FreelingEnglish, Dutch This is the surname of Christian Freeling (born February 1, 1947 in Enschede, Netherlands)a Dutch game designer and inventor. This surname was also used for the main character "Carol Anne Freeling" in the Poltergeist film of 1982 as well.... [more]
FrémontFrench (Americanized), English (American) Fremont is a French surname meaning Free Mountain. People include John Frémont a US Explorer and Politician who fought in the Mexican-American War to free California and many places named after him, Including Fremont, California, and Fremont Nebraska.
FreshEnglish Probably a nickname for someone who's young.
FrettEnglish English from Middle English frette, Old French frete ‘interlaced work (in metal and precious stones)’ such as was used for hair ornaments and the like, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such pieces.
FretwellEnglish Taken from the Old English "freht," meaning "augury," and "well," meaning "spring, stream."
FrewinEnglish From the Middle English personal name Frewine, literally "noble or generous friend".
FriarEnglish Denoted a member of any of certain religious orders of men, especially the four mendicant orders. (Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans)
FriendEnglish Nickname for a companionable person, from Middle English frend "friend" (Old English freond). In the Middle Ages the term was also used to denote a relative or kinsman, and the surname may also have been acquired by someone who belonged to the family of someone who was a more important figure in the community
FrisbyEnglish Means "person from Frisby", Leicestershire ("farmstead of the Frisians"). A frisbee is a plastic disc thrown from person to person as a game; the trademarked name, registered in 1959 by Fred Morrison, was inspired by the Frisbie bakery of Bridgeport, Connecticut, whose pie tins were the original models for the plastic discs.
FrizzellEnglish (Rare) Either (i) from Friseal, the Scottish Gaelic form of Fraser; or (ii) from a medieval nickname applied to someone who dressed in a showy or gaudy style (from Old French frisel "decoration, ribbon").
FrobisherEnglish The surname Frobisher is derived from an occupation, 'the furber' or 'furbisher.' (Middle English fourbishour, from Old French forbisseor). A furbisher was a scourer of armour and metals generally, found also as' furbearer.' Frobisher is the most prominent modern form of the surname... [more]
FrogEnglish From the English word frog which is a type of amphibian.
FroggattEnglish Topographical name from the village of Froggatt in Derbyshire.
FromentFrench, Walloon, English from French froment "wheat" (from Latin frumentum "grain") probably applied as a nickname for a peasant or as metonymic occupational name for a dealer in wheat... [more]
FroudEnglish From the Old English personal name Frōda or Old Norse Fróthi, both meaning literally "wise" or "prudent". A variant spelling was borne by British historian James Anthony Froude (1818-1894).
FulcherEnglish English (chiefly East Anglia): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements folk ‘people’ + hari, heri ‘army’, which was introduced into England from France by the Normans; isolated examples may derive from the cognate Old English Folchere or Old Norse Folkar, but these names were far less common.
FurlongEnglish, Irish Apparently a topographic name from Middle English furlong ‘length of a field’ (from Old English furh meaning "furro" + lang meaning "long".
FurmanPolish, Czech, Slovak, Jewish, Slovene, English, German (Anglicized) Polish, Czech, Slovak, Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic), and Slovenian: occupational name for a carter or drayman, the driver of a horse-drawn delivery vehicle, from Polish, Yiddish, and Slovenian furman, a loanword from German (see Fuhrmann)... [more]
FurneauxFrench (Anglicized), English Locational surname from any of several places in France called Fourneaux, or from fourneau "furnace".
GableEnglish Northern English: of uncertain origin, perhaps a habitational name from a minor place named with Old Norse gafl ‘gable’, which was applied to a triangular-shaped hill. The mountain called Great Gable in Cumbria is named in this way.... [more]
GadburyEnglish Habitational name from Cadborough, alias Gateborough, in Rye, Sussex, probably so named from Old English gāt meaning "goat" + beorg meaning "hill".
GainesEnglish, Norman, Welsh English (of Norman origin): nickname for a crafty or ingenious person, from a reduced form of Old French engaine ‘ingenuity’, ‘trickery’ (Latin ingenium ‘native wit’). The word was also used in a concrete sense of a stratagem or device, particularly a trap.... [more]
GainsboroughEnglish From the city of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, England. A famous bearer of this surname includes English painter Thomas Gainsborough.
GaisfordEnglish Habitational name from a lost or unidentified place.
GaitherEnglish Occupational name for a goatherd, derived from Middle English gaytere literally meaning "goatherd".
GallScottish, Irish, English Nickname, of Celtic origin, meaning "foreigner" or "stranger". In the Scottish Highlands the Gaelic term gall was applied to people from the English-speaking lowlands and to Scandinavians; in Ireland the same term was applied to settlers who arrived from Wales and England in the wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion of the 12th century... [more]
GallantEnglish Nickname for a cheerful or high-spirited person, from Old French, Middle English galant "bold, dashing, lively". The meanings "gallant" and "attentive to women" are further developments, which may lie behind some examples of the surname.
GalpinEnglish English: occupational name for a messenger or scullion (in a monastery), from Old French galopin ‘page’, ‘turnspit’, from galoper ‘to gallop’.
GambleEnglish from the Old Norse byname Gamall meaning "old", which was occasionally used in North England during the Middle Ages as a personal name. ... [more]
GambonEnglish, Irish Derived from Anglo-Norman French gambon meaning "ham", itself derived from a Norman-Picard form of Old French jambe meaning "leg". A famous bearer is the Irish-English actor Sir Michael Gambon (1940-).
GammonEnglish From a medieval nickname applied to a merry or sportive person (from Middle English gamen "game"), or to someone who walked in a strange way or had some peculiarity of the legs (from Anglo-Norman gambon "ham").
GarlickEnglish (i) "grower or seller of garlic"; (ii) perhaps from a medieval personal name descended from Old English Gārlāc, literally "spear-play"; (iii) an anglicization of the Belorussian Jewish name Garelick, literally "distiller"
GartonEnglish habitational name from Garton or Garton on the Wolds in the East Yorkshire or from various minor places so named from Old English gara "triangular plot of land" and tun "farmstead".
GarwoodEnglish Comes from a lost locational name from the Olde English gara, referring to a "triangular piece of land" or to a "spearhead", and wudu meaning a "wood".
GascoigneEnglish Originally denoted a person from the province of Gascony in France. A famous bearer is the English former soccer player Paul Gascoigne (1967-). Another was the television host and author Bamber Gascoigne (1935-2022).
GascoyneEnglish Variant of Gascoigne, which was originally a regional name for someone from the province of Gascony, via Old French Gascogne.
GaskillEnglish Meaning "Goat Shelter". English (Lancashire) habitual name from Gatesgill in Cumbria, so named from Old Norse geit ‘goat’ + skáli ‘shelter’. The surname is first recorded in the early half of the 14th Century.
GatenbyEnglish Derives from the place of Gatenby in North Yorkshire, which comes from an Old Norse personal name "Gaithen", likely from Old Norse geitin "goats" (later influenced by Old English gāt "goat") and the suffix býr "farm, settlement", referring to a settlement with goats... [more]
GatlinEnglish English of uncertain origin; probably a variant of Catlin or Gadling, a nickname from Old English gœdeling ‘kinsman’, ‘companion’, but also ‘low fellow’.
GawthropEnglish habitational name from any of several places in Yorkshire and Lancashire called Gawthorpe or Gowthorpe all of which are named from Old Norse gaukr "cuckoo" and þorp "enclosure" meaning "village where cuckoo's frequented".
GayEnglish, French Nickname for a lighthearted or cheerful person, from Middle English, Old French gai.
GayEnglish, Norman Habitational name from places in Normandy called Gaye, from an early proprietor bearing a Germanic personal name cognate with Wade.
GayeEnglish Possibly a nickname for a cheerful person, derived from the archaic word "gay" meaning "happy". A famous bearer was the American singer Marvin Gaye (1939-1984).
GeeIrish, Scottish, English, French Irish and Scottish: reduced form of McGee, Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Aodha ‘son of Aodh’ (see McCoy). ... [more]
GenainEnglish (American, ?) This pseudonym was used to protect the identities of the Morlok sisters, identical quadruplets born in 1930. All four developed schizophrenia, suggesting a large genetic component to the cause of the disease.
GereEnglish Variant of Geer, Gehr or Geary, all related to the Old High German element gēr (Old English gār, Old Norse geirr) meaning "spear, arrow". A famous bearer is American actor Richard Gere (b... [more]
GermanEnglish, Norman, German, Jewish, Greek From Old French germain meaning "German". This sometimes denoted an actual immigrant from Germany, but was also used to refer to a person who had trade or other connections with German-speaking lands... [more]
GidlowEnglish The first recorded use of the name is from 1291; Robert de Gidlow was a freeholder in Aspull, Lancanshire, United Kingdom and the name occurs frequently down to the 17th century. The Gidlow family moved to the United States in the mid-18th century where the spelling was changed to Goodlow and eventually to Goodloe.
GiercEnglish, Polish Pronounciation: Rhymes with "pierce." Hard "g" (as in "goat"). ... [more]
GiffordEnglish Gifford is an English name for someone who comes from Giffords Hall in Suffolk. In Old English, it was Gyddingford, or "ford associated with Gydda." Alternatively, it could come from the Middle English nickname, "Giffard," from Old French meaning "chubby-cheeked."
GillardEnglish English from a pejorative derivative of the personal name Giles.
GillardEnglish, French, Swiss English and French from an assimilated form of the personal name Gislehard, a compound of Old High German gisel ‘hostage’, ‘pledge’, ‘noble youth’ (see Giesel) + hard ‘hardy’... [more]
GladEnglish, Scandinavian Nickname for a cheerful person, from Middle English, Scandinavian glad "merry, jolly".
GladEnglish From a short form of the various Old English personal names with a first element glæd "shining, joyful". Compare Gladwin.
GladdingEnglish Given as a nickname to someone who is glad, in high spirits, and happy.
GladneyEnglish Probably means "bright island", from the Old English element glæd "bright" (cf. Glædwine) and the English element ney "island" (cf.... [more]
GleaveEnglish Means either "sword-maker" or "sword-seller", or else from a nickname applied to a skilled swordsman (in either case from Middle English gleyve "sword").
GlissenEnglish, Irish Possible British version of the Irish surname Glasson from the the Gaelic word O’Glasain. Meaning green from the counties of Tipperary.
GlosterEnglish habitational name from the city of Gloucester. The place originally bore the British name Glevum (apparently from a cognate of Welsh gloyw "bright") to which was added the Old English element ceaster "Roman fort or walled city" (from Latin castrum "legionary camp")... [more]
GloucesterEnglish habitational name from the city of Gloucester. The place originally bore the British name Glevum (apparently from a cognate of Welsh gloyw "bright") to which was added the Old English element ceaster "Roman fort or walled city" (from Latin castrum "legionary camp")... [more]
GlowczenskiAmerican This is my surname. My cousin Steve Glowzenski, had the C dropped along the way somewhere, probably the military.
GoberEnglish, French The surname Gober was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Norman influence of English history dominated after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed.
GobleEnglish From “Gobble”, meaning “to gorge, to guzzle”
GodilEnglish English: habitational name for someone from Gadshill in Kent, either of two places called Godshill in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, or Godsell Farm in Wiltshire, which were all originally named Godeshyll ‘God's hill’.
GodinEnglish Comes from the Germanic personal name Godin-, a pet form of any of various compound names beginning with god, got ‘god’. Compare Godbold, Goddard, and Godfrey.
GoldsmithEnglish Occupational name for a worker in gold, a compound of Old English gold "gold" and smið "smith". In North America it is very often an English translation of German or Jewish Goldschmidt.
GoldthwaiteEnglish Possibly derived from Guilthwaite in South Yorkshire, which is named from Old Norse gil meaning "ravine" and þveit meaning "clearing". However, the modern surname is associated with Essex, suggesting some other source, now lost.
GoldwynEnglish, Jewish Derived from the Old English given name Goldwine, composed of the elements gold meaning "gold" and win meaning "friend".
GoodallEnglish Habitational name from Gowdall in East Yorkshire, named from Old English golde "marigold" and Old English halh "nook, recess".
GoodallEnglish From Middle English gode "good" and ale "ale, malt liquor", hence a metonymic occupational name for a brewer or an innkeeper.
GoodbarGerman (Anglicized), English Possibly an altered spelling of English Godber, derived from the medieval given name Godebert, or an occupational name for a beer brewer and a nickname for a toper... [more]
GoodenoughEnglish From a medieval nickname probably applied either to someone of average abilities or to an easily satisfied person; also, perhaps from a medieval nickname meaning "good servant".
GoodfellowEnglish Generally explained as a nickname meaning 'good fellow' or 'good companion'.
GoodfriendEnglish Nickname for a reliable friend or neighbor, from Middle English gode meaning "good", and frend meaning "friend". It is an English translation and cognate of German Gutfreund, from Middle High German guot meaning "good" and vriunt meaning "friend".
GoodliffeEnglish Derived from the Middle English feminine given name Godlieve, composed of the Germanic elements god meaning "good" or gud meaning "god", and liub meaning "dear, beloved".
GoodloeEnglish Goodloe traces back to the English Gidlow. The first recorded use of the name is from 1291; Robert de Gidlow was a freeholder in Aspull, Lancanshire, United Kingdom and the name occurs frequently down to the 17th century... [more]
GoodluckEnglish Early Anglo Saxon name from 6-7th century. Derived from Guolac,meaning battle play.
GoodrichEnglish Derived from the Middle English given name Goderiche (itself derived from the Anglo-Saxon given name Godric), composed of Old English god meaning "good" and ric meaning "ruler, mighty, god's ruler, power"... [more]