Forester EnglishDenoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest, or one who has charge of growing timber in a forest (see
Forest).
Foster 3 EnglishOccupational name for a maker of saddle trees, derived from Old French
fustier.
Fox EnglishFrom the name of the animal. It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a crafty person.
Frank 3 German, Dutch, Danish, NorwegianName for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people. A notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank (1929-1945), a victim of the Holocaust.
Frankenstein German, LiteratureFrom any of the various minor places by this name in Germany, meaning
"stone of the Franks" in German. It was used by the author Mary Shelley in her novel
Frankenstein (1818) for the character of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a monster and brings it to life. The monster, nameless in the novel, is sometimes informally or erroneously called Frankenstein in modern speech.
Franklin EnglishDerived from Middle English
frankelin meaning
"freeman". It denoted a landowner of free but not noble birth, from Old French
franc meaning "free". Famous bearers include American statesman Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and American singer Aretha Franklin (1942-2018).
Franzese ItalianFrom a nickname that indicated a person who came from France. It is typical of the area around Naples.
Fries GermanDenoted someone from Frisia, an area along the coastal region of the North Sea stretching from Netherlands to Germany.
Fry EnglishFrom Old English
frig (a variant of
freo) meaning
"free".
Fulton EnglishFrom the name of the English town of Foulden, Norfolk, meaning "bird hill" in Old English.
Furlan Italian, SloveneFrom the name of the Italian region of
Friuli, in the northeast of Italy, which is derived from the name of the Roman town of Forum Iulii meaning "forum of Julius".
Gadsby EnglishHabitational name from the village of Gaddesby in Leicestershire, so named from Old Norse
gaddr "spur, spike (of land)" and
býr "farm, settlement".
Gage French, EnglishOccupational name derived either from Old French
jauge "measure" (a name for an assayer) or
gage "pledge, payment" (a name for a moneylender). Both words were ultimately of Frankish origin.
Ganza ItalianProbably from the feminine medieval given name Allegranza or Alleganza, a derivative of
Allegra. It comes from northern Lombardy.
Garbo ItalianFrom a nickname meaning
"politeness" in Italian. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990), born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson.
García SpanishFrom a medieval given name of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Basque word
hartz meaning "bear". This is the most common surname in Spain.
Garcia Portuguese, SpanishPortuguese form of
García. It is also an unaccented form of the Spanish name used commonly in America and the Philippines.
Gardener EnglishOccupational surname for one who was a gardener, from Old French
jardin meaning "garden" (of Frankish origin).
Garfagnini ItalianOriginally denoted one from the region of Garfagnana in Tuscany, Italy, near the historical city of Lucca.
Garland EnglishMeans
"triangle land" from Old English
gara and
land. It originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.
Garner 1 EnglishFrom Old French
gernier meaning
"granary", a derivative of Latin
granum meaning "grain". This name could refer to a person who worked at a granary or lived near one.
Garofalo ItalianFrom a nickname, from a southern variant of the Italian word
garofano meaning
"carnation".
Gatsby English (Rare), LiteratureRare variant of
Gadsby. This name was used by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald for the central character in his novel
The Great Gatsby (1925). In the book, James Gatz renames himself as Jay Gatsby at age 17 because he believes it sounds more sophisticated.
Geary EnglishDerived from a Norman given name that was a short form of Germanic names starting with the element
ger "spear".
Gebara BasqueHabitational name for someone who lived in Gebara, a village in the province of Álava in Spain.
Gehring GermanDerived from a short form of Old German names starting with the element
ger "spear".
Giese German, DanishDerived from a short form of the given name
Giselbert or other Old German names beginning with the element
gisal meaning "pledge, hostage".
Giffard French, EnglishPossibly from Old French
gifart meaning
"chubby" or possibly from the Germanic name
Gebhard. Walter Giffard was one of the Norman companions of William the Conqueror.
Gill EnglishOriginally indicated someone who lived near a ravine, from Middle English
gil (of Old Norse origin).
Gilliam EnglishVariant of
William. A famous bearer of the name is cartoonist and filmmaker Terry Gilliam (1940-).
Gilmore Scottish, IrishAnglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
MacGilleMhoire or Irish Gaelic
Mac Giolla Mhuire meaning
"son of the servant of Moire".
Gim KoreanAlternate transcription of Korean Hangul
김 (see
Kim).
Gomółka PolishDerived from Polish
gomółka, a type of round cheese, ultimately from an old Polish word meaning "round".
Gordon ScottishFrom the name of a place in Berwickshire, Scotland, derived from Brythonic words meaning
"spacious fort".
Gore EnglishFrom the Old English word
gara meaning
"triangular plot of land".
Gorecki m PolishOriginally indicated a person from Górka, the name of various towns in Poland, ultimately from Polish
góra "mountain".
Gorman 2 IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Gormáin meaning
"descendant of Gormán". The given name
Gormán means "little blue one".
Gouveia PortugueseFrom the name of the city of Gouveia in Portugal, of unknown meaning.
Grabowski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various places called
Grabów,
Grabowa or
Grabowo, all derived from Polish
grab meaning "hornbeam tree".
Grady IrishFrom Irish
Ó Gráda or
Ó Grádaigh meaning
"descendant of Gráda". The byname
Gráda means "noble, illustrious".
Grayson EnglishMeans
"son of the steward", derived from Middle English
greyve "steward".
Greenspan JewishAnglicized form of German
Grünspan meaning
"verdigris". Verdigris is the green-blue substance that forms on copper.
Griffin 2 EnglishNickname from the mythological beast with body of a lion with head and wings of an eagle. It is ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Grimaldi ItalianFrom the given name
Grimaldo. It is the surname of the royal family of Monaco, which came from Genoa.
Gronchi ItalianFrom the Tuscan word
gronchio meaning
"numb, bent". This is an Italian regional surname typical of Tuscany. A famous bearer was the Italian president Giovanni Gronchi (1887-1978).
Gros FrenchMeans
"thick, fat, big" in French, from Late Latin
grossus, possibly of Germanic origin.
Grover EnglishFrom Old English
graf meaning
"grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).
Groves EnglishFrom Old English
graf meaning
"grove". This originally indicated a person who lived near a grove (a group of trees).
Guerrero SpanishMeans
"warrior" in Spanish, an occupational name for a soldier. It is derived from Late Latin
werra "war", of Germanic origin.
Guevara SpanishHispanicized form of
Gebara. A notable bearer was Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara (1928-1967).
Guinness IrishVariant of
McGuinness. The name is well known because of the Guinness brand of ale, established in 1759 by Arthur Guinness.
Gujić BosnianMeans
"son of a snake" from the Bosnian word
guja meaning "snake".
Gump German (Rare), Popular CulturePossibly from a nickname derived from Middle High German
gumpen meaning
"to hop, to jump". This surname was used by author Winston Groom for the hero of his novel
Forrest Gump (1986), better known from the 1994 movie adaptation.
Gustafsson SwedishMeans
"son of Gustaf". The actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was originally named Greta Gustafsson.
Gutenberg German, JewishVariant of
Guttenberg. A notable bearer was the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), whose family hailed from an estate by this name.
Guttenberg German, JewishFrom the name of various places, derived from Middle High German
guot meaning "good" and
berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
Guttuso ItalianFrom a Sicilian nickname meaning
"sad". It was name of the famous Italian painter Renato Guttuso (born 1912).
Guzmán SpanishFrom the name of the town of Guzmán in Burgos, Spain. The town's name itself may be derived from an old Visigothic given name, from the Germanic elements *
gautaz "a Geat" and *
mannô "person, man".
Haanraads DutchOriginally indicated a person from Haanrade, a small village in the south of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Hackett EnglishFrom a diminutive of the medieval byname
Hake, which was of Old Norse origin and meant "hook".
Haight EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived at the top of a hill, derived from Old English
heahþu "height, summit".
Hail EnglishFrom a nickname derived from Middle English
hail meaning
"healthy" (of Old Norse origin).
Hájek m CzechMeans
"thicket" in Czech, a diminutive of
háj "woods".
Haley EnglishFrom the name of an English town meaning "hay clearing", from Old English
heg "hay" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Halloran IrishFrom Irish
Ó hAllmhuráin meaning
"descendant of Allmhurán". The given name
Allmhurán means "stranger from across the sea".
Hamilton English, ScottishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
hamel "crooked, mutilated" and
dun "hill". This was the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists).
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".
Han Chinese, KoreanFrom Chinese
韩 (hán) referring to the ancient state of Han, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Shanxi and Henan provinces.
Hansen Norwegian, DanishMeans
"son of Hans". This is the most common surname in Norway, and the third most common in Denmark.
Harel JewishOrnamental name adopted from a biblical place name meaning "altar, mountain of God" in Hebrew.
Harley EnglishDerived from a place name meaning "hare clearing", from Old English
hara "hare" or
hær "rock, heap of stones" 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".
Harrelson EnglishMeans
"son of Harold". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actor Woody Harrelson (1961-).
Harrington EnglishFrom the name of towns in England, meaning either "Hæfer's town" or "stony town" in Old English.
Hartley EnglishHabitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Hartley, from Old English
heorot "hart, male deer" and
leah "woodland, clearing".