NorthernEnglish Topographic name, from an adjectival form of North.
NortheyEnglish Habitational name from Northay in Hawkchurch Devon. The placename derives from Middle English north "north northern" and heie "fence enclosure hedge" (Old English norþ (ge)hæg)... [more]
NorthwayEnglish Habitational name from one or more of the minor places called with Middle English bi northe weie "(place) to the north of the way or road" from the elements norþ "north" and weg "way" including Northway in Monkleigh Widecombe in the Moor and Parkham Norway in Whitestone Narraway in Drewsteignton (all Devon) and Northway in Halse (Somerset)... [more]
NoxonEnglish Variant of Nixon. It is derived from the personal name Nicholas, which was Nik, or Nikke in Old English.
NoyEnglish Either (i) from the medieval male personal name Noye, the English form of the Hebrew name Noach "Noah 1"; or (ii) an invented Jewish name based on Hebrew noy "decoration, adornment".
NoyeEnglish Patronymic form of the biblical male given name Noah.
NugentEnglish, Irish, French An English, Irish (of Norman origin) and French habitational surname derived from any of several places in northern France (such as Nogent-sur-Oise), From Latin novientum and apparently an altered form of a Gaulish name meaning "new settlement".
NunnallysEnglish (American) A common surname in America, belonging to 4058 individuals. Nunnally is most common among White (63.36%) and Black/African American (30.93%) individuals.
NuteAnglo-Saxon, English Derived from the given name Cnute. Alternatively, it may be of nickname origin, from the Old English word hnutu, which meant brown, and would have been given to someone with a brown complexion.
NuttallEnglish English: habitational name from some place named with Old English hnutu ‘nut’ + h(e)alh ‘nook’, ‘recess’. In some cases this may be Nuthall in Nottinghamshire, but the surname is common mainly in Lancashire, and a Lancashire origin is therefore more likely... [more]
NutterEnglish Means either (i) "scribe, clerk" (from Middle English notere, ultimately from Latin notārius); or (ii) "person who keeps or tends oxen" (from a derivative of Middle English nowt "ox")... [more]
OakEnglish Topographic surname for someone who lived near an oak tree or in an oak wood, from Middle English oke "oak".
OakdenEnglish A variant of Ogden, from a place name derived from Old English āc "oak" and denu "valley". Famous bearers include British diplomat Edward Oakden and English cricketer Patrick Oakden.
OaksEnglish English variant spelling of Oakes and Americanized form of Jewish Ochs.
OakwellEnglish Probably either from the former village of Oakwell-in-the-Blean in the county of Kent, or Ockwell Manor, and again a former village, near Bray, in Berkshire
OdhamEnglish Variant of Odom, altered by folk etymology as if derived from a place name formed with -ham.
OdomEnglish Medieval nickname for someone who had climbed the social ladder by marrying the daughter of a prominent figure in the local community, from Middle English odam ‘son-in-law’ (Old English aðum).
OfficerEnglish (Canadian), English (American, Rare) Occupational name for the holder of any office, from Anglo-Norman French officer (an agent derivative of Old French office ‘duty’, ‘service’, Latin officium ‘service’, ‘task’).
OgilvieScottish, English From the ancient Barony of Ogilvie in Angus, Northeast Scotland. The placename itself is derived from Pictish ocel, 'high' and fa, 'plain'.
OgleScottish, English, Northern Irish Habitational name from a place in Northumbria, named with the Old English personal name Ocga + Old English hyll 'hill'.
OglethorpeEnglish It indicates familial origin within the civil parish of Bramham cum Oglethorpe in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
OglethorpeEnglish From Oglethorpe Hall in Bramham (WR Yorks) which is recorded as Ocelestorp in 1086 and Okelesthorp in 124 The place-name derives from the Old Scandinavian personal name Oddkell and Old Scandinavian or Old English þorp "secondary settlement outlying farmstead" meaning "Oddkell's village" the surname derived from oddr "point of a weapon" and ketill "cauldron".
OldEnglish From Middle English old, not necessarily implying old age, but rather used to distinguish an older from a younger bearer of the same personal name.
OldhamEnglish Habitational name from Oldham in Lancashire. The placename derives from Old English ald "old" and Old Norse holmr "island water meadow" or eald "old" and ham "farmstead" meaning either "old lands" or "old farm".
OleyEnglish Was my mother's fathers name. Also my mother's brother.
OlinEnglish, Dutch English or Dutch name meaning either "from a low lying area" or from the word Hollander meaning "one from the Netherlands" a country well known for a low lying landscape.
OliphantEnglish Means "elephant" (from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German olifant "elephant"), perhaps used as a nickname for a large cumbersome person, or denoting someone who lived in a building distinguished by the sign of an elephant.
OnslowEnglish Locational name from a place called Onslow described in Victorian times as being "a place within the liberty of Shrewsbury, in Salop', the original and still confusingly used, name for the county of Shropshire.
OrangeMedieval English, Medieval French, English Derived from the medieval female name, or directly from the French place name. First used with the modern spelling in the 17th century, apparently due to William, Prince of Orange, who later became William III... [more]
OrbisonEnglish From a village in Lincolnshire, England originally called Orby and later Orreby that is derived from a Scandinavian personal name Orri- and the Scandinavian place element -by which means "a farmstead or small settlement."
OrchardEnglish, Scottish English: topographic name for someone who lived by an orchard, or a metonymic occupational name for a fruit grower, from Middle English orchard.... [more]
OrcuttEnglish Perhaps a much altered spelling of Scottish Urquhart used predominantly in Staffordshire, England.
OrdEnglish, English (American) Ord is an English descent surname that also has Gaelic roots. It's also short for many English surnames that end with "Ord". people include US Army general Edward Ord who practiced in California and had many street names after him.
OrganEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a player of a musical instrument (any musical instrument, not necessarily what is now known as an organ), from Middle English organ (Old French organe, Late Latin organum ‘device’, ‘(musical) instrument’, Greek organon ‘tool’, from ergein ‘to work or do’).
OrganEnglish From a rare medieval personal name, attested only in the Latinized forms Organus (masculine) and Organa (feminine).
OrleyDutch, Flemish, English A surname of uncertain origin found among the Dutch, Flemish and English. In England the name is primarily found in Yorkshire and Devon. Orley may be an adapted form of a French name D'Orley or a nickname for Orlando... [more]
OrmayEnglish (American) Believed to be the Americanization of the last name Ormoi from Hungary.
OrpinEnglish Means "herbalist" (from Middle English orpin "yellow stonecrop", a plant prescribed by medieval herbalists for healing wounds). A variant spelling was borne by British painter Sir William Orpen (1878-1931).
OsgoodEnglish, Jewish English: Old Norse personal name Asgautr, composed of the elements as'god'+the tribal name Gaul. This was established in England before the Conquest, in the late old English forms Osgot or Osgod and was later reinforce by the Norman Ansgot.... [more]
OslerEnglish Possibly derived from Ostler (from the the Norman 'Hostelier') meaning clerk or bookkeeper. First used in England after the Norman invasion of 1066. Surname of a 19th cent... [more]
OsterdayAmerican (Germanized, Rare) One day in Germany there was a male infant left on the steps to a church. When someone found the baby on the steps, they decided to name him Oster because that day was the day of Easter. Easter in German is Oster... [more]
OttowayEnglish From the Norman male personal names Otoïs, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "wealth-wide" or "wealth-wood", and Otewi, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "wealth-war".
OverbeckLow German, German (Modern), English (American, Americanized), Anglo-Saxon From Low German over meaning "über" (over as a direct english translation) and beck meaning "Bach" (creek, stream). As opposed to many other germanic names it doesn't stem from someone's occupation rather from their address, with the exact meaning being something like "über dem Bach" (over the creek)... [more]
OversonEnglish Derived from the Old French name Overson, meaning "dweller by the river-banks". The name was probably brought to England in the wake of the Norman conquest of 1066.
OwnerEnglish From English owner meaning "a person who owns something".
OwsleyEnglish Habitational name form a now lost place name in Southern England. Possibly derived from the name of the river name Ouse and Old English -leah meaning "wood".
OxbyEnglish fortification where oxen are kept (From the Old English words “oxa” and “burh”)
OxendineEnglish From an English place name meaning "valley of the oxen", which was derived from Old English oxa "ox" (genitive plural oxena) and denu "valley".
OyaskiEnglish (American) A surname created by Michael Oyaski (formally Michael O'Yaski). The surname is currently known to only be used by one particular branch of the O'Yaski family tree. The surname means "Dragon Rider of the West" according to members of the Oyaski family.
PaddockEnglish Derived from Middle English parrock meaning "paddock, small enclosure", hence a topographic name for a dweller by a paddock or an enclosed meadow. It could also be a nickname for a person who resembled a toad or frog in some way (derived from Middle English paddock meaning "toad, frog"), or denote a person hailing from one of the many places in England that bear this name, for example the town and civil parish of Paddock Wood in Kent.
PadgettEnglish Diminutive form of Page, which is of Old French origin, and an occupational name for a young servant, a personal attendant in a noble's house, from the Old French, Middle English "page", ultimately deriving from the Greek "paidion", a boy, child... [more]
PadleyEnglish A habitational name from a place named Padley, which was probably named with the Old English personal name Padda and lēah meaning ‘glade, woodland clearing’. Alternatively, the first element may have been padde, meaning ‘toad’.
PaineEnglish From the Middle English personal name Pain(e), Payn(e) (Old French Paien, from Latin Paganus), introduced to Britain by the Normans. The Latin name is a derivative of pagus "outlying village", and meant at first a person who lived in the country (as opposed to Urbanus "city dweller"), then a civilian as opposed to a soldier, and eventually a heathen (one not enrolled in the army of Christ)... [more]
PainterEnglish, Medieval French, German English: from Middle English, Old French peinto(u)r, oblique case of peintre ‘painter’, hence an occupational name for a painter (normally of colored glass). In the Middle Ages the walls of both great and minor churches were covered with painted decorations, and Reaney and Wilson note that in 1308 Hugh le Peyntour and Peter the Pavier were employed ‘making and painting the pavement’ at St... [more]
PaleyEnglish English surname, either a habitational name denoting a person from a lost or unidentified place in Lancashire or Yorkshire (which was apparently named with Old English leah "woodland, clearing" as the final element), or derived from the Old Danish personal name Palli, from Old Danish páll meaning "pole"... [more]
PalfreymanEnglish Occupational name for a man responsible for the maintenance and provision of saddle-horses.
PalinEnglish (i) "person from Palling", Norfolk ("settlement of Pælli's people") or "person from Poling", Sussex ("settlement of Pāl's people"); (ii) from the Welsh name ap Heilyn "son of Heilyn", a personal name perhaps meaning "one who serves at table"
PalliserEnglish Means "maker of palings and fences" (from a derivative of Old French palis "palisade"). In fiction, the Palliser novels are a series of six political novels by Anthony Trollope, beginning with 'Can You Forgive Her?' (1864) and ending with 'The Duke's Children' (1880), in which the Palliser family plays a central role.
ParhamIrish, English This name has been used amongst the Irish and English. This user's great grandmother came from Ireland and her maiden name was Parham. However, in English (London) it is a habitational name from places in Suffolk and Sussex, named in Old English with pere ‘pear’ + ham ‘homestead’.
ParkingtonEnglish Habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Partington, from Old English Peartingtun 'settlement (tun) associated with Pearta', a personal name not independently recorded.
ParkzerEnglish (American, Modern, Rare) Variant of "Parker". Adam Parkzer, better known mononymously as Parkzer, formally known as Adam Park, renamed it to Parkzer because of 'how generic his surname was'
ParleyEnglish A place name meaning "pear field" from Old English 'per' with 'lee' or 'lea' meaning a field or clearing, perhaps where land was cleared to cultivate pear trees. Therefore this name denotes someone who lived near or worked at such a location or came from a habitation associated with the name... [more]
PartingtonEnglish Habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Partington, from Old English Peartingtun "Pearta's town".
PartonEnglish Habitational name from any of various places called Parton; most are named with Old English peretun ‘pear orchard’. A famous bearer of the surname is Dolly Parton.
PassmoreEnglish Either (i) from a medieval nickname for someone who crossed marshy moorland (e.g. who lived on the opposite side of a moor, or who knew the safe paths across it); or (ii) perhaps from an alteration of Passemer, literally "cross-sea", an Anglo-Norman nickname for a seafarer... [more]
PateEnglish Derives from the given name Pat(t), a short form of the personal name Patrick from the Latin Patricius meaning "son of a noble father".
PatemanEnglish The name Pateman is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It is a name for someone who worked as a boatman. The surname Pateman is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word bat, which means a boat.
PattinsonEnglish, Scottish Derived from the name of an ancestor. 'The son of Patrick' (which see), from the nick. Pate and diminutive Patt-in; compare Colin, Robin.
PaxsonEnglish This surname means "son of Pack." Pack may be a survival of the Old English personal name Pacca or it may have been a Middle English personal name derived from Paschalis (meaning "relating to Easter"), the Latin form of Pascal.