Górski m PolishFrom the Polish word
góra meaning
"mountain".
Gough 1 WelshNickname for a red-haired person, from Welsh
coch "red".
Gouveia PortugueseFrom the name of the city of Gouveia in Portugal, of unknown meaning.
Grabowski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various places called
Grabów,
Grabowa or
Grabowo, all derived from Polish
grab meaning "hornbeam tree".
Grady IrishFrom Irish
Ó Gráda or
Ó Grádaigh meaning
"descendant of Gráda". The byname
Gráda means "noble, illustrious".
Graham Scottish, EnglishDerived from the English place name
Grantham, which probably meant "gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by William de Graham.
Graner GermanOriginally denoted a person from Gran, the German name for Esztergom, a city in northern Hungary.
Granger English, FrenchMeans
"farm bailiff" from Old French
grangier, ultimately from Latin
granum meaning "grain". It is borne in the Harry Potter novels by Harry's friend Hermione Granger.
Grant English, ScottishDerived from Norman French meaning
"grand, tall, large, great". A famous bearer was the American general and president Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885).
Grasso ItalianMeans
"fat" in Italian, originally a nickname for a stout person. It is derived from Latin
crassus.
Graves EnglishOccupational name for a steward, derived from Middle English
greyve, related to the German title
Graf.
Gray EnglishFrom a nickname for a person who had grey hair or grey clothes.
Grayson EnglishMeans
"son of the steward", derived from Middle English
greyve "steward".
Green EnglishDescriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green.
Greenspan JewishAnglicized form of German
Grünspan meaning
"verdigris". Verdigris is the green-blue substance that forms on copper.
Greenwood EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived in or near a lush forest, from Old English
grene "green" and
wudu "wood".
Grieve ScottishOccupational name meaning
"steward, farm manager" in Middle English, related to the German title
Graf.
Griffin 2 EnglishNickname from the mythological beast with body of a lion with head and wings of an eagle. It is ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Grillo ItalianFrom an Italian nickname meaning
"cricket", perhaps given originally to a cheerful person (the cricket is associated with cheerfulness).
Grimaldi ItalianFrom the given name
Grimaldo. It is the surname of the royal family of Monaco, which came from Genoa.
Grimm GermanFrom a nickname for a stern person, derived from Old High German
grim "stern, severe, angry". Famous bearers include Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), known for compiling German folktales.
Gronchi ItalianFrom the Tuscan word
gronchio meaning
"numb, bent". This is an Italian regional surname typical of Tuscany. A famous bearer was the Italian president Giovanni Gronchi (1887-1978).
Gros FrenchMeans
"thick, fat, big" in French, from Late Latin
grossus, possibly of Germanic origin.
Groß GermanFrom Old High German
groz meaning
"tall, big".
Grover EnglishFrom Old English
graf meaning
"grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).
Groves EnglishFrom Old English
graf meaning
"grove". This originally indicated a person who lived near a grove (a group of trees).
Gruber Upper GermanFrom German
Grube meaning
"pit", indicating a person who lived or worked in a pit or depression. This is the most common surname in Austria.
Grünberg German, JewishFrom German
grün meaning "green" and
Berg meaning "mountain". This name indicated a person who lived on or near a forest-covered mountain.
Grünewald GermanMeans
"green forest" from German
grün "green" and
Wald "forest".
Guerrero SpanishMeans
"warrior" in Spanish, an occupational name for a soldier. It is derived from Late Latin
werra "war", of Germanic origin.
Guevara SpanishHispanicized form of
Gebara. A notable bearer was Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara (1928-1967).
Guinness IrishVariant of
McGuinness. The name is well known because of the Guinness brand of ale, established in 1759 by Arthur Guinness.
Gujić BosnianMeans
"son of a snake" from the Bosnian word
guja meaning "snake".
Gully EnglishNickname for a big person, from Middle English
golias meaning "giant" (ultimately from
Goliath, the Philistine warrior who was slain by David in the Old Testament).
Gump German (Rare), Popular CulturePossibly from a nickname derived from Middle High German
gumpen meaning
"to hop, to jump". This surname was used by author Winston Groom for the hero of his novel
Forrest Gump (1986), better known from the 1994 movie adaptation.
Gustafsson SwedishMeans
"son of Gustaf". The actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was originally named Greta Gustafsson.
Gutermuth GermanDerived from Middle High German
guot meaning "good" and
muot meaning "mind, spirit". It was a nickname for an optimistic person.
Guttuso ItalianFrom a Sicilian nickname meaning
"sad". It was name of the famous Italian painter Renato Guttuso (born 1912).
Guzmán SpanishFrom the name of the town of Guzmán in Burgos, Spain. The town's name itself may be derived from an old Visigothic given name, from the Germanic elements *
gautaz "a Geat" and *
mannô "person, man".
Gwózdek PolishDerived from either archaic Polish
gwozd meaning
"forest" or
gwóźdź meaning
"nail".
Gynt LiteratureMeaning unknown. This name was used by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen for the central character in his play
Peer Gynt (1867). Ibsen based the story on an earlier Norwegian folktale
Per Gynt.
Haak DutchOccupational name meaning
"peddler" in Dutch.
Haanraads DutchOriginally indicated a person from Haanrade, a small village in the south of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Haber German, JewishOccupational name for one who grew or sold oats, derived from Old High German
habaro "oat". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
Haberkorn GermanOccupational name for a dealer in oats, derived from Old High German
habaro "oat" and
korn "kernel, grain".
Hackett EnglishFrom a diminutive of the medieval byname
Hake, which was of Old Norse origin and meant "hook".
Haden EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
hæþ "heath" and
dun "hill".
Hadžić BosnianFrom Bosnian
hadž meaning
"hajj, pilgrimage", ultimately derived from Arabic
حَجّ (ḥajj). It originally denoted a person who had completed the hajj.
Hafner GermanOccupational name for a potter, derived from Old High German
hafan "pot, vessel".
Haggard EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"wild, untamed, worn", from Old French, ultimately from a Germanic root.
Hahn GermanFrom a nickname for a proud or pugnacious person, from Old High German
hano meaning
"rooster, cock".
Haight EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived at the top of a hill, derived from Old English
heahþu "height, summit".
Hail EnglishFrom a nickname derived from Middle English
hail meaning
"healthy" (of Old Norse origin).
Hájek m CzechMeans
"thicket" in Czech, a diminutive of
háj "woods".
Hale EnglishDerived from Old English
halh meaning
"nook, recess, hollow".
Haley EnglishFrom the name of an English town meaning "hay clearing", from Old English
heg "hay" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Hallman SwedishFrom Swedish
hall (Old Norse
hallr) meaning "rock, boulder, slab" and
man (Old Norse
maðr) meaning "person, man".
Halloran IrishFrom Irish
Ó hAllmhuráin meaning
"descendant of Allmhurán". The given name
Allmhurán means "stranger from across the sea".
Halmi HungarianDerived from Hungarian
halom meaning
"mound, small hill". Originally the name was given to someone who lived near or on a hill.
Hämäläinen FinnishDerived from the region in southern Finland known as Häme, also called Tavastia.
Hambleton EnglishFrom various English place names, derived from Old English
hamel "crooked, mutilated" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Hamilton English, ScottishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
hamel "crooked, mutilated" and
dun "hill". This was the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists).
Hampton EnglishFrom the name of multiple towns in England, derived from Old English
ham "home" or
ham "water meadow, enclosure" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Han Chinese, KoreanFrom Chinese
韩 (hán) referring to the ancient state of Han, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Shanxi and Henan provinces.
Hanley EnglishFrom various English place names meaning
"high meadow" in Old English.
Hansen Norwegian, DanishMeans
"son of Hans". This is the most common surname in Norway, and the third most common in Denmark.
Harden EnglishFrom a place name meaning "hare valley" in Old English.
Harding EnglishDerived from the given name
Heard. A famous bearer was American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).
Hardy English, FrenchFrom Old French and Middle English
hardi meaning
"bold, daring, hardy", from the Germanic root *
harduz.
Harel JewishOrnamental name adopted from a biblical place name meaning "altar, mountain of God" in Hebrew.
Harford EnglishHabitational name from places called Harford in Gloucestershire and Devon, meaning "hart ford" or "army ford".
Harland EnglishFrom various place names meaning
"hare land" in Old English.
Harley EnglishDerived from a place name meaning "hare clearing", from Old English
hara "hare" or
hær "rock, heap of stones" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Harlow EnglishHabitational name derived from a number of locations named Harlow, from Old English
hær "rock, heap of stones" or
here "army", combined with
hlaw "hill".
Harper EnglishOriginally belonged to a person who played the harp or who made harps.
Harrelson EnglishMeans
"son of Harold". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actor Woody Harrelson (1961-).
Harrington EnglishFrom the name of towns in England, meaning either "Hæfer's town" or "stony town" in Old English.
Hart EnglishMeans
"male deer". It was originally acquired by a person who lived in a place frequented by harts, or bore some resemblance to a hart.
Hartley EnglishHabitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Hartley, from Old English
heorot "hart, male deer" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Hase GermanFrom Middle High German and Middle Low German
hase meaning
"hare, rabbit". This was a nickname for a person who was quick or timid.
Hasegawa JapaneseFrom the Japanese place name
長谷 (
Hase, not a standard reading) combined with
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Hasenkamp GermanFrom a northern German place name meaning
"rabbit field", from Old Saxon
haso "hare" and
kamp "field" (from Latin
campus).
Hathaway EnglishHabitational name for someone who lived near a path across a heath, from Old English
hæþ "heath" and
weg "way".
Hauer GermanDerived from Middle High German
houwen "to chop", referring to a butcher or woodchopper.
Haugen NorwegianMeans
"hill" in Norwegian, referring to a person who lived on a hilltop.
Haumann GermanDerived from Middle High German
houwen "to chop" and
man "man", referring to a butcher or woodchopper.
Häusler GermanName for someone who lived in a house with no land, derived rom Old High German word
hus meaning
"house".
Hawk EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had a hawk-like appearance or who acted in a fierce manner, derived from Old English
hafoc "hawk".
Hawking EnglishFrom a diminutive of
Hawk. A famous bearer was the British physicist Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).
Hawthorne EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a hawthorn bush, a word derived from Old English
hagaþorn, from
haga meaning "enclosure, yard" and
þorn meaning "thorn bush". A famous bearer was the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter.
Hayden 1 EnglishFrom place names meaning either
"hay valley" or
"hay hill", derived from Old English
heg "hay" and
denu "valley" or
dun "hill".
Hayes 1 EnglishFrom various English place names that were derived from Old English
hæg meaning
"enclosure, fence". A famous bearer was American President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).
Hayter EnglishName for a person who lived on a hill, from Middle English
heyt meaning
"height".
Hayward EnglishOccupational name for a person who protected an enclosed forest, from Old English
hæg "enclosure, fence" and
weard "guard".
Haywood EnglishFrom various place names meaning "fenced wood" in Old English.
He ChineseFrom Chinese
何 (hé), representing a southern pronunciation of the name of the ancient state of Han (see
Han). After Han was destroyed by the state of Qin, those who resettled further south changed their name to this character in order to match the local pronunciation.
Head EnglishFrom Middle English
hed meaning
"head", from Old English
heafod. It may have referred to a person who had a peculiar head, who lived near the head of a river or valley, or who served as the village headman.
Headley EnglishFrom place names meaning "heather clearing" in Old English.
Heath EnglishOriginally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.
Heeren DutchFrom Dutch
heer "lord, master", a nickname for a person who acted like a lord or who worked for a lord.
Heffernan IrishFrom Irish
Ó hIfearnáin meaning
"descendant of Ifearnán". The byname
Ifearnán means "little demon".
Hendrix DutchDerived from the given name
Hendrik. A famous bearer was the American rock musician Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970).