CharnockEnglish (Rare) The locational surname originates from two places, Charnock Richard and Heath Charnock, which are both located in Lancashire, England.... [more]
ChartersEnglish Scottish (Kirkcudbrightshire) and northern English, ultimately of Norman origin. This is a habitational name derived from the French town of Chartres, which is named from the Gaulish tribe recorded in Latin sources as the Carnutes.
ChatwinEnglish Old English given name CEATTA combined with Old English (ge)wind "winding ascent".
ChaucerEnglish Meaning a "worker who makes leggings or breeches". Notable bearer is author Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), most well known for his classic 'The Canterbury Tales'.
ChaunceyAmerican Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Norman French habitation names Chancé or an American adaptation of a German place name of Schanze located on the Upper Rhine. Could also be a short form of Chancellor.
CheesemanEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of cheese.
CheeverEnglish Means "goatherd", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a goat (e.g. in capriciousness) (in either case from Anglo-Norman chivere "goat"). It was borne by American author John Cheever (1912-1982).
CheneryMedieval French, English (British, Anglicized, Modern) Derived from the Old French "chesne" for oak tree, or "chesnai" for oak grove, from the medieval Latin "casnetum". As a topographical name, Cheyne denoted residence near a conspicuous oak tree, or in an oak forest.
CherryEnglish From Middle English chirie, cherye "cherry", hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of cherries, or possibly a nickname for someone with rosy cheeks.... [more]
CherrymanEnglish It is topographical or perhaps occupational and describes a person who lived or worked at a cherry orchard, or who lived by a house known by the sign of the cherry. In the days before house numbering, it was the tradition in almost all western countries to give the house a sign... [more]
ChestnutEnglish From Old French castan "chestnut tree" (Latin castanea), a name for someone who lived near a particular chestnut tree, or possibly a nickname for someone with chestnut-coloured hair (see Chastain).
ChestnuttEnglish "Chestnut." A notable bearer is Charles Waddel Chestnut, a novelist.
ChewEnglish Habitational name from a place in Somerset named Chew Magna, which is named for the river on which it stands, a Celtic name, perhaps cognate with Welsh cyw ‘young animal or bird’, ‘chicken’.
CheyneEnglish Locational or topographical surname derived from Old French chesne, chesnai "oak tree, oak grove", ultimately derived from medieval Latin casnetum.
ChiassonFrench, English French surname originally denoting someone from the the municipality of Chiasso in Ticino, Switzerland, located along the Swiss/Italian border.... [more]
ChildEnglish Nickname from Middle English child meaning "child", "infant".
ChildersEnglish Probably a habitational name from some lost place named Childerhouse, from Old English cildra "child" and hus "house". This may have referred to some form of orphanage.
ChoateEnglish, Dutch The names of Choate and Chute are believed to have been of common origin and derived from the residence of their first bearers at a place called Chute in Wiltshire, England. Certain historians, however, state that the name of Choate was of Dutch origin and was taken by its first bearers from their residence at a place of that name in the Netherlands.
ChoiceEnglish Derived from the personal names Josse or Goce, which are derived from the Latin word "gaudere" and is a cognate in origin with the word "joy."
CholmelyEnglish The Cholmely family lived in the township of Cholmondley in the parish of Malpas in Cheshire.
CholmondeleyEnglish An aristocratic surname derived from a place name in Cheshire which means "Ceolmund's grove" in Old English.
ChoulesEnglish (British, Rare) The surname Choules is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a variant of Scholes, itself "a topographical name for someone who lived in a rough hut or shed", from the Northern Middle English 'scale, schole'... [more]
ChristmasEnglish Either an occupational name for someone who was responsible for arrangement of festivities for Christmas day, or it might a nickname for someone who was born on Christmas.
ChriswellEnglish Likely originated in England. Creswell seems to be the oldest spelling then gradually giving way to Criswell and Chriswell.
ChubbEnglish English (mainly West Country): nickname from Middle English chubbe ‘chub’ a common freshwater fish Leuciscus cephalus. The fish is notable for its short fat shape and sluggish habits and the word was used in early Modern English for a lazy spiritless person a rustic or a simpleton... [more]
ChurchillEnglish From English, meaning 'church hill'. Denoted one who lived by both a church and a hill. A famous bearer is Sir Winston Churchill, the famed Prime Minister of Britain during WW2.
ChurchyardEnglish It comes from when the family lived in or near the precincts of a church. Churchyard belongs to the large class of Anglo-Saxon topographic surnames, which were given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as "a hill", "stream", "church", or "type of tree".
CinnamondScottish, Irish, English Possibly originates from Scottish place name Kininmonth. Probably introduced to Northern Ireland by Scottish settlers where it remains in Ulster. Another origin is the French place name Saint Amand originated from French Huguenots settling in Ireland.
ClaypoolEnglish Derived from Claypole, a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, named from Old English cl?g meaning "clay" and pol meaning "pool".
ClevelandEnglish English regional name from the district around Middlesbrough named Cleveland ‘the land of the cliffs’, from the genitive plural (clifa) of Old English clif ‘bank’, ‘slope’ + land ‘land’... [more]
ClevengerEnglish, Anglo-Saxon The surname is derived from the Old English word cleofan which means to cleave or split.
CleverleyEnglish Probably means "person from Cleveley", Lancashire ("woodland clearing by a cliff").
CleverlyEnglish From a nickname for an intelligent or quick-witted person.
CliftEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a crevice in rock, derived from Middle English clift meaning "cleft". The American actor Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) was a famous bearer of this name.
ClingerEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of German Klinger.Possibly a variant of Clinker. an English occupational name for a maker or fixer of bolts and rivets.
ClooneyEnglish, Irish From Gaelic Ó Cluanaigh meaning "descendant of Cluanach". Cluanach was a given name derived from Irish clauna "deceitful, flattering, rogue".
CloptonEnglish Habitational name from any of various places, for example in Essex, Suffolk, and Warwickshire, named Clopton from Old English clopp(a) meaning "rock", "hill" + tūn meaning "settlement".
CloreEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of German Klor (from a short form of the medieval personal name Hilarius (see Hillary) or Klar).
ClottsEnglish Found in the United States, most likely either an English spelling of Klutz, meaning "awkward, clumsy," or as a plural form of the English surname Clot, meaning "cloth ."
CloudEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived near an outcrop or hill, from Old English clud "rock" (only later used to denote vapor formations in the sky).
CloughEnglish (British) The distinguished surname Clough is of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin. It is derived from the Old English "cloh," meaning "ravine" or "steep-sided valley," and was first used to refer to a "dweller in the hollow."
ClutterbuckEnglish, Dutch (Anglicized, ?) English surname of unknown origin, possibly a corrupted form of a Dutch surname derived from Dutch klateren "to clatter" and beek "brook". The original surname may have been brought to England by Flemish weavers whom Edward III brought to England in the 14th century to teach their techniques to the English, or by Huguenots who fled the Netherlands in the 16th century to escape religious persecution... [more]
CoardEnglish, Northern Irish Derived from Old French corde "string", a metonymic occupational name for a maker of cord or string, or a nickname for an habitual wearer of decorative ties and ribbons.
CoatesEnglish Name for a cottager or a person who lived in a humble dwelling, derived from Old English cote meaning "cottage, hut". It could also be used as a habitational name for someone from any of numerous locations with this name.
CoathEnglish Derived from the Cornish word for smith, goff.
CoatneyEnglish The initial bearer of this surname lived in a little cottage.
CobaltEnglish Name given to a person who mined cobalt.
CockeEnglish nickname from Middle English cok ‘cock’, ‘male bird or fowl’ (Old English cocc), given for a variety of possible reasons. Applied to a young lad who strutted proudly like a cock, it soon became a generic term for a youth and was attached with hypocoristic force to the short forms of many medieval personal names (e.g. Alcock, Hancock, Hiscock, Mycock)... [more]
CockerEnglish, German (Anglicized) Originally a nickname for a bellicose person, from Middle English cock "to fight". Also an anglicized form of Köcher.
CodringtonEnglish Habitational name from Codrington in Gloucestershire.
CoeEnglish English (Essex and Suffolk): nickname from the jackdaw, Middle English co, Old English ca (see Kay). The jackdaw is noted for its sleek black color, raucous voice, and thievish nature, and any of these attributes could readily have given rise to the nickname.
CoggeshallEnglish Habitational name from Coggeshall in Essex, England, which was derived from Cogg, an Old English personal name, and Old English halh meaning "nook, recess".
CoggillEnglish Recorded in several forms as shown below, this is a surname of two possible nationalities and origins. Firstly it may be of Scottish locational origins, from the lands of Cogle in the parish of Watten, in Caithness, or secondly English and also locational from a place called Cogges Hill in the county of Oxfordshire... [more]
CoitMedieval Welsh, French, English The surname Coit was first found in Carnarvonshire, a former country in Northwest Wales, anciently part of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and currently is divided between the unitary authorities of Gwynedd and Conwy, where they held a family seat... [more]
CokayneEnglish Medieval English nickname which meant "idle dreamer" from Cockaigne, the name of an imaginary land of luxury and idleness in medieval myth. The place may derive its name from Old French (pays de) cocaigne "(land of) plenty", ultimately from the Low German word kokenje, a diminutive of koke "cake" (since the houses in Cockaigne are made of cake).
ColdenEnglish, Scottish English: habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Colden, from Old English cald ‘cold’ col ‘charcoal’ + denu ‘valley’.... [more]
ColgateEnglish habitational name from Colgates in Kent named with Old English col "charcoal" and gaet "gate" indicating a gate leading into woodland where charcoal was burned... [more]
ColleyEnglish With variant Coley, can mean "dark" or "blackbird" or it can be a nickname for Nicholas. Colley was used as a surname for generations of students from the same family taught by a teacher over many years in James Hilton's sentimental novel "Goodbye, Mr... [more]
CollierEnglish This name is derived from Middle English cole, from Old English col meaning "coal", combined with the agent suffix (i)er, which denotes someone who does/works with something. Thus, the surname was originally used for a burner, gatherer or seller of coal.
ColonelAmerican From a French word for a military rank of an officer who led a column of regimental soldiers. Could be a nickname for someone with a military bearing or demeanor.
ComerEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of combs, or to someone who used them to prepare wool or flax for spinning, derived from Middle English combere, an agent derivative of Old English camb meaning "comb"... [more]
ComptonEnglish Habitational name from any of the numerous places throughout England (but especially in the south) named Compton, from Old English cumb meaning "short, straight valley" + tūn meaning "enclosure", "settlement".
ConeyEnglish Means "seller of rabbits", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a rabbit (in either case from Middle English cony "rabbit").
CongdonIrish, English A variant of Irish "Condon". In English usage: a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place; probably Devon or Cornwall, where the modern surname is most frequent.