Unisex Surnames

Reis German, Jewish
From Middle High German ris meaning "twig, branch, bush", denoting a person who lived in an overgrown area. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Reiter German
Variant of Reuter 1.

Remington English
From the name of the town of Rimington in Lancashire, derived from the name of the stream Riming combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, town".

Ren Chinese
From Chinese 任 (rén), of uncertain meaning.

Renard French
From the given name Renard.

Renaud French
From the given name Renaud.

Renault French
Derived from the given name Renaud.

Rendón Spanish
Possibly derived from a variant of Spanish de rondón meaning "unexpectedly, rashly".

Rennell English
Variant of Reynolds.

Rennold English
Variant of Reynolds.

Rennoll English
Variant of Reynolds.

Resnik Slovene
Possibly from Slovene resa meaning "heather".

Rettig German
Derived from Middle High German retich, Middle Low German redik meaning "radish", an occupational name for a grower or seller of radishes.

Reuter 1 German
Fom Middle High German riute meaning "cleared land".

Reuter 2 German
From Middle High German riutœre meaning "highwayman, thief".

Revie English
Variant of Reeve.

Rey 1 English, Spanish, French, Catalan
Means "king" in Old French, Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin rex (genitive regis), perhaps originally denoting someone who acted like a king.

Rey 2 English
Means "female roe deer" from Old English ræge, probably denoting someone of a nervous temperament.

Reyer German
Variant of Reiher.

Reyes Spanish
Spanish variant of Rey 1.

Reynaud French
From the given name Reynaud.

Reynders Dutch, Frisian
Variant of Reinders.

Reynell English
Variant of Reynolds.

Reynolds English
Derived from the given name Reynold.

Rhee Korean
North Korean form of Lee 2.

Rhodes English
Topographic name derived from Old English rod meaning "cleared land", or a locational name from any of the locations named with this word.

Rhydderch Welsh
From the given name Rhydderch.

Ribeiro Portuguese
Means "little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Riber Danish
Originally indicated a person from the county or town of Ribe in southwestern Denmark.

Ricchetti Italian
Diminutive form of Ricci.

Ricci Italian
From Italian riccio meaning "curly", a nickname for someone with curly hair. It is ultimately from Latin ericius meaning "hedgehog".

Rice Welsh
Derived from the given name Rhys.

Richard English, French, German, Dutch
From the given name Richard.

Richards English
Derived from the given name Richard.

Richardson English
Means "son of Richard".

Richelieu French
From 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).

Richter German
Means "judge" in German, from Middle High German rihtære.

Rickard English
From the given name Richard.

Rico Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "rich, wealthy" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Rider English
Variant of Ryder.

Ridge English
Denoted a person who lived near a ridge, from Old English hrycg.

Ridley English
Denoted a person who hailed from one of the various places of this name in England. The places are derived from Old English geryd "channel" or hreod "reed" combined with leah "woodland, clearing".

Rieck Low German
Low German form of Reich.

Riese German, Jewish
Means "giant" in German, from Old High German risi.

Rietveld Dutch
Means "reed field", from Dutch riet "reed" and veld "field". It is found mostly in the western part of the Netherlands (the Holland area).

Rigby English
Originally derived from the name of a town in Lancashire, itself from Old Norse hryggr "ridge" and býr "farm, settlement".

Riggi Italian
From the name of the Italian city of Reggio Calabria, from Latin Rhegium, of Greek origin.

Righi Italian
From the given name Arrigo.

Rigó Hungarian
Means "thrush" in Hungarian.

Rijnders Dutch, Frisian
Variant of Reinders.

Riker German
Possibly a variant of Reich.

Riley 1 English
From the name of the town of Ryley in Lancashire, derived from Old English ryge "rye" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Riley 2 Irish
Variant of Reilly.

Rimmer English
Occupational name meaning "poet", from Middle English rime meaning "rhyme".

Rinaldi Italian
Derived from the given name Rinaldo.

Rinne 1 Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Rinn.

Rinne 2 Finnish
Means "hillside" in Finnish.

Riordan Irish
From Irish Ó Ríoghbhárdáin meaning "descendant of Rígbarddán".

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.

Ripley English
From 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.

Ritchie Scottish
From a Scottish diminutive of the given name Richard.

Ritter German
From Middle High German riter meaning "rider, knight", a cognate of Ryder.

Riva Italian
Means "bank, shore" in Italian, from Latin ripa, denoting one who lived by a river or a lake.

Rivas Spanish
Spanish form of Riva.

Rivera Spanish
From Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore", from Latin riparius.

Rivero Spanish
Variant of Rivera.

Rivers English
Denoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French riviere meaning "river", from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Rivière French
French cognate of Rivers.

Rizzi Italian
Variant of Ricci.

Rizzo Italian
Variant of Ricci.

Roach English
From 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).

Robbins English
Derived from the given name Robin.

Robert French, English
From the given name Robert.

Roberts English
Means "son of Robert".

Robertsen Danish
Means "son of Robert".

Robertson English
Means "son of Robert".

Róbertsson Icelandic
Means "son of Robert".

Robertsson Swedish
Means "son of Robert".

Robin French
From the given name Robin.

Robinson English
Means "son of Robin".

Robledo Spanish
Means "oak wood" from Spanish roble "oak", ultimately from Latin robur.

Robles Spanish
Originally indicated a person who lived near an oak tree or forest, from Spanish roble "oak", from Latin robur.

Robson English
Means "son of Rob".

Robustelli Italian
From a nickname for a strong person, from Italian robusto "strong", from Latin robustus "firm, solid, oaken".

Rocca Italian
Italian cognate of Roach.

Rocchi Italian
Derived from the given name Rocco.

Rocco Italian
Derived from the given name Rocco.

Rocha Portuguese, Galician
Portuguese and Galician cognate of Roach.

Roche French
French cognate of Roach.

Roderick English
Derived from the given name Roderick.

Rodgers English
Derived from the given name Rodger.

Rodney English
From a place name meaning "Hroda's island" in Old English (where Hroda is an Old English given name meaning "fame").

Rodrigo Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Rodrigo.

Rodrigues Portuguese
Means "son of Rodrigo" in Portuguese.

Rodríguez Spanish
Means "son of Rodrigo" in Spanish. This is among the most common surnames in Spain.

Rodriguez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Rodríguez.

Rodriquez Spanish
Variant of Rodríguez.

Róg Polish
Means "animal horn" in Polish.

Roger French
From the given name Roger.

Rogers English
Derived from the given name Roger.

Rogerson English
Means "son of Roger".

Roggeveen Dutch
Means "rye field" in Dutch. A famous bearer was Jacob Roggeveen (1659-1729), the first European explorer to Easter Island.

Roig Catalan
Means "red" in Catalan, from Latin rubeus, originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a red complexion.

Roijackers Dutch
Variant of Rooijakkers.

Roijakkers Dutch
Variant of Rooijakkers.

Rojas Spanish
Variant of Rojo.

Rojo Spanish
Means "red" in Spanish, referring to the colour of the hair or complexion.

Roldán Spanish
Derived from the given name Roldán.

Rolland French
From the given name Roland.

Rollins English
From a diminutive of the given name Roland.

Rolvsson Norwegian
Means "son of Rolf".

Roma Italian
Variant of Romano 2.

Romà Catalan
Catalan form of Romano 1 or Romano 2.

Romagna Italian
From the region of Romagna, on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is derived from Latin Romania meaning "land of the Romans".

Romagnoli Italian
Variant of Romagna.

Román Spanish
From the given name Román.

Roman Romanian, Polish, Ukrainian
From the given name Roman.

Romano 1 Italian
Derived from the given name Romano.

Romano 2 Italian
Denoted 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.

Romão Portuguese
Portuguese form of Romano 1 or Romano 2.

Rome French, English
English and French form of Romano 2.

Romeijn Dutch
Derived from the given name Romein.

Romeijnders Dutch
From Dutch Romein meaning "Roman, person from Rome".

Romeijnsen Dutch
Means "son of Romein" in Dutch.

Romero Spanish
Derived from Spanish romero meaning "pilgrim to Rome".

Romijn Dutch
Derived from the given name Romein.

Romijnders Dutch
Variant of Romeijnders.

Romijnsen Dutch
Means "son of Romein" in Dutch.

Romilly English, French
Originally denoted a person who came from any of the various places in northern France called Romilly or from Romiley in England.

Rompa Dutch
Variant of Van Rompa.

Roncalli Italian
From 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.

Ronchi Italian
From Italian places named Ronchi, derived from ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It is most common in northern and central Italy.

Rooijakkers Dutch
Means "red field", from Dutch rood "red" and akker "field".

Roosa Dutch
From Dutch roos meaning "rose".

Roosevelt Dutch
Means "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).

Rosa Italian, Catalan
Italian and Catalan form of Rose 1.

Rosales Spanish
Means "rose bushes" in Spanish.

Rosário Portuguese
Means "rosary" in Portuguese. This name was often given to people born on the day of the festival of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Rosario Spanish
Spanish form of Rosário.

Roscoe English
From the name of a town in Lancashire, derived from Old Norse rá "roebuck" and skógr "wood, forest".

Rose 1 English, French, German, Jewish
Means "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).

Rose 2 English
Derived from the feminine given name Rose.

Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.

Rosenberger German, Jewish
Variant of Rosenberg.

Rosenfeld German, Jewish
Means "field of roses" in German. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Ross English, Scottish
From various place names (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), which are derived from Scottish Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland".

Rossi Italian
Derived from a nickname for a red-haired person, from Italian rosso, Latin russus meaning "red". This is the most common surname in Italy.

Rossini Italian
Diminutive form of Rossi. A famous bearer was the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).

Rostami Persian
Derived from the given name Rostam.

Rot German, Jewish
Variant of Roth.

Roth German, Jewish
From Middle High German rot meaning "red". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.

Rothbauer German
From Old High German riuten "to clear land" and bur "peasant, farmer".

Rothenberg German, Jewish
From Middle High German rot meaning "red" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish name it may be ornamental.

Rothschild Jewish
From 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 Italian
From the Italian word for a measure of weight, from southern Italian dialects, derived from Greek via Arabic.

Rounds English
Patronymic derived from Middle English rond meaning "round, plump", ultimately from Latin rotundus.

Rousseau French
Diminutive of Roux. A famous bearer was the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) whose ideas influenced the French Revolution.

Roussel French
French form of Russell.

Roux French
Derived from Old French ros meaning "red", from Latin russus, a nickname for a red-haired person.

Rovigatti Italian
From the name of the city of Rovigo in northeastern Italy near Venice. It was called Rodigium in Latin, and is of unknown meaning.

Rowan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruadháin.

Rowbottom English
Originally indicated a person who lived in an overgrown valley, from Old English ruh "rough, overgrown" and boðm "valley".

Rowe 1 English
Means "row" in Middle English, indicating a dweller by a row of hedges or houses.

Rowe 2 English
From the medieval name Row, which is either a variant of Roul or short form of Roland.

Rowland English
Derived from the given name Roland.

Rowntree English
Originally given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash.

Roxas Filipino
Filipino form of the Spanish Rojas.

Roy 1 French, English
Variant of Rey 1.

Roy 2 Scottish
From Gaelic ruadh meaning "red-haired".

Royce English
Originally derived from the medieval given name Royse, a variant of Rose.

Royceston English
Variant of Royston.

Roydon English
Originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill", from Old English ryge "rye" and dun "hill".

Royer French
From French roue meaning "wheel", ultimately from Latin rota, an occupational name for a wheelwright.

Royle English
Originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill" from Old English ryge "rye" and hyll "hill".

Royston English
Originally taken from an Old English place name meaning "Royse's town". The given name Royse was a medieval variant of Rose.

Rózsa Hungarian
From the feminine given name Rózsa.

Ruan Chinese
From Chinese 阮 (ruǎn), which refers to a type of musical instrument, similar to a lute.

Ruane Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruadháin.

Rubio Spanish
Nickname for a person with red hair, from Latin rubeus "red".

Rudaski Polish (Anglicized)
Americanized variant of Rudawski.

Ruf German
From the given name Rolf.

Ruff German, English
From the given name Rolf.

Ruggeri Italian
Derived from the given name Ruggero.

Ruggiero Italian
From the given name Ruggiero.

Ruggles English
From a medieval diminutive of the given name Roger.

Ruiz Spanish
Means "son of Ruy" in Spanish.

Rundström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish rund (from Latin rotundus) meaning "round" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Ruoho Finnish
Means "grass" in Finnish.

Ruotsalainen Finnish
Means "Swede" in Finnish.

Rush English
Indicated a person who lived near rushes, the grasslike plant that grows in a marsh, from Old English rysc.

Ruskin 1 Scottish
From Gaelic rusgaire meaning "tanner".

Ruskin 2 English
From a diminutive of the feminine given name Rose.

Rusnak Polish
Means "Russian" in Polish.

Russel English
Variant of Russell.

Russell English
From a Norman French nickname that meant "little red one", perhaps originally describing a person with red hair.

Russo Italian
Variant of Rossi.

Rustici Italian
From Italian rustico meaning "rustic, rural".

Rusu Romanian
From Romanian rus meaning "Russian".

Rutgers Dutch
Derived from the given name Rutger.

Rutherford Scottish
From the name of places in southern Scotland and northern England, derived from Old English hriðer meaning "cattle, ox" and ford meaning "ford, river crossing".

Rutherfurd Scottish
Variant of Rutherford.

Rutten Dutch
Derived from the given name Rutger.

Ruud Norwegian
Derived from Old Norse ruð meaning "cleared land".

Ruzsa Hungarian
Dialectical variant of Rózsa.

Ruzzier Italian
From a dialectal variant of Ruggiero. It is typical of northeastern Italy, the area around Trieste.

Ryan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Riain, or else a simplified form of Mulryan.

Ryba um Polish, Czech
Means "fish" in Polish and Czech, an occupational name for a fisher.

Ryder English
Occupational name for a mounted warrior, from Old English ridere meaning "rider".

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).

Ryer German (Anglicized)
Possibly an Americanized form of Reiher.

Ryland English
From various English place names, derived from Old English ryge "rye" and land "land".

Ryley English
Variant of Riley 1.

Ryskamp Dutch
Meaning unknown, probably ending with Dutch kamp meaning "camp".

Saab Arabic
Means "hard, difficult" in Arabic.

Saad Arabic, Malay
From the given name Sa'd.

Saar Estonian
From Estonian saar meaning "island".

Saari Finnish
From Finnish saari meaning "island".

Saarinen Finnish
From Finnish saari meaning "island".

Sabbadin Italian
From a nickname from Italian sabbato "Saturday", a name for one born on that day of the week.

Sacco Italian
Occupational name for a maker of sacks, from Italian sacco, Latin saccus.

Sachs German
Originally 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".

Sackville English
From the name of the Norman French town of Saqueneville.

Sadeghi Persian
From the given name Sadegh.

Sadık Turkish
From the given name Sadık.

Sadler English
Occupational name for a maker of saddles, from Old English sadol "saddle".

Sáez Spanish
Variant of Sánchez.

Şahin Turkish
Means "hawk" in Turkish (of Persian origin), probably used to refer to someone who was a hawk tamer.

Saito Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 斎藤 (see Saitō).

Saitō Japanese
From Japanese 斎 (sai) meaning "purification, worship" and 藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The latter character could indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.

Saitou Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 斎藤 (see Saitō).

Sakamoto Japanese
From Japanese 坂 or 阪 (saka) meaning "slope" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Sakurada Japanese
From Japanese 桜 (sakura) meaning "cherry blossom" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Sala Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Romanian
Occupational name for a worker at a manor house, from the Romance word sala meaning "hall, large room", of Germanic origin.

Salah Arabic
Derived from the given name Salah 1.

Salamanca Spanish
Originally indicated a person from Salamanca, a city in western Spain that is of unknown meaning.

Salamon Hungarian, Polish
Derived from the given name Salamon or Salomon.

Salazar Basque, Spanish
From 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.

Salcedo Spanish
Derived from Latin salix meaning "willow tree". The name was originally given to one who lived near a willow tree.

Saleh Arabic
From the given name Salih.

Salem Arabic
From the given name Salim.

Salih Arabic
From the given name Salih.

Salihović Bosnian
Means "son of Salih".

Salim Arabic
From the given name Salim.

Salinas Spanish
Occupational name for a salt worker or someone who lived bear a salt works, from Spanish salina "salt works, salt mine", ultimately from Latin sal "salt".

Saller 1 German
Originally denoted a person from the town of Sallern in Bavaria, possibly from a Celtic element meaning "stream".

Saller 2 German
Denoted a person who lived by a prominent sallow tree, from Middle High German salhe "sallow tree".

Salminen Finnish
From Finnish salmi meaning "strait".

Salmon English, French
Derived from the given name Solomon.

Salo Finnish
Means "forest" in Finnish.

Salomon French, German, Jewish
Derived from the given name Salomon or Salomo.

Salonen Finnish
From Finnish salo meaning "forest".

Salucci Italian
From Italian sale meaning "salt".

Salvador Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Salvador.

Salvage English
Variant of Savage.

Salvaggi Italian
Italian form of Savage.

Salvatici Italian
Italian form of Savage.

Salvi Italian
From the given name Salvo or Salvio.

Salzwedel German
Originally denoted a person from Salzwedel, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "salt ford".

Samara 1 Arabic
Meaning unknown.

Sampson English
Derived from a medieval form of the given name Samson.

Sams English
Derived from the given name Samuel.

Samsa Hungarian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Sámuel.

Samson English, French
Derived from the given name Samson.

Samuel English, Welsh, French, Jewish
Derived from the given name Samuel.

Samuels English
Derived from the given name Samuel.

Samuelson English
Means "son of Samuel".

Samuelsson Swedish
Means "son of Samuel".

Sanada Japanese
From Japanese 真 (sana) meaning "real, genuine" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Sánchez Spanish
Means "son of Sancho".

Sanchez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Sánchez.

Sancho Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Sancho.

Sandberg Swedish, Norwegian, Jewish
From 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).

Sander German, Danish
Derived from the given name Alexander.

Sanders English
Patronymic of the given name Sander, a medieval form of Alexander.

Sanderson English
Means "son of Alexander".

Sandford English
Indicated a person from Sandford, England, which means simply "sand ford".

Sándor Hungarian
Derived from the given name Sándor.

Sandoval Spanish
Derived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin saltus "forest, glade" and novalis "unploughed land".

Sands English
From Old English, indicated the original nearer lived on sandy ground.

Sandström Swedish
From Swedish sand (Old Norse sandr) meaning "sand" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Sandu Romanian
From the given name Sandu.

Sanford English
Variant of Sandford.

Sangster English, Scottish
Occupational name or nickname for a singer, from Old English singan "to sing, to chant".

Sanna Italian
From Italian sanna or zanna meaning "tusk, fang", a nickname for a person with a protruding tooth. It is especially common on Sardinia.

San Nicolás Spanish
Indicated the original bearer was from a place named after Saint Nicholas.

Sano Japanese
From Japanese 佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Sansone Italian
Derived from the given name Sansone.

Santana Spanish, Portuguese
From any of the numerous places named after Saint Anna. A famous bearer is the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-).

Santiago Spanish, Portuguese
From various Spanish and Portuguese places called Santiago.

Santini Italian
Diminutive form of Santo.

Santo Italian
Italian form of Santos.

Santoro Italian
Means "all saint's day" in Italian, a nickname for one born on that day.

Santos Portuguese, Spanish
Means "saint" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin sanctus. This was a nickname for a pious person.

Sanz Spanish
From the given name Sancho.

Sapienti Italian
Means "wise, learned" in Italian.

Sappington English
Possibly from the city of Sapperton, England, derived from Old English sapere meaning "soap maker" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".

Saqqaf Arabic
From Arabic سقف (saqaf) meaning "roof".

Sargent English
Variant of Sergeant.

Sargsyan Armenian
Means "son of Sargis" in Armenian.