the etymology and history of surnames
|
| Baaiman |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| Means "son of Baaij". Baaij can be from the Germanic name Baio, from names starting with bern- like Bernard, or via Boidin from Baldwin. Possibly also from Middle Dutch boy ("boy") or bay ("redbrown"). |
| Baak |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| From the given name Baak, a short form of names starting with badu- ("fight, struggle"). |
| Baanders |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| Occupational name for one who carried a banner or flag. |
| Baarda |
|
Usage: Frisian
|
| From a place name meaning "from Baard's farm". The given name Baard is from Bert. |
| Baardsson |
|
Usage: Norwegian
|
| Means "son of Baard/Bĺrd". Baard/Bĺrd are possibly derived from the Germanic element barta meaning "axe" or baard meaning "beard". |
| Baardwijk |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| From a place name, possibly from Baard's wijk where wijk means "living place". |
| Baars |
|
Usage: Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Dutch form of Baarsma. |
| Baarsma |
|
Usage: Frisian
|
| Means "son of Baard". The given name Baard is from Bert. |
| Baart |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| From the given name Baard, which was a form of Bert. |
| Baas |
|
Usage: Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "boss, overseer" referring to a profession. |
| Baasch |
|
Usage: German, Dutch
|
| Means "boss" from the Middle Low German baas. |
| Babcock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the medieval name Bab which was possibly a pet form of Bartholomew or Barbara. |
| Babcocke |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Babcock. |
| Babcoke |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Babcock. |
| Babic |
|
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene
Extra: Statistics |
| A matronymic derived from Slavic baba "old woman". |
| Babineaux |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Diminutive form of the given name Babin. |
| Bach |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| A topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from the Middle High German bach, meaning "stream". |
| Bachchan |
|
Usage: Indian
|
| Means "child". |
| Bachman |
|
Usage: Dutch, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of life" from the Hebrew ben chayim. |
| Bachmeier |
|
Usage: German
|
| Means "a farmer whose farm is beside a stream" from Middle High German bach "stream", mei(g)er "steward". For more information, see Bach and Meier. |
| Bäcker |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Newer variant of Becke. |
| Backus |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bakery", an occupational name for a baker, from Old English bacan "to bake" and hus "house". |
| Badcock |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Babcock. |
| Badcocke |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Babcock. |
| Badcoke |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Babcock. |
| Badem |
|
Usage: Turkish
|
| Derived from a Turkish word meaning "almond". |
| Bader |
|
Usage: German
|
| Derived from Old High German bad "a bath", most likely referring to a bath attendant. |
| Bager |
|
Usage: Danish
|
| Means "baker" in Danish. |
| Baggi |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "from Baggi (Milan), Italy". |
| Baggio |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Baggi. This surname is famous around Europe because of the footballer Roberto Baggio. |
| Baghdassarian |
|
Usage: Armenian
|
| Means "son of Baghdassar". Baghdassar is a cognate of Balthazar. |
| Bagley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Name for someone who lived in a field populated by badgers, from Old English bagga "bag-shaped animal", "badger" combined with leah "clearing", "field". |
| Baglio |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| The Italian equivalent of the English surname Bailey. It means "bailiff". |
| Bagni |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "public bath house attendant" from the Latin balnea. |
| Bagnoli |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| A diminutive form of Bagni. |
| Bähr |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Menas "bear" or "boar" from the Middle High German bër "bear" or ber "boar". Originally it was a nickname for a strong and brave person. |
| Bai |
|
Usage: Chinese
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "white" in Mandarin. |
| Bailey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bailiff" from Old French. |
| Baines (1) |
|
Usage: Welsh
|
| From Welsh ab Einws meaning "son of Einws". The given name Einws meanings "little anvil". |
| Baines (2) |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a nickname for a thin person meaning "bones". |
| Bajusz |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Means "moustache" from the Hungarian bajusz. |
| Bakalov |
|
Usage: Bulgarian
|
| A patronymic from bakalin "shop-owner". |
| Bakema |
|
Usage: Frisian
|
| Means "son of Bake". The Frisian Bake is a diminutive of Baak, a short form of names starting with badu- ("fight, struggle"). |
| Baker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a baker, derived from Middle English bakere. |
| Bakhuizen |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| Means "bakery", an occupational name for a baker. From bak "to bake" and huis "house". |
| Bakker |
|
Usage: Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| "baker" from the Dutch word bakker. |
| Bakó |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Means "axeman" in Hungarian. |
| Bălan |
|
Usage: Romanian
|
| Means "blond". |
| Balázs |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Balázs. |
| Balboni |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Balbono", from the Latin name Balbonus. |
| Baldi |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the short form of names that included the Germanic element bald meaning "brave, bold". |
| Baldini |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Baldino". Baldino is a diminutive of Baldo, from names starting with the Germanic element bald- "bold". |
| Baldinotti |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Baldinotto". From the name Baldinoctus, probably from Baldo, short for names with the Germanic component bald- "bold". |
| Baldovini |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Italian form of Baldwin. |
| Baldwin |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Baldwin. |
| Balik |
|
Usage: Turkish
|
| From the Turkish word meaning "fish". |
| Bálint |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Bálint. |
| Balog |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "left handed" in Old Hungarian. |
| Balogh |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Balog. |
| Bambach |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| A variant of Baumbach. |
| Bancroft |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A habitational name derived from any of various places called Bancroft, derived from Old English bean, meaning "beans" and croft, meaning "paddock", "smallholding". |
| Banderas |
|
Usage: Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted a person who carried a banner or a flag. |
| Bandini |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Bandino". From the Latin name Bandinus. |
| Bandoni |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Bandone". From the medieval name Bandone, meaning "sheet of iron". |
| Bandyopadhyay |
|
Usage: Indian
|
| Bandha are the bonds of Karma, upadhaya means "instructor-priest". It means "he who teaches about the bonds of Karma". It was first bestowed on people as an honorary title. |
| Banes |
|
Usage: Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Baines (1). |
| Banik |
|
Usage: Slovak
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "miner" in Slovak. |
| Banister |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Meant "basket maker" in Norman French. |
| Banks |
|
Usage: English
|
| By the Bank. |
| Baracnik |
|
Usage: Czech
|
| A Baracnik was a farmer in Bohemia with less land than a Sedlak, Zahradnik or Chalupnik, but more land than a tenant farmer. |
| Bárány |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Means "lamb" in Hungarian. |
| Baráth |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Derived from the vocabulary word barát, that means "friend" in Hungarian. |
| Barber |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Indicated one who cut hair for a living. |
| Barbieri |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Italian cognate of Barber. |
| Bardakci |
|
Usage: Turkish
|
| Means "glassmaker" from bardak, the Turkish word for "glass". |
| Bardsley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name a village lying between Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham, in the County of Lancashire, England. It means "Beornred's clearing" in Old English, Beornred being a personal name meaning "warrior counsel". |
| Barends |
|
Usage: Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Barend", where Barend is from Bernhard. |
| Baris (1) |
|
Usage: Albanian
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a "shepherd", from Albanian bari. |
| Baris (2) |
|
Usage: Turkish
|
| From the given name Baris. |
| Barker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Middle English bark(en) "to tan", an occupational name for a leather tanner. |
| Barlow |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a number of English place names which variously mean "barley hill", "barn" hill", "boar clearing" or "barley clearing". |
| Barna |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "brown" in Hungarian. |
| Barnes |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted a person who worked or lived in a barn. The word barn is derived from Old English bere "barley" combined with oern "house". |
| Barone |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| From the title of barone ("baron"), derived from the Germanic baro ("free man"). |
| Barros |
|
Usage: Portuguese, Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the word barro meaning "clay" or "mud". Probably originated from an occupation of a person who worked with clay or mud, such as a builder or artesan. |
| Barsamian |
|
Usage: Armenian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of a priest" in Armenian. |
| Barsetti |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Barsetto" from the Latin name Barsectus. |
| Barta |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the shortened form of Bartalom, the old Hungarian form of Bertalan. |
| Bartalotti |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Bartalotto". Probably from Bartolo, a short form of Bartolomeo. |
| Bartha |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Barta. |
| Bartolomei |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Variant of Bartolomeo. |
| Bartolomeo |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Bartolomeo. |
| Barton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name meaning "barley town". |
| Bartos |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Hungarian variant of Barto. |
| Barto |
|
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Barto, a pet form of Bartolomej, Bartolomej being the Czech form of Bartholomew. |
| Bartosz |
|
Usage: Polish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Bartosz. |
| Bartram |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Bertram. |
| Barwegen |
|
Usage: Frisian
|
| Derived from the name of a village in Friesland. |
| Barzetti |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Variant of Barsetti. |
| Basile |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Basile or Basilio. |
| Bass |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English form of Basso. |
| Bassanelli |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Diminutive form of Bassani. |
| Bassani |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the place name Bassano, multiple villages in Italy. |
| Bassi |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Basso, common in northern Italy. |
| Basso |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Nickname for a person who is rather short, from Latin bassus "thickset". |
| Basurto |
|
Usage: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "in the middle of the forest", from a region in Spain. |
| Bates |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Batte". Batte was a medieval diminutive of Bartholomew. |
| Bateson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Batte". Batte was a medieval diminutive of Bartholomew. |
| Báthory |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Archaic spelling variant of Bátori. |
| Bátori |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Means "someone from Bátor". Bátor is a village in Hungary. |
| Battaglia |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "battle". Ranked 94th most common in Italy. |
| Battle |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of English places called Battle, so named because they were sites of battles. |
| Batts |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the medieval name Batte, a diminituve of Bartholomew. |
| Baudin |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| From Baudouin or another name derived from the Germanic element bald "brave". |
| Bauer |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| From Middle High German bur or bure meaning "farmer". |
| Bauers |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bauer. |
| Baum |
|
Usage: German, Jewish
|
| Means "a tree" in German. |
| Baumann |
|
Usage: German, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| From Middle High German buman meaning "farmer". |
| Baumbach |
|
Usage: German
|
| Derived from the place name Baumbach. |
| Baumgärtner |
|
Usage: German
|
| A variant of Baumgartner. |
| Baumgartner |
|
Usage: German
|
| Means "a person who works at an orchard" from German baumgarten "orchard". The word baumgarten itself is derived from baum "tree" and garten "garden". |
| Baumhauer |
|
Usage: German
|
| Means "a woodcutter" from Miggle High German boum "a tree", houwen "to chop". Baum is the modern German word for "a tree". |
| Bautista |
|
Usage: Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Latin name Baptista, which referred to John the Baptist. |
| Baxter |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant (in origin a feminine form) of Baker. |
| Bayer |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| From German Bayern "Bavaria", referring to person from Bavaria. |
| Bazzoli |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Bazzolo", from the given name Baczolus. |
| Beake |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a nickname for a person with a big nose, from Middle English beke meaning "beak". |
| Beasley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of palce in Lancashire, from Old English beos "bent grass" and leah "wood, clearing". |
| Beattie |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the medieval name Battie, a diminituve of Bartholomew. |
| Beauchene |
|
Usage: French
|
| From a French place name which meant "beautiful oak". |
| Beaulieu |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| From a French place name which meant "beautiful place". |
| Beaumont |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| From a French place name which meant "beautiful hill". |
| Beck (1) |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Becke. |
| Beck (2) |
|
Usage: English
|
| From Middle English bekke meaning "stream, brook". |
| Beck (3) |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Beake. |
| Beck (4) |
|
Usage: English
|
| From Old English becca "pick-axe", an occupational surname. |
| Becke |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| German occupational name from Middle High German becke meaning "baker". |
| Beckenbauer |
|
Usage: German
|
| Means "basin/bowlmaker" in German. |
| Becker |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Newer variant of Becke. |
| Beckert |
|
Usage: German
|
| A variant of Becker. |
| Becket |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the residence of its first bearers at the beckhead, that is at the source of the beck, beck being the Anglo-Saxon word for "brook". |
| Beckett |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Becket. |
| Beckham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name meaning "Becca's homestead". |
| Becskei |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Means "from Becske". Becske is a town in Hungary. |
| Bedrosian |
|
Usage: Armenian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Bedros" in Armenian. |
| Begbie |
|
Usage: Scottish
|
| The surname Begbie originates in Scotland, where it is most common in the Edinburgh and East Lothian areas. Begbie is derived from the Old Norse personal name Baggi and Old Norse býr meaning "settlement". The small hamlet of Begbie can be found adjacent to the larger hamlet of Samuelston, near to the town of Haddington, East Lothian. Throughout history the name appeared in a variety of forms, including Baikbe, Baikbie and Baigbie. The earliest mention of the surname is that of 'Johnne and Williame Baikbe' who were summoned to appear before the Privy Council of Mary, Queen of Scots, to answer to charges of Treason, most likely for having taken part in an unsuccessful rebellion against Mary, (known as the 'Chaseabout Raid'), during 1565. |
| Behrend |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Bernd. |
| Behrends |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| A variant of Behrend. |
| Beirne |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of O'Byrne. |
| Beitel |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant form of Beutel. |
| Bélanger |
|
Usage: French
|
| A variant of Béringer. |
| Belcher |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a Middle English version of Old French bel chiere. This originally meant "fair face", but later came to mean one who had a cheerful and pleasant temperament. |
| Bell (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bell" from Middle English belle. It originated as a nickname for a person who lived near the town bell, or who had a job as a bell-ringer. |
| Bell (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Bel, a medieval short form of Isabel. |
| Bellamy |
|
Usage: Norman, French, English
|
| Probably from the Norman French 'bel ami', meaning 'beautiful friend'. |
| Bellandi |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Bellando" from the given name Bellandus. |
| Bellandini |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Diminutive form of Bellandi. |
| Bellerose |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| From a French place name which meant "beautiful rose". |
| Bellincioni |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Bellincione", from the medieval name Bellincione. |
| Bellini |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Bellino". From the Italian name Bello meaning "beautiful". |
| Bello |
|
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "beautiful" in Spanish and Italian. |
| Bellomi |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Bellomo", a given name composed of bellus and homo meaning "beautiful man". |
| Belloni |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Augmented form of Bello. |
| Belluomi |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Variant of Bellomi. |
| Belmonte |
|
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "beautiful mountain". Place in Calabria, southern Italy. |
| Belo |
|
Usage: Portuguese
|
| Originally a nickname for an attractive person, it means "handsome, beautiful" in Portuguese. |
| Belrose |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| A variant of Bellerose. |
| Beltz |
|
Usage: German
|
| Derived from Middle High German belz "fur". |
| Benbow |
|
Usage: English
|
| Name given to an archer. Nickname "bend the bow" which was later shortened to benbow. |
| Bencivenni |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Bencivenne", from the medieval name Bencivenne. |
| Bendtsen |
|
Usage: Danish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Bendt". |
| Benedetti |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Benedetto. |
| Benenati |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Benenato", given name derived from bene and natus meaning "born good". |
| Benes |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Hungarian form of Bene. |
| Bene |
|
Usage: Czech
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a pet form of the given name Benedikt. |
| Benetton |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Italian regional variant of Benedetti. |
| Bengochea |
|
Usage: Basque, Spanish
|
| Means "house furthest down" in Basque. |
| Bengtsdotter |
|
Usage: Swedish
|
| Means "daughter of Bengt". |
| Bengtsson |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Bengt". |
| Benini |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Benino" from a diminutive of Bene/Beno, short forms of Benedetto. |
| Benitez |
|
Usage: Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Benito". |
| Benivieni |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "son of Beniviene", from a medieval given name. |
| Benjaminson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Benjamin". |
| Benn |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Bernhard. |
| Bennet |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An English patronymic surname from the given name Bennet, which comes from Benedict. Bennet was a popular given name during the Middle Ages. It has variations in several languages, and spellings. |
| Bennett |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bennet. |
| Benscoter |
|
Usage: Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally Von Bunschoten meaning "from the town of Bunschoten in Holland". |
| Benson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Benedict". |
| Benton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted someone who came from Benton, England. Benton is the place meaning "bent grass town" in Old English. |
| Bentsen |
|
Usage: Danish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Bent". |
| Benvenuti |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Benvenuto". |
| Beran |
|
Usage: Czech
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from beran "ram". |
| Berardi |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Berardo", from a variant of Bernardo. |
| Berg |
|
Usage: German, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| It means "mountain" in the Germanic languages. |
| Bergamaschi |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| It indicated the inhabitants of the city of Bergamo, in Lombardy. |
| Berger (1) |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname meaning "shepherd" in Norman French. |
| Berger (2) |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "person living on a mountain", from Old High German berg "mountain". |
| Bergfalk |
|
Usage: Swedish, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derives from berg meaning "mountain" and falk meaning "falcon". It's a fairly rare name. |
| Bergman |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Swedish berg = "mountain" and man = "man". Originally this was a name for a person living on a mountain. |
| Bergström |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derives from the Swedish words for "mountain" berg and "stream" ström. |
| Béringer |
|
Usage: French
|
| A variant of Beringer. |
| Beringer |
|
Usage: Dutch, German
|
| From the old Germanic given name Beringer. |
| Berkovich |
|
Usage: Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Berko" in Yiddish, derived from Hebrew Baruch. |
| Berkowicz |
|
Usage: Jewish
|
| A variant spelling of Berkovich. |
| Berkowitz |
|
Usage: Jewish
|
| A variant spelling of Berkovich. |
| Bermúdez |
|
Usage: Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Bermudo". Bermudo is from the Visigothic name Vermundo, of unknown meaning. |
| Bernard |
|
Usage: French, English, Polish, Czech
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Bernard. |
| Bernardsen |
|
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Variant of Bernardsson. |
| Bernardssen |
|
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Variant of Bernardsson. |
| Bernardsson |
|
Usage: Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Bernard". |
| Bernat |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the German first name Bernhard. |
| Berne |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of O'Byrne. |
| Berry |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name which was derived from Old English burh "fortification". |
| Berti |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derives from given names like Alberto, Roberto, Adalberto and so on. |
| Bertolini |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Berti. |
| Bertrand |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Bertrand. |
| Best |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the name of the river Beste. A famous bearer of this surname was football legend George Best. |
| Beulen |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| Variant of Bul. |
| Beulens |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| Variant of Bul. |
| Beullens |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| Variant of Bul. |
| Beumers |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| The meaning is "trees". |
| Beutel |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| The German word Beutel derives from the Middle High German word biutel meaning "bag". Originally a person with that surname was making and selling bags. |
| Beyer |
|
Usage: German
|
| Variant of Bayer. |
| Beyersdorf |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Americanization of what may have been originally Baurnes des Dorf, or "the village of the farmers". Bauer (singular) is the German word for "farmer", Bauern is plural German for "farmers". Dorf is the German translation of "village". |
| Bezuidenhout |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| From Dutch zuid "south" and hout, the oldest Dutch word for "forest". Literally "south of a forest", but more specificly, south of the forest in Den Haag (The Hague). |
| Bhattacharya |
|
Usage: Sanskrit
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "illustrious teacher" in Sanskrit. |
| Biancardi |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Italian words bianca meaning "white" and cardi meaning "thistle". |
| Bianchi |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "white" from Italian bianco. Given to a person who was white-haired or extremely pale. |
| Bicchieri |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Means "drinking glasses" in Italian. |
| Bieber |
|
Usage: German, Jewish
|
| From Middle High German biber beaver, German Biber, or Yiddish biber, hence a nickname, possibly a nickname for a hard worker, or from some other fancied resemblance to the animal. In some cases the surname may be habitational, from a house or some other place named with this word. As a Jewish name it is largely ornamental. |
| Biermann |
|
Usage: German
|
| Derived from German bier "beer", mann "man". The name may have referred to a brewer, a tavern owner or a drinker. |
| Binici |
|
Usage: Turkish
|
| From the word binici meaning "rider". |
| Biondi |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| It means "fair-haired" in Italian. The name of an American champion of swimming: Matt Biondi. |
| Biondo |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Biondi. |
| Bird |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name for a person who raised or hunted birds. |
| Bíró |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from bíró that means "judge" in Hungarian. |
| Bischoffs |
|
Usage: German
|
| Means "bishop". |
| Bishop |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Of Old English origin, and its meaning is "bishop". Probably originally meant "one serving the bishop". |
| Biskup |
|
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bishop" in Czech. |
| Bisset |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| From French bisse "fine linen". The name probably referred to a weaver. |
| Bissette |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| From the French word bisse meaning "fine linen". Originally a name for a weaver. |
| Bjarnesen |
|
Usage: Danish
|
| Means "son of Bjarne". |
| Björk |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| From Swedish björk = "birch". |
| Bjorkman |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "birch (tree) man". |
| Björnsson |
|
Usage: Swedish
|
| Means "son of Björn". |
| Black |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means either "black" (from Old English blœc) or "pale" (from Old English blac). It could refer to a person with a pale or a dark comlexion, or a person who worked with black dye. |
| Blackbourne |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Blackburn. |
| Blackburn |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "black stream" in Old English. |
| Blackman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname (see Black). |
| Blackwood |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning (obviously) "black wood". |
| Blaha |
|
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the name Blaha, a pet form of Blazej. |
| Blair |
|
Usage: Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From any one of several of this place name in Scotland, which derives from Gaelic blar meaning "plain, field, or battlefield". |
| Blaise |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Blaise. |
| Blake |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means either "black" or "pale" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the poet and artist William Blake. |
| Blakeslee |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Blakesley, a town in Northamptonshire. The town's name is from Old English Blaecwulves lea meaning "meadow of Blaecwulf (a person's name)". |
| Blanc |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond. |
| Blanchet |
|
Usage: French
|
| From a diminutive of the name Blanc. |
| Blanchett |
|
Usage: French
|
| Variant of Blanchet. |
| Blanco |
|
Usage: Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a peson who was pale or had blond hair. |
| Blanxart |
|
Usage: Catalan
|
| Catalan form of Blanco. |
| Blau |
|
Usage: German
|
| Means "blue" in German, most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes. |
| Blaek |
|
Usage: Czech
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Blaek, a diminutive of Blaej. |
| Blecher |
|
Usage: German
|
| Name for someone who worked with tin or sheet metal, from German blech "tin". |
| Bleier |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "a worker of lead", derived from German blei "lead". |
| Blevins |
|
Usage: Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Welsh given name Bleddyn which meant "wolf cub". |
| Blom |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| From blom meaning "bloom". |
| Blomgren |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| From blomma meaning "flower", and gren meaning "branch," so Blomgren translates to "flower(ing) branch". |
| Bloodworth |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Habitational name from Blidworth in Nottinghamshire, which was named with the Old English personal name Blīţa and the Old English worđ, which means "enclosure". |
| Bloxam |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Bloxham. |
| Bloxham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| After the Saxon conquest of England, two brothers by the name of Blocc established a town, named Blocc's Hamlet. Over the years, it became Bloxham (it's current name, in Oxfordshire, England). |
| Blue |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname for a person with blue eyes or blue clothing. |
| Blum |
|
Usage: Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "flower" in German and Yiddish. |
| Blumenthal |
|
Usage: German, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from German Blumen "flowers", thal "valley". |
| Blumstein |
|
Usage: Jewish, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "flower stone" in German. |
| Blythe |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English meaning "happy" or "joyous". |
| Bobal |
|
Usage: Czech
|
| Derived from Slavic bob "beans". |
| Bobienski |
|
Usage: Polish
|
| Means "from Bobien, Poland". |
| Bocker |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Possibly Old German for a "cooper", or one who makes barrels. |
| Bodilsen |
|
Usage: Danish
|
| Means "son of Bodil". |
| Bodnár |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bognár. |
| Bodrogi |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Means "someone living near the Bodrog". Bodrog is a river in the north-eastern part of Hungary. |
| Boehler |
|
Usage: German
|
| Spelling variant of Böhler. |
| Boer |
|
Usage: Dutch, Low German
Extra: Statistics |
| West Low German Boer = "farmer". |
| Boerefijn |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| Literally means "good farmer" in Dutch. |
| Boerio |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| From a nickname meaning "ox" (see Bove). |
| Boesch |
|
Usage: German
|
| A variant spelling of Bösch. |
| Bogdanic |
|
Usage: Croatian
|
| Means "son of Bogdan". |
| Bogdanov |
|
Usage: Bulgarian
|
| Means "son of Bogdan". |
| Bogdanovic |
|
Usage: Serbian, Croatian
|
| Means "son of Bogdan". |
| Bognár |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Hungarian cognate of Wagner. |
| Bogomolov |
|
Usage: Russian
|
| Means "son of a bogomol/ec". The word bogomol or bogomolec is derived from Slavic bog "God", molitsya "to beg, pray" and was probably given as a nickname to a pious person. |
| Böhler |
|
Usage: German
|
| Derived from the name of several towns called Böhle in Germany. |
| Böhm |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "Bohemian", a person from Bohemia (Böhmen in German). Bohemia was a former kingdom of the present-day Czech Republic. |
| Böhme |
|
Usage: German
|
| Variant of Böhm. |
| Böhmer |
|
Usage: German, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally referred to a person who was from Bohemia (the western Czech Republic). |
| Bohn |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name for a grower of beans derived from Middle High German, Middle Low German bone "bean". |
| Boivin |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A nickname for a wine drinker, from Old French boi, a form of the verb boivre "to drink", and vin "wine". |
| Bokor |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bush". Bokor is also the name of a village in Hungary. |
| Bokori |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Derives from bokor meaning "bush". Bokor is also the name of a village in Hungary. |
| Bolívar |
|
Usage: Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| From a Basque place name: boli = "mill", ibar = "meadow". |
| Bologna |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of the city of Bologna, one of the most important Italian cities. The surname is spread in southern Italy. |
| Bolton |
|
Usage: English
|
| From any of the places in England called Bolton, meaning "house settlement". |
| Bonaventura |
|
Usage: Catalan
Extra: Statistics |
| Word used to say "good fortune". Fortunetellers used it with reference to "the luck of a coming future". |
| Bond |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name for a peasant farmer, from Middle English bonde. |
| Bondesan |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Venetian regional surname derived from the name of the town of Bondeno, near the well known city of Ferrara, belonging to the district of Rovigo. |
| Bonfils |
|
Usage: French
|
| Means "good son" in French. |
| Bonham |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from Old French bon homme "good man". |
| Bonher |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Bonner. |
| Bonheur |
|
Usage: French
|
| From the French word bonheur, which means "good luck". See also Bonner. |
| Bonhomme |
|
Usage: French
|
| Means "good man" in French. |
| Bonnaire |
|
Usage: French
|
| Means "good manners". See also Bonner. |
| Bonnay |
|
Usage: French
|
| Variant of Bonner. |
| Bonner |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| The family name of Bonner is of Norman-French origin with the original Bonners arriving in Britain during the Norman Conquest in the 11th century. There have been numerous spellings of the name, of which all have the meaning or key "good". |
| Bonnet |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Latin given name Bonitus meaning "good". |
| Bonney |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bonner. |
| Bonomo |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| It comes from a medieval given name Bonomo. This name dates back to the 8th century and means "good man". |
| Boon (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bone, which either meant "good" from the Old French bon or "thin, bony" from the Old English ban. |
| Boon (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Bohon, La Manche". |
| Boon (3) |
|
Usage: Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bean seller or grower". |
| Boone |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Boon (1) and Boon (2). This spelling is more common in the USA. |
| Booner |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Bonner. |
| Boothman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Name for a man who was associated with a both, Middle English meaning "hut". |
| Bootsma |
|
Usage: Dutch, Frisian
|
| Occupational surname meaning "boatman", derived from the dutch word boot meaning "boat". |
| Borbély |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Hungarian cognate of Barber. |
| Borchard |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Burkhard. |
| Borde |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "farm" in French. |
| Bordelon |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| A diminutive form of Borde. |
| Borg |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Swedish borg = "castle". |
| Borghi |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Locative origin. It comes from the place name Borgo quite spread around Italy. |
| Borgnino |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| From nickname derived from the Piemontese dialect word borgno. It means "blind in one eye" or "squinting". This was the real surname of american actor Ernest Borgnine. His parents were Italians, his father coming from the area of Alessandria (in Piemonte). |
| Borgogni |
|
Usage: Italian
|
|
From the name of the French region "Bourgogne" near Paris. This surname dates back to the 11th or 12th century. |
| Borislavov |
|
Usage: Bulgarian
|
| Means "son of Borislav". |
| Borisov |
|
Usage: Bulgarian
|
| Means "son of Boris". |
| Boros |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from bor, the Hungarian word for "wine". Originally it could have either indicated someone who drank too much, or a person who owned a winery. |
| Borst |
|
Usage: Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bristly hair" in Dutch. |
| Bösch |
|
Usage: German
|
| Derived from a nickname of the given name Sebastian. |
| Bosch |
|
Usage: German, Dutch
|
| Derived from Dutch bussch "wood". |
| Bosco |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "forest" in Italian. |
| Bosko |
|
Usage: Polish, Czech, Slovak
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Slavic bosy "barefoot". |
| Bosque |
|
Usage: Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| Spanish form of Bosco. |
| Böttcher |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name meaning "cooper (barrel maker)" in German. |
| Botterill |
|
Usage: Cornish
|
| Probably originated from the place name Tibida Boterel in southeast Brittany, thence to Castello Boterel in Cornwall 1284, now Boscastle. Name found mainly in West Cornwall and Northamptonshire. |
| Botwright |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the English "boatwright," meaning "maker of boats." It is a common name in Suffolk, England. |
| Bouchard |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname for someone with a big mouth. The name was derived from French bouche "mouth". |
| Boucher |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "butcher" in French. |
| Boulos |
|
Usage: Muslim, Arabic
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Bulus. |
| Bourke |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Burke. |
| Bousaid |
|
Usage: Muslim
|
| Means "father of Sa'id" in Arabic. |
| Bouwmeester |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| From Dutch meaning "architect, builder". |
| Bove |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from an Italian nickname meaning "bull". |
| Bovér |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Venetian variant of Bove. |
| Boveri |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| From the word bove, old Italian, that is "ox". |
| Bowen |
|
Usage: Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| From Welsh Ap Owain meaning "son of Owain". |
| Boyadjiev |
|
Usage: Bulgarian
|
| Patronymic from boyadjiya "painter". |
| Boyanov |
|
Usage: Bulgarian
|
| Means "son of Boyan", Boyan being the Bulgarian form of Bojan. |
| Boyce |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old French bois meaning "wood", originally given to someone who lived by or in a wood. |
| Boyd |
|
Usage: Scottish
|
| Derived from the word buidhe which means "fair" or "blond". |
| Boyle |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of O'Boyle. |
| Bozhidarov |
|
Usage: Bulgarian
|
| Means "son of Bozhidar". |
| Braband |
|
Usage: Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the name of the region of Brabant in the Netherlands. |
| Braddock |
|
Usage: English
|
| Old English meaning "broad oak". Adopted by those living in the town Broad Oak in southern England. |
| Bradford |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name which meant "broad ford" in Old English. |
| Bradley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a common English place name meaning "broad clearing". |
| Brady |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Irish Brádaigh, meaning "spirited". |
| Brahms |
|
Usage: German
|
| Variant of Brams. A famous bearer of this surname is the German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1987). |
| Brambani |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Locative origins: from the name of an alpine valley Val Brembama. It is typical of Germasino, a very small village near Como, in northern Lombardy. |
| Brambilla |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Locative surname from the Italian town Brembilla (near Milano). |
| Brams |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
|
| Derived from the given name Bram. |
| Bramson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Bram". |
| Brand |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| From the German first name Brand, derived from Old High German brant meaning "sword". |
| Brandt |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Brand. |
| Brankovic |
|
Usage: Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
|
| Means "son of Branko". |
| Brant |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Brand. |
| Brasher |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "brass worker", derived from Old English brœs "brass". |
| Brassington |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a place name, meaning "enclosure by a steep path". |
| Brauer |
|
Usage: German
|
| Derived from Middle Low German bruwer "a brewer". |
| Braun |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Brun. |
| Braune |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Brun. |
| Bray |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name derived from Cornish bre "hill". |
| Breckenridge |
|
Usage: Scottish, Irish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| A habitational name for someone from Brackenrig in Lanarkshire, named with the northern Middle English braken, meaning "bracken", (from the Old Norse brćkni) and rigg, meaning "ridge" (from the Old Norse hryggr), or from a similarly named place located in northern England. |
| Breckinridge |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Breckenridge. |
| Breda |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a place Breda near Venice. This surname is typical of the region of Venice. |
| Breen |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Irish Gaelic "Ó Braoin." Broin means "sorrow" or "sadness". |
| Breiner |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Middle High German brie "porridge". |
| Breisacher |
|
Usage: German
|
| Originally denoted one who came from the town of Breisach, located in Germany. |
| Breitbarth |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "broad beard" from German breit "broad" and bart "beard", originally a nickname for someone with a full beard. |
| Brennan |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Irish surname Ó Braonáin which means "descendent of Braonán". Braonán is a first name meaning "sorrow." It is comprised of braon, "tear drop" and a diminutive suffix. |
| Brent |
|
Usage: English
|
| Originally derived from an English place name derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill". |
| Bretz |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "a person from Breetz", Breetz being a town in lower Saxony. |
| Brewer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a maker of ale or beer. |
| Brewster |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Brewer, originally a feminine form of the occupational term. |
| Briefman |
|
Usage: Jewish
|
| Most likely means "brief man". Its origin can be traced back to Israel. |
| Brigham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally referred to one who came from Brigham (meaning "homestead by the bridge"); the name of places in Cumberland and Yorkshire. |
| Brinkerhoff |
|
Usage: Dutch, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "home on or near a hill" (i.e., "on the brink"). An early American with this name was Joris Brinkerhoff, who went to New York. |
| Brioschi |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| A locative surname derived from the town of Briosco, near Milan. This surname is quite common in Milan. |
| Brisbois |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Refers to a person who cleared land, from old French briser "to cut", bois "forest". |
| Bristol |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a city in England. |
| Bristow |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Meaning is believed to be "bright place", from brihs "pleasant, bright" and stow "stead, place". However, it is also said by some that the surname derives from the old spelling of bridge by the river Stowe, and that the surname was thus given to people that lived near or under the bridge of the river Stowe. Yet another possibility is that it was a nickname given to a person from Bristol (which means "the site of the bridge") in Gloucestershire (southwest England). |
| Britton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to a person who was a Briton (a Celt of England) or a Breton (an inhabitant of Brittany). |
| Brivio |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| From the name of a town Brivio, near Como in Lombardy. Like the French place name Brive, it is supposed to come from a Celtic word meaning "bridge". This surname is quite common in Milano. |
| Broż |
|
Usage: Polish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Broz, a pet form of Ambrozy, Ambrozy being the Polish form of Ambrose. |
| Broadbent |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning "broad bent grass". |
| Brock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a Middle English nickname meaning "badger". |
| Brodbeck |
|
Usage: German
|
| Means "a bread baker" from Middle High German brot "bread", becke "baker". |
| Brodeur |
|
Usage: French
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "embroiderer" in French. |
| Brogan |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Irish word bróg meaning "shoe." Brogan means "shoemaker". As a first name, it was borne by St. Patrick's scribe. |
| Brooks |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English broc. |
| Brose |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Ambrose. |
| Brotz |
|
Usage: German
|
| A variant of Protz. |
| Brown |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin. |
| Brownlow |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The name Brownlow is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is of two parts, brown (descriptive) and lowe (topographical). Lowe derives from Old English hlaw meaning "a small hill", and so the name was possibly given to a family living on a small hill covered with bracken, giving it a brown colour. |
| Broz |
|
Usage: Croatian, Slovene
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Broz, a pet form of Ambrozije, Ambrozije being the Croatian form of Ambrose. This is the birth surname of the Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz Tito. |
| Bro |
|
Usage: Czech
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Bro, a pet form of Ambro, Ambro being the Czech form of Ambrose. |
| Bruce |
|
Usage: Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From Brix, a city in Normandy, from which the Bruces came. |
| Brühn |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Hungarian spelling variant of Brun. |
| Bruhn |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Brun. |
| Brun |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| From Middle High German brun meaning "brown". Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin. |
| Brune |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Brun. |
| Brunetti |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Diminutive of Bruno. |
| Bruno |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "brown" in Italian, a nickname for a person with brown hair or brown clothes. |
| Bryant |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Brian. |
| Bryson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Brice". |
| Brzezicki |
|
Usage: Polish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "by the birch trees" in Polish. |
| Buchanan |
|
Usage: Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From a Scottish place name meaning "house of the canon". |
| Buchholz |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "beech wood" from German Buch "beech", Holz "wood". |
| Buchvarov |
|
Usage: Bulgarian
|
| Patronymic from buchvar "cooper". |
| Buckholtz |
|
Usage: German
Extra: Statistics |
| A variant spelling of Buchholz. |
| Buckley (1) |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Originated from the Norman surname Beauclerc meaning "beautiful or fair clergyman". |
| Buckley (2) |
|
Usage: English
|
| From an English place name derived from bucca "goat" and leah "field, clearing". |
| Buckley (3) |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| From Gaelic Ó Buachalla meaning "descendent of Buachaill", a nickname meaning "cowherd". |
| Budai |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Buda, one of the towns that were joined to make Budapest. Originally it indicated someone from Buda. |
| Buday |
|
Usage: Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Spelling variant of Budai. |
| Budny |
|
Usage: Polish, Ukrainian
|
|
This surname has several possible meanings. It could mean "dweller in a hut, cabin" from the Polish and Ukrainian word buda. Or it could simply be a diminutive from of a multitude of personal names beginning with the element Budzi-. For example "little Budzislav". |
| Buffone |
|
Usage: Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Italian for "jester". |
| Buhr |
|
Usage: Low German
Extra: Statistics |
| Low German form of Bauer. |
| Büki |
|
Usage: Hungarian
|
| Derived from the name of Mt. Bükk. |
| Bukoski |
|
Usage: Polish
|
| A variant of Bukowski. |
| Bukowski |
|
Usage: Polish
Extra: Statistics |
| A name for someone who lived in a place called Bukowo, Bukowec or other that began with buk "beech". |
| Bul |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| The meaning is "bull". |
| Bulgarelli |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Diminutive of Bulgari. |
| Bulgari |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| Originally an Italian nickname meaning "Bulgarian". |
| Bullard |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a scribe, derived from Middle English bulle "letter". |
| Bulle |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bul. |
| Bullens |
|
Usage: Dutch
|
| Variant of Bul. |
| Bullock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "young bull". |
| Bumgarner |
|
Usage: German
|
| A variant of Baumgartner. |
| Bunker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Norman French de Bon Coer meaning "of a good heart". |
| Buonarroti |
|
Usage: Italian
|
| From the medieval given name Buonarroto meaning "good increase". Even if it is rare this name still exists in Italy. It is the surname of Michelangelo (1475-1564). |
| Burakgazi |
|
Usage: Turkish
|
| Means "warrior for the faith" in Turkish. Burak was the name of the Prophet Mohammed's horse that he rode when he ascended to Heaven. |
| Buranek |
|
Usage: Czech
|
| Czech name meaning "little ram". |
| Bureau |
|
Usage: French
|
|
Most likely derived from Old French boure, a type of woolen cloth. The name was probably used as a nickname for a person dressed in such clothes. This is also the modern French word for "desk". |
| Bure |
|
Usage: Czech, Slovak
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Bure, a pet form of the archaic name Burian. |
| Burgstaller |
|
Usage: German
|
| From German Burg for a "fortress, castle", and from German Stelle, the site of such a castle. Name given to a person dwelling at or near such a site. |
| Burke |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Middle English burk, meaning "fort or fortified town". It was brought to Ireland in the 12th century by the Norman invader William FitzAdelm de Burgo. |
| Burnham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Burnham, a town in Norfolk and Essex, England. Means "homestead by the river" from the Old English burna "stream" and ham "homestead". |
| Burns (1) |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old English burne "stream". Famous bearers include poet Robert Burns, comedian George Burns and fictional character C. Montgomery Burns (from the cartoon show "The Simpsons"). |
| Burns (2) |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of O'Byrne. |
| Burrell |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| This was the name of a type of cloth. So it is probably a name for someone who dealt in that material. |
| Burton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English placename derived from the Old English meaning "fortified town". |
| Busch |
|
Usage: German
|
| Means "bush" in German. The name was most likely a nickname for someone who lived close to a thicket. |
| Bush |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Given to a person who lived in or near bushes. |
| Bustillo |
|
Usage: Spanish
|
| Derived from a diminutive of the Galician word busto "meadow" (also see Busto). |
| Busto |
|
Usage: Spanish, Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Of locative origin, from the name of towns in Spain and Italy (there are two near Milan in northern Italy: Busto Arsizio and Busto Garolfo, colloquially called Busto Grande "large Busto" and Bustino "little Busto"). Busto is derived from Late Latin bustum "ox pasture". |
| Bustos |
|
Usage: Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Busto. |
| Butcher |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a butcher, derived from Old French bouchier. |
| Butler |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| The surname comes from the Middle English word botte, which means "a vat or large trough used to contain wine". A butler (from Middle English boteler) was the servant in charge of the botts. A famous bearer of this surname is the fictional character of Rhett Butler, created by Margaret Mitchell for her novel 'Gone With The Wind'. |
| Butts |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "short, stumpy". |
| Byquist |
|
Usage: Swedish
|
| Means "village twig" in Swedish. |
| Byrd |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bird. |
| Byrne |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of O'Byrne. |
| Byrnes |
|
Usage: Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of O'Byrne. |
| Byström |
|
Usage: Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Swedish words for "village", by, and "stream", ström. |
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