Browse Surnames

Biondi Italian
Means "fair-haired, blond" in Italian. This name was borne by the American swimmer Matt Biondi (1965-).

Haden English
From a place name derived from Old English hæþ "heath" and dun "hill".

Derby English
Variant of Darby.

Lin Chinese
From Chinese 林 (lín) meaning "forest".

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

Kjellsson Swedish
Means "son of Kjell".

Ó Súileabháin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Sullivan.

Spada Italian
Occupational name for an armourer or swordsman, from Italian spada "sword", Latin spatha.

MacCormaic Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McCormick.

Stenger German
Occupational name for a post maker, from Old High German stanga "pole".

Toloni Italian
Derived from the given name Bartolomeo.

Tosell Catalan
Catalan form of Tosi.

Pesaresi Italian
Variant of Pesaro.

Sandström Swedish
From Swedish sand (Old Norse sandr) meaning "sand" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Green English
Descriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green.

Abbatelli Italian
Variant of Abbadelli.

Pollock Scottish
From 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 Chinese
From Chinese 冯 (féng), which referred to an ancient city in Henan province.

Lundin Swedish
Variant of Lund.

Borde French
From Old French bord meaning "board, plank", derived from Frankish *bord. This name belonged to a person who lived in a house made of planks.

Giannino Italian
Derived from the given name Giannino.

Albrecht German
From the given name Albrecht.

Porra Catalan
Variant of Porras.

Bach 2 Danish
Variant of Bak.

Contreras Spanish
From the name of a town in Burgos, Spain, derived from Late Latin contraria meaning "area opposite".

Molnár Hungarian
Occupational name meaning "miller" in Hungarian.

Lapointe French
Means "the point (of a lance)" in French, possibly a nickname for a soldier.

Tudor Romanian
Derived from the given name Tudor 2.

Puskás Hungarian
Occupational name for a gunsmith or cannon maker, from Hungarian puska meaning "gun" (from German, itself from Latin buxis "box").

Garrido Spanish
Means "elegant, ostentatious" in Spanish.

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

Ardelean Romanian
From the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from Hungarian erdő meaning "forest".

Walsh English, Irish
From Old English wælisc meaning "foreigner, stranger, Celt".

Haggard English
From a nickname meaning "wild, untamed, worn", from Old French, ultimately from a Germanic root.

Patrickson English
Means "son of Patrick".

Lyall Scottish
From the Old Norse given name Liulfr, which was derived in part from úlfr "wolf".

Seaver English
From the unattested Old English given name Sæfaru, derived from the Old English elements sæ "sea, ocean" and faru "journey".

Nespola Italian
Variant of Nespoli.

Prichard Welsh
Variant of Pritchard.

Ripley English
From 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.

Ó Cuidighthigh Irish
Means "descendant of Cuidightheach" in Irish.

Ramires Portuguese
Means "son of Ramiro" in Portuguese.

Winther Danish, Swedish
Danish and Swedish variant of Winter.

Rinne 2 Finnish
Means "hillside" in Finnish.

Ó hEidirsceóil Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Driscoll.

Urban mu Czech, Slovak, Polish, German
Derived from the given name Urban.

Eszes Hungarian
Means "clever, bright" in Hungarian.

Tierney Irish
From Irish Ó Tíghearnaigh meaning "descendant of Tighearnach".

Ribeiro Portuguese
Means "little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Diego Spanish
From the given name Diego.

Pain English
Variant of Payne.

Drago Italian
From a nickname meaning "dragon" in Italian.

Ludvigsen Danish
Means "son of Ludvig".

Hoefler German
Variant of Hofer.

Bukoski Polish (Anglicized)
Variant of Bukowski.

Yap English
From a nickname for a clever or cunning person, from Middle English yap meaning "devious, deceitful, shrewd".

Lefèvre French
Occupational name meaning "blacksmith" in Old French, derived from Latin faber.

Prosdocimi Italian
From the given name Prosdocimo, Italian form of Prosdocimus.

Steinmann German
Means "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 Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish löv (Old Norse lauf) meaning "leaf" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Smets Dutch
Variant of Smit.

Schorel Dutch
Variant of Schoorl.

Bridges English
Originally denoted a person who lived near a bridge, or who worked as a bridgekeeper, derived from Middle English brigge, Old English brycg.

Polzin German
From the name of a town in Pomerania, Poland (formerly part of Germany). In Polish it is called Połczyn.

Tracey 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Treasaigh meaning "descendant of Treasach".

Ennis Irish
Variant of Innes 1.

Winship English
Possibly denoted a person who came from Wincheap Street in Canterbury, England. It is uncertain origin, possibly meaning "wine market" in Old English.

Hibbert English
Derived from the given name Hilbert.

De Santiago Spanish
Variant of Santiago.

Michaud French
Derived from the given name Michel.

Walther German
From the given name Walther.

Brett English
Originally a name given to someone who was a Breton or a person from Brittany.

Kurosawa Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.

Thompson English
Means "son of Thomas".

Sörös Hungarian
From Hungarian sör meaning "beer". Originally the name was given to beer brewers.

Velázquez Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco. A famous bearer was the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660).

Ikeda Japanese
From Japanese 池 (ike) meaning "pool, pond" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Vasić Serbian
Means "son of Vaso 1".

Lawrenz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Dong Chinese
From Chinese 董 (dǒng) meaning "direct, supervise".

Cvetković Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Cvetko".

Sorg German
Variant of Sorge.

Lithgow Scottish
Habitation name meaning derived from Brythonic roots meaning "pool hollow". A famous bearer of this name is actor John Lithgow (1945-).

Ó Cuirc Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Quirke.

Arias Spanish
Possibly derived from a medieval given name of Germanic origin.

Akker Dutch
Dutch form of Acker.

Favager French
Possibly indicated a person from the town of Faverges in eastern France, derived from Old French faverge meaning "forge".

MacCrum Scottish
Anglicized form of MacChruim.

Adamczyk Polish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Bartosz Polish
Derived from the given name Bartosz.

Arthurson English
Means "son of Arthur".

Lowe 1 Jewish
Americanized form of Löwe.

Jansingh Dutch
Variant of Jansen.

Thornton English
From any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.

Duval French
Means "from the valley" in French.

Madison English
Means "son of Matthew" or "son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the fourth American president James Madison (1751-1836).

Andrewson English
Variant of Anderson.

Zino Italian
Derived 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 Polish
Possibly from a diminutive of Polish zięć meaning "son-in-law".

Lindner German
Variant of Linden.

Hutchinson English
Means "son of Huchin", a medieval diminutive of Hugh.

Lavigne French
Means "the vineyard" in French, referring to a person who lived close to a vineyard, or was from the town of Lavigny.

Ramos Spanish, Portuguese
Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, from Latin ramus meaning "branch".

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

Brown English
Originally 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, Basque
From Basque aritz meaning "oak tree". This was a nickname of Iñigo, the first king of Pamplona, Spain (9th century).

Merrick Welsh
Derived from the given name Meurig.

Schumacher German
Variant of Schuhmacher.

Hartell English
From various place names derived from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and hyll "hill".

Ryder English
Occupational name for a mounted warrior, from Old English ridere meaning "rider".

Roxas Filipino
Filipino form of the Spanish Rojas.

Winograd Jewish
Jewish form of Vinogradov.

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).

Akkerman Dutch
Dutch form of Ackermann.

Hisakawa Japanese
From Japanese 久 (hisa) meaning "long time ago" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Monaghan Irish
Variant of Monahan.

De Veen Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Ó Cathaláin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Callan.

Van Houte Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

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

Cuoco Italian
Italian cognate of Cook.

Berntsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Bernt".

Andreasson Swedish
Means "son of Andreas".

Jakab Hungarian
Derived from the given name Jakab.

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

Chmiel Polish
Polish cognate of Chmela, from Polish chmiel.

Prebensen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Preben".

Macy English
Variant of Massey.

Taylor English
Derived from Old French tailleur meaning "tailor", ultimately from Latin talio "to cut".

Leonardi Italian
From the given name Leonardo.

Lang German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian cognate of Long.

Savage English
English nickname meaning "wild, uncouth", derived from Old French salvage or sauvage meaning "untamed", ultimately from Latin silvaticus meaning "wild, from the woods".

Keeley Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Caolaidhe meaning "descendant of Caoladhe", a given name derived from caol "slender".

Linton English
Originally from place names meaning either "flax town" or "linden tree town" in Old English.

Abbadelli Italian
Means "little abbot" from Italian abate and the diminutive suffix -elli.

Ikonomou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Οικονόμου (see Oikonomou).

Lindon English
Variant of Lyndon.

Lesauvage French
French form of Savage.

Necchi Italian
Possibly from Italian neccio, a type of flat bread.

Caballero Spanish
From a nickname derived from Spanish caballero meaning "knight", a cognate of Chevalier.

Peak English
Originally 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 Italian
From the name of a city in Tuscany famous for its marble quarries. It is probably derived from Late Latin quadreria meaning "quarry".

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

Moran Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Móráin meaning "descendant of Mórán", a given name meaning "great, large".

Reenberg Danish
Meaning unknown. The second element is probably from Old Norse berg "mountain" (modern Danish bjerg).

Noguchi Japanese
From Japanese 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".

Knef German
Occupational name for a shoemaker, derived from Low German knif meaning "shoemaker's knife".

Samuelsson Swedish
Means "son of Samuel".

Vencel Hungarian
Derived from the given name Vencel.

Butts English
From a nickname meaning "thick, stumpy", from Middle English butt.

Rico Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "rich, wealthy" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Agostini Italian
Means "son of Agostino".

Outlaw English
Means simply "outlaw" from Middle English outlawe.

MacGilleChrìosd Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of Gilchrist.

O'Shaughnessy Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Seachnasaigh.

Horvat Croatian, Slovene
From Croatian and Slovene Hrvat meaning "Croat, person from Croatia".

Rake English
Originally a name for a dweller on a narrow pass or hillside, from Old English hrace meaning "throat, gorge".

Yamazaki Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".

Rigó Hungarian
Means "thrush" in Hungarian.

Alink Dutch
Means "(farm) belonging to Ale 2" in Dutch.

Spooner English
Occupational name for a maker of spoons or a maker of shingles, derived from Middle English spone meaning "chip of wood, spoon".

Sulzbach German
Toponymic name from German places named Sulzbach meaning "salty stream", derived from Old High German sulza "salty water" and bah "stream".

Dierickx Flemish
Means "son of Dirk".

Fries German
Denoted someone from Frisia, an area along the coastal region of the North Sea stretching from Netherlands to Germany.

Admiraal Dutch
Means "admiral" in Dutch.

Rocco Italian
Derived from the given name Rocco.

McNee Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Niadh.

Aling Dutch
Variant of Alink.

Martz German
Derived from an old diminutive of Martin.

Jenssen Norwegian
Means "son of Jens".

Samuelson English
Means "son of Samuel".

McGinnis Irish
Variant of McGuinness.

Hannigan Irish
Variant of O'Hannagain.

Vuorinen Finnish
From Finnish vuori meaning "mountain".

Zientek Polish (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Ziętek.

Opeyemi Yoruba
From the given name Opeyemi.

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.

Linden German, Dutch
Indicated a person who lived near a linden tree, derived from Old High German linta or Old Dutch linda.

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

Haraldsen Norwegian
Means "son of Harald".

Pierre French
From the given name Pierre.

León 1 Spanish
Referred 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.

Salvaggi Italian
Italian form of Savage.

Ó Comhraidhe Irish
Means "descendant of Comhraidhe", in which the given name Comhraidhe is of unknown meaning.

Tremblay French
From French tremble meaning "aspen". It is especially widespread in Quebec, being the most common surname there.

Fernandez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Fernández.

Probert Welsh
Derived from Welsh ap Robert, which means "son of Robert".

Priede Latvian
Means "pine tree" in Latvian.

O'Hannagain Irish
From Irish Ó hAnnagáin, which means "descendant of Annagán". The given name Annagán was a diminutive of Annadh meaning "delay".

Sarkozi Hungarian (Anglicized)
Variant of Sárközi.

Schreiber German
German cognate of Scriven.

MacKay Scottish
Anglicized form of MacAoidh.

Salvador Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Salvador.

Župan Croatian
Croatian cognate of Zupan.

Van Houtum Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

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

Paddon English
Variant of Patton.

Dalí Spanish
From 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).

Hampson English
Means "son of Hamo".

Tracey 1 English
From the village of Tracy-sur-mer on the Normandy coast in France. It was brought to England with William the Conqueror.

Albring Dutch
Variant of Alberink.

Maçon French
French cognate of Mason.

Lorentz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Szántó Hungarian
Occupational name for a ploughman or tiller, derived from Hungarian szánt meaning "to plow".

Oliynyk Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian олія (oliya) meaning "oil, fat".

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

Fisker Danish
Means "fisherman" in Danish.

Kayode Yoruba
From the given name Kayode.

Baumgartner German
Occupational name for a person who worked or lived at an orchard, from German Baumgarten "orchard" (derived from Baum "tree" and Garten "garden").

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

Edgar English
Derived from the given name Edgar.

Esposito Italian
Means "exposed" in Italian and denoted a child who was rescued after being abandoned by its parents.

Szwarc Polish
Polish phonetic spelling of German Schwarz.

Ardizzone Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Ardito.

Shaughnessy Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Seachnasaigh.

Arena Italian
Italian cognate of Arenas.

Crouch English
Variant of Cross.

Freudenberger German, Jewish
Ornamental name from old German freud meaning "joy" and berg meaning "mountain".

Castilla Spanish
Originally 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".

Thorsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Thor".

Groot Dutch
Variant of De Groot.

Román Spanish
From the given name Román.

Paige English
Variant of Page.

Castle English
From Middle English castel meaning "castle", from Late Latin castellum, originally indicating a person who lived near a castle.

Shannon Irish
From Irish Ó Seanáin meaning "descendant of Seanán".

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

Stefánsson Icelandic
Means "son of Stefán".

Lê Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Li 2, from Sino-Vietnamese 黎 (lê). This is the third most common surname in Vietnam.

Tirrell English
Variant of Terrell.

Kocsis Hungarian
Means "coachman" in Hungarian.

Vidović Croatian
Means "son of Vid".

Matthews English
Derived from the given name Matthew.

Agnarsson Icelandic
Means "son of Agnar".

Van Willigen Dutch
Means "from the willows", from Old Dutch wilga "willow".

Sandu Romanian
From the given name Sandu.

Freitas Portuguese
Means "broken" in Portuguese, a name for one who lived on broken, stony ground.

Márquez Spanish
Means "son of Marcos".

Milligan Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Maolagáin meaning "descendant of Maolagán", a given name derived from maol meaning "bald" or "tonsured".

Kaneko Japanese
From Japanese 金 (kane) meaning "gold, metal, money" and 子 (ko) meaning "child".

Cervantes Spanish
Possibly from Old Spanish servanto meaning "servant" or ciervo meaning "stag". A famous bearer was the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616).

Bandini Italian
From the Latin name Bandinus, a derivative of Bandus, which is of unknown meaning.

Gutierrez Spanish
Variant of Gutiérrez.

Williamson English
Means "son of William".

Testa Italian
From an Italian nickname meaning "head".

Greenberg German (Anglicized), Jewish
Anglicized form of Grünberg.

MacCionaodha Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McKenna.

Pohl 2 German
From the given name Paul.

Derricks English
Derived from the given name Derrick.

Pryce Welsh
Variant of Price.

Huff English
Means "spur of a hill", from Old English hoh.

Mohan Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Mocháin meaning "descendant of Mochán".

Wootton English
Derived from Old English wudu "wood" and tun "enclosure, town".

Flynn Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Floinn meaning "descendant of Flann".

Bodnár Hungarian
Means "cooper, barrel maker" in Hungarian.

Meir Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

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

Robert French, English
From the given name Robert.

Whitaker English
From a place name composed of Old English hwit "white" and æcer "field".

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

Henson English
Means "son of Henne", a medieval diminutive of Henry.

Giuliani Italian
From the given name Giuliano.

Lombardo Italian
Variant of Lombardi.

Alessi Italian
From the given name Alessio.

Varnham English
Variant of Farnham.

Söderberg Swedish
From Swedish söder (Old Norse suðr) meaning "south" and berg meaning "mountain".

Jekyll English
Derived 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).

Pagano Italian
Italian cognate of Payne.

Iwasaki Japanese
From Japanese 岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".

Gabler German
Occupational name for someone who made or sold forks, from Old High German gabala "fork".

Addario Italian
Derived from the given name Addarius, of unknown meaning.

Donohue Irish
Variant of Donoghue.

Ó Corcráin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Corcoran.

McDougall Scottish
Variant of MacDougall.

Gereben Hungarian
Means "hackle, hatchel" in Hungarian (a hackle is a tool used to comb out fibers).

Di Stefano Italian
Means "son of Stefano".

Kamau Kikuyu
Derived from the given name Kamau.

Mortimer English
From the name of a town in Normandy meaning "dead water, still water" in Old French.

Ó Cuaig Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Quigg.

O'Boyle Irish
Variant of Boyle.

Meier 2 Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Sólyom Hungarian
Means "hawk, falcon" in Hungarian.

Mathisen Norwegian
Means "son of Mathias".

Colton English
From a place name meaning "Cola's town".

Kaya Turkish
Means "rock, cliff" in Turkish.

Gott German
Derived from the Old German given name Goda 1.

Beck 4 English
From Old English becca meaning "pickaxe", an occupational surname.

Geisler German
Variant of Geissler 1 or Geissler 2.

Accardi Italian
Variant of Acardi.

Von Grimmelshausen German
Means "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).

Constantin Romanian, French
From the given name Constantin.

Boyer Occitan
Occitan cognate of Bouvier.

Blackbourne English
Variant of Blackburn.

Albrektson Swedish
Variant of Albrechtsson.

Krauss German
Variant of Kraus.

Mollown Irish
Variant of Malone.

Shimada Japanese
From Japanese 島 (shima) meaning "island" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Bentley English
From a place name derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

Dennell English
Variant of Daniel.

Ó Scolaidhe Irish
Means "descendant of the scholar" from Irish scholaidhe.

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.