Allsopp EnglishFrom the name of the village of Alsop en la Dale in Derbyshire, England. It means "Ælli's valley" in Old English.
Alma FrisianMeans
"son of Ale 2", the suffix
-ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.
Almássy HungarianMeans
"from the apple orchard", derived from Hungarian
alma meaning "apple".
Almeida PortugueseDesignated a person who had originally lived in the town of Almeida in Portugal. The place name is from Arabic
ال مائدة (al māʾida) meaning "the plateau, the table".
Almstedt SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
alm (Old Norse
almr) meaning "elm" and
stad (Old Norse
staðr) meaning "town, city".
Al-Mufti ArabicRefers to a
mufti, a Muslim legal advisor consulted in applying a religious law.
Alserda FrisianDesignated a person who was from a farm called Alserd, of uncertain meaning.
Al Su'ud ArabicFrom Arabic
آل (ʾāl) meaning "family" combined with the given name
Su'ud. Normally transcribed
Al Saud, this is the family name of the ruling dynasty of Saudia Arabia.
Altamura ItalianFrom the name of the Italian city of Altamura, which means "high walls" in Italian.
Altena DutchFrom the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "close, near" in Dutch.
Althaus GermanName for a person dwelled in or by an old house, from German
alt "old" and
haus "house".
Alvarado SpanishFrom a Spanish place name, possibly derived from Spanish
alba "white".
Amano JapaneseFrom Japanese
天 (ama) meaning "heaven" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Amantea ItalianFrom the name of a town in Calabria, Italy. It is possibly derived from Arabic (dating from the Arab raids of the 9th century) meaning "the fortress".
Amundsen NorwegianMeans
"son of Amund". This name was borne by the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen (1872-1928).
Anaya SpanishFrom the names of a few Spanish towns, possibly of Arabic origin meaning
"stagnant water" or
"path".
Angenent DutchReferred to person who lived at the end of the road or the village, derived from Dutch
an gen ent meaning
"at the end".
Anholts DutchOriginally denoted a person from Anholt in the Netherlands, which means "hold, rest" in Dutch (a place where people could rest for the night).
Anjema FrisianDenoted a person from the village of Anjum in the Netherlands. It possibly means "corner" in Dutch.
Annevelink DutchFrom Dutch
aan 't veldink meaning
"next to the little field".
Aoki JapaneseFrom Japanese
青 (ao) meaning "green, blue" and
木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
Apeldoorn DutchFrom the name of a city in the Netherlands, meaning "apple tree" in Dutch.
Appelhof DutchIndicated a person who lived by or at an apple garden, from Dutch
appel "apple" and
hof "yard, court".
Appelo DutchIndicated a person who was from a farm called Aperloo, probably a derivative of
appel meaning "apple".
Appleby EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
æppel "apple" and Old Norse
býr "farm, settlement".
Appleton EnglishFrom the name of several English towns, meaning "orchard" in Old English (a compound of
æppel "apple" and
tun "enclosure, yard").
Apted EnglishProbably from an unidentified place name meaning "up tower" in Old English.
Aquino Italian, SpanishFrom the name of an Italian town near Rome, derived from Latin
aqua meaning "water", the home town of the 13th-century saint Thomas Aquinas. In Italy the surname is derived directly from the town's name. As a Spanish-language surname, it was sometimes bestowed by missionaries in honour of the saint as they evangelized in Spanish colonies.
Arany HungarianMeans
"golden" in Hungarian. A famous bearer of the name was Hungarian poet János Arany (1817-1882).
Araújo PortugueseDenoted a person hailing from one of the many areas that bear this name in Portugal, which is of unknown meaning.
Araya SpanishDenoted a person from Araia in the Basque Country, Spain. It is of uncertain meaning.
Archer EnglishOccupational name for one who practiced archery, from Latin
arcus "bow" (via Old French).
Ardelean RomanianFrom the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from Hungarian
erdő meaning "forest".
Arechavaleta SpanishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Aretxabaleta in Spain. It means "oak trees" in Basque.
Arenas SpanishFrom various Spanish place names, which are derived from Spanish
arena meaning
"sand".
Arendonk DutchDenoted a person from Arendonk, a town between in northern Belgium. It is derived from
arend "eagle" and
donk "hill".
Argall CornishFrom a place name meaning
"shelter, quiet place" in Cornish.
Arias SpanishPossibly derived from a medieval given name of Germanic origin.
Aritza Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque
aritz meaning
"oak tree". This was a nickname of Iñigo, the first king of Pamplona, Spain (9th century).
Arkwright EnglishOccupational name meaning
"chest maker", from Middle English
arc meaning "chest, coffer" and
wyrhta meaning "maker, craftsman".
Armati ItalianFrom Italian
armato meaning
"armed, armoured, equipped".
Armbruster GermanMeans
"crossbow maker" from German
armbrust "crossbow". The word
armbrust was originally from Latin
arcuballista meaning "bow ballista", but was modified under the influence of German
arm "arm" and
brust "breast".
Armistead EnglishMeans
"hermitage", indicating a person who lived near one, from Middle English
ermite "hermit" and
stede "place".
Armstrong EnglishMeans
"strong arm" from Middle English. Tradition holds that the family is descended from Siward, an 11th-century Earl of Northumbria. Famous bearers of this name include the Americans Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), a jazz musician, and Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), an astronaut who was the first person to walk on the moon.
Arnoni ItalianMeans
"son of Arnone" from the medieval name
Arnone, of uncertain origin.
Arrington EnglishFrom the name of a town in Cambridgeshire, originally meaning "Earna's settlement" in Old English (
Earna being a person's nickname meaning "eagle").
Arriola Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque
arri "stone" and
-ola "place of, house".
Årud NorwegianFrom Norwegian
å meaning "river, stream" and the archaic word
rud meaning "cleared land".
Arzt DutchMeans
"doctor, physician" in German, ultimately from Latin
archiater.
Asano JapaneseFrom Japanese
浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Ash EnglishFrom Old English
æsc meaning
"ash tree", indicating a person who lived near ash trees.
Ashley EnglishDenoted a person hailing from one of the many places in England that bear this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English
æsc "ash tree" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Ashton EnglishDenoted a person from one of the towns in England that bear this name, itself derived from Old English
æsc "ash tree" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Ashworth EnglishFrom an English place name meaning "ash enclosure" in Old English.
Asís SpanishOriginally denoted a person from the Italian city of Assisi (called
Asís in Spanish).
Asselman DutchDenoted a person from Assel, Asselt or Hasselt, the name of communities in the Netherlands and Belgium. They derive from Old Dutch
ask "ash tree" and
loh "woods on sandy soil", or
hasal "hazel tree".
Assenberg DutchFrom Dutch
es meaning "ash tree" (plural
essen) and
berg meaning "mountain".
Assendorp DutchFrom the name of a place called Assendorp, composed of Dutch
essen and
dorp, meaning "ash tree village".
Astor OccitanDerived from Occitan
astur meaning
"hawk". The wealthy and influential Astor family, prominent in British and American society, originated in the Italian Alps.
Åström SwedishFrom Swedish
å meaning "river, stream" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream, current, flow".
Asturias SpanishFrom the name of a region in Spain, formerly a medieval kingdom. It is possibly derived from Basque
asta "rock" and
ur "water".
Ateljević SerbianProbably from
Hatelji, the name of a town in Serbia, which is of unknown meaning.
Attar PersianFrom Persian
عطر (ʿaṭr) meaning
"fragrance, perfume", ultimately from Arabic. It probably denoted a seller of perfume.
Attaway EnglishMeans
"at the way", originally denoting someone who lived close to a road.
Atteberry EnglishMeans
"dweller at the fortified town" from Middle English
at and
burh "fortified place".
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".
Avellino ItalianFrom the name of a town in Campania, Italy, called
Abellinum in Latin, of unknown meaning.
Averesch DutchFrom a place name, possibly from a dialectal variation of Dutch
over meaning "over" combined with
esch meaning "ash tree".
Averill EnglishFrom Middle English
aueril, Old French
avrill meaning
"April", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
Ávila SpanishFrom the name of the city of Ávila in Spain. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly of Punic or Celtic origin.
Ayala SpanishFrom the name of the town of Ayala (called
Aiara in Basque) in Álava, Spain. It might be derived from Basque
aiher "slope" or
alha "pasture".
Ayers 3 EnglishIndicated a person from the town of Ayr in Scotland. The town was named for the river that flows through it, itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".
Ayton EnglishFrom the name of towns in Berwickshire and North Yorkshire. They are derived from Old English
ea "river" or
ieg "island" combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Azzarà ItalianSicilian name, derived from Greek dialects of southern Italy. It is from Greek
ψαράς (psaras) meaning
"fisherman".
Baak DutchFrom a Frisian given name, a short form of Germanic names starting with the element
batu "fight, struggle".
Baarda FrisianFrom the name of the town of
Baard in the Netherlands, possibly derived from a given name that was a variant of
Bert.
Baardwijk DutchFrom the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly from
Baard, a variant of
Bert, and
wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district".
Baars DutchIndicated a person coming from the town of Beers in the Netherlands.
Baarsma FrisianIndicated a person coming from the small town of Beers in Frisia.
Baart DutchMeans
"beard" in Dutch, originally describing a person who wore a beard.
Babić Serbian, CroatianMatronymic surname derived from Serbo-Croatian
baba "grandmother, old woman".
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).
Bachchan HindiFrom Hindi
बच्चा (bachchā) meaning
"child", a word of Persian origin. This surname was adopted by the Indian poet Harivansh Rai Srivastava (1907-2003).
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".
Backus EnglishMeans
"bakery", an occupational name for a baker, from Old English
bæchus literally "bake house".
Bader GermanDerived from Old High German
bad "bath", most likely referring to a bath attendant.
Baggins LiteratureCreated by J. R. R. Tolkien for the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the hero of
The Hobbit (1937), and also for his cousin Frodo Baggins, the hero of
The Lord of the Rings (1954). He probably derived it from the English word
bag. The Baggins family home was called Bag End, and Tolkien himself had an aunt who owned a farm by this name, so that may have been his inspiration. Tolkien used English-like translations of many hobbit names; according to his notes the real hobbit-language form of the surname was
Labingi.
Baggio ItalianOriginally denoted a person from the Italian town of Baggio (now part of Milan). It is probably derived from Latin
Badalocum meaning "watch place".