AllredEnglish From the Middle English personal name Alured, a form of Alfred, which was sometimes written Alvred, especially in Old French texts.
AndronikashviliGeorgian Means "son of Andronikos". This was the name of a Georgian family of nobility that claimed descent from Andronikos I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1183-1185.
ArdenEnglish From various English place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".... [more]
AuerbachGerman, Jewish Topographical name for someone who lived by a stream (Middle High German bach) that was near a swamp or marsh (auer).
BaffaItalian The origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be from Italian baffo "mustache", with the Latinate feminine suffix probably due to the influence of the word famiglia "family". Alternatively it may be Albanian in origin, of unexplained meaning.
BalijaIndian, Telugu It is a Telugu name, denoting either "traders/merchants" or "agriculturists".
BosinneyCornish Denotes the original bearer came from Bossiney, Cornwall. Bossiney comes from Cornish Bod and Cini, meaning "Cini's dwelling," with Cini being a Cornish name of unknown meaning.... [more]
CarbajalSpanish, Judeo-Spanish Probably a habitational name denoting someone originally from any of the multiple locations called Carbajal in León, Asturias, or Zamora in Spain. Alternatively, it may be of pre-Roman origin from the word carbalio meaning "oak", denoting someone who either lived near an oak tree or who was like an oak tree in some way.... [more]
CarringtonEnglish, Scottish English: habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Carrington, probably named with an unattested Old English personal name Cara + -ing- denoting association + tun ‘settlement’.... [more]
ChestnutEnglish From Old French castan "chestnut tree" (Latin castanea), a name for someone who lived near a particular chestnut tree, or possibly a nickname for someone with chestnut-coloured hair (see Chastain).
ChucklerIndian, Telugu Telugu occupational name for a leather worker, a job historically considered spiritually polluting and impure in India, where the surname belongs to Dalit, or "Untouchables" - members of the lowest caste.
ColfaxEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with dark or black hair, from Old English cola "charcoal" and feax "hair".
Cong Tang Ton NuVietnamese Often written with the middle two words uncapitalized when with a full name; example: Con tang ton Nu Hue Hue. The first name is Hue Hue, and the surname is Cong tang ton Nu. It is a female royal Vietnamese surname created by the Nguyen Dynasty.
DanzigGerman Denoted a person who was from the city of Gdańsk, Poland (called Danzig in German).
DiakosGreek Meaning Deacon. Notable bearer of this name is Athanasios Diakos (1786–1821), a Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence and a national hero.
DreyfussGerman, Jewish Means "three feet" in German. This surname originates from the German city of Trier. The Latin name for the city was "Treveris," whose pronunciation eventually developed into Dreyfuss. The spelling variants tend to correspond to the country the family was living in at the time the spelling was standardized: the use of one "s" tends to be more common among people of French origin, while the use of two tends to be found among those of German descent
DurhamEnglish Denotes a person from either the town of Durham, or elsewhere in County Durham, in England. Durham is derived from the Old English element dun, meaning "hill," and the Old Norse holmr, meaning "island."
FeatherstonhaughEnglish Indicates a person lived in or near Featherstonhaugh in Northumberland, England. From Old English feðere "feather", stān "stone", and healh "corner."
FedieLow German Originally spelled as 'Fidi' in Austria, later changed to Fedie when bearers of the name immigrated to the United States. The meaning of the name is "faith."
FiordeliseItalian (Rare) Derived from Italian fiordaliso "cornflower". In heraldry, however, fiordaliso is the Italian term for Fleur-de-lys, the symbol for the King of France (until the French Revolution). This surname either could have been ornamental, or could have referred to Italians loyal to the French Kingdom / Empire, even those among the king's guard.
GalanteItalian, French, Jewish Comes from the ancient French word "galant" meaning someone in love or who has fun. In the case of Mordecai Galante, a Spanish exile in 16th century Rome, his courteous manners won for him from the Roman nobles the surname "Galantuomo" (gentleman), from which Galante was eventually derived.... [more]
GentooIndian, Telugu, Portuguese It is a Telugu name, most likely meaning "Gentile". It was first used by the Portuguese.
HeronFrench, Caribbean Either derived from the given name Heron, or given to someone who resembled a heron bird.
HinckleyEnglish From the name of a place in Leicestershire meaning "Hynca's wood", from the Old English byname Hynca, derivative of hún "bear cub", and leah "woodland, clearing".
HusseyEnglish, Irish As an English surname, it comes from two distinct sources. It is either of Norman origin, derived from Houssaye, the name of an area in Seine-Maritime which ultimately derives from Old French hous "holly"; or it is from a Middle English nickname given to a woman who was the mistress of a household, from an alteration of husewif "housewife"... [more]
IsleyEnglish Of Old English origin, derived from a place named Hesli, meaning "a hazel wood or grove".
KilcommonIrish Indicated a person who was from Kilcommon, Erris, County Mayo in Ireland. The place name Kilcommon derives from the Gaeltacht phrase Cill Chomáin, meaning "church of St. Comán."
KneenManx Manx cognate of the Gaelic surname Mac Niadháin, itself derived from the Gaelic personal name Nia meaning "champion." It may also be a corruption of the surname McNiven (Anglicized form of Mac Cnáimhín).
MadigaIndian, Telugu Telugu occupational name for a leather worker, a job historically considered polluting and impure in India, where the surname belongs to Dalit, or "Untouchables" - members of the lowest caste.
MaitlandEnglish, Scottish Possibly from Mautalant, the name of a place in Pontorson, France meaning "inhospitable" or "bad temper" in Norman French (ultimately from Late Latin malum "bad" and talentum "inclination, disposition"), which was so named because of its unproductive soil; or perhaps it was originally a nickname for an ungracious individual, derived from the same source.
MccartyIrish Variant of MacCarthy. A famous bearer was the famous western outlaw William Henry McCarty, also known as Billy the Kid. His other aliases included William H. Bonney and Henry Antrim.
MeathIrish Denotes a person from County Meath, Ireland (see Mcnamee).
MontefioreItalian, Jewish Derived from Montefiore, which is the name of several places in Italy. For example, there is Castle Montefiore in the town of Recanati (province of Macerata), the municipality of Montefiore Conca (province of Rimini) and the municipality of Montefiore dell'Aso (province of Ascoli Piceno)... [more]
MontgomerieScottish, English Variation of Montgomery. A famous bearer was Margaret Montgomerie Boswell (1738 to 1789), wife of author James Boswell.
O'gradyIrish Anglicized form of Ó Gradaigh, meaning "descendant of Gradaigh." Gradaigh is a personal name derived from the Irish Gaelic word grada, "the illustrious one."
PalliIndian, Tamil It is a Tamil name, meaning "agricultural laborers".
ParaiyaIndian, Tamil It is a Tamil name, denoting laborers in agriculture and/or industry. This is a surname belonging to Dalit, or "Untouchables," in the Hindu caste system.
PeabodyEnglish Probably from a nickname for a showy dresser, from Middle English pe "peacock" (see Peacock) and body "body, person". Alternatively it may be from the name of a Celtic tribe meaning "mountain men" from Brythonic pea "large hill, mountain" combined with Boadie, the tribe's earlier name, which meant "great man" (or simply "man") among the Briton and Cambri peoples... [more]
PerlmutterJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Perlmutter ‘mother-of-pearl'.
PomeroyEnglish From an English surname meaning "dweller by the apple orchard".
PortokalosGreek From the Greek word πορτοκάλι (portokáli), which means "orange." The name could refer either to farmers who maintained an orange orchard / grove or someone who had an orange aspect to their appearance or demeanor.
ReddyIndian, Telugu Derived from Telugu రెడ్డి (reddi) meaning "village headman".
RenfrewScottish Anglicized form of the Gaelic Rinn Friù, meaning "cradle of the Royal Stewards." It is derived from either the historical county of Renfrewshire in the west central lowlands of Scotland, or the town of Renfrew within both the historical and present-day boundaries of the county.
RockefellerGerman Means "from Rockenfeld." Some famous bearers include founder of the Standard Oil Company and philanthropist John Davison Rockefeller (1839-1937), and 41st Vice President of the U.S.A. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979).
StraussGerman, Jewish From the German word strauß, meaning "ostrich." In its use as a Jewish surname, it comes from the symbol of the building or family that the bearer occupied or worked for in the Frankfurter Judengasse... [more]
TelagaIndian, Telugu It is a Telugu name, mostly denoting agricultural laborers.
ThornburgEnglish The name Thornburg comes from the Old English thorn broc, because the original bearers lived near a "stream by the thorns" in Buckinghamshire and North Yorkshire.
Tôn ThấtVietnamese Derived from Sino-Vietnamese 宗室 (tông thất) meaning "imperial clan". This name was used by the royal family of the Nguyễn dynasty.
TysoeEnglish Denoted the bearer was from the parish of Tysoe, Warwickshire, England. The name of the parish is derived from Old English Tīges hōh, meaning "spur of land belonging to the god Tiw." (Tiw was the Old English name for the Roman deity Mars, and also inspired the name of Tuesday.)
XavierEnglish, French Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries.