Noble English, ScottishFrom a nickname meaning
"noble, high-born, illustrious", derived via Middle English and Old French from Latin
nobilis. In some cases the nickname may have been given ironically to people of the opposite character.
Tanzer GermanMeans
"dancer" in German, derived from Middle High German
tanzen "to dance".
Ellsworth EnglishHabitational 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".
Vance EnglishIndicated a dweller by a fen, from Old English
fenn meaning
"fen, marsh".
Windsor EnglishFrom the name of a few English towns, one notably the site of Windsor Castle. Their names mean
"riverbank with a windlass" in Old English, a windlass being a lifting apparatus. In 1917 the British royal family adopted this name (after Windsor Castle), replacing their previous name
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Villanueva SpanishOriginally denoted someone who came from one of the various Spanish towns by this name, derived from
villa "town" and
nueva "new".
Hilton EnglishFrom various English place names derived from Old English
hyll "hill" and
tun "enclosure, town". Famous bearers of this name include the Hilton family of hotel heirs.
Wallace Scottish, English, IrishMeans
"foreigner, stranger, Celt" from Norman French
waleis (of Germanic origin). It was often used to denote native Welsh and Bretons. A famous bearer was the 13th-century Scottish hero William Wallace.
Mussolini ItalianFrom Italian
mussolina meaning
"muslin", a type of cloth, itself derived from the city of Mosul in Iraq. This name was borne by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945).
Corleone Sicilian, LiteratureFrom the name of the town of Corleone in Sicily, which is of uncertain meaning. This surname is well known from the novel
The Godfather (1969) by Mario Puzo, as well as the films based on his characters. The story tells how Vito Andolini comes to America from Sicily, receiving the new surname
Corleone at Ellis Island, and starts a criminal empire based in New York.
McRae ScottishFrom Gaelic
Mag Raith meaning
"son of Rath", a given name meaning "prosperity" or "grace".
Farran EnglishDerived from Old French
ferrant meaning
"iron grey".
Gujić BosnianMeans
"son of a snake" from the Bosnian word
guja meaning "snake".
Grimm GermanFrom a nickname for a stern person, derived from Old High German
grim "stern, severe, angry". Famous bearers include Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), known for compiling German folktales.
Ramsey English, ScottishMeans
"garlic island", derived from Old English
hramsa "garlic" and
eg "island". The surname was brought to Scotland by the Norman baron Simundus de Ramsay.
Scheinberg JewishOrnamental name meaning
"beautiful mountain" from German
schön "beautiful, good, nice" and
berg "mountain".
Fusco ItalianFrom Italian
fosco meaning
"dark", from Latin
fuscus. This was a nickname for a person with dark features.
Knight EnglishFrom Old English
cniht meaning
"knight", a tenant serving as a mounted soldier.
Weimann GermanFrom German
Wein meaning
"wine", an occupational name for a wine seller or producer.
Vinci 2 ItalianOriginally indicated a person from Vinci near Florence, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.
Wagner GermanFrom Middle High German
wagener meaning
"wagon maker, cartwright". This name was borne by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883).
Dupont FrenchMeans
"from the bridge", from French
pont "bridge".
Acker German, EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a field, derived from Middle English
aker or Middle High German
acker meaning "field".
Jain Hindi, Marathi, GujaratiReferred to a person who followed the principles of Jainism, a religion practiced in India. Jains are the followers of Lord Mahavira (599-527 BC).
Ardelean RomanianFrom the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from Hungarian
erdő meaning "forest".
Van Buren DutchMeans
"from Buren", a small town on the island of Ameland in the north of the Netherlands, as well as a small city in the Dutch province Gelderland. The place names derive from Old Dutch
bur meaning "house, dwelling". In the 16th century the countess Anna van Buren married William of Orange, the founder of the Dutch royal family. A famous bearer of this surname was Martin van Buren (1782-1862), the eighth President of the United States.
Blair ScottishFrom any one of several places of this name in Scotland, which derive from Gaelic
blàr meaning "plain, field, battlefield".
Laguardia ItalianOccupational name meaning
"sentry, sentinel" in Italian, also a locative name referring to a person who lived near a watchtower. Fiorello Laguardia (1882-1947) was the first mayor of New York of Italian origin.
Potter EnglishOccupational name for a potter, one who makes earthen vessels. This surname was used by J. K. Rowling for the hero in her
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Ballerini ItalianFrom Italian
ballerino meaning
"dancer", an occupational name or nickname for someone who liked to dance.
Pan 2 ChineseFrom Chinese
潘 (pān) meaning
"water in which rice has been rinsed", and also referring to a river that flows into the Han River.
Egawa JapaneseFrom Japanese
江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Bradford EnglishDerived from the name of the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire, which meant "broad ford" in Old English. This is also the name of other smaller towns in England.
Barrett EnglishProbably derived from the Middle English word
barat meaning
"trouble, deception", originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Fairburn EnglishFrom a place name meaning
"fern stream", from Old English
fearn "fern" and
burna "stream".
Oppenheimer GermanOriginally indicated a person from Oppenheim, Germany, perhaps meaning "marshy home". A notable bearer was the American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967).
Shepherd EnglishOccupational name meaning
"shepherd, sheep herder", from Old English
sceaphyrde.
Picard FrenchOriginally denoted a person from Picardy, a historical region of northern France. It is derived from Old French
pic meaning "pike, spike".
Farnham EnglishIndicated a person from any of the various towns named Farnham in England, notably in Surrey. Their names are from Old English
fearn "fern" and
ham "home, settlement" or
ham "water meadow, enclosure".
Zentai HungarianOriginally indicated a person from the city of Senta in Serbia (formerly a part of Hungary and called
Zenta).
Bologna ItalianFrom the name of the city of Bologna in northern Italy. It may derive from a Celtic word meaning "settlement".
Marsh EnglishOriginally denoted one who lived near a marsh or bog, derived from Old English
mersc "marsh".
Olasz HungarianMeans
"Italian" in Hungarian, from Old Slavic
volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).
Kim KoreanKorean form of
Jin, from Sino-Korean
金 (gim) meaning
"gold". This is the most common surname in South Korea.
Niemelä FinnishFrom Finnish
niemi meaning
"peninsula, cape" with the suffix
-la indicating a place.
Craig ScottishDerived from Gaelic
creag meaning
"crag, rocks, outcrop", originally belonging to a person who lived near a crag.
Bruno Italian, PortugueseMeans
"brown" in Italian and Portuguese, a nickname for a person with brown hair or brown clothes. A famous bearer was the cosmologist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600).
Mocanu RomanianOriginally indicated a member of the Mocani, who were Romanian shepherds from Transylvania. Their name is said to be from the Romanian word
moacă meaning "club".
Necchi ItalianPossibly from Italian
neccio, a type of flat bread.
Keen EnglishFrom Old English
cene meaning
"bold, brave".
Zuñiga BasqueFrom the name of a Spanish town, formerly named Estuniga in Basque, possibly derived from Basque
istuin "channel, strait".
Iyer TamilReferred to a person belonging to the Iyer subcaste of the larger Brahmin caste. The Iyer subcaste is traditionally devoted to the God Vishnu.
Crewe EnglishOriginally denoted someone from Crewe in Cheshire, which is from Welsh
criu "weir, dam, fish trap".
Plamondon FrenchDerived from French
plat "flat" and
mont "mountain", referring to someone who lived near a flat-topped mountain.
Breisacher GermanOriginally denoted one who came from the town of Breisach, in Germany. The town's name is possibly from a Celtic word meaning "breakwater".
Pierno ItalianFrom the name of the small town of Pierno in southern Italy near Potenza.
Swallow EnglishFrom the name of the bird, from Old English
swealwe, a nickname for someone who resembled or acted like a swallow.
Hill EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived on or near a hill, derived from Old English
hyll.
Carver EnglishOccupational surname for a carver, from Middle English
kerve "cut".
Paredes Portuguese, SpanishDenoted a person who lived near a wall, from Portuguese
parede and Spanish
pared meaning
"wall", both derived from Latin
paries.
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.
Appelo DutchIndicated a person who was from a farm called Aperloo, probably a derivative of
appel meaning "apple".
Wyndham EnglishFrom 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".
Takala FinnishMeans
"(dweller in the) back", probably denoting someone who lived in a remote area, from Finnish
taka.
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.
Prescott EnglishFrom the name of various English places meaning
"priest's cottage" in Old English.
Barnes EnglishDenoted a person who worked or lived in a barn. The word
barn is derived from Old English
bere "barley" and
ærn "dwelling".
West English, GermanDenoted a person who lived to the west of something, or who came from the west.
John EnglishDerived from the given name
John. A famous bearer is British musician Elton John (1947-), born Reginald Dwight.
Correia PortugueseMeans
"leather strap, belt" in Portuguese, denoting a person who worked with leather products.
Soldati ItalianFrom Italian
soldato meaning
"soldier", ultimately from Latin
solidus, a type of Roman coin.
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.
Lusk ScottishPossibly from the place name
Leask in Aberdeenshire, of unknown meaning.
Veenstra DutchDerived from Dutch
veen meaning
"fen, swamp, peat".
Mayer 3 EnglishOccupational name for a mayor, from Middle English
mair, derived via Old French from Latin
maior.
MacBeth ScottishDerived from the Gaelic given name
Mac Beatha meaning "son of life", which denoted a man of religious devotion. This was the name of an 11th-century Scottish king, and the name of a play based on his life by William Shakespeare.
Anjema FrisianDenoted a person from the village of Anjum in the Netherlands. It possibly means "corner" in Dutch.
Rattray ScottishFrom a Scottish place name meaning "fortress town", from Gaelic
ráth meaning "fortress" and a Pictish word meaning "town".
Reuter 2 GermanFrom Middle High German
riutœre meaning
"highwayman, thief".
Toller EnglishOccupational name meaning
"tax gatherer", derived from Old English
toln "toll, fee, tax".
Delacroix FrenchMeans
"of the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads. A notable bearer was the French painter Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863).
Bašić Croatian, SerbianMeans
"son of the chief", derived from Serbo-Croatian
baša meaning "chief, boss" (of Turkish origin).
Meadows EnglishReferred to one who lived in a meadow, from Old English
mædwe.
Grover EnglishFrom Old English
graf meaning
"grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).
Esser GermanMeans
"cartwright", related to Old High German
ahsa "axle".
Pfenning GermanFrom Old High German
pfenning meaning
"penny, coin". It was used in reference to feudal tax obligations.
Escobar SpanishDerived from Spanish
escoba meaning
"broom plant", from Latin
scopa. It originally indicated a person who lived near a prominent patch of broom.
Barwegen FrisianDerived from the name of a village in Frisia meaning "road to the dike".
De Jong DutchMeans
"young" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch
jonc. This is the most common surname in the Netherlands.
Sommer 1 German, EnglishMeans
"summer", from Old High German
sumar or Old English
sumor. This was a nickname for a cheerful person, someone who lived in a sunny spot, or a farmer who had to pay taxes in the summer.
Bannister EnglishFrom Norman French
banastre meaning
"basket". This was originally a name for a maker of baskets.
Gereben HungarianMeans
"hackle, hatchel" in Hungarian (a hackle is a tool used to comb out fibers).
Abbadelli ItalianMeans
"little abbot" from Italian
abate and the diminutive suffix
-elli.
Lacey EnglishDerived 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.
Rossi ItalianDerived from a nickname for a red-haired person, from Italian
rosso, Latin
russus meaning "red". This is the most common surname in Italy.
Parent English, FrenchDerived from Old French
parent meaning either
"notable" (from Latin
pareo meaning "to be apparent") or
"parent" (from Latin
pario meaning "to produce, to give birth").
Blake EnglishVariant of
Black. A famous bearer was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827).