Finch English, LiteratureFrom the name of the bird, from Old English
finc. It was used by Harper Lee for the surname of lawyer Atticus Finch and his children in her novel
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).
Finnegan IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Fionnagáin meaning
"descendant of Fionnagán". The given name
Fionnagán is a diminutive of
Fionn.
Fiscella ItalianDerived from Italian
fiscella, which was a basket used to conserve cheese. The name was probably used to denote a person who made cheese.
Fitzgerald IrishMeans
"son of Gerald" in Anglo-Norman French. It was brought to Ireland with William the Conqueror. A famous bearer was Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), an American jazz singer.
Fitzroy EnglishMeans
"son of the king" in Anglo-Norman French, from French
roi meaning "king". This name has been bestowed upon illegitimate children of kings.
Flanagan IrishFrom Irish
Ó Flannagáin meaning
"descendant of Flannagán".
Flannagán is a given name meaning "blood red". From County Roscommon in Ireland, it has many other spellings.
Flannery IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Flannghaile meaning
"descendant of Flannghal", a given name meaning "red valour".
Fleming EnglishGiven to a person who was a Fleming, that is a person who was from
Flanders in the Netherlands.
Fletcher EnglishOccupational name for a fletcher, someone who attached feathers to the shaft of an arrow. It is derived from Old French
fleche meaning "arrow".
Fleury FrenchFrom the name of various towns in northern France, derived from the Gallo-Roman personal name
Florus.
Flintstone Popular CultureFrom the English words
flint and
stone, created by Hanna-Barbera Productions for the caveman family (Fred, Wilma and Pebbles) in their animated television show
The Flintstones, which ran from 1960 to 1966.
Flower EnglishFrom Middle English
flour meaning
"flower, blossom", derived from Old French
flur, Latin
flos. This was a nickname given to a sweet person. In other cases it could be a metonymic occupational name for a maker of flour (a word derived from the same source).
Flynn IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Floinn meaning
"descendant of Flann".
Fodor HungarianFrom Hungarian
fodor meaning
"curly, wavy", referring to a person with curly or wavy hair.
Foley IrishFrom Irish
Ó Foghladha meaning
"descendant of Foghlaidh". The byname
Foghlaidh meant "pirate, marauder, plunderer".
Fonda ItalianOf Italian origin, possibly from a place derived from
fondo meaning
"deep". The family of Henry Fonda (1905-1982) came from the Netherlands, but they were of Genoese origin.
Fonseca Spanish, PortugueseOriginally belonged to a person who lived near a dry spring, from Latin
fons "well, spring" and
siccus "dry".
Fontaine FrenchDerived from Old French
fontane meaning
"well, fountain", a derivative of Latin
fons.
Ford EnglishName given to someone who lived by a ford, possibly the official who maintained it. A famous bearer was the American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947).
Forest English, FrenchOriginally belonged to a person who lived near or in a forest. It was probably originally derived, via Old French
forest, from Latin
forestam (silva) meaning "outer (wood)".
Forester EnglishDenoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest, or one who has charge of growing timber in a forest (see
Forest).
Forney GermanName for someone who lived near ferns, from Old High German
farn "fern".
Forst GermanDerived from Old High German
forst "forest". Probably unrelated to the Old French word
forest, which was derived from Latin, Old High German
forst was derived from
foraha meaning "fir tree".
Fortier FrenchDerived from Old French
fort "stronghold", indicating a person who lived near or worked at such a place.
Fortune EnglishFrom Middle English, ultimately from Latin
fortuna meaning
"fortune, luck, chance". This was possibly a nickname for a gambler.
Foster 2 EnglishOccupational name for a scissor maker, derived from Old French
forcetier.
Foster 3 EnglishOccupational name for a maker of saddle trees, derived from Old French
fustier.
Foster 4 EnglishNickname given to a person who was a foster child or foster parent.
Fournier FrenchOccupational name for a baker, from French
fourneau meaning
"oven".
Fowler EnglishOccupational name for a fowler or birdcatcher, ultimately derived from Old English
fugol meaning "bird".
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.
Fraser ScottishMeaning unknown, originally Norman French
de Fresel, possibly from a lost place name in France.
Freeman EnglishReferred to a person who was born free, or in other words was not a serf.
Frei GermanMeans
"free" in German, probably referring to someone outside the feudal system.
Freitas PortugueseMeans
"broken" in Portuguese, a name for one who lived on broken, stony ground.
French EnglishOriginally denoted a French person, from Middle English
Frensch, Old English
Frencisc.
Freud German, JewishMeans
"joy" in German, a nickname for a cheerful person. A famous bearer was the psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).
Freund GermanFrom Middle High German
vriunt, modern German
Freund meaning
"friend".
Fries GermanDenoted someone from Frisia, an area along the coastal region of the North Sea stretching from Netherlands to Germany.
Frisk SwedishFrom Swedish
frisk "healthy", which was derived from the Middle Low German word
vrisch "fresh, young, frisky".
Fromm GermanFrom a nickname derived from Middle High German
vrume meaning
"noble, honourable".
Frost English, GermanFrom Old English and Old High German meaning
"frost", a nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard.
Fry EnglishFrom Old English
frig (a variant of
freo) meaning
"free".
Fuchs GermanFrom Old High German
fuhs meaning
"fox". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.
Fuentes SpanishMeans
"spring, well" in Spanish, derived from Latin
fons.
Fuhrmann GermanDerived from Middle High German
vuorman meaning
"cartwright".
Fukui JapaneseDenoted a person who was from Fukui prefecture in Japan.
Fuller EnglishOccupational name for a fuller, a person who thickened and cleaned coarse cloth by pounding it. It is derived via Middle English from Latin
fullo.
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".
Fürst GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"(sovereign) prince" in German. The word
fürst itself is derived from Old High German
furisto "first".
Fusco ItalianFrom Italian
fosco meaning
"dark", from Latin
fuscus. This was a nickname for a person with dark features.
Gabler GermanOccupational name for someone who made or sold forks, from Old High German
gabala "fork".
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.
Gagneux FrenchDerived from Old French
gagnier meaning
"to farm, to cultivate".
Gagnon FrenchDerived from old French
gagnon "guard dog". The name most likely originated as a nickname for an aggressive or cruel person.
Gajos PolishDerived from Polish
gaj meaning
"grove, thicket".
Gale EnglishDerived from Middle English
gaile meaning
"jovial".
Galilei Italian (Rare)From the given name
Galileo. A notable bearer was the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Both his given name and surname were from an earlier 15th-century ancestor (a doctor).
Gallego SpanishOriginally indicated a person from Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain.
Gallo Italian, SpanishMeans
"rooster", ultimately from Latin
gallus. This was a nickname for a proud person.
Gama PortugueseProbably from a place name derived from Portuguese
gama meaning
"fallow deer doe", from Latin
gammus.
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).
Gárdonyi HungarianOriginally denoted a person from Gárdony, a town near Budapest in Hungary.
Garfagnini ItalianOriginally denoted one from the region of Garfagnana in Tuscany, Italy, near the historical city of Lucca.
Garfield EnglishMeans
"triangle field" in Old English. A famous bearer was American president James A. Garfield (1831-1881).
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.
Garnett 1 EnglishOccupational name referring to a person who made hinges, from Old French
carne "hinge".
Garofalo ItalianFrom a nickname, from a southern variant of the Italian word
garofano meaning
"carnation".
Garrastazu BasqueFrom the Basque word
arratz "bush" combined with the suffix
sta denoting a place.
Gass GermanName for someone who lived on a street in a city, from German
gasse.
Gates EnglishOriginally denoted a person who lived near the town gates.
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.
Gatti ItalianMeans
"cat" in Italian, originally a nickname for an agile person.
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".
Geier GermanMeans
"vulture" in German, a nickname for a greedy person.
Geiger GermanMeans
"fiddle player" in German, derived from Old High German
giga "fiddle".
Geissler GermanOccupational name for a goat herder, from southern German
Geiss meaning "goat" and the suffix
ler signifying an occupation.
Gerber GermanMeans
"tanner, leather dresser" in German, derived from Old High German
garawen meaning "to prepare".
Gereben HungarianMeans
"hackle, hatchel" in Hungarian (a hackle is a tool used to comb out fibers).
Gerst GermanOccupational name for a barley farmer, derived from Old High German
gersta "barley".
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).
Giunta ItalianFrom the old Italian given name
Bonagiunta or
Bonaggiunta (derived from
bono "good" and
aggiunto "assistant").
Glass English, GermanFrom Old English
glæs or Old High German
glas meaning
"glass". This was an occupational name for a glass blower or glazier.
Glazier EnglishMeans
"glass worker, glazier", from Old English
glæs meaning "glass".
Glenn Scottish, EnglishFrom place names derived from Gaelic
gleann "valley". A famous bearer was the American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016).
Glöckner GermanDerived from Middle High German
glocke "bell". It may have referred to a person who worked at or lived close to a bell tower.
Glover EnglishOccupational name for a person who made or sold gloves, from Middle English
glovere.
Glynn Welsh, CornishTopographic name for someone who lived in a valley, from Welsh
glyn and Cornish
glin, or a habitational name from a place named with this word.
Goffe EnglishDerived from Breton or Cornish
goff meaning
"smith", referring to a metalworker.
Gold English, German, JewishFrom Old English and Old High German
gold meaning
"gold", an occupational name for someone who worked with gold or a nickname for someone with yellow hair. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.