Åberg SwedishFrom Swedish
å meaning "river, stream" and
berg meaning "mountain".
Ahlström SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
al (Old Norse
ǫlr) meaning "alder" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream".
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".
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).
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.
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".
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".
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).
Langford EnglishFrom any of various places in England with this name, derived from Old English
lang "long" and
ford "ford, river crossing".
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.
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".
Pataki HungarianDerived from Hungarian
patak meaning
"creek, brook" (a word of Slavic origin). It was given to people who lived near a creek.
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).
Stanford EnglishDerived from various English place names meaning
"stone ford" in Old English.
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".