Šarić Croatian, SerbianPatronymic of (possibly) Serbo-Croatian
šaren meaning
"colourful, patterned".
Strudwick EnglishFrom an English place name derived from Old English
strod meaning "marshy ground overgrown with brushwood" and
wic meaning "village, town".
Leitner GermanReferred to one who lived on a hillside, from Middle High German
lite "slope".
Finnegan IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Fionnagáin meaning
"descendant of Fionnagán". The given name
Fionnagán is a diminutive of
Fionn.
Watkins EnglishDerived from the Middle English given name
Wat or
Watt, which was a diminutive of the name
Walter.
Vela SpanishOccupational name for a guard, from Spanish
vela meaning
"watch, vigil".
Ohme GermanFrom Middle High German
oem meaning
"maternal uncle".
Shelton EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, meaning "shelf town" in Old English.
Lê VietnameseVietnamese form of
Li 2, from Sino-Vietnamese
黎 (lê). This is the third most common surname in Vietnam.
Han Chinese, KoreanFrom Chinese
韩 (hán) referring to the ancient state of Han, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Shanxi and Henan provinces.
Clayton EnglishFrom the name of various places meaning "clay settlement" in Old English.
Jerome EnglishDerived from the given name
Jerome. A famous bearer of this surname was the American-born Jennie Jerome (1854-1921), Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston Churchill.
Cody IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Cuidighthigh or
Mac Óda. A famous bearer was the American frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917).
Banks EnglishOriginally indicated someone who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.
Voss GermanFrom Middle Low German
vos meaning
"fox". It was originally a nickname for a clever person or a person with red hair.
Scarsi ItalianNickname for a poor or miserly person, from Italian
scarso "scarce, scant".
Palmisano ItalianLocative name from the town of Palmi in the Calabria region of southern Italy.
Dickens EnglishFrom the medieval given name
Dicun, a medieval diminutive of
Dick 1. A famous bearer of this surname was the British author Charles Dickens (1812-1870).
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.
Dupuis FrenchMeans
"from the well", from Old French
puts, Latin
puteus "well".
Brisbois FrenchReferred to a person who cleared land, from Old French
briser "to cut" and
bois "forest".
Van der Veen DutchMeans
"from the swamp", from Dutch
veen meaning "fen, swamp, peat". It originally indicated a person who resided in a peat district or fen colony.
Vivas CatalanFrom the Catalan byname
vivas meaning
"may you live", which was bestowed upon children to bring good luck.
Engberg SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
äng (Old Norse
eng) meaning "meadow" and
berg meaning "mountain".
Brigham EnglishOriginally referred to one who came from a town called Brigham, meaning "homestead by the bridge" in Old English. This is the name of towns in Cumberland and Yorkshire.
Hofmeister GermanMeans
"master of the household", from Old High German
hof "yard, court, house" and
meistar "master" (from Latin
magister).
Inada JapaneseFrom Japanese
稲 (ina) meaning "rice plant" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Holden EnglishFrom various English place names, derived from Old English
hol "hollow, sunken, deep" and
denu "valley".
Arenas SpanishFrom various Spanish place names, which are derived from Spanish
arena meaning
"sand".
Courtenay 1 EnglishFrom the name of towns in France that were originally derivatives of the Gallo-Roman personal name
Curtenus, itself derived from Latin
curtus "short".
Leitzke GermanEither from
Leitzkau, the name of a town in Saxony-Anhalt, or from a diminutive of the given name
Leutz, a variant of
Lutz.
Øster DanishFrom Danish
øst meaning
"east", originally denoting a dweller on the eastern side of a place.
Garnett 1 EnglishOccupational name referring to a person who made hinges, from Old French
carne "hinge".
Messina ItalianFrom the name of the Sicilian city of Messina, founded by Greek colonists. The city was named after the Greek city
Μεσσήνη (Messene).
Casas SpanishFrom Spanish
casa meaning
"house", of Latin origin.
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).
Profeta ItalianFrom Italian
profeta meaning
"prophet". It probably came from a nickname indicating a person who wanted to predict the future. It is typical of southern Italy.
Harding EnglishDerived from the given name
Heard. A famous bearer was American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).
Beethoven Dutch (Archaic)From a place name derived from Dutch
beet "beet, beetroot" and
hoven "farms". This name was borne by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), whose family was of Flemish origin. The surname is now mostly extinct.
Amantea ItalianFrom the name of a town in Calabria, Italy. It is possibly derived from Arabic (dating from the Arab raids of the 9th century) meaning "the fortress".
Tschida GermanPossibly derived from a Slavic given name of unknown meaning.
Weasley LiteratureUsed by J. K. Rowling for the character of Ron Weasley (and other members of his family) in her
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997. Rowling presumably derived it from the English word
weasel, perhaps in combination with the common place name/surname suffix
-ley, which is derived from Old English
leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
Vale PortugueseMeans
"valley" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
vallis.
Aaij DutchDerived from the given name
Aaij, a short form of
Adriaan and other names.
Morton EnglishDerived from a place name meaning
"moor town" in Old English.
Alfaro SpanishOriginally denoted someone who was from the city of Alfaro in La Rioja, Spain. It is possibly derived from Arabic meaning "the watchtower".
English EnglishDenoted a person who was of English heritage. It was used to distinguish people who lived in border areas (for example, near Wales or Scotland). It was also used to distinguish an Anglo-Saxon from a Norman.
Kleid JewishOccupational name for a tailor, from Old High German
kleid meaning
"garment, clothing".
Kenyatta KikuyuFrom
kinyata, the name of a type of ornamental belt worn by the Maasai. This was the surname of the first president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta (1897-1978). He adopted the surname in his youth.
Terrell EnglishProbably derived from the Norman French nickname
tirel meaning
"to pull", referring to a stubborn person.
Munson EnglishPatronymic formed from the Norman French nickname
moun meaning
"monk".
Kerner GermanDerived from Old High German
kerno "seed", an occupational name for one who sold or planted seeds.
McGuire IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mag Uidhir meaning
"son of Odhar", a given name meaning "pale-coloured".
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.
Asturias SpanishFrom the name of a region in Spain, formerly a medieval kingdom. It is possibly derived from Basque
asta "rock" and
ur "water".
Alvarado SpanishFrom a Spanish place name, possibly derived from Spanish
alba "white".
Gruber Upper GermanFrom German
Grube meaning
"pit", indicating a person who lived or worked in a pit or depression. This is the most common surname in Austria.
Stanley EnglishFrom various place names meaning
"stone clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904).
Verhoeven DutchMeans
"from the farm" in Dutch, derived from
hoeve "farm", and so indicated a person who lived on a farm.
Ter Avest DutchMeans
"at the edge, eave" indicating a person who lived at the edge of a forest or under a covered shelter.
Färber GermanOccupational name meaning
"dyer", derived from German
Farbe "colour".
Loman DutchFrom various place names in the Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch
loh meaning "meadow, clearing".
Daubney EnglishFrom any of the various towns in France called Aubigny, derived from the Gallo-Roman personal name
Albinus.
Como 2 ItalianFrom 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".
Nørup DanishFrom the name of Danish villages named
Nørup or
Norup.
Elton EnglishFrom an English place name meaning
"Ella's town".
Power 2 EnglishFrom Middle English
povre meaning
"poor", via Old French from Latin
pauper. It could have been a nickname for someone who had no money or a miser.
McElligott IrishAnglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name
Mac Uileagóid meaning
"son of Uileagóid", a diminutive of
Uilleag.
Forst GermanDerived from Old High German
forst "forest". Probably unrelated to the Old French word
forest, which was derived from Latin, Old High German
forst was derived from
foraha meaning "fir tree".
Van Agteren DutchMeans
"from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.
Moloney IrishFrom Irish
Ó Maol Dhomhnaigh meaning
"descendant of a church servant".
Backus EnglishMeans
"bakery", an occupational name for a baker, from Old English
bæchus literally "bake house".
Ó Rinn IrishMeans
"descendant of Rinn". The given name
Rinn means "star" in Irish.
Holmberg SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
holme (Old Norse
holmr) meaning "small island" and
berg meaning "mountain".
Ahlström SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
al (Old Norse
ǫlr) meaning "alder" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream".
Ó Comhraidhe IrishMeans
"descendant of Comhraidhe", in which the given name
Comhraidhe is of unknown meaning.
Neville English, IrishFrom the names of towns in Normandy, variously
Neuville or
Néville, meaning "new town" in French.
Wade 2 EnglishFrom the Old English given name
Wada, a derivative of the word
wadan "to go".
Bove ItalianDerived from an Italian nickname meaning
"bull, ox".
Lithgow ScottishHabitation name meaning derived from Brythonic roots meaning "pool hollow". A famous bearer of this name is actor John Lithgow (1945-).
Miller EnglishOccupational surname meaning
"miller", referring to a person who owned or worked in a grain mill, derived from Middle English
mille "mill".
Jäger GermanMeans
"hunter" in German, from Old High German
jagon meaning "to hunt".
Apted EnglishProbably from an unidentified place name meaning "up tower" in Old English.
Allaway ScottishFrom a Scottish place name, itself derived from
alla "wild" and
mhagh "field".
Hooper EnglishOccupational name for someone who put the metal hoops around wooden barrels.
Rimmer EnglishOccupational name meaning
"poet", from Middle English
rime meaning "rhyme".
Spitznagel GermanMeans
"sharp nail" in German, an occupational name for a nailsmith.
Garland EnglishMeans
"triangle land" from Old English
gara and
land. It originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.
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.
Churchill EnglishFrom an English place name meaning
"church hill". A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II.
Robustelli ItalianFrom a nickname for a strong person, from Italian
robusto "strong", from Latin
robustus "firm, solid, oaken".
Laterza ItalianFrom the name of the town of Laterza near Taranto in Apulia. It is typical of southern Italy.
Bieber German, JewishFrom Middle High German
biber meaning
"beaver", possibly a nickname for a hard worker.
Aguado SpanishDerived from Spanish
agua "water", indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.
Meyer 1 GermanFrom Middle High German
meier meaning
"bailiff, administrator", derived from Latin
maior meaning "greater". Later it also denoted a tenant farmer. The spellings
Meier and
Meyer are more common in northern Germany while
Maier and
Mayer are more common in southern Germany.
Kelsey EnglishFrom an English place name meaning "Cenel's island", from the Old English name
Cenel "fierce" in combination with
eg "island".