lived close to, or cared for a rose garden.

Đỗ Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Du, from Sino-Vietnamese 杜 (đỗ).

Du Chinese
From Chinese 杜 (dù) meaning "stop, prevent" or "birchleaf pear tree".

Ekström Swedish
From Swedish ek (Old Norse eik) meaning "oak" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Espina Spanish
Means "thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.

Espino Spanish
Variant of Espina.

Espinosa Spanish
From Spanish espinoso meaning "thorny", ultimately from Latin spinosus, a derivative of spina meaning "thorn, spine". This was the real surname of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), who was of Portuguese Jewish origin.

Espinoza Spanish
Variant of Espinosa.

Fairburn English
From a place name meaning "fern stream", from Old English fearn "fern" and burna "stream".

Farnham English
Indicated a person from any of the various towns named Farnham in England, notably in Surrey. Their names are from Old English fearn "fern" and ham "home, settlement" or ham "water meadow, enclosure".

Fava Italian
From Italian fava referring to a type of broad bean.

Flater German
Means "reed bed" in German.

Flores Spanish
Means "son of Floro" in Spanish.

Flower English
From Middle English flour meaning "flower, blossom", derived from Old French flur, Latin flos. This was a nickname given to a sweet person. In other cases it could be a metonymic occupational name for a maker of flour (a word derived from the same source).

Flowers English
Variant of Flower.

Foerstner German
Variant of Förstner.

Forney German
Name for someone who lived near ferns, from Old High German farn "fern".

Forst German
Derived from Old High German forst "forest". Probably unrelated to the Old French word forest, which was derived from Latin, Old High German forst was derived from foraha meaning "fir tree".

Fujimoto Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Fujioka Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 岡 (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".

Fujisawa Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh".

Fujita Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Fujiwara Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 原 (wara) meaning "field, plain".

Gaertner German
German form of Gardener.

Gagné French (Quebec)
Variant of Gagneux. This surname is especially common in Quebec.

Gagneux French
Derived from Old French gagnier meaning "to farm, to cultivate".

Gagnier French
Variant of Gagneux.

Gardener English
Occupational surname for one who was a gardener, from Old French jardin meaning "garden" (of Frankish origin).

Gardner English
Variant of Gardener.

Garofalo Italian
From a nickname, from a southern variant of the Italian word garofano meaning "carnation".

Garrastazu Basque
From the Basque word arratz "bush" combined with the suffix sta denoting a place.

Gärtner German
German form of Gardener.

Greenwood English
Topographic name for someone who lived in or near a lush forest, from Old English grene "green" and wudu "wood".

Grünewald German
Means "green forest" from German grün "green" and Wald "forest".

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.

Hawthorne English
Denoted a person who lived near a hawthorn bush, a word derived from Old English hagaþorn, from haga meaning "haw berry" and þorn meaning "thorn bush". A famous bearer was the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of The Scarlet Letter.

Haywood English
From various place names meaning "fenced wood" in Old English.

Hedlund Swedish
From Swedish hed (Old Norse heiðr) meaning "heath, moor" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".

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).

Holmgren Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish holme (Old Norse holmr) meaning "small island" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Hoshino Japanese
From Japanese 星 (hoshi) meaning "star" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Jabłoński m Polish
Originally denoted someone who lived by an apple tree, from Polish jabłoń meaning "apple tree".

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

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

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

Keaton English
From any of three English place names: Ketton in Rutland, Ketton in Durham or Keaton in Devon. The first is probably derived from an old river name or tribal name combined with Old English ea "river", with the spelling later influenced by tun "enclosure, yard, town". The second is from the Old English given name Catta or the Old Norse given name Káti combined with Old English tun. The third is possibly from Cornish kee "hedge, bank" combined with Old English tun.

Keith Scottish
From a place name that is probably derived from the Brythonic element cet meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles.

Kerner German
Derived from Old High German kerno "seed", an occupational name for one who sold or planted seeds.

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

Kersey English
From an English place name meaning derived from Old English cærse "watercress" and ieg "island".

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

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

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.

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

Kwiatkowski m Polish
Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations named Kwiatków, Kwiatkowo or Kwiatkowice, named from a diminutive of Polish kwiat meaning "flower".

Laganà Italian
Occupational name for a greengrocer, meaning "vegetables" in southern Italian dialects, ultimately from Greek λάχανον (lachanon).

Lager Swedish
Means "laurel" in Swedish.

Lavigne French
Means "the vineyard" in French, referring to a person who lived close to a vineyard, or was from the town of Lavigny.

Layton English
Derived from the name of English towns, meaning "town with a leek garden" in Old English.

Lehtinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehti meaning "leaf".

Lehtonen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehto meaning "grove, small forest".

Leslie Scottish
From a Scottish clan name, earlier Lesselyn, derived from a place name in Aberdeenshire, itself probably from Gaelic leas celyn meaning "garden of holly".

Lewandowski m Polish
From the Polish estate name Lewandów, which is itself possibly derived from a personal name or from lawenda "lavender".

Liepa Latvian
Means "linden tree" in Latvian.

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

Lindberg Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and berg meaning "mountain".

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

Lindholm Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and holme (Old Norse holmr) meaning "small island".

Lindquist Swedish
Variant of Lindqvist.

Lindqvist Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Linton English
Originally from place names meaning either "flax town" or "linden tree town" in Old English.

Ljung Swedish
Means "heather" in Swedish.

Ljunggren Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish ljung (Old Norse lyng) meaning "heather" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Ljungman Swedish
From Swedish ljung (Old Norse lyng) meaning "heather" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Ljungstrand Swedish
From Swedish ljung (Old Norse lyng) meaning "heather" and strand (Old Norse strǫnd) meaning "beach".

Löfgren Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish löv (Old Norse lauf) meaning "leaf" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Lund Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Indicated a person who lived near a grove of trees, from Old Norse lundr meaning "grove". There are towns in Sweden named Lund.

Lundgren Swedish
Derived from Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Lundqvist Swedish
Derived from Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Lyndon English
Originally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.

Madeira Portuguese
Occupational name for a carpenter, from Portuguese madeira "wood".

Mathers English
Occupational name meaning "mower, cutter of hay" in Old English.

Medeiros Portuguese
From various Portuguese place names that were derived from Portuguese medeiro meaning "haystack", ultimately from Latin meta meaning "cone, pyramid".

Mondadori Italian
From Italian mondatore meaning "weeder". This was an occupational name for someone who kept fields clear of weeds.

Morales Spanish
Derived from Spanish moral meaning "mulberry tree", of Latin origin.

Moralez Spanish
Variant of Morales.

Moreira Portuguese
Derived from Portuguese amoreira meaning "mulberry tree".

Moss 1 English
From Middle English mos meaning "bog, moss".

Mutō Japanese
From Japanese 武 (mu) meaning "military, martial" and 藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The final character may indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.

Nespola Italian
Variant of Nespoli.

Nespoli Italian
From the name of towns such as Nespoli and Nespoledo, derived from Italian nespola meaning "medlar (tree)".

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

Nussbaum German, Jewish
Means "nut tree", derived from the German Nuss "nut" and Baum "tree".

Nyqvist Swedish
From Swedish ny (Old Norse nýr) meaning "new" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Ó Cuilinn Irish
Means "descendant of Cuileann", Cuileann being a nickname meaning "holly".

Odell English
Originally denoted a person who was from Odell in Bedfordshire, derived from Old English wad "woad" (a plant that produces a blue dye) and hyll "hill".

Ojeda Spanish
From the name of the Ojeda river in Soria, Spain, possibly derived from Latin folia "leaves".

Ortega Spanish
From a Spanish place name (belonging to various villages) derived from ortiga "nettle".

Parra Spanish
Means "vine, trellis" in Spanish.

Pasternack Polish (Anglicized), Yiddish
Americanized form of Pasternak.

Pasternak Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Yiddish
Means "parsnip" in various Slavic languages, ultimately from Latin pastinaca. A famous bearer was Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), author of Doctor Zhivago.

Pilkvist Swedish
From Swedish pil (Old Norse píli) meaning "willow" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Porras Spanish, Catalan
From a nickname meaning "club" in Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin porrum meaning "leek".

Priede Latvian
Means "pine tree" in Latvian.

Puga Galician
Means "thorn, prickle" in Galician.

Quirós Spanish
Denoted a person from one of the various places of this name in Spain, which may derive from Galician queiroa meaning "heather".

Ramos Spanish
Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, from Latin ramus meaning "branch".

Read 2 English
From Old English ryd, an unattested form of rod meaning "cleared land". It is also derived from various English place names with various meanings, including "roe headland", "reeds" and "brushwood".

Reed English
Variant of Read 1.

Reis German, Jewish
From Middle High German ris meaning "twig, branch, bush", denoting a person who lived in an overgrown area. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Resnik Slovene
Possibly from Slovene resa meaning "heather".

Rettig German
Derived from Middle High German retich, Middle Low German redik meaning "radish", an occupational name for a grower or seller of radishes.

Rietveld Dutch
Means "reed field", from Dutch riet "reed" and veld "field". It is found mostly in the western part of the Netherlands (the Holland area).

Rosa Italian, Catalan
Italian and Catalan form of Rose 1.

Rosales Spanish
Means "rose bushes" in Spanish.

Rose 1 English, French, German, Jewish
Means "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).

Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.

Rosenberger German, Jewish
Variant of Rosenberg.

Rosenfeld German, Jewish
Means "field of roses" in German. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Rowntree English
Originally given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash.

Ruoho Finnish
Means "grass" in Finnish.

Rush English
Indicated a person who lived near rushes, the grasslike plant that grows in a marsh, from Old English rysc.

Růžička m Czech
Means "little rose" in Czech.

Sadowski m Polish
Denoted someone who lived in Sadowo, Sadowice or other places beginning with Polish sad "garden, orchard".

Sandoval Spanish
Derived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin saltus "forest, glade" and novalis "unploughed land".

Sault French
French cognate of Soto.

Shaw 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived near a prominent thicket, from Old English sceaga meaning "thicket, copse".

Silva Portuguese, Spanish
From Spanish or Portuguese silva meaning "forest". This is the most common surname in Portugal and Brazil.

Sjögren Swedish
From Swedish sjö (Old Norse sær) meaning "lake, sea" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Soto Spanish
Means "grove of trees, small forest" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin saltus.

Soun Khmer
Means "garden" in Khmer.

Sparacello Italian
From Sicilian sparaciu meaning "asparagus", an occupational name for an asparagus seller or grower.

Spini Italian
Denoted a person who lived near thorn bushes, from Italian spina "thorn, spine", from Latin.

Stack English
From a nickname for a big person, derived from Middle English stack "haystack", of Old Norse origin.

Su Chinese
From Chinese 苏 (sū) meaning "perilla", also referring to an ancient minor state called Su.

Sugiyama Japanese
From Japanese 杉 (sugi) meaning "cedar" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".

Tamboli Marathi
From the Sanskrit word ताम्बूल (tambula) meaning "betel leaves". These leaves are used in rituals and worship, and the name was originally given to a person who grew or sold them.

Tenley English
Possibly from the name of an English town derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Thorley English
From any of the various places in England called Thornley or Thorley, meaning "thorn clearing" in Old English.

Thorn English, Danish
Originally applied to a person who lived in or near a thorn bush.

Thorne English
Variant of Thorn.

Thornton English
From any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.

Timberlake English
From an English place name, derived from Old English timber "timber, wood" and lacu "lake, pool, stream".

Tuft English
Denoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.

Tuominen Finnish
Derived from Finnish tuomi meaning "bird cherry".

Urquhart Scottish
Derived from Brythonic ar "by" and cardden "thicket". This is the name of several places, the most famous being north of Loch Ness.

Van der Linden Dutch
Means "from the linden trees", from Dutch linde meaning "linden tree".

Van de Vliert Dutch
Means "from the elderberry" in Dutch.

Van Wieren Frisian, Dutch
Means "from Wieren". This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands, which mean "seaweed".

Varela Spanish
Derived from Spanish vara "stick". It may have originally been given to one who used a stick in his line of work, for example an animal herder.

Vega Spanish
From Spanish vega meaning "meadow, plain", of Basque origin.

Vernon English
Locational name in the Eure region of Normandy, from the Gaulish element vern "alder (tree)" with the genitive case maker onis.

Vinogradov m Russian
Means "vineyard" in Russian (ultimately from German), referring to a person who worked at a vineyard or lived near one.

Virág Hungarian
From a nickname meaning "flower" in Hungarian.

Walkenhorst German
Possibly derived from a German place name Falkenhorst, from Falken meaning "falcons" and Horst meaning "thicket".

Whinery English
From Middle English whin "gorse bush" and wray "nook of land".

Wilton English
From any of the English towns named Wilton.

Woodward English
Occupational name for a forester, meaning "ward of the wood" in Old English.

Ye Chinese
From Chinese 叶 (yè) meaning "leaf".

Zahradník m Czech
Derived from Czech zahrada meaning "garden". It referred to someone who owned less land than a Sedlák or a Dvořák, but more land than a Chalupník.

Zariņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian zars meaning "branch".

Ziemniak Polish
Means "potato" in Polish.