Ter Avest DutchMeans
"at the edge, eave" indicating a person who lived at the edge of a forest or under a covered shelter.
Terrazas SpanishOriginally a name for a person from Terrazas in the Spanish city of Burgos, a place name meaning "terraces".
Terrell EnglishProbably derived from the Norman French nickname
tirel meaning
"to pull", referring to a stubborn person.
Terzi 2 TurkishMeans
"tailor" in Turkish, ultimately of Persian origin.
Terzić BosnianFrom Bosnian
terzija meaning
"tailor", ultimately of Persian origin.
Tesař m CzechMeans
"carpenter" in Czech, ultimately from the Old Slavic word
tesla meaning "adze".
Tesla SerbianOccupational name for a carpenter, derived from Serbian
tesla meaning
"adze". This name was notably borne by the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943).
Tessaro ItalianOccupational name meaning
"weaver", ultimately from Latin
texarius.
Teufel GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"devil" in German, given to a mischievous person or one who was devil-like.
Thälmann GermanFrom the given name
Thilo. It was borne by the German communist party leader Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944).
Thatcher EnglishReferred to a person who thatched roofs by attaching straw to them, derived from Old English
þæc meaning "thatch, roof". A famous bearer was the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
Thorley EnglishFrom any of the various places in England called
Thornley or
Thorley, meaning "thorn clearing" in Old English.
Thornton EnglishFrom any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.
Thrussell EnglishFrom Old English
þrostle meaning
"song thrush", referring to a cheerful person.
Thwaite EnglishIndicated a dweller in a forest clearing or pasture, from Old Norse
þveit "clearing, pasture".
Timberlake EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
timber "timber, wood" and
lacu "lake, pool, stream".
Tindall EnglishFrom
Tindale, the name of a town in Cumbria, derived from the name of the river Tyne combined with Old English
dæl "dale, valley".
Tinker EnglishOccupational name for a mender of kettles, pots and pans. The name could derive from the tinking sound made by light hammering on metal. It is possible that the word comes from the word
tin, the material with which the tinker worked.
Tipton EnglishOriginally given to one who came from the town of Tipton, derived from the Old English given name
Tippa combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Tiraboschi ItalianPossibly of Lombardic origin meaning
"shepherd" (from Old German
tior "animal" and
bursa "boy"). This surname is typical of Lombardy.
Tiryaki TurkishPossibly from a nickname meaning
"addict, opium user" in Turkish.
Tisza HungarianFrom the river name Tisza, Hungary's second largest river.
Tittensor EnglishIndicated a person from Tittensor, England, which means "Titten's ridge".
Tivoli ItalianDerived from the resort town of Tivoli, near Rome, originally called
Tibur in Latin, of uncertain origin.
Todaro ItalianFrom a regional form of a given name
Todaro, a variant of
Teodoro. It is quite common in Sicily.
Todd EnglishMeans
"fox", derived from Middle English
todde.
Toft EnglishDenoted a person hailing from one of the many places in Britain of that name, derived from Old Norse
topt meaning
"homestead".
Tolbert EnglishPossibly from a Germanic given name of unknown meaning. The second element of the name is derived from
beraht meaning "bright, famous".
Toledano SpanishDerived from the name of the city of Toledo in Spain, which was from Latin
Toletum, which may have been derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill".
Tolkien GermanPossibly from a Low German byname
Tolk meaning
"interpreter" (of Slavic origin). A famous bearer was the English author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973). According to him, the surname was derived from German
tollkühn meaning
"foolhardy".
Toller EnglishOccupational name meaning
"tax gatherer", derived from Old English
toln "toll, fee, tax".
Tomaszewski m PolishFrom the name of various Polish places called
Tomaszew or
Tomaszewo, derived from the given name
Tomasz.
Tordai HungarianFrom
Torda, the Hungarian name of the city of Turda in Romania (formerly within the Kingdom of Hungary).
Tornincasa ItalianFrom a medieval Italian name given to a boy born after the death of a previous one, derived from Italian
ritorna in casa "come back home".
Tosi ItalianMeans
"clean-shaven", usually denoting a younger man, from Latin
tonsus "shaved".
Tosto ItalianFrom a nickname for a tough, stubborn person, from Italian
tosto "hard, tough".
Townsend EnglishIndicated a person who lived at the town's edge, from Old English
tun "enclosure, yard, town" and
ende "end, limit".
Toyoda JapaneseFrom Japanese
豊 (toyo) meaning "bountiful, luxuriant" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy". A famous bearer was Kiichiro Toyoda (1894-1952), founder of Toyota Motor Corporation.
Tracey 1 EnglishFrom the village of Tracy-sur-mer on the Normandy coast in France. It was brought to England with William the Conqueror.
Trần VietnameseVietnamese form of
Chen, from Sino-Vietnamese
陳 (trần). This is the second most common surname in Vietnam.
Trapani ItalianFrom the name of the Sicilian city of Trapani, derived from Greek
δρεπάνη (drepane) meaning "sickle".
Trask EnglishOriginally indicated a person from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, derived from Old Norse
þresk meaning "fen, marsh".
Travers English, FrenchFrom an English and French place name that described a person who lived near a bridge or ford, or occasionally as an occupational name for the collector of tolls at such a location. The place name is derived from Old French
traverser (which comes from Late Latin
transversare), which means
"to cross".
Treloar EnglishOriginally denoted a person from a place of this name in Cornwall, England.
Tremblay FrenchFrom French
tremble meaning
"aspen". It is especially widespread in Quebec, being the most common surname there.
Trengove EnglishOriginally indicated a person from Trengove in Cornwall, England.
Trevor WelshOriginally from the name of various Welsh towns meaning
"big village", derived from Middle Welsh
tref "village" and
maur "large".
Triggs EnglishFrom a byname derived from Old Norse
tryggr meaning
"true, loyal".
Tripp EnglishFrom Middle English
trippen meaning
"to dance", an occupational name for a dancer.
Tritten GermanOriginally denoted someone who lived by a set of steps, from Middle High German
trit "step".
Troy EnglishOriginally denoted a person from the city of Troyes in France.
Trucco ItalianDenoted a person coming from a place of this name in northern Italy.
Trudeau French (Quebec)From a diminutive of the given name
Thouroude, a medieval French form of the Norse name
Torvald. This name has been borne by two Canadian prime ministers, Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919-2000) and his son Justin Trudeau (1971-).
Trujillo SpanishOriginally denoted a person from Trujillo, Spain, originally called
Turgalium in Latin.
Truman EnglishMeans
"trusty man" in Middle English. A famous bearer of the surname was American president Harry S. Truman (1884-1972).
Trumbauer GermanPossibly from Middle High German
trame "rafter, frame" and
bauer "peasant, neighbour".
Trump GermanDerived from Middle High German
trumbe meaning
"drum". This surname is borne by the American president Donald Trump (1946-).
Tschida GermanPossibly derived from a Slavic given name of unknown meaning.
Tucker EnglishOccupational name for a fuller of cloth, derived from Old English
tucian meaning "offend, torment". A fuller was a person who cleaned and thickened raw cloth by pounding it.
Tuft EnglishDenoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English
tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.
Tupper EnglishOccupational name for a herdsman, derived from Middle English
toupe "ram".
Turati ItalianFrom the name of the town of Turate near Como in Lombardy.
Turner EnglishOccupational name for one who worked with a lathe, derived from Old English
turnian "to turn", of Latin origin. A famous bearer is the American musician Tina Turner (1939-2023), born Anna Mae Bullock.
Turunen FinnishFrom Finnish
turku meaning
"marketplace" or the Finnish city of
Turku (derived from the same word).
Tveit NorwegianHabitational name derived from Old Norse
þveit meaning
"clearing".
Twist English, LiteratureProbably from the name of towns in England and Wales called
Twist or
Twiss. This surname was used by Charles Dickens for the hero of his novel
Oliver Twist (1838), about an orphan surviving the streets of London. Dickens probably had the vocabulary word
twist in mind when naming the character.
Tyler EnglishOccupational name for a tiler of roofs, derived from Old English
tigele "tile". A famous bearer of this name was American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
Tyson 1 EnglishDerived from a nickname for a quarrelsome person, from Old French
tison meaning
"firebrand".
Uccello ItalianMeans
"bird" in Italian, either a nickname for a person who resembled a bird or an occupational name for a birdcatcher.
Ueda JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Uehara JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
Ueno JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Underhill EnglishMeans
"dweller at the foot of a hill", from Old English
under and
hyll.
Underwood EnglishMeans
"dweller at the edge of the woods", from Old English
under and
wudu.
Unkle GermanPossibly denoted a person from the town of Unkel in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Unruh GermanRefers to a restless, fidgety, nervous person, from German
unruhe meaning
"unrest".
Unterbrink Low GermanMeans
"dweller under the slope" from Old Saxon
undar "under" and
brink "edge, slope".
Upton EnglishDenoted a person hailing from one of the many towns in England bearing this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English
upp "up" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Urano JapaneseFrom Japanese
浦 (ura) meaning "bay, inlet" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Urbański m PolishHabitational name for a person from towns called
Urbanowo or
Urbanowice, derived from the given name
Urban.
Urbina BasqueDerived from Basque
ur "water" and
bi "two", indicating a place where two waterways met.
Ureña SpanishProbably derived from the name of Urueña, a town in the province of Valladolid, Spain, which is of unknown meaning.
Urquhart ScottishDerived from Brythonic
ar "by" and
cardden "thicket". This is the name of several places, the most famous being north of Loch Ness.
Vacca ItalianMeans
"cow" in Italian, originally denoting a person who worked with cattle.
Vadas HungarianFrom Hungarian
vad meaning
"wild", either a nickname or an occupational name for a hunter of wild game.
Vale PortugueseMeans
"valley" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
vallis.
Valenti ItalianPatronymic from the given name
Valente, an Italian form of
Valens. A famous bearer of the surname was Jack Valenti (1921-2007), advisor to American president Lyndon Johnson.
Valiente SpanishFrom a nickname derived from Spanish
valiente meaning
"brave".
Valjean LiteratureCreated by Victor Hugo for Jean Valjean, the hero of his novel
Les Misérables (1862). The novel explains that his father, also named Jean, received the nickname Valjean or Vlajean from a contraction of French
voilá Jean meaning
"here's Jean".
Vámos HungarianMeans
"customs officer" in Hungarian, a derivative of
vám "customs".
Van Aalsburg DutchMeans
"from Aalsburg", which is possibly
Adelsburg, composed of
adal "noble" and
burg "fortress".
Van Aggelen DutchDenoted someone from Aggelen, which could refer to Achel in the Belgian province of Limburg or Egchel in the Dutch province of Limburg.
Van Agteren DutchMeans
"from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.
Van Aller DutchMeans
"from the Aller", a river in Germany, of uncertain meaning.
Van Alphen DutchMeans
"from Alphen", a town in the Netherlands. It is derived from the name of the Roman fort
Albaniana, itself from Latin
albus "white".
Van Alst DutchMeans
"from Aalst", the name of towns in Belgium and the Netherlands, which is possibly from Germanic *
alhs meaning "temple, shelter".
Van Amelsvoort DutchMeans
"from Amersfoort", a city in the Netherlands. It means "ford of the Amer (Eem) River" in Dutch.
Van Amstel DutchMeans
"from Amstel", a Dutch river that means "water area".
Van Andel DutchMeans
"from Andel", a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "upper forest" in Old Dutch.
Van As DutchMeans
"from Asch", a town in the Netherlands, meaning "ash tree".
Van Assen DutchMeans
"from Assen", a city in the Netherlands, which is possibly from
essen meaning "ash trees".
Van Baarle DutchMeans
"from Baarle", a town in both the Netherlands and Belgium.
Van Bokhoven DutchMeans
"from Bokhoven", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It means "goat yards" in Dutch.
Van Breda DutchMeans
"from Breda", a city in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch
breed meaning "wide" and
Aa, the name of a river.
Van Buggenum DutchMeans
"from Buggenum", a small town in the middle of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Van Buren DutchMeans
"from Buren", a small town on the island of Ameland in the north of the Netherlands, as well as a small city in the Dutch province Gelderland. The place names derive from Old Dutch
bur meaning "house, dwelling". In the 16th century the countess Anna van Buren married William of Orange, the founder of the Dutch royal family. A famous bearer of this surname was Martin van Buren (1782-1862), the eighth President of the United States.
Vance EnglishIndicated a dweller by a fen, from Old English
fenn meaning
"fen, marsh".