Soldati ItalianFrom Italian
soldato meaning
"soldier", ultimately from Latin
solidus, a type of Roman coin.
Bardolph LiteratureThe 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.
Arias SpanishPossibly derived from a medieval given name of Germanic origin.
Shelton EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, meaning "shelf town" in Old English.
Escamilla SpanishDerived from the name of the town of Escamilla in Gualadajara, Spain.
Van Hassel DutchMeans
"from Hassel", a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It may be derived from Old Dutch
hasal meaning "hazel tree".
Falstaff LiteratureThe name of a buffoonish character, John Falstaff, appearing in four of William Shakespeare's plays. He is the central character in
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602). Shakespeare probably adapted it from the surname of John Fastolf, a 15th-century knight. The medieval surname Fastolf, no longer in use, was derived from the Norse given name
Fastúlfr.
Hale EnglishDerived from Old English
halh meaning
"nook, recess, hollow".
Fowler EnglishOccupational name for a fowler or bird catcher, ultimately derived from Old English
fugol meaning "bird".
Van Agteren DutchMeans
"from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.
Seabrook EnglishDenoted a person from a town by this name in Buckinghamshire, England. It is derived from that of a river combined with Old English
broc "stream".
Townsend EnglishIndicated a person who lived at the town's edge, from Old English
tun "enclosure, yard, town" and
ende "end, limit".
Colquhoun ScottishFrom a place name meaning
"narrow corner" or "narrow wood" in Gaelic.
Bristol EnglishFrom the name of a city in England meaning "the site of the bridge".
Raine 2 English, FrenchDerived from a Germanic name that was short for longer names beginning with the element
ragin meaning "advice, counsel".
Aleppo ItalianFrom the name of the Syrian city of Aleppo, which is from Arabic
خالاب (Khālāb), of uncertain meaning.
Fodor HungarianFrom Hungarian
fodor meaning
"curly, wavy", referring to a person with curly or wavy hair.
Turati ItalianFrom the name of the town of Turate near Como in Lombardy.
Slater EnglishOccupational name indicating that an early member worked covering roofs with slate, from Old French
esclat "shard", of Germanic origin.
Mercado SpanishMeans
"market" in Spanish, originally given to a person who lived near a market or worked in one.
Keighley EnglishDerived from an English place name meaning "clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name
Cyhha is of unknown meaning.
Sanna ItalianFrom Italian
sanna or
zanna meaning
"tusk, fang", a nickname for a person with a protruding tooth. It is especially common on Sardinia.
Lapointe FrenchMeans
"the point (of a lance)" in French, possibly a nickname for a soldier.
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".
Lémieux FrenchDerived from the place name
Leymieux, a town in the Rhône-Alpes region of France.
Naggi ItalianOriginally denoted a person from the town of Naggio in Lombardy, Italy.
Medeiros PortugueseFrom various Portuguese place names that were derived from Portuguese
medeiro meaning
"haystack", ultimately from Latin
meta meaning "cone, pyramid".
McLean ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
MacGillEathain or
MacGillEain meaning
"son of the servant of Eòin".
Sonnen GermanMeans
"sun" from Middle High German
sunne. It probably denoted someone of cheerful temperament or a person who lived in a sunny area.
Chevrolet FrenchFrom a diminutive of
chèvre meaning
"goat", indicating a person who cultivated goats.
Sergeant English, FrenchOccupational name derived from Old French
sergent meaning
"servant", ultimately from Latin
servio "to serve".
Howe EnglishName for one who lived on a hill, from Middle English
how "hill" (of Norse origin).
Barros Portuguese, SpanishFrom 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.
Adesso ItalianPerhaps a nickname for a punctual or fast person, from Italian
adesso meaning
"now, at this moment".
Dean 2 EnglishOccupational 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").
Ziętek PolishPossibly from a diminutive of Polish
zięć meaning
"son-in-law".
Fava ItalianFrom Italian
fava referring to a type of broad bean.
Stroud EnglishFrom Old English
strod meaning
"marshy ground overgrown with brushwood".
Siegel 2 GermanDerived from the diminutive of Old German given names beginning with the element
sigu meaning "victory".
Liu ChineseFrom Chinese
刘 (liú) meaning
"kill, destroy". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Han dynasty.
Cabrera SpanishFrom various place names derived from Late Latin
capraria meaning
"place of goats", from Latin
capra meaning "goat".
Azzarà ItalianSicilian name, derived from Greek dialects of southern Italy. It is from Greek
ψαράς (psaras) meaning
"fisherman".
Huff EnglishMeans
"spur of a hill", from Old English
hoh.
Burke English, IrishDerived from Middle English
burgh meaning
"fortress, fortification, castle". It was brought to Ireland in the 12th century by the Norman invader William de Burgh.
York EnglishFrom the name of the English city of York, which was originally called
Eburacon (Latinized as
Eboracum), meaning "yew" in Brythonic. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was corrupted to
Eoforwic, based on Old English
eofor "boar" and
wic "village". This was rendered as
Jórvík by the Vikings and eventually reduced to
York.
Spurling EnglishFrom Middle English
sparewe "sparrow" and the diminutive suffix
-ling.
Stroman GermanMeans
"straw man" in German, an occupational name for a seller of straw.
Skinner EnglishOccupational name for a person who skinned animals, from Old Norse
skinn.
Robustelli ItalianFrom a nickname for a strong person, from Italian
robusto "strong", from Latin
robustus "firm, solid, oaken".
Sarno ItalianOriginally denoted a person from Sarno in Italy, named for the Sarno River (called
Sarnus in Latin).
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.
Bohn GermanOccupational name for a bean grower, derived from Middle High German
bone "bean".
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".
Stuber GermanOccupational name for the owner of an inn, derived from Old High German
stuba "room".
Hendrix DutchDerived from the given name
Hendrik. A famous bearer was the American rock musician Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970).
Wickham EnglishFrom any of various towns by this name in England, notably in Hampshire. They are derived from Old English
wic "village, town" (of Latin origin) and
ham "home, settlement".
Hext EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"tallest" in Middle English. It is most common in the southwest of England in the county of Devon.
Egger GermanSouth German occupational name meaning
"plowman" or
"farmer", derived from German
eggen "to harrow, to plow".
Grover EnglishFrom Old English
graf meaning
"grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).
Inada JapaneseFrom Japanese
稲 (ina) meaning "rice plant" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Paternoster English, ItalianOccupational name for a maker of rosaries, also called paternosters. They are derived from the Latin phrase
pater noster "our Father", the opening words of the Lord's Prayer.
Ward 2 IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac an Bhaird, which means
"son of the bard".
Stumpf GermanNickname for a short person or a topographic name someone who lived near a prominent stump, from Middle High German
stumpf.
Vargas Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"slope, flooded field, pastureland" or
"hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word
varga.
Orsini ItalianFrom a nickname meaning
"little bear" in Italian, from Latin
ursus "bear".
Salcedo SpanishDerived from Latin
salix meaning
"willow tree". The name was originally given to one who lived near a willow tree.
Woodward EnglishOccupational name for a forester, meaning
"ward of the wood" in Old English.
Jung 1 GermanMeans
"young" in German, from Middle High German
junc.
Comtois FrenchIndicated a person from Franche-Comté, a province in eastern France, which translates to "free county".
Tornincasa ItalianFrom a medieval Italian name given to a boy born after the death of a previous one, derived from Italian
ritorna in casa "come back home".
Krämer GermanMeans
"shopkeeper, merchant" in German, derived from Old High German
kram meaning "tent, trading post".
Ness English, Scottish, NorwegianFrom English
ness and Norwegian
nes meaning
"headland, promontory", of Old Norse origin, originally referring to a person who lived there.
Zuñiga BasqueFrom the name of a Spanish town, formerly named Estuniga in Basque, possibly derived from Basque
istuin "channel, strait".
Bullard EnglishPossibly a nickname derived from Middle English
bole "fraud, deceit".
Schwarzenegger GermanFrom a place name, derived from Old High German
swarz meaning "black" and
ekka meaning "edge, corner". A famous bearer of this name is actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).
Darling EnglishFrom a nickname or byname derived from Middle English
dereling, Old English
deorling, meaning
"darling, beloved one".
Quinlan IrishFrom Irish
Ó Caoindealbháin, which means
"descendant of Caoindealbhán", a given name meaning "handsome form" (using a diminutive suffix).
Todd EnglishMeans
"fox", derived from Middle English
todde.
Haggard EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"wild, untamed, worn", from Old French, ultimately from a Germanic root.
Wang 4 YiddishName for a Jew from Hungary, ultimately from Russian
Венгрия (Vengriya) meaning
"Hungary".
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.
Reich German, JewishNickname for a wealthy or powerful person, from Old High German
rihhi "rich, powerful".
Rimmer EnglishOccupational name meaning
"poet", from Middle English
rime meaning "rhyme".
Poole EnglishFrom Old English
pol meaning
"pool", referring to a person who lived by a small body of water.
Manfredonia ItalianOriginally indicated a person from Manfredonia, Italy. The city was named for the 13th-century King
Manfred of Sicily.
Navarro SpanishDenoted a person who came from Navarre in northern Spain (Spanish
Navarra). The name of the region is of Basque origin, possibly from
nabar meaning "brown".
Sherman 1 EnglishMeans
"shear man", referring to someone who used shears in his line of work, such as a sheep-shearer.
Fehér HungarianMeans
"white" in Hungarian, originally referring to a person with white hair or complexion.
Arechavaleta SpanishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Aretxabaleta in Spain. It means "oak trees" in Basque.
Thälmann GermanFrom the given name
Thilo. It was borne by the German communist party leader Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944).
Norwood EnglishOriginally taken from a place name meaning "north wood" in Old English.
Sumner EnglishOccupational name for a summoner, an official who was responsible for ensuring the appearance of witnesses in court, from Middle English
sumner, ultimately from Latin
submoneo "to advise".
Kistler GermanOccupational name meaning
"chest maker, cabinetmaker" from Middle High German
kiste.
Marshall EnglishDerived from Middle English
mareschal "marshal", from Latin
mariscalcus, ultimately from Germanic roots akin to Old High German
marah "horse" and
scalc "servant". It originally referred to someone who took care of horses.
Sawyer EnglishOccupational name meaning
"sawer of wood, woodcutter" in Middle English, ultimately from Old English
sagu meaning "saw". Mark Twain used it for the main character in his novel
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
Terrazas SpanishOriginally a name for a person from Terrazas in the Spanish city of Burgos, a place name meaning "terraces".
Terrell EnglishProbably derived from the Norman French nickname
tirel meaning
"to pull", referring to a stubborn person.
Lowell EnglishFrom a nickname derived from a Norman French
lou meaning
"wolf" and a diminutive suffix.
Foster 2 EnglishOccupational name for a scissor maker, derived from Old French
forcetier.
Binici TurkishFrom the Turkish word
binici meaning
"rider, horseman".
Sandberg Swedish, Norwegian, JewishFrom 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).
Kahler GermanFrom a nickname derived from German
kahl meaning
"bald".
Penzig YiddishDenoted a person who came from Penzig, the German name for Pieńsk, a town in southwest Poland. It is derived from Polish
pień meaning "stump, tree trunk".
Norman EnglishReferred to a person who was originally from Scandinavia or Normandy. Even before the Norman Conquest, Scandinavians were settling the north and east of England. The Normans who participated in the Conquest were originally from Scandinavia, but had been living in Normandy, France for over a century and spoke French.
Hirata JapaneseFrom Japanese
平 (hira) meaning "level, even, peaceful" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".