PolancoSpanish Habitational name from Polanco in Santander province.
PolandEnglish, German, French (Anglicized), Irish (Anglicized) English and German name is derived from the Middle High German Polan, which means "Poland". The surname originally signified a person with Polish connections.This French surname originated from an occupational name of a poultry breeder, or from a fearful person; it is derived from the Old French poule, which means "chicken".In other cases, particularly in Ireland, the English Poland is a variant of Polin,which is in turn an Anglicised form of the original Gaelic spelling of Mac Póilín, which translated from Irish means "son of little Paul"... [more]
PolatTurkish Means "steel" in Persian. Many Turkish Oghuz descendants are using this surname.
PõldEstonian Põld is an Estonian surname, meaning "field".
PõldmaaEstonian Põldmaa is an Estonian surname meaning "field land".
PõldmäeEstonian Põldmäe is an Estonian surname meaning "field hill/mountain".
PõldojaEstonian Põldoja is an Estonian surname meaning "field stream/creek".
PõldotsEstonian Põldots is an Estonian surname meaning "field end".
PõldpüüEstonian Põldpüü is an Estonian surname meaning "partidge".
PõldroosEstonian Põldroos is an Estonian surname meaning "field rose".
PõldsaarEstonian Põldsaar is an Estonian surname meaning "field island".
PõldseppEstonian Põldsepp is an Estonian surname meaning "field smith".
PõldurEstonian Põldur is an Estonian surname meaning "farmer".
PõldveeEstonian Põldvee is an Estonian surname meaning "field water".
PolgarHungarian Hungarian word for citizen. Taken on by Jewish Hungarians during World War Two to avoid Nazi attention for having 'Jewish' last names.
PolhemSwedish (Rare) Derived from Polhammar, itself of uncertain origin. A notable bearer was Swedish scientist and inventor Christopher Polhem (1661-1751).
PolidoriItalian Means "son of Polidoro". Famous bearers include John William Polidori (1795-1821), a physician to Lord Byron and author of 'The Vampyre' (1819), and his sister Frances Polidori (1800-1886), the mother of painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, poet Christina Rossetti, critic William Michael Rossetti, and author Maria Francesca Rossetti.
PoliteEnglish Derived from the English word polite. This name was most likely given to a person who was considered to be polite.
PolitisGreek Politis derives from the Greek word polis, which means 'city'. Therefore Politis means 'citizen'. According to some historians people with this surname have ancestors who came from Constantinople, which was commonly called Polis in the Byzantine era.
PolitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Habitational name derived from any one of several places called Police (known as Pölitz in German) in the Czech Republic. Hugh David Politzer (1949-) is an American theoretical physicist who, along with David Gross and Frank Wilczek, discovered asymptotic freedom.
PolnareffFrench Most known by famous French singer Michel Polnareff, and fictional Jojo's Bizarre Adventure character Jean-Pierre Polnareff (who is named after the singer).
PolomboItalian Derived from Palombo literally meaning "Ring Dove" or Palombella meaning "Wood Pigeon" in the dialects of Southern Italy.
PoloskinRussian Derived from полоска (poloska), a diminutive of полоса (polosa) meaning "stripe, strip, streak". This may have been a nickname for a tall and thin person.
PolychronakisGreek The suffix 'akis' indicates that this name comes from the island of Crete. The precise meaning is unknown, though it is theorised that, as 'poly' means "many" or "much" and 'chron' might be supposed to come from the same root as 'Chronos' meaning "time", the name means "much time" or "long time".
PombalPortuguese from the portuguese word: pombo meaning "dove", "pigeon". ... [more]
PomerantzGerman Occupational name for an importer or seller of bitter (Seville) oranges, Middle High German pomeranz (medieval Latin pomarancia, composed of the elements arancia, the name imported with the fruit.
PomerantzJewish From the Yiddish word פּאָמעראַנץ (pomerants) meaning "orange (fruit)".
PonceSpanish, English The Ponce name was carried into England after the migration from Normandy following the Norman Conquest of 1066.'Ponce' is derived from 'Ponsoby',a place in Cumberland, where the family settled. The Ponce motto is 'Pro rege, lege grege' meaning "For the King, law, and people"
PonceSpanish Derived from Latin Pontius. Could be originated from an Ancient Roman town named "Italica" near another town named "Santiponce" in Seville, Spain.
PoolEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived near a pool or pond, Middle English pole (Old English pōl), or a habitational name from any of the places named with this word, as for example Poole in Dorset, South Pool in Devon, and Poole Keynes in Gloucestershire.
PoolEstonian Pool is an Estonian surname meaning "at", "to", "towards", as well as "half". Derived from the location in which one lived.
PoolametsEstonian Poolamets is an Estonian surname meaning "half forest(ed)".
PooleyEnglish Habitational name from Pooley Bridge in Cumbria, so named from Old English pol ‘pool’ + Old Norse haugr ‘hill’, ‘mound’. topographic name from Middle English pole ‘pool’ + ey ‘low-lying land’ or hey ‘enclosure’
PoomEstonian Poom is an Estonian surname meaning "beam".
PoortmanDutch Occupational name for a gatekeeper or topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town, from Dutch poort meaning "gate" and man meaning "man".
PoortvlietDutch From the name of the village and former municipality called Poortvliet in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, derived from Middle Dutch port meaning "port, harbour, storage yard, city" and vliet meaning "brook, stream, river, creek, inlet"... [more]
PõõsasEstonian Põõsas is an Estonian surname meaning "bush" and "shrub".
PootEstonian Poot is an Estonian surname meaning "boat", derived from the German "boot" ("boat").
PopalzaiPashto Meaning unknown, possibly derived from Persian پوپل (pupal) meaning "betel nut". The Popalzai are a Pashtun sub-tribe of the Durrani in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.
PorcelliItalian From Italian porcello, meaning "piglet". Used to denote someone who worked as a swineherd, or perhaps a nickname for someone who resembled a piglet in some way.
PorkEstonian Pork is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "põrkama" meaning to "bound", "strike", and "bump". bounce, spring
PorkoFinnish Meaning uncertain, possibly derived from Finnish poro meaning "reindeer".
PoroshenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian порох (porokh) meaning "(gun)powder, dust", used as an occupational name for someone who made or sold gunpowder. A notable bearer is current Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (1965-).
PortanovaItalian, Portuguese, Galician Habitational name from a place or locality called Portanova "new gate" from the elements neos "new" and porta "door".
PorteFrench from Old French porte "gateway entrance" (from Latin porta) hence a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town (typically the man in charge of them).
PorteousScottish A topographic surname for someone who lived in the lodge at the entrance to a manor house, derived from Middle English port, meaning "gateway" or "entrance", and hous meaning "house". It can also be an occupational name with similar meaning, derived from Latin portarius meaning "porter"... [more]
PorteraItalian Occupational name for a female servant, from Spanish portera.
PortisEnglish (American) A famous bearer is the American basketball player Bobby Portis (1995-).
PortmanEnglish Status name meaning "townsman, burgher, citizen" in Middle English, derived from Old English port "port, harbour" (from Latin portus) and mann "person, man".
PortmannGerman Occupational name for a gatekeeper, derived from Middle Low German port(e) meaning "gate" and man, or a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town.
PortnoyJewish, Belarusian, Ukrainian Occupational name for a tailor from Russian portnoj (an adjective derivative of port "uncut cloth").
PortnyaginRussian Derived from Russian портняга (portnyaga), a colloquial nickname derived from портной (portnoy) meaning "tailor, clothier".
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.
PortolaSpanish, Portuguese, Romani (Caló) Portola is Spanish and Portuguese for Port and is a Romani calo surname. People include Gaspar de Portolá, a Spanish explorer who was the first governor of Baja and Alta California and had many names after him in California cities and streets.
PortreyJewish Origin uncertain. Perhaps an altered form of Jewish Portnoy of North German Portner.
PortugalSpanish, Portuguese, English, Catalan, French, Jewish Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, English, French, and Jewish surname meaning ethnic name or regional name for someone from Portugal or who had connections with Portugal. The name of the country derives from Late Latin Portucale, originally denoting the district around Oporto (Portus Cales, named with Latin portus ‘port’, ‘harbor’ + Cales, the ancient name of the city)... [more]
PoseyEnglish, French Derived from the Greek word "desposyni." The Desposyni is a term referring to a group of people that are allegedly direct blood relatives to Jesus. They are mentioned in Mark 3:21 and Mark 3:31. American actress Parker Posey is a famous bearer.
PostgateEnglish From Postgate in Danby (NR Yorks) which is recorded as Postgate in the 12th century. The place-name derives from Old English post "post pillar" and Old Scandinavian gata ‘way path road" or Old English gæt "gate".
PosthumusDutch, Low German From a personal name which was given to a posthumous child, i.e., one born after the death of his father, derived from Latin postumus "last, last-born" (superlative of posterus "coming after, subsequent") via Late Latin posthumus, which was altered by association with Latin humare "to bury", suggesting death (i.e., thought to consist of post "after" and humus "grave", hence "after death"); the one born after the father's death obviously being the last.
PotemkinRussian A Russian surname which derives from the word "Потёмка" (Potyomka) meaning "dark". People bearing the name Potemkin rose to prominence in Muscovy from the 16th century onwards.
PóvedaSpanish habitational name from any of the places called Poveda in the provinces of Cuenca Ávila Salamanca and Soria or from Póveda de la Sierra in Guadalajara.
PoverelliItalian Means "poor (person)" in Italian, given to foundlings and orphans.
PoznanskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name from the city of Poznan in west-central Poland, or possibly from other places of this name, in Katowice and Siedlce voivodeships.