Unisex Surnames

Bagley English
From various English place names, derived from the Old English given name Bacga combined with leah "woodland, clearing".

Baglio Italian
Italian cognate of Bailey.

Bagni Italian
From Italian bagno "bath", derived from Latin balneum, referring to a person who worked as a bath house attendant.

Bagnoli Italian
Diminutive form of Bagni.

Bähr German
From Middle High German bër "bear" or ber "boar". This was originally a nickname for a strong or brave person.

Bai Chinese
From Chinese 白 (bái) meaning "white".

Baier German
Variant of Bayer.

Bailey English
From Middle English baili meaning "bailiff", which comes via Old French from Latin baiulus "porter".

Bain English
Variant of Baines 2.

Baines 1 Welsh
From Welsh ab Einws meaning "son of Einws", a diminutive of Einion.

Baines 2 English
From a nickname derived from Old English ban "bones", probably for a thin person.

Baird Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac an Baird.

Bajusz Hungarian
Means "moustache" in Hungarian.

Bak Danish
Means "slope, hillside" in Danish, from Old Norse bakki "bank".

Bakema Frisian
Means "son of Bake", a short form of names starting with the Old German element batu "fight, struggle".

Baker English
Occupational name meaning "baker", derived from Middle English bakere.

Bakhuizen Dutch
Means "bakery" from Dutch bak "bake" and huis "house", an occupational name for a baker.

Bakke Norwegian
Means "slope, hillside" in Norwegian, from Old Norse bakki "bank".

Bakken Norwegian
Means "the slope, the hillside" in Norwegian, from Old Norse bakki "bank".

Bakker Dutch
Dutch cognate of Baker, from Middle Dutch backere.

Bakó Hungarian
Means "axeman" in Hungarian.

Bălan Romanian
Means "blond" in Romanian.

Balázs Hungarian
Derived from the given name Balázs.

Balboni Italian
Derived from the given name Balbino.

Baldi Italian
Derived from the given name Baldo.

Baldini Italian
Derived from the given name Baldino, a diminutive of Baldo.

Baldinotti Italian
Derived from the given name Baldinotto, from the Latin name Baldinoctus, a diminutive of Baldo.

Baldovini Italian
Derived from the given name Baldovino.

Baldwin English
Derived from the given name Baldwin.

Balfour Scottish
From various place names that were derived from Gaelic baile "village" and pòr "pasture, crop, cropland".

Balık Turkish
From a Turkish word meaning "fish".

Bálint Hungarian
Derived from the given name Bálint.

Ball English
From Middle English bal, Old English beall meaning "ball". This was either a nickname for a rotund or bald person, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a ball-shaped feature.

Ballard English
Variant of Ball using a pejorative suffix.

Ballerini Italian
From Italian ballerino meaning "dancer", an occupational name or nickname for someone who liked to dance.

Balog Hungarian
Variant of Balogh.

Balogh Hungarian
Means "left handed" in Hungarian.

Bambach German
Variant of Baumbach.

Bancroft English
From any of the various places of this name, derived from Old English bean meaning "bean" and croft meaning "small enclosed field".

Banderas Spanish
Spanish cognate of Banner.

Bandini Italian
From the Latin name Bandinus, a derivative of Bandus, which is of unknown meaning.

Bandoni Italian
From Italian bandone meaning "sheet of iron".

Bandyopadhyay Bengali
From the name of the village of Bandoghat combined with upadhaya "instructor, priest".

Banerjee Bengali
Variant of Bandyopadhyay.

Banes Welsh
Variant of Baines 1.

Banister English
Variant of Bannister.

Banks English
Originally indicated someone who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.

Banner English
Occupational name for a flag carrier, derived from Old French baniere meaning "banner", ultimately of Germanic origin.

Bannerman English
Variant of Banner.

Bannister English
From Norman French banastre meaning "basket". This was originally a name for a maker of baskets.

Baran um Polish, Slovak, Ukrainian
Means "ram, male sheep" in Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian.

Bárány Hungarian
Means "lamb" in Hungarian.

Baráth Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian barát meaning "friend".

Barber English, Scottish
Indicated a barber, one who cut hair for a living.

Barbier French
French cognate of Barber.

Barbieri Italian
Italian cognate of Barber.

Barclay English, Scottish
From the English place name Berkeley, derived from Old English beorc "birch" and leah "woodland, clearing". The surname was imported to Scotland in the 12th century.

Bardakçı Turkish
Means "glassmaker" from Turkish bardak "glass".

Bardolph Literature
The name of a drunken thief and frequent companion of John Falstaff in four of William Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare probably adapted it from the aristocratic English surname Bardolf, now rare, which was itself derived from the Germanic given name Bardulf.

Bardsley English
From the name a village near Manchester, from the Old English given name Beornræd and leah "woodland, clearing".

Barends Dutch
Means "son of Barend".

Barış Turkish
From the given name Barış.

Barker English
From Middle English bark meaning "to tan". This was an occupational name for a leather tanner.

Barlow English
Derived from a number of English place names that variously mean "barley hill", "barn hill", "boar clearing" or "barley clearing".

Barna Hungarian
Means "brown" in Hungarian.

Barnes English
Denoted a person who worked or lived in a barn. The word barn is derived from Old English bere "barley" and ærn "dwelling".

Barnet English
Variant of Barnett.

Barnett English
Derived from Old English bærnet meaning "place cleared by burning".

Baron English, French
From the title of nobility, derived from Latin baro (genitive baronis) meaning "man, freeman", possibly from Frankish barō meaning "servant, man, warrior". It was used as a nickname for someone who worked for a baron or acted like a baron.

Barone Italian
Italian cognate of Baron.

Barr English
Indicated a person who lived near a barrier, from Old French barre.

Barre French
French cognate of Barr.

Barret English
Variant of Barrett.

Barrett English
Probably derived from the Middle English word barat meaning "trouble, deception", originally given to a quarrelsome person.

Barros Portuguese, Spanish
From the Portuguese and Spanish word barro meaning "clay, mud". This could either be an occupational name for a person who worked with clay or mud such as a builder or artisan, or a topographic name for someone living near clay or mud.

Barsamian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Պարսամյան (see Parsamyan).

Barsotti Italian
Probably from the medieval Latin word baro meaning "man, freeman" (of Frankish origin).

Barta Hungarian
From the given name Barta.

Bartalotti Italian
Means "son of Bartalotto", a diminutive of Bartolo.

Bartha Hungarian
Variant of Barta.

Bartolomei Italian
Derived from the given name Bartolomeo.

Bartolomeo Italian
Derived from the given name Bartolomeo.

Barton English
From a place name meaning "barley town" in Old English.

Bartos Hungarian
From a given name that was a diminutive of Bertalan.

Bartosz Polish
Derived from the given name Bartosz.

Bartram English
From the given name Bertram.

Barwegen Frisian
Derived from the name of a village in Frisia meaning "road to the dike".

Barzetti Italian
Variant of Barsotti.

Bašić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of the chief", derived from Serbo-Croatian baša meaning "chief, boss" (of Turkish origin).

Basile Italian, French
From the given name Basilio or Basile.

Bass English
English cognate of Basso.

Bassanelli Italian
Diminutive form of Bassani.

Bassani Italian
Derived from the place name Bassano, belonging multiple villages in Italy.

Bassi Italian
Variant of Basso, common in northern Italy.

Basso Italian
Originally a nickname for a short person, from Latin bassus "thick, low".

Basurto Spanish
From the Basque place name Basurtu, a village (now part of Bilbao) in Biscay. It means "middle of the forest".

Bates English
Means "son of Bate".

Bateson English
Means "son of Bate".

Báthory Hungarian
Originally indicated a person from Bátor, a village in Hungary, which might be of Turkic origin meaning "hero". This was the surname of a Hungarian noble family who historically controlled the town. One of the family members, Stephen Báthory, became the king of Poland in the 16th century.

Bátori Hungarian
Variant of Báthory.

Battaglia Italian
From a nickname meaning "battle" in Italian.

Battle English
From a nickname for a combative person. In some cases it may come from the name of English places called Battle, so named because they were sites of battles.

Batts English
Means "son of Bate".

Baudin French
From the given name Baud, French form of Baldo.

Bauer German
From Old High German bur meaning "peasant, farmer".

Bauers German
Variant of Bauer.

Baum German, Jewish
Means "tree" in German. A famous bearer was the American author L. Frank Baum (1856-1919).

Baumann German, Jewish
From Middle High German bumann meaning "farmer, builder".

Baumbach German
From a place name meaning "tree stream" in German.

Baumer German
Variant of Baum.

Baumgarten German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Baumgärtner German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Baumgartner German
Occupational name for a person who worked or lived at an orchard, from German Baumgarten "orchard" (derived from Baum "tree" and Garten "garden").

Baumhauer German
Occupational name meaning "woodcutter", derived from German Baum "tree" and hauen "to chop".

Bautista Spanish
Derived from the given name Bautista.

Baxter English
Variant (in origin a feminine form) of Baker.

Bayer German
Originally denoted a person from Bavaria, from its German name Bayern.

Baylor German (Anglicized)
Possibly an Americanized form of Beiler.

Bazzoli Italian
From Italian bazza meaning "protruding chin".

Beake English
Variant of Beck 3.

Bean English
English cognate of Bohn.

Beasley English
From the name of a place in Lancashire, from Old English beos "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Beattie Scottish
From the medieval name Battie, a diminutive of Bartholomew.

Beatty Scottish
Variant of Beattie.

Beauchêne French
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and chêne "oak".

Beaufort French
From various French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and fort "strong place, fortress".

Beaulieu French
From various French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and lieu "place".

Beaumont French, English
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and mont "mountain".

Beck 1 English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
From Middle English bekke (from Old Norse), Low German beke or Old Norse bekkr all meaning "stream".

Beck 2 German
Variant of Becker, from southern German beck.

Beck 3 English
From a nickname for a person with a big nose, from Middle English bec meaning "beak".

Beck 4 English
From Old English becca meaning "pickaxe", an occupational surname.

Becke German
Variant of Beck 1 or Beck 2.

Beckenbauer German
Means "farmer living by a stream" in German.

Becker German
Derived from Middle High German becker meaning "baker".

Beckert German
Variant of Becker.

Becket English
Variant of Beckett.

Beckett English
Originally a diminutive of Beck 1 or Beck 3.

Beckham English
From an English place name meaning "Becca's homestead" in Old English (with Becca being a masculine byname meaning "pickaxe"). A famous bearer is retired English soccer player David Beckham (1975-).

Becskei Hungarian
Indicated a person from Becske, a town in Hungary, which might be derived from the given name Benedek.

Bedrosian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Պետրոսյան (see Petrosyan).

Beech 1 English
English cognate of Bach 1.

Beech 2 English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a beech tree, from Old English bece.

Beethoven Dutch (Archaic)
From a place name derived from Dutch beet "beet, beetroot" and hoven "farms". This name was borne by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), whose family was of Flemish origin. The surname is now mostly extinct.

Begam Indian (Muslim), Bengali (Muslim), Urdu, Punjabi
Alternate transcription of Urdu بیگم, Bengali বেগম or Gurmukhi ਬੇਗਮ (see Begum).

Begbie Scottish
From the name of a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is derived from the Old Norse given name Baggi and býr "farm, settlement".

Begum Indian (Muslim), Bengali (Muslim), Urdu, Punjabi
From a title traditionally used as an honorific for Muslim women in India and other parts of southern Asia. It is derived from a feminine form of the Turkic title beg meaning "chieftain" (modern Turkish bey).

Behrend German
Derived from the given name Bernd.

Behrends German
Derived from the given name Bernd.

Behringer German
From the given name Berengar.

Beiler German
Derived from Middle High German beile meaning "measuring stick".

Beirne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Beitel German
Variant of Beutel.

Bélanger French
From the given name Bérenger.

Belanger English
From the given name Berengar.

Belcher English
From a Middle English version of Old French bel chiere meaning "beautiful face". It later came to refer to a person who had a cheerful and pleasant temperament.

Bell 1 English
From Middle English belle meaning "bell". It originated as a nickname for a person who lived near the town bell, or who had a job as a bell-ringer.

Bell 2 English
Derived from the given name Bel, a medieval short form of Isabel.

Bellamy French, English
From Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".

Bellandi Italian
Means "son of Bellando", from a medieval given name derived from Latin bellandus meaning "which is to be fought".

Bellandini Italian
Diminutive form of Bellandi.

Bellerose French
Means "beautiful rose" in French.

Bellincioni Italian
Means "son of Bellincione", from a medieval name (borne for example by Dante's grandfather) that was probably a derivative of Italian bello "beautiful, fair".

Bellini Italian
From Italian bello meaning "beautiful".

Bello Spanish, Italian
Means "beautiful" in Spanish and Italian, originally a nickname for an attractive person.

Bellomi Italian
Variant of Bellomo.

Bellomo Italian
From a nickname derived from Italian bello "beautiful, fair" and uomo "man".

Belloni Italian
Augmented form of Bello.

Belluomo Italian
Variant of Bellomo.

Belmont French, English
French and English form of Belmonte.

Belmonte Spanish, Italian
From various place names in Italy and Spain meaning "beautiful mountain".

Belo Portuguese
Portuguese form of Bello.

Belrose French
Variant of Bellerose.

Beltz German
Occupational name for a tanner of hides, derived from Middle High German belz meaning "fur".

Benbow English
From a nickname "bend the bow" given to an archer.

Bencivenni Italian
Means "son of Bencivenne", from the medieval name Bencivenga, a Tuscan variant of Benvenuto.

Bendtsen Danish
Means "son of Bendt".

Benedetti Italian
From the given name Benedetto.

Benenati Italian
Means "son of Benenato", a given name derived from Latin bene "good, well" and natus "good".

Benes Hungarian
Hungarian form of Beneš.

Benetton Italian
Northern Italian variant of Benedetti.

Bengochea Basque
Variant of Bengoetxea.

Bengoechea Basque
Variant of Bengoetxea.

Bengoetxea Basque
Means "the house furthest down" from Basque bengo "furthest down" and etxe "house".

Bengtsdotter Swedish
Means "daughter of Bengt".

Bengtsson Swedish
Means "son of Bengt".

Benini Italian
Means "son of Benino" from a diminutive of Bene or Beno, short forms of Benedetto.

Benítez Spanish
Means "son of Benito".

Benito Spanish
From the given name Benito.

Benizzi Italian
From the medieval given name Bonizzone.

Benjaminson English
Means "son of Benjamin".

Benn English
From a short form of Benedict.

Bennet English
Derived from the medieval English given name Bennett.

Bennett English
Derived from the medieval English given name Bennett.

Bennington English
From the English town name Benington, which can mean either "settlement belonging to Beonna's people" or "settlement by the River Beane".

Benoit French
From the given name Benoît.

Benscoter Dutch (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Bunschoten.

Benson English
Means "son of Benedict".

Bentley English
From a place name derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

Benton English
Denoted someone who came from Benton, England, which is derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and tun "enclosure".

Bentsen Danish
Means "son of Bent 1".

Benvenuti Italian
Means "son of Benvenuto".

Béranger French
From the given name Bérenger.

Berardi Italian
From the given name Berardo.

Berg German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German, Old Dutch and Old Norse berg meaning "mountain".

Bergamaschi Italian
Originally indicated an inhabitant of the city of Bergamo in Lombardy.

Berge Norwegian, German, Swedish
Variant of Berg.

Berger 1 French
Occupational name meaning "shepherd", from Old French bergier.

Berger 2 German, Dutch
Variant of Berg.

Bergfalk Swedish
Derived from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and falk (Old Norse falki) meaning "falcon".

Berggren Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Berglund Swedish
Ornamental name from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".

Bergman Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man", originally a name for a person living on a mountain.

Bergmann German
From Old High German berg meaning "mountain" and man meaning "man", originally denoting someone who lived on a mountain.

Bergqvist Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Bergström Swedish
Derived from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Beridze Georgian
Means "son of the monk", from Georgian ბერი (beri) meaning "monk".

Béringer French
From the given name Bérenger.

Beringer German, English
From the given name Berengar.

Berkovich Jewish
Means "son of Berko" in Yiddish, Berko being a derivative of Ber.

Berkowicz Jewish
Variant of Berkovich.

Berkowitz Jewish
Variant of Berkovich.

Berlusconi Italian
Probably from the Milanese word berlusch meaning "cross-eyed, crooked".

Bermúdez Spanish
Means "son of Bermudo".

Bernard um French, English, Dutch, German, Czech, Slovene
From the given name Bernard.

Bernardi Italian
From the given name Bernardo.

Bernardino Portuguese, Spanish
From the given name Bernardino.

Bernardo Portuguese
From the given name Bernardo.

Bernat Catalan
Derived from the given name Bernat.

Berne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Bernhard German
From the given name Bernhard.

Bernhardsson Swedish
Means "son of Bernhard".

Berntsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Bernt".

Berntsson Swedish
Means "son of Bernt".

Berry English
Derived from a place name, which was derived from Old English burh "fortification".

Berti Italian
Derived from the given name Berto.

Bertolini Italian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Bertoldo.

Bertrand French
Derived from the given name Bertrand.

Best 1 English
Derived from Middle English beste meaning "beast", an occupational name for a keeper of animals or a nickname for someone who acted like a beast. A famous bearer of this surname was soccer legend George Best (1946-2005).

Best 2 German
Derived from the name of the river Beste, meaning unknown.

Beulen Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Beulens Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Beumer Dutch
Possibly a Dutch form of Baumer or Böhmer.

Beumers Dutch
Possibly a Dutch form of Baumer or Böhmer.

Beutel German
From Middle High German biutel meaning "bag", originally belonging to a person who made or sold bags.

Bevan Welsh
Derived from Welsh ap Evan meaning "son of Evan".

Beverley English
From the name of an English city, derived from Old English beofor "beaver" and (possibly) licc "stream".

Beverly English
Variant of Beverley.

Beyer German
Variant of Bayer.

Beyersdorf German
Means "farmers village", from German Bauer meaning "farmer" and Dorf meaning "village".

Bezuidenhout Dutch
From Dutch zuid "south" and hout "forest". It refers to the south of the forest in The Hague.

Bhattacharya Bengali
From a Bengali title composed of the Sanskrit words भट्ट (bhaṭṭa) meaning "scholar, lord" and आचार्य (ācārya) meaning "teacher".

Biagi Italian
Means "son of Biagio".

Biancardi Italian
Italian form of Blanchard.

Bianchi Italian
From Italian bianco meaning "white", originally given to a person who was white-haired or extremely pale.

Bianco Italian
Variant of Bianchi.

Bicchieri Italian
Means "drinking glasses" in Italian, referring originally to a person who made or sold them.

Bieber German, Jewish
From Middle High German biber meaning "beaver", possibly a nickname for a hard worker.

Biermann German
Derived from German bier "beer" and mann "man". The name may have referred to a brewer or a tavern owner.

Binici Turkish
From the Turkish word binici meaning "rider, horseman".

Biondi Italian
Means "fair-haired, blond" in Italian. This name was borne by the American swimmer Matt Biondi (1965-).

Biondo Italian
Variant of Biondi.

Bird English
Occupational name for a person who raised or hunted birds.

Bíró Hungarian
Derived from bíró meaning "judge" in Hungarian.

Bischoffs German
German cognate of Bishop.

Bishop English
Means simply "bishop", ultimately from Greek ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) meaning "overseer". It probably originally referred to a person who served a bishop.

Biškup Croatian
Croatian cognate of Bishop.

Biskup Polish
Polish cognate of Bishop.

Bisset English
From Old French bis meaning "drab, dingy", a nickname for someone who looked drab.

Bissette English
Variant of Bisset.

Bjarnesen Danish
Means "son of Bjarne".

Björk Swedish
From Swedish björk meaning "birch tree", Old Norse bjǫrk.

Björklund Swedish
From Swedish björk (Old Norse bjǫrk) meaning "birch tree" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".

Björkman Swedish
From Swedish björk (Old Norse bjǫrk) meaning "birch tree" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Björnsson Swedish, Icelandic
Means "son of Björn".

Black English
Means either "black" (from Old English blæc) or "pale" (from Old English blac). It could refer to a person with a pale or a dark complexion, or a person who worked with black dye.

Blackbourne English
Variant of Blackburn.

Blackburn English
From the name of a city in Lancashire, meaning "black stream" in Old English.

Blackman English
From a nickname, a variant of Black.

Blackwood English, Scottish
From an English place name meaning "black wood".

Blain Scottish
From the given name Bláán.

Blaine Scottish
From the given name Bláán.

Blair Scottish
From any one of several places of this name in Scotland, which derive from Gaelic blàr meaning "plain, field, battlefield".

Blaise French
Derived from the given name Blaise.

Blake English
Variant of Black. A famous bearer was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827).

Blakeley English
From name of various English places, derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Blakely English
Variant of Blakeley.

Blakeslee English
Variant of Blakesley.

Blakesley English
From the name of a town in Northamptonshire, itself meaning "Blæcwulf's meadow" in Old English. Blæcwulf is a byname meaning "black wolf".

Blanc French
Means "white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond.

Blanchard French, English
Derived from the given name Blanchard.

Blanchet French
From a diminutive of the name Blanc.

Blanchett French (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Blanchet or Blanchette.

Blanchette French (Quebec)
Variant of Blanchet.

Blanco Spanish
Means "white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a person who was pale or had blond hair.

Blanxart Catalan
Catalan form of Blanchard.

Blau German
Means "blue" in German, most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes.

Blažević Croatian
Means "son of Blaž".

Blecher German
Occupational name for someone who worked with tin or sheet metal, from German blech "tin".

Bleier German
Occupational name for a worker of lead, derived from German blei "lead".