Horn English, German, Norwegian, DanishFrom the Germanic word
horn meaning
"horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.
Horowitz JewishFrom the German name of Hořovice, a town in the Czech Republic. Its name is derived from Czech
hora "mountain".
Horsfall EnglishFrom a minor place in Yorkshire derived from Old English
hors "horse" and
fall "clearing".
Horton EnglishFrom the names of various places in England, which are derived from Old English
horh "dirt, mud" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Horváth HungarianHungarian form of
Horvat. This is the second most common surname in Hungary and the most common surname in Slovakia, where it is borne by the descendants of Hungarian settlers.
House EnglishReferred to a person who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut.
Houston ScottishFrom a place name meaning "
Hugh's town". The original Houston is in Scotland near Glasgow.
Howard 2 EnglishOccupational name meaning
"ewe herder", from Old English
eowu "ewe" and
hierde "herdsman, guardian".
Howe EnglishName for one who lived on a hill, from Middle English
how "hill" (of Norse origin).
Hrabě CzechMeans
"count" in Czech, perhaps used to denote someone who worked for a count or acted like a count.
Hruška CzechMeans
"pear" in Czech, most likely used to denote a person who grew or sold pears.
Hu ChineseFrom Chinese
胡 (hú) meaning
"beard, whiskers, recklessly, wildly, barbarian".
Huber GermanOccupational name for a farmer, derived from Old High German
huoba "plot of land, farm".
Huddleston EnglishFrom the name of a town in the Yorkshire region of England, which means "Hudel's town" in Old English.
Hudnall EnglishFrom various English place names, derived from the Old English given name
Huda combined with
halh "nook, recess".
Huerta SpanishMeans
"garden, orchard" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin
hortus.
Huff EnglishMeans
"spur of a hill", from Old English
hoh.
Hummel 2 German, DutchNickname for a busy person, from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch
hommel, Middle High German
hummel, all meaning
"bee".
Hunter English, ScottishOccupational name that referred to someone who hunted for a living, from Old English
hunta.
Hurst EnglishOriginally a name for a person who lived near a thicket of trees, from Old English
hyrst "thicket".
Huxley EnglishFrom the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English
leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be
hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
Huxtable EnglishDerived from the name of an English place meaning "hook post", from Old English
hoc "hook" and
stapol "post".
Hyde EnglishFrom Middle English
hide, a unit of land, approximately the size necessary to support a household.
Hyland 1 EnglishTopographic name meaning
"high land", from Old English
heah and
land.
Ibsen DanishMeans
"son of Ib". A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).
Iglesias SpanishFrom Spanish
iglesia meaning
"church", from Latin
ecclesia (of Greek origin).
Ikeda JapaneseFrom Japanese
池 (ike) meaning "pool, pond" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Im KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
林 (im) meaning
"forest", making it the Korean form of
Lin, or
任 (im) of uncertain meaning, making it the Korean form of
Ren.
Ingersleben GermanFrom the name of the town of Ingersleben, Germany, which meant "Inge's village".
Ingham EnglishFrom the name of an English town, of Old English origin meaning "
Inga's homestead".
Innes 1 ScottishFrom a place name derived from Gaelic
inis meaning
"island".
Inoue JapaneseMeans
"above the well", from Japanese
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit", an unwritten possessive marker
の (no), and
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper".
Ionesco RomanianVariant of
Ionescu. French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco (1909-1994), born
Ionescu, is a famous bearer of this surname.
Iordanou GreekFrom the name of the Jordan river, which is from Hebrew
יָרַד (yarad) meaning "descend" or "flow down".
Irving Scottish, EnglishOriginally derived from a Scottish place name (in North Ayrshire) meaning "green water".
Itō JapaneseFrom Japanese
伊 (i) meaning "this" and
藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The final character may indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.
Iturburua BasqueMeans
"by the fountain" in Basque, from
iturri "fountain, spring".
Iwai JapaneseFrom Japanese
岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks" and
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
Iwata JapaneseFrom Japanese
岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Iyer TamilReferred to a person belonging to the Iyer subcaste of the larger Brahmin caste. The Iyer subcaste is traditionally devoted to the God Vishnu.
Jackson EnglishMeans
"son of Jack". Famous bearers of this name are the American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) and the singer Michael Jackson (1958-2009).
Jäger GermanMeans
"hunter" in German, from Old High German
jagon meaning "to hunt".
Jain Indian, Hindi, Marathi, GujaratiReferred to a person who followed the principles of Jainism, a religion practiced in India. Jains are the followers of Lord Mahavira (599-527 BC).
Jankowski PolishHabitational name for a person from a town named
Jankowo or
Janków, all derived from the given name
Janek.
Janowski PolishHabitational name for a person from a town named
Janowo,
Janów or
Janowice, all derived from the given name
Jan 1.
Janvier FrenchEither from the given name
Janvier or the French word
janvier meaning
"January", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
Järvinen FinnishDerived from Finnish
järvi meaning
"lake". It is one of the most common surnames in Finland.
Jaskólski PolishOriginally indicated a person from various Polish towns named
Jaskółki, derived from Polish
jaskółka "swallow (bird)".
Jaso BasqueDerived from Basque
jats meaning
"sorghum", a type of cereal grass.
Jedlička CzechDerived from Czech
jedle meaning
"fir tree", perhaps given to a person who lived near a prominent one.
Jeffers EnglishPatronymic from the given name
Jeffrey. A famous bearer was poet Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962).
Jefferson EnglishMeans
"son of Jeffrey". A famous bearer was American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Since this surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, it is now more common among the African-American population.
Jehlička CzechFrom Czech
jehla meaning
"needle", most likely borne by tailors in reference to their occupation.
Jekyll EnglishDerived from the Breton given name
Judicaël. This name was used by Robert Louis Stevenson for the character of Dr Henry Jekyll in the book
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).
Jelen CzechFrom a nickname meaning "stag" in Czech.
Jenkins EnglishFrom the given name
Jenkin, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.
Jennings EnglishFrom the given name
Jenyn, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.
Jernigan EnglishPossibly derived from the old Breton name
Iarnogon meaning "iron famous".
Jerome EnglishDerived from the given name
Jerome. A famous bearer of this surname was the American-born Jennie Jerome (1854-1921), Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Sir Winston Churchill.
Jeż PolishMeans
"hedgehog" in Polish. It may have originally been given to a person who resembled a hedgehog in some way.
Jinks EnglishMeans
"son of Jenk", a short form of
Jenkin, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.
Jo KoreanAlternate transcription of Korean Hangul
조 (see
Cho).
John EnglishDerived from the given name
John. A famous bearer is British musician Elton John (1947-), born Reginald Dwight.
Johnson EnglishMeans
"son of John". Famous bearers include American presidents Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973).
Joiner EnglishOccupational name for a carpenter (that is, a person who joins wood together to make furniture).
Jöllenbeck GermanFrom the name of a village in western Germany, itself derived from the name of the Jölle, a small river, combined with Low German
beck "stream".
Joly FrenchFrom Old French
joli meaning
"happy, jolly, pretty".
Jonker DutchFrom the Dutch title
jonkheer meaning
"young lord". It was originally a medieval noble designation (not an actual title) for a young nobleman.
Jordan 2 JewishDerived from the name of the Jordan river, which is from Hebrew
יָרַד (yarad) meaning "descend" or "flow down".
Jughashvili Georgian (Rare)Meaning uncertain. One theory suggests Ossetian roots with the meaning
"son of the herder", derived from Ossetian
дзуг (dzug) meaning "herd, flock, troop". Alternately, it could be derived from the name of the village of
ჯუღაანი (Jughaani) in eastern Georgia. The most notable bearer was Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), born Ioseb Jughashvili, a leader of the Soviet Union.
Jung 1 GermanMeans
"young" in German, from Middle High German
junc.