Browse Surnames

This is a list of surnames in which the meaning contains the keyword river.
usage
meaning
Åberg Swedish
From Swedish å meaning "river, stream" and berg meaning "mountain".
Ahlström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish al (Old Norse ǫlr) meaning "alder" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Arroyo Spanish
Means "stream, brook" in Spanish.
Årud Norwegian
From Norwegian å meaning "river, stream" and the archaic word rud meaning "cleared land".
Åström Swedish
From Swedish å meaning "river, stream" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream, current, flow".
Aue German
From German meaning "meadow by a river, wetland". There are many places with this name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Auer German
From German Aue, Old High German ouwa, meaning "meadow by a river, wetland".
Bach 1 German
Topographic 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).
Bach 2 Danish
Variant of Bak.
Bachmann German
Denoted a person who lived near a stream, from Middle High German bach "stream" and man "man".
Bachmeier German
Originally referred to a farmer whose farm was beside a stream, from Middle High German bach "stream" and meier "steward, tenant farmer".
Baumbach German
From a place name meaning "tree stream" in German.
Beck 1 English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
From Middle English bekke (from Old Norse), Low German beke or Old Norse bekkr all meaning "stream".
Becke German
Variant of Beck 1 or Beck 2.
Beckenbauer German
Means "farmer living by a stream" in German.
Beckett English
Originally a diminutive of Beck 1 or Beck 3.
Beech 1 English
English cognate of Bach 1.
Bennington English
From the English town name Benington, which can mean either "settlement belonging to Beonna's people" or "settlement by the River Beane".
Bergström Swedish
Derived from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Bourne English
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring".
Brook English
Denoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English broc.
Brooke English
Variant of Brook.
Brooks English
Variant of Brook.
Burns 1 English, Scottish
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).
Byström Swedish
From Swedish by (Old Norse býr) meaning "village" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Caldwell English
From various English place names derived from Old English ceald "cold" and wille "spring, stream, well".
Clifford English
Derived from various place names that meant "ford by a cliff" in Old English.
Del Río Spanish
Means "of the river" in Spanish.
Diefenbach German
From a German place name meaning "deep creek".
Egawa Japanese
From Japanese (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Ekström Swedish
From Swedish ek (Old Norse eik) meaning "oak" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Engström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish äng (Old Norse eng) meaning "meadow" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Fairburn English
From a place name meaning "fern stream", from Old English fearn "fern" and burna "stream".
Furukawa Japanese
From Japanese (furu) meaning "old" and (kawa) or (kawa) both meaning "river, stream".
Hamm English
Means "river meadow" in Old English.
Hasegawa Japanese
From the Japanese place name 長谷 (Hase, not a standard reading) combined with (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Hellström Swedish
From Swedish häll (Old Norse hallr), a type of flat rock, combined with ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Hiedler German
From southern German Hiedl meaning "underground stream".
Hisakawa Japanese
From Japanese (hisa) meaning "long time ago" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Holmström Swedish
From Swedish holme (Old Norse holmr) meaning "small island" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Ishikawa Japanese
From Japanese (ishi) meaning "stone" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Jiang 1 Chinese
From Chinese (jiāng) meaning "river, Yangtze".
Jokela Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".
Jokinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".
Kawaguchi Japanese
Means "mouth of the river", from Japanese (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".
Kawakami Japanese
From Japanese (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and (kami) meaning "above, top, upper".
Kawasaki Japanese
From Japanese (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".
Kitagawa Japanese
From Japanese (kita) meaning "north" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream". A famous bearer was the artist and printmaker Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806).
Langford English
From any of various places in England with this name, derived from Old English lang "long" and ford "ford, river crossing".
Lindbeck Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and bäck (Old Norse bekkr) meaning "stream".
Lindström Swedish
Derived from Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Lundström Swedish
From Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Maekawa Japanese
From Japanese (mae) meaning "front, forward" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Melsbach German
From the name of a German town, possibly meaning "mill stream".
Milburn English
Derived from various place names meaning "mill stream" in Old English.
Milford English
Originally derived from various place names all meaning "ford by a mill" in Old English.
Miyagawa Japanese
From Japanese (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Morikawa Japanese
From Japanese (mori) meaning "forest" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Nakagawa Japanese
From Japanese (naka) meaning "middle" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Nishikawa Japanese
From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Nordström Swedish
From Swedish nord (Old Norse norðr) meaning "north" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Nye English
Originally indicated a person who lived near a river, from Middle English atten eye meaning "at the river".
Nyström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish ny (Old Norse nýr) meaning "new" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Ogawa Japanese
From Japanese (o) meaning "small" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Ostrowski m Polish
From Polish ostrów meaning "river island".
Pataki Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian patak meaning "creek, brook" (a word of Slavic origin). It was given to people who lived near a creek.
Potočnik Slovene
From Slovene potok meaning "stream, brook".
Ray English
Variant of Rey 1, Rey 2, Rye or Wray.
Ribeiro Portuguese
Means "little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".
Ríos Spanish
Spanish cognate of Rios.
Rios Portuguese
Originally denoted a person who lived near a river, from Portuguese rios "river", ultimately from Latin rivus.
Rivers English
Denoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French riviere meaning "river", from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".
Rundström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish rund (from Latin rotundus) meaning "round" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Rye English
Topographic 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).
Sandström Swedish
From Swedish sand (Old Norse sandr) meaning "sand" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Shinkawa Japanese
From Japanese (shin) meaning "fresh, new" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Shirakawa Japanese
From Japanese (shira) meaning "white" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Söderström Swedish
From Swedish söder (Old Norse suðr) meaning "south" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Stanford English
Derived from various English place names meaning "stone ford" in Old English.
Ström Swedish
Means "stream" in Swedish.
Strøm Norwegian, Danish
Means "stream" in Norwegian and Danish.
Strömberg Swedish
From Swedish ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream" and berg meaning "mountain".
Sundström Swedish
From Swedish sund meaning "strait" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Van der Beek Dutch
Means "from the creek" in Dutch.
Vervloet Flemish
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.
Virtanen Finnish
Derived from Finnish virta meaning "stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
Walton English
From 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".
Westbrook English
From the name of places in England, derived from Old English west "west" and broc "brook, stream".