Aalto FinnishFrom Finnish
aalto meaning
"wave". A famous bearer was Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).
Åberg SwedishFrom Swedish
å meaning "river, stream" and
berg meaning "mountain".
Abspoel DutchFrom
Abtspoel, the name of an estate near Oegstgeest in South Holland, meaning
"abbot's pool".
Acqua ItalianMeans
"water" in Italian, indicating one who dwelt by or transported water.
Agua SpanishMeans
"water" in Spanish, indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.
Aguado SpanishDerived from Spanish
agua "water", indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.
Ahlström SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
al (Old Norse
ǫlr) meaning "alder" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream".
Akai JapaneseFrom Japanese
赤 (aka) meaning "red" and
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
Anaya SpanishFrom the names of a few Spanish towns, possibly of Arabic origin meaning
"stagnant water" or
"path".
Årud NorwegianFrom Norwegian
å meaning "river, stream" and the archaic word
rud meaning "cleared land".
Åström SwedishFrom Swedish
å meaning "river, stream" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream, current, flow".
Aue GermanFrom German meaning
"meadow by a river, wetland". There are many places with this name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Auer GermanFrom German
Aue, Old High German
ouwa, meaning
"meadow by a river, wetland".
Bach 1 GermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Middle High German
bach meaning
"stream". This name was borne by members of the Bach musical family, notably the composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).
Bachmann GermanDenoted a person who lived near a stream, from Middle High German
bach "stream" and
man "man".
Bachmeier GermanOriginally referred to a farmer whose farm was beside a stream, from Middle High German
bach "stream" and
meier "steward, tenant farmer".
Bennington EnglishFrom the English town name
Benington, which can mean either
"settlement belonging to Beonna's people" or
"settlement by the River Beane".
Biermann GermanDerived from German
bier "beer" and
mann "man". The name may have referred to a brewer or a tavern owner.
Boivin FrenchNickname for a wine drinker, from Old French
boi "to drink" and
vin "wine".
Boros HungarianDerived from Hungarian
bor "wine". Originally it could have indicated someone who made or sold wine.
Brook EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English
broc.
Burns 1 English, ScottishDerived from Old English
burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).
Butler English, IrishOccupational name derived from Norman French
butiller "wine steward", ultimately from Late Latin
butticula "bottle". A famous bearer of this surname is the fictional character Rhett Butler, created by Margaret Mitchell for her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936).
Caldwell EnglishFrom various English place names derived from Old English
ceald "cold" and
wille "spring, stream, well".
Clifford EnglishDerived from various place names that meant "ford by a cliff" in Old English.
Dupuis FrenchMeans
"from the well", from Old French
puts, Latin
puteus "well".
Egawa JapaneseFrom Japanese
江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Engström SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
äng (Old Norse
eng) meaning "meadow" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream".
Fairburn EnglishFrom a place name meaning
"fern stream", from Old English
fearn "fern" and
burna "stream".
Fonseca Spanish, PortugueseOriginally belonged to a person who lived near a dry spring, from Latin
fons "well, spring" and
siccus "dry".
Fuentes SpanishMeans
"spring, well" in Spanish, derived from Latin
fons.
Hampton EnglishFrom the name of multiple towns in England, derived from Old English
ham "home" or
ham "water meadow, enclosure" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Hasegawa JapaneseFrom the Japanese place name
長谷 (
Hase, not a standard reading) combined with
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Hiedler GermanFrom southern German
Hiedl meaning
"underground stream".
Ikeda JapaneseFrom Japanese
池 (ike) meaning "pool, pond" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Imai JapaneseFrom Japanese
今 (ima) meaning "now, present" and
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
Inoue JapaneseMeans
"above the well", from Japanese
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit", an unwritten possessive marker
の (no), and
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper".
Irvine 1 ScottishOriginally derived from the name of a Scottish (North Ayrshire) town, which was named for the River Irvine, derived from Brythonic elements meaning
"green water".
Iwai JapaneseFrom Japanese
岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks" and
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
Järvinen FinnishDerived from Finnish
järvi meaning
"lake". It is one of the most common surnames in Finland.
Kawaguchi JapaneseMeans
"mouth of the river", from Japanese
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and
口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".
Kitagawa JapaneseFrom Japanese
北 (kita) meaning "north" and
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream". A famous bearer was the artist and printmaker Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806).
Koizumi JapaneseFrom Japanese
小 (ko) meaning "small" and
泉 (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain". A notable bearer of this name is Junichiro Koizumi (1942-), who was Prime Minister of Japan.
Kyle ScottishDerived from Scottish Gaelic
caol meaning
"narrows, channel, strait", originally given to a person who lived by a strait.
Lagunov m RussianDerived from Russian
лагун (lagun) meaning
"water barrel". It was used to denote the descendants of a person who made water barrels.
Langford EnglishFrom any of various places in England with this name, derived from Old English
lang "long" and
ford "ford, river crossing".
Lum EnglishFrom the name of towns in England called
Lumb, probably from Old English
lum "pool".
Lynn EnglishFrom the name of a town in Norfolk (King's Lynn), derived from Welsh
llyn meaning
"lake".
Melsbach GermanFrom the name of a German town, possibly meaning "mill stream".
Milburn EnglishDerived from various place names meaning "mill stream" in Old English.
Milford EnglishOriginally derived from various place names all meaning "ford by a mill" in Old English.
Mlakar Slovene, CroatianReferred to someone who lived near a pool, derived from South Slavic
mlaka meaning
"pool, puddle".
Mortimer EnglishFrom the name of a town in Normandy meaning
"dead water, still water" in Old French.
Nakai JapaneseFrom Japanese
中 (naka) meaning "middle" and
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
Nye EnglishOriginally indicated a person who lived near a river, from Middle English
atten eye meaning
"at the river".
Nyström SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
ny (Old Norse
nýr) meaning "new" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream".
Oelberg GermanMeans
"oil hill" from Middle High German
öl "oil" and
berg "mountain, hill".
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.
Pataki HungarianDerived from Hungarian
patak meaning
"creek, brook" (a word of Slavic origin). It was given to people who lived near a creek.
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).
Pond EnglishOriginally referred to one who lived near a pond.
Poole EnglishFrom Old English
pol meaning
"pool", referring to a person who lived by a small body of water.
Ribeiro PortugueseMeans
"little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
riparius meaning "riverbank".
Rios PortugueseOriginally denoted a person who lived near a river, from Portuguese
rios "river", ultimately from Latin
rivus.
Rivers EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French
riviere meaning
"river", from Latin
riparius meaning "riverbank".
Rye EnglishTopographic name. It could be a misdivision of the Middle English phrases
atter ye meaning
"at the island" or
atter eye meaning
"at the river". In some cases it merely indicated a person who lived where rye was grown or worked with rye (from Old English
ryge).
Schenk German, DutchFrom Middle High German, Middle Dutch
schenke meaning
"wine server" (from Old High German
scenken "to pour out").
Schröter GermanMeans
"beer-porter, wine-porter" in German, an occupational name for a carrier of wine or beer barrels.
Sjögren SwedishFrom Swedish
sjö (Old Norse
sær) meaning "lake, sea" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Sörös HungarianFrom Hungarian
sör meaning
"beer". Originally the name was given to beer brewers.
Stanford EnglishDerived from various English place names meaning
"stone ford" in Old English.
Strand Norwegian, Swedish, DanishFrom Old Norse
strǫnd meaning
"beach, sea shore". It was originally given to someone who lived on or near the sea.
Urano JapaneseFrom Japanese
浦 (ura) meaning "bay, inlet" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Urbina BasqueDerived from Basque
ur "water" and
bi "two", indicating a place where two waterways met.
Van der Zee DutchMeans
"from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.
Vinogradov m RussianMeans
"vineyard" in Russian (ultimately from German), referring to a person who worked at a vineyard or lived near one.
Virtanen FinnishDerived from Finnish
virta meaning
"stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
Walton EnglishFrom the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English
wealh "foreigner, Celt",
weald "forest",
weall "wall", or
wille "well, spring, water hole" combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Waterman 2 English, DutchOccupational name for a boatman or a water carrier. It could also describe a person who lived by water.
Weimann GermanFrom German
Wein meaning
"wine", an occupational name for a wine seller or producer.
Wells EnglishDerived from Middle English
wille meaning
"well, spring, water hole".