Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
HemsworthEnglish Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, England, meaning "Hymel's enclosure".
HenceGerman, English, Welsh An American spelling variant of Hentz derived from a German nickname for Hans or Heinrich or from an English habitation name found in Staffordshire or Shropshire and meaning "road or path" in Welsh.
HenleyEnglish, Irish, German (Anglicized) English: habitational name from any of the various places so called. Most, for example those in Oxfordshire, Suffolk, and Warwickshire, are named with Old English héan (the weak dative case of heah ‘high’, originally used after a preposition and article) + Old English leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’... [more]
HensleyEnglish Probably a habitational name from either of two places in Devon: Hensley in East Worlington, which is named with the Old English personal name Heahmund + Old English leah ‘(woodland) clearing’, or Hensleigh in Tiverton, which is named from Old English hengest ‘stallion’ (or the Old English personal name Hengest) + leah... [more]
HenwoodEnglish Habitational name from any of various places so named, as for example Henwood in Cornwall, in Linkinhorne parish, which is named from Old English henn 'hen', 'wild bird' + wudu 'wood', or Hen Wood in Wootton, Oxfordshire
HerefordEnglish Habitational name from Hereford in Herefordshire, or Harford in Devon and Goucestershire, all named from Old English here "army" + ford "ford".
HeritageEnglish (Rare) English status name for someone who inherited land from an ancestor, rather than by feudal gift from an overlord, from Middle English, Old French (h)eritage ‘inherited property’ (Late Latin heritagium, from heres ‘heir’).
HerndonEnglish From Herne, a cottage, and den, a valley. The cottage in the valley.
HeroldEnglish, Dutch, German From the given name Herold. This was the surname of David Herold, one of the conspirators in the Abraham Lincoln assassination plot.
HerridgeEnglish habitational name from Herridges in Pauntley (Gloucestershire) or Highridge in King's Nympton (Devon). The Gloucestershire placename may derive from Old English hæg "fence enclosure" and hrycg "ridge" or while the Devon placename comes from an uncertain initial element and Old English hrycg.
HestonEnglish, Irish Derived from Heston, a suburban area in West London (historically in Middlesex), or Histon, a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. It is either named with Old English hǣs meaning "brushwood" and tūn meaning "farmstead, settlement, estate", or from hyse "shoot, tendril, son, youth" and tūn... [more]
HetheringtonEnglish Derived from Hetherington, a like-named place in Northumberland
HewEnglish English: variant of the name Hugh. This was at one time the usual form of the personal name in Scotland. English: occupational name from Middle English hewe ‘domestic servant’
HibbsEnglish This possibly derived from a medieval diminutive, similar to Hobbs for Robert.
HickEnglish From the medieval personal name Hicke. The substitution of H- as the initial resulted from the inability of the English to cope with the velar Norman R-.
HiddlestonEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from a place called Huddleston in Yorkshire, England. The place name was derived from the Old English personal name HUDEL.
HigginbothamEnglish Habitational name from a place in Lancashire now known as Oakenbottom. The history of the place name is somewhat confused, but it is probably composed of the Old English elements ǣcen or ācen "oaken" and botme "broad valley"... [more]
HigginsEnglish Patronymic from the medieval personal name Higgin, a pet form of Hick.
HigginsonEnglish Patronymic from the medieval personal name Higgin, a pet form of Hick.
HikeEnglish To hike or move, to walk, someone who hikes.
HilbertEnglish, French, Dutch, German English, French, Dutch, and German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.
HilleryEnglish, Irish Variant of Hillary. This surname has long been established in the county of Clare in Ireland. It was borne by the Irish president Patrick Hillery (1923-2008).
HilliardEnglish English: from the Norman female personal name Hildiarde, Hildegard, composed of the Germanic elements hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’ + gard ‘fortress’, ‘stronghold’... [more]
HinckleyEnglish From the name of a place in Leicestershire meaning "Hynca's wood", from the Old English byname Hynca, derivative of hún "bear cub", and leah "woodland, clearing".
HindEnglish, Scottish English (central and northern): nickname for a gentle or timid person, from Middle English, Old English hind ‘female deer’.... [more]
HindleEnglish Habitational name from a place in the parish of Whalley, Lancashire, so called from the same first element + Old English hyll 'hill'.
HindleyEnglish English (Lancashire): habitational name from a place near Manchester, so named from Old English hind ‘female deer’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
HineEnglish occupational name from Middle English Old English hine "servant member of a household" also "farm laborer" (such as a herdsman or shepherd)... [more]
HingstonEnglish The distribution of the Hingston surname appears to be based around the South Hams area of Devon. The English Place Name Society volumes for Devon give the best indication of the source of the name... [more]
HinshelwoodScottish, English Denoted a person from a lost place called Henshilwood near the village of Carnwath on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is derived from Scots hainchil obscurely meaning "haunch" and Old English wudu meaning "wood"... [more]
HintonEnglish (Archaic) Comes from Old English heah meaning "high" and tun meaning "enclosure" or "settlement." A notable person with the surname is female author S.E Hinton.
HitchensEnglish The name Hitchens has a rich and ancient history. It is an Anglo-Saxon name that was originally derived from the baptismal name Richard. As the naming tradition grew in Europe baptismal names began to be introduced in many countries.
HoadleyEnglish Habitational name from East or West Hoathly in Sussex, so named from Old English hað / Middle English hoath "heath" + leah "wood, clearing".
HolbrookEnglish, German (Anglicized) English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Derbyshire, Dorset, and Suffolk, so called from Old English hol ‘hollow’, ‘sunken’ + broc ‘stream’. ... [more]
HolcombEnglish Habitational name from any of various places, for example in Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Oxfordshire, and Somerset, so named from Old English hol meaning "hollow", "sunken", "deep" + cumb meaning "valley".
HoldenEnglish, Irish habitational name from one or more of various places so named especially Holden in Haslingden (Lancashire) but also Holden in Bolton and Holden in Silsden (both Yorkshire) Holedean Farm in Henfield and Holden in Rotherfield (both Sussex) Holding Farm in Cheriton and Woolding Farm in Whitchurch (Hampshire) and Holden in Southborough (Kent)... [more]
HolderGerman, Jewish, English 1. German: topographic name for someone who lived by an elder tree. Middle High German holder, or from a house named for its sign of an elder tree. In same areas, for example Alsace, the elder tree was believed to be the protector of a house... [more]
HolladayEnglish English: from Old English haligdæg ‘holy day’, ‘religious festival’. The reasons why this word should have become a surname are not clear; probably it was used as a byname for one born on a religious festival day.
HollandsworthEnglish (British, Rare) Possibly an alternative spelling of Hollingsworth. Likely named after the town of Holisurde(1000s AD)/Holinewurth(1200s)/Hollingworth(Present) The town's name means "holly enclosure"
HolleyEnglish English (chiefly Yorkshire) topographic name from Middle English holing, holi(e) ‘holly tree’. Compare Hollen.
HollierEnglish, French Occupational name for a male brothel keeper, from a dissimilated variant of Old French horier "pimp", which was the agent noun of hore "whore, prostitute". Hollier was probably also used as an abusive nickname in Middle English and Old French.... [more]
HollifieldEnglish habitational name from a minor place called as "the holy field" (Old English holegn "holy" and feld "open country") perhaps Holyfield in Waltham Holy Cross (Essex) or less likely for linguistic reasons Hellifield (Yorkshire).
HollingsheadEnglish Habitational name from a lost place in County Durham called Hollingside or Holmside, from Old English hole(g)n "holly" and sīde "hillside, slope"; there is a Hollingside Lane on the southern outskirts of Durham city... [more]
HollywoodEnglish Habitational name from any of various farms or hamlets in England called Hollywood such as one in Sandon and Burston (Staffordshire) perhaps named with Middle English holegn "holly" and wudu "wood".
HolterEnglish, German, Norwegian Derived from English holt meaning "small wood". A topographic name for someone who lived near a small wooden area, as well as a habitational name from a place named with that element.
HolyfieldEnglish, Scottish Although the Scottish surname is known to derive from the Medieval Latin word "olifantus," meaning "elephant," its origins as a surname are quite uncertain. ... He was one of the many Anglo-Norman nobles that were invited northward by the early Norman kings of Scotland.
HolyoakEnglish Habitational name from Holy Oakes (Leicestershire) or else a topographic name from residence near a "holy oak" (or "gospel oak") from Middle English holy "holy" and oke "oak" (from Old English halig and ac).
HoneyballEnglish From Honeyball, a medieval personal name of uncertain origin: perhaps an alteration of Annabel, or alternatively from a Germanic compound name meaning literally "bear-cub brave" (i.e. deriving from the elements hun "warrior, bear cub" and bald "bold, brave").
HoodEnglish, Scottish, Irish English and Scottish: metonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Middle English hod(de), hood, hud ‘hood’. Some early examples with prepositions seem to be topographic names, referring to a place where there was a hood-shaped hill or a natural shelter or overhang, providing protection from the elements... [more]
HookEnglish This surname is derived from a geographical locality. "at the hook," from residence in the bend or sudden turn of a lane or valley.
HornbyEnglish A habitational name from locations called Hornby in northern England, though predominantly associated with Lancashire. Derived from the Norse horni meaning "horn" and býr meaning "farm" or "settlement".
HornerEnglish 1 English, Scottish, German, and Dutch: from Horn 1 with the agent suffix -er; an occupational name for someone who made or sold small articles made of horn, a metonymic occupational name for someone who played a musical instrument made from the horn of an animal, or a topographic name for someone who lived at a ‘horn’ of land.... [more]
HornsbyEnglish A habitational name from Cumbria, derived from the Norse Ormr meaning "serpent" and býr meaning "farm". Similar in form to Hornby, Hornsby is a widespread surname in northern England.
HorntonEnglish (Rare, Archaic) Derived from the surname Horton or perhaps used to describe a horn maker meaning “maker of horns.”
HoseasonEnglish Means "son of Hosea", a personal name that was originally probably Osie, a pet-form of Oswald, but came to be associated with the biblical personal name Hosea.
HoseasonEnglish The roots of the Hoseason family name are in ancient Scotland with the Viking settlers. Hoseason was derived from the name Aassi, which is a Old Norse form of the Old English personal name Oswald, which means divine power... [more]
HoseasonEnglish The roots of the Hoseason family name are in ancient Scotland with the Viking settlers. Hoseason was derived from the name Aassi, which is a Old Norse form of the Old English personal name Oswald, which means divine power... [more]
HotalingEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of Dutch Hoogteijling, an indirect occupational name for a productive farmer, from hoogh ‘high’ + teling ‘cultivation’, ‘breeding’.
HoughEnglish English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Cheshire and Derbyshire, so named from Old English hoh ‘spur of a hill’ (literally ‘heel’). This widespread surname is especially common in Lancashire... [more]
HoughtonEnglish English habitational name from any of the various places so called. The majority, with examples in at least fourteen counties, get the name from Old English hoh ‘ridge’, ‘spur’ (literally ‘heel’) + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]