BeppuJapanese From Japanese 別府 (Beppu), the name of several Japanese towns and divisions. In some cases these places names are normally read Byū or Befu. In other cases Beppu is a clipping of longer names such as 別府門 (Beppumon), 西別府 (Nishibeppu) or 上別府 (Kamibeppu).
BeresHungarian Occupational name for a farm laborer or casual harvest hand, béres, a derivative of bér 'wage', 'payment'.
BesteFrench, English Nickname from Middle English beste Old French beste "beast animal" (especially those used for food or work) applied either as a metonymic occupational name for someone who looked after beasts such as a herdsman or as a nickname for someone thought to resemble an animal... [more]
BezosSpanish From bezo meaning "thick lips" in Spanish, referring to a person with blubber or thick lips.
BhaerGerman Likely a variant of German Baer, meaning "bear". A notable bearer is character Friedrich Bhaer, Jo's husband in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
BiggsEnglish Derived from the ancient word, "bigga", meaning large.
BigotFrench Either from Old French bigot possibly meaning "beggar" or from the Norman interjection bî got ("by God"), used as a pejorative nickname for the Normans... [more]
BildtSwedish (Rare) Bildt is a Danish-Swedish-Norwegian noble family originating from Jutland in Denmark and now domiciled in Bohus county in southwest Sweden. The Norwegian branch of the family died out in the beginning of the 18th century... [more]
BilekCzech Nickname for a fair-haired person, from bílek "whiteness", a derivative of bílý "white".
BilenTurkish Means "knowing, cognizant" in Turkish.
BirchEnglish, German, Danish, Swedish (Rare) From Middle High German birche, Old English birce, Old Danish birk, all meaning "birch". This was likely a topographic name for someone living by a birch tree or a birch forest... [more]
BirneEnglish, German, Jewish Means "pear" in German, making it the German equivalent of Perry 1, perhaps originally referring to a person who harvested or sold pears... [more]
BjörnSwedish Means "bear" in Swedish. Either taken directly from the given name (see Björn) or from a nickname for a big, hairy person. It may also be derived from a place named with the element björn.
BlachPolish Alternatively perhaps a metonymic occupational name from Old Polish blach ‘skeet iron’, ‘metal fittings’.
BladeEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a cutler, from Middle English blade "cutting edge, sword".
BlagaRomanian Probably related to several places named Blaga in Romania.
BlandEnglish Bland is a habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire called Bland, the origin of which is uncertain. Possibly it is from Old English (ge)bland ‘storm’, ‘commotion’ (from blandan ‘to blend or mingle’), with reference to its exposed situation... [more]
BlankDutch Dutch and German nickname for a man with white or fair hair or a pale complexion, from Middle Low, Middle High German blanc "bright", "shining", "white", "beautiful", Middle Dutch blank "fair", "white".... [more]
BlattGerman, Jewish Ornamental name derived from German blatt and Yiddish blat meaning "leaf", or a topographic name for someone who lived at a farm on a ledge on a mountainside, derived from Middle High German blate meaning "flat surface, ledge, plateau".
BlaumGerman German last name, likely a variant of the last name Blom or Blum, referring to the word flower/blooming.
BlissMedieval English, Medieval English (Anglicized) Originally a nickname for a cheerful person, derived from the Old English blisse, meaning "gladness" or "joy." Another origin of the surname is habitional, coming from from the village of Blay in Calvados (modern-day Normandy), spelled as Bleis in 1077, or from the village of Stoke Bliss in Worcestershire, first known as Stoke de Blez, named after the Norman family de Blez.... [more]
BlitzGerman This surname is presumed to be coming from a nickname for a fast runner or a quick tempered person, from German blitz(er) meaning "lightning" (ultimately from Middle High German blicze.)
BlixtSwedish From Swedish blixt "lightning, flash".
BlochJewish, German, French Regional name for someone in Central Europe originating from Italy or France, from Polish "Włoch" meaning "Italian" (originally "stranger / of foreign stock"), ultimately derived – like many names and words in various European languages – from the Germanic Walhaz.
BloggEnglish The name is most likely Anglo-Saxon or early medieval English in origin. ... [more]
BlondFrench Nickname from old French blundblond "fair-haired" a word of ancient Germanic origin.
BloodEnglish Evidently from Old English blod ‘blood’, but with what significance is not clear. In Middle English the word was in use as a metonymic occupational term for a physician, i.e. one who lets blood, and also as an affectionate term of address for a blood relative.
BloodWelsh Anglicized form of Welsh ap Llwyd ‘son of Llwyd’.
BloodEnglish Derived from the Old English byname Blīþa (meaning "happy, blithe").
BloomEnglish Metonymic occupational name for an iron worker, from Middle English blome ‘ingot (of iron)’.
BluhmGerman German alternate spelling of the Italian surname, Blum meaning flower.
BlumeGerman, English Could be from the Jewish surname Blum of from Swedish Blom. It could also be from the English word bloom.
BluntEnglish Nickname for a person with fair hair or a light complexion from Old French blunt meaning "blond". It was also used as a nickname for a stupid person from Middle English blunt or blont meaning "dull".
BluthGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from Middle High German bluot, German Blüte ‘bloom’, ‘flower head’. ... [more]
BodénSwedish Probably a combination of Swedish bod meaning either "small shop, boutique" or "shed, shack", and the common surname suffix -én.
BodenGerman, Low German Patronymic from the personal name Bode or a topographic name for someone living in a valley bottom or the low-lying area of a field. From Middle High German boden "ground, bottom".
BodinGerman (Rare) Likely derived from various Germanic personal names containing the name element Bod meaning "messenger". Another theory is that the name could be derived from any of the several places named Boddin in Germany.
BodinSwedish Swedish bo "dwelling, home" or bod "small shop, boutique, shed, shack" combined with the common surname suffix -in.
BogleScottish, Northern Irish From a medieval Scottish and Northern Irish nickname for someone of scary appearance (from Middle Scots bogill "hobgoblin").
BohneGerman Habitational name for someone form the town of Bone in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
BoholFilipino, Tagalog, Cebuano Habitational for someone from the province of Bohol in the Philippines. It is derived from bo-ol, a kind of tree that flourished on the island
BojićSerbian Derived from boj (бој), meaning "battle".
BolanPopular Culture Surname of glam rock founder Marc Bolan. How he decided his surname is unknown, though it is known that it was derived from Bowland... [more]
BolarSpanish Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of soil of a particular type known as tierra bolar.
BolasMedieval English English: habitational name from Great Bolas in Shropshire, named in Old English with an unidentified first element (possibly an unattested word bogel meaning ‘bend in a river’) + wæsse ‘land beside a river liable to flood’.
BomanSwedish Combination of Swedish bo (noun) "nest, farm, dwelling" and man "man".
BombaPortuguese, Spanish, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak From bomba "bomb", (Latin bombus), hence probably a nickname for someone with an explosive temperament, or a metonymic occupational name for an artilleryman.
BonalFrench This is a surname formed from the Latin root "bonus" (= good) and the Germanic "wald" (waldan = govern). Bonwald meaning good governor.
BonarScottish, Northern Irish From a medieval nickname for a courteous or good-looking person (from Middle English boner "gentle, courteous, handsome"). A notable bearer of the surname was Canadian-born British Conservative politician Andrew Bonar Law (1858-1923), prime minister 1922-23.
BonarIrish A "translation" of Irish Gaelic Ó Cnáimhsighe "descendant of Cnáimhseach", a nickname meaning literally "midwife" and ostensibly a derivative of Gaelic cnámh "bone".
BonbaBasque, Spanish From Basque bonba meaning "bomb", (Latin bombus), hence probably a nickname for someone with an explosive temperament, or a metonymic occupational name for an artilleryman.
BondeSwedish, Old Swedish, Danish From Old Norse bóndi "farmer". Used as both a last name and a (rare) given name in Sweden (see Bonde for the given name and Bondesson as an example of a patronymic derived from this name)... [more]
BookeAmerican American variant of the German name Buche meaning "beech" in reference to the beech tree. Notable bearer is the actor Sorrell Booke (1930-1994).
BorákCzech Habitational name for someone from one of many places named with bor meaning "pine forest"; alternatively from a short form of the personal names Dalibor or Bořivoj, containing the element -bor meaning "battle".
BorénSwedish Combination of an unknown first element and the common surname suffix -én (originally from Latin -enius "descendant of"). Also possible habitational name derived from places named with Bor-, such as Borås, Borensberg, and Borlänge... [more]
BorenGerman Of unclear origin, most likely a variant of the German surname Born.
BorgoItalian Borgo is an Italian surname, which means 'village' or 'borough'.
BoschAmerican The surname Bosch originates from the Old Norse word "buski," meaning "bush," or "woods” thus it is classed at a toponymic surname and was most likely used by a man who lived near a prominent bush... [more]
BossoItalian Derived from Italian bosso "box tree", probably applied as a topographic name but possibly also as a metonymic occupational name for a wood carver or turner.
BraffAmerican Jewish (from Poland): probably an ornamental name from German brav 'good', 'upright'. Swedish: an old spelling of Brav, possibly a soldier's name.
BragaPortuguese The first man to own this name was a feudal lord on Portugal, near to the region of Coimbra. Could also come from the other surname "Bragança".
BraggEnglish, Welsh From a nickname for a cheerful or lively person, derived from Middle English bragge meaning "lively, cheerful, active", also "brave, proud, arrogant".
BraheDanish (Rare), Swedish (Rare) Danish and Swedish noble family with roots in Scania and Halland, southern Sweden (both provinces belonged to Denmark when the family was founded). A notable bearer was Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601).
BreedEnglish Habitational name from any of various minor places, for example Brede in Sussex, named with Old English brǣdu "breadth, broad place" (a derivative of brād "broad").
BreitGerman From Middle High German breit meaning "broad". a nickname for a stout or fat person.