Browse Surnames

Willey English
Variant of Wiley.

Brunet French
From a diminutive of French brun meaning "brown".

Koolen Dutch
Derived from the given name Nicolaas.

Bardsley English
From the name a village near Manchester, from the Old English given name Beornræd and leah "woodland, clearing".

Lu 2 Chinese
From Chinese 卢 (lú) meaning "rice bowl, black", also referring to an ancient minor territory in what is now Shandong province.

Ljungstrand Swedish
From Swedish ljung (Old Norse lyng) meaning "heather" and strand (Old Norse strǫnd) meaning "beach".

Messner German
Occupational name for a sexton or churchwarden, from Old High German mesinari.

MacGuinness Irish
Variant of McGuinness.

Garcia Portuguese, Spanish
Portuguese form of García. It is also an unaccented form of the Spanish name used commonly in America and the Philippines.

Toma Romanian
From the given name Toma 2.

Banister English
Variant of Bannister.

Tennison English
Means "son of Denis".

Sinclair English
Derived from a Norman French town called "Saint Clair".

Danielsson Swedish
Means "son of Daniel".

Hernandez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Hernández.

Ó Fallamháin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Fallon.

Hendrikx Dutch
Derived from the given name Hendrik.

Gottschalk German
Derived from the given name Gottschalk.

Küchler German
Occupational surname for a baker who made small cakes or cookies, derived from Middle High German kuoche "cake, pastry".

Ballerini Italian
From Italian ballerino meaning "dancer", an occupational name or nickname for someone who liked to dance.

Debenham English
Originally denoted a person from the town of Debenham in Suffolk, derived from the name of the River Deben (meaning "deep" in Old English) combined with ham meaning "home, settlement".

Paget English, French
Diminutive of Page.

Honeycutt English
Derived from the name of the English town of Hunnacott, derived from Old English hunig "honey" or the given name Huna combined with cot "cottage".

Hidalgo Spanish
Means "nobleman" in Spanish. The Spanish word is a contraction of the phrase hijo de algo meaning "son of something". This surname was typically in origin a nickname or an occupational name for one who worked in a noble's household.

Pavičić Croatian
Means "son of Pavao".

Bailey English
From Middle English baili meaning "bailiff", which comes via Old French from Latin baiulus "porter".

Specht German
Means "woodpecker" in German.

Steffen Low German, English
Derived from the given name Stephen.

Attaway English
Means "at the way", originally denoting someone who lived close to a road.

Eads English
Means "son of Eda 2" or "son of Adam".

Carman 1 English
Occupational name for a carter, from Middle English carre "cart" (of Latin origin) and man "man".

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

Alfson Swedish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Alfsson.

Shaw 2 Scottish
From a given name or byname that was derived from Gaelic sitheach meaning "wolf" (Old Irish sídach).

Carran Irish
Variant of Curran.

Takahashi Japanese
From Japanese 高 (taka) meaning "tall, high" and 橋 (hashi) meaning "bridge".

Paulson English
Means "son of Paul".

Laurenz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

McNamara Irish
From Irish Mac Conmara meaning "son of Conmara". The given name Conmara is composed of cú "hound" and muir "sea".

Van Rompay Flemish, Dutch
Variant of Van Rompaey.

Perry 1 English
From Old English pirige meaning "pear tree", a derivative of peru meaning "pear", itself from Latin pirum. A famous bearer was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.

Twist English, Literature
Probably from the name of towns in England and Wales called Twist or Twiss. This surname was used by Charles Dickens for the hero of his novel Oliver Twist (1838), about an orphan surviving the streets of London. Dickens probably had the vocabulary word twist in mind when naming the character.

Rutherfurd Scottish
Variant of Rutherford.

Ware 1 English
From Old English wer meaning "dam, weir", indicating someone who lived near such a structure.

Pesty Hungarian
Variant of Pesti.

Maki 1 Japanese
From Japanese 牧 (maki) meaning "shepherd, tend cattle".

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

Sargsyan Armenian
Means "son of Sargis" in Armenian.

Losnedahl Norwegian
From Norwegian dahl meaning "valley" and Losna, a place in Norway.

Månsson Swedish
Means "son of Måns".

Medina Spanish
Means "(Arab) city" in Spanish, derived from Arabic مدينة (madīna).

Clark English
Means "cleric" or "scribe", from Old English clerec meaning "priest", ultimately from Latin clericus. A famous bearer was William Clark (1770-1838), an explorer of the west of North America.

Lindholm Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and holme (Old Norse holmr) meaning "small island".

Clarkson English
Patronymic form of Clark.

Hakim Arabic
Derived from the given name Hakim.

Cockburn Scottish, English
Originally indicated someone who came from Cockburn, a place in Berwickshire. The place name is derived from Old English cocc "rooster" and burna "stream".

Alvarado Spanish
From a Spanish place name, possibly derived from Spanish alba "white".

Ingólfsson Icelandic
Means "son of Ingólfr".

McGinnis Irish
Variant of McGuinness.

MacAngus Scottish
Variant of MacInnes.

Roscoe English
From the name of a town in Lancashire, derived from Old Norse rá "roebuck" and skógr "wood, forest".

Varga um Hungarian, Slovak
Occupational name meaning "cobbler" in Hungarian.

Guttuso Italian
From a Sicilian nickname meaning "sad". It was name of the famous Italian painter Renato Guttuso (born 1912).

Dougherty Irish
Variant of Doherty.

Lombardi Italian
Originally indicated someone who came from the Lombardy region of northern Italy, which was named for the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who invaded in the 6th century. Their name is derived from the Old German roots lang "long" and bart "beard".

Marcos Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Marcos. A famous bearer was Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989).

Murgatroyd English
From a place name meaning "Margaret's clearing".

Krikorian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Գրիգորյան (see Grigoryan).

Derricks English
Derived from the given name Derrick.

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

Nakashima Japanese
Variant of Nakajima.

Van Dael Dutch
Variant of Van Dalen.

Leong Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Liang.

Øster Danish
From Danish øst meaning "east", originally denoting a dweller on the eastern side of a place.

Midgley English
From the English village of Midgley in West Yorkshire, meaning "midge (insect) wood" in Old English.

Gauthier French
Derived from the given name Gauthier.

Soler Occitan, Catalan
Denoted a person from any of the numerous places in the area whose names derive from Occitan or Catalan soler meaning "ground, floor".

James English
Derived from the given name James.

Daelman Dutch
Variant of Daalmans.

Reyes Spanish
Spanish variant of Rey 1.

Ricci Italian
From Italian riccio meaning "curly", a nickname for someone with curly hair. It is ultimately from Latin ericius meaning "hedgehog".

Bergmann German
From Old High German berg meaning "mountain" and man meaning "man", originally denoting someone who lived on a mountain.

Oh Korean
Korean form of Wu 1, from Sino-Korean 吳 (o).

Suero Spanish
Derived from the given name Suero.

Stendahl Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish sten (Old Norse steinn) meaning "stone" and dal (Old Norse dalr) meaning "valley".

Bourne English
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring".

Isaksen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Isak".

Fitzpatrick Irish
Means "son of Patrick" in Anglo-Norman, usually adopted as an Anglicization of Mac Giolla Phádraig.

Dragović Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Drago".

Raine 1 English
From a nickname derived from Old French reine meaning "queen".

Kelly 1 Irish
Anglicized 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).

Ferber German
Variant of Färber.

Everhart German
Variant of Eberhardt.

Herceg Croatian
Croatian form of Herzog.

Niemczyk Polish
From Polish Niemiec meaning "German" and the patronymic suffix -czyk.

Mac Cába Irish
Irish form of McCabe.

Belrose French
Variant of Bellerose.

Alinejad Persian
Means "descendant of Ali 1" in Persian.

MacAonghais Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of MacInnes.

Ito Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 伊藤 (see Itō).

Van Akkeren Dutch
Variant of Van den Akker.

Joyner English
Variant of Joiner.

Tapia Spanish
Means "mud wall" in Spanish.

Ahearne Irish
Anglicized form of Ó hEachthighearna.

McKee Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

Van der Vennen Dutch (Rare)
Variant of Van der Veen.

Brambilla Italian
Derived from the Italian town of Brembilla in Lombardy, itself named after the Brembo river.

Åkesson Swedish
Means "son of Åke".

Ó Buachalla Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Buckley 2.

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

Foss English
Variant of Fosse.

Kenyatta Kikuyu
From 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.

Bakke Norwegian
Means "slope, hillside" in Norwegian, from Old Norse bakki "bank".

Csintalan Hungarian
Means "mischievous, naughty" in Hungarian.

Ajam Arabic
From Arabic عَجَم (ʿajam) meaning "foreigner, non-Arab".

Hargrave English
Derived from Old English har meaning "grey" and graf "grove".

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

Gass German
Name for someone who lived on a street in a city, from German gasse.

Blanchett French (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Blanchet or Blanchette.

Prieto Spanish
From a nickname meaning "dark" in Spanish, referring to a person with dark hair or skin.

O'Brien Irish
From the Irish Ó Briain meaning "descendant of Brian".

Paulsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Paul".

Couture French
Means "tailor" in Old French.

Boon 1 English
Variant of Bone 1.

Casales Spanish
Variant of Casal.

Niklasson Swedish
Means "son of Niklas".

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).

Marjanović Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Marjan 2".

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

Kurzmann German
Means "short man" in German.

Malloye Irish
Variant of Molloy.

Mac Diarmada Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McDermott.

Valentine English
From the given name Valentine 1.

Seegers Dutch
Means "son of Sieger".

Szekeres Hungarian
Occupational name for a carter, derived from Hungarian szekér meaning "cart, wagon".

Krüger 1 German
In northern Germany an occupational name for a tavern keeper, derived from Middle Low German kroch meaning "tavern".

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

Raskob German
Variant of Raskopf.

Hathway English
Variant of Hathaway.

Faragó Hungarian
An occupational name meaning "woodcutter", from Hungarian farag meaning "carve, cut".

Wallis Scottish, English
Variant of Wallace.

Morais Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Morales.

Loewe German
Variant of Löwe.

Wedekind German
From the given name Widukind.

Wesley English
Variant of Westley.

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

Starosta Polish
Means "mayor, leader, elder" in Polish.

Nishimura Japanese
From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Merricks Welsh
Variant of Merrick.

Schmeling German
From Middle Low German smal meaning "small, slender".

Ryley English
Variant of Riley 1.

Kaube German
From the name of the town of Kaub in Germany.

Eerkens Dutch
Variant of Erkens.

Fromm German
From a nickname derived from Middle High German vrume meaning "noble, honourable".

Lungu Romanian
Romanian cognate of Long.

Muraro Italian
Occupational name for a wall builder, from Italian murare meaning "to wall up".

Griffith Welsh, English
Derived from the Welsh given name Gruffudd.

Dallas 2 Scottish
From the name of a place in Moray, Scotland possibly meaning "meadow dwelling" in Gaelic.

Disney English
Means "from Isigny", referring to the town of Isigny in Normandy. This surname was borne by the American animator and filmmaker Walt Disney (1901-1966).

Lamberti Italian
Derived from the given name Lamberto.

Sas Hungarian
Means "eagle" in Hungarian.

Traversini Italian
Italian variant of Travers.

Burke English, Irish
Derived from Middle English burgh meaning "fortress, fortification, castle". It was brought to Ireland in the 12th century by the Norman invader William de Burgh.

Ó Téacháin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Teahan.

Napoliello Italian
Originally indicated a person from Naples in Italy.

Mangold German
From the given name Managold.

Cruyssen Dutch
From the name of a place in the Netherlands, derived from kruis "cross".

Taube German
From a nickname meaning "dove" in German.

Hall English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).

Buhr Low German
Low German form of Bauer.

Ma Chinese
From Chinese 马 (mǎ) meaning "horse".

Grigoryan Armenian
Means "son of Grigor" in Armenian.

Newman English
English cognate of Neumann.

de Fresel Medieval Scottish
Older form of Fraser.

Pokorni Hungarian
Hungarian form of Pokorný.

Cloet Dutch
Variant of Kloet.

Hopper English
Occupational name for an acrobat or a nickname for someone who was nervous or restless. A famous bearer was the American actor Dennis Hopper (1936-2010).

Arlotti Italian
Means "son of Arlotto".

Reich German, Jewish
Nickname for a wealthy or powerful person, from Old High German rihhi "rich, powerful".

Althuis Dutch
Dutch cognate of Althaus.

Delgado Spanish, Portuguese
Means "thin" in Spanish and Portuguese, ultimately from Latin delicatus meaning "delicate, tender, charming".

Klerk Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Bardakçı Turkish
Means "glassmaker" from Turkish bardak "glass".

Ó Maonaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of O'Mooney.

O'Connor Irish
From Irish Ó Conchobhair meaning "descendant of Conchobar".

Everill English
Derived from the feminine given name Eoforhild.

Vemulakonda Telugu
Indicated a person from the city of Vemula in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Sosa Spanish
Spanish form of Sousa.

Leonardsson Swedish
Variant of Lennartsson.

Serafini Italian
Derived from the given name Serafino.

Lupu Romanian
From Romanian lup meaning "wolf".

Heffernan Irish
From Irish Ó hIfearnáin meaning "descendant of Ifearnán". The byname Ifearnán means "little demon".

Ott English, German
From the given name Otto.

Montague English
From a Norman place name meaning "sharp mountain" in Old French.

Cuocco Italian
Italian cognate of Cook.

Maier 2 Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Ó Caoimh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Keefe.

Schmidt German
Occupational name derived from Middle High German smit "smith, metalworker", a cognate of Smith.

Howard 1 English
Derived from the given name Hughard or Hávarðr.

Starr English
From Middle English sterre meaning "star". This was usually a nickname, but it could also occasionally be a sign name from the name of an inn called the Star.

Allegro Italian
Variant of Allegri.

Mac Cadáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Caden.

Scheinberg Jewish
Ornamental name meaning "beautiful mountain" from German schön "beautiful, good, nice" and berg "mountain".

Casey Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cathasaigh meaning "descendant of Cathassach".

Ramakers Dutch
Variant of Rademaker.

Madigan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Madaidhín.

Orr Scottish
From a nickname derived from Gaelic odhar meaning "dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan".

McGregor Scottish
Variant of MacGregor.

Yoon Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 윤 (see Yun).

Chauvin French
From a diminutive of French chauve "bald".

Golob Slovene
Means "pigeon" in Slovene.

Lind Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Derived from Old Norse lind meaning "linden tree".

Rome French, English
English and French form of Romano 2.

Vilhjálmsson Icelandic
Means "son of Vilhjálmur".

Guidi Italian
From the given name Guido.

Tong Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Tang 1.

Sikora Polish
Means "tit (bird)" in Polish.

Levchenko Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Lev 1.

Ljungman Swedish
From Swedish ljung (Old Norse lyng) meaning "heather" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Fukui Japanese
Denoted a person who was from Fukui prefecture in Japan.

Montana Italian
Variant of Montagna.

Ó Donnchadha Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Donoghue.

Hayden 1 English
From place names meaning either "hay valley" or "hay hill", derived from Old English heg "hay" and denu "valley" or dun "hill".

Haraldsson Swedish
Means "son of Harald".

Schwinghammer German
Occupational name for a blacksmith, literally meaning "swing hammer" in German.

Wilkie English
Double diminutive of the given name William.

Rautio Finnish
Means "smith" in Finnish.

Murphy Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Murchadha meaning "descendant of Murchadh". This is the most common Irish surname.

Vasileiou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Βασιλείου (see Vasiliou).

House English
Referred to a person who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut.

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

Romeijnsen Dutch
Means "son of Romein" in Dutch.

Van Achteren Dutch
Variant of Van Agteren.

Li 1 Chinese
From Chinese 李 (lǐ) meaning "plum, plum tree". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Tang dynasty.

Vardanyan Armenian
Means "son of Vardan".

Tarr Hungarian
Variant of Tar.

Blom Swedish
Means "bloom, flower" in Swedish.

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".

Blanchet French
From a diminutive of the name Blanc.

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

Karga Turkish
Nickname meaning "crow" in Turkish.

Bulgarelli Italian
Diminutive of Bulgari.

Sterling Scottish
Derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning.

Ó Frighil Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Friel.

Bălan Romanian
Means "blond" in Romanian.

Schouten Dutch
Occupational name derived from Middle Dutch schout meaning "sheriff, bailiff".

Naldi Italian
From given names like Arnaldo and Rinaldo.

Tunison Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Teunissen.

Clarke English
Variant of Clark.

Zellweger German (Swiss)
Originally denoted a person from the Appenzell region of Switzerland. The place name is derived from Latin abbatis cella meaning "estate of the abbot". A famous bearer is actress Renée Zellweger (1969-).

Andrés Spanish
Derived from the given name Andrés.

Kita Japanese
From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north".

McNee Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Niadh.

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.

Binici Turkish
From the Turkish word binici meaning "rider, horseman".

Carr 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Carra.

Devereux English
Indicated a person from Evreux in France, itself named after the Gaulish tribe of the Eburovices, which was probably derived from a Celtic word meaning "yew".

Schuchert German
Variant of Schuchardt.

Gruber Upper German
From German Grube meaning "pit", indicating a person who lived or worked in a pit or depression. This is the most common surname in Austria.

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).

Kovačić Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Patronymic derived from South Slavic kovač meaning "blacksmith".

Albronda Dutch
From the name of various streets in the Netherlands.

Segal 2 French
Occupational name for a grower or seller of rye, from Old French, from Latin secale "rye".

Ziegler German
Means "bricklayer" or "brickmaker" in German, from Middle High German ziegel "brick, tile".

Van Veen Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Nogueira Portuguese, Galician
From Portuguese and Galician nogueira meaning "walnut tree", from the Late Latin nucarius, ultimately from Latin nux meaning "nut".

Machado Portuguese, Spanish
Denoted a person who made or used hatchets, derived from Spanish and Portuguese machado "hatchet", both from Latin marculus "little hammer".

Holzer German
German cognate of Holt.

Andreas German
Derived from the given name Andreas.

Lacey English
Derived from Lassy, the name of a town in Normandy. The name of the town was Gaulish in origin, perhaps deriving from a personal name that was Latinized as Lascius.

Kozłow Polish
Variant of Kozłowski.

Beckham English
From an English place name meaning "Becca's homestead" in Old English (with Becca being a masculine byname meaning "pickaxe"). A famous bearer is retired English soccer player David Beckham (1975-).

Amantea Italian
From 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".

Roux French
Derived from Old French ros meaning "red", from Latin russus, a nickname for a red-haired person.

Idowu Yoruba
From the given name Idowu.

Albrektson Swedish
Variant of Albrechtsson.

Barbu Romanian
From Romanian barbă meaning "beard".

Alfaro Spanish
Originally denoted someone who was from the city of Alfaro in La Rioja, Spain. It is possibly derived from Arabic meaning "the watchtower".

Oberti Italian
Derived from the given name Uberto.

Alessandri Italian
Means "son of Alessandro".

Smith English
Means "metalworker, blacksmith" from Old English smiþ, related to smitan "to smite, to hit". It is the most common surname in most of the English-speaking world. A famous bearer was the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).

Hosseini Persian
From the given name Hossein.

Herriot English
From an Old French diminutive of the given name Herry.

Kellogg English
Occupational name for a pig butcher, from Middle English killen "to kill" and hog "pig, swine, hog".

Tamura Japanese
From Japanese 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Adami Italian
Means "son of Adamo".

Morandi Italian
From the medieval given name Morando, an Italian form of Morandus.

Lambert French
Derived from the given name Lambert.

Achterberg Dutch, German
From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, for example the village of achterberg in Utrecht. The place names are derived from Low German achter "behind" and berg "mountain, hill".

Byrnes Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

MacCionaodha Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McKenna.

Janda mu Czech, Polish
Derived from the given name Jan 1.

Varnham English
Variant of Farnham.

Gim Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 김 (see Kim).

Parsons English
Originally denoted a son of a parson, a derivative of Latin persona "person".

Mueller German
Variant of Müller.

Trujillo Spanish
Originally denoted a person from Trujillo, Spain, originally called Turgalium in Latin.

Schenck German
Variant of Schenk.

Breitbarth German
From Old High German breit "broad" and bart "beard", originally a nickname for someone with a full beard.

Mac Aodhagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Keegan.