Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AbstonEnglish (British) The surname Abston is of an uncertain origin. Perhaps from an English place name, but not now recorded in England as a surname. One possibility is Abson near Bristol, earlier Abston; another is Adstone in Northamptonshire, which is named from an Old English personal name Ættīn + Old English tun ‘settlement’.
AgateEnglish (British) From Middle English gate, meaning a "gate" or "street", denoting a person who lived near a major city gate or street.
AudishEnglish (British) Audish was first found in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire in the south of England, people who had the surname 'Audish' were wealthy landowners, thus held in high esteem.
BackhouseEnglish (British), English (Australian) Denoted someone who worked in a bakery, from Old English bæchūs meaning "bakehouse, bakery", a word composed of Old English *bæc "something baked" and hus "house".
BecksonEnglish (British) The name comes from having lived in an enclosed place, means dweller at the old enclosure or dwelling. The surname Aldeman was first found in Essex, Suffolk and Yorkshire at Aldham. In all cases, the place name meant "the old homestead," or "homestead of a man called Ealda," from the Old English personal name + "ham."
BeedenEnglish (British) Probably means "from Beeden", a village near Newbury in Berkshire. Ultimately coming from either Old English byden, meaning "shallow valley", or from the pre 7th century personal name Bucge with the suffix dun, meaning "hill of Bucge".
BeemanEnglish (British) The name Beeman first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived near a mountain. This name was brought to England by the Normans, and is a corruption of the Norman French name Beaumont, which means beautiful mountain.
BiglinEnglish (British) German origin, settled by a single farmer in East Yorkshire in 1750. The name comes from the phrase "big land" meaning someone who owns alot of land.
BisleyEnglish (British) Bisley is a locational surname from the village of Bisley in Surrey. It comes from the words biss meaning “water” and leah meaning “farm”.
BlakestoneEnglish (British) The surname Blakeston was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Blaxton, a township in the parish of Finningley, union and soke of Doncaster.... [more]
BlesseEnglish (British), Filipino, Indian, French The last name Blesse was first discovered in Oxfordshire and held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. In the Philippines, Blesse means "a blessing in the family." In India, Blesse means "bless you."
BonsallEnglish (British) This is a locational name which originally derived from the village of Bonsall, near Matlock in Derbyshire. The name is Norse-Viking, pre 10th Century and translates as 'Beorns-Halh' - with 'Beorn' being a personal name meaning 'Hero' and 'Halh' a piece of cultivated land - a farm.
BransbyEnglish (British) English locational name from the village of Bransby in Lincolnshire. The place name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Branzbi' and later (1115) as 'Brandesby'. These recordings showing that the derivation is from the Old Norse personal name Brandr meaning "sword" and byr, the whole meaning being "Brand's village" or "homestead"... [more]
BroadheadEnglish (British) From Middle Eglish brod "wide, broad" and heved, hed "head, headland". Name for someone who lived by a broad headland.
CapeFrench, English (British) French and English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of capes and cloaks, or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore a cloak or cape, from Middle English and Old Norman French cape ‘cape’, ‘cloak’, ‘hooded cloak’ (in French also ‘hood’ or ‘hat’), from Late Latin cappa, capa, probably a derivative of caput ‘head’ (see Capp)... [more]
CarrawayEnglish (British) The name Carraway belongs to the early history of Britain, and its origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of one having lived on a road near a field or piece of land that was triangular in shape... [more]
CarstairsEnglish (British) From the manor or barony of the same name in the parish of Carstairs (= 1170 Casteltarres, 'Castle of Tarres').
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.
ChipsEnglish (British) Chips is a rare English (british) last name which is a nickname of Christopher and Charles
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]
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."
CowdellEnglish (British) Cowdell is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Coldwell' (v. Caldwell), a township in the union of Bellingham, Northumberland Also of Colwell, a township in the union of Hexham, same county.
DunacreEnglish (British) From Scottish Gaelic dun or donn, meaning 'fort' or 'brown' respectively, and acre, as in a plot of land.
DunkinsonEnglish (British) Derives from the Scottish surname of Duncanson with the same meaning of "son of Duncan". Likewise, it may derive further from the Gaelic male given name "Donnchad", related ultimately to "Donncatus", a Celtic personal name of great antiquity.
DursleyEnglish (British) Of English origin and is locational from a place so called in Gloucestershire, which was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Dersilege', in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195 as 'Derseleie' and in the Fees of 1220 as 'Dursleg'... [more]
EadeEnglish (British, ?) Originally derived from the Old English name Eadwig. Surname found mainly in Scotland and northern England. Americanized spelling of Norwegian Eide... [more]
ElestialEnglish (British, Modern, Rare) First used as a surname in September 2000, first appearing on a birth certificate in July 2009. Meaning "protected by angels"; the origin is an adopted surname from a type of quartz crystal, often referred to as a new millennium crystal... [more]
ElsegoodEnglish (British), English (Australian) Derived from an Old English given name, possibly *Ælfgod or *Æðelgod, in which the second element is god "god". (Another source gives the meaning "temple-god", presumably from ealh and god.)... [more]
EtchellsEnglish (British) This surname was a habitation name derived from the Old English word "ecels" which is roughly translated as the "dweller on a piece of land added to an estate." Alternatively, the name may have derived from the Old English word "ecan" which means "to increase."
EtheringtonEnglish (British) An Old English surname from Kent, the village of Etherington, which derives from the Old English "Ethel"red' ing (meaning people of, coming from) and "ton" a town/village.
FarrarEnglish (British) Northern English: occupational name for a smith or worker in iron, from Middle English and Old French farrour, ferour, from medieval Latin ferrator, an agent derivative of ferrare ‘to shoe horses’, from ferrum ‘iron’, in medieval Latin ‘horseshoe’... [more]
FearnleyEnglish (British) Comes from the family having resided in a forest glade carpeted with ferns. The name Fearnley is derived from two Old English elements: fearn, the old English word for ferns, and leah, a word for a clearing in a forest.
FeatherstonEnglish (British) The name probably means feudal stone where the locals paid the lord of the manor their taxes. It probably starts spelled in the 1500's as Fetherston which is mainly when parish records began and moves though the century's to Fetherstone and then to Featherston then Featherstone, In the Doomsday book the lord of the manor of Featherstone in West Yorkshire but in both cases it was of course Fetherston was Ralph de Fetherston... [more]
FfordeEnglish (British) Notably the last name of English novelist Jasper Fforde. The spelling suggests it is Welsh. Possibly a form of Ford? The source is unknown to me.
FianderEnglish (British) The Fiander surname may have it's origins in Normandy, France (possibly from the old-French "Vyandre"), but is an English (British) surname from the Dorset county region. The Fiander name can also be found in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, Canada the origins of which can be traced back to the mid-1700's in the village of Milton Abbas, Dorsetshire.
FiskEnglish (British) English (East Anglia): metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or fish seller, or a nickname for someone supposedly resembling a fish in some way, from Old Norse fiskr ‘fish’ (cognate with Old English fisc).
FouldsEnglish (British) Mr. Fould-Dupont supplied the steel for the Eiffel tower. Later on, he fled to England and changed his last name from Fould-Dupont to Foulds.
FurlowEnglish (British), Irish the warrens came over to America on the Mayflower. they made settlements and went through the revolutionary war. the name changed to Baughman then Furlow. the furlows fought in the cival war and were slave owners... [more]
GampEnglish (British) This surname is thought to originate from Sarah or Sairey Gamp, Mrs. Gamp as she is more commonly known, in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens.... [more]
GilstrapEnglish (British, Anglicized, Rare) This is a place name acquired from once having lived at a place spelled Gill(s)thorp(e), Gilsthorp(e), Gill(s)throp(e) or Gil(s)throp(e) located in the Old Danelaw area of England.... [more]
GraylingEnglish (British) Uncommon surname of unclear origin; possible medieval locational name, or a derivative of the French surname Grail or the diminutive Graillon.... [more]
HarkerEnglish (British) English (mainly northeastern England and West Yorkshire): habitational name from either of two places in Cumbria, or from one in the parish of Halsall, near Ormskirk, Lancashire. The Cumbrian places are probably named from Middle English hart ‘male deer’ + kerr ‘marshland’... [more]
HarknessScottish, English (British), Northern Irish Apparently a habitational name from an unidentified place (perhaps in the area of Annandale, with which the surname is connected in early records), probably so called from the Old English personal name Hereca (a derivative of the various compound names with the first element here ‘army’) + Old English næss ‘headland’, ‘cape’... [more]
HarmerEnglish (British) Meaning, of the Army or man of Armor, from the battle at Normandy, France. It was formerly a French last name Haremere after the battle at Normandy it moved on to England where it was shortened to Harmer.
HawtreyEnglish (British) It is the surname of Mr. Hawtrey from the book The Boy In The Dress, by David Walliams. Hawtrey means "To succeed".
HaythornthwaiteEnglish (British) Derived from the Old English word haguthorn, which means "hawthorn". Originated in the township of Hawthorn, parish of Easington, County Durham circa 1155.
HazlettEnglish (British) Topographic name for someone who lived by a hazel copse, Old English hæslett (a derivative of hæsel ‘hazel’). habitational name from Hazelhead or Hazlehead in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, derived from Old English hæsel ‘hazel’ + heafod ‘head’, here in the sense of ‘hill’; also a topographic name of similar etymological origin.
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"
IlesEnglish (British), French English (mainly Somerset and Gloucestershire): topographic name from Anglo-Norman French isle ‘island’ (Latin insula) or a habitational name from a place in England or northern France named with this element.
InglestonEnglish (British) Ingleston is an exceptionally rare surname and seems to be posessed by a single family who much grew larger in the 19th century. ... [more]
InglisEnglish (British), Scottish Originates from the Scots word for English as in a person of English origin. Around 1395 after a dual, the family name became connected to the Scottish clan Douglas as a sept, or a follower, of the clan... [more]
InmanEnglish (British) Anglo-Saxon in Origin. Occupational surname given to a person who "tended a lodge or an inn". Surname first found in Lancashire, England.
JaynesEnglish (British) The Jaynes surname is a patronymic name created from the personal name Jan, which was a Middle English variant of the name John, or as "son of Jan.
JewsonEnglish (British) A patronymic (also potentially matronymic) surname that means "the son of Jull", coming from the element Jull, a diminutive form of the personal name Julian or Juette from Iovis, the Roman god of thunder and the sky combined with the suffix of son.
KenworthyEnglish (British, Anglicized, Rare) his interesting surname of English origin is a locational name from a place so called in Cheshire, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century personal name Cyna, a short from of the various compound names with the first element "cyne" meaning "Royal", or, Cena, a byname meaning "Keon", "Bold" or a short form of various compound personal names with this first element plus the Old English pre 7th Century "worthing" "enclosure"... [more]
KetayEnglish (British) It was first used by the great kin Richard skinner-ketay.He ruled over his land fairly and was well respected by his subjects.
KetayEnglish (British) It was first used by the great king Richard skinner-ketay wh ruled over his land fairly and wisely and his subjects respected and loved him.
KettayEnglish (British) this name originated from Richard skinner a 20th century king.It was first used by his father Steve ketay.
KettsEnglish (British) The proud Norman name of Ketts was developed in England soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It was a name for a person who has a fancied resemblance to a cat. The name stems from the Old Northern French cat, of the same meaning, which occurs in many languages in the same form from a very early period.
KitcherEnglish (British) This name derives from the Old English word "Cyta", and describes 'the cat' or perhaps more specifically a wild cat. This name may also refer to someone who worked in a Kitchen.
LeyEnglish (British) Variant of Lye, which is given to someone who lives near a meadow
LiellEnglish (British) Meaning: from the isle, from an island. Early versions of the name can be traced back to the Norman invasion in 1066, and a variation (de Insula) can be found in the Domesday Book... [more]
LittlewoodEnglish (British) This surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may be either a locational or topographical surname. If the former, it derives from any of several minor places in West Yorkshire, such as Littlewood in Wooldale near Holmfirth, all of which are so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century "lytel", little, small, and "wudu", wood... [more]
MarlerEnglish (British) The name Marler might be loosely tied to marl, the type of crumbly clay made up of sand, silt, or clay. The name Marler likely means to mine marl, so they were called Marlers.
MattinglyEnglish (British) This name dates all the way back to the 1200s and research shows that Mattingly families began immigrating to the United States in the 1600s and continued until the 1900s. However, the place name (Mattingley, England) dates back to the year 1086, but spelled as Matingelege... [more]
MenearCornish, English (British) English (Devon; of Cornish origin): topographic name for someone who lived by a menhir, i.e. a tall standing stone erected in prehistoric times (Cornish men ‘stone’ + hir ‘long’). In the United States, it is a common surname in Pennsylvania & West Virginia.
MessamEnglish (British) originates from a place called Measham in the county of Leicestershire. The placename is first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, as Messeham, and in the Pipe Rolls of the county of 1182 as Meisham... [more]
MimsEnglish (British) Habitational name from Mimms (North and South Mimms) in Hertfordshire, most probably derived from an ancient British tribal name, Mimmas.
MinghellaEnglish (British) It derives from the Roman (Latin) "Dominicus", meaning "belonging to the lord god", from "dominus", lord or master. The name was given considerable impetus by the fame of the Spanish saint "Dominicus", who founded the Dominican order of monks, although it was already well established.
MurchieEnglish (American, Anglicized), English (British, Anglicized) "Murchie" comes from the personal name "Murdo". The Scottish Gaelic form of the surname was "Mac Mhurchaidh", meaning son of "Murdo". The name "Murdo" is equivalent to "Murdock", and means sea warrior.
NewbroughEnglish (British) Newbrough surname is thought to be a habitational, taken on from a place name such as from Newbrough in Northumberland, which is derived from the Old English words niwe, meaning "new," and burh, meaning "fortification."
NottinghamEnglish (British) A habitational name from the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands. Comes from the Old English name, meaning "homestead (ham) of Snot’s people". The initial S- was lost in the 12th century, due to the influence of Anglo-Norman French.... [more]
OakenshieldEnglish (British), Literature In J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit", the surname of Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the Company of Dwarves and the King of Durin's Folk.
PenkethEnglish (British) The surname Penketh was first found in Lancashire at Penketh, a township, in the chapelry of Great Sankey, parish of Prescot, union of Warrington, hundred of West Derby.
PhilbrickEnglish (British) English (southeastern): probably a habitational name from Felbrigg in Norfolk named with Old Norse fjǫl “board plank” + Old English brycg “bridge”.... [more]
PinchesEnglish (British, Rare) This is one of the very earliest of surnames. This is an English name. First recorded in the 12th century it was a nickname of endearment for a bright, chirpy, person, thought by his peer group to be active like a finch... [more]
PinnEnglish (British) A topographic or habitational name from a place named with Middle English pinne, meaning "hill" (Old English penn).
PreshawEnglish (British, Rare) This surname is a habitational name from a locality near Upham on the slopes of the South Downs. It is entirely within a private estate and has its own chapel.
PuttickEnglish (British) A variant spelling of the Sussex surname Puttock from the Village of Puttock, which itself derives from the Old English "Puttocke" a bird of prey, the kite. ... [more]
QuelchEnglish (British) Mid 16th Century variant of the name Wels(c)he, Welsh or Welch, itself deriving from the Middle English "walsche", Celtic, foreign, (Olde English "woelisc", a derivative of "wealh", foreign), and originally given as a distinguishing nickname to a Celt... [more]
QuestedEnglish (British) English surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the lost village of Questers.
RavenscarEnglish (British) From a coastal village with the same name, located in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England.
RavenscroftEnglish, English (British) Habitational name from a minor place in Cheshire, England. The place name means "Hræfn's croft", from an Old English personal name Hræfn (itself from Old English hræfn meaning "raven", possibly a byname) and Old English croft meaning "enclosed field".
RennEnglish (British) The surname Renn was first found in Durham where they held a family seat from early times, and were originally descended from Ralph de Raines who was granted lands by William, Duke of Albany in that shire... [more]
RowsonEnglish (British, Anglicized) The ancestors of the Rowson family first reached the shores of England in the wave of migration after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Their name is derived from the Norman given name Ralph. This name, which also occurs as Ralf, Rolf, and Raoul, is adapted from the Old French given name Raol.... [more]
SawtellEnglish (British) A dialectal variant of Sewell, which was first recorded in early 13th-century England. The later addition of the 't' was for easier pronunciation.... [more]
SaxbyEnglish (British) Saxby is the surname of the character Stella Saxby from the book Awful Auntie, by David Walliams. Saxby means "Grand" .
SibleyEnglish (British) From the Anglo-Saxons influence in England. Said to be derived from the ancient Sibbelee, a woman’s Christian name, and has been traced through Sibilla, Sybbly, and finally Sibley. Sibilla was the name of a Greek princess who uttered the ancient oracles, and is represented on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel... [more]
SnapeEnglish (British), Scottish An old, now rare surname, with various origins in Suffolk and Yorkshire in England and Lanarkshire in Scotland, derived from Middle English snaipen, “to injure; to nip (of sleet or snow); to criticize, rebuke, revile”, from Old Norse sneypa, “to disgrace, to dishonor, to outrage”... [more]
StansfieldEnglish (British) Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, probably named with the genitive case of the Old English personal name Stan 1 "stone" and Old English feld "pasture, open country"... [more]
StradlingEnglish (British) Researchers found the origin of this surname Stradling by referring to such documents as the Viking Sagas, the Orkneyinga Sagas, the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, the Inquisitio and the translations of local manuscripts, parish records, baptismal & tax records, found in the north of Dingwall, and in the Orkneys and Shetlands.... [more]
StylinsonEnglish (British) Juxtaposed names Styles and Tomlinson, used to represent (relation)ship between Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles (Larry Stylinson).
SudlowEnglish (British) Apparently a habitational name from an unidentified place, perhaps Sudlow Farm in Cheshire.
SuggEnglish (British) Surname of internet personalities Zoe and Joe Sugg. Zoe is known as Zoella on the website YouTube and has a book on sale called "Girl Online". Joe is also a YouTuber.
SyngeEnglish (British) First found in Shropshire where they had been anciently seated as Lords of the Manor of Bridgenorth, from the time of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 A.D.
TallantEnglish (British, ?), Norman, Irish English (of Norman origin) occupational name for a tailor or nickname for a good swordsman, from taillant ‘cutting’, present participle of Old French tailler ‘to cut’ (Late Latin taliare, from talea ‘(plant) cutting’)... [more]
TempestEnglish (British) English (Yorkshire): nickname for someone with a blustery temperament, from Middle English, Old French tempest(e) ‘storm’ (Latin tempestas ‘weather’, ‘season’, a derivative of tempus ‘time’).
VicaryEnglish (British) There are a number of theories as to the origins of the name, Spanish sailors shipwrecked after the Armada and French Huguenots fleeing the Revolution are two of the more romantic ones. It is more likely to have come as someone associated with the church - the vicar, who carried out the pastoral duties on behalf of the absentee holder of a benefice... [more]
ViningEnglish (British) Habitational name for someone from a place called Fyning in Rogate in Sussex.
WaldronMedieval German, Old Norman, Scottish Gaelic, English (British) Derived from the German compound wala-hran, literally "wall raven", but originally meaning "strong bird". Also derived from the Gaelic wealdærn, meaning "forest dwelling", thought to be derived from the Sussex village of Waldron... [more]
WallworkEnglish (British) Anglo-Saxon name originating from Lancashire, first recorded in Worsley in 1278. May originate from the Old Warke area in Worsley, shown as "Le Wallwerke" in old documents. The surname Walworth may be related.
WeareEnglish (British) Derived from the Old English wer, meaning a "weir, dam, fishing-trap". This was used as an occupational surname for fishermen. Originated in Devon, England.... [more]
WedmoreEnglish (British) Habitational name from Wedmore in Somerset, recorded in the 9th century as Wethmor, possibly meaning ‘marsh (Old English mor) used for hunting (w?the)’.
WellandEnglish (British, Rare) From the name of the place, derived from Old English wig - war and landa - territory, land.
WestropEnglish (British) Viking name local to Somerset and several counties in the North East of England. Approximate meaning "place to the west of the village with the church".
WiggsEnglish (British) The surname Wiggs was first found in Leicestershire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, at Lennerlyde. This interesting name has two possible origins. The first being a metonymic occupational name for a maker of wedge-shaped bread, from the Medieval English "Wigge" meaning "wedge-shaped"... [more]
WillowsEnglish (British) This is an English residential or perhaps occupational surname. It may originate from one of the various places in England called 'The Willows', or even a place such as Newton le Willows in Lancashire, or it may describe a supplier of willow.