Browse Surnames

Quinlan Irish
From Irish Ó Caoindealbháin, which means "descendant of Caoindealbhán", a given name meaning "handsome form" (using a diminutive suffix).

Bowen Welsh
From Welsh ap Owain meaning "son of Owain".

Waltersson Swedish
Variant of Walterson.

Jurić Croatian
Means "son of Jure".

Murray 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Muireadhaigh meaning "descendant of Muireadhach".

Murgia Sardinian
Means "brine" in Sardinian, perhaps a nickname for someone who pickled foods.

Eide Norwegian
Derived from Old Norse eið meaning "isthmus".

Tyrell English
Variant of Terrell.

Maddox Welsh
Derived from the given name Madoc.

McKenna Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Cionaodha meaning "son of Cionaodh".

Rus Romanian
From Romanian rus meaning "Russian".

Jung 1 German
Means "young" in German, from Middle High German junc.

Travieso Spanish
Spanish form of Travers.

Hammond English
From the Norman given name Hamo or the Old Norse given name Hámundr.

Zeni Italian
Means "son of Zeno".

Zelenko Ukrainian
Ukrainian cognate of Zieliński.

Sung Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 宋 (see Song).

Ó Rabhartaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Rafferty.

Aoki Japanese
From Japanese 青 (ao) meaning "green, blue" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".

Montagna Italian
Means "mountain" in Italian, from Latin montanus, indicating a person who lived on or near a mountain.

Marquardt German
From Old High German marka "border, boundary" and wart "protector". This was an occupational name for a border guard.

Marvin English
Derived from the Welsh given name Merfyn or the Old English name Mærwine.

Beaumont French, English
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and mont "mountain".

Lundquist Swedish
Variant of Lundqvist.

MacEòghainn Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of Mac Eoghain.

Golob Slovene
Means "pigeon" in Slovene.

Johns English
Derived from the given name John.

Aliprandi Italian
Means "son of Alibrand".

Schüttmann German
Means "watchman, guard" from Middle High German schützen "to protect".

Slusser German
Variant of Schlosser.

Heidrich German
From the Old German given name Heidrich.

Riker German
Possibly a variant of Reich.

Nelson 2 Swedish (Anglicized), Norwegian (Anglicized), Danish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of the Scandinavian names Nilsson, Nilsen, or Nielsen.

Quiroga Galician
Originally denoted a person from the town of Quiroga in Galicia, Spain.

Vázquez Spanish
Variant of Vásquez.

Killam English
Denoted one who hailed from the English town of Kilham, meaning "kiln homestead".

Tessaro Italian
Occupational name meaning "weaver", ultimately from Latin texarius.

Janssens Dutch, Flemish
Means "son of Jan 1".

Stablum Italian
Northern Italian name derived from Latin stabulum meaning "stable".

Koole Dutch
Derived from a short form of the given name Nicolaas.

Ó Mathghamhna Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Mahoney.

Șerban Romanian
Means "a Serb" in Romanian.

Moloney Irish
From Irish Ó Maol Dhomhnaigh meaning "descendant of a church servant".

Yasuda Japanese
From Japanese 安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" or 保 (yasu) meaning "protect, maintain" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Kerry English
Variant of Kendrick 1.

Glazier English
Means "glass worker, glazier", from Old English glæs meaning "glass".

Berg German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German, Old Dutch and Old Norse berg meaning "mountain".

Addison English
Means "son of Addy 2".

Bellamy French, English
From Old French bel ami meaning "beautiful friend".

DeGarmo French (Anglicized)
Americanized form of French de Garmeaux, which may derive from a place called Garmeaux in Normandy.

Al-Ghazzawi Arabic
Originally indicated a person who came from Gaza in Palestine.

Feldt German, Danish, Swedish
North German, Danish and Swedish variant of Feld.

Wilkerson English
Means "son of Wilkin".

Alves Portuguese
Means "son of Álvaro".

Amerighi Italian
Means "son of Amerigo".

Jarrett English
Variant of Garrett.

Best 2 German
Derived from the name of the river Beste, meaning unknown.

Petrović Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Petar".

Seabrook English
Denoted 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".

Berlusconi Italian
Probably from the Milanese word berlusch meaning "cross-eyed, crooked".

Alfredsson Swedish
Means "son of Alfred".

Hildebrand German
From the given name Hildebrand.

Todaro Italian
From a regional form of a given name Todaro, a variant of Teodoro. It is quite common in Sicily.

Summers 1 English
Variant of Sumner.

Sarka Hungarian (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Szarka.

Bouwmeester Dutch
Means "architect, builder" in Dutch.

Uberti Italian
Derived from the given name Uberto.

Southers German (Anglicized)
Possibly an Americanized form of Sauter.

Plamondon French
Derived from French plat "flat" and mont "mountain", referring to someone who lived near a flat-topped mountain.

Paszek Polish
Derived from a diminutive of Paweł.

Scrivens English
Variant of Scriven.

Barber English, Scottish
Indicated a barber, one who cut hair for a living, ultimately from Latin barba "beard".

Russel English
Variant of Russell.

Papadimitriou Greek
Means "son of Dimitrios the priest", from Greek πάπας (papas) combined with the given name Dimitrios.

Mushyan Armenian
Originally denoted someone who came from the Armenian town of Mushi.

Wise English
From a nickname for a wise person, from Middle English wys, Old English wis.

Hedley English
Variant of Headley.

Jenkins English
From the given name Jenkin, a diminutive of Jen, itself a Middle English form of John.

Affini Italian
From Latin affinis meaning "neighbouring, kindred".

Scotti Italian
From the medieval given name Francescotto, a diminutive of Francesco.

Melnychuk Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian мельник (melnyk) meaning "miller".

Boesch German, Low German
Variant of Bösch 1 or Bösch 2.

Slade English
Derived from Old English slæd meaning "valley".

Piątek Polish
Means "Friday" in Polish, derived from the word piąty meaning "fifth".

Weaver 1 English
Occupational name for a weaver, derived from Old English wefan "to weave".

Garb German
Variant of Garber.

Rinne 2 Finnish
Means "hillside" in Finnish.

Fuhrmann German
Derived from Middle High German vuorman meaning "cartwright".

Baart Dutch
Means "beard" in Dutch, originally describing a person who wore a beard.

Chong Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhang.

Okamoto Japanese
From Japanese 岡 (oka) meaning "hill, ridge" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Branković Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Branko".

Barnet English
Variant of Barnett.

Schultheiß German
Variant of Schulz.

Ó Deoradháin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Doran.

Hafner German
Occupational name for a potter, derived from Old High German hafan "pot, vessel".

Walton English
From 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".

Pintér Hungarian
Means "cooper, barrel maker" in Hungarian.

Cole English
From a medieval short form of Nicholas or from the byname Cola.

MacCarrick Irish
Means "son of Cúcharraige" in Irish. The given name Cúcharraige is composed of cú "hound" and carraig "rock".

Choi Korean
From Sino-Korean 崔 (choe) meaning "high, lofty, towering".

Zino Italian
Derived from the given name Zino, a short form of names ending with -zino, such as Lorenzino, a diminutive of Lorenzo, or Vincenzino, a diminutive of Vincenzo.

Ó Doibhilin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Devlin.

Robson English
Means "son of Rob".

Sciacca Italian
Originally denoted someone from Sciacca, Sicily, Italy, which is of uncertain origin.

Ó Caoimh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Keefe.

Neal English
Derived from the given name Neil.

Reese 1 Welsh
Derived from the given name Rhys.

MacCàba Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McCabe.

Czinege Hungarian
Variant of Cinege.

Król Polish
Means "king" in Polish. The name referred to one who acted like a king or was connected in some way with a king's household.

Armstrong English
Means "strong arm" from Middle English. Tradition holds that the family is descended from Siward, an 11th-century Earl of Northumbria. Famous bearers of this name include the Americans Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), a jazz musician, and Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), an astronaut who was the first person to walk on the moon.

Garner 2 English
Variant of Gardener.

Edvardsen Norwegian
Means "son of Edvard".

Teufel German
From a nickname meaning "devil" in German, given to a mischievous person or one who was devil-like.

Meeuwessen Dutch
Variant of Meeuwsen.

Moser German
Name for someone who lived near a peat bog, from Middle High German mos.

Barna Hungarian
Means "brown" in Hungarian.

Garbutt English
From the given name Gerbold.

Vastag Hungarian
From a nickname meaning "stout, thick" in Hungarian.

Lama Italian
Derived from the name place Lama, common in Italy.

Castelo Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Castle.

Grigorescu Romanian
Means "son of Grigore" in Romanian.

Endicott English
Topographic name derived from Old English meaning "from the end cottage".

Terranova Italian
Means "new land" in Italian.

Hayden 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Ó hÉideáin or Ó hÉidín.

Crisp English
English cognate of Crespo.

Zingel Jewish
From Middle High German zingel "defensive wall". This name was originally applied to a person who lived near the outermost wall of a castle.

De Santis Italian
Italian form of Santos.

Hunnisett English
Possibly a variant of Honeycutt.

Martel 2 French, English
Nickname for a smith, derived from Old French martel "hammer", ultimately from Late Latin martellus.

Saari Finnish
From Finnish saari meaning "island".

Jonasen Danish
Means "son of Jonas 2".

Popescu Romanian
Patronymic derived from Romanian popă "priest". This is the second most common surname in Romania.

Kuijpers Dutch
Variant of Kuiper.

Bassi Italian
Variant of Basso, common in northern Italy.

Abbey English
Indicated a person who lived near an abbey or worked in an abbey, from Middle English abbeye.

Humbert French
From the given name Humbert.

Groos German
Variant of Groß.

Inaba Japanese
From Japanese 稲 (ina) meaning "rice plant" and 葉 (ha) meaning "leaf".

Chance English
From a nickname for a lucky person or a gambler.

Vanhanen Finnish
From Finnish vanha meaning "old".

Poppins Literature
Used by P. L. Travers for the magical nanny in her Mary Poppins series of books, first published in 1934. It is not known how Travers devised the name. She may have had the English words pop or poppet (meaning "young woman") in mind.

Solak Turkish
From the nickname solak meaning "left-handed".

Ó Conchobhair Irish
Irish Gaelic form of O'Connor.

Desmond Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Deasmhumhnaigh meaning "descendant of the man from South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from the region of South Munster (Desmond) in Ireland.

Suárez Spanish
Means "son of Suero".

Burroughs English
Variant of Burrows.

De Cock Flemish
Flemish cognate of Cook.

Crewe English
Originally denoted someone from Crewe in Cheshire, which is from Welsh criu "weir, dam, fish trap".

Courtois French
French form of Curtis.

Asís Spanish
Originally denoted a person from the Italian city of Assisi (called Asís in Spanish).

Ó Meara Irish
Variant of Ó Meadhra.

Tyler English
Occupational name for a tiler of roofs, derived from Old English tigele "tile". A famous bearer of this name was American president John Tyler (1790-1862).

Rundström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish rund (from Latin rotundus) meaning "round" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Harrison English
Means "son of Harry".

Møller Danish
Danish form of Müller.

Turati Italian
From the name of the town of Turate near Como in Lombardy.

Kim Korean
Korean form of Jin, from Sino-Korean 金 (gim) meaning "gold". This is the most common surname in South Korea.

Hahn German
From a nickname for a proud or pugnacious person, from Old High German hano meaning "rooster, cock".

Peck 2 English
Occupational name for a maker of pecks (vessels used as peck measures), derived from Middle English pekke.

Leclercq French
Variant of Leclerc.

Vang 1 Norwegian, Danish
Variant of Wang 3.

Leigh English
Variant of Lee 1.

Mohamed Arabic
Derived from the given name Muhammad.

Thrussell English
From Old English þrostle meaning "song thrush", referring to a cheerful person.

Van Houte Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Ryan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Riain, or else a simplified form of Mulryan.

Richardson English
Means "son of Richard".

Borja Spanish
Originally indicated a person from the Spanish town of Borja in Aragon, derived from Arabic برْج (burj) meaning "tower".

Copperfield Literature
Created from the English words copper and field by the author Charles Dickens, who used it for the title character in his novel David Copperfield (1850).

Ohme German
From Middle High German oem meaning "maternal uncle".

Albert English, French, Catalan, Hungarian, Romanian, German
Derived from the given name Albert.

Chase English
Occupational name for a hunter, from Middle English chase "hunt".

Rosário Portuguese
Means "rosary" in Portuguese. This name was often given to people born on the day of the festival of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Duchamps French
Variant of Deschamps.

Andréasson Swedish
Variant of Andreasson.

Kools Dutch
Derived from the given name Nicolaas.

Kayode Yoruba
From the given name Kayode.

Herbertsson Swedish
Swedish form of Herbertson.

Collado Spanish
Means "hill" in Spanish.

Vroom Dutch, Flemish
From a nickname derived from Dutch vroom meaning "pious, devout".

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.

Abrahams Jewish, English, Dutch
Means "son of Abraham".

Kiefer 1 German
Means "pine tree" in German.

Mueller German
Variant of Müller.

Romão Portuguese
Portuguese form of Romano 1 or Romano 2.

Laninga Frisian
From Frisian lân meaning "land".

Bret French
French form of Brett.

Connery Irish
Variant of Conroy.

Tunison Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Teunissen.

Mahmoud Arabic, Persian
From the given name Mahmud.

Carson Scottish
Meaning uncertain, possibly from the town of Courson in Normandy.

Da Costa Portuguese
Variant of Costa.

Greer Scottish
Derived from the given name Gregor.

Benedetti Italian
From the given name Benedetto.

Tang 1 Chinese
From Chinese 唐 (táng) referring to the Tang dynasty, which ruled China from 618 to 907.

Bosque Spanish
Spanish form of Bosco.

Faucheux French
Variant of Faucher.

Levchenko Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Lev 1.

Iwamoto Japanese
From Japanese 岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Mai Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Mei, from Sino-Vietnamese 梅 (mai).

Bartalotti Italian
Means "son of Bartalotto", a diminutive of Bartolo.

Stanciu Romanian
Derived from Romanian stânci meaning "rocks".

Wrona Polish
Derived from Polish wrona meaning "crow".

Reilly Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Raghailligh.

Snaijer Dutch (Rare)
Variant of Snijder.

Mohammad Persian, Urdu, Bengali
Derived from the given name Mohammad.

Gajos Polish
Derived from Polish gaj meaning "grove, thicket".

Kelsey English
From an English place name meaning "Cenel's island", from the Old English name Cenel "fierce" in combination with eg "island".

Polishchuk Ukrainian
Denoted a person from Polesia, a large region between Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.

Groot Dutch
Variant of De Groot.

Skov Danish
Topographic name meaning "forest, wood" in Danish, from Old Norse skógr.

Mayer 2 Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Côté French
French form of Costa.

Ramires Portuguese
Means "son of Ramiro" in Portuguese.

Kraemer German
Variant of Krämer.

Fabbri Italian
From Italian fabbro meaning "blacksmith", ultimately from Latin faber.

Cassano Italian
Indicated a person from any of the various towns named Cassano in Italy.

Triggs English
From a byname derived from Old Norse tryggr meaning "true, loyal".

Prebensen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Preben".

Yaffe Hebrew
Means "beautiful, pleasant" in Hebrew.

Lewis 2 Welsh
Anglicized form of Llywelyn.

Chester English
From the name of a city in England, derived from Latin castrum "camp, fortress".

Czajka Polish
Means "lapwing (bird)" in Polish.

Cocks English
Patronymic form of Cock.

Brassington English
From a place name, which is derived from Old English meaning "settlement by a steep path".

Farina Italian
Occupational name for a miller, derived from Italian farina "flour".

Agthoven Dutch
Variant of Achthoven.

Svéd Hungarian
Means "Swedish" in Hungarian.

Wyrzyk Polish
Variant of Wyrzykowski.

Stefansson Swedish
Means "son of Stefan".

Sandford English
Indicated a person from Sandford, England, which means simply "sand ford".

Mei Chinese
From Chinese 梅 (méi) meaning "plum, apricot".

Jérôme French
Derived from the given name Jérôme.

Ó Flannagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Flanagan.

Gladwyn English
Variant of Gladwin.

Beck 1 English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
From Middle English bekke (from Old Norse), Low German beke or Old Norse bekkr all meaning "stream".

De Bruin Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.

Hamaguchi Japanese
From Japanese 浜 (hama) meaning "beach, seashore" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".

Kinnunen Finnish
Possibly derived from the Finnish dialectal word kinni meaning "animal skin, fur", borrowed from Swedish skinn.

Oomen Dutch
Patronymic derived from Middle Dutch oom meaning "(maternal) uncle".

McPhee Scottish
Anglicized form of MacDhubhshìth.

Carpenter English
From the occupation, derived from Middle English carpentier (ultimately from Latin carpentarius meaning "carriage maker").

Gregory English
From the given name Gregory.

Kumięga Polish
Possibly from Polish kum "godfather, friend" or komięga "raft, barge".

Elder English
Derived from Old English ealdra meaning "older", used to distinguish two people who had the same name.

Li 2 Chinese
From Chinese 黎 (lí) meaning "black".

Berntsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Bernt".

Gottschalk German
Derived from the given name Gottschalk.

Loritz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Lindgren Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch". A famous bearer of this name was Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002).

Garrison English
Means "son of Gerard" or "son of Gerald".

Dreesen Dutch
Variant of Driessen.

Aarts Dutch
Means "son of Aart".

Ajello Italian
Variant of Aiello.

Beulens Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Hood English
Metonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Old English hod.

Ó hUiginn Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Higgins.

Beirne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Ó Cuirc Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Quirke.

Nascimbene Italian
Variant of Nascimbeni.

Merritt English
From an English place name meaning "boundary gate".

Brittain English
Variant of Britton.

Joly French
From Old French joli meaning "happy, jolly, pretty".

Stein German, Jewish
From Old High German stein meaning "stone". It might indicate the original bearer lived near a prominent stone or worked as a stonecutter. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Kemény Hungarian
Means "firm, hard, tough" in Hungarian.

Tsang Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zeng.

Gilmore Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic MacGilleMhoire or Irish Gaelic Mac Giolla Mhuire meaning "son of the servant of Moire".

Ashworth English
From an English place name meaning "ash enclosure" in Old English.

Sanchez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Sánchez.

Romano 1 Italian
Derived from the given name Romano.

Clifford English
Derived from various place names that meant "ford by a cliff" in Old English.

Gonzalo Spanish
From the given name Gonzalo.

Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.

Katona Hungarian
Means "soldier" in Hungarian.

Shin Korean
Korean form of Shen, from Sino-Korean 申 (sin).

Gómez Spanish
Spanish form of Gomes.

Berggren Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Regan Irish
Variant of Reagan.

Everest English
Originally 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).

Accorsi Italian
From the given name Bonaccorso.

Finnegan Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Fionnagáin meaning "descendant of Fionnagán". The given name Fionnagán is a diminutive of Fionn.

Hosseini Persian
From the given name Hossein.

Andrysiak Polish
Means "son of Andrzej".

MacGrory Irish, Scottish
Variant of McCrory.

Ojala Finnish, Estonian
From Finnish and Estonian oja meaning "ditch, channel, brook" with the suffix -la indicating a place.

Kyler Dutch (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Cuyler.

Summerfield English
Originally indicated the bearer was from a town of this name, derived from Old English sumor "summer" and feld "field".

Jenssen Norwegian
Means "son of Jens".

Capello 1 Italian
From Late Latin cappa meaning "cloak, cape, hood". This was a name for one who made or wore cloaks.

Xu 2 Chinese
From Chinese 许 (xǔ) referring to the minor state of Xu, which existed to the 4th century BC in what is now Henan province. The character 许 means "allow, permit".

Næss Norwegian
Variant of Ness.

McNeill Scottish, Irish
Variant of McNeil.

McGough Irish
Variant of Gough 2.

MacNeachdainn Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of Mac Neachtain.

Forestier French
French cognate of Forester.

Kumamoto Japanese
From Japanese 熊 (kuma) meaning "bear" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Ottosson Swedish
Means "son of Otto".

Marley English
Originally denoted a person who hailed from one of the various places in Britain called Marley, ultimately meaning either "pleasant wood", "boundary wood" or "marten wood" in Old English. One of the main characters in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) bears this surname. It was also borne by the Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).