ACEEnglish, Norman, Medieval French The surname Ace's origin is from a Norman and Old French personal name, Ace, Asse, from Germanic Frankish origin Azzo, Atso, a pet form of personal names containing adal ‘noble’ as a first element.
ACKERLEYEnglish Old English surname which came from a place name which meant "Oak meadow." See ACKLEY.
ACKERSONEnglish From the middle english word "aker" meaning field, basically means "son of the field"
ACKLEYEnglish From an Old English surname: a place name which meant "Oak meadow". A variation of this is: "dwells at the oak tree meadow". ... [more]
ACKROYDEnglish Topographic name from northern Middle English ake "oak" and royd "clearing".
ACTONEnglish, Northern Irish "Oak Town" in Old English. Parishes in Cheshire, Suffolk, Middlesex. There is also a place that bears this name in Ulster.
ACUFFEnglish (American) Acuff Name Meaning. English: of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of northern English Aculf, from an Old Norse personal name Agúlfr 'terror wolf'... [more]
ADDINGTONEnglish Habitational name from any of various places named in Old English as Eaddingtun 'settlement associated with Eadda' or Æddingtun 'settlement associated with Æddi'.
ADDYEnglish From the personal name ADDY, a medieval diminutive of ADAM. It is therefore related to the surname ADDISON.
ADNEYEnglish Habitational name from Adeney in Shropshire, named in Old English as Eadwynna ey "island of a woman called Eadwynn". English: from a Middle English pet form of ADAM... [more]
AGLEREnglish From one or more Middle English personal names variously written Alger, Algar, Alcher, Aucher, etc. These represent a falling together of at least three different Continental Germanic and Old English names: ADALGAR "noble spear" (Old English Æ{dh}elgār), Albgar "elf spear" (Old English Ælfgār), and Aldgar "old spear" (Old English (E)aldgār)... [more]
AKRIDGEEnglish Possibly English, a habitational name from a place with a name meaning ‘oak ridge’, as for example Aikrigg in Cumbria (from Old Norse eik ‘oak’ + hryggr ‘ridge’), or any of the many places called Oakridge (from Old English āc + hrycg)... [more]
ALABASTEREnglish From the name of a whitish kind of gypsum used for vases, ornaments and busts, ultimately deriving from Greek alabastros, itself perhaps from Egyptian 'a-labaste "vessel of the goddess Bast"... [more]
ALBANYScottish, English (American) From the title of the Dukes of Albany (House of Stuart), hence a name borne by their retainers. It is an infrequent surname in England and Scotland. The city of Albany, NY (formerly the Dutch settlement of Beverwijck or Fort Orange) was named for James Stuart, Duke of York and Albany; he was the brother of King Charles II and later king in his own right as James II... [more]
ALBRIGHTAmerican This name was originally Albrecht. It was changed by German imigrants to America in the 1600s.
ALCOCKEnglish From a diminutive of given names starting with Al-.
ALCOTTEnglish English: ostensibly a topographic name containing Middle English cott, cote ‘cottage’ (see COATES). In fact, however, it is generally if not always an alteration of ALCOCK, in part at least for euphemistic reasons.
ALDERMANEnglish Status name from Middle English alderman, Old English ealdorman, "elder". In medieval England an alderman was a member of the governing body of a city or borough; also the head of a guild.
ALDRIDGEEnglish habitational name from a place in the West Midlands called Aldridge; it is recorded in Domesday Book as Alrewic, from Old English alor ‘alder’ + wīc ‘dwelling’, ‘farmstead’.
ALFORDEnglish, Scottish Habitation name found in Lincolnshire, Surrey and Somerset, England and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The name can be derived by combining the Old English female personal name Ealdg- and -ford meaning "water crossing" or can mean "from the alder tree ford".
ALLINEnglish Variant spelling of ALLEN. Also a derivative of the Norman female name ADELINA, based on Germanic adal, 'noble'.
ALLISEnglish From the Middle English and Old French female personal name Alis (Alice), which, together with its diminutive Alison, was extremely popular in England in the Middle Ages. The personal name is of Germanic origin, brought to England from France by the Normans; it is a contracted form of Germanic Adalhaid(is), which is composed of the elements adal "noble" and haid "brilliance, beauty".
ALLOWAYEnglish Means (i) "person from Alloway, Alloa or Alva", the name of various places in Scotland ("rocky plain"); or (ii) from the medieval male personal name Ailwi (from Old English Æthelwīg, literally "noble battle").
ALLREDEnglish From the Middle English personal name Alured, a form of ALFRED, which was sometimes written Alvred, especially in Old French texts.
ALMONDEnglish From the Middle English personal name Almund, from Old English Æ{dh}elmund, "noble protection" and variant of ALLMAN, assimilated by folk etymology to the vocabulary word denoting the tree.
ALSOPEnglish Habitational name, now chiefly found in the Midlands, for a person from Alsop-en-le-Dale, a chapelry in the parish of Ashborne, Derbyshire. The place name itself meant "Ælle's valley" from the genitive of the Old English personal name ÆLLE and Old English hōp meaning "enclosed valley" (compare HOPE).
AMBROSEEnglish From the Late Latin name Ambrosius, which was derived from the Greek name Αμβροσιος (Ambrosios) meaning "immortal".
AMESEnglish, German English: from the Old French and Middle English personal name AMYS, Amice, which is either directly from Latin amicus ‘friend’, used as a personal name, or via a Late Latin derivative of this, Amicius.... [more]
AMMERGerman, English (Rare) This surname may be derived from Middle High German amer which means "bunting (as in the bird)." As such, it is used as a nickname for someone with a fine voice or someone who is a flamboyant dresser.... [more]
AMORYEnglish, Norman English from a Germanic personal name, Aimeri, composed of the elements haim ‘home’ + ric ‘power’... [more]
AMSDONEnglish (Modern) Unknown. Possibly a spelling variant of Amsden. Ancestry.com suggests probably a habitational name, from a reduced form of the Oxfordshire place name Ambrosden, which is composed of an Old English personal name Ambre + Old English dun ‘hill’... [more]
ANEYEnglish English surname of uncertain origin, though it has been suggested that this is an anglicized form of French Ané. Ané itself is said to be taken from a personal name, possibly a gallicized form of Asnar or AZNAR, which may be derived from Latin asinarius meaning "keeper of asses, ass-driver", from asinus "ass".
ANNEnglish Habitational name from Abbots Ann in Hampshire, named for the stream that runs through it, which is most probably named with an ancient Welsh word meaning ‘water’.
ANSTEYEnglish Means "person from Anstey or Ansty", the name of numerous places in England (either "single track" or "steep track"). F. Anstey was the pen-name of British barrister and author Thomas Anstey Guthrie (1856-1934).
APPLEGARTHEnglish, Scottish Topographic name from northern Middle English applegarth meaning "apple orchard" (Old Norse apaldr meaning "apple tree" + gar{dh}r meaning "enclosure"), or a habitational name from a place so named, of which there are examples in Cumbria and North and East Yorkshire, as well as in the county of Dumfries.
APPLEGATEEnglish Extremely common variant of APPLEGARTH, in which the less familiar final element has been assimilated to the northern Middle English word gate meaning "road" or to modern English gate.
APPLEWHITEEnglish Habitational name from a place named Applethwaite, from Old Norse apaldr ‘apple tree’ and þveit ‘meadow’. There are two or three such places in Cumbria; Applethwaite is also recorded as a surname from the 13th century in Suffolk, England, pointing to a possible lost place name there... [more]
ARDELLAAfrican American Derivative of ARDEN, popularized by the poem of the same name by Langston Hughes, the most well-known Black poet of the Harlem Renaissance. Meaning is "garden dweller."... [more]
ARDENEnglish From various English place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".... [more]
ARISENEnglish (Modern) From a Dutch surname that means "son of Aris". In The Netherlands, this name is never used as a first name, since Dutch law strictly prohibits the use of surnames as first names... [more]
ARLENAmerican Of uncertain origin. Possibly a form of the German name Erlen or a Gaelic name meaning "pledge" or "oath".
ARLINGTONEnglish Location name that refers to a settlement associated with a personal name reduced to Arl- plus the Anglo-Saxon patronymic element -ing- then the element -ton denoting a "settlement"... [more]
ARLOTTEnglish From a medieval nickname for a ne'er-do-well (from Middle English harlot or arlot "vagabond, base fellow"; "prostitute" is a 15th-century development). This surname was borne by Jack Arlott (1914-1991), a British journalist, poet and cricket commentator.
ARTISEnglish English: regional name for someone from the French province of Artois, from Anglo-Norman French Arteis (from Latin Atrebates, the name of the local Gaulish tribe). This surname is popular in North Carolina and Virginia, of the US.
ARUNDELEnglish English surname which comes from two distinct sources. Either it was derived from a place name meaning "horehound valley" in Old English (from harhune "horehound (a plant)" and dell "valley"), or it was from Old French arondel, diminutive of arond "swallow", which was originally a Norman nickname given to someone resembling a swallow.
ASBURYEnglish English location name with the elements as- meaning "east" or "ash tree" and -bury meaning "fortified settlement."
ASELTONAmerican Asel being a variant of Asil meaning ""noble"" and ton meaning ""town"".
ASHBROOKEnglish Derived from the Old English terms "east" and "broc".
ASHBYEnglish English: habitational name from any of the numerous places in northern and eastern England called Ashby, from Old Norse askr ‘ash’ or the Old Norse personal name ASKI + býr ‘farm’.
ASHCROFTEnglish English (chiefly Lancashire) topographic name from Middle English asche ‘ash tree’ + croft ‘enclosure’, or a habitational name from a minor place named with these elements.
ASHEREnglish Topographic surname denoting someone who dwelled by an ash tree, from Middle English asche "ash tree" combined with the suffix -er.
ASHFIELDEnglish From the English words ASH, referring to the "Ash Tree", and "Field".
ASHFORDEnglish Derived from Ashford, which is the name of several places in England. All but one of these derive the second element of their name from Old English ford meaning "ford" - for the one in North Devon, it is derived from Old English worō or worth meaning "enclosure".... [more]
ASHLANDEnglish This surname is derived from Old English æsc & land and it means "ash tree land."
ASHMANEnglish, Anglo-Saxon From Middle English Asheman, a byname meaning "pirate, seaman". It can also be made up of English ash referring to the "ash tree", and man. In that case, it could refer to someone who lived by ash trees... [more]
ASHMOREEnglish English locational name, from either "Aisemare", (from Old English pre 7th Century "aesc" meaning ash plus "mere" a lake; hence "lake where ash-trees grow), or from any of several minor places composed of the Old English elements "aesc" ash plus "mor" a marsh or fen.
ASHTONEnglish Derived from a place name which meant "ash tree town" in Old English.
ASQUITHEnglish Habitational name from a village in North Yorkshire named Askwith, from Old Norse askr ‘ash tree’ + vi{dh}r ‘wood’
ASSELBROUGHEnglish pronouncec assel brudd the origin of the name id unknown but the family were first fiund in heworth .george asselbrough married sarah keatlie in heworth.they had george b1752-1833 alston,srag 17154c nicholas 1757 - 1813 felling pit disaster.peter 1760 james 1762,... [more]
ATHERTONEnglish Habitational name from a place near Manchester named Atherton, from the Old English personal name Æ{dh}elhere + Old English tūn meaning "settlement".
ATLEEEnglish English: topographic name for someone whose dwelling was ‘by the clearing or meadow’, Middle English atte lee. The word lea or lee (Old English leah) originally meant ‘wood’, thence ‘clearing in a wood’, and, by the Middle English period, ‘grassy meadow’.
AUSLEYEnglish (Modern) Rare surname which was from an English place name in which the second element is Old English leah "wood, clearing". The first element may be hors "horse" (in which case the name likely referred to a place where horses were put out to pasture) or the river name Ouse (ultimately from the ancient British root ud- "water").
AUSTENEnglish A variant of the surname AUSTIN. This exact spelling is also on the first name site.
AUTRYEnglish, French A habitational name from any of the places in France named Autrey or Autry. French: from the Old French personal name Audry, from Germanic Aldric ‘ancient power’.
AXFORDEnglish Derived from Axford, which is the name of two villages in England (one is located in the county of Hampshire, the other in Wiltshire). Both villages derive their name from Old English æsc(e) "ash tree(s)" and Old English ford "ford", which gives their name the meaning of "ford by the ash trees" or "a ford with ash trees"... [more]
AYDENEnglish, Scottish, Turkish From a Scottish surname which was derived from Gaelic caol meaning "narrows, channel, strait".
AYLEREnglish occupational name from Old French aillier ‘garlic seller’, from ail ‘garlic’ (from Latin allium).... [more]
AYLIFFEnglish From the medieval female personal name Ayleve (from Old English Æthelgifu, literally "noble gift"), or from the Old Norse nickname Eilífr, literally "ever-life".
AZALEAEnglish, Indonesian, Various From the name of the flower (see AZALEA). A notable bearer is Australian rapper Amethyst Amelia Kelly, who's better known by her stage name Iggy Azalea.
BABINGTONEnglish Habitational name for someone from Babington in Somerset or Great or Little Bavington in Northumberland, named with the Old English personal name Babba + the connective particle -ing- meaning "associated with", "named after" + tūn meaning "settlement".
BACCHUSEnglish (i) Variant of BACKUS (meaning "one who lives in or works in a bakery", from Old English bǣchūs "bakehouse, bakery"), the spelling influenced by BACCHUS (name of the Greek and Roman god of wine).... [more]
BACKMANEnglish, Swedish, German Combination of Old English bakke "spine, back" and man "man". In Swedish, the first element is more likely to be derived from Swedish backe "hill", and in German the first element can be derived from German backen "to bake"... [more]
BACONEnglish, French, Norman An occupational surname for someone who sold pork, from Middle English and Old French bacun or bacon, meaning 'bacon', which is ultimately of Germanic origin. Can also be derived from the Germanic given names Baco, Bacco, or Bahho, from the root bag-, meaning 'to fight'... [more]
BADDELEYEnglish From place names in both Suffolk and Staffordshire derived from an Old English personal name, 'Badda,' possibly meaning "battle" and lee or leah for a "woodland clearing," therefore meaning someone from "Badda's woodland clearing."
BADRINETTEEnglish Apparently an extremely rare name of French origin, but isn't used as a first name in France. It might come from the rather uncommon French surname Bardinette, which apparently is a variant spelling of the surname Bardinet... [more]
BAINScottish, French, English Nickname for a hospitable person from northern Middle English beyn, bayn meaning "welcoming", "friendly".... [more]
BAINBRIDGEEnglish from Bainbridge in North Yorkshire, named for the Bain river on which it stands (which is named with Old Norse beinn ‘straight’) + bridge.
BAINEBRIDGEEnglish, Irish Bridge over the Bain, An English town named for its place on the river Bain, now used as a surname. Lives near the bridge over the white water... [more]
BAIRNSFATHEREnglish From a medieval nickname in Scotland and northern England for the (alleged) father of an illegitimate child (from northern Middle English bairnes "child's" + father). This surname was borne by British cartoonist and author Bruce Bairnsfather (1888-1959).
BAKEEnglish Probably an occupational name for a baker.
BALCOMEnglish Altered spelling of English Balcombe, a habitational name from Balcombe in West Sussex, which is named with Old English bealu "evil, calamity" (or the Old English personal name Bealda) combined with cumb "valley".
BALDOCKEnglish (Rare) Means "person from Baldock", Hertfordshire ("Baghdad": in the Middle Ages the lords of the manor were the Knights Templar, whose headquarters were in Jerusalem, and they named the town Baldac, the Old French name for Baghdad).
BALDYEnglish Possibly derived from an Old English feminine given name, *Bealdgýð, composed of the elements beald "bold" and gyð "battle", first recorded c.1170 as Baldith, and in other cases from the Old Norse byname or given name Baldi.
BALEEnglish Variant of Bail. This is the surname of Welsh footballer Gareth Bale.
BALENEnglish English surname, perhaps of Cornish British origin, from belen, meaning "mill."
BALLARDEnglish English and Scottish: derogatory nickname from a derivative of bald ‘bald-headed’ (see also Bald).
BALLASTEREnglish Meant "person who makes or is armed with a crossbow" (from a derivative of Middle English baleste "crossbow", from Old French).
BAMBOROUGHEnglish Bamborough name origin from early Northumberland early times other name know from the Bamborough is bamburgh as in bamburgh castle, ... [more]
BANKSTONEnglish Derived from the old English world "Banke" usually given to a family who lived near a hill or a slope.
BANKSYEnglish, Popular Culture This is pseudonyms Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. Banksy's real name might be Robin Gunningham. How Banksy got his pseudonym is unknown... [more]
BANWELLEnglish Means "person from Banwell", Somerset ("killer spring (perhaps alluding to a contaminated water source)").
BARCLAYScottish, English Habitational name of English origin, from Berkeley in Gloucestershire, named in Old English with be(o)rc "birch" and lēah "woodland clearing".
BARDELLEnglish Originally meant "person from Bardwell", Suffolk ("Bearda's spring"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Mrs Bardell, Mr Pickwick's widowed landlady in Charles Dickens's 'Pickwick Papers' (1837), who misconstrues an innocent remark about having a companion as a marriage proposal, which leads to her suing Pickwick for breach of promise.
BARDENEnglish English: habitational name from places in North and West Yorkshire named Barden, from Old English bere ‘barley’ (or the derived adjective beren) + denu ‘valley’.
BAREFOOTEnglish English: nickname for someone who was in the habit of going about his business unshod, from Old English bær ‘bare’, ‘naked’ + fot ‘foot’. It may have referred to a peasant unable to afford even the simplest type of footwear, or to someone who went barefoot as a religious penance.In some instances, probably a translation of German Barfuss, the northern form Barfoth, or the Danish cognate Barfo(e)d.
BARHAMEnglish English: habitational name from any of the various places so called. Most, for example those in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, are named with Old English beorg ‘hill’ + ham ‘homestead’. The one in Kent, however, is from an unattested Old English byname Biora, Beora (a derivative of bera ‘bear’) + ham.
BARKEREnglish SURNAME Town cryer, or someone who shouts out notices
BARKISEnglish Meant "person who works in a tannery" (from Middle English barkhous "tannery" - bark was used in the tanning process). A fictional bearer is Barkis, a carrier in Charles Dickens's 'David Copperfield' (1849) who sends a message via David to Clara Peggotty that "Barkis is willin'" (i.e. to marry her).
BARKUSEnglish Probably a reduced form of Barkhouse, a topographic name for someone who lived by a tannery, Middle English barkhous, or an occupational name for someone who worked in one.
BARNABYEnglish Either (i) means "person from Barnaby", Yorkshire ("Beornwald's settlement"); or (ii) from the medieval male personal name Barnaby, the English form of Barnabas, a biblical name ultimately from Aramaic Barnabia "son of Nabia".
BARNEREnglish Southern English habitational name for someone who lived by a barn.
BARONEnglish, French From the title of nobility, derived from Middle English & Old French baron (ultimately of Germanic origin). Instead of referring to someone of rank, this surname referred to a service in a baronial household or a peasant with ideas above their station... [more]
BARRINGTONEnglish, Irish English: habitational name from any of several places called Barrington. The one in Gloucestershire is named with the Old English personal name BEORN + -ing- denoting association + tun ‘settlement’... [more]
BARROWEnglish Habitational name from any of the numerous places named with Old English bearo, bearu "grove" or from Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, which is named with an unattested Celtic word, barr, here meaning "promontory", and Old Norse ey "island"... [more]
BARROWMANEnglish A man employed in wheeling a barrow; specifically, in coal-mining, one who conveys the coal in a wheelbarrow from the point where it is mined to the trolleyway or tramway on which it is carried to the place where it is raised to the surface.
BARTHORPEEnglish This surname originates from the village of the same name in the East Riding of Yorkshire, likely combining the Old Norse personal name BǪRKR with Old Norse þorp meaning "village."
BARTLEYEnglish, American 1. English: habitational name from Bartley in Hampshire, or from Bartley Green in the West Midlands, both of which are named with Old English be(o)rc ‘birch’ + leah ‘woodland clearing’; compare BARCLAY... [more]
BARTMANEnglish Last name Bartman is very rare but I believe it’s a English last name .Possibly variant of the last name BAUMAN
BARWICKEnglish, German English: habitational name from any of various places called Barwick, for example in Norfolk, Somerset, and West Yorkshire, from Old English bere ‘barley’ + wic ‘outlying farm’, i.e. a granary lying some distance away from the main village.... [more]
BASSETTEnglish From Old French basset, which is a diminutive of basse meaning "low, short". It was either used as a nickname for a short person or someone of humble origins.
BATEYEnglish (?) Originates from mostly northern England. Is the presumed given name to fishers. (With it meaning "Small fishing boat" in old English.)
BATHGATEScottish, English From the town of Bathgate, west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The town's name derives from Cumbric *beith, meaning 'boar' (Welsh baedd) and *gaith. meaning 'wood' (Welsh coed).
BAUCOMEnglish Variant spelling of BALCOMBE, a habitational name from West Sussex derived from Old English bealu "evil" and cumb "valley".
BAUMFREEDutch, American, African American This name is clearly derived from Sojourner Truth, a former African-American slave who was born as Isabella Bomefree (but at some point the surname was changed to the more German-looking Baumfree). Although Sojourner's original owners - James and Elizabeth Bomefree/Baumfree - were apparently of Dutch descent, it is questionable whether the surname is really of Dutch origin... [more]
BAXEnglish Possibly a short form of BAXTER, or maybe from the Anglo-Saxon word box, referring to the box tree.
BAXENDALEEnglish Habitational name, probably an altered form of Baxenden, a place near Accrington, which is named with an unattested Old English word bæcstān meaning "bakestone" (a flat stone on which bread was baked) + denu meaning "valley"... [more]
BAYEnglish, French, Dutch Derived from Middle English and Old French bay, bai and Middle Dutch bay, all meaning "reddish brown". It was originally a nickname for someone with a hair color similar to that.
BAYLOREnglish Possibly derived from the legal term bailor "one who delivers goods". It could also be a respelling of German name BEILER, an occupational name for an inspector of measures or a maker of measuring sticks... [more]
BEABEREnglish (American) Americanized spelling of German BIEBER or BIBER, from Middle High German biber ‘beaver’, hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way, a topographic name for someone who lived in a place frequented by beavers or by a field named with this word, or a habitational name from any of various place names in Hesse containing this element.
BEACHEnglish Name for someone living near a beach, stream, or beech tree.
BEAMEnglish From Old English beam "beam" or "post". It could be a topographic name from someone living near a post or tree, or it could be a metonymic occupational name for a weaver.... [more]
BEAREnglish From the Middle English nickname Bere meaning "bear" (Old English bera, which is also found as a byname), or possibly from a personal name derived from a short form of the various Germanic compound names with this first element... [more]
BEARDEnglish (American) Nickname for a bearded man (Middle English, Old English beard). To be clean-shaven was the norm in non-Jewish communities in northwestern Europe from the 12th to the 16th century, the crucial period for surname formation... [more]
BEARDENEnglish English habitational name, a variant of BARDEN, or from places in Devon and Cornwall called Beardon.
BEAUCHAMPEnglish, French From the name of various places in France, for example in Manche and Somme, which was derived from Old French beu, bel meaning "fair, lovely" and champ, champs "field, plain".