Rhodes EnglishTopographic name derived from Old English
rod meaning
"cleared land", or a locational name from any of the locations named with this word.
Riber DanishOriginally indicated a person from the county or town of Ribe in southwestern Denmark.
Richelieu FrenchFrom the name of the town of Richelieu, derived from French
riche "wealthy" and
lieu "place". The historic figure Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), born Armand du Plessis, was so-called because he became the first Duke of Richelieu. He appears in Alexander Dumas' novel
The Three Musketeers (1844).
Ridley EnglishDenoted a person who hailed from one of the various places of this name in England. The places are derived from Old English
hreod "reed" or
ryddan "to strip, to clear" combined with
leah "woodland, clearing".
Rietveld DutchMeans
"reed field", from Dutch
riet "reed" and
veld "field". It is found mostly in the western part of the Netherlands (the Holland area).
Rigby EnglishOriginally derived from the name of a town in Lancashire, itself from Old Norse
hryggr "ridge" and
býr "farm, settlement".
Riggi ItalianFrom the name of the Italian city of Reggio Calabria, from Latin
Rhegium, of Greek origin.
Riley 1 EnglishFrom the name of the town of Ryley in Lancashire, derived from Old English
ryge "rye" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Ripley EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, from Old English
rippel "grove, thicket" and
leah "woodland, clearing". A notable fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley from the movie
Alien (1979) and its sequels.
Ritter GermanFrom Middle High German
riter meaning
"rider, knight", a cognate of
Ryder.
Roach EnglishFrom Middle English and Old French
roche meaning
"rock", from Late Latin
rocca, a word that may be of Celtic origin. It indicated a person who lived near a prominent rock, or who came from a town by this name (such as Les Roches in Normandy).
Rojo SpanishMeans
"red" in Spanish, referring to the colour of the hair or complexion.
Romagna ItalianFrom the region of Romagna, on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is derived from Latin
Romania meaning "land of the Romans".
Romano 2 ItalianDenoted a person from the city of
Rome, either a resident or someone who visited as a pilgrim. In Calabria it was also used to designate a person from New Rome, a name for Constantinople.
Roncalli ItalianFrom the names of places like Ronco or Ronchi, quite common in northern Italy, derived from
ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It was the surname of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1881-1963), the pope John XXIII.
Roosevelt DutchMeans
"rose field" from Dutch
roos "rose" and
veld "field". This was the surname of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
Rosário PortugueseMeans
"rosary" in Portuguese. This name was often given to people born on the day of the festival of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Roscoe EnglishFrom the name of a town in Lancashire, derived from Old Norse
rá "roebuck" and
skógr "wood, forest".
Rose 1 English, French, German, JewishMeans
"rose" from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German
rose, all from Latin
rosa. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in an area abundant with roses. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental, from Yiddish
רויז (roiz).
Ross English, ScottishFrom various place names (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), which are derived from Scottish Gaelic
ros meaning "promontory, headland".
Rossini ItalianDiminutive form of
Rossi. A famous bearer was the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).
Rothschild JewishFrom Middle High German
rot "red" and
schilt "shield", or Yiddish
רויט (roit) and
שילד (shild). The famous Rothschild family of bankers took their name from a house with a red shield on it.
Rotolo ItalianFrom the Italian word for a measure of weight, from southern Italian dialects, derived from Greek via Arabic.
Rousseau FrenchDiminutive of
Roux. A famous bearer was the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) whose ideas influenced the French Revolution.
Rovigatti ItalianFrom the name of the city of Rovigo in northeastern Italy near Venice. It was called
Rodigium in Latin, and is of unknown meaning.
Rowe 1 EnglishMeans
"row" in Middle English, indicating a dweller by a row of hedges or houses.
Royce EnglishOriginally derived from the medieval given name
Royse, a variant of
Rose.
Royston EnglishOriginally taken from an Old English place name meaning "Royse's town". The given name
Royse was a medieval variant of
Rose.
Ruan ChineseFrom Chinese
阮 (ruǎn), which refers to a type of musical instrument, similar to a lute.
Rutherford ScottishFrom the name of places in southern Scotland and northern England, derived from Old English
hriðer meaning "cattle, ox" and
ford meaning "ford, river crossing".
Ruzzier ItalianFrom a dialectal variant of
Ruggiero. It is typical of northeastern Italy, the area around Trieste.
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).
Sabbadin ItalianFrom a nickname from Italian
sabbato "Saturday", a name for one born on that day of the week.
Sacco ItalianOccupational name for a maker of sacks, from Italian
sacco, Latin
saccus.
Sachs GermanOriginally indicated a person from Saxony (German
Sachsen). The region was named for the Germanic tribe of the Saxons, ultimately derived from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife".
Sadler EnglishOccupational name for a maker of saddles, from Old English
sadol "saddle".
Şahin TurkishMeans
"hawk" in Turkish (of Persian origin), probably used to refer to someone who was a hawk tamer.
Salamanca SpanishOriginally indicated a person from Salamanca, a city in western Spain that is of unknown meaning.
Salazar Basque, SpanishFrom Spanish
sala meaning "hall" and Basque
zahar meaning "old". It can also refer to the town of Salazar in Burgos, Spain, which is of the same origin.
Saller 1 GermanOriginally denoted a person from the town of Sallern in Bavaria, possibly from a Celtic element meaning "stream".
Salzwedel GermanOriginally denoted a person from Salzwedel, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "salt ford".
Sandberg Swedish, Norwegian, JewishFrom Swedish and Norwegian
sand (Old Norse
sandr) meaning "sand" and
berg meaning "mountain" (or in the case of the Jewish surname, from the Yiddish or German cognates).
Sandoval SpanishDerived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin
saltus "forest, glade" and
novalis "unploughed land".
Santana Spanish, PortugueseFrom any of the numerous places named after Saint
Anna. A famous bearer is the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-).
Sappington EnglishPossibly from the city of Sapperton, England, derived from Old English
sapere meaning "soap maker" and
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
Šarić Croatian, SerbianPatronymic of (possibly) Serbo-Croatian
šaren meaning
"colourful, patterned".
Sartre FrenchFrench cognate of
Sarto. A famous bearer was the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).
Sauveterre FrenchFrom the name of various towns in France, derived from French
sauve "safe" and
terre "land".
Savatier FrenchFrom Old French
savatier "shoemaker", derived from
savate "shoe", of uncertain ultimate origin.
Savona ItalianFrom the name of the city of Savona in northern Italy, called
Savo by the Romans, of uncertain meaning.
Sawyer EnglishOccupational name meaning
"sawer of wood, woodcutter" in Middle English, ultimately from Old English
sagu meaning "saw". Mark Twain used it for the main character in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
Scarlett EnglishDenoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet, a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian
سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ).
Scherer GermanOccupational name for a cutter of cloth or a sheep-shearer, from Old High German
skeran "to cut".
Schmidt GermanOccupational name derived from Middle High German
smit "smith, metalworker", a cognate of
Smith.
Schnur German, JewishFrom Old High German
snuor meaning
"rope, cord", an occupational name for a maker of rope.
Schoorl DutchOriginally indicated a person from the town of Schoorl in the province of Noord-Holland in the Netherlands. It means "forest by the shore" in Dutch.
Schöttmer GermanOriginally indicated a person from Schötmar, Germany (now part of the city of Bad Salzuflen in North Rhine-Westphalia).
Schröter GermanMeans
"beer-porter, wine-porter" in German, an occupational name for a carrier of wine or beer barrels.
Schwangau GermanFrom the name of a town in southern Germany, possibly related to German
Schwan meaning "swan".
Schwarzenegger GermanFrom a place name, derived from Old High German
swarz meaning "black" and
ekka meaning "edge, corner". A famous bearer of this name is actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).
Sciacca ItalianOriginally denoted someone from Sciacca, Sicily, Italy, which is of uncertain origin.
Scrooge LiteratureCreated by Charles Dickens for the central character in his short novel
A Christmas Carol (1843). He probably based it on the rare English word
scrouge meaning
"to squeeze". In the book Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old man who is visited by three spirits who show him visions of his past, present and future. Since the book's publication,
scrooge has been used as a word to mean "miser, misanthrope".
Seabrook EnglishDenoted a person from a town by this name in Buckinghamshire, England. It is derived from that of a river combined with Old English
broc "stream".
Segal 2 FrenchOccupational name for a grower or seller of rye, from Old French, from Latin
secale "rye".
Selby EnglishFrom the name of a village that meant "willow farm" in Old English.
Sempers EnglishFrom the name of various towns named
Saint Pierre in Normandy, all of which commemorate Saint
Peter.
Sepúlveda SpanishDerived from the name of the Sepúlveda Valley in the mountains of Segovia, and was originally used to denote people from that region. It is possibly derived from Spanish
sepultar "to bury".
Sessa ItalianOriginally indicated a person from from Sessa or Sessa Cilento, Italy (from Latin
Suessa, of uncertain meaning).
Sessions EnglishFrom the name of the city of Soissons in northern France, itself derived from the name of the Celtic tribe of the Suessiones.
Sharrow EnglishOriginally a name for someone from Sharrow, England, derived from Old English
scearu "boundary" and
hoh "point of land, heel".
Shelton EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, meaning "shelf town" in Old English.
Shen ChineseFrom Chinese
申 (shēn) referring to the ancient state of Shen, which existed during the Zhou dynasty.
Sherburn EnglishDenoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Sherborne or Sherburn in England, derived from Old English
scir "bright" and
burna "spring, fountain, stream".
Sheridan IrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Sirideáin meaning
"descendant of Sirideán". The given name
Sirideán possibly means "searcher".
Sherman 1 EnglishMeans
"shear man", referring to someone who used shears in his line of work, such as a sheep-shearer.
Shirazi PersianOriginally denoted someone who came from the city of Shiraz, located in southern Iran. The city's name is possibly of Elamite origin.
Siddall EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
sid "wide" and
halh "nook, recess".
Sidney EnglishOriginally derived from various place names in England meaning "wide island", from Old English
sid "wide" and
eg "island". Another theory holds that it comes from the name of a town in Normandy called "Saint
Denis", though evidence for this is lacking.
Siegel 1 GermanOccupational name for a maker of seals or signet rings, ultimately from Latin
sigillum "seal".
Siegel 2 GermanDerived from the diminutive of Old German given names beginning with the element
sigu meaning "victory".
Siena ItalianIndicated a person from Siena in Italy, which was named after the Gaulish tribe of the Senones.
Sienkiewicz PolishPatronymic from the given name
Sienko, an old diminutive of
Szymon. This was the surname of the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916).
Sigourney EnglishFrom the name of the commune of Sigournais in western France, called
Segurniacum in medieval Latin, itself of unknown meaning.
Simpson EnglishMeans
"son of Sim",
Sim being a medieval short form of
Simon 1. This is the name of a fictional American family on the animated television series
The Simpsons, starting 1989.