Sienkiewicz PolishPatronymic from the given name
Sienko, an old diminutive of
Szymon. This was the surname of the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916).
Sierra SpanishOriginally indicated a dweller on a hill range or ridge, from Spanish
sierra "mountain range", derived from Latin
serra "saw".
Sigourney EnglishFrom the name of the commune of Sigournais in western France, called
Segurniacum in medieval Latin, itself of unknown meaning.
Silva Portuguese, SpanishFrom Spanish or Portuguese
silva meaning
"forest". This is the most common surname in Portugal and Brazil.
Silver EnglishFrom a nickname for a person with grey hair, from Old English
seolfor "silver".
Simpson EnglishMeans
"son of Sim",
Sim being a medieval short form of
Simon 1. This is the name of a fictional American family on the animated television series
The Simpsons, starting 1989.
Sinagra 1 ItalianOriginally denoted a person from Sinagra on Sicily, possibly derived from Latin
sinus "inlet" and
ager "field".
Sipos HungarianOccupational name for a fife player or piper, from Hungarian
síp "whistle, pipe".
Sitko PolishMeans
"fine sieve" in Polish, a diminutive of the Polish word
sito "sieve".
Sitz 1 GermanDerived from a given name beginning with the Old High German element
sigu meaning "victory".
Sitz 2 GermanMeans
"house owner", derived from Old High German
siz "seat, domicile".
Sjögren SwedishFrom Swedish
sjö (Old Norse
sær) meaning "lake, sea" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Skála m CzechMeans
"rock" in Czech, indicating that the original bearer lived near a prominent rock.
Skalický m Czech, SlovakIndicated the original bearer came from a place named
Skalice,
Skalica or
Skalička in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, derived from the Slavic root
skala meaning "rock".
Skeates EnglishFrom the Old Norse nickname or byname
skjótr meaning
"swift".
Skinner EnglishOccupational name for a person who skinned animals, from Old Norse
skinn.
Skjeggestad NorwegianFrom a place name, derived from Norwegian
skjegg "beard" and
stad "town, place".
Skov DanishTopographic name meaning
"forest, wood" in Danish, from Old Norse
skógr.
Skovgaard DanishFrom a place name, derived from Danish
skov "forest, wood" and
gård "farm, yard".
Skywalker Popular CultureFrom the English words
sky and
walker, created by George Lucas as the surname for several characters in his
Star Wars movie series, notably the hero Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy (beginning 1977). Early drafts of the script had the name as
Starkiller.
Slade EnglishDerived from Old English
slæd meaning
"valley".
Slane IrishOriginally indicated a person from Slane, County Meath, Ireland, which is derived from the given name
Sláine.
Slater EnglishOccupational name indicating that an early member worked covering roofs with slate, from Old French
esclat "shard", of Germanic origin.
Slezák m Czech, SlovakOriginally a name for a person from
Silesia, a historical region that is nowadays split between Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Ślusarski m PolishOccupational name for a locksmith, from Polish
ślusarz, of Germanic origin.
Small EnglishFrom a nickname for a small person, from Middle English
smal.
Smedley EnglishFrom an unidentified place name probably meaning "smooth clearing" in Old English.
Smirnov m RussianDerived from Russian
смирный (smirny) meaning "quiet, peaceful, timid". This is one of the most common surnames in Russia.
Smit DutchFrom Middle Dutch
smit "metalworker, blacksmith", a cognate of
Smith.
Smith EnglishMeans
"metalworker, blacksmith" from Old English
smiþ, related to
smitan "to smite, to hit". It is the most common surname in most of the English-speaking world. A famous bearer was the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).
Smolak PolishOccupational name for a distiller of pitch, derived from the Old Slavic word
smola meaning
"pitch, resin".
Snell EnglishFrom Old English
snel meaning
"fast, quick, nimble".
Snyder EnglishMeans
"tailor", derived from Middle English
snithen "to cut", an occupational name for a person who stitched coats and clothing.
Sokol mu Slovak, Czech, JewishFrom Czech and Slovak
sokol meaning
"falcon", a nickname or an occupational name for a falconer. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Sokołowski m PolishFrom the name of Polish towns called
Sokołów or similar, derived from Polish
sokół meaning "falcon".
Solberg Norwegian, SwedishFrom a place name, derived from Old Norse
sól meaning "sun" and
berg meaning "mountain". As a Swedish name it may be ornamental.
Soldati ItalianFrom Italian
soldato meaning
"soldier", ultimately from Latin
solidus, a type of Roman coin.
Soler Occitan, CatalanDenoted a person from any of the numerous places in the area whose names derive from Occitan or Catalan
soler meaning "ground, floor".
Solheim NorwegianFrom the name various of various villages in Norway, derived from Old Norse
sól meaning "sun" and
heimr meaning "home".
Solís SpanishFrom the name of a village in Asturias, Spain, derived from Spanish
sol "sun".
Somma ItalianFrom the names of Italian places like Somma Lombardo or Somma Vesuviana, derived from Latin
summa meaning "summit".
Sommer 1 German, EnglishMeans
"summer", from Old High German
sumar or Old English
sumor. This was a nickname for a cheerful person, someone who lived in a sunny spot, or a farmer who had to pay taxes in the summer.
Sommer 2 GermanFrom Middle High German
sumber or
sommer meaning
"basket, wickerwork, drum".
Somogyi HungarianOriginally indicated a person from Somogy, a region within Hungary. It may be derived from Hungarian
som meaning "cornel tree".
Song Chinese, KoreanFrom Chinese
宋 (sòng) referring to the Song dynasty, which ruled China from 960 to 1279.
Sonnen GermanMeans
"sun" from Middle High German
sunne. It probably denoted someone of cheerful temperament or a person who lived in a sunny area.
Sordi ItalianFrom Italian
sordo meaning
"deaf", from Latin
surdus.
Sorge GermanMeans
"worry, care, anxiety" in German, from Old High German
sorga.
Soriano ItalianFrom place names such as Soriano Calabro and Soriano nel Cimino. It is typical of southern Italy.
Sörös HungarianFrom Hungarian
sör meaning
"beer". Originally the name was given to beer brewers.
Sorrentino ItalianDerived from the town of Sorrento near Naples, called
Surrentum in Latin, of unknown meaning.
Soto SpanishMeans
"grove of trees, small forest" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin
saltus.
Souček m CzechFrom Czech
suk meaning
"tree knot". This could either be a topographic name or a nickname for a stubborn person.
Soucy FrenchOriginally denoted someone from French towns by this name in Aisne or Yonne, both derived from the Latin name
Suciacum.
Soukup m CzechMeans
"co-buyer" in Czech, an occupational name for a merchant.
Sousa PortugueseOriginally indicated someone who lived near the River Sousa in Portugal, possibly derived from Latin
salsus "salty" or
saxa "rocks".
Southgate EnglishName for a person who lived near the southern gate of a town or in a town named Southgate, from Old English
suþ and
gæt.
Sówka PolishFrom a diminutive of Polish
sowa meaning
"owl".
Spada ItalianOccupational name for an armourer or swordsman, from Italian
spada "sword", Latin
spatha.
Spalding EnglishFrom the name of the town of Spalding in Lincolnshire, derived from the Anglo-Saxon tribe of the Spaldingas.
Spannagel GermanOccupational name for a nailsmith, from Middle High German
span nagel "connecting bolt".
Spanò SicilianFrom Sicilian
spanu meaning
"sparse, thin hair", ultimately from Greek
σπάνιος (spanios) meaning "scarce, rare".
Spanos m GreekMeans
"hairless, beardless" in Greek, ultimately from
σπάνιος (spanios) meaning "scarce, rare".
Sparacello ItalianFrom Sicilian
sparaciu meaning
"asparagus", an occupational name for an asparagus seller or grower.
Sparks EnglishFrom an Old Norse nickname or byname derived from
sparkr meaning
"sprightly".
Spear EnglishFrom Old English
spere "spear", an occupational name for a hunter or a maker of spears, or a nickname for a thin person.
Spellmeyer GermanPossibly from German
spielen meaning "to play, to jest" combined with
meyer meaning "village headman". Perhaps it referred to someone who was played or acted as the village headman.
Spencer EnglishOccupational name for a person who dispensed provisions to those who worked at a manor, derived from Middle English
spense "larder, pantry".
Speziale ItalianMeans
"grocer" in Italian, derived from Latin
speciarius "spice seller".
Spijker 1 DutchDenoted a dweller by or worker at a granary, from Dutch
spijker "granary".
Spijker 2 DutchOccupational name for a nailsmith, from Dutch
spijker "nail".
Spini ItalianDenoted a person who lived near thorn bushes, from Italian
spina "thorn, spine", from Latin.
Spitz GermanMeans
"sharp" in German, indicating the original bearer lived near a pointed hill.
Spitznagel GermanMeans
"sharp nail" in German, an occupational name for a nailsmith.
Spooner EnglishOccupational name for a maker of spoons or a maker of shingles, derived from Middle English
spone meaning "chip of wood, spoon".
Spurling EnglishFrom Middle English
sparewe "sparrow" and the diminutive suffix
-ling.
Stabile ItalianFrom the medieval Italian given name
Stabile meaning
"stable, firm".
Stablum ItalianNorthern Italian name derived from Latin
stabulum meaning
"stable".
Stack EnglishFrom a nickname for a big person, derived from Middle English
stack "haystack", of Old Norse origin.
Stafford EnglishFrom the name of the English city of Stafford, Staffordshire, derived from Old English
stæð meaning "wharf, landing place" and
ford meaning "ford, river crossing".
Stainthorpe EnglishOriginally indicated a person from Staindrop, County Durham, England, derived from Old English
stæner meaning "stony ground" and
hop meaning "valley".
Stalin HistorySurname adopted by the Russian leader Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) during his revolutionary years. He was an ethnic Georgian, born as Ioseb Jughashvili. He derived it from Russian
сталь (stal) meaning
"steel".
Stamp EnglishOriginally denoted a person from Étampes near Paris. It was called
Stampae in Latin, but the ultimate origin is uncertain.
Stanford EnglishDerived from various English place names meaning
"stone ford" in Old English.
Stanley EnglishFrom various place names meaning
"stone clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904).
Stanton EnglishFrom one of the many places named Stanton or Staunton in England, derived from Old English
stan meaning "stone" and
tun meaning "enclosure, town".
Stárek m CzechFrom a nickname derived from Czech
starý meaning
"old".
Starek PolishFrom a nickname derived from Polish
stary meaning
"old".
Stark English, GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"strong, rigid", from Old English
stearc or Old High German
stark.
Starr EnglishFrom Middle English
sterre meaning
"star". This was usually a nickname, but it could also occasionally be a sign name from the name of an inn called the Star.
Starrett ScottishOriginally indicated a person from Stairaird, an estate in Scotland.
Statham EnglishFrom the name of a village in the English county of Cheshire, derived from Old English
stæð meaning "wharf, landing place" and
ham "home, settlement".
Steed EnglishOccupational name for one who tended horses, derived from Middle English
steed, in turn derived from Old English
steda meaning "stallion".
Steele EnglishOccupational name for a steelworker, from Old English
stele meaning
"steel".
Steen Low GermanLow German variant of
Stein. A famous bearer was the 17th-century Dutch painter Jan Steen.
Stein German, JewishFrom Old High German
stein meaning
"stone". It might indicate the original bearer lived near a prominent stone or worked as a stonecutter. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Steinmann GermanMeans
"stone man" in German, used as a habitational name for a person who lived near a prominent stone or an occupational name for a stone worker.
Stendahl SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
sten (Old Norse
steinn) meaning "stone" and
dal (Old Norse
dalr) meaning "valley".
Stenger GermanOccupational name for a post maker, from Old High German
stanga "pole".
Stępień PolishPossibly an occupational name for a herbalist, from Polish
stępa "mortar".
Sterling ScottishDerived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning.
Stern 1 EnglishFrom Old English
styrne meaning
"stern, severe". This was used as a nickname for someone who was stern, harsh, or severe in manner or character.
Sternberg JewishOrnamental name derived from old German
stern "star" and
berg "mountain".
Stetson EnglishPossibly from the name of the village of Stidston in Devon, meaning
"Stithweard's town".