Brandon EnglishFrom the name of various places in England meaning
"hill covered with broom" in Old English.
Halmi HungarianDerived from Hungarian
halom meaning
"mound, small hill". Originally the name was given to someone who lived near or on a hill.
Walton EnglishFrom 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".
Aiello ItalianFrom various place names in Italy, such as Aiello del Friuli, Aiello del Sabato and others. They are derived from Latin
agellus meaning "little field".
Skov DanishTopographic name meaning
"forest, wood" in Danish, from Old Norse
skógr.
Underwood EnglishMeans
"dweller at the edge of the woods", from Old English
under and
wudu.
Orsós HungarianDerived from Hungarian
orsó meaning
"spindle", an occupational name for a seller or maker of spindles.
O KoreanAlternate transcription of Korean Hangul
오 (see
Oh).
Visser DutchOccupational name meaning
"fisherman" in Dutch.
Desmond IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Deasmhumhnaigh meaning "descendant of the man from South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from the region of South Munster (Desmond) in Ireland.
Ó Cnáimhín IrishMeans
"descendant of Cnámh",
Cnámh being a nickname meaning "bone".
Derrick EnglishDerived from the given name
Derrick (see
Derek). A famous bearer of this surname is the character Stephan Derrick from the German television series
Derrick (1974-1998).
Toft EnglishDenoted a person hailing from one of the many places in Britain of that name, derived from Old Norse
topt meaning
"homestead".
Cisternino ItalianFrom the name of the town of Cisternino, near the city of Bari in southern Italy.
Chaput FrenchFrom a diminutive of the Old French word
chape meaning
"cloak, hood". The name referred to a person who made, sold or often wore cloaks.
Mann German, EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"man". This may have originally been given in order to distinguish the bearer from a younger person with the same name.
Haggard EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"wild, untamed, worn", from Old French, ultimately from a Germanic root.
Guevara SpanishHispanicized form of
Gebara. A notable bearer was Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara (1928-1967).
Capello 1 ItalianFrom Late Latin
cappa meaning
"cloak, cape, hood". This was a name for one who made or wore cloaks.
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.
Flanagan IrishFrom Irish
Ó Flannagáin meaning
"descendant of Flannagán".
Flannagán is a given name meaning "blood red". From County Roscommon in Ireland, it has many other spellings.
Tisza HungarianFrom the river name Tisza, Hungary's second largest river.
Asano JapaneseFrom Japanese
浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Ranta FinnishOriginally indicated a person who lived near the shore, from Finnish
ranta meaning
"shore, beach".
Mills EnglishOriginally given to one who lived near a mill or who worked in a mill, from Middle English
mille.
Watts EnglishPatronymic derived from the Middle English given name
Wat or
Watt, a diminutive of the name
Walter.
Manco ItalianMeans
"left-handed" in Italian, derived from Latin
mancus meaning "maimed".
Hallman SwedishFrom Swedish
hall (Old Norse
hallr) meaning "rock, boulder, slab" and
man (Old Norse
maðr) meaning "person, man".
Cheshire EnglishOriginally indicated a person from the county of Cheshire in England. Cheshire is named for its city
Chester.
Wilbur EnglishFrom the nickname
Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English.
Kulmala FinnishFrom Finnish
kulma meaning
"corner" with the suffix
-la indicating a place.
Statham EnglishFrom the name of a village in the English county of Cheshire, derived from Old English
stæð meaning "wharf, landing place" and
ham "home, settlement".
John EnglishDerived from the given name
John. A famous bearer is British musician Elton John (1947-), born Reginald Dwight.
Urano JapaneseFrom Japanese
浦 (ura) meaning "bay, inlet" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Fortier FrenchDerived from Old French
fort "stronghold", indicating a person who lived near or worked at such a place.
Correia PortugueseMeans
"leather strap, belt" in Portuguese, denoting a person who worked with leather products.
Lowell EnglishFrom a nickname derived from a Norman French
lou meaning
"wolf" and a diminutive suffix.
Cannon EnglishFrom the ecclesiastical usage of
canon, referring to a church official or servant who worked in a clergy house.
Soucy FrenchOriginally denoted someone from French towns by this name in Aisne or Yonne, both derived from the Latin name
Suciacum.
Arkwright EnglishOccupational name meaning
"chest maker", from Middle English
arc meaning "chest, coffer" and
wyrhta meaning "maker, craftsman".
Tripp EnglishFrom Middle English
trippen meaning
"to dance", an occupational name for a dancer.
Lynn EnglishFrom the name of a town in Norfolk (King's Lynn), derived from Welsh
llyn meaning
"lake".
Cabello SpanishMeans
"hair" in Spanish, used as a nickname for a person with a large amount of hair.
Driscoll IrishFrom Irish
Ó hEidirsceóil meaning
"descendant of the messenger".
Ashworth EnglishFrom an English place name meaning "ash enclosure" in Old English.
Inada JapaneseFrom Japanese
稲 (ina) meaning "rice plant" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Linton EnglishOriginally from place names meaning either "flax town" or "linden tree town" in Old English.
Zhang ChineseFrom Chinese
张 (zhāng) meaning
"stretch, extend". It may have denoted a bow maker whose job it was to stretch bow wood.
Raine 2 English, FrenchDerived from a Germanic name that was short for longer names beginning with the element
ragin meaning "advice, counsel".
Rye EnglishTopographic name. It could be a misdivision of the Middle English phrases
atter ye meaning
"at the island" or
atter eye meaning
"at the river". In some cases it merely indicated a person who lived where rye was grown or worked with rye (from Old English
ryge).
Rothbauer GermanFrom Old High German
riuten "to clear land" and
bur "peasant, farmer".
Roth German, JewishFrom Middle High German
rot meaning
"red". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.
Roig CatalanMeans
"red" in Catalan, from Latin
rubeus, originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a red complexion.
Delaney 1 EnglishDerived from Norman French
de l'aunaie meaning
"from the alder grove".
Sullivan IrishAnglicized form of the Irish name
Ó Súileabháin meaning
"descendant of Súileabhán". The name
Súileabhán means "dark eye".
Balfour ScottishFrom various place names that were derived from Gaelic
baile "village" and
pòr "pasture, crop, cropland".
Causey EnglishIndicated a person who lived near a causeway, from Old French
caucie.
Ingersleben GermanFrom the name of the town of Ingersleben, Germany, which meant "Inge's village".
Harper EnglishOriginally belonged to a person who played the harp or who made harps.
Marchegiano ItalianFrom the name of the Marche region in Italy, derived from Late Latin
marca meaning "borderland". It was the real surname of the American boxer Rocky Marciano (1923-1969), who was born Rocco Marchegiano.
Borg SwedishFrom Swedish
borg meaning
"fortification, castle".
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.
Bengoetxea BasqueMeans
"the house furthest down" from Basque
bengo "furthest down" and
etxe "house".
Pottinger EnglishOccupational name, either for an apothecary, from Old French
potecaire, or a seller of stew, from Old French
potagier.
Forest English, FrenchOriginally belonged to a person who lived near or in a forest. It was probably originally derived, via Old French
forest, from Latin
forestam (silva) meaning "outer (wood)".
Westcott EnglishFrom any of the several English towns by this name, derived from Old English meaning "west cottage".
Tang 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
唐 (táng) referring to the Tang dynasty, which ruled China from 618 to 907.
Gray EnglishFrom a nickname for a person who had grey hair or grey clothes.
Kim KoreanKorean form of
Jin, from Sino-Korean
金 (gim) meaning
"gold". This is the most common surname in South Korea.
Bell 1 EnglishFrom Middle English
belle meaning
"bell". It originated as a nickname for a person who lived near the town bell, or who had a job as a bell-ringer.
Wembley EnglishFrom the name of a town, now part of Greater London, meaning "
Wemba's clearing" in Old English.
Wallace Scottish, English, IrishMeans
"foreigner, stranger, Celt" from Norman French
waleis (of Germanic origin). It was often used to denote native Welsh and Bretons. A famous bearer was the 13th-century Scottish hero William Wallace.
Stoppelbein GermanMeans
"stump leg" from Middle Low German
stoppel "stump" and
bein "leg".
Cropper EnglishOccupational name derived from Middle English
croppe "crop", referring to a fruit picker or a crop reaper.
Kardos HungarianFrom Hungarian
kard meaning
"sword". It could have been applied to soldiers, sword makers, or one with a pugnacious nature.
Wiater PolishDerived from Polish
wiatr "wind", a nickname for a quick person.
Baak DutchFrom a Frisian given name, a short form of Germanic names starting with the element
batu "fight, struggle".
Keen EnglishFrom Old English
cene meaning
"bold, brave".
Oursler GermanOriginally a name designating a person from Ursel (now Oberursel) in Hesse, Germany.
Messer GermanOccupational name for a person who made knives, from Middle High German
messer "knife".
Huber GermanOccupational name for a farmer, derived from Old High German
huoba "plot of land, farm".
Melsbach GermanFrom the name of a German town, possibly meaning "mill stream".
Lyle EnglishDerived from Norman French
l'isle meaning
"island".
Gill EnglishOriginally indicated someone who lived near a ravine, from Middle English
gil (of Old Norse origin).
Wheelock EnglishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Wheelock, England. It was named for the nearby River Wheelock, which is derived from Welsh
chwylog meaning "winding".
Dupuy FrenchMeans
"from the hill", from Occitan
puy "hill", from Latin
podium "platform".
Mushyan ArmenianOriginally denoted someone who came from the Armenian town of Mushi.
Van As DutchMeans
"from Asch", a town in the Netherlands, meaning "ash tree".
Hafner GermanOccupational name for a potter, derived from Old High German
hafan "pot, vessel".
Zentai HungarianOriginally indicated a person from the city of Senta in Serbia (formerly a part of Hungary and called
Zenta).
Fowler EnglishOccupational name for a fowler or bird catcher, ultimately derived from Old English
fugol meaning "bird".
Notaro ItalianOccupational name for a clerk, derived from Latin
notarius.
Milligan IrishAnglicized form of the Irish
Ó Maolagáin meaning
"descendant of Maolagán", a given name derived from
maol meaning "bald" or "tonsured".
Stendahl SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
sten (Old Norse
steinn) meaning "stone" and
dal (Old Norse
dalr) meaning "valley".
Darling EnglishFrom a nickname or byname derived from Middle English
dereling, Old English
deorling, meaning
"darling, beloved one".