Nyman SwedishFrom Swedish
ny (Old Norse
nýr) meaning "new" and
man (Old Norse
maðr) meaning "person, man".
House EnglishReferred to a person who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut.
Gouveia PortugueseFrom the name of the city of Gouveia in Portugal, of unknown meaning.
Harper EnglishOriginally belonged to a person who played the harp or who made harps.
Ruan ChineseFrom Chinese
阮 (ruǎn), which refers to a type of musical instrument, similar to a lute.
Lyon 2 English, FrenchFrom a nickname derived from Old French and Middle English
lion meaning
"lion".
Duffy 1 IrishDerived from Irish
Ó Dubhthaigh meaning
"descendant of Dubthach". Their original homeland was Monaghan where the surname is still the most common; they are also from Donegal and Roscommon.
Fuhrmann GermanDerived from Middle High German
vuorman meaning
"cartwright".
Attar PersianFrom Persian
عطر (ʿaṭr) meaning
"fragrance, perfume", ultimately from Arabic. It probably denoted a seller of perfume.
Sasaki JapaneseFrom Japanese
佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" (repeated, indicated by the iteration mark
々) and
木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
Sienkiewicz PolishPatronymic from the given name
Sienko, an old diminutive of
Szymon. This was the surname of the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916).
Van der Zee DutchMeans
"from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.
MacCoughlan IrishMeans
"son of Cochlán". The given name
Cochlán is derived from Irish
cochal meaning "cape" or "hood".
Sanada JapaneseFrom Japanese
真 (sana) meaning "real, genuine" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Rivers EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French
riviere meaning
"river", from Latin
riparius meaning "riverbank".
Bellandi ItalianMeans
"son of Bellando", from a medieval given name derived from Latin
bellandus meaning "which is to be fought".
Mullen IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Maoláin meaning
"descendant of Maolán". The given name
Maolán meant "devotee, servant, tonsured one".
Lombardi ItalianOriginally indicated someone who came from the Lombardy region of northern Italy, which was named for the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who invaded in the 6th century. Their name is derived from the Old German roots
lang "long" and
bart "beard".
Ziętek PolishPossibly from a diminutive of Polish
zięć meaning
"son-in-law".
Chester EnglishFrom the name of a city in England, derived from Latin
castrum "camp, fortress".
Buchanan ScottishFrom the name of a region in Stirlingshire, Scotland, which means "house of the canon" in Gaelic.
Allsopp EnglishFrom the name of the village of Alsop en la Dale in Derbyshire, England. It means "Ælli's valley" in Old English.
Lu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
吕 (lǚ) meaning "musical note" and also referring to the former state of Lu, which was situated in what is now Henan province.
Quijada SpanishMeans
"jaw" in Spanish, a nickname for someone with a large jaw.
Dickman EnglishFrom Old English
dic "ditch" combined with
man "person, man". It was originally a name for a ditch digger or someone who lived near a ditch.
Curtis EnglishNickname for a courteous person, derived from Old French
curteis meaning
"refined, courtly".
Cojocaru RomanianFrom Romanian
cojoc meaning
"sheepskin coat". This was an occupational name for a maker of these coats.
Fürst GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"(sovereign) prince" in German. The word
fürst itself is derived from Old High German
furisto "first".
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.
Stoke EnglishFrom the name of numerous places in England, derived from Old English
stoc meaning
"place, dwelling".
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)".
Vacca ItalianMeans
"cow" in Italian, originally denoting a person who worked with cattle.
Madison EnglishMeans
"son of Matthew" or
"son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the fourth American president James Madison (1751-1836).
Argall CornishFrom a place name meaning
"shelter, quiet place" in Cornish.
Grimaldi ItalianFrom the given name
Grimaldo. It is the surname of the royal family of Monaco, which came from Genoa.
Rake EnglishOriginally a name for a dweller on a narrow pass or hillside, from Old English
hrace meaning
"throat, gorge".
Coppola ItalianFrom the name of a type of hat characteristic of Sicily and southern Italy. This surname indicated a person who wore or made these hats. A famous bearer is the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (1939-), as well as other members of his extended family also in show business.
Norton EnglishFrom the name of various towns in England meaning "north town" in Old English.
Kaube GermanFrom the name of the town of Kaub in Germany.
Schipper DutchOccupational name meaning
"skipper, ship captain" in Dutch.
Inada JapaneseFrom Japanese
稲 (ina) meaning "rice plant" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
White EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had white hair or a pale complexion, from Old English
hwit "white".
Cremona ItalianFrom the Italian city of Cremona, south of Milan, in Lombardy.
Assendorp DutchFrom the name of a place called Assendorp, composed of Dutch
essen and
dorp, meaning "ash tree village".
Johnson EnglishMeans
"son of John". Famous bearers include American presidents Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973).
Kästner GermanMeans
"cabinet maker", derived from Middle High German
kaste "box".
Trujillo SpanishOriginally denoted a person from Trujillo, Spain, originally called
Turgalium in Latin.
Lane 3 IrishFrom Irish
Ó Luain meaning
"descendant of Luan", a given name meaning "warrior".
Wiater PolishDerived from Polish
wiatr "wind", a nickname for a quick person.
Vonnegut GermanPossibly from the German words
von meaning "from, of, by" and
gut meaning "good". A famous bearer was the American author Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).
Moto JapaneseFrom Japanese
本 (moto) meaning
"base, root, origin". More commonly it is the final character in Japanese surnames.
Ferreira Portuguese, GalicianDenoted a person from a town named because it was near an iron mine, from Latin
ferrum meaning "iron".
Eichel GermanMeans
"acorn" in German, indicating a person who lived near an oak tree.
Riley 1 EnglishFrom the name of the town of Ryley in Lancashire, derived from Old English
ryge "rye" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Siegel 2 GermanDerived from the diminutive of Old German given names beginning with the element
sigu meaning "victory".
Tehrani PersianIndicated a person from the Iranian city of Tehran, of unknown meaning.
Emmet EnglishVariant of
Emmett. This name was borne by the Irish nationalist Robert Emmet (1778-1803).
Ōshiro JapaneseFrom Japanese
大 (ō) meaning "big, great" and
城 (shiro) meaning "castle". It is especially common on Okinawa.
Mazza ItalianFrom a nickname (perhaps occupational) meaning
"maul, mallet" in Italian.
Reagan IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Riagáin meaning
"descendant of Riagán". A famous bearer was the American president Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).
Steuben GermanName for a dweller by a stump of a large tree, from Middle Low German
stubbe "stub".
Zentai HungarianOriginally indicated a person from the city of Senta in Serbia (formerly a part of Hungary and called
Zenta).
Hahn GermanFrom a nickname for a proud or pugnacious person, from Old High German
hano meaning
"rooster, cock".
Fortier FrenchDerived from Old French
fort "stronghold", indicating a person who lived near or worked at such a place.
Soler Occitan, CatalanDenoted a person from any of the numerous places in the area whose names derive from Occitan or Catalan
soler meaning "ground, floor".
Santos Portuguese, SpanishFrom Portuguese and Spanish
santo meaning
"saint", ultimately from Latin
sanctus. This was a nickname for a pious person.
Van Wijk DutchMeans
"from the settlement", from Dutch
wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district, settlement".
Freitas PortugueseMeans
"broken" in Portuguese, a name for one who lived on broken, stony ground.
Khatib ArabicMeans
"speaker, orator" in Arabic, referring person who delivers sermons.
Desrosiers FrenchMeans
"from the rose bushes", from French
rosier "rose bush". It probably referred to a person who lived close to, or cared for a rose garden.
Lu 2 ChineseFrom Chinese
卢 (lú) meaning
"rice bowl, black", also referring to an ancient minor territory in what is now Shandong province.
Farmer EnglishOccupational name for a tax collector, from Middle English
ferme "rent, revenue, provision", from medieval Latin
firma, ultimately from Old English
feorm. This word did not acquire its modern meaning until the 17th century.
Homewood EnglishFrom various place names derived from Old English
ham meaning "home" and
wudu meaning "wood".
Fèvre FrenchOccupational name meaning
"blacksmith" in Old French, derived from Latin
faber.
Poletti ItalianFrom a diminutive of the given name
Paolo. This name is typical of northern and central Italy.
Himura JapaneseFrom Japanese
緋 (hi) meaning "scarlet, dark red" and
村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
Palmer EnglishMeans
"pilgrim", ultimately from Latin
palma "palm tree", since pilgrims to the Holy Land often brought back palm fronds as proof of their journey.
Ward 1 EnglishDerived from Old English
weard meaning
"guard, guardian".
Walton EnglishFrom the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English
wealh "foreigner, Celt",
weald "forest",
weall "wall", or
wille "well, spring, water hole" combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Booker EnglishOccupational name meaning
"book maker", derived from Old English
boc "book".
Beaulieu FrenchFrom various French place names derived from
beau "beautiful" and
lieu "place".
Moore 1 EnglishOriginally indicated a person who lived on a moor, from Middle English
mor meaning
"open land, bog".
Yap EnglishFrom a nickname for a clever or cunning person, from Middle English
yap meaning
"devious, deceitful, shrewd".
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.
Masterson EnglishPatronymic derived from Middle English
maister meaning
"master", via Old French from Latin
magister.
Blair ScottishFrom any one of several places of this name in Scotland, which derive from Gaelic
blàr meaning "plain, field, battlefield".
Rovigatti ItalianFrom the name of the city of Rovigo in northeastern Italy near Venice. It was called
Rodigium in Latin, and is of unknown meaning.
Falkenrath GermanDerived from Middle High German
falke "falcon" and
rat "counsel, advice".
Acone ItalianPossibly from the name of a harbour in Bithynia (in modern Turkey).
Everest EnglishOriginally denoted a person from Évreux in Normandy, itself named after the Gaulish tribe of the Eburovices. Mount Everest in the Himalayas was named for the British surveyor George Everest (1790-1866).
Kolbe GermanFrom Middle High German
kolbe meaning
"club".
Çelik TurkishOccupational name for a metalworker, meaning
"steel" in Turkish.
Sexton EnglishOccupational name for a sexton (Middle English
sexteyn), a caretaker for a church or graveyard.
Grünewald GermanMeans
"green forest" from German
grün "green" and
Wald "forest".
Zabala BasqueOriginally denoted someone who lived in a place of this name in Biscay. It is derived from Basque
zabal meaning "large, wide".
Hackett EnglishFrom a diminutive of the medieval byname
Hake, which was of Old Norse origin and meant "hook".
Reiher GermanMeans
"heron" in German, a nickname for a person with long legs.
Holst Danish, Low German, DutchOriginally referred to a person from the region of
Holstein between Germany and Denmark. A famous bearer of this name was the English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934).
Ratti ItalianFrom Italian
ratto meaning
"rat", originally denoting a sly individual.
Suess GermanVariant of
Süß. A famous bearer was the American children's author Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel.
Laporte FrenchMeans
"the door, the gateway" in French, from Latin
porta. This was a name for someone who lived near the town gates or who operated them.