Browse Surnames

Beckenbauer German
Means "farmer living by a stream" in German.

Hermann German
From the given name Hermann.

Van Donk Dutch
Means "from the hill", derived from Dutch donk meaning "(sandy) hill".

Carver English
Occupational surname for a carver, from Middle English kerve "cut".

Stück German, Jewish
From Old High German stucki meaning "piece, part".

McAfee Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of MacDhubhshìth.

Marlowe English
Variant of Marlow.

Van der Beek Dutch
Variant of Van Beek.

Edgar English
Derived from the given name Edgar.

Troelsen Danish
Means "son of Troels".

Durante Italian
Italian cognate of Durand.

Hawthorne English
Denoted a person who lived near a hawthorn bush, a word derived from Old English hagaþorn, from haga meaning "enclosure, yard" and þorn meaning "thorn bush". A famous bearer was the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of The Scarlet Letter.

Durand French, English
From Old French durant meaning "enduring", ultimately from Latin durans. This was a nickname for a stubborn person.

Holmström Swedish
From Swedish holme (Old Norse holmr) meaning "small island" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Apted English
Probably from an unidentified place name meaning "up tower" in Old English.

Laukkanen Finnish
From a nickname for a person who took big steps, from Finnish laukka meaning "canter, gallop".

Agema Frisian
Means "son of Age 1".

Baumgarten German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Sörensson Swedish
Swedish form of Sørensen.

Marić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Marija".

Kersey English
From an English place name meaning derived from Old English cærse "watercress" and ieg "island".

Jahn German
From a Low German short form of Johannes.

Grassi Italian
Variant of Grasso.

Dreier German
Variant of Dreher.

O'Kane Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Catháin.

Payne English
From a medieval given name or nickname derived from Latin paganus meaning "heathen, pagan" (from an earlier sense "rural, rustic"), which was given to children whose baptism had been postponed or adults who were not overly religious.

Blakesley English
From the name of a town in Northamptonshire, itself meaning "Blæcwulf's meadow" in Old English. Blæcwulf is a byname meaning "black wolf".

Kuipers Dutch
Variant of Kuiper.

Auer German
From German Aue, Old High German ouwa, meaning "meadow by a river, wetland".

Blaise French
Derived from the given name Blaise.

Quintana Spanish, Catalan
Originally indicated someone who lived on a piece of land where the rent was a fifth of its produce, from Spanish and Catalan quintana "fifth", from Latin quintus.

Bäcker German
Variant of Becker, mostly found in northern Germany.

Björnsson Swedish, Icelandic
Means "son of Björn".

Carideo Italian
Originally denoted someone from San Pietro di Caridà, a town in Calabria. The town's name may be derived from Greek χάρις (charis) meaning "grace, kindness".

Szép Hungarian
Means "beautiful, lovely" in Hungarian.

Murdoch Scottish
Scottish form of Murdock.

Zamorano Spanish
Originally denoted a person from Zamora, the name of both a province in Spain and its capital city.

Shafir Jewish
Ornamental name meaning "sapphire" in Yiddish.

Dane 1 English
Variant of Dean 1 or Dean 2.

Mustafa Arabic, Urdu
From the given name Mustafa.

Albescu Romanian
Derived from Romanian alb meaning "white".

Crowley 1 Irish
From the Irish name Ó Cruadhlaoich meaning "descendant of Cruadhlaoch", a given name meaning "hardy hero".

Trudeau French (Quebec)
From a diminutive of the given name Thouroude, a medieval French form of the Norse name Torvald. This name has been borne by two Canadian prime ministers, Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919-2000) and his son Justin Trudeau (1971-).

Hirsch 2 Jewish
Derived from the given name Hirsh.

Hanson English
Means "son of Hann".

Merckx Dutch, Flemish
From the given name Mark.

Tolvaj Hungarian
Means "thief" in Hungarian.

Heath English
Originally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.

Adriaans Dutch
Means "son of Adriaan".

Basurto Spanish
From the Basque place name Basurtu, a village (now part of Bilbao) in Biscay. It means "middle of the forest".

Ewart 1 English
From a Norman form of Edward.

Rossini Italian
Diminutive form of Rossi. A famous bearer was the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).

Kröger German
Variant of Krüger 1 and Krüger 2.

Ó Tíghearnaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Tierney.

Svensen Norwegian
Means "son of Sven".

Hennig German
From a diminutive of the given name Heinrich.

Skovgaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish skov "forest, wood" and gård "farm, yard".

Friis Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian (mostly Danish) form of Fries.

Bumgarner German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Van Middlesworth Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Van Middelburg.

Guinness Irish
Variant of McGuinness. The name is well known because of the Guinness brand of ale, established in 1759 by Arthur Guinness.

De Haan Dutch
Means "rooster" in Dutch.

Wells English
Derived from Middle English wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".

Warner German, English
Variant of Werner.

Klerken Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Ferraro Italian
Variant of Ferrari.

Woolf English
Variant of Wolf.

Heidrich German
From the Old German given name Heidrich.

Iordanou Greek
From the name of the Jordan river, which is from Hebrew יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning "descend" or "flow down".

Dodge English
From Dogge, a medieval diminutive of Roger.

Hennessy Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó hAonghuis meaning "descendant of Aonghus".

Opeyemi Yoruba
From the given name Opeyemi.

Scrivens English
Variant of Scriven.

Meeuwessen Dutch
Variant of Meeuwsen.

Douglas Scottish
From the name of a town in Lanarkshire, itself named after a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water, derived from Gaelic dubh "dark" and glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to glas "grey, green"). This was a Scottish Lowland clan, the leaders of which were powerful earls in the medieval period.

Otero Spanish
Means "hill, knoll, height" in Spanish.

Van Dalen Dutch
Means "from the valley", from Old Dutch dal meaning "valley".

Mendoza Spanish, Basque
From a Basque place name derived from mendi "mountain" and hotz "cold".

Brady Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ó Brádaigh meaning "descendant of Brádach". A famous bearer is the American football quarterback Tom Brady (1977-).

Southgate English
Name for a person who lived near the southern gate of a town or in a town named Southgate, from Old English suþ and gæt.

Jespersen Danish
Means "son of Jesper".

Serpico Italian
From a nickname derived from Italian serpe "serpent, reptile".

Niemec Polish
Means "German" in Polish.

Longstaff English
Occupational name for an official who was equipped with a ceremonial staff, or a nickname for a tall person.

Monday 3 Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Giolla Eoin. The last part of the surname was mistakenly taken as the Gaelic word for "Monday", Luain.

Fitzsimmons Irish
Means "son of Simon 1" in Anglo-Norman French.

Terry English
Derived from the medieval name Thierry, a Norman French form of Theodoric.

Marciniak Polish
Means "son of Marcin".

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

Vale Portuguese
Means "valley" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin vallis.

Boerio Italian
From Italian boaro meaning "cowherd".

Pacheco Spanish, Portuguese
Possibly from a diminutive of the given name Francisco.

Lazzari Italian
Means "son of Lazzaro".

Snelling English
Variant of Snell.

Cantú Spanish (Mexican)
Variant of Cantù, common in Mexico.

Stojanović Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Stojan".

Whittle English
From various English place names derived from Old English hwit "white" and hyll "hill".

Nieminen Finnish
Derived from Finnish niemi meaning "peninsula, cape".

Laird Scottish
Means "landowner" in Scots, derived from northern Middle English laverd "lord", from Old English hlafweard.

Chaudhri Hindi
Alternate transcription of Hindi चौधरी (see Chaudhary).

Leverenz German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Lewerenz.

Van Buren Dutch
Means "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.

Ó Muircheartach Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Moriarty.

Karamazov Literature
Created by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky for his novel The Brothers Karamazov (1879), about three brothers and their murdered father. Dostoyevsky may have based it on Tartar/Turkic кара (kara) meaning "black" and Russian мазать (mazat) meaning "stain". The connection to black is implied in the novel when one of the brothers is accidentally addressed as Mr. Черномазов (Chernomazov), as if based on Russian чёрный meaning "black".

Ayodele Yoruba
From the given name Ayodele.

Trask English
Originally indicated a person from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, derived from Old Norse þresk meaning "fen, marsh".

Forsberg Swedish
Derived from Swedish fors meaning "waterfall" and berg meaning "mountain".

Roy 1 French, English
Variant of Rey 1.

Achthoven Dutch
Denoted a person from various towns in the Netherlands called Achthoven, which is derived from Dutch acht "eight" and hoven "farmsteads".

Nave Italian
From various Italian places called Nave.

Borgia Italian
Italian form of Borja. This was the name of an Italian noble family who were influential during the Renaissance period.

Freeman English
Referred to a person who was born free, or in other words was not a serf.

Janković Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Janko".

Kerr Scottish, English
From Scots and northern Middle English kerr meaning "thicket, marsh", ultimately from Old Norse kjarr.

Palomer Provençal
Means "pigeon keeper" from Latin palumbes "pigeon".

Borchard German
Derived from the given name Burkhard.

Sheenan Irish
Variant of Shannon.

Renault French
Derived from the given name Renaud.

Bentley English
From a place name derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

Harmaajärvi Finnish
Means "grey lake" in Finnish.

McGill Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Ghoill meaning "son of the foreigner", derived from gall "foreigner".

Norris 2 English
Means "wet nurse, foster mother" from Old French norrice, from Latin nutricius.

Lorenz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Flores Spanish
Means "son of Floro" in Spanish.

Abrami Italian
Derived from the given name Abramo.

Berglund Swedish
Ornamental name from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".

Romeijn Dutch
Derived from the given name Romein.

Alinari Italian
Means "son of Alinario", which is from the Germanic name Ellanher.

Richter German
Means "judge" in German, from Middle High German rihtære.

Pickering English
From the name of a town in Yorkshire, derived from Old English Piceringas, the name of a tribe.

Kovačič Slovene
Slovene form of Kovačić.

Kloeten Dutch
Variant of Kloet.

Barta Hungarian
From the given name Barta.

MacBeth Scottish
Derived 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.

Kang Korean
Korean form of Jiang 2, from Sino-Korean 姜 (gang).

Raines English
Originally denoted a person from Rayne, Essex, England (possibly from an Old English word meaning "shelter") or from Rennes, Brittany, France (from the name of the Gaulish tribe of the Redones).

Kárpáty Hungarian
Variant of Kárpáti.

Ion Romanian
From the given name Ion 1.

Kövér Hungarian
Means "fat" in Hungarian.

Tsiklauri Georgian
Meaning unknown.

Frederiksen Danish
Means "son of Frederik".

Boyd Scottish
From the name of the Scottish island of Bute (Bód in Gaelic), which is of unknown meaning.

Seelenfreund Jewish
From German Seele meaning "soul" and Freund meaning "friend".

Attwater English
Variant of Atwater.

Tehrani Persian
Indicated a person from the Iranian city of Tehran, of unknown meaning.

O'Connell Irish
Variant of Connell.

Ó Broin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of O'Byrne.

London English
From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain.

Sneijers Dutch
Variant of Snijder.

Schröder 1 Low German
Occupational name for a tailor, from Middle Low German schroden meaning "to cut".

Olasz Hungarian
Means "Italian" in Hungarian, from Old Slavic volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).

McCabe Irish, Scottish
Means "son of Cába", where Cába is a byname meaning "cape, cloak" (from Latin cappa).

Marek um Polish, Czech, Slovak
Derived from the given name Marek.

Noel French, English
Either from the given name Noël, or else derived directly from Old French noel "Christmas" and given to a person who had a particular connection with the holiday.

Farnham English
Indicated 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".

Maynard English
Derived from the Old German given name Meginhard.

Lindström Swedish
Derived from Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Tkachuk Ukrainian
From Ukrainian ткач (tkach) meaning "weaver".

Bonheur French
From Old French bonne heure meaning "good time" or "lucky".

Bagnoli Italian
Diminutive form of Bagni.

Walczak Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Walenty.

Ortega Spanish
From a Spanish place name (belonging to various villages) derived from ortiga "nettle".

Savolainen Finnish
Originally indicated a person from Savonia, a historical province in eastern Finland.

Ola Basque
From Basque ola meaning "hut, small house, forge".

El-Mofty Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic المفتي (see Al-Mufti).

Savidge English
Variant of Savage.

St Pierre French
From a French place named for Saint Peter.

Amoretto Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Amore.

Grover English
From Old English graf meaning "grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).

McNabb Irish, Scottish
Variant of McNab.

Gärtner German
German form of Gardener.

Ahmad Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indian (Muslim)
Derived from the given name Ahmad.

Ó Ríoghbhárdáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Riordan.

Heyman Jewish
From the given name Chayyim.

Vestri Italian
From the given name Silvestro.

Goebel German
Variant of Göbel.

Périgord French
From the name of a region in southern France, possibly of Gaulish origin.

Kruse German
Variant of Kraus.

Myers English
Patronymic form of Myer or Mayer 3.

Wen Chinese
From Chinese 文 (wén) meaning "literature, culture, writing".

Denman English
From Middle English dene "valley" combined with man.

Ingesson Swedish
Means "son of Inge".

Gama Portuguese
Probably from a place name derived from Portuguese gama meaning "fallow deer doe", from Latin gammus.

O'Leary Irish
From Irish Ó Laoghaire meaning "descendant of Laoghaire".

Ormonde Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruaidh.

François French
Derived from the given name François.

Van Rompuy Flemish
Variant of Van Rompaey. A famous bearer is the Flemish politician Herman Van Rompuy (1947-), a Prime Minister of Belgium.

Yonkers Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized spelling of Jonkers.

Zuñiga Basque
From the name of a Spanish town, formerly named Estuniga in Basque, possibly derived from Basque istuin "channel, strait".

Mulryan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Maoil Riain.

Palmer English
Means "pilgrim", ultimately from Latin palma "palm tree", since pilgrims to the Holy Land often brought back palm fronds as proof of their journey.

Boelens Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Sorrentino Italian
Derived from the town of Sorrento near Naples, called Surrentum in Latin, of unknown meaning.

Arntzenius Dutch
Latinized form of Arntzen.

Mehmedović Bosnian
Means "son of Mehmed".

Marsden English
From a place name derived from Old English mearc "boundary" and denu "valley".

Rémy French
From the given name Rémy.

Hardwick English
From Old English heord "herd" and wic "village, town".

Joossens Flemish
Means "son of Joos".

Benes Hungarian
Hungarian form of Beneš.

Jonker Dutch
From the Dutch title jonkheer meaning "young lord". It was originally a medieval noble designation (not an actual title) for a young nobleman.

Farro Italian
Derived from the name of a place on Sicily, Italy, derived from Latin far meaning "wheat, spelt".

Greenspan Jewish
Anglicized form of German Grünspan meaning "verdigris". Verdigris is the green-blue substance that forms on copper.

Fiedler German
Means "fiddler" in German.

Kaiser German
From Middle High German keiser meaning "emperor", originally a nickname applied to someone who acted kingly. The title ultimately derives from the Roman name Caesar.

Garofalo Italian
From a nickname, from a southern variant of the Italian word garofano meaning "carnation".

Kraemer German
Variant of Krämer.

Nyquist Swedish
Variant of Nyqvist.

Miyajima Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Hailey English
Variant of Haley.

Rogerson English
Means "son of Roger".

Padovan Italian
Regional variant of Padovano.

Juhász Hungarian
Occupational name meaning "shepherd" in Hungarian, from juh "sheep".

Maurice French
From the given name Maurice.

Cao Chinese
From Chinese 曹 (cáo) referring to the ancient state of Cao, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.

Roca Spanish, Catalan, Occitan
Spanish, Catalan and Occitan cognate of Roach.

Sárközi Hungarian
Originally indicated someone from Sárköz, a region in Hungary, derived from sár "mud" and köz "margin, lane".

MacColuim Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of MacCallum.

Adamczak Polish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Maier 1 German
Variant of Meyer 1.

Apeldoorn Dutch
From the name of a city in the Netherlands, meaning "apple tree" in Dutch.

Bakker Dutch
Dutch cognate of Baker, from Middle Dutch backere.

Fekete Hungarian
Means "black" in Hungarian, originally a nickname for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion.

Penzig Yiddish
Denoted 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".

Aliberti Italian
Means "son of Alberto".

Wilkerson English
Means "son of Wilkin".

Paulis Dutch
From the given name Paul.

MacLachlainn Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McLaughlin.

Király Hungarian
Means "king" in Hungarian, of Slavic origin (a cognate of Król).

Sauer German
Means "sour" in German, a nickname for an embittered or cantankerous person.

Antón Spanish
From the given name Antón.

Keith Scottish
From a place name that is probably derived from the Brythonic element cet meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles.

Evelyn English
Derived from the given name Aveline.

Michel French, German, Dutch, Basque
Derived from the given name Michel, Michiel or Mitxel.

Lapointe French
Means "the point (of a lance)" in French, possibly a nickname for a soldier.

Peacock English
From Middle English pecok meaning "peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.

Tremble French
Variant of Tremblay.

Wiater Polish
Derived from Polish wiatr "wind", a nickname for a quick person.

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

Mac an Tòisich Scottish Gaelic
Gaelic form of McIntosh.

Abram English
Derived from the given name Abraham.

Drummond Scottish
From various Scottish place names that are derived from Gaelic drumainn, a derivative of druim meaning "ridge".

Büki Hungarian
Derived from the name of the Bükk Mountains, which means "beech tree" in Hungarian (probably of Slavic origin).

Kariuki Kikuyu
Derived from the given name Kariuki.

Abramsson Swedish
Means "son of Abraham".

O'Boyle Irish
Variant of Boyle.

Prichard Welsh
Variant of Pritchard.

Berti Italian
Derived from the given name Berto.

Agua Spanish
Means "water" in Spanish, indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.

Paige English
Variant of Page.

Bellomi Italian
Variant of Bellomo.

Ionesco Romanian
Variant of Ionescu. French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco (1909-1994), born Ionescu, is a famous bearer of this surname.

Traves English
English variant of Travers.

Pesce Italian
Means "fish" in Italian, referring either to a fisherman or to a person who resembled a fish in some way.

Ungaro Italian
Means "Hungarian" in Italian.

Nespoli Italian
From the name of towns such as Nespoli and Nespoledo, derived from Italian nespola meaning "medlar (tree)".

Fertig German
Means "ready, prepared" in German.

Shirazi Persian
Originally denoted someone who came from the city of Shiraz, located in southern Iran. The city's name is possibly of Elamite origin.

Reynell English
Variant of Reynolds.

Cheung Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhang.

Spence English
Variant of Spencer.

Holden English
From various English place names, derived from Old English hol "hollow, sunken, deep" and denu "valley".

Peynirci Turkish
From Turkish peynir meaning "cheese".

Martinsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Martin".

Nanni Italian
Variant of Nana.

Jans Dutch, German
Means "son of Jan 1".

Pitkänen Finnish
From Finnish pitkä meaning "tall".

Chiu Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhao.

Charron French
Means "cart" in Old French, used to denote a carter or a cartwright.

Tomić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Toma 2".

Lévesque French
Derived from French évêque, a cognate of Bishop.

Gibson English, Scottish
Means "son of Gib".

Napoliello Italian
Originally indicated a person from Naples in Italy.

Blum German, Jewish
Means "flower" in German and Yiddish.

Ó Baoghill Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Boyle.

Fujimura Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Miazga Polish
Derived from Polish miazga "pulp, crush".

Ahmadi Persian
From the given name Ahmad.

Schwarzenberg German
Means "black mountain" in German.

Proulx French
Derived from Old French preu meaning "valiant, brave".

Gašper Slovene
Derived from the given name Gašper.

Temitope Yoruba
From the given name Temitope.

Đurić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Đuro".

Kitchens English
Variant of Kitchen.

Rompa Dutch
Variant of Van Rompa.

Como 2 Italian
From the name of the city of Como in Lombardy, the rival city of Milan during the Middle Ages. Its name may come from a Celtic root meaning "valley".

Benito Spanish
From the given name Benito.

Auteberry English
Variant of Atteberry.

Akker Dutch
Dutch form of Acker.

De Klerk Dutch
From Dutch klerk meaning "clerk", making this a cognate of Clark.

Müller German
German equivalent of Miller, derived from Middle High German mülnære or müller.

Pherigo French (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Périgord.

Najjar Arabic
Means "carpenter" in Arabic.

Arnold English, German
Derived from the given name Arnold.

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.

Peel English
Nickname for a thin person, derived from Old French pel, Latin palus meaning "stake, post" (related to English pole).

Wildgrube German
From the name of a German town, derived from German wild "wild, untamed" and Grube "hollow, pit".

Lister Scottish
Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac an Fleisdeir meaning "son of the arrow maker".

Sjöberg Swedish
From Swedish sjö (Old Norse sær) meaning "lake, sea" and berg meaning "mountain".

Magnusson Swedish
Means "son of Magnus".