HARDEN EnglishFrom a place name meaning "hare valley" in Old English.
HARDING EnglishDerived from the given name
HEARD. A famous bearer was American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).
HARDY English, FrenchFrom Old French and Middle English
hardi meaning
"bold, daring, hardy", of Germanic origin.
HAREL JewishOrnamental name adopted from a biblical place name meaning "altar, mountain of God" in Hebrew.
HARFORD EnglishHabitational name from places called Harford in Gloucestershire and Devon, meaning "hart ford" or "army ford".
HARLAND EnglishFrom various place names meaning
"hare land" in Old English.
HARLEY EnglishDerived from a place name meaning "hare clearing", from Old English
hara "hare" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
HARLOW EnglishHabitational name derived from a number of locations named Harlow, from Old English
hær "rock, heap of stones" or
here "army", combined with
hlaw "hill".
HARPER EnglishOriginally belonged to a person who played the harp or who made harps.
HARRELSON EnglishMeans
"son of HAROLD". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actor Woody Harrelson (1961-).
HART EnglishMeans
"male deer". It was originally acquired by a person who lived in a place frequented by harts, or bore some resemblance to a hart.
HASE GermanFrom Middle High German and Middle Low German
hase meaning
"hare, rabbit". This was a nickname for a person who was quick or timid.
HASEGAWA JapaneseFrom the Japanese place name
長谷 (
Hase, not a standard reading) combined with
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
HASENKAMP GermanFrom a northern German place name meaning
"rabbit field", from Old Saxon
haso "hare" and
kamp "field" (from Latin
campus).
HATHAWAY EnglishHabitational name for someone who lived near a path across a heath, from Old English
hæþ "heath" and
weg "way".
HAUER GermanDerived from Middle High German
houwen "to chop", referring to a butcher or woodchopper.
HAUGEN NorwegianMeans
"hill" in Norwegian, referring to a person who lived on a hilltop.
HAUMANN GermanDerived from Middle High German
houwen "to chop" and
man "man", referring to a butcher or woodchopper.
HÄUSLER GermanName for someone who lived in a house with no land, derived rom Old High German word
hus meaning
"house".
HAWK EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had a hawk-like appearance or who acted in a fierce manner, derived from Old English
heafoc "hawk".
HAWKING EnglishFrom a diminutive of
HAWK. A famous bearer was the British physicist Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).
HAWTHORNE EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a hawthorn bush, a word derived from Old English
hagaþorn, from
haga meaning "haw berry" and
þorn meaning "thorn bush". A famous bearer was the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter.
HAYDEN (1) EnglishFrom place names meaning either
"hay valley" or
"hay hill", derived from Old English
heg "hay" and
denu "valley" or
dun "hill".
HAYES (1) EnglishFrom various English place names that were derived from Old English
hæg meaning
"enclosure, fence". A famous bearer was American President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).
HAYTER EnglishName for a person who lived on a hill, from Middle English
heyt meaning
"height".
HAYWARD EnglishOccupational name for a person who protected an enclosed forest, from Old English
hæg "enclosure, fence" and
weard "guard".
HAYWOOD EnglishFrom various place names meaning "fenced wood" in Old English.
HEAD EnglishFrom Middle English
hed meaning
"head", from Old English
heafod. It may have referred to a person who had a peculiar head, who lived near the head of a river or valley, or who served as the village headman.
HEADLEY EnglishFrom place names meaning "heather clearing" in Old English.
HEATH EnglishOriginally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.
HEEREN DutchFrom Dutch
heer "lord, master", a nickname for a person who acted like a lord or who worked for a lord.
HEFFERNAN IrishFrom Irish
Ó hIfearnáin meaning
"descendant of Ifearnán". The byname
Ifearnán means "little demon".
HENDRIX DutchDerived from the given name
HENDRIK. A famous bearer was the American rock musician Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970).
HENRYSON EnglishMeans
"son of HENRY". A bearer of this surname was the poet Robert Henryson (1425-1500).
HEPBURN English, ScottishFrom northern English place names meaning
"high burial mound" in Old English. It was borne by Mary Queen of Scot's infamous third husband, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwall. Other famous bearers include the actresses Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) and Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
HERSCHEL German, JewishDiminutive form of
HIRSCH (1) or
HIRSCH (2). A famous bearer was the British-German astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822), as well as his sister Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) and son John Herschel (1792-1871), also noted scientists.
HERTZ GermanDerived from Middle High German
herze meaning
"heart", a nickname for a big-hearted person.
HERZOG GermanFrom a German title meaning
"duke", a nickname for a person who either acted like a duke or worked in a duke's household.
HEXT EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"tallest" in Middle English. It is most common in the southwest of England in the county of Devon.
HICKEY IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó hÍcidhe meaning
"descendant of the healer".
HIEDLER GermanFrom southern German
Hiedl meaning
"underground stream".
HIGGINS IrishFrom Irish
Ó hUiginn meaning
"descendant of Uiginn".
Uiginn is a byname meaning "Viking".
HILL EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived on or near a hill, derived from Old English
hyll.
HILLAM EnglishFrom English places by this name, derived from Old English
hyll meaning
"hill".
HILTON EnglishFrom various English place names derived from Old English
hyll "hill" and
tun "enclosure, town". Famous bearers of this name include the Hilton family of hotel heirs.
HIMURA JapaneseFrom Japanese
緋 (hi) meaning "scarlet, dark red" and
村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
HINES IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó hEidhin meaning
"descendant of Eidhin", a given name or byname of unknown origin.
HINO JapaneseFrom Japanese
日 (hi) meaning "sun, day" or
火 (hi) meaning "fire" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
HIRANO JapaneseFrom Japanese
平 (hira) meaning "level, even, peaceful" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
HIRSCH (1) GermanMeans
"deer, hart" in German. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a deer in some way, or who raised or hunted deer.
HITLER GermanVariant of
HIEDLER. This was spelling used by Alois Hitler, the father of German dictator Adolph Hitler (1889-1945), when he adopted his stepfather Johann Georg Hiedler's surname.
HLAVÁČ CzechFrom a nickname for a person with an oddly-shaped head, derived from Czech
hlava "head".
HOBBES EnglishDerived from the medieval given name
HOB. A famous bearer of this name was British political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), the author of
Leviathan.
HODŽIĆ BosnianFrom Bosnian
hodža meaning
"master, teacher, imam", a word of Persian origin.
HOEDEMAKER DutchOccupational name for a hat maker, from Dutch
hoed "hat" and
maker "maker".
HOFER GermanOccupational name for a farmer, from German
Hof "farm", from Old High German
hof "house, estate, courtyard".
HOFMEISTER GermanMeans
"master of the household", from Old High German
hof "house, estate, courtyard" and
meistar "master" (from Latin
magister).
HOGAN IrishFrom Irish
Ó hÓgáin meaning
"descendant of Ógán". The given name
Ógán is a diminutive of
óg meaning "young".
HOGGARD EnglishOccupational name meaning
"pig herder", from Old English
hogg "hog" and
hierde "herdsman, guardian".
HOLGUÍN SpanishPossibly from Spanish
holgar "to rest, to enjoy oneself".
HOLLAND (1) EnglishFrom various English places of this name, derived from Old English
hoh "point of land, heel" and
land "land".
HOLLINS EnglishReferred to someone living by a group of holly trees, from Old English
holegn.
HOLME English, ScottishReferred either to someone living by a small island (northern Middle English
holm, from Old Norse
holmr) or near a holly tree (Middle English
holm, from Old English
holegn).
HOLMES English, ScottishVariant of
HOLME. A famous fictional bearer was Sherlock Holmes, a detective in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887.
HOLST Danish, Low German, DutchOriginally referred to a person from the region of
HOLSTEIN between Germany and Denmark. A famous bearer of this name was the English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934).
HOLZKNECHT GermanOccupational name for a forester's helper, from Old High German
holz "wood" and
kneht "servant, apprentice".
HOLZMANN GermanDerived from Old High German
holz "wood" and
man "man", a name for someone who lived close to a wood or worked with wood.
HOMEWOOD EnglishFrom various place names derived from Old English
ham meaning "home" and
wudu meaning "wood".
HONDA JapaneseFrom Japanese
本 (hon) meaning "root, origin, source" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
HONEYCUTT EnglishDerived from the name of the English town of Hunnacott, derived from Old English
hunig "honey" or the given name
Huna combined with
cot "cottage".
HOOKER EnglishOriginally applied to one who lived near a river bend or corner of some natural feature, from Old English
hoc "angle, hook".
HOOPER EnglishOccupational name for someone who put the metal hoops around wooden barrels.
HOPE EnglishDerived from Middle English
hop meaning
"small valley".
HOPPER EnglishOccupational name for an acrobat or a nickname for someone who was nervous or restless. A famous bearer was the American actor Dennis Hopper (1936-2010).
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).