Beckham EnglishFrom 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-).
Strudwick EnglishFrom an English place name derived from Old English
strod meaning "marshy ground overgrown with brushwood" and
wic meaning "village, town".
Holme English, ScottishReferred either to someone living by a small island (northern Middle English
holm, from Old Norse
holmr) or near a holly tree (Middle English
holm, from Old English
holegn).
Blakeley EnglishFrom name of various English places, derived from Old English
blæc "black" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
McGuire IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mag Uidhir meaning
"son of Odhar", a given name meaning "pale-coloured".
Lecomte FrenchMeans
"the count" in French, a nickname for someone in the service of a count or for someone who behaved like one.
Melville ScottishFrom the place name
Malleville meaning "bad town" in Norman French.
Dior FrenchPossibly from French
doré meaning
"golden". A famous bearer was the French fashion designer Christian Dior (1905-1957).
Kinnunen FinnishPossibly derived from the Finnish dialectal word
kinni meaning
"animal skin, fur", borrowed from Swedish
skinn.
Bond EnglishOccupational name for a peasant farmer, from Middle English
bonde. A famous bearer is the fictional spy James Bond, created by Ian Flemming in 1953.
Hahn GermanFrom a nickname for a proud or pugnacious person, from Old High German
hano meaning
"rooster, cock".
Britton EnglishOriginally given to a person who was a Briton (a Celt of England) or a Breton (an inhabitant of Brittany).
Chapman EnglishOccupational name derived from Old English
ceapmann meaning
"merchant, trader".
Parent English, FrenchDerived from Old French
parent meaning either
"notable" (from Latin
pareo meaning "to be apparent") or
"parent" (from Latin
pario meaning "to produce, to give birth").
Dibra AlbanianFrom the Albanian name for the city of Debar in Macedonia, originally given to someone who came from there.
Millhouse EnglishName for someone whose house was in a mill or who worked in a mill.
Capitani ItalianOccupational name meaning
"captain" in Italian, ultimately from Latin
caput "head".
Mejía SpanishPossibly from a nickname derived from Spanish
Mesías meaning
"Messiah", from Latin
Messias, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew
מָשִׁיחַ (mashiyaḥ) meaning "anointed".
Braxton EnglishFrom an English place name place name meaning "Bracca's town" in Old English.
Bergman SwedishFrom Swedish
berg meaning "mountain" and
man (Old Norse
maðr) meaning "person, man", originally a name for a person living on a mountain.
Pryor EnglishOriginally belonged to one who was a prior (a religious official), or one who worked for a prior.
Slade EnglishDerived from Old English
slæd meaning
"valley".
Spitznagel GermanMeans
"sharp nail" in German, an occupational name for a nailsmith.
McGovern IrishAnglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Mag Shamhradháin meaning
"son of Samhradháin", a given name meaning "summer".
Takeda JapaneseFrom Japanese
武 (take) meaning "military, martial" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Shen ChineseFrom Chinese
申 (shēn) referring to the ancient state of Shen, which existed during the Zhou dynasty.
Ebner 2 GermanMeans
"judge, arbiter" from Middle High German
ebenære.
Headley EnglishFrom place names meaning "heather clearing" in Old English.
Palladino ItalianFrom Italian
paladino meaning
"knight, defender", from Late Latin
palatinus meaning "palace officer".
Lacey EnglishDerived 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.
Barwegen FrisianDerived from the name of a village in Frisia meaning "road to the dike".
Montague EnglishFrom a Norman place name meaning "sharp mountain" in Old French.
Poletti ItalianFrom a diminutive of the given name
Paolo. This name is typical of northern and central Italy.
Ahlgren SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
al (Old Norse
ǫlr) meaning "alder" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Obama LuoFrom a rare Luo given name meaning
"crooked, bent". It was possibly originally given to a baby who had an arm or leg that looked slightly bent immediately after birth or who was born in the breech position.
Banner EnglishOccupational name for a flag carrier, derived from Old French
baniere meaning
"banner", ultimately of Germanic origin.
Lagorio ItalianFrom a nickname derived from Ligurian
lagö, referring to a type of lizard, the European green lizard. This little reptile is respected because it supposedly protects against vipers.
Krückel GermanNickname for a crippled person or someone who walked with a cane, from Middle High German
krücke meaning
"cane".
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).
Cremona ItalianFrom the Italian city of Cremona, south of Milan, in Lombardy.
Hartley EnglishHabitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Hartley, from Old English
heorot "hart, male deer" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Ćosić Croatian, SerbianFrom Croatian and Serbian
ćosav "beardless", ultimately from Persian
کوسه (kūseh) meaning "shark".
Royston EnglishOriginally taken from an Old English place name meaning "Royse's town". The given name
Royse was a medieval variant of
Rose.
Van Rossum DutchMeans
"from Rossum", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch
rothe "cleared area in a forest" and
heim "home".
Holzmann GermanDerived from Old High German
holz "wood" and
man "man", a name for someone who lived close to a wood or worked with wood.
Penn 2 EnglishOccupational name for a person who kept penned animals, from Old English
penn.
Veenstra DutchDerived from Dutch
veen meaning
"fen, swamp, peat".
Haak DutchOccupational name meaning
"peddler" in Dutch.
Teel EnglishFrom Middle English
tele meaning
"teal, duck".
Fitzroy EnglishMeans
"son of the king" in Anglo-Norman French, from French
roi meaning "king". This name has been bestowed upon illegitimate children of kings.
Novik BelarusianFrom Belarusian
новы (novy) meaning
"new", originally a name for a newcomer to a village.
Vidmar SloveneFrom various places in Slovenia named
Videm, meaning
"church property" in Slovene.
Bellincioni ItalianMeans
"son of Bellincione", from a medieval name (borne for example by Dante's grandfather) that was probably a derivative of Italian
bello "beautiful, fair".
Wickham EnglishFrom any of various towns by this name in England, notably in Hampshire. They are derived from Old English
wic "village, town" (of Latin origin) and
ham "home, settlement".
Martel 2 French, EnglishNickname for a smith, derived from Old French
martel "hammer", ultimately from Late Latin
martellus.
Arrington EnglishFrom the name of a town in Cambridgeshire, originally meaning "Earna's settlement" in Old English (
Earna being a person's nickname meaning "eagle").
Ó Madaidhín IrishMeans
"descendant of Madaihín", a given name derived from Irish
madadh meaning "dog, mastiff".
Åström SwedishFrom Swedish
å meaning "river, stream" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream, current, flow".
Colby EnglishFrom various English place names, which were derived from the Old Norse byname
Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and
býr "farm, settlement".
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.
Barclay English, ScottishFrom the English place name
Berkeley, derived from Old English
beorc "birch" and
leah "woodland, clearing". The surname was imported to Scotland in the 12th century.
Keighley EnglishDerived from an English place name meaning "clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name
Cyhha is of unknown meaning.
Montgomery English, ScottishFrom a place name in Calvados, France meaning "
Gumarich's mountain". A notable bearer was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.
Bengoetxea BasqueMeans
"the house furthest down" from Basque
bengo "furthest down" and
etxe "house".
Moto JapaneseFrom Japanese
本 (moto) meaning
"base, root, origin". More commonly it is the final character in Japanese surnames.
Benenati ItalianMeans
"son of Benenato", a given name derived from Latin
bene "good, well" and
natus "good".
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".
Oppenheimer GermanOriginally indicated a person from Oppenheim, Germany, perhaps meaning "marshy home". A notable bearer was the American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967).
Garfagnini ItalianOriginally denoted one from the region of Garfagnana in Tuscany, Italy, near the historical city of Lucca.
Espina SpanishMeans
"thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.
Buchholz GermanFrom Middle High German
buoche "beech" and
holz "wood".
Vivas CatalanFrom the Catalan byname
vivas meaning
"may you live", which was bestowed upon children to bring good luck.
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.
Ford EnglishName given to someone who lived by a ford, possibly the official who maintained it. A famous bearer was the American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947).
Żuraw PolishMeans
"crane" in Polish, a nickname for a tall person.
Jones English, WelshDerived from the given name
Jon, a medieval variant of
John. This is the most common surname in Wales.
Vemulakonda TeluguIndicated a person from the city of Vemula in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.
McIntyre ScottishFrom Scottish Gaelic
Mac an tSaoir meaning
"son of the carpenter".
Mercer EnglishOccupational name for a trader in textiles, from Old French
mercier, derived from Latin
merx meaning "merchandise".
Styles EnglishLocational name for one who lived near a steep hill, from Old English
stigel "stile, set of steps".
Knight EnglishFrom Old English
cniht meaning
"knight", a tenant serving as a mounted soldier.
Ayers 3 EnglishIndicated a person from the town of Ayr in Scotland. The town was named for the river that flows through it, itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".
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).
Binici TurkishFrom the Turkish word
binici meaning
"rider, horseman".
Acconcio ItalianFrom the medieval Italian given names
Accuntius or
Acconcius, of uncertain meaning.
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.
Juhász HungarianOccupational name meaning
"shepherd" in Hungarian, from
juh "sheep".
Messer GermanOccupational name for a person who made knives, from Middle High German
messer "knife".
Kunkel GermanOccupational name for a maker of distaffs, from Middle High German
kunkel "distaff, spindle", of Latin origin.
Ojala Finnish, EstonianFrom Finnish and Estonian
oja meaning
"ditch, channel, brook" with the suffix
-la indicating a place.
Blanco SpanishMeans
"white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a person who was pale or had blond hair.
Noble English, ScottishFrom a nickname meaning
"noble, high-born, illustrious", derived via Middle English and Old French from Latin
nobilis. In some cases the nickname may have been given ironically to people of the opposite character.
Hase GermanFrom Middle High German and Middle Low German
hase meaning
"hare, rabbit". This was a nickname for a person who was quick or timid.
Tessaro ItalianOccupational name meaning
"weaver", ultimately from Latin
texarius.
Coman RomanianFrom the name of the Cumans, a Turkic people from the Eurasian Steppe.
Bunschoten DutchOriginally indicated a person from the Dutch town of Bunschoten, which might mean "raised, enclosed land".
Bašić Croatian, SerbianMeans
"son of the chief", derived from Serbo-Croatian
baša meaning "chief, boss" (of Turkish origin).
Lane 1 EnglishOriginally designated one who lived by a lane, a narrow way between fences or hedges, later used of any narrow pathway, including one between houses in a town.
Sutton EnglishFrom various English place names meaning
"south town".
Winchester EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from
Venta, of Celtic origin, and Latin
castrum meaning "camp, fortress".
Wakefield EnglishOriginally indicated a person who came from the English city of Wakefield, derived from Old English
wacu "wake, vigil" and
feld "field".
Blau GermanMeans
"blue" in German, most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes.
Dunst GermanDerived from Middle High German
dunst "haze".
O'Hara IrishFrom the Irish
Ó hEaghra, which means
"descendant of Eaghra",
Eaghra being a given name of uncertain origin. Supposedly, the founder of the clan was Eaghra, a 10th-century lord of Luighne. A famous fictional bearer of this surname is Scarlett O'Hara, a character in Margaret Mitchell's
Gone With The Wind (1936).
Dyer EnglishOccupational name meaning
"cloth dyer", from Old English
deah "dye".
Ackerman EnglishMeans
"ploughman", derived from Middle English
aker "field" and
man.
Garcia Portuguese, SpanishPortuguese form of
García. It is also an unaccented form of the Spanish name used commonly in America and the Philippines.
Cárdenas SpanishFrom the name of towns in the Spanish provinces of Almería and La Rioja. They are derived from Spanish
cárdeno "blue, purple".
Rettig GermanDerived from Middle High German
retich, Middle Low German
redik meaning
"radish", an occupational name for a grower or seller of radishes.
Gárdonyi HungarianOriginally denoted a person from Gárdony, a town near Budapest in Hungary.
Savatier FrenchFrom Old French
savatier "shoemaker", derived from
savate "shoe", of uncertain ultimate origin.
Van Ophoven DutchMeans
"from Ophoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. Their names mean "upper gardens, upper courtyards" in Dutch.
Underhill EnglishMeans
"dweller at the foot of a hill", from Old English
under and
hyll.
Gim KoreanAlternate transcription of Korean Hangul
김 (see
Kim).
Stendahl SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
sten (Old Norse
steinn) meaning "stone" and
dal (Old Norse
dalr) meaning "valley".
Gerst GermanOccupational name for a barley farmer, derived from Old High German
gersta "barley".
Fulton EnglishFrom the name of the English town of Foulden, Norfolk, meaning "bird hill" in Old English.