Browse Surnames

Dinapoli Italian
Variant of Di Napoli.

Jackson English
Means "son of Jack". Famous bearers of this name include the American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) and the singer Michael Jackson (1958-2009).

Marco Spanish, Italian
From the given name Marco.

Arentz Dutch
Variant of Arends.

Benítez Spanish
Means "son of Benito".

Agua Spanish
Means "water" in Spanish, indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.

Nathans Jewish
Derived from the given name Nathan.

Paszek Polish
Derived from a diminutive of Paweł.

Ayodele Yoruba
From the given name Ayodele.

Arendsen Dutch
Variant of Arends.

Winther Danish, Swedish
Danish and Swedish variant of Winter.

MacMhaoilein Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McMillan.

Mondadori Italian
From Italian mondatore meaning "weeder". This was an occupational name for someone who kept fields clear of weeds.

Van Niftrik Dutch
Means "from Niftrik", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.

Frisk Swedish
From Swedish frisk "healthy", which was derived from the Middle Low German word vrisch "fresh, young, frisky".

Ragno Italian
From a nickname meaning "spider" in Italian.

Borchard German
Derived from the given name Burkhard.

Ono Japanese
From Japanese 小 (o) meaning "small" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Blau German
Means "blue" in German, most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes.

Tran Vietnamese
Simplified variant of Trần.

McGill Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Ghoill meaning "son of the foreigner", derived from gall "foreigner".

Dale English
From Old English dæl meaning "valley", originally indicating a person who lived there.

Hiramatsu Japanese
From Japanese 平 (hira) meaning "level, even, peaceful" and 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree".

Vera Spanish
Means "shore, bank" in Spanish. This was a name for a person who lived near such a feature, or who came from any of the various locations in Spain named Vera or La Vera.

Osborne English
Derived from the given name Osborn.

Beattie Scottish
From the medieval name Battie, a diminutive of Bartholomew.

Marx German
From the given name Markus. A famous bearer was Karl Marx (1818-1883), a German philosopher known for his work in socioeconomic theory.

MacNiven Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Naoimhín.

Ingesson Swedish
Means "son of Inge".

Davin Irish
Variant of Devin 1.

Selvaggio Italian
Italian form of Savage.

Seelenfreund Jewish
From German Seele meaning "soul" and Freund meaning "friend".

Courtois French
French form of Curtis.

I Korean
Variant of Lee 2.

Eklund Swedish
From Swedish ek (Old Norse eik) meaning "oak" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".

Alger English
From the given name Algar.

Van Agteren Dutch
Means "from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.

Sartor Italian
Variant of Sarto.

Ryan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Riain, or else a simplified form of Mulryan.

Sangster English, Scottish
Occupational name or nickname for a singer, from Old English singan "to sing, to chant".

Schroeder German
Variant of Schröder 1 and Schröder 2.

Sörensen Swedish
Swedish form of Sørensen.

McIntosh Scottish
From Scottish Gaelic Mac an Tòisich meaning "son of the chief".

Morison English
Variant of Morrison.

Khatib Arabic
Means "speaker, orator" in Arabic, referring person who delivers sermons.

Troelsen Danish
Means "son of Troels".

Noguera Spanish, Catalan
Spanish and Catalan form of Nogueira.

Scott English, Scottish
Originally given to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Scottish Gaelic.

Wallach Yiddish
From Middle High German walch meaning "foreigner (from a Romance country)".

Cruickshank Scottish
From a nickname meaning "bent leg" in Scots.

Mack 1 Scottish, Irish
Shortened form of various Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with Mac or Mc (from Irish mac meaning "son").

Feldt German, Danish, Swedish
North German, Danish and Swedish variant of Feld.

St Pierre French
From a French place named for Saint Peter.

Gebara Basque
Habitational name for someone who lived in Gebara, a village in the province of Álava in Spain.

Ayers 1 English
From Middle English eir meaning "heir".

Lie Norwegian
From Norwegian li, Old Norse hlíð meaning "hillside, slope".

Corvi Italian
Nickname derived from Italian corvo meaning "crow".

Upton English
Denoted a person hailing from one of the many towns in England bearing this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English upp "up" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Mac Cléirich Irish
Means "son of the clerk" in Irish.

Garrastazu Basque
From the Basque word arratz "bush" combined with the suffix sta denoting a place.

Bäcker German
Variant of Becker, mostly found in northern Germany.

Sevriens Dutch
Derived from the Latin given name Severinus.

Roussel French
French form of Russell.

McDevitt Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mac Daibhéid meaning "son of Dáibhí".

Aalto Finnish
From Finnish aalto meaning "wave". A famous bearer was Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).

Badcock English
From a diminutive of the medieval given name Bada.

Mac an Aba Irish, Scottish Gaelic
Gaelic form of McNab.

Shevchuk Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian швець (shvets) meaning "shoemaker".

Wray English
Originally denoted someone who came from any of the various places of this name in northern England, from Old Norse vrá meaning "corner, nook".

Manning 1 English
Patronymic form of Mann.

Nordin Swedish
Derived from Swedish nord meaning "north" (Old Norse norðr).

MacCoughlan Irish
Means "son of Cochlán". The given name Cochlán is derived from Irish cochal meaning "cape" or "hood".

Parsamyan Armenian
Means "son of Parsam", possibly from an Assyrian name Barsauma meaning "fasting".

Vasiliou Greek
Means "son of Vasilios".

Prichard Welsh
Variant of Pritchard.

Cody Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cuidighthigh or Mac Óda. A famous bearer was the American frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917).

Coombs English
From Old English cumb meaning "valley", the name of several places in England.

Sáez Spanish
Variant of Sánchez.

MacLeòid Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McLeod.

Tipton English
Originally given to one who came from the town of Tipton, derived from the Old English given name Tippa combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Read 2 English
From Old English ryd, an unattested form of rod meaning "cleared land". It is also derived from various English place names with various meanings, including "roe headland", "reeds" and "brushwood".

Sinagra 2 Italian
Derived from the given name Senagora, an Italian form of Xenagoras.

Shearer English
English cognate of Scherer.

Abbatelli Italian
Variant of Abbadelli.

Farran English
Derived from Old French ferrant meaning "iron grey".

Okeke Igbo
From the given name Okeke.

Steensen Danish
Means "son of Steen".

Naess Norwegian
Variant of Ness.

Steiner German
Variant of Stein.

Norris 2 English
Means "wet nurse, foster mother" from Old French norrice, from Latin nutricius.

Stern 1 English
From Old English styrne meaning "stern, severe". This was used as a nickname for someone who was stern, harsh, or severe in manner or character.

Abelen Dutch
Patronymic surname derived from Abel or a diminutive of Albert.

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

Teixeira Portuguese
From Portuguese teixo meaning "yew tree".

Sigourney English
From the name of the commune of Sigournais in western France, called Segurniacum in medieval Latin, itself of unknown meaning.

Collins 2 English
Means "son of Colin 2".

Woźniak Polish
From Polish woźny meaning "caretaker, clerk".

Ramsey English, Scottish
Means "garlic island", derived from Old English hramsa "garlic" and eg "island". The surname was brought to Scotland by the Norman baron Simundus de Ramsay.

Hudnall English
From various English place names, derived from the Old English given name Huda combined with halh "nook, recess".

Francis English
Derived from the given name Francis.

Achterop Dutch
Variant of Ogtrop.

Geiszler German (Anglicized)
Variant of Geissler 1 or Geissler 2.

Maestri Italian
Means "master" in Italian.

Van den Berg Dutch
Means "from the mountain", derived from Dutch berg meaning "mountain".

Byrne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Sitz 1 German
Derived from a given name beginning with the Old High German element sigu meaning "victory".

Ó Treasaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Tracey 2.

McLachlan Scottish
Variant of McLaughlin.

Aggio Italian
Possibly from the name Aggius, probably related to the Germanic name Agi.

Bourdillon French
Diminutive form of Borde.

Fournier French
Occupational name for a baker, from French fourneau meaning "oven".

Bonaccorso Italian
From the medieval given name Bonaccorso.

Walczak Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Walenty.

Nifterick Dutch
Variant of Van Niftrik.

McGowan Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Ghabhann.

Aleshire German (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Alscher.

Agnellini Italian
From a diminutive of Agnelli.

Joossens Flemish
Means "son of Joos".

Spannagel German
Occupational name for a nailsmith, from Middle High German span nagel "connecting bolt".

Welch English
Variant of Walsh.

Baumhauer German
Occupational name meaning "woodcutter", derived from German Baum "tree" and hauen "to chop".

Merino Spanish
From the title for a judge in medieval Spain, derived from Latin maior.

Elzinga Dutch
Probably from a place name that was a derivative of Dutch els meaning "alder tree".

Dziedzic Polish
Derived from Polish dziedzic "landowner".

Löwe German, Jewish
Means "lion" in German.

Downer English
Name for someone who lived on or near a down, which is an English word meaning "hill".

George English
Derived from the given name George.

Couture French
Means "tailor" in Old French.

Hadaway English
Variant of Hathaway.

Symons English
Derived from the given name Simon 1.

Báthory Hungarian
Originally indicated a person from Bátor, a village in Hungary, which might be of Turkic origin meaning "hero". This was the surname of a Hungarian noble family who historically controlled the town. One of the family members, Stephen Báthory, became the king of Poland in the 16th century.

Seegers Dutch
Means "son of Sieger".

Zini Italian
Derived from names such as Lorenzino, a diminutive of Lorenzo, or Vincenzino, a diminutive of Vincenzo.

Van Laar Dutch
Derived from Dutch laar (plural laren), which means "open spot in the forest". These areas were used to graze cattle for example.

Ecclestone English
Variant of Eccleston.

Émile French
Derived from the given name Émile.

Travis English
English variant of Travers.

Schulze German
Variant of Schulz.

Mac Niadh Irish
Means "son of Niadh" in Irish. The given name Niadh means "champion".

Marchioni Italian
Possibly from the given name Melchiorre or the compound name Marco Giovanni.

Schultheis German
Variant of Schulz.

Ignácz Hungarian
Derived from the given name Ignác.

Van der Wal Dutch
Means "from the wall" in Dutch.

Großel German
Variant of Groß, used in southern Germany.

Cardozo Spanish
Variant of Cardoso.

Kunkel German
Occupational name for a maker of distaffs, from Middle High German kunkel "distaff, spindle", of Latin origin.

Durnin Irish
From Irish Ó Doirnáin meaning "descendant of Doirnín", a given name meaning "little fist".

Kováts Hungarian
Variant of Kovács.

Hovhannisyan Armenian
Means "son of Hovhannes" in Armenian.

Beech 1 English
English cognate of Bach 1.

Christison English
Means "son of Christian".

Mateus Portuguese
From the given name Mateus.

Ormonde Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruaidh.

Dufour French
Occupational name for a baker, from French four "oven".

Corwin English
Derived from Old French cordoan "leather", ultimately from the name of the Spanish city of Cordova.

Mussolini Italian
From Italian mussolina meaning "muslin", a type of cloth, itself derived from the city of Mosul in Iraq. This name was borne by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945).

Wieck German
Means "village, town", derived from Latin vicus.

Blanc French
Means "white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond.

Mochizuki Japanese
Means "full moon" in Japanese, a compound of 望 (mochi) meaning "wish, desire" and 月 (tsuki) meaning "moon".

Swango German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Schwangau.

Madsen Danish
Means "son of Mads".

Godfrey English
From the Norman given name Godfrey.

Spiker Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Spijker 1 or Spijker 2.

Plank German, English
Means "plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.

Lewin English
Derived from the given name Leofwine.

Stevenson English
Variant of Stephenson.

Süss German
Variant of Süß.

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

Higashi Japanese
From Japanese 東 (higashi) meaning "east".

Meeuwessen Dutch
Variant of Meeuwsen.

Williams English
Means "son of William".

Lis Polish
Means "fox" in Polish, a nickname for a sly person.

Jundt German
Derived from a diminutive of the feminine given name Judith.

Underwood English
Means "dweller at the edge of the woods", from Old English under and wudu.

Leon English
Variant of Lyon 1, Lyon 2 or Lyon 3.

Adriaansen Dutch
Means "son of Adriaan".

Albertson English
Means "son of Albert".

Kárpáti Hungarian
Derived from Kárpátok, the Hungarian name of the Carpathians.

Haines English
Variant of Haynes.

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.

Arthursson Swedish
Means "son of Arthur".

Murgia Sardinian
Means "brine" in Sardinian, perhaps a nickname for someone who pickled foods.

Martel 2 French, English
Nickname for a smith, derived from Old French martel "hammer", ultimately from Late Latin martellus.

Coolen Dutch
From the given name Nicolaas.

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

Michiels Dutch, Flemish
Means "son of Michiel".

Sherman 2 Jewish
Means "tailor" in Yiddish, derived from שער (sher) meaning "scissors".

Clarkson English
Patronymic form of Clark.

Enache Romanian
Romanian form of Giannakis.

Schneider German, Jewish
Means "tailor" in German, a derivative of schneiden "to cut".

Vespa Italian
From an Italian nickname meaning "wasp".

Ó Bradáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Braden.

Dittmar German
Derived from the given name Dietmar.

Arzt Dutch
Means "doctor, physician" in German, ultimately from Latin archiater.

Zamorano Spanish
Originally denoted a person from Zamora, the name of both a province in Spain and its capital city.

Rey 1 English, Spanish, French, Catalan
Means "king" in Old French, Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin rex (genitive regis), perhaps originally denoting someone who acted like a king.

Horowitz Jewish
From the German name of Hořovice, a town in the Czech Republic. Its name is derived from Czech hora "mountain".

Mihajlović Serbian
Means "son of Mihajlo".

Jordan 1 English, French, German
Derived from the given name Jordan.

Buckley 1 English
From an English place name derived from bucc "buck, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Lucas English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch
Derived from the given name Lucas. A famous bearer of this surname is George Lucas (1944-), the creator of the Star Wars movies.

Cecil Welsh
From the Welsh given name Seisyll, which was derived from the Roman name Sextilius, a derivative of Sextus.

Athanasiou Greek
Means "son of Athanasios".

Elmersson Swedish
Means "son of Elmar".

Baghdassarian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Բաղդասարյան (see Baghdasaryan).

Carlyle English
Variant of Carlisle.

Van der Linden Dutch
Means "from the linden trees", from Dutch linde meaning "linden tree".

Tracy English, Irish
Variant of Tracey 1 or Tracey 2.

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).

MacClery Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Cléirich.

Cino Italian
From the given name Cino, a short form of names ending in cino.

Ó Fionnáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Fannon.

Santana Spanish, Portuguese
From any of the numerous places named after Saint Anna. A famous bearer is the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-).

Hsieh Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 谢 (see Xie).

Falstaff Literature
The name of a buffoonish character, John Falstaff, appearing in four of William Shakespeare's plays. He is the central character in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602). Shakespeare probably adapted it from the surname of John Fastolf, a 15th-century knight. The medieval surname Fastolf, no longer in use, was derived from the Norse given name Fastúlfr.

Ó hEaghra Irish
Irish Gaelic form of O'Hara.

Galli Italian
Variant of Gallo, common in northern Italy.

Crowley 2 English
Variant of Crawley.

Poulin French
Derived from Old French poule meaning "chicken". It was most likely used to denote a person who raised or sold poultry.

Abbasi Persian, Urdu
From the given name Abbas.

Tschida German
Possibly derived from a Slavic given name of unknown meaning.

Suárez Spanish
Means "son of Suero".

Ilbert English
Derived from a Norman form of the Old German given name Hildiberht.

Bradford English
Derived from the name of the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire, which meant "broad ford" in Old English. This is also the name of other smaller towns in England.

Mahmoud Arabic, Persian
From the given name Mahmud.

Gomez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Gómez.

Como 1 Italian
From the given name Giacomo.

Traversa Italian
Italian form of Travers.

Schrader Low German
Variant of Schröder 1.

Brooks English
Variant of Brook.

Brierley English
From an English place name, derived from brer "briar" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Ghorbani Persian
From the given name Ghorban.

Gale English
Derived from Middle English gaile meaning "jovial".

Strobel German
Diminutive form of Straub.

Baardwijk Dutch
From the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly from Baard, a variant of Bert, and wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district".

Sciarra Italian
From Sicilian sciarra meaning "quarrel, dispute", originally a nickname for a quarrelsome person.

Gardinier French
French form of Gardener.

Stieber German
Derived from Middle High German stiuben meaning "to run away". It may have been given as a nickname to a cowardly person or a thief.

Connell Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Conaill meaning "descendant of Conall".

Lozano Spanish
Means "healthy, exuberant, lively" in Spanish, originally used as a nickname for an elegant or haughty person.

Tjäder Swedish
Means "wood grouse" in Swedish.

Isaacson English
Means "son of Isaac".

Warszawski mu Polish, Jewish
Place name for someone from the Polish city of Warsaw, itself derived from the given name Warsz, a short form of Warcisław.

Paterson English, Scottish
Means "son of Patrick".

Rafferty Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Rabhartaigh meaning "descendant of Rabhartach". The given name Rabhartach means "flood tide".

Van Vliet Dutch
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.

Magro Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "thin, lean", ultimately from Latin macer.

Nunes Portuguese
Means "son of Nuno".

Michaelis German
Derived from the given name Michael.

Brunty Irish
Variant of Prunty.

Borbély Hungarian
Hungarian cognate of Barber.

Carboni Italian
Variant of Carbone.

Mounce German (Anglicized)
Possibly an Americanized form of German Manz.

Ubiña Basque
Possibly a variant of Urbina.

Jeffries English
Patronymic from the given name Jeffrey.

De Bruijn Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.

Bassani Italian
Derived from the place name Bassano, belonging multiple villages in Italy.

Warner German, English
Variant of Werner.

Colt English
Occupational name for a keeper of horses, derived from Middle English colt.

Franjić Croatian
Means "son of Franjo".

Mortensen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Morten".

Jonkers Dutch
Patronymic form of Jonker.

Garofalo Italian
From a nickname, from a southern variant of the Italian word garofano meaning "carnation".

Chia Chinese (Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of Xie.

Beverly English
Variant of Beverley.

Tadić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Tadija".

Dennis English
From the given name Dennis.

Lahti Finnish
Means "bay, cove" in Finnish.

Petersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Peter".

Owen Welsh, English
From the Welsh given name Owain.

Gagliardi Italian
From Italian gagliardo meaning "strong, vigorous".

Ellison English
Patronymic form of the English name Ellis, from the medieval given name Elis, a vernacular form of Elijah.

Callahan Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ceallacháin meaning "descendant of Cellachán".

Berger 2 German, Dutch
Variant of Berg.

Putnam English
From Puttenham, the name of towns in Hertfordshire and Surrey in England, which mean "Putta's homestead".

Nishitani Japanese
From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and 谷 (tani) meaning "valley".

Iversen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Iver".

Franklyn English
Variant of Franklin.

Kozioł Polish
Means "male goat" in Polish, probably used to denote a goatherd.

Kron German, Swedish
From German Krone and Swedish krona meaning "crown" (from Latin corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.

Arriola Spanish, Basque
From Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque arri "stone" and -ola "place of, house".

Pitkänen Finnish
From Finnish pitkä meaning "tall".

Raneri Italian
Derived from the Italian given name Raniero.

Foley Irish
From Irish Ó Foghladha meaning "descendant of Foghlaidh". The byname Foghlaidh meant "pirate, marauder, plunderer".

Félix French, Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Felix.

Asís Spanish
Originally denoted a person from the Italian city of Assisi (called Asís in Spanish).

Knox Scottish
From the name of various places in Scotland and northern England, derived from Scottish Gaelic cnoc "round hill".

Hyde English
From Middle English hide, a unit of land, approximately the size necessary to support a household.

Vincze Hungarian
From the given name Vince.

Weekes English
Variant of Weeks.

Van der Zee Dutch
Means "from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.

Jagoda Polish
Means "berry" in Polish.

Schräder Low German (Rare)
Variant of Schröder 1.

Ortega Spanish
From a Spanish place name (belonging to various villages) derived from ortiga "nettle".

Brownlow English
From Old English brun meaning "brown" and hlaw meaning "mound, small hill". The name was probably given to a family living on a small hill covered with bracken.

Tahirović Bosnian
Means "son of Tahir".

Lamont Scottish
From the medieval Gaelic given name Lagmann, derived from Old Norse lǫgmaðr meaning "law man".

Mathisen Norwegian
Means "son of Mathias".

Kostić Serbian
Means "son of Kosta".

Howard 2 English
Occupational name meaning "ewe herder", from Old English eowu "ewe" and hierde "herdsman, guardian".