Biondi ItalianMeans
"fair-haired, blond" in Italian. This name was borne by the American swimmer Matt Biondi (1965-).
Haden EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
hæþ "heath" and
dun "hill".
House EnglishReferred to a person who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut.
Spada ItalianOccupational name for an armourer or swordsman, from Italian
spada "sword", Latin
spatha.
Stenger GermanOccupational name for a post maker, from Old High German
stanga "pole".
Green EnglishDescriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green.
Pollock ScottishFrom the name of a place in Renfrewshire, Scotland, derived from a diminutive of Gaelic
poll meaning
"pool, pond, bog". A famous bearer was the American artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956).
Feng 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
冯 (féng), which referred to an ancient city in Henan province.
Borde FrenchFrom Old French
bord meaning
"board, plank", derived from Frankish *
bord. This name belonged to a person who lived in a house made of planks.
Contreras SpanishFrom the name of a town in Burgos, Spain, derived from Late Latin
contraria meaning "area opposite".
Lapointe FrenchMeans
"the point (of a lance)" in French, possibly a nickname for a soldier.
Puskás HungarianOccupational name for a gunsmith or cannon maker, from Hungarian
puska meaning
"gun" (from German, itself from Latin
buxis "box").
Ardelean RomanianFrom the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from Hungarian
erdő meaning "forest".
Haggard EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"wild, untamed, worn", from Old French, ultimately from a Germanic root.
Lyall ScottishFrom the Old Norse given name
Liulfr, which was derived in part from
úlfr "wolf".
Seaver EnglishFrom the unattested Old English given name
Sæfaru, derived from the Old English elements
sæ "sea, ocean" and
faru "journey".
Ripley EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, from Old English
rippel "grove, thicket" and
leah "woodland, clearing". A notable fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley from the movie
Alien (1979) and its sequels.
Ribeiro PortugueseMeans
"little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
riparius meaning "riverbank".
Yap EnglishFrom a nickname for a clever or cunning person, from Middle English
yap meaning
"devious, deceitful, shrewd".
Lefèvre FrenchOccupational name meaning
"blacksmith" in Old French, derived from Latin
faber.
Steinmann GermanMeans
"stone man" in German, used as a habitational name for a person who lived near a prominent stone or an occupational name for a stone worker.
Löfgren SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
löv (Old Norse
lauf) meaning "leaf" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Bridges EnglishOriginally denoted a person who lived near a bridge, or who worked as a bridgekeeper, derived from Middle English
brigge, Old English
brycg.
Polzin GermanFrom the name of a town in Pomerania, Poland (formerly part of Germany). In Polish it is called Połczyn.
Winship EnglishPossibly denoted a person who came from Wincheap Street in Canterbury, England. It is uncertain origin, possibly meaning "wine market" in Old English.
Brett EnglishOriginally a name given to someone who was a Breton or a person from Brittany.
Kurosawa JapaneseFrom Japanese
黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and
沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.
Sörös HungarianFrom Hungarian
sör meaning
"beer". Originally the name was given to beer brewers.
Velázquez SpanishDerived from the given name
Velasco. A famous bearer was the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).
Ikeda JapaneseFrom Japanese
池 (ike) meaning "pool, pond" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Lithgow ScottishHabitation name meaning derived from Brythonic roots meaning "pool hollow". A famous bearer of this name is actor John Lithgow (1945-).
Arias SpanishPossibly derived from a medieval given name of Germanic origin.
Favager FrenchPossibly indicated a person from the town of Faverges in eastern France, derived from Old French
faverge meaning "forge".
Thornton EnglishFrom any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.
Madison EnglishMeans
"son of Matthew" or
"son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the fourth American president James Madison (1751-1836).
Zino ItalianDerived from the given name
Zino, a short form of names ending with
-zino, such as
Lorenzino, a diminutive of
Lorenzo, or
Vincenzino, a diminutive of
Vincenzo.
Ziętek PolishPossibly from a diminutive of Polish
zięć meaning
"son-in-law".
Lavigne FrenchMeans
"the vineyard" in French, referring to a person who lived close to a vineyard, or was from the town of Lavigny.
Ramos Spanish, PortugueseOriginally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, from Latin
ramus meaning
"branch".
Fournier FrenchOccupational name for a baker, from French
fourneau meaning
"oven".
Brown EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin. A notable bearer is Charlie Brown from the
Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz.
Aritza Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque
aritz meaning
"oak tree". This was a nickname of Iñigo, the first king of Pamplona, Spain (9th century).
Ryder EnglishOccupational name for a mounted warrior, from Old English
ridere meaning
"rider".
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).
Binici TurkishFrom the Turkish word
binici meaning
"rider, horseman".
Taylor EnglishDerived from Old French
tailleur meaning
"tailor", ultimately from Latin
talio "to cut".
Savage EnglishEnglish nickname meaning
"wild, uncouth", derived from Old French
salvage or
sauvage meaning "untamed", ultimately from Latin
silvaticus meaning "wild, from the woods".
Keeley IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Caolaidhe meaning
"descendant of Caoladhe", a given name derived from
caol "slender".
Linton EnglishOriginally from place names meaning either "flax town" or "linden tree town" in Old English.
Abbadelli ItalianMeans
"little abbot" from Italian
abate and the diminutive suffix
-elli.
Necchi ItalianPossibly from Italian
neccio, a type of flat bread.
Peak EnglishOriginally indicated a dweller by a pointed hill, from Old English
peac "peak". It could also denote a person from the Peak District in Derbyshire, England.
Carrara ItalianFrom the name of a city in Tuscany famous for its marble quarries. It is probably derived from Late Latin
quadreria meaning "quarry".
Bassani ItalianDerived from the place name Bassano, belonging multiple villages in Italy.
Moran IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Móráin meaning
"descendant of Mórán", a given name meaning "great, large".
Reenberg DanishMeaning unknown. The second element is probably from Old Norse
berg "mountain" (modern Danish
bjerg).
Knef GermanOccupational name for a shoemaker, derived from Low German
knif meaning
"shoemaker's knife".
Butts EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"thick, stumpy", from Middle English
butt.
Rake EnglishOriginally a name for a dweller on a narrow pass or hillside, from Old English
hrace meaning
"throat, gorge".
Spooner EnglishOccupational name for a maker of spoons or a maker of shingles, derived from Middle English
spone meaning "chip of wood, spoon".
Sulzbach GermanToponymic name from German places named Sulzbach meaning "salty stream", derived from Old High German
sulza "salty water" and
bah "stream".
Fries GermanDenoted someone from Frisia, an area along the coastal region of the North Sea stretching from Netherlands to Germany.
Kron German, SwedishFrom German
Krone and Swedish
krona meaning
"crown" (from Latin
corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.
León 1 SpanishReferred to a person from the city of León in northern Spain, derived from Latin
legio (genitive
legionis) meaning
"legion", so named because the Roman 7th Legion Gemina was stationed there.
Ó Comhraidhe IrishMeans
"descendant of Comhraidhe", in which the given name
Comhraidhe is of unknown meaning.
Tremblay FrenchFrom French
tremble meaning
"aspen". It is especially widespread in Quebec, being the most common surname there.
O'Hannagain IrishFrom Irish
Ó hAnnagáin, which means
"descendant of Annagán". The given name
Annagán was a diminutive of
Annadh meaning "delay".
Wieck GermanMeans
"village, town", derived from Latin
vicus.
Dalí SpanishFrom a given name, itself a diminutive of names beginning with the Old German element
adal meaning "noble". This was the surname of the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).
Tracey 1 EnglishFrom the village of Tracy-sur-mer on the Normandy coast in France. It was brought to England with William the Conqueror.
Szántó HungarianOccupational name for a ploughman or tiller, derived from Hungarian
szánt meaning "to plow".
Baumgartner GermanOccupational name for a person who worked or lived at an orchard, from German
Baumgarten "orchard" (derived from
Baum "tree" and
Garten "garden").
Breitbarth GermanFrom Old High German
breit "broad" and
bart "beard", originally a nickname for someone with a full beard.
Esposito ItalianMeans
"exposed" in Italian and denoted a child who was rescued after being abandoned by its parents.
Castilla SpanishOriginally indicated a person from Castile, a region (and medieval kingdom) in Spain. The name of the region is derived from Late Latin
castellum meaning "castle".
Castle EnglishFrom Middle English
castel meaning
"castle", from Late Latin
castellum, originally indicating a person who lived near a castle.
Lê VietnameseVietnamese form of
Li 2, from Sino-Vietnamese
黎 (lê). This is the third most common surname in Vietnam.
Freitas PortugueseMeans
"broken" in Portuguese, a name for one who lived on broken, stony ground.
Milligan IrishAnglicized form of the Irish
Ó Maolagáin meaning
"descendant of Maolagán", a given name derived from
maol meaning "bald" or "tonsured".
Cervantes SpanishPossibly from Old Spanish
servanto meaning
"servant" or
ciervo meaning
"stag". A famous bearer was the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616).
Bandini ItalianFrom the Latin name
Bandinus, a derivative of
Bandus, which is of unknown meaning.
Huff EnglishMeans
"spur of a hill", from Old English
hoh.
Flynn IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Floinn meaning
"descendant of Flann".
Orr ScottishFrom a nickname derived from Gaelic
odhar meaning
"dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan".
Fromm GermanFrom a nickname derived from Middle High German
vrume meaning
"noble, honourable".
Jekyll EnglishDerived from the Breton given name
Judicaël. This name was used by Robert Louis Stevenson for the character of Dr Henry Jekyll in the book
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).
Gabler GermanOccupational name for someone who made or sold forks, from Old High German
gabala "fork".
Addario ItalianDerived from the given name
Addarius, of unknown meaning.
Gereben HungarianMeans
"hackle, hatchel" in Hungarian (a hackle is a tool used to comb out fibers).
Mortimer EnglishFrom the name of a town in Normandy meaning
"dead water, still water" in Old French.
Beck 4 EnglishFrom Old English
becca meaning
"pickaxe", an occupational surname.
Von Grimmelshausen GermanMeans
"from Grimmelshausen", a town in Germany. It is itself derived from
Grimmel, of uncertain meaning, and
hausen meaning "houses". A famous bearer was the German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621-1676).
Bentley EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.
Kenyatta KikuyuFrom
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.