Browse Surnames

This is a list of surnames in which the gender is unisex; and the order is random.
usage
gender
Asanuma Japanese
From Japanese (asa) meaning "shallow" and (numa) meaning "swamp, marsh".
Abdel Arabic
From the given name Abdul.
Sexton English
Occupational name for a sexton (Middle English sexteyn), a caretaker for a church or graveyard.
Zuñiga Basque
From the name of a Spanish town, formerly named Estuniga in Basque, possibly derived from Basque istuin "channel, strait".
Kovalenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian коваль (koval) meaning "blacksmith".
Dean 2 English
Occupational surname meaning "dean", referring to a person who either was a dean or worked for one. It is from Middle English deen (ultimately from Latin decanus meaning "chief of ten").
Marchenko Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Marko.
Slater English
Occupational name indicating that an early member worked covering roofs with slate, from Old French esclat "shard", of Germanic origin.
Atwood English
From Middle English meaning "dweller at the wood".
Martelli Italian
Italian form of Martel 2.
Wild English, German
Means "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", derived from Old English wilde. This was either a nickname for a person who behaved in a wild manner or a topographic name for someone who lived on overgrown land.
Carlisle English
From the name of a city in northern England. The city was originally called by the Romans Luguvalium meaning "stronghold of Lugus". Later the Brythonic element ker "fort" was appended to the name of the city.
Walmsley English
Originally denoted a person from the English town of Walmersley.
Lenin History
Surname adopted by the Russian revolutionary and founder of the former Soviet state Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), whose birth surname was Ulyanov. He probably adapted it from the name of the River Lena in Siberia.
Khaled Arabic
From the given name Khalid.
Ito Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 伊藤 (see Itō).
Corna Italian
Derived from the names of places in northern Italy, especially Lombardy, from a word that means "crag, cliff" in the Lombard dialect.
McAdams Scottish, Irish
Means "son of Adam" in Gaelic.
Trump German
Derived from Middle High German trumbe meaning "drum". This surname is borne by the American president Donald Trump (1946-).
Reynolds English
Derived from the given name Reynold.
Panza Italian, Literature
From a variant of the Italian word pancia meaning "stomach, paunch", originally a nickname for a chubby person. The Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes used it in his novel Don Quixote (1605), where it is the surname of Don Quixote's squire Sancho Panza. Not a common Spanish surname, Cervantes may have based it directly on the Spanish word panza (a cognate of the Italian word).
Caden Irish
From Irish Mac Cadáin meaning "descendant of Cadán", a given name of unknown meaning.
Adkins English
Variant of Atkins.
Ó Frighil Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Friel.
Ó Baoghill Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Boyle.
Žagar Slovene
Occupational name for a woodcutter, from Slovene žaga meaning "saw".
Ellsworth English
Habitational name for a person from the town of Elsworth in Cambridgeshire. The town's name is derived from the masculine given name Ella (a short form of Old English names beginning with the elements ælf meaning "elf" or eald meaning "old") combined with worþ meaning "enclosure".
Magellan History
Anglicized form of Magalhães, referring to the explorer.
Gensch German
From the given name Gensch, a Sorbian form of John.
Deering English
From the Old English given name Deora meaning "dear, beloved".
Shen Chinese
From Chinese (shēn) referring to the ancient state of Shen, which existed during the Zhou dynasty.
Claes Flemish
From the given name Klaus.
Babin French
From the given name Babin, a medieval diminutive of Babylas.
Collingwood English
From a place name, itself derived from Old French chalenge meaning "disputed" and Middle English wode meaning "woods".
Stern 1 English
From Old English styrne meaning "stern, severe". This was used as a nickname for someone who was stern, harsh, or severe in manner or character.
Bosch 2 Catalan
Catalan cognate of Bosco.
Bradshaw English
From any of the places by this name in England, derived from Old English brad "broad" and sceaga "thicket".
Germano Italian
From the given name Germano.
MacKenzie Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacCoinnich meaning "son of Coinneach". It originates from the Kintail area of Scotland on the northwest coast.
Rolvsson Norwegian
Means "son of Rolf".
Hallman Swedish
From Swedish hall (Old Norse hallr) meaning "rock, boulder, slab" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".
Wakefield English
Originally indicated a person who came from the English city of Wakefield, derived from Old English wacu "wake, vigil" and feld "field".
Winston English
Derived from the given name Wynnstan.
László Hungarian
Derived from the given name László.
Gauthier French
Derived from the given name Gauthier.
Frank 2 English
From Old English franc meaning "free".
Rivière French
French cognate of Rivers.
Gerber German
Means "tanner, leather dresser" in German, derived from Old High German garawen meaning "to prepare".
Luzzatto Italian
From an Italian form of Lusatia, a region of eastern Germany.
Evangelista Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Means "evangelist" in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Martini Italian
Derived from the given name Martino.
Assies Dutch
Means "son of Asse".
Shaw 2 Scottish
From a given name or byname that was derived from Gaelic sitheach meaning "wolf" (Old Irish sídach).
Savona Italian
From the name of the city of Savona in northern Italy, called Savo by the Romans, of uncertain meaning.
Floyd Welsh
Variant of Lloyd.
Teunissen Dutch
Means "son of Teunis".
Benizzi Italian
From the medieval given name Bonizzone.
Gladwin English
Derived from the Old English given name Glædwine.
Nathans Jewish
Derived from the given name Nathan.
Bonnaire French
French form of Bonner.
Metzger German
Means "butcher" in German.
Baglio Italian
Italian cognate of Bailey.
Lavoie French
Means "the road, the lane" in French, a name for someone who lived close to a road.
Zanetti Italian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Giovanni. A famous bearer is Argentinian soccer player Javier Zanetti (1973-).
Haraguchi Japanese
From Japanese (hara) meaning "field, plain" and (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".
Sultana Bengali, Urdu, Maltese
Bengali, Urdu and Maltese form of Sultan.
Van Heel Dutch
Means "from Heel", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Strange English
Derived from Middle English strange meaning "foreign", ultimately from Latin extraneus.
Parodi Italian
From the name of a village near Genoa in northern Italy.
Estrada Spanish
Spanish form of Street.
Tóth um Hungarian, Slovak
Derived from Hungarian tót, which means "Slovak" or "Slovene".
Johnsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of John".
Trent English
Denoted one who lived near the River Trent in England.
Mittelman Jewish
Nickname for a man of moderate means, from Yiddish, ultimately from Old High German mittil "means, resources".
Van Andel Dutch
Means "from Andel", a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "upper forest" in Old Dutch.
Sims English
Variant of Simms.
Anjema Frisian
Denoted a person from the village of Anjum in the Netherlands. It possibly means "corner" in Dutch.
Kövér Hungarian
Means "fat" in Hungarian.
Mateo Spanish
Derived from the given name Mateo.
Ingham English
From the name of an English town, of Old English origin meaning "Inga's homestead".
Garza Spanish
Derived from Spanish garza meaning "heron".
Jansink Dutch
Variant of Jansen.
Horvat Croatian, Slovene
From Croatian and Slovene Hrvat meaning "Croat, person from Croatia".
Tähtinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish tähti meaning "star".
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).
Stanek Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Stanisław.
Amador Spanish
Derived from the given name Amador.
Messerli German (Swiss)
Swiss diminutive form of Messer.
Smits Dutch
Variant of Smit.
Koolen Dutch
Derived from the given name Nicolaas.
Nevin 1 Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Naoimhín.
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.
Unruh German
Refers to a restless, fidgety, nervous person, from German unruhe meaning "unrest".
Cardoso Portuguese, Spanish
From a place name meaning "thorny" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin carduus.
Brock English
Derived from Old English brocc meaning "badger", ultimately of Celtic origin.
Bartolomeo Italian
Derived from the given name Bartolomeo.
Díaz Spanish
Means "son of Diego" in Spanish.
Sanada Japanese
From Japanese (sana) meaning "real, genuine" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Barta Hungarian
From the given name Barta.
Solís Spanish
From the name of a village in Asturias, Spain, derived from Spanish sol "sun".
Salvi Italian
From the given name Salvo or Salvio.
Burgstaller German
From German Burg "fortress, castle" and Stelle "place, position". This was a name given to a person dwelling at or near such a site.
Roberts English
Means "son of Robert".
Atchison Scottish
Scots form of Atkinson.
Priddy Welsh
From Welsh prydudd meaning "bard".
Botha Afrikaans
South African variant of Both.
Wójcik Polish
From the Polish word wójt meaning "chief, mayor" (related to German Vogt).
Akiyama Japanese
From Japanese (aki) meaning "autumn" and (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
Agricola Italian
From Latin agricola meaning "farmer".
Suero Spanish
Derived from the given name Suero.
Antonescu Romanian
Means "son of Anton".
Böttcher German
Occupational name meaning "cooper, barrel maker" in German.
Hoedemaker Dutch
Occupational name for a hat maker, from Dutch hoed "hat" and maker "maker".
Ionescu Romanian
Means "son of Ion 1" in Romanian.
Marmo Italian
Means "marble" in Italian, possibly indicating a person who lived near a quarry or one who worked with marble.
Baráth Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian barát meaning "friend".
Padilla Spanish
From various Spanish place names, derived from Spanish padilla, Latin patella meaning "shallow dish", used to indicate a depression in the landscape.
Klossner German
Derived from German Klausner, Middle High German klosenære meaning "hermit".
Agnarsson Icelandic
Means "son of Agnar".
Nussbaum German, Jewish
Means "nut tree", derived from the German Nuss "nut" and Baum "tree".
Treloar English
Originally denoted a person from a place of this name in Cornwall, England.
Vång Swedish
Swedish variant of Wang 3.
Plank German, English
Means "plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.
Tennison English
Means "son of Denis".
Weaver 2 English
From the name of the River Weaver, derived from Old English wefer meaning "winding stream".
Liao Chinese
From Chinese (liào) referring to the ancient state of Liao, which was located in present-day Henan province.
Lundgren Swedish
Derived from Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".
Finnegan Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Fionnagáin meaning "descendant of Fionnagán". The given name Fionnagán is a diminutive of Fionn.
Atwater English
From Middle English meaning "dweller at the water".
Kallio Finnish
Means "rock, outcrop" in Finnish.
McTavish Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacTàmhais meaning "son of Tàmhas".
Gary English
Variant of Geary.
Maurice French
From the given name Maurice.
Temitope Yoruba
From the given name Temitope.
Wyndham English
From the name of the town of Wymondham, meaning "home belonging to Wigmund", from the given name Wigmund combined with Old English ham meaning "home, settlement".
Frye English
Variant of Fry.
Coemans Dutch
Variant of Koopman.
Jackson English
Means "son of Jack". Famous bearers of this name include the American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) and the singer Michael Jackson (1958-2009).
Mulder Dutch
Dutch equivalent of Miller.
McKenna Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Cionaodha meaning "son of Cionaodh".
Castillo Spanish
Spanish cognate of Castle.
Borja Spanish
Originally indicated a person from the Spanish town of Borja in Aragon, derived from Arabic برْج (burj) meaning "tower".
Matthews English
Derived from the given name Matthew.
Durand French, English
From Old French durant meaning "enduring", ultimately from Latin durans. This was a nickname for a stubborn person.
Antonis mu Greek, Dutch
Derived from the given name Antonis or Antonius.
Ó Caoimh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Keefe.
Greenspan Jewish
Anglicized form of German Grünspan meaning "verdigris". Verdigris is the green-blue substance that forms on copper.
MacLeòid Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McLeod.
Ó Floinn Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Flynn.
Thornton English
From any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.
Singh Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Indian (Sikh)
From Sanskrit सिंह (siṃha) meaning "lion". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his Sikh male followers the surname Singh and all females Kaur. It is among the most common surnames in India.
Mac Conmara Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McNamara.
Ó Cuirc Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Quirke.
Nascimbeni Italian
From the medieval given name Nascimbene, typical of the Venetian region.
Voclain French
From the Old French given name Vauquelin.
Valjean Literature
Created by Victor Hugo for Jean Valjean, the hero of his novel Les Misérables (1862). The novel explains that his father, also named Jean, received the nickname Valjean or Vlajean from a contraction of French voilá Jean meaning "here's Jean".
Ström Swedish
Means "stream" in Swedish.
Friel Irish
From the Irish Ó Frighil meaning "descendant of Fearghal".
Kunkel German
Occupational name for a maker of distaffs, from Middle High German kunkel "distaff, spindle", of Latin origin.
Redondo Spanish
Means "round" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a plump person, ultimately from Latin rotundus.
MacAoidh Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of Mac Aodha.
Schröder 1 Low German
Occupational name for a tailor, from Middle Low German schroden meaning "to cut".
Bakó Hungarian
Means "axeman" in Hungarian.
Marquering Dutch
Possibly a Dutch form of Marquardt.
Mataracı Turkish
Occupational name for a person who made water bottles or flasks, from Turkish matara "flask".
Axelsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Axel".
Mendelsohn Jewish
Means "son of Mendel".
Maxwell Scottish
From a place name meaning "Mack's stream", from the name Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name Magnus, combined with Old English wille "well, stream". A famous bearer was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
Ulfsson Swedish
Means "son of Ulf".
Costanzo Italian
From the given name Costanzo.
Gerstle German
Variant of Gerst.
Bandyopadhyay Bengali
From the name of the village of Bandoghat combined with upadhaya "instructor, priest".
Jakeman English
Means "servant of Jack".
Sun Chinese
From Chinese (sūn) meaning "grandchild, descendant". A famous bearer of the surname was Sun Tzu, the 6th-century BC author of The Art of War.
Lundberg Swedish
Derived from Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and berg meaning "mountain".
Léandre French
Derived from the given name Léandre.
Hoekstra Frisian
From Frisian hoek meaning "corner".
De Boer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Bauer.
Estévez Spanish
Means "son of Esteban".
Vaughan Welsh
From Welsh bychan (mutated to fychan) meaning "little". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Aloia Italian
Variant of Aloi.
Blažević Croatian
Means "son of Blaž".
Gárdonyi Hungarian
Originally denoted a person from Gárdony, a town near Budapest in Hungary.
Burns 2 Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.
Sauter German
Occupational name for a cobbler, from Latin sutor "sewer, cobbler".
Ellis English, Welsh
Derived from the given name Elijah, or sometimes Elisedd.
Faucher French
Occupational name meaning "mower" in French, ultimately from Latin falx meaning "sickle, scythe".
Henry English
Derived from the given name Henry.
Munroe Scottish
Anglicized (typically Canadian and American) form of Munro.
Werner German
From the given name Werner.
Andries Dutch
Derived from the given name Andries.
Ruggiero Italian
From the given name Ruggiero.
Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.
Bălan Romanian
Means "blond" in Romanian.
Townsend English
Indicated a person who lived at the town's edge, from Old English tun "enclosure, yard, town" and ende "end, limit".
Flintstone Popular Culture
From 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.
Germain French
From the French given name Germain.
Janssen Dutch
Means "son of Jan 1".
Monette French
Variant of Monet.
Panosyan Armenian
Means "son of Panos".
Isaacson English
Means "son of Isaac".
Abney English
From the name of a town in Derbyshire, derived from Old English meaning "Abba's island".
Eliassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Elias".
Uggeri Italian
Derived from the given name Edgardo.
Nigel English
Derived from the given name Neil.
Bravo Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "angry, bold, brave" in Spanish and Portuguese.
O'Connor Irish
From Irish Ó Conchobhair meaning "descendant of Conchobar".
Saar Estonian
From Estonian saar meaning "island".
Pető Hungarian
Derived from an old diminutive of Péter.
Nichols English
Derived from the given name Nichol.
Ó Cearmada Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Carmody.
Lacey English
Derived from Lassy, the name of a town in Normandy. The name of the town was Gaulish in origin, perhaps deriving from a personal name that was Latinized as Lascius.
Derricks English
Derived from the given name Derrick.
Fusco Italian
From Italian fosco meaning "dark", from Latin fuscus. This was a nickname for a person with dark features.
Stasyuk Ukrainian
Alternate transcription of Ukrainian Стасюк (see Stasiuk).
Marston English
From a place name derived from Old English mersc "marsh" and tun "enclosure".
Rake English
Originally a name for a dweller on a narrow pass or hillside, from Old English hrace meaning "throat, gorge".
Vida Hungarian
From the given name Vid.
Velázquez Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco. A famous bearer was the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).
Drago Italian
From a nickname meaning "dragon" in Italian.
Murdock Irish
Derived from the given name Murchadh.
Vuorinen Finnish
From Finnish vuori meaning "mountain".
Kalmár Hungarian
Occupational name meaning "merchant, shopkeeper" in Hungarian, of German origin.
Ćosić Croatian, Serbian
From Croatian and Serbian ćosav "beardless", ultimately from Persian کوسه (kūseh) meaning "shark".
Yakovenko Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Yakiv.
Hochberg German, Jewish
From place names meaning "high hill" in German.
Perry 1 English
From Old English pirige meaning "pear tree", a derivative of peru meaning "pear", itself from Latin pirum. A famous bearer was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.
Monti Italian
Means "mountain, hill" in Italian, from Latin mons.
Raneri Italian
Derived from the Italian given name Raniero.
Größel German
Variant of Groß, used in southern Germany.
Wägner German
Variant of Wagner.
Einarsson Swedish
Means "son of Einar".
Panders Dutch
Variant of Penders.
Devos Flemish
Flemish variant of Vos.
Giffard French, English
Possibly 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.
McLeod Scottish
From Gaelic MacLeòid meaning "son of Leod", a given name derived from Old Norse ljótr "ugly".
Zajec Slovene
Means "hare" in Slovene.
O'Byrne Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Broin meaning "descendant of Bran 1".
Gordon Scottish
From the name of a place in Berwickshire, Scotland, derived from Brythonic words meaning "spacious fort".
Sharpe English
Variant of Sharp.
Poirot French, Literature
From a diminutive of French poire "pear", originally referring to a pear merchant or someone who lived near a pear tree. Starting in 1920 this name was used by the mystery writer Agatha Christie for her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Christie based the name on that of Jules Poiret, a contemporary fictional detective.
Tamboia Italian
Possibly means "drummer", from Italian tamburo meaning "drum".
Obama Luo
From a rare Luo given name meaning "crooked, bent". It was possibly originally given to a baby who had an arm or leg that looked slightly bent immediately after birth or who was born in the breech position.
Sultan Arabic
From a nickname meaning "sultan, ruler" in Arabic.
Reiher German
Means "heron" in German, a nickname for a person with long legs.
Modugno Italian
From the town of Modugno, in Apulia in southern Italy. It is the surname of the Italian actor and singer Domenico Modugno (1928-1994).
Schultz German
Variant of Schulz.
Gabrielli Italian
From the given name Gabriele 1.
Aquino Italian, Spanish
From 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.
Oomen Dutch
Patronymic derived from Middle Dutch oom meaning "(maternal) uncle".
Blecher German
Occupational name for someone who worked with tin or sheet metal, from German blech "tin".
Urano Japanese
From Japanese (ura) meaning "bay, inlet" and (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Lowry English, Scottish
From a diminutive of the given name Laurence 1.
Leyton English
Variant of Layton.
Fini Italian
Derived from given names ending in fino, such as Serafino.
Salah Arabic
Derived from the given name Salah 1.
Kader Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic قادر (see Qadir).
Albescu Romanian
Derived from Romanian alb meaning "white".
Esser German
Means "cartwright", related to Old High German ahsa "axle".
Giuliani Italian
From the given name Giuliano.
Higgins Irish
From Irish Ó hUiginn meaning "descendant of Uiginn". Uiginn is a byname meaning "Viking".
Shirley English
From an English place name, derived from Old English scir "bright" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Văn Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Wen, from Sino-Vietnamese (văn).
Ó Maoilsheachlainn Irish
Means "descendant of Maolsheachlann" in Irish.
Schenk German, Dutch
From Middle High German, Middle Dutch schenke meaning "wine server" (from Old High German scenken "to pour out").
Wendell German
Variant of Wendel (typically American).
López Spanish
Means "son of Lope" in Spanish.
Kundakçı Turkish
From Turkish kundak meaning "stock, wooden part of a rifle".
Van Tonder Dutch
Means "from Tønder", a town in Denmark near the German border.