ONO JapaneseFrom Japanese
小 (o) meaning "small" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
OOMEN DutchPatronymic derived from Middle Dutch
oom meaning
"(maternal) uncle".
OPPENHEIMER GermanOriginally indicated a person from Oppenheim, Germany, perhaps meaning "marshy home".
OQUENDO SpanishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Okondo in Álava, northern Spain, possibly derived from Basque
ukondo "elbow".
Ó RAGHAILLIGH IrishMeans
"descendant of Raghailligh", an Irish given name of unknown meaning.
ORELLANA SpanishOriginally indicated a person from one of the two towns named
Orellana in Badajoz, Spain. Their names are probably derived from Latin
Aureliana meaning "of
AURELIUS".
Ó RINN IrishMeans
"descendant of Rinn". The given name
Rinn means "star" in Irish.
ORIOL CatalanFrom Catalan
or meaning
"gold", originally a nickname for a person with blond hair.
ORLOV RussianPatronymic derived from the Russian nickname
Орёл (Oryol) meaning
"eagle".
Ó RODAGH IrishMeans
"descendant of Rodach" in Irish. The given name
Rodach is derived from from Irish
rod meaning "spirited, furious".
ORSINI ItalianFrom a nickname meaning
"little bear" in Italian, from Latin
ursus "bear".
ORTEGA SpanishFrom a Spanish place name (belonging to various villages) derived from
ortiga "nettle".
ORTIZ SpanishMeans
"son of Orti", a byname deriving either from Latin
fortis meaning "brave, strong" or
fortunius meaning "fortunate".
Ó SEACHNASAIGH IrishMeans
"descendant of Seachnasach". The given name
Seachnasach possibly means "elusive" in Irish.
Ó SEIGHIN IrishMeans
"descendant of Seighin". The given name
Seighin means "small hawk" from Old Irish
séigene.
Ó SÍODA IrishMeans
"descendant of Síoda", a byname meaning "silk" in Irish.
ØSTER DanishFrom Danish
øst meaning
"east", originally denoting a dweller on the eastern side of a place.
Ó SUAIRD IrishMeans
"descendant of Suart" in Irish.
Suart is derived from the Old Norse name
SIGURD.
OURSLER GermanOriginally a name designating a person from Ursel (now Oberursel) in Hesse, Germany.
OVERTON EnglishDenoted a person who hailed from one of the various places in England called Overton, meaning "upper settlement" or "riverbank settlement" in Old English.
OWSTON EnglishDenoted a person who came from any one of the places in Britain called Ouston or Owston.
PACE ItalianDerived from the Italian given name
Pace meaning
"peace".
PADILLA SpanishFrom various Spanish place names, derived from Spanish
padilla, Latin
patella meaning "shallow dish", used to indicate a depression in the landscape.
PADMORE EnglishOriginally indicated a person from Padmore in England, derived from Old English
padde "toad" and
mor "moor, marsh".
PADOVANO ItalianOriginally denoted one who came from the city of Padua in Italy, from Italian
Padova, itself from Latin
Patavium, of unknown meaning.
PAGE English, FrenchOccupational name meaning
"servant, page". It is ultimately derived (via Old French and Italian) from Greek
παιδίον (paidion) meaning "little boy".
PALAZZO ItalianFrom various Italian places, named from Italian
palazzo, Latin
palatium meaning "palace, noble mansion".
PALENCIA SpanishHabitational name from the city or region of Palencia in northern Spain.
PALLADINO ItalianFrom Italian
paladino meaning
"knight, defender", from Late Latin
palatinus meaning "palace officer".
PALMER EnglishMeans
"pilgrim", ultimately from Latin
palma "palm tree", since pilgrims to the Holy Land often brought back palm fronds as proof of their journey.
PALMISANO ItalianLocative name from the town of Palmi in the Calabria region of southern Italy.
PALUMBO ItalianFrom Italian
palombo meaning
"pigeon" (also "dogfish"). This form is typical of southern Italy.
PAN (2) ChineseFrom Chinese
潘 (pān) meaning
"water in which rice has been rinsed", and also referring to a river that flows into the Han River.
PANTOJA SpanishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Pantoja, in Toledo, Spain.
PAPP (2) GermanNickname perhaps related to Late Latin
pappare meaning
"to eat".
PAQUET (1) FrenchOccupational name for a firewood gatherer, from Old French
pacquet "bundle".
PAREDES Portuguese, SpanishDenoted a person who lived near a wall, from Portuguese
parede and Spanish
pared meaning
"wall", both derived from Latin
paries.
PARENT English, FrenchDerived from Old French
parent meaning either
"notable" (from Latin
pārēre meaning "to be apparent") or
"parent" (from Latin
parere meaning "to produce, to give birth").
PARISH (1) EnglishOriginally denoted a person who came from the French city of Paris, which got its name from the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Parisii.
PARK (2) EnglishFrom Middle English
park, from Latin
parricus, of Germanic origin. This was a name for someone who worked in or lived in a park.
PARKER EnglishMeans
"keeper of the park" in Middle English. It is an occupational name for a person who was a gamekeeper at a medieval park.
PARMA ItalianFrom the city of Parma in northern Italy, the name of which is probably of Etruscan origin.
PARODI ItalianFrom the name of a village near Genoa in northern Italy.
PARRINO SicilianFrom a Sicilian variant of Italian
padrino meaning
"godfather".
PARSAMYAN ArmenianMeans
"son of Parsam", possibly from an Assyrian name
Barsauma meaning "fasting".
PARSONS EnglishOriginally denoted a son of a parson, a derivative of Latin
persona "person".
PASTERNAK Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, YiddishMeans
"parsnip" in various Slavic languages, ultimately from Latin
pastinaca. A famous bearer was Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), author of
Doctor Zhivago.
PATAKI HungarianDerived from Hungarian
patak meaning
"creek, brook" (a word of Slavic origin). It was given to people who lived near a creek.
PATERNOSTER English, ItalianOccupational name for a maker of rosaries, also called paternosters. They are derived from the Latin phrase
pater noster "our Father", the opening words of the Lord's Prayer.
PAVIA ItalianFrom the name of the city of Pavia in Lombardy, Italy. It is of unknown meaning.
PAVLOV Russian, BulgarianMeans
"son of PAVEL". A famous bearer of this surname was the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.
PAVONE ItalianMeans
"peacock" in Italian. It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.
PAXTON EnglishFrom an English place name meaning "Pœcc's town".
Pœcc is an Old English name of unknown meaning.
PAYNE EnglishFrom a medieval given name or nickname derived from Latin
paganus meaning
"heathen, pagan" (from an earlier sense "rural, rustic"), which was given to children whose baptism had been postponed or adults who were not overly religious.
PEACOCK EnglishFrom Middle English
pecok meaning
"peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.
PEAK EnglishOriginally indicated a dweller by a pointed hill, from Old English
peac "peak". It could also denote a person from the Peak District in Derbyshire, England.
PECK (2) EnglishOccupational name for a maker of pecks (vessels used as peck measures), derived from Middle English
pekke.
PECORA ItalianMeans
"sheep" in Italian, an occupational name for a shepherd.
PEEL EnglishNickname for a thin person, derived from Old French
pel, Latin
palus meaning
"stake, post" (related to English
pole).
PEERENBOOM DutchFrom Dutch meaning
"pear tree", referring to someone who lived or worked at a pear orchard.
PELLEGRINO ItalianMeans
"pilgrim, traveller" in Italian, ultimately from Latin
peregrinus.
PEMBERTON EnglishFrom the name of a town near Manchester, derived from Celtic
penn meaning "hill" combined with Old English
bere meaning "barley" and
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
PEÑA SpanishOriginally denoted a person who lived near a jutting rock, from Spanish
peña meaning
"rock, cliff".
PENDER (1) EnglishFrom Middle English
pind "to pen up". This was an occupational name for someone who penned animals.
PENDERS DutchFrom Middle Dutch
paender meaning
"brewer", derived from
panne meaning "pan, pot", ultimately from Latin
patina.
PENN (1) EnglishDerived from various place names that were named using the Brythonic word
penn meaning
"hilltop, head".
PENN (2) EnglishOccupational name for a person who kept penned animals, from Old English
penn.
PENNY EnglishNickname meaning
"penny, coin" from Old English
penning.
PENZIG YiddishDenoted a person who came from Penzig, the German name for Pieńsk, a town in southwest Poland. It is derived from Polish
pień meaning "stump, tree trunk".
PEREIRA Portuguese, GalicianFrom Portuguese and Galician
pereira meaning
"pear tree", ultimately from Latin
pirum meaning "pear".
PÉRIGORD FrenchFrom the name of a region in southern France, possibly of Gaulish origin.
PERRY (1) EnglishFrom Old English
pirige meaning
"pear tree", a derivative of
peru meaning "pear", itself from Latin
pirum. A famous bearer was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.
PERUGIA ItalianFrom the name of the city of Perugia in Umbria, Italy. It was known as
Perusia in the classical period, and it is of Etruscan origin.
PESARO ItalianFrom the name of the city of Pesaro, in the Marche region (Latin
Pisaurum).
PESCE ItalianMeans
"fish" in Italian, referring either to a fisherman or to a person who resembled a fish in some way.
PETIT French, Catalan, EnglishMeans
"small, little" derived from Old French and Catalan
petit. It was perhaps used for a short, small person or to denote the younger of two individuals.
PFAFF GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"priest, cleric" from Old High German
pfaffo, from Latin
papa.
PFEIFFER GermanOccupational name meaning
"pipe player" in German, from Middle High German
pfifen "to whistle".
PFENNING GermanFrom Old High German
pfenning meaning
"penny, coin". It was used in reference to feudal tax obligations.
PHILIPS English, DutchMeans
"son of PHILIP". Famous bearers of this surname were Frederick Philips (1830-1900) and his son Gerard (1858-1942), the Dutch founders of the company Philips.
PIĄTEK PolishMeans
"Friday" in Polish, derived from the word
piąty meaning "fifth".
PIAZZA ItalianMeans
"plaza" in Italian, indicating that the residence of the original bearer was near the town square.
PICASSO ItalianFrom Italian
pica meaning
"magpie". This probably denoted someone who was talkative or prone to stealing, although it may have described someone's unusual colouring. The Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a famous bearer of this name.
PICCOLI ItalianNickname for a short person, from Italian
piccolo "small".
PICKERING EnglishFrom the name of a town in Yorkshire, derived from Old English
Piceringas, the name of a tribe.
PICKLE EnglishDerived from Middle English
pighel meaning
"small field".
PIERNO ItalianFrom the name of the small town of Pierno in southern Italy near Potenza.
PILGRIM EnglishNickname for a person who was a pilgrim, ultimately from Latin
peregrinus.