the etymology and history of surnames
|
| Abbey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the abbey" or "worker at the abbey" from the Middle English abbeye, abbaye. |
| Abel |
|
Usage: English, French, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Spanish, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Abel. |
| Abraham |
|
Usage: Dutch, English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Abraham. |
| Abrahams |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Abraham. |
| Abrahamson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Abraham". |
| Abram |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Abraham. |
| Abrams |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Abrahams. |
| Abramson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Abram". The surname can also be viewed as a variant of the surname Abrahamson. |
| Achilles |
|
Usage: English, Portuguese, German, Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Achilles. |
| Acker |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "field", derived from Old English or Old High German (related to the word acre). |
| Ackerman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "ploughman for a manor" from the Middle English acker. Sometimes a variant of Acker. |
| Adam |
|
Usage: English, French, German, Italian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Adam. |
| Adams |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Adam. |
| Adamson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Adam". |
| Adcock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a diminutive of the given name Adam. |
| Addison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Addy", in which Addy was a nickname for Adam. |
| Aiken |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the medieval given name Atkin, which was a pet form of Adam. |
| Ainsworth |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A habitational name for someone who lived in a place named Ainsworth near Manchester, from the old English personal name Ægen and the Old English worþ, meaning enclosure. |
| Aitken |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a diminutive of the given name Adam. |
| Akerman (1) |
|
Usage: Swedish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the cultivated land" from the Middle English, Germanic word acker, Acker "field". In Swedish, it is spelt Åkerman. |
| Akerman (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Ackerman. |
| Akers |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Acker. |
| Albert |
|
Usage: Catalan, English, French, Hungarian, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Albert. |
| Alberts |
|
Usage: English, Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Albert". |
| Albinson |
|
Usage: English, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Alban". |
| Alexander |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Alexander. |
| Alfredson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Alfred". |
| Alfson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Alf". Alf is a short form of the given name Alfred. |
| Allard |
|
Usage: English, French
|
| Derived from the given name Æðelred. |
| Allen |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Alan. |
| Allsopp |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the village of Alsop en la Dale in Derbyshire, England. The place name means "Ælli's valley". |
| Alvey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Comes from the Anglo-Saxon name Ælfwig meaning "elf battle". |
| Anderson |
|
Usage: English, Icelandic, Scottish, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Andrew". |
| Andrews |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Andrew. |
| Andrewson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Anderson. |
| Anson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Agnes" in Old English. |
| Anthonyson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Anthony". |
| Appleby |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Referring to someone who lived by or tended an apple orchard. |
| Appleton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means simply "apple town". |
| Archer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for one who practiced archery. |
| Arkwright |
|
Usage: English
|
| An occupational name for a chest maker, from Middle English, Old French arc which means "chest" or "bin" and the Middle English wright which means "maker" or "craftsman". |
| Armistead |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by or at the hermitage" from the Old French ermite and the Old English stede. |
| Arnold |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Arnold. |
| Arrington |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a town originally called Earningaton, meaning "Earna's settlement". Earna was a given name meaning "eagle" in Old English. |
| Arterberry |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Anglicization of Auttenberg. |
| Arterbury |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Anglicization of Auttenberg. |
| Arthur |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Arthur. |
| Arthurson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Arthur". |
| Ash |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the ash trees" from the Old English æsc. |
| Ashley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denotes a person hailing from one of the many places in England which bear this name. The place name itself means "ash tree clearing" from the Old English æsc and l?ah. |
| Ashworth |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name in Lancashire meaning "ash enclosure" in Old English. |
| Atkins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the name Atkin, a medieval diminutive of Adam. |
| Atkinson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Atkin", Atkin being a medieval diminutive of Adam. |
| Attaway |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A short of shortening of the words "at the way", denoting someone who lived close to the road. |
| Atteberry |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Anglicization of Auttenberg. |
| Atterberry |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Anglicization of Auttenberg. |
| Attwater |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "dweller at the water" from the Middle English at, atte "at" and wæter "water". |
| Auteberry |
|
Usage: English
|
| Anglicization of Auttenberg. |
| Autenberry |
|
Usage: English
|
| Anglicized form of Auttenberg. |
| Auttenberg |
|
Usage: English, German, Polish
|
| Possibly means "dweller at Ealdwine's hill, mountain" from the Germanic name meaning "old friend" and berg meaning "hill, mountain. |
| Avery |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a Norman French form of the given name Alfred. |
| Ayers (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "heir" from the Middle English eir. |
| Ayers (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Ealhhere which means "temple army" in Old English. |
| Ayers (3) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Ayr, Scotland". |
| Ayton |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "from Ayton (Berwick) or Ayton (Yorkshire), England". Ayton means "farmstead, estate on a river" from the Old English ea "river" and tun "farmstead, estate". |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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". |
| Bailey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bailiff" from Old French. |
| Baines (2) |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a nickname for a thin person meaning "bones". |
| Baker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a baker, derived from Middle English bakere. |
| Baldwin |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Baldwin. |
| 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". |
| Banister |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Meant "basket maker" in Norman French. |
| Banks |
|
Usage: English
|
| By the Bank. |
| Barber |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Indicated one who cut hair for a living. |
| 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". |
| 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". |
| 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". |
| Barton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name meaning "barley town". |
| Bartram |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Bertram. |
| Bass |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English form of Basso. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Baxter |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant (in origin a feminine form) of Baker. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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". |
| 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'. |
| Benbow |
|
Usage: English
|
| Name given to an archer. Nickname "bend the bow" which was later shortened to benbow. |
| Benjaminson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Benjamin". |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Bernard |
|
Usage: French, English, Polish, Czech
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Bernard. |
| Berry |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name which was derived from Old English burh "fortification". |
| Bird |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name for a person who raised or hunted birds. |
| Bishop |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Of Old English origin, and its meaning is "bishop". Probably originally meant "one serving the bishop". |
| 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". |
| 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)". |
| Bloodworth |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Habitational name from Blidworth in Nottinghamshire, which was named with the Old English personal name Blīþa and the Old English worð, 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. |
| Blythe |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English meaning "happy" or "joyous". |
| 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". |
| Bolton |
|
Usage: English
|
| From any of the places in England called Bolton, meaning "house settlement". |
| Bond |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name for a peasant farmer, from Middle English bonde. |
| Bonham |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from Old French bon homme "good man". |
| Bonher |
|
Usage: English
|
| 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". |
| Bonney |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bonner. |
| 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". |
| 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". |
| Botwright |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the English "boatwright," meaning "maker of boats." It is a common name in Suffolk, England. |
| Bourke |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Burke. |
| Boyce |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old French bois meaning "wood", originally given to someone who lived by or in a wood. |
| 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". |
| Brams |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
|
| Derived from the given name Bram. |
| Bramson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Bram". |
| 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". |
| 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 brækni) 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. |
| Brent |
|
Usage: English
|
| Originally derived from an English place name derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill". |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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). |
| 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". |
| Brooks |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English broc. |
| 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. |
| Bryant |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Brian. |
| Bryson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Brice". |
| 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". |
| 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. |
| Bullock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "young bull". |
| Bunker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Norman French de Bon Coer meaning "of a good heart". |
| 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"). |
| 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". |
| Bush |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Given to a person who lived in or near bushes. |
| 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". |
| Byrd |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Bird. |
| Cannon |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the ecclestical usage of canon, referring to a church official. |
| Cantrell |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A habitational name for someone from Cantrell in Devon, from an unknown first element and the Old English hyll, meaning "hill". |
| Carl |
|
Usage: English, Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Charles. |
| Carlisle |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Although the origin of the 'ancient and famous city of Carlisle', is lost in the uncertainties of antiquity, historians are agreed that it was a place of importance in the time of the Romans. Its ancient British name is supposed to have been Llugyda-gwal, which meant the "army by the wall"; the Romans called it Luguvallum, and in Bede's life of St. Cuthbert, it is called Luguballa. Whitaker says that Lugu-vall-ium signifies "forts on the water". The Roman name Luguvallum was afterwards abbreviated by the Saxons to Luell, which, combined with the Saxon word Caer "city", became Caer-Luell, whence is derived its present name. Nowadays, the city of Carlisle is located in the country of Cumbria in England. |
| Carlyle |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Carlisle. |
| Carpenter |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the occupation, derived from Middle English carpentier (ultimately from Latin carpentarius meaning "carriage maker"). |
| Carter |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a person who operated a cart to transport goods, from Norman French cartier. |
| Cartwright |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name indicating one who made carts. |
| Carver (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English surname meaning "sculptor". |
| Caulfield |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a place name, meaning "cold field". |
| Causer |
|
Usage: English
|
| Occupational name for one who made leggings, derived from Old French chausse "leggings". |
| Causey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Indicated a person who lived near a causeway, from Middle English caucey. |
| Chamberlain |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for one who looked after the master bedroom, from Norman French cambre "chamber, room". |
| Chance |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname for a lucky person or a gambler. |
| Chancellor |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for an administrator, a chancellor, from Norman French chancelier. |
| Chandler |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname meaning "candle seller" or "candle maker" in Middle English, ultimately derived from Old French. |
| Chapman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name for a merchant, from Old English ceapmann. |
| Chase |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "woods particularly suitable for hunting" from the Old French word chaceur "hunter". |
| Cheshire |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Cheshire, England". |
| Christians |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Christian. |
| Christianson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Christian". |
| Christinsen |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Christianson. |
| Christinson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Christianson. |
| Christisen |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Christianson. |
| Christison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Christianson. |
| Christopher |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Christopher. |
| Christophers |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the given name Christopher. |
| Christopherson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Christopher". |
| Church |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the English word, probably referred to a person who lived close to a church. |
| Clark |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "cleric" or "scholar" in Old English. A famous bearer was William Clark, an explorer of the west of North America. |
| Clarke |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Clark. |
| Clarkson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| It is the English patronymic form of Clark. |
| Clausson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Claus". |
| Clawson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Clausson. |
| Clayton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "clay settlement", from a place name. |
| Clemens |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Clement. This was the surname of the famous Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain. |
| Clifford |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name which meant "ford by a cliff" in Old English. |
| Cline |
|
Usage: English
|
| Anglicized spelling of Klein. |
| Clinton |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name meaning "settlement on the summit" in Old English. |
| Close |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| It's a topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosure of some sort, such as (in towns), a courtyard set back from the main street or (in county districts) a farmyard. |
| Coburn |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Cockburn. |
| Cock |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Cox. |
| Cockburn |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Name for someone who came from Cockburn, a place in Berwickshire. The name of Cockburn comes from Old English cocc (see Cox) combined with burna "stream". |
| Cocks |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Cox. |
| Coel |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Cole (1). |
| Coke |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Cook. |
| Cokes (1) |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the Middle English hypocoristic suffix -coke(s) which meant "cockerel" possibly denoting someone who strutted around like a cockerel. It was commonly attached to the end of short forms of medieval names eg. Hancock, Alcock. |
| Cokes (2) |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the Flemish word cok which denoted a cook. |
| Cole (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "black" in Old English. |
| Cole (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a diminutive of Nicholas. |
| Coleman |
|
Usage: Irish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Colmán. |
| Collingwood |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The name means "coal forest". It comes from the Old English words col and wudu. |
| Collins (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Colin", where Colin is a diminutive of Nicholas. |
| Combs |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The name is Old English from a Celtic root and means "valley", many place names all over England (mostly in the south, like Cornwall and Susex) take the name. As the name comes from a non-specific geographical term, the Celtic meaning does not prove Celtic ancestory. Normans or Anglo-Saxons may have taken the name after settling. |
| Comstock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the river Culm in Devon, England. Seen in the Domesday book as Culmstoke or Colmstoke. A Colmstoke is buried in St. Martins of the Field cemetary in England. |
| Constable |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Latin comes stabuli, the "count or officer of the stable". By the time it had reached France it had become Cunestable, and as such was brought to England. A little later the term was applied to a military officer. |
| Cook |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old English coc, which means "cook". It is the occupational name for the cook, the man who sold cooked meats, or the keeper of an eating house. |
| Cooke |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Cook. |
| Cookson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| It is the English patronymic form of Cook. |
| Coombs |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Combs. |
| Cooper |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "barrel maker" in Middle English. |
| Corra |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Coiro. |
| Cotterill |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the occupation then known as cotter or cotier, which means "cottager"; that is, a farming small land owner. |
| Cowden |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From various place names meaning either "coal valley", "coal hill", or "cow pasture" in Old English. |
| Cox |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A surname derived from the medieval nickname cok, which meant "rooster". The nickname was commonly added to given names to create such pet forms as Hancock and Alcock. |
| Crawford |
|
Usage: English, Irish, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name derived from Old English crawa "crow" and ford "river crossing". |
| Crewe |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Name for someone from Crewe in Chesire, which comes from Welsh criu "weir". |
| Cristians |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Christians. |
| Cristiansen |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Cristianson. |
| Cristianson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Christianson. |
| Croft |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| This is an Old English term that refers to a small pasture near a house. |
| Cropper |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name referring to a fruit picker or a crop reaper. |
| Cross |
|
Usage: English
|
| A locative surname meaning "cross". It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol, or near a crossroads. |
| Crouch |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Cross. |
| Cummins |
|
Usage: English, Scottish, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "descendant of Cuimin", a Breton name meaning "little bent one". |
| Curtis |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Nickname for a courteous person from Old French curteis meaning "refined". |
| Dalton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name which meant "valley town" in Old English. A notable bearer of the surname was John Dalton, the English chemist and physicist who theorized about the existence of atoms. |
| Danell |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Daniel. |
| Daniel |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Daniel. |
| Daniell |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Daniel. |
| Daniels |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Daniel. |
| Danielson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Daniel". |
| Dannel |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Daniel. |
| Danniel |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Daniel. |
| Danniell |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Daniel. |
| Darby |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of the town Derby, meaning "deer farm". |
| Daugherty |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Of Norman origin meaning "from Hauterive", a place name derived from Old French haute rive "high bank". |
| David |
|
Usage: English, French, Scottish, Jewish, Czech
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name David. |
| Davidson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of David". |
| Davies |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Davis. |
| Davis |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name David. This was the surname of the revolutionary jazz trumpet player, Miles Davis. |
| Davison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of David". |
| Dawson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name David. |
| Day |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a pet name derived from David. |
| Deadman |
|
Usage: English
|
| Trade name for a grave digger. |
| Dean (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "valley" from Old English denu. |
| Dean (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname meaning "dean", referring to a person who either was a dean or worked for one. |
| Deering |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Old English given name Deora meaning "dear, beloved". |
| Denman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Deadman. |
| Dennel |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Daniel. |
| Dennell |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Daniel. |
| Derrick |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Derrick, which is a form of Derek. A famous bearer of this surname is the character of Stephan Derrick (played by Horst Tappert), the lead character in the German Krimi-series 'Derrick'. |
| Derricks |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the given name Derrick. |
| Derrickson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Derrick". |
| Dexter |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name meaning "dyer" in Old English (once referred only to female dyers). |
| Dick |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Dick, which is a medieval short form of Richard. |
| Dickens |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Dick. A famous bearer of this surname is the English writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870). |
| Dickenson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Dickin or Dickon", diminutives of Dick. |
| Dickinson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Dickin or Dickon", diminutives of Dick. Poet Emily Dickinson was a famous bearer. |
| Dickman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English diche "ditch" combined with man "man". Originally a name for a ditch digger or someone who lived near a ditch. |
| Dickson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Dick". |
| Disney |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An Anglicized form of D'Isigny meaning "one who is from the canton of Isigny" located in France. |
| Dixon |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Richard". |
| Donalds |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Donald. |
| Donaldson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Donald". |
| Downer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English, someone who lived on or near a down, which is an old word for a hill. |
| Draper |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a maker or seller of woolen cloth, from Anglo-Norman French draper (Old French drapier, an agent derivative of drap "cloth"). |
| Duke |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the noble title, which was originally from Latin dux "leader". |
| Dukeson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of the Duke". |
| Dwerryhouse |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "dweller at the dwarf-house" from Middle English dwerugh or Old English dweorh, "a dwarf", and Middle English hous or Old English hus. |
| Dyer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "one who dyes", as in a cloth dyer. |
| Eads |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Adam or Eda". Eda is a medieval short form of Edith. |
| Earl |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the aristocratic title, which derives from Old English eorl, which means "nobleman, warrior". |
| Earls |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Earl. |
| Earlson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Earl". |
| Easom |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Eason. |
| Eason |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Eads. |
| Eaton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Name for someone who lived near a river or low land, from Old English ea "river", "low-lying land" combined with tun "town", "settlement". |
| Eccleston |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Eccleston, England". Eccleston means "church in an enclosure". |
| Ecclestone |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Eccleston. |
| Edison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The meaning is "son of Edward". Borne by American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931). |
| Edwards |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Edward. |
| Edwardson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Edward". |
| Elder |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old English ealdra meaning "older", used to distinguish two people who had the same name. |
| Eldridge |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the middle English given name Eldric, a variant of Aldrick. |
| Elliot |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Elias. |
| Ellison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A patronymic form of the English name Ellis, from the medieval given name Elis, a vernacular form of Elijah. |
| Ellisson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Ellison. |
| Elliston |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Ellison. |
| Ellsworth |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A habitational surname for a person from Elsworth, Cambridgeshire. |
| Elmerson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Elmer". |
| Ely |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a town in eastern England meaning "eel district". |
| Emerson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Emery". This surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th-century American poet and author who wrote about transcendentalism. |
| Endicott |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from the end cottage". |
| English |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted a person who was of English heritage. It was used to distinguish people who lived in border areas (for example, near Wales or Scotland). It was also used to distinguish an Anglo-Saxon from a Norman. |
| Ericson |
|
Usage: English, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Eric". |
| Espenson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Espen". Espen is a Norwegian given name, which means "divine bear". |
| Ethans |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the given name Ethan. |
| Ethanson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Ethan". |
| Eustis |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Eustace. |
| Evanson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Evan". |
| Evered |
|
Usage: English
|
| From the given name Everard. |
| Fabian |
|
Usage: English, French, Polish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Fabian. |
| Fairbairn |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "beautiful child" in Middle English. |
| Fairburn |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name which meant "fern stream", from Old English fearn "fern" and burna "stream". |
| Fairchild |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "beautiful child" in Middle English. |
| Fairclough |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English, meaning "fair cliff". |
| Farnham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Farnham, England". |
| Faulkner |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Old English for "falconeer". |
| Fay |
|
Usage: French, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Refers to one who came from Fay or Faye (meaning "beech tree") in France. |
| Fear |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an Old English nickname feare meaning "friend". |
| Fenn |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a name for someone who dwelled near a marsh, from the Middle English fenn, meaning "marsh" or "bog". |
| Firmin |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Firmin. |
| Fisher |
|
Usage: English, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Cognate of Fischer. |
| Fishman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a fisherman. |
| Fitzroy |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of the king" in Anglo-Norman French, from the French roi meaning "king". |
| Fleming |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Given to a person who was a Fleming, that is a person who was from Flanders in the Netherlands. |
| Fletcher |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "fletcher," someone who attaches feather flights to the shaft of an arrow. It also refers to a seller of arrows. |
| Ford |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A name given to someone who lived by a ford, possibly the official who maintained it. |
| Forester |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest, or one who has charge of growing timber in a forest. Originally in the Latin Forestarius, then the French Forester, then Forster and Foster in England. |
| Forney |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Name for someone who lived around ferns, from Middle English fern "fern" and heye "enclosure". |
| Foss |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old French fosse "ditch". |
| Foster |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Forester. |
| Fox |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of the animal. Originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a crafty person. |
| Frank (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Frank. |
| Frank (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English franc meaning "free". |
| Franklin |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "a land-owner of free but not noble birth" from Anglo-French fraunclein. Probably related to Old French franc meaning "free". |
| Freeman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Referred to a person who was born free, or in other words was not a serf. |
| Frost |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Old English and Old High German. From a nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard. |
| Fry |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Root is from the Old English word frig meaning "free". In 1970 it was estimated that there were some 37,000 bearers of the name Fry in America. |
| Frye |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Fry. |
| Fuller |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname for a fuller. In old England fullers would soften a course material by pounding it. |
| Gabriels |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the given name Gabriel. |
| Gabrielson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Gabriel". |
| Gardenar |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Gardener (1). |
| Gardener (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname for one who was a gardener. |
| Gardener (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Possibly derived from the Saxon words gar meaning "a weapon", and dyn meaning "sound, alarm", combined with the termination er. |
| Gardiner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Gardener (1). |
| Gardner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Gardener (1). |
| Gardyner |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Gardener (1). |
| Garner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| This surname can be a shortened form of the Gardner surname, but it can also be a Middle English surname meaning "to gather grain" or "granary keeper". |
| Garrard |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Gerard. |
| Garrod |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Gerald. Appears to be most commonly found in the southeast of England. |
| Georgeson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of George". |
| Gibb |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Gib. |
| Gibbs |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "Gib's son", where Gib is a diminutive of Gilbert. |
| Gibson |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Gib". |
| Gilbert |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the the given name Gilbert. |
| Giles |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Giles. |
| Gilliam |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of William. Famous holders of the name include cartoonist and filmmaker Terry Gilliam. |
| Glover |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "a person who made or sold gloves" from Middle English glovere. |
| Godfrey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Norman personal name Godefrei, Godefroi(s) (see Godfrey). |
| Goffe |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Breton goff "smith" and referred to a worker in metals. |
| Goode |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "good", referring to a kindly person. |
| Gorbold |
|
Usage: English
|
| It means "son of Gerbold", a personal name of Saxon origin. |
| Gore |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Old English word gara meaning "a triangular plot of land". |
| Granger |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "a farm bailiff" from Old French grangier, ultimitely from Latin granum meaning "grain". It can be recalled from the Harry Potter novels from Harry's good friend Hermione Granger. |
| Grant |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Norman French meaning "grand, tall, big, great". |
| Gray |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname for a person who had gray hair or gray clothes. |
| Green |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A descriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green. |
| Greene |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Green. |
| Gregory |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the same given name that was popular throughout the Christian countries during the Middle Ages, Gregory. |
| Grey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Gray. |
| Griffin |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the mythological beast with body of a lion with head and wings of an eagle. From the Greek gryps, ultimately of Assyrian origin. |
| Groves |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English graf "grove". This originally indicated a person who lived near a grove (a group of trees). |
| Gully |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A nickname for a big person, from Middle English golias meaning "giant" (ultimately from Goliath, the Philistine warrior who was slain by David in the Old Testament). |
| Hackett |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a diminutive of the medieval given name Hake, which was of Old Norse origin and meant "hook". |
| Hadaway |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Hathaway. |
| Haggard |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a descriptive nickname meaning "wild, untamed, worn". |
| Haight |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A name given to someone that lived at the top of a hill. |
| Hale |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old English healh meaning "nook, hollow". |
| Hall |
|
Usage: Danish, English, German, Norwegian, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble). |
| Hallman |
|
Usage: English, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational variant of Hall. |
| Hambledon |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
|
| Variant of Hamilton. |
| Hambleton |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Hamilton. |
| Hameldon |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
|
| Variant of Hamilton. |
| Hamilton |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English or Scottish place name, derived from its elements hamil, which means "treeless hill", and tun, which means "settlement". The literal translation of the surname would be "treeless hill town". |
| Hamm |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "river meadow" in Old English. |
| Hampson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Hamo". |
| Hampton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a town in England, meaning "homestead farm". |
| Hancock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a diminutive of the medieval name Han (see John). Early records reveal a Hanecock from the county of Yorkshire who appeard in the Hundred Rolls in the year 1273. |
| Hanley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "high meadow" in Old English. |
| Hanson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Han", Han being a medieval form of John. |
| Harden |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name meaning "hare valley" in Old English. |
| Hardwick |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English heorde "herd" and wic "farm". |
| Hardy |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old French hardi meaning "bold, daring". |
| Harford |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Habitational name from places called Harford, in Gloucestershire and Devon, meaning "hart ford". |
| Hargrave |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old English elements har meaning "gray" and graefe "thicket". |
| Harley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derives from the Old English hara lea, where hara means "hare" and lea or ley means "open land, clearing or field". Thus the surname means "one who lives near the hare's field". |
| Harlow |
|
Usage: English
|
| A habitational name derived from a number of locations named Harlow, from the Old English hær meaning "rock" or here, meaning "army", "assembly". |
| Harman |
|
Usage: English, French, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Hermann. |
| Harmon |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Hermann. |
| Haroldson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Harold". |
| Harper |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally belonged to a person who played the harp or who made harps. |
| Harrell |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Harold. |
| Harrelson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Haroldson. A famous bearer of this surname is the American actor Woody Harrelson. |
| Harris |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Harry. |
| Harrison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Harry. |
| Hart |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "a male deer". Originally acquired by a person who owned harts, lived in a place frequented by harts, or bore some resemblance to a hart. |
| Hartell |
|
Usage: English
|
|
A diminutive of either hardt as in "hardy, tough"; or hart, "male deer". Thus, "little tough one", or "little buck". There is a story of two brothers named Hartell having a dispute shortly after the Civil War. One kept the name as Hartell, the other moved away and changed his name to Hartle, with the accent moved to "hart". Supposedly this is the origin of the variant Hartle. |
| Harvey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Breton given name Haerviu, which meant "battle worthy" from Breton haer "battle" and viu "worthy". The name was introduced to England by Breton settlers after the Norman Conquest. |
| Hathaway |
|
Usage: English
|
| Habitational name for someone who lived across a heath, by a path, from the Middle English hathe "heath" and weye "way". |
| Hatheway |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Hathaway. |
| Hathoway |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Hathaway. |
| Haward |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Howard or Hayward. |
| Hawk |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally a nickname for a person who had a hawk-like appearance or who acted in a fierce manner. |
| Hawking |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a diminutive of Hawk. |
| Hawkins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A patronymic surname derived from a diminutive of Hawk. |
| Hayward |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a person who protected an enclosed forest. Middle English hay "enclosure" and ward "guard". |
| Haywood |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name meaning "fenced wood" in Old English. |
| Head (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Middle English hed, from Old English heafod; akin to Old High German houbit and Latin caput (both meaning "head"). The surname is occupational and describes the one in charge of a division or department in an office or institution -> headmaster. |
| Head (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Referred originally to a person who lived at the head of a river or on a hilltop. |
| Heath |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land. |
| Henderson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Henry. |
| Hendry |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Henry. |
| Henryson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Henry". A bearer of this surname was the poet Robert Henryson (1425-1500). |
| Henson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Henne", Henne being a diminutive of Henry. |
| Hepburn |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name meaning "high burial mound" in Old English. Famous bearers of the name include Hollywood actresses Katherine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn. Mary Queen of Scot's infamous third husband James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwall, also bore the name. |
| Herbert |
|
Usage: Dutch, English, French, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the male given name Herbert. |
| Herberts |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
|
| Variant of Herbert. |
| Herbertson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Herbert". |
| Hermanson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Herman". |
| Hewitt |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a diminutive of the given name Hugh. |
| Hext |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a nickname meaning "tallest" in Middle English. It is most commom in the southeast of England in the county of Devon. |
| Hibbert |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Hilbert. |
| Hicks |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the medieval given name Hicke, a diminutive of Richard. |
| Hightower |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally designated a dweller near a tall tower or spire. |
| Hill |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to a person who lived on a hill, derived from Old English hyll. |
| Hillam |
|
Usage: English
|
| Originally Hillham, meaning "hamlet on the hill". |
| Hilton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| It refers to a settlement (meaning "hill town") where the original bearer of the name lived. Famous bearers of this name include the Hilton family of hotel heirs. |
| Hobbes |
|
Usage: English
|
| A variant of Hobbs. A famous bearer of this name was British political philospher Thomas Hobbes, the author of "Leviathan". |
| Hobbs |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the medieval given name Hobb, a diminutive of Robert. |
| Hobson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Hobb". Hobb was a medieval diminutive of Robert. |
| Hodges |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A patronymic of Hodge, a medieval form of Roger. |
| Hodson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Hodge". Hodge was a medieval form of Roger. |
| Hogarth |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name meaning "hog pen". It's first recorded in North Yorkshire. |
| Hollands |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from any of the eight villages named Holland, located in the counties of Essex, Lancaster and Lincoln, England. The name of the villages means "ridge land" in Old English. |
| Hollins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Refers to someone living by a holly tree. The name originates from Cheshire in the North of England. |
| Holme |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Refers either to someone living by an island in a fen (from northern Middle English holm) or near a holly tree (Middle English holm). |
| Holmes |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Holme. |
| Holmwood |
|
Usage: English
|
| Old English meaning "holly wood" or from a place name in Derby or Surrey. |
| Holt |
|
Usage: Dutch, Danish, English, Norwegian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "a wood" or "grove" in Old English or German. |
| Honeycutt |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the name of the English town Hunnacott. The name of the town probably derives from Old English hunig "honey", cot "cottage". |
| Honeysett |
|
Usage: English
|
| An English surname of Walloon origin, derived from a pet form of the name Johannes (Hanosse). |
| Hooker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally applied to one who lived near a spur, river bend, or corner of some natural feature. |
| Hooper |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name for someone who put the metal hoops around wooden barrels. |
| Hope |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Middle English hop "small valley". |
| Hopkins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Patronymic formed from a diminutive of Hobb, a medieval nickname for Robert. |
| Hopper |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Referred to a person who hopped. The name was given to professional acrobats or gymnasts at a fair. It may also have been given to those who were nervous or fidgety and therefore moved about a lot. A famous bearer is American actor Denis Hopper. |
| Hopson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Hobson. |
| Horn (1) |
|
Usage: English, German, Norwegian, Danish
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn. |
| Horn (2) |
|
Usage: English, German, Norwegian, Danish
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for one who played a horn. |
| Horn (3) |
|
Usage: English, German, Norwegian, Danish
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to a person who lived near a horned-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river. |
| Horne |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Horn (1) or Horn (2). |
| Horsfall |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place in Yorkshire meaning "horse clearing". |
| Horton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a town in Yorkshire meaning "mud town". |
| House |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Referred to a person who lived in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut. |
| Howard |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Howard. |
| Howe |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A name for one who lived on a hill, from Middle English how "hill". |
| Howland |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Hollands. |
| Howse |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Howe. |
| Huddleson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Huddle". See Hudson. |
| Huddleston |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a town Huddleston in the Yorkshire region of England. It means "Hudel's town". |
| Hudnall |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Old English place name Hudanheale meaning "Huda's heath" or "nook of land belonging to a man called Huda". Its use can be traced back to around the year 1200. |
| Hudson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A patronymic version of the English patronymic name Hudd. This was derived from the popular given name Hudde, which was a pet form of the name Richard (like Hobb and Dobb), and also from Huda, an Old English given name. Hutt is a variation of Hudd. Huddy, Huddle are diminutive forms. |
| Huff |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "spur of a hill" in Old English. |
| Hughes |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Patronymic of the given name Hugh. |
| Hull |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Hill. |
| Hume |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Holme. A famous bearer was the the philosopher David Hume. |
| Hunnisett |
|
Usage: English
|
| A variant spelling of Honeysett. |
| Hunt |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name which referred to someone who hunted for a living. |
| Hunter |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Hunt. |
| Hurst |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a Middle English place name meaning "thicket of trees". First recorded instance of the name is in the Domesday Book for a Thomas De Hurst. |
| Hutson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Hudson. |
| Huxley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| While the first element, hux, is obscure, the second element, ley (with many variants: leigh, ley, lea, etc.) means, and can be found in, "valley". |
| Huxtable |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the name of an English place meaning "hook post" (Old English hoc "hook" and stapol "post"). |
| Hyland |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Topographic surname meaning "high land". |
| I'Anson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Janson. |
| Ibbot |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Ibbott. |
| Ibbott |
|
Usage: English
|
| Ibbott is a matronymic derived from the old feminine name Ibota, which in turn was derived from Isabel, the oldest form of Elizabeth to be introduced into England. |
| Ikin |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from a diminutive of the medieval given name Ida. |
| Ingham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning "Inga's homestead". |
| Ingram |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Germanic name Engelram. Engelram meant "Angle raven" from Engel, the name of a Germanic tribe known in English as the Angles, combined with hramn "raven". |
| Irving |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from a Scottish place name (near Dumfries, Scotland) meaning "green water". |
| Isaacson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Isaac". |
| Ivers |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the first name Iver, a variant of Ivor. It means "archer". The Gaelic spelling of this name is Iomhair. |
| Jack |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the first name Jack. |
| Jackson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Jack". A famous bearer of this name was US president Andrew Jackson. Another famous bearer is the singer Michael Jackson. |
| Jacobs |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Jacob. |
| Jacobson |
|
Usage: Dutch, English, Norwegian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Jacob". |
| Jakeman (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English form of the French name Jacquème, see James. |
| Jakeman (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "servant of Jack". |
| James |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name James. |
| Jamison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of James". |
| Janson |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Jan". |
| Jardine |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "garden", denoting someone who worked as a gardender. |
| Jarvis |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Gervaise. |
| Jeanes (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The first record of this name comes from records of William the Conqueror's land grants to his supporters during the Conquest of England. The name at that time was De Genez, which indicated a person who came from Genez in Normandy. Over the years the De was dropped and the name was corrupted in Britain to Jeanes. Recently it has been suggested that De Genez did not refer to a placename in Normandy, as might be expected, but instead to Genoa, Italy, making the etymology of this surname the same as the etymology of the jeans in blue jeans (jeans = Genoa, the fabric having originated in Genoa). |
| Jeanes (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Jan, a medieval form of John. |
| Jeffers |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A patronymic of the given name Jeffrey. Some famous Jeffers are Robinson Jeffers and Susan Jeffers. |
| Jefferson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Jeffrey". |
| Jeffery |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Jeffrey. |
| Jeffries |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Jeffrey. |
| Jenkins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A double diminutive surname, meaning "little Jen". Jen itself is a diminutive of John. |
| Jephson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Jep". |
| Jepson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Jephson. |
| Jernigan |
|
Usage: Welsh, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old Breton name Iarnuuocon meaning "iron famous". |
| Jerome |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Jerome. A famous bearer of this surname was the American-born Jennie Jerome, Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Sir Winston Churchill. |
| Jinks |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Jenk", Jenk meaning "little John". |
| Johns |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name John. |
| Johnson |
|
Usage: English, Swedish, Icelandic
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of John". |
| Joiner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname for a carpenter (that is, a person who joined wood together to make furniture). |
| Jones |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Jon (John). |
| Jordan (1) |
|
Usage: English, French, German, Polish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Jordan. |
| Josephs |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Joseph. |
| Josephson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Joseph". |
| Joyner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Joiner. |
| Kay (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Kay (the masculine derivation). |
| Kay (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Middle English kaye "wharf, quay". A name for one who lived near or worked on a wharf. |
| Keegan |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The surname is of Irish origin, from Mac Aodhagáin "son of Aodhagán". Aodhagán is a derivative of Aodh. This is the surname of the popular English football player Kevin Keegan (b.1951) now retired. |
| Keen |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English cene "bold, brave". |
| Kellogg |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Middle Ages, a name for a butcher meaning "killer of hogs". |
| Kelsey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning "Cenel's island". Cenel was an Old English name meaning "brave". |
| Kemp |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Middle English kempe meaning "champion, warrior". |
| Kendall |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the town of Kendale in England, and was so called from the river Kent, on which it is situated, and dael "dale". Therefore "the dale on the river Kent". |
| Kendrick |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Kendrick. |
| Kersey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning "watercress island". |
| Kevins |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Kevin". |
| Kevinson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Kevin". |
| Key |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Kay (1) or Kay (2). |
| Keys |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Kay (1). |
| Kidd |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "young goat, kid" in Middle English. |
| Killam |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted one who hailed from the English town of Kilham, meaning "the hamlet of the kilns". |
| Kimball |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Welsh first name Cynbel meaning "chief war" or the Old English first name Cynebald meaning "royal boldness". |
| King |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English cyning, originally a nickname for someone who either acted in a kingly manner or who worked for or was otherwise associated with a king. |
| Kipling |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a town in Yorkshire. A famous bearer of this name is the author Rudyard Kipling. |
| Kirby |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Kirkeby, a name for numerous locations in Norhtern England. Kirkeby is derived from kirkja and byr, two Norse words meaning "church" and "settlement" respectively. |
| Kitchen |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name for a person who worked in a kitchen (of a monastery for example). |
| Kitchens |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Kitchen. |
| Knaggs |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Found most commonly in the north of England, in particular Yorkshire. It means "someone that lived by a knagg (a small mound)". |
| Knight |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Krom the Old English cniht, meaning "knight" or "tenant serving as a mounted soldier". Earliest record found: Oschetel Cniht, Norfolk Pipe Rolls, 1166. |
| Lane (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally designated one who lived by a lane, a narrow way between fences or hedges, later used of any narrow pathway, including one between houses in a town. |
| Langley (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A habitational surname derived from old English lang "long", leah "wood". |
| Law |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from old English hlaw "hill". |
| Lawrence |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Laurence. Made famous by T. E. Lawrence and D. H. Lawrence and comically now by Martin Lawrence. |
| Lawson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Laurence". |
| Leach |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English origins meaning "physician". Comes from the common practice of using leeches to bleed people of ills back in the Middle Ages. |
| Leavitt |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Livet, a region in Normandy, France. Vikings conquered the area and a particular family had taken up the name by the time of the Battle of Hastings 1066, when William the Conqueror invaded England. |
| Ledford |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "path leading across a ford" from the Old English lædan, Middle English leden "to lead" and ford, a shallow area in a stream that may be crossed by wading. |
| Lee (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to a person who lived on or near a leye, Middle English meaning "clearing or meadow". |
| Leon |
|
Usage: French, English
|
| Variant of Lyon. |
| Leonardson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Leonard". |
| Levitt |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Leavitt. |
| Lewis |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Lewis. Author C.S. Lewis was a bearer of this surname. |
| Linwood |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from a place name meaning "stream forest" in Old English. |
| Little |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a nickname given to a short person. |
| Lockwood |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning "enclosure forest". |
| Loman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of the River Loman in Devon. |
| Long |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally a nickname for a person who was long, that is tall. |
| Longstaff |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Name for a tipstaff or beadle who carried a long staff as a badge of office, or else referred to someone who was very tall. |
| Low |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| A variant of Law. |
| Lowe (2) |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
|
| A variant of Low. |
| Lowry |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a diminutive of Laurence. |
| Lucas |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Lucas. A famous bearer of this surname is George Lucas, the inventor and director of the "Star Wars" movies. |
| Lukeson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Luke". |
| Lum |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Lum comes from places in Lancashire and West Yorkshire called Lumb, both apparently originally named with Old English lum(m) "pool". The word is not independently attested, but appears also in Lomax and Lumley, and may be reflected in the dialect term lum denoting a well for collecting water in a mine. In some instances the name may be topographical for someone who lived by a pool, Middle English lum(m). |
| Lund |
|
Usage: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "grove of trees", from Old Norse lundr. There are towns in Sweden and Britain called Lund. |
| Lynn |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the British word llyn meaning "lake". |
| Lyon |
|
Usage: Scottish, English, French, Dutch
|
| Habitational name from either the Lyon in southern central France, or Lyons-la-Forêt in Eure, Normandy. |
| Maddison |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Madison. |
| Madison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the American president James Madison (1751-1836), who was the fourth president of the United States. |
| Mallory |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old French maloret, "the unfortunate" or "the unlucky", a term introduced to England by the Normans. |
| Malone |
|
Usage: Irish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Irish Ó Maoileoin, which denotes a devotee of St. John, maol being Gaelic for "follower." Because the bearers of the name were for the most part illiterate, there are many different spelling of this surname. |
| Mann |
|
Usage: German, English
Extra: Statistics |
| 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. |
| Marchand |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname meaning "merchant", ultimately from Latin mercari "to trade". |
| Mark |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Mark. |
| Marley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denotes a person who hails from one of the various places in Britain called Marley. One of the main characters in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol had this last name. |
| Marlow |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Marlow (Buckinghamshire), England". The place name means "remnants of a lake" from the Old English mere "lake" and lafe "remnants, remains". Sometimes a variant of Marley. |
| Marsden |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Place name derived from Old English mearc "boundary" and denu "valley". |
| Marshall |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from Middle English mareschal "a marshal". The word mareschal is derived from Old High German marah "horse", scalc "servant" and originally referred to someone who took care of horses. |
| Marston |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from Old English mersc "marsh", tun "enclosure". |
| Martel (1) |
|
Usage: English, German
|
| Derived from the given name Martel, a medieval pet form of Martin. |
| Martell (1) |
|
Usage: English, French, German
|
| A variant of Martel (1). |
| Martin |
|
Usage: English, French, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Martin. |
| Martins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Martin. |
| Martinson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Martin". |
| Mason |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a stoneworker or layer of bricks. |
| Masters |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of the master" from the Middle English maister. |
| Masterson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of the Master" (a reference to a cleric). |
| Mathers |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname meaning "mower" in Old English. |
| Mathews |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Matthews. |
| Mathewson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Matthewson. |
| Matthews |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Matthew. |
| Matthewson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Matthew". |
| May |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Matthew. |
| Mayer (3) |
|
Usage: English
|
| Occupational name for a mayor, from Middle English mair. |
| Mayes |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Patronymic form of May. |
| Meadows |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Referred to one who lived in a meadow. |
| Mercer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a trader, from Old French mercier. |
| Merchant |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Marchand. |
| Merrick |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Maurice. |
| Merricks |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Merrick. |
| Merrickson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Maurice". |
| Merritt |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning "boundary gate". |
| Michael |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Michael. |
| Michaels |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Michael. |
| Michaelson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Michael". |
| Midgley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Village in England called Midgley. Means "midge (an insect) wood" in Old English. |
| Milburn |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name meaning "mill stream" in Old English. |
| Miles |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Milo, perhaps from Slavic mil meaning "grace". |
| Milford |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from various place names all meaning "ford by a mill" in Old English. |
| Miller |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname referring to a person who owned or worked in a grain mill. |
| Millhouse |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A name for someone whose house was in a mill or who worked in a mill. |
| Mills |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to one who lived near a mill or who worked in a mill. |
| Milton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from an English place name meaning "mill town" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was John Milton, the poet who wrote "Paradise Lost". |
| Mitchell |
|
Usage: English, Irish, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Michael. |
| Monday (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old Norse personal name Mundi which was a pet form of names beginning with the element mundr meaning "protection". |
| Monday (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted a person for whom this was a significant day, often the day they would pay their feudal service. |
| Mondy |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Monday (1) or Monday (2). |
| Montgomery |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "Gomeric's mountain" in French. Gomeric is a Germanic name meaning "man power". A notable bearer was Bernard Montgomery, a British army commander during World War II. |
| Moore (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Middle English mor meaning "open land" or "bog". |
| Moore (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Maurus. |
| Moore (3) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A nickname for a person of dark complexion, from Old French more meaning "Moor". |
| Moores |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Moore (1). |
| Moors |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Moore (1). |
| Morce |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Morriss. |
| Morison |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Morrison. |
| Morris |
|
Usage: English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Maurice. |
| Morrish |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Morriss. |
| Morrison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Morris". |
| Morriss |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Morris. |
| Morse |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Morriss. |
| Moses |
|
Usage: Jewish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Moses. |
| Mottershead |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the name of a lost place in Cheshire, from the Old English byname Motere which meant "speaker" and Middle English heved meaning "headland". |
| Murgatroyd |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a place name meaning "Margaret's road". |
| Murray |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the region in Scotland, called Moray. Moray means "seaboard settlement". A notable bearer of this surname is General James Murray (1721-1794), who was the first British Governor-General of Canada. |
| Muttoone |
|
Usage: English
|
| Refers to one who took care of sheep, a shepherd; dweller at the sign of the sheep. |
| Myers |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Patronymic form of Mayer (3). |
| Myles |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Miles. |
| Nathans |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Nathan. |
| Nathanson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Nathan". |
| Nelson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Neil". |
| Ness |
|
Usage: Scottish, English, Norwegian
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "headland" in Middle English, originally referring to a person who lived there. |
| Neville |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| From a Norman French place name meaning "new town". |
| Newell |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Neville. |
| Newman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "new man, newcomer" from the Old English neowe, niwe, nige and mann. |
| Newport |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Given to one who came from the town of Newport (which means simply "new port"), which was the name of several English towns. |
| Newton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of one of many English towns meaning "new town". A famous bearer is of course Sir Issac Newton. |
| Nichols |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Nicholas. |
| Nicholson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Nicholas". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actor Jack Nicholson. |
| Nicolson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Nicholson. |
| Nielson |
|
Usage: English, Swedish, Icelandic
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Nelson. |
| Nigel |
|
Usage: English
|
| From the given name Nigel. |
| Nixon |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Nicholas". A famous bearer of this name was the American president Richard Nixon. |
| Normanson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Norman". |
| Norris (1) |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from the north", either denoting someone who had moved from the north, further south or someone who lived in the northern part of a settlement. |
| Norris (2) |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "wet nurse, foster mother" from the Old French nurise, norrice. |
| North |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A name for a person who lived to the north. The first record of the name North was first found in on the old census, based in Sussex. |
| Northrop |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Northrop is a name of a town in England. It means "north farm". |
| Norwood |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally taken from a place name meaning "north wood" in Old English. |
| Nye |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller at the river" from the Middle English atten eye, meaning "at the river". |
| Oakley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name that had many oak trees. Means "oak clearing" in Old English. Borne by American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926). |
| Odell |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Odell (Bedfordshire), England". |
| Ogden |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "(dweller of the) oak valley" from Old English âc "oak", denu "valley". |
| Olhouser |
|
Usage: Norwegian, English
|
| Means "(dweller by or near the) old house". |
| Oliver |
|
Usage: Catalan, English, French, German, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the personal name Oliver. |
| Oliverson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Oliver". |
| Orman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Anglicized form of Ó Ruaidh. |
| Osborne |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Osbourne. |
| Osbourne |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Osborn. |
| Ott |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Otto. |
| Outlaw |
|
Usage: English, American
Extra: Statistics |
| Means simply "outlaw" from the Middle English outlawe. |
| Outterridge |
|
Usage: English
|
| Derived from the Old English personal name Uhtric which was composed of the elements uht "dawn" and ric "power". |
| Overton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denotes a person who hailed from one of the various places in England called Overton or Orton. |
| Owston |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denotes a person who came from any one of the places in Britain called Ouston or Owston. |
| Padmore |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Padmore, England". |
| Page |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a young servant, a page. |
| Paget |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| A diminutive of Page. |
| Palmer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "pilgrim" in Old French. |
| Parent |
|
Usage: English, French
|
| Derived from old French parent "notable". |
| Parish (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Paris, France". |
| Parish (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the rare medieval personal name Paris which was an Old French form of Patrick. |
| Parker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "keeper of the park" from Old French. It's an occupational name for the man who was the gamekeeper at the medieval park. |
| Parsons |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally denoted a person who served as a parson. |
| Paternoster |
|
Usage: Italian, English
|
| Derived from the Latin phrase pater noster "our Father". Pater noster are the typical opening words of a prayer. |
| Paterson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Patrick". |
| Patrick |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Patrick. |
| Patrickson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Patrick". |
| Patterson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Patrick". |
| Patton (1) |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Diminutive of the English and Scottish surname Pate, which is derived from Pat or Patt, a shortened form of Patrick (the on suffix is Old French). |
| Paulson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Paul". |
| Payne |
|
Usage: Irish, Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "villager, rustic" and later "heathen" from the Middle English Payn, Old French Paien which was often given to children whose baptism had been postponed or adults whose religious zeal was lacking. |
| Peacock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Middle English words pecok and pocok which literally meant "a peacock". Originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person. |
| Peak |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the pointed hill" from the Old English peac or "from the Peak District (Derbyshire), England". |
| Pearson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Pierson. |
| Peck (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the peak". See Peak. |
| Peck (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "maker of pecks, or vessels used as peck measures" from the Middle English pekke. |
| Pelley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "bald" from the Modern French pelé. |
| Pemberton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name composed of elements meaning "hill", "barley" and "town". |
| Penny |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "penny (the coin)" from the Old English pening, penig. |
| Perkins |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of little Peter". |
| Perry |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old English pyrige "pear tree". A famous bearer of the surname was Matthew Perry, the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West in the 19th century. |
| Peter |
|
Usage: English, German, Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Peter. |
| Peters |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Peter. |
| Peterson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Peter". |
| Petit |
|
Usage: Catalan, English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "small, little" derived from the Old French petit. Perhaps used for a short, small person or to denote the younger of two individuals. |
| Pettigrew |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from French petit "small" and cru "growth". |
| Philips |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Philip. Famous bearers of this surname are Frederick Philips and his son Gerard, the Dutch founders of the company Philips. |
| Phillips |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Philip. |
| Pickering |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a town in Yorkshire, UK, derived from Old English Piceringas, the name of a tribe. |
| Pickle |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Middle English pighel "field". |
| Pierson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Piers". |
| Pitts |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the pit, hollow" from the Old English pytt or "from Pitt (Hants) or Pett (East Sussex), England". |
| Plank |
|
Usage: German, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "plank" from the Latin plancus. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was as thin as a board or a carpenter. |
| Plaskett |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the swampy meadow" from the Old French plasquet. |
| Platt |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Habitational name from Platt or Platt Bridge in Lancashire, named in Middle English with Old French plat "flat, thin", in the dialect sense "plank bridge". |
| Pocock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An orthographic variant of the more familiar Peacock. |
| Polley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old French poli "polite". |
| Pond |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Referred to one who dwelt near a pond. |
| Poole |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English pol meaning "pool". Referred to a person who lived by a small body of water. |
| Pope |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname which originally designated a person who played the part of the pope in a play or pageant. Otherwise the name could be used as a nickname for a man with a solemn, austere, or ascetic appearance. |
| Porcher |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "swineherd" from the Old French and Middle English word porchier. |
| Porter |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname meaning "doorkeeper" in Old French. |
| Potter |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the occupation: one who makes earthen vessels. |
| Pound |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a person who kept animals, from Old English pund "animal enclosure" (as in dogpound). |
| Power (1) |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Pois (Picardy), France". |
| Power (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "poor" from the Middle English and Old French word povre, poure. Could be used as a nickname for a miser as well. |
| Powers |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Power (1). |
| Prescott |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning "priest's cottage". |
| Pressley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "priest's meadow" in Old English. |
| Preston |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from a place name meaning "priest town" in Old English. |
| Proudfoot |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "one with a proud step", a nickname for a proud person. |
| Pryor |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Belonged to one who was a prior (a religious official), or one who worked fro a prior. |
| Purcell |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "swineherd" or perhaps just "piglet" from the Old French pourcel. |
| Putnam |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Putnam (Herts, Surrey), England". The place name means "Putta's homestead". |
| Queen |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "woman" from the Old English cwen which was sometimes used as a personal name. In some occurances the meaning could simply have been "queen" derived from the Old English cwene. Occasionally it could be a shortened form of MacQueen. |
| Queshire |
|
Usage: English
|
| Probably an unusual variant of Cheshire. |
| Quick |
|
Usage: English, Irish, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Quigley. |
| Quickley |
|
Usage: English, Irish, Scottish
|
| Variant of Quigley. |
| Quigg |
|
Usage: English, Irish, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Quigley. |
| Quigley |
|
Usage: English, Irish, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Middle English quik or Old English cwic, which both mean "lively". It's an English nickname for an agile person. This is also sometimes a place name derived from the place where cinch grass grew: it was a quick-growing grass. |
| Quincey |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Quincy. |
| Quincy |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Quintus. |
| Raines |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means either "from Rayne (Essex), England" or "from Rennes, France". |
| Rains |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Raines. |
| Rake |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller on a narrow pass or hillside" from the Old English hraca. |
| Rakes |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Rake. |
| Ramsey |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Literally means "garlic island", derived from Old English hramseon "garlic" and eg "island". |
| Randall |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Randall. |
| Ray (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "kingly" from the Old French rey, roy or it can mean "female roe deer" from the Middle English ray which would have denoted a timid, nervous person. |
| Ray (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Rye (1), Rye (2) or Wray. |
| Rayne |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "a division" in Old English. The surname could also be taken from the French word reine, which means "queen". |
| Raynerson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Rayner". |
| Read (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "red" from the Middle English re(a)d, probably denoting a person with red hair or complexion. |
| Read (2) |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller in a clearing in woodland" from the Old English ried, ryd. Also denotes a person hailing from one of the many place names in England of similar names. |
| Readdie |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Ready (1). |
| Ready (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "prepared, prompt" from the Middle English readi. |
| Reed |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Reid (1) or Reid (2). |
| Reeve |
|
Usage: English
|
| Occupational name for a sheriff, from Middle English reeve. |
| Reid (1) |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "red faced/haired" (Old English read). |
| Reid (2) |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name meaning "roe headland" in Old English. |
| Reier |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Royer. |
| Rennell |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Reynolds. |
| Rennold |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Reynolds. |
| Rennoll |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Reynolds. |
| Revie |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Reeve. |
| Rey (1) |
|
Usage: English, Spanish, French, Catalan
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "king" from the Latin rex, regis. Denoting someone who acted like a king perhaps. |
| Rey (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "female roe deer" from the Old English rœge and probably denoted someone of a nervous temperament. |
| Reynell |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Reynolds. |
| Reynolds |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Reynold. |
| Rice |
|
Usage: English, Welsh, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Anglicized version of the first name Rhys. Variant of Rees. |
| Richard |
|
Usage: English, French, German, Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Richard. |
| Richards |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Richard. |
| Richardson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Richard". |
| Rickard |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Richard. |
| Rider |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Ryder. |
| Ridley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denotes a person who hailed from one of the various places in England with that name. |
| Rier |
|
Usage: English, German
|
| Variant of Royer. |
| Rigby |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from a place name meaning "ridge farm" in Old Norse. |
| Riley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from a place name meaning "rye clearing" in Old English. |
| Rimmer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "poet" from the Middle English rime(n). |
| Roach |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the rocks" from the Middle English and Old French roche. Some instances of this surname could denote a person coming from Les Roches (Seine-Maritime), France. |
| Robbins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Robin. |
| Robert |
|
Usage: French, English, Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Robert. |
| Roberts |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Robert. |
| Robertson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Robert". |
| Robinson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Robin". |
| Roderick |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Roderick. |
| Rogers |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Roger. |
| Rogerson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Roger". |
| Rollins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of little Roland". |
| Rome (1) |
|
Usage: French, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the personal name Romanus. See Roman. |
| Rome (2) |
|
Usage: French, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Rome, Italy". Described either a person from there or someone who had been there. |
| Romilly |
|
Usage: English, French
|
| Denotes a person who came from any of the various places in Northern France called Romilly, Remilly or means "from Romiley (Manchester), England". |
| Roscoe |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name meaning "doe wood" in Old Norse. |
| Rose (1) |
|
Usage: English, French, German, Scottish, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "rose" from the Middle English, Old French and Middle High German rose. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in a rosy area. Also found derived from the Yiddish royz which always referred to the flower. |
| Rose (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Rose. |
| Ross |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "promontory" in Gaelic, originally belonging to someone who lived on a headland. |
| Rounds |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of the fat person" from the Middle English and Old French rond, rund. |
| Rowbottom |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller in the overgrown valley" from the Old English ruh "rough, overgrown" and boðm "valley". |
| Rowe |
|
Usage: English, Scottish, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by a row of hedges or houses" from the Middle English row. Some examples of the name are derived from the medieval name Row which is either a variant of Rollo or Roland. |
| Rowland |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Roland. |
| Rowntree |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash. |
| Roy (1) |
|
Usage: French, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Ray (1). |
| Royce |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from the Germanic first name Rohesia, which meant "fame kind". |
| Royceston |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Royston. |
| Roydon |
|
Usage: English
|
| Originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill" from Old English ryge "rye" and dun "hill". |
| Royle |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill" from Old English ryge "rye" and hyll "hill". |
| Royston |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally taken from an Old English place name meaning "town of Royce". |
| Ruggles |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of little Roger". |
| Rupertson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Rupert". |
| Rush |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Refers to a rush, the grasslike plant that grows in a marsh. |
| Ruskin (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "little Rose" from the medieval given name Rose. |
| Russell |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname which meant "little red one" in French, perhaps originally describing a person with red hair. |
| Ryder |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname for a mounted forest officer, from the Old English ridere meaning "rider". |
| Rye (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller on an island, dry land in marsh" from the Middle English atter ye. |
| Rye (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by a stream" from the Middle English atter eye. |
| Rye (3) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller where rye was grown" from the Old English ryge. |
| Ryeley |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Riley. |
| Ryely |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Riley. |
| Ryer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Royer. |
| Ryers |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Ryer. |
| Ryley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Riley. |
| Sackville |
|
Usage: English
|
| From the latin de sicca villa meaning "from the dry town". |
| Sadler |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "saddle-maker" from the Old English sadol. |
| Salomon |
|
Usage: English, French, Venetian, German, Danish, Norwegian, Polish, Jewish, Hungarian
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Salomon. |
| Salvage |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Savage. |
| Sampson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Samson. |
| Samson |
|
Usage: English, French, German, Jewish, Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the name Samson. |
| Samuel |
|
Usage: English, French, German, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Samuel. |
| Samuels |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Samuel. |
| Samuelson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Samuel". |
| Sanders |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A Patronymic of the given name Sander, a medieval form of Alexander. |
| Sanderson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Alexander". |
| Sandford |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Sandford, England". |
| Sands |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the English word, meaning the person lived near or on a beach. |
| Sangster |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname meaning "song-maker or singer" from Old English. |
| Sappington |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the city of Sapperton, England, from Old English sapere meaning "soap maker" and ton meaning "town, farm, or settlement". |
| Sargent |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Sergeant. |
| Saunders |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Sanders. |
| Sauvage |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Savage. |
| Savage |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English nickname for a "wild or uncouth person", derived from a Middle English version of Old French salvage or sauvage, which means "untamed". |
| Savege |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Savage. |
| Savidge |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Savage. |
| Sawyer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname meaning "sawer of wood" in Old English. It was used by Mark Twain for a character in his novel 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'. |
| Saylor |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a leaper, acrobat, or dancer, from Old French sailleor. |
| School |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from either the Old Norse personal name Skúli, the Old Danish Skuli or the Old Swedish Skule which probably all mean "to protect". |
| Scott |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Scottish Gaelic. |
| Scriven |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| It came to England with the Normans, and means "writer, clerk" in Old French. |
| Scrivener |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Scriven. |
| Scrivenor |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Scriven. |
| Scrivens |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Scriven. |
| Seabrooke |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Seabrook (Bucks), England". |
| Seaver |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the given name Severus (see Severo). |
| Sempers |
|
Usage: English
|
| From Saint Pierre, the name of a city in France. |
| Senior |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally a name for the elder of two brothers. |
| Sergeant |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name derived from Middle English sergent "servant". |
| Sessions |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Anglicized form of Soissons (a city outside of Paris). |
| Seward (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Sigeweard, which means "protector of victory" from the Middle English sige "victory" and weard "protector". |
| Seward (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "swineherd" from the Old English su "pig" and hierde "herdsman". |
| Sexton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A sexton (Middle English sexteyn) is a person who is a caretaker for a church or graveyard. |
| Seymour (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Saint Maur, a French place name. For the meaning of the given name Maur, see Maurus. |
| Seymour (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name, derived from Old English sœ "sea" + mere "lake". |
| Shakesheave |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "shake shaft" from the Old English shake "shake" and sceaft "shaft". |
| Sharman |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Sherman (1). |
| Sharrow |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Sharrow, England". |
| Shelby |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a village which meant "willow farm" in Old English. |
| Shepard |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the English shepherd, meaning "sheep-herder". |
| Sherburne |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denotes a person hailing from any of the various places called Sherborne or Sherburn in England. |
| Sherman (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Literally "shear man", refering to someone who used shears in his line of work, such as a sheep-shearer. |
| Shine (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "beautiful, attractive" from the Old English sciene. |
| Simmons |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Simpson. |
| Simms |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the medieval given name Sim, a short form of Simon. |
| Simon |
|
Usage: Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Hebrew first name Simon. |
| Simons |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Simon. |
| Simonson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Simon". |
| Simpkin |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a diminutive of the given name Simon. It was first found in the county of Suffolk where the family was established. |
| Simpson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Sim", Sim being a medieval short form of Simon. |
| Sims |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Simms. |
| Skinner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "skinner" from the Old Norse skinn. |
| Slater |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname indicating that an early member worked as a person who covered roofs with slate. |
| Smalls |
|
Usage: English
|
| From Old English smael, "small" or "thin". |
| Smedley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an unidentified place name probably meaning "smooth clearing" in Old English. |
| Smith |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "metal worker", derived from Old English smið. |
| Smythe |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Smith. |
| Snelling |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Snell. |
| Snider |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Snyder. |
| Sniders |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
|
| Variant of Snyder. |
| Snyder |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "tailor" in Dutch, an occupational name for a person who stitched coats and clothing. |
| Snyders |
|
Usage: Dutch, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Snyder. |
| Southers |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from the south". |
| Southgate |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the south gate". |
| Sowards |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Seward (1). |
| Spalding |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
|
| From the place name Spalding in Lincolnshire. |
| Sparks |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old Norse nickname sparkr meaning "vivacious". |
| Spear |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Middle English spere "spear", possibly an occupational name for a hunter or a maker of spears. |
| Spearing |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Patronymic of Spear. |
| Spears |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Patronymic of Spear. |
| Speight |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| English form of Specht. |
| Spence |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Spencer. |
| Spencer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname for the person at the manor who dispensed the Lord's provisions to those who lived on his land and worked at his estate. |
| Spooner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "maker of spoons" from the Middle English spoon or "maker of shingles" from the Old English spon. |
| Spurling |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "little sparrow" from the Middle English sparewe plus the diminutive suffix -(l)ing. |
| Stack |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "big" from the Middle English stack meaning "haystack". |
| Stacks |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Stack. |
| Stafford |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the English place name Staffordshire, which was adopted by the man who lived near a river or creek at a crossing point, which was called a ford. The particular crossing point was a "stony ford", or "ford by a landing place". |
| Stainthorpe |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "from Staindrop (Durham), England" which means "valley with stony ground" from the Old English stæner meaning "stony ground" and hop meaning "valley". |
| Stamp |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Etampes (Seine-et-Oise), France". |
| Stanton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means from one of the many places named Stanton, Staunton in Britain. The place name means "farmstead on stony ground". |
| Stark |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "strong, brave" in Old German and Old English. |
| Starr |
|
Usage: English
|
| From Middle English sterre, "star". This was ususally a nickname, but it was also a rare given name. It could also occasionally be a "sign name" from the name of an inn called The Star. |
| Statham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of a village in the county of Lancashire (NW England), near Manchester, Liverpool, and Warrington. The name literally translates as something like "town of the staves (poles or staffs) near the river". |
| Steed |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| This surname derives from Middle English steed, which in turn derives from Old English steda, meaning "stallion". It was an occupational name for one who tended horses. |
| Steele |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a steelworker. |
| Steffen |
|
Usage: German, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Stephen. |
| Stenet |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "little Stephen" from the pet form of Stephen, Sten plus the diminutive suffix -et. |
| Stephens |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Stephen. |
| Stephenson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Stephen". |
| Stern |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Old English styrne, Middle English sterne. This was used as a nickname for someone who was stern, harsh, or severe in manner or character. |
| Stevens |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Stephens. |
| Stevenson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Stephenson. |
| Stidolph |
|
Usage: English
|
| From an Old English name meaning "strong wolf". |
| St John |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the place name St John. |
| Stoddard |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a horse keeper: Old English stod "stud" + hierde "herder". |
| Strange |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Middle English strange "foreign" (ultimately derived from Latin extraneus). |
| Street |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Habitational name for anyone who lived in a place called Street, for example in Hertfordshire, Kent and Somerset. It is derived from Old English stræt "Roman road". |
| Strickland |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a place called Strickland in Westmoreland, England. The place name is of Old English origin, from stirc "young bullock" and land "cultivated land". |
| Stringer |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a maker of string or bow strings, from Middle English streng "string". |
| Stroud |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Locational name meaning "thicket, marsh, or marshy ground overgrown with brushwood". |
| Strudwick |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Strudwick, England". |
| Studwick |
|
Usage: Scottish, English
|
| Variant of Strudwick. |
| Styles |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Locational name for one who lived near a steep hill, from Old English stigol "climb". |
| Sudworth |
|
Usage: English
|
| From an English place name composed of sud "south" and worth "farm". |
| Suggitt |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Southgate. |
| Summerfield |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The surname means literally "dwellers in the summer fields", and is derived from the city of Summerfield, located in the county of Norfolk in England. |
| Summers (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname meaning "summoner", which is the petty official who calls people to appear in court. |
| Summers (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Middle English sumer "summer". This was a nickname given to someone associated with the summer season. |
| Sumner |
|
Usage: English
|
| Occupational name for a summoner, an official who was responsible for ensuring the appearance of witnesses in court, Middle English sumner, sumnor. |
| Sutton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "south town". Brought to England by the Normans. Several towns in England now bear this name. |
| Sweet |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "sweet, pleasant". |
| Swindlehurst |
|
Usage: English
|
| From a place name in the Forest of Bowland in central Lancashire. In 1190 Sir Robert Fitzhenry, Lord of Lathom, gave the lease of part of his land in Aules-Large called Swynleyhurst (meaning "pig grazing wood") to a family who adopted the place as their family name. |
| Symons |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Simon. |
| Tailor |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Taylor. |
| Tanner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally derived from the occupation of the same name - a person who tanned animal hides. |
| Tash |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Middle English at asche "at the ash tree". |
| Tasker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Middle English taske meaning "task or assignment". A tasker was a person who had a fixed job to do, particularly a person who treshed corn with a flail. |
| Tate |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old English given name Tata, of unknown meaning. |
| Taylor |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old French tailleur, meaning "tailor". |
| Teel |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "teal, duck" from the Middle English tele. |
| Tennison |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Denis". |
| Tennyson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Tennison. |
| Thacker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "roofer, thatcher" in northern Middle English. A variant of Thatcher. |
| Thatcher |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Refers to a person who tatches roofs by attaching straw to them. |
| Thomas |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name Thomas. |
| Thompsett |
|
Usage: English
|
| A diminutive form of Thomas. |
| Thompson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Thomas". |
| Thomson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Thompson. |
| Thorn |
|
Usage: English, Danish
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally applied to a person who lived in or near a thorn bush. |
| Thorne |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Thorn. |
| Thorpe |
|
Usage: English
|
| From old Norse þorp "village". |
| Thrussell |
|
Usage: English
|
| From Old English þrostle meaning "having the characteristics of a song thrush". The earliest form of this name was Throsle, in 1282 in Cheshire. |
| Thwaite |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "dweller in a forest clearing, fenced off enclosure or low meadows" from the Old Norse Þveit. |
| Tifft (1) |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Toft. |
| Timberlake |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning (obviously) "timber lake". |
| Timothyson |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "son of Timothy". |
| Tinker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a "mender of kettles, pots, pans, etc". The name could derive from the tinking sound made by light hammering on metal. It is possible that the word comes from the word tin, the material with which the tinker worked. |
| Tipton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Given to one who came from town of Tipton (which means "town of Tibba"). |
| Tittensor |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
|
| Means "from Tittensor, England", Tittensor, as a place name, means "Titten's ridge". |
| Tobias |
|
Usage: English, French, German, Jewish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the personal name Tobias. |
| Toft |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denotes a person hailing from one of the many places in Britain of that name. |
| Tolbert |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a continental Germanic personal name of unknown meaning, the second element of the name is derived from berht meaning "bright, famous". |
| Tollemache |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "knapsack" in Old French. |
| Toller |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational name meaning "tax gatherer" from the Middle English tolll. |
| Towner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant form of Toller. |
| Townsend |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller at the town's end". |
| Tracey (1) |
|
Usage: French, English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the village of Tracy-sur-mer on the Normandy coast in France. Brought to England with William the Conqueror. After a family split, those who stayed in England tend to spell it Tracey and those in Ireland spell it Tracy. |
| Tracy |
|
Usage: Irish, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Tracey (1) or Tracey (2). |
| Traiylor |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Taylor. |
| Trask |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Thirsk, England". |
| Traver |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Travers. |
| Travers |
|
Usage: English, French
Extra: Statistics |
| From the English and French place name that described the man who lived near a bridge or ford, or occasionally as an occupational name for the collector of tolls at such a location. The place name is derived from Old French traverser (which comes from Late Latin transversare), which means "to cross". |
| Traves |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Travers. |
| Travis |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Travers. |
| Traviss |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Travers. |
| Traylor |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Taylor. |
| Treloar |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Treloar (Cornwall), England". |
| Trengove |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "from Trengove (Farm), Cornwall". |
| Trent |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted the inhabitants near the Trent river in England. |
| Trevis |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Travers. |
| Triggs |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "loyal" (Old Norse triggr). |
| Tucker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old English tucian meaning "one who fulls cloth". |
| Tuff |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Tuft. |
| Tuft |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "(dweller by) a clump of trees or bushes" from the Middle English tufte, tuffe. |
| Tupper |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "rammer (one who beat and rammed with rammers)" from the word tups. It may also be a late form of tup-herd meaning "ram herder". |
| Turnbull |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| A strong man of the name Ruel, having turned a wild bull by the head which was charging King Robert Bruce in Stirling Park, received from the king the lands of Bedrule and the name of Turnbull. |
| Turner |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English occupational name, meaning "one who works with a lathe". |
| Tyler |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The meaning is "tiler of roofs", which makes it an occupational surname. A famous bearer of this name is John Tyler the 10th President of the United States. |
| Tyson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Dye". Dye was a medieval pet form of the name Denis. |
| Underhill |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller at the foot of a hill" or from a locational name from Underhill in Devon, which was named after the Old English under "under" + hyll "hill", or from Underhill in Kent, named after the Old English under + helde "slope". |
| Underwood |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| From a Scottish and English place name for a man who lived at the edge of the woods. It is formed from the Middle English under and wood. Both terms have survived to modern day with the same meanings. |
| Upton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from a place name meaning "upper town" in Old English. |
| Vance |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by a fen, marsh" from the Old English fenn. |
| Vann (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by a fen, marsh" from the Old English fenn. |
| Varley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Verly, France". |
| Varnham |
|
Usage: English
|
| Variant of Farnham. |
| Vaughan |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| The surname is a mutated form of Welsh fychan, which means "younger". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son. In English, the word fychan became vychan. |
| Vaughn |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Vaughan. |
| Verity |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname meaning "truth", perhaps given originally to a truthful person. |
| Victor |
|
Usage: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the male given name Victor. |
| Victors |
|
Usage: Dutch, English, French
|
| Derived from the male given name Victor. |
| Victorson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
|
| Means "son of Victor". |
| Vipond |
|
Usage: French, English
Extra: Statistics |
| Anglicization of the French Vieuxpont "old bridge". It is a place in Calvados (Normandy). |
| Wakefield |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The English surname of Wakefield is of local origin, being one of those surnames derived from the place where the original bearer once lived or held land. In this instance, the name simply denotes one who is a "dweller at the town of Wakefield", a toponym or place name which means literally "field for the yearly wake or festival". |
| Walker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname for a person who walked on damp raw cloth in order to thicken it. Derived from Middle English walkere. |
| Wallace |
|
Usage: English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "foreigner or stranger" from the Norman French le waleis. It was often used to denote native Welsh and Bretons. Borne by Sir William Wallace of Scotland. |
| Waller (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old French gallier meaning "man with a pleasant temper". |
| Waller (2) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Middle English walle denoting a builder of walls. Sometimes the name may be derived from the Middle English welle meaning "(dweller by a) stream". |
| Wallis |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Anglo-Norman waleis, meaning "Welsh", derived from the Old English wealh, meaning "foreign". This means that Wallis is an ethnic name for a Welsh speaker. |
| Walmsley |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name meaning "a clearing in a wood, near a lake". |
| Walsh |
|
Usage: English, Irish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "Celtic", from Middle English walsche "foreigner" (related to Welsh). |
| Walter |
|
Usage: English, German
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the first name Walter. |
| Walterson |
|
Usage: English, Norwegian, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Walter". |
| Walton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| The name of several villages in England, from the Old English wald "wood" and ton "town". |
| Ward |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old English occupation weard, "guard or watchman". |
| Wardrobe |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "warder of the robes", from the Old French warder, garder "to watch" and robe. |
| Ware |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Most examples of this surname are probably derived from the Old English wær meaning "(dweller by the) dam, weir". Some instances of this surname may stem from the Middle English nickname war(e) meaning "wary, astute, prudent". |
| Warren |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A name for a person who lived near a warrene, Norman French for "enclosure" (of Germanic origin). |
| Wash |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old French name Gace, Old German Waz(z)o and Frisian Watso which all are pet forms of Old German names beginning with Wad- or Warin-. |
| Waterman (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "servant of Walter". |
| Waterman (2) |
|
Usage: English, Dutch
Extra: Statistics |
| An occupational surname for a boatman or a water carrier. Could also describe a person who lived by water. |
| Waters (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to a person who lived near the water. |
| Watkins |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Middle English given name Wat or Watt, which was a pet form of the name Walter. |
| Watson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| A patronymic form of the English and Scottish name Watt, which came from the extremely popular Middle English given name Wat or Watt, which was a pet form of the name Walter. The surname Watson thus means "son of Watt". |
| Way |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to a person who lived near a road (a way). |
| Weaver |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
|
Occupational name meaning simply "weaver" from the Old English wefan, Middle English weven. Some examples of this surname may mean "from the river Weaver (now Weaver Hall), Cheshire", from the Old English wefer meaning "winding stream". |
| Webster |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name of a weaver, from Old English webba. |
| Weekes |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller in an outlying settlement (dependent on a larger village)" from the Old English wic. |
| Wembley |
|
Usage: English
|
| A habitational name perhaps derived from Wembley in Greater London, named from the Old English personal name Wemba and leah, meaning "woodland clearing". |
| Wescott |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name which meant "west cottages" in Old English. |
| Westbrook |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place in southern England (Hampshire, Devon) meaning "from west of the brook". |
| Wheeler |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational name for a maker of wagon wheels. |
| Wheelock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Wheelock (Cheshire), England". Derived from the Welsh words chevel-og, meaning "winding river". |
| Whinery |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Whinneray (Cumbria), England". |
| Whitaker |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an Old English place name composed of hwit "white" and aecer "acre". |
| White |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| This originated as a nickname for a person who had white hair or a pale complexion. |
| Whitney |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally from a place name meaning "white island" in Old English. |
| Whittemore |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name: Old English hwit "white" + mor "moor, bog". |
| Whittle |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "white hill". |
| Wickham |
|
Usage: English
|
| Habitational name from any of various places so called, for example in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Hampshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire. It has been established that wicham was an Old English term for a settlement (Old English ham) associated with a Romano-British town, wic in this case being an adaptation of Latin vicus. Childswickham in Gloucestershire bears a British name with a different etymology. The surname is now also common in Ireland, where it was taken in the 17th century. |
| Wilcox |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a diminutive of the given name William. |
| Wilkerson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Wilkin". Wilkin is a diminutive form of William. |
| Wilkins |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Wilkinson. |
| Wilkinson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Wilkin", Wilkin being a diminutive of Will or William. |
| William |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name William. |
| Williams |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name William. |
| Williamson |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of William". |
| Willis |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the given name William. A famous bearer of this surname is actor Bruce Willis. |
| Willoughby |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English wilig meaning "willow" plus Old Norse byr meaning "farm" or "village". Full meaning: "willow farm" or "farm in the willows". |
| Wilson |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "son of Will", Will being a short form of William. |
| Winchester |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From an English place name, derived from the given name Venta, of unknown meaning, combined with Latin castra "encampment". |
| Winfield |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a place name derived from Old English wynn "meadow" and feld "field". |
| Winship |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from Wincheap Street (Canterbury), England". |
| Winston |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old English name Wynstan meaning "joy stone". |
| Winter |
|
Usage: English, German, Swedish
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Old English winter or the Old High German wintar (Middle High German winter) meaning "winter". This was the name of farmers who had to deliver their taxes in winter time and of farmers who had their fields in the north of the village. |
| Winterbottom |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Bottom means "vale" or "lowland", so Winterbottom probably refers to a winter pasture in a lowland valley. |
| Winthrop |
|
Usage: English
|
| Habitational name from places in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire called Winthorpe. The former is named with the Old English personal name or byname Wine, meaning "friend", plus Old Norse þorp "settlement". In the latter the first element is a contracted form of the Old English personal name Wigmund, composed of the elements wig "war" and mund "protection", or the Old Norse equivalent, Vígmundr. |
| Witherspoon |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally given to a person who dwelt at or near a sheep enclosure, Middle English wether "sheep" and spong "strip of land". |
| Wolf |
|
Usage: German, English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Middle High German wolf meaning "wolf". |
| Wolfe |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "wolf" either from the many Germanic names beginning with the element wolf or as a nickname. |
| Womack |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Wood |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Originally denoted one who lived in or worked in a wood or forest, derived from Middle English wode. |
| Woodcock |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| A nickname referring to the woodcock bird. |
| Woodham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from the home near the wood". Derived from Old English wudu "wood" and ham "home". |
| Woodhams |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Woodham. |
| Woods |
|
Usage: English, Scottish
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Wood. |
| Woodward |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Occupational surname meaning "ward of the wood" or "guardian of the wood". |
| Wootton |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from Old English wadu-tun meaning "farm in or near a wood". First appearance in book 'Old English Bynames' held by Wagen de Wootton in 1079 AD. |
| Wortham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Wortham is derived from a place name in Suffolk, England meaning "enclosed homestead". |
| Wragge |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old Danish given name Wraghi. |
| Wray |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Denoted someone who hailed from any of the various places of that name in Northern England from the Old Norse vrá meaning "corner, recess". |
| Wright |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From Old English wryhta meaning "worker", an occupational name for someone who was a manufacturer. |
| Wyatt |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Old English name Wigheard composed of elements meaning "war" and "brave". |
| Wyght |
|
Usage: English
|
| Means "agile, strong" from the Middle English wiht, wight. Sometimes it can refer to people hailing from the Isle of Wight (England). |
| Wyman (1) |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the Old English name Wigmund composed of elements meaning "war" and "protection". |
| Wyndham |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "from the house on the lane", based on the Scottish word wynd, a "lane", and the Anglo-Saxon ham, a "home". There's a place called Wymondham in Norfolk, England, from which the surname could also be derived. |
| Yap |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From a nickname for a clever or cunning person, from Middle English yap, meaning "devious, deceitful, bent, shrewd". |
| Yates |
|
Usage: English, Welsh
Extra: Statistics |
| Means "dweller by the gate", "gate keeper" from the Old English word geat meaning "gate". Or denotes a person hailing from Yate (Gloucestershire), England. |
| Yong |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Young. |
| York |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| From the name of the English city, which probably was derived from a British word meaning "yew tree". |
| Young |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Derived from the Old English word geong, which means "young". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son. |
| Younge |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
| Variant of Young. |
| Yoxall |
|
Usage: English
Extra: Statistics |
|
Means "from Yoxhall (Staffordshire), England". Yoxhall itself is derived from the Old English word geoc meaning "yolk (of oxen)" and halh meaning "nook, recess". |
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