Zubizarreta BasqueMeans
"old bridge", from Basque
zubia "bridge" and
zahar "old". A famous bearer is the Spanish soccer player Andoni Zubizarreta (1961-).
Tisza HungarianFrom the river name Tisza, Hungary's second largest river.
Pender 1 EnglishFrom Middle English
pind "to pen up". This was an occupational name for someone who penned animals.
Earl EnglishFrom the aristocratic title, which derives from Old English
eorl meaning
"nobleman, warrior". It was either a nickname for one who acted like an earl, or an occupational name for a person employed by an earl.
Thornton EnglishFrom any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.
Zino ItalianDerived 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.
Smolak PolishOccupational name for a distiller of pitch, derived from the Old Slavic word
smola meaning
"pitch, resin".
Santos Portuguese, SpanishFrom Portuguese and Spanish
santo meaning
"saint", ultimately from Latin
sanctus. This was a nickname for a pious person.
Hafner GermanOccupational name for a potter, derived from Old High German
hafan "pot, vessel".
Halloran IrishFrom Irish
Ó hAllmhuráin meaning
"descendant of Allmhurán". The given name
Allmhurán means "stranger from across the sea".
Wildgrube GermanFrom the name of a German town, derived from German
wild "wild, untamed" and
Grube "hollow, pit".
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.
Deighton EnglishFrom English towns by this name, from Old English
dic "ditch" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Kaiser GermanFrom Middle High German
keiser meaning
"emperor", originally a nickname applied to someone who acted kingly. The title ultimately derives from the Roman name
Caesar.
Reis German, JewishFrom Middle High German
ris meaning
"twig, branch, bush", denoting a person who lived in an overgrown area. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Underhill EnglishMeans
"dweller at the foot of a hill", from Old English
under and
hyll.
Parker EnglishMeans
"keeper of the park" in Middle English. It is an occupational name for a person who was a gamekeeper at a medieval park.
Hudnall EnglishFrom various English place names, derived from the Old English given name
Huda combined with
halh "nook, recess".
Vidmar SloveneFrom various places in Slovenia named
Videm, meaning
"church property" in Slovene.
Nørup DanishFrom the name of Danish villages named
Nørup or
Norup.
Hasenkamp GermanFrom a northern German place name meaning
"rabbit field", from Old Saxon
haso "hare" and
kamp "field" (from Latin
campus).
Bak DanishMeans
"slope, hillside" in Danish, from Old Norse
bakki "bank".
Lenz GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"springtime" in German.
Cano SpanishMeans
"white-haired, old" in Spanish, from Latin
canus.
Perrier FrenchOccupational name for a person who worked with stone, derived from French
pierre meaning
"stone", from Latin
petra, Greek
πέτρα (petra).
Arriola Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque
arri "stone" and
-ola "place of, house".
Finch English, LiteratureFrom the name of the bird, from Old English
finc. It was used by Harper Lee for the surname of lawyer Atticus Finch and his children in her novel
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).
Manco ItalianMeans
"left-handed" in Italian, derived from Latin
mancus meaning "maimed".
Mazza ItalianFrom a nickname (perhaps occupational) meaning
"maul, mallet" in Italian.
Hayes 1 EnglishFrom various English place names that were derived from Old English
hæg meaning
"enclosure, fence". A famous bearer was American President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).
Dunst GermanDerived from Middle High German
dunst "haze".
Varela SpanishDerived from Spanish
vara "stick". It may have originally been given to one who used a stick in his line of work, for example an animal herder.
Woodham EnglishIndicated a person who had a home near a wood, derived from Old English
wudu "wood" and
ham "home, settlement".
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".
Fonseca Spanish, PortugueseOriginally belonged to a person who lived near a dry spring, from Latin
fons "well, spring" and
siccus "dry".
Church EnglishFrom the English word, derived from Old English
cirice, ultimately from Greek
κυριακόν (kyriakon) meaning "(house) of the lord". It probably referred to a person who lived close to a church.
Nagel German, DutchMeans
"nail" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a carpenter or nailsmith.
Schouten DutchOccupational name derived from Middle Dutch
schout meaning
"sheriff, bailiff".
Tang 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
唐 (táng) referring to the Tang dynasty, which ruled China from 618 to 907.
Miranda Spanish, PortugueseHabitational name from any of the numerous places in Spain and Portugal bearing this name, possibly derived from Latin
mirandus "admirable, wonderful". A notable bearer was the Portuguese-born Brazilian singer and actress Carmen Miranda (1909-1955).
Thorley EnglishFrom any of the various places in England called
Thornley or
Thorley, meaning "thorn clearing" in Old English.
Charbonneau FrenchDerived from a diminutive form of French
charbon "charcoal", a nickname for a person with black hair or a dark complexion.
Wilson EnglishMeans
"son of Will". A famous bearer was the American president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).
Tatton EnglishOriginally indicated a person from a town by this name, derived from the Old English given name
Tata combined with
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
Wang 4 YiddishName for a Jew from Hungary, ultimately from Russian
Венгрия (Vengriya) meaning
"Hungary".
Hurst EnglishOriginally a name for a person who lived near a thicket of trees, from Old English
hyrst "thicket".
Spitz GermanMeans
"sharp" in German, indicating the original bearer lived near a pointed hill.
Clifford EnglishDerived from various place names that meant "ford by a cliff" in Old English.
Ralston ScottishOriginally denoted a person from Ralston, Scotland, which was derived from the given name
Ralph combined with Old English
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
Adesso ItalianPerhaps a nickname for a punctual or fast person, from Italian
adesso meaning
"now, at this moment".
Begbie ScottishFrom the name of a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is derived from the Old Norse given name
Baggi and
býr "farm, settlement".
Siddall EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
sid "wide" and
halh "nook, recess".
Flynn IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Floinn meaning
"descendant of Flann".
Fuchs GermanFrom Old High German
fuhs meaning
"fox". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.
Ellison EnglishPatronymic form of the English name
Ellis, from the medieval given name
Elis, a vernacular form of
Elijah.
Nyitrai HungarianIndicated someone from Nitra, a city and historic principality of Slovakia (formerly in Hungary). Its name is derived from that of a local river, which is of unknown meaning.
Bannister EnglishFrom Norman French
banastre meaning
"basket". This was originally a name for a maker of baskets.
Curtis EnglishNickname for a courteous person, derived from Old French
curteis meaning
"refined, courtly".
Satō JapaneseFrom Japanese
佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" and
藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The final character might indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan. This is the most common surname in Japan.
Laganà ItalianOccupational name for a greengrocer, meaning
"vegetables" in southern Italian dialects, ultimately from Greek
λάχανον (lachanon).
Gujić BosnianMeans
"son of a snake" from the Bosnian word
guja meaning "snake".
Roig CatalanMeans
"red" in Catalan, from Latin
rubeus, originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a red complexion.
Nepi ItalianFrom the town of Nepi in central Italy, which is of uncertain origin.
Long EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had long limbs or who was tall.
Basurto SpanishFrom the Basque place name
Basurtu, a village (now part of Bilbao) in Biscay. It means "middle of the forest".
Bagley EnglishFrom various English place names, derived from the Old English given name
Bacga combined with
leah "woodland, clearing".
Coiro ItalianFrom Italian
cuoio meaning
"leather", ultimately from Latin
corium. This was an occupational surname for a leather worker or tanner.
Cassano ItalianIndicated a person from any of the various towns named Cassano in Italy.
Kohler GermanFrom Middle High German
koler meaning
"charcoal burner" or
"charcoal seller".
Fenwick EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
fenn "fen, swamp, bog" and
wic "village, town".
Mullen IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Maoláin meaning
"descendant of Maolán". The given name
Maolán meant "devotee, servant, tonsured one".
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.
Shelton EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, meaning "shelf town" in Old English.
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.
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).
Nagarkar MarathiDerived from the name of the town of Nagar in Maharashtra, India.
Sturm GermanMeans
"storm" in German, originally a nickname for a volatile person.
Baars DutchIndicated a person coming from the town of Beers in the Netherlands.
Eaton EnglishFrom any of the various English towns with this name, derived from Old English
ea "river" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Ventimiglia ItalianFrom the name of the historical Italian city Ventimiglia, now near the French border, ultimately from Latin
Albintimilium.
Budny PolishPossibly from Polish
buda meaning
"hut, cabin".
Quincy EnglishOriginally from various place names in Normandy that were derived from the given name
Quintus.
Kloet DutchPossibly from Middle Dutch
cloet meaning
"lump, ball". In some cases this was a nickname for an oafish person. In other cases it may have been a name for someone who lived near a sign that had a globe on it.
Gabler GermanOccupational name for someone who made or sold forks, from Old High German
gabala "fork".
Cárdenas SpanishFrom the name of towns in the Spanish provinces of Almería and La Rioja. They are derived from Spanish
cárdeno "blue, purple".
Coman RomanianFrom the name of the Cumans, a Turkic people from the Eurasian Steppe.
Correia PortugueseMeans
"leather strap, belt" in Portuguese, denoting a person who worked with leather products.
Howard 2 EnglishOccupational name meaning
"ewe herder", from Old English
eowu "ewe" and
hierde "herdsman, guardian".
Preston EnglishOriginally derived from various place names meaning
"priest town" in Old English.
Flower EnglishFrom Middle English
flour meaning
"flower, blossom", derived from Old French
flur, Latin
flos. This was a nickname given to a sweet person. In other cases it could be a metonymic occupational name for a maker of flour (a word derived from the same source).
Hill EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived on or near a hill, derived from Old English
hyll.
Rapp 1 SwedishFrom Swedish
rapp meaning
"quick, prompt", one of the names adopted by soldiers in the 17th century.
Glover EnglishOccupational name for a person who made or sold gloves, from Middle English
glovere.
Aritza Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque
aritz meaning
"oak tree". This was a nickname of Iñigo, the first king of Pamplona, Spain (9th century).
Schröter GermanMeans
"beer-porter, wine-porter" in German, an occupational name for a carrier of wine or beer barrels.
Arendonk DutchDenoted a person from Arendonk, a town between in northern Belgium. It is derived from
arend "eagle" and
donk "hill".
Boon 2 EnglishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Bohon, in Manche in France. The town's name is of unknown origin.
Trump GermanDerived from Middle High German
trumbe meaning
"drum". This surname is borne by the American president Donald Trump (1946-).
Aksoy TurkishFrom Turkish
ak "white" and
soy "lineage, ancestry".
Spijker 1 DutchDenoted a dweller by or worker at a granary, from Dutch
spijker "granary".
Penn 2 EnglishOccupational name for a person who kept penned animals, from Old English
penn.
Bauer GermanFrom Old High German
bur meaning
"peasant, farmer".
Bureau FrenchFrom Old French
burel, a diminutive of
bure, a type of woollen cloth. It may have originated as a nickname for a person who dressed in the material or as an occupational name for someone who worked with it.
Cai ChineseFrom Chinese
蔡 (cài) referring to the ancient state of Cai that existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
Tatham EnglishFrom the name of the town of Tatham in Lancashire, itself from the Old English given name
Tata combined with
ham meaning "home, settlement".