Pantoja SpanishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Pantoja, in Toledo, Spain.
Panza Italian, LiteratureFrom a variant of the Italian word
pancia meaning
"stomach, paunch", originally a nickname for a chubby person. The Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes used it in his novel
Don Quixote (1605), where it is the surname of Don Quixote's squire Sancho Panza. Not a common Spanish surname, Cervantes may have based it directly on the Spanish word
panza (a cognate of the Italian word).
Papoutsis m GreekMeans
"shoemaker" in Greek, from
παπούτσι (papoutsi) meaning "shoe" (ultimately of Persian origin).
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".
Pardo SpanishMeans
"brown" in Spanish, originally a nickname for someone with brown hair.
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 1 KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
樸 or 朴 (bak) meaning
"plain, unadorned, simple". This is the third most common surname in South Korea.
Park 2 EnglishFrom Middle English
park, from Latin
parricus, of Frankish 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 m 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.
Pawłowski m PolishHabitational name for someone from a town named
Pawłowo, derived from the given name
Paweł.
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.
Paz SpanishMeans
"peace" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a calm person.
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.
Pei ChineseFrom Chinese
裴 (péi), possibly referring to an ancient city.
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.
Peng ChineseFrom Chinese
彭 (péng) referring to the ancient state of Peng, which existed during the Shang dynasty in what is now Jiangsu province.
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.
Phạm VietnameseVietnamese form of
Fan, from Sino-Vietnamese
范 (phạm). This is the fourth most common surname in Vietnam.
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. It is derived from Latin
platea.
Picard FrenchOriginally denoted a person from Picardy, a historical region of northern France. It is derived from Old French
pic meaning "pike, spike".
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.
Pini ItalianName for a person who lived near a pine tree, from Italian
pino, Latin
pinus.
Piotrowski m PolishHabitational name for a person from towns named
Piotrów,
Piotrowo or
Piotrowice, all derived from the given name
Piotr.
Piovene ItalianFrom the name of the town of Piovene Rocchette in Veneto, Italy.
Piper EnglishOriginally given to a person who played on a pipe (a flute).
Pisani ItalianFrom Italian
pisano, the name for an inhabitant of the city of Pisa, Italy. The city's name is of unknown meaning.
Pitt EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived near a pit or a hole, derived from Old English
pytt "pit".
Pittaluga ItalianOriginally a nickname for somebody who steals grapes from vineyards. In the Genoese dialect
pittà means "to pick" and
uga means "grapes" (
uva in Italian).
Pitts EnglishIndicated a person who lived by a pit or hollow, from Old English
pytt. It could also indicate a person from Pitt (Hants) or Pett (East Sussex) in England.
Plamondon FrenchDerived from French
plat "flat" and
mont "mountain", referring to someone who lived near a flat-topped mountain.
Plank German, EnglishMeans
"plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin
planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.
Plaskett EnglishOriginally denoted a dweller by a swampy meadow, from Old French
plascq meaning
"wet meadow".
Platt EnglishFrom Old French
plat meaning
"flat, thin", from Late Latin
plattus, from Greek
πλατύς (platys) meaning "wide, broad, flat". This may have been a nickname or a topographic name for someone who lived near a flat feature.
Pleško SloveneNickname for a bald person, from Slovene
pleša meaning
"bald patch".
Pletscher GermanPossibly from the name of a field where cattle fodder was grown, from German
Bletsch.
Plourde FrenchPossibly derived from French
palourde, a type of a shellfish.
Podsedník m CzechMeans
"one who sits behind" in Czech, an equivalent to
Zahradník mainly used in the region of Moravia.
Poggio ItalianMeans
"hillock, small hill" in Italian, a derivative of Latin
podium meaning "balcony, platform".
Poirier FrenchMeans
"pear tree" in French, originally a nickname for someone who lived close to such a tree.
Poirot French, LiteratureFrom a diminutive of French
poire "pear", originally referring to a pear merchant or someone who lived near a pear tree. Starting in 1920 this name was used by the mystery writer Agatha Christie for her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Christie based the name on that of Jules Poiret, a contemporary fictional detective.
Poletti ItalianFrom a diminutive of the given name
Paolo. This name is typical of northern and central Italy.
Pollock ScottishFrom the name of a place in Renfrewshire, Scotland, derived from a diminutive of Gaelic
poll meaning
"pool, pond, bog". A famous bearer was the American artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956).
Pololáník m CzechDerived from Czech
polo "one half" and
lán, a medieval Czech measure of land (approximately 18 hectares). The name denoted someone who owned this much land.
Polzin GermanFrom the name of a town in Pomerania, Poland (formerly part of Germany). In Polish it is called Połczyn.
Pond EnglishOriginally referred to one who lived near a pond.
Pontecorvo Italian, JewishFrom the name of a town in central Italy, home to an old Jewish community. The town's name is derived from Italian
ponte "bridge" and
curvo "curved".
Poole EnglishFrom Old English
pol meaning
"pool", referring to a person who lived by a small body of water.
Popa RomanianFrom Romanian
popă "priest", from Old Church Slavic
popŭ. This is the most common surname in Romania.
Pope EnglishFrom a nickname that originally designated a person who played the part of the pope in a play or pageant. Otherwise the name could be used as a nickname for a man with a solemn, austere, or pious appearance. It is derived from Latin
papa, ultimately from Greek
πάππας (pappas) meaning "father".
Popescu RomanianPatronymic derived from Romanian
popă "priest". This is the second most common surname in Romania.