Spitz GermanMeans
"sharp" in German, indicating the original bearer lived near a pointed hill.
Kelly 1 IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Ceallaigh meaning
"descendant of Ceallach". Famous bearers include actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
Medeiros PortugueseFrom various Portuguese place names that were derived from Portuguese
medeiro meaning
"haystack", ultimately from Latin
meta meaning "cone, pyramid".
Huxtable EnglishDerived from the name of an English place meaning "hook post", from Old English
hoc "hook" and
stapol "post".
Fuller EnglishOccupational name for a fuller, a person who thickened and cleaned coarse cloth by pounding it. It is derived via Middle English from Latin
fullo.
De Campo ItalianLocative surname derived from place names called Campo (meaning "field").
Clancy IrishFrom Irish
Mac Fhlannchaidh meaning
"descendant of Flannchadh". The given name
Flannchadh means "red warrior".
Kurz GermanMeans
"short" in German, ultimately from Latin
curtus.
Chadwick EnglishFrom the name of English towns meaning "settlement belonging to
Chad" in Old English.
Attar PersianFrom Persian
عطر (ʿaṭr) meaning
"fragrance, perfume", ultimately from Arabic. It probably denoted a seller of perfume.
Barros Portuguese, SpanishFrom the Portuguese and Spanish word
barro meaning
"clay, mud". This could either be an occupational name for a person who worked with clay or mud such as a builder or artisan, or a topographic name for someone living near clay or mud.
Schuster GermanMeans
"shoemaker, cobbler", from Middle High German
schuoch "shoe" and
suter, from Latin
sutor "sewer, cobbler".
Gebara BasqueHabitational name for someone who lived in Gebara, a village in the province of Álava in Spain.
Sipos HungarianOccupational name for a fife player or piper, from Hungarian
síp "whistle, pipe".
Ritter GermanFrom Middle High German
riter meaning
"rider, knight", a cognate of
Ryder.
Horsfall EnglishFrom a minor place in Yorkshire derived from Old English
hors "horse" and
fall "clearing".
Croft EnglishFrom Old English
croft meaning
"enclosed field".
Moran IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Móráin meaning
"descendant of Mórán", a given name meaning "great, large".
McCabe Irish, ScottishMeans
"son of Cába", where
Cába is a byname meaning "cape, cloak" (from Latin
cappa).
Gully EnglishNickname for a big person, from Middle English
golias meaning "giant" (ultimately from
Goliath, the Philistine warrior who was slain by David in the Old Testament).
Skov DanishTopographic name meaning
"forest, wood" in Danish, from Old Norse
skógr.
Butler English, IrishOccupational name derived from Norman French
butiller "wine steward", ultimately from Late Latin
butticula "bottle". A famous bearer of this surname is the fictional character Rhett Butler, created by Margaret Mitchell for her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936).
Garnett 1 EnglishOccupational name referring to a person who made hinges, from Old French
carne "hinge".
Agli ItalianFrom place names like
Agliè,
Aglietti,
Agliana and
Agliate, all originating from the Latin name
Allius or
Alleius.
Niskanen FinnishDerived from Finnish
niska meaning
"neck", indicating someone who lived on a neck of land or who had a distinctive neck.
Beck 3 EnglishFrom a nickname for a person with a big nose, from Middle English
bec meaning
"beak".
Lewis 1 EnglishDerived from the given name
Lewis. The author C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a bearer of this surname.
Hayward EnglishOccupational name for a person who protected an enclosed forest, from Old English
hæg "enclosure, fence" and
weard "guard".
Iyer TamilReferred to a person belonging to the Iyer subcaste of the larger Brahmin caste. The Iyer subcaste is traditionally devoted to the God Vishnu.
Castro Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"castle" in Spanish and Portuguese, referring to one who lived near a castle. A famous bearer was Fidel Castro (1926-2016), revolutionary and president of Cuba.
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.
Padmore EnglishOriginally indicated a person from Padmore in England, derived from Old English
padde "toad" and
mor "moor, marsh".
Szweda PolishDerived from Polish
Szwed meaning
"Swede, person from Sweden".
Moore 3 EnglishNickname for a person of dark complexion, from Old French
more, Latin
maurus, meaning
"Moorish".
Tavares PortugueseFrom any of the numerous places in Portugal called Tavares, likely of pre-Roman origin.
Wang 2 German, DutchFrom Middle High German and Middle Dutch
wange meaning
"cheek", possibly a nickname for someone with round or rosy cheeks.
Marley EnglishOriginally 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).
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".
Whitney EnglishOriginally from the name of an English town, meaning "white island" in Old English.
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".
Kingsley EnglishFrom a place name meaning "king's clearing" in Old English.
Terzić BosnianFrom Bosnian
terzija meaning
"tailor", ultimately of Persian origin.
Charmchi PersianMeans
"leather worker" in Persian, from
چرم (charm) meaning "leather" combined with
چی (chī), denoting an occupation.
Spanò SicilianFrom Sicilian
spanu meaning
"sparse, thin hair", ultimately from Greek
σπάνιος (spanios) meaning "scarce, rare".
Schirmer GermanMeans
"fencer, fencing master", from Old High German
skirmen meaning "to defend".
Craig ScottishDerived from Gaelic
creag meaning
"crag, rocks, outcrop", originally belonging to a person who lived near a crag.
Tuft EnglishDenoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English
tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.
Ackerman EnglishMeans
"ploughman", derived from Middle English
aker "field" and
man.
Vivas CatalanFrom the Catalan byname
vivas meaning
"may you live", which was bestowed upon children to bring good luck.
Gandhi Gujarati, HindiFrom Sanskrit
गान्धिक (gāndhika) meaning
"perfumier, perfume seller", derived from
गनध (gandha) meaning "scent, perfume". Notable bearers include Indian civil rights leader Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), also known as Mahatma Gandhi, and Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi (1917-1984).
Provenza ItalianFrom the name of the Provence region of southern France (in Italian
Provenza). It is derived from Latin
provincia "province", a territorial division.
Timberlake EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
timber "timber, wood" and
lacu "lake, pool, stream".
Forester EnglishDenoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest, or one who has charge of growing timber in a forest (see
Forest).
Bachchan HindiFrom Hindi
बच्चा (bachchā) meaning
"child", a word of Persian origin. This surname was adopted by the Indian poet Harivansh Rai Srivastava (1907-2003).
Way EnglishFrom Old English
weg meaning
"way, road, path".
Teke 2 TurkishOccupational name for a goat herder, from Turkish
teke "goat".
Caldwell EnglishFrom various English place names derived from Old English
ceald "cold" and
wille "spring, stream, well".
Clifford EnglishDerived from various place names that meant "ford by a cliff" in Old English.
Dam Dutch, DanishMeans
"dike, dam" in Dutch and Danish. In modern Danish it also means "pond".
Ateljević SerbianProbably from
Hatelji, the name of a town in Serbia, which is of unknown meaning.
Bak DanishMeans
"slope, hillside" in Danish, from Old Norse
bakki "bank".
Vela SpanishOccupational name for a guard, from Spanish
vela meaning
"watch, vigil".
Pugliese ItalianFrom an adjectival derivative of Puglia, from Latin
Apulia, a region of southeast Italy containing the boot heel and some of the coastline of the Adriatic Sea. It is a regional name for someone from that region.
Myer EnglishFrom Old French
mire meaning
"doctor", derived from Latin
medicus.
Urbina BasqueDerived from Basque
ur "water" and
bi "two", indicating a place where two waterways met.
Howard 2 EnglishOccupational name meaning
"ewe herder", from Old English
eowu "ewe" and
hierde "herdsman, guardian".
Fitzgerald IrishMeans
"son of Gerald" in Anglo-Norman French. It was brought to Ireland with William the Conqueror. A famous bearer was Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), an American jazz singer.
Pusztai HungarianFrom Hungarian
puszta meaning
"plain, steppe". The name was given to someone living on a plain.
Valenti ItalianPatronymic from the given name
Valente, an Italian form of
Valens. A famous bearer of the surname was Jack Valenti (1921-2007), advisor to American president Lyndon Johnson.
Ueda JapaneseFrom Japanese
上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Ó Máille IrishMeans
"descendant of a nobleman" from the Irish Gaelic
mál.
Gronchi ItalianFrom the Tuscan word
gronchio meaning
"numb, bent". This is an Italian regional surname typical of Tuscany. A famous bearer was the Italian president Giovanni Gronchi (1887-1978).
Gilliam EnglishVariant of
William. A famous bearer of the name is cartoonist and filmmaker Terry Gilliam (1940-).
Bove ItalianDerived from an Italian nickname meaning
"bull, ox".
Monet FrenchDerived from either of the given names
Hamon or
Edmond. A famous bearer was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Swanson EnglishPatronymic form of Middle English
swein meaning
"servant" (of Old Norse origin). This word was also used as a byname, and this surname could be a patronymic form of that.
Landau German, JewishDerived from the town of Landau in the Palatinate region of Germany, of Old High German origin meaning "land valley".
Baumhauer GermanOccupational name meaning
"woodcutter", derived from German
Baum "tree" and
hauen "to chop".
Waldvogel German, JewishFrom a nickname for a carefree person, derived from German
Wald meaning "forest" and
Vogel meaning "bird". As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Kjær DanishTopographic name for someone living near a wetland, from Danish
kær "marsh", from Old Norse
kjarr "thicket".
Bašić Croatian, SerbianMeans
"son of the chief", derived from Serbo-Croatian
baša meaning "chief, boss" (of Turkish origin).
Hussein ArabicFrom the given name
Husayn. A famous bearer was the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein (1937-2006).
Burgstaller GermanFrom German
Burg "fortress, castle" and
Stelle "place, position". This was a name given to a person dwelling at or near such a site.
Vaughan WelshFrom Welsh
bychan (mutated to
fychan) meaning
"little". It was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
Short EnglishFrom a nickname for a short person, from Middle English
schort.
Warwick EnglishFrom the name of an English town, itself derived from Old English
wer "weir, dam" and
wic "village, town".
Knef GermanOccupational name for a shoemaker, derived from Low German
knif meaning
"shoemaker's knife".
Deering EnglishFrom the Old English given name
Deora meaning "dear, beloved".
Holzknecht GermanOccupational name for a forester's helper, from Old High German
holz "wood" and
kneht "servant, apprentice".
Britton EnglishOriginally given to a person who was a Briton (a Celt of England) or a Breton (an inhabitant of Brittany).
MacKenzie ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
MacCoinnich meaning
"son of Coinneach". It originates from the Kintail area of Scotland on the northwest coast.
Ionesco RomanianVariant of
Ionescu. French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco (1909-1994), born
Ionescu, is a famous bearer of this surname.
Orsós HungarianDerived from Hungarian
orsó meaning
"spindle", an occupational name for a seller or maker of spindles.
Pereira Portuguese, GalicianFrom Portuguese and Galician
pereira meaning
"pear tree", ultimately from Latin
pirum meaning "pear".
Faragó HungarianAn occupational name meaning
"woodcutter", from Hungarian
farag meaning "carve, cut".
Russell EnglishFrom a Norman French nickname that meant
"little red one", perhaps originally describing a person with red hair.
Meissner GermanOriginally denoted a person from the German town of Meissen, which is probably of Slavic origin.
Voltolini ItalianFrom the name of the alpine valley of Valtellina in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Marsden EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
mearc "boundary" and
denu "valley".
Elizondo SpanishOriginally referred to a person who lived close to a church, from Basque
eleiza "church" and
ondo "near".
Pryor EnglishOriginally belonged to one who was a prior (a religious official), or one who worked for a prior.
Soucy FrenchOriginally denoted someone from French towns by this name in Aisne or Yonne, both derived from the Latin name
Suciacum.
Virtanen FinnishDerived from Finnish
virta meaning
"stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
Bunnag ThaiFrom the name of Bunnag, an 18th-century general of Persian heritage.
Geissler 2 GermanOccupational name for a goat herder, from southern German
Geiss meaning "goat" and the suffix
ler signifying an occupation.
Ross English, ScottishFrom various place names (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), which are derived from Scottish Gaelic
ros meaning "promontory, headland".
Blackburn EnglishFrom the name of a city in Lancashire, meaning "black stream" in Old English.
Gomółka PolishDerived from Polish
gomółka, a type of round cheese, ultimately from an old Polish word meaning "round".
Borgia ItalianItalian form of
Borja. This was the name of an Italian noble family who were influential during the Renaissance period.
Dean 2 EnglishOccupational surname meaning
"dean", referring to a person who either was a dean or worked for one. It is from Middle English
deen (ultimately from Latin
decanus meaning "chief of ten").
Montoya SpanishFrom the name of a village in the province of Álava in Spain. It is possibly of Basque origin, or possibly from Latin
mons "mountain, hill".
Wolf German, EnglishFrom Middle High German or Middle English
wolf meaning
"wolf", or else from an Old German given name beginning with this element.