Rousseau FrenchDiminutive of
Roux. A famous bearer was the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) whose ideas influenced the French Revolution.
Anjema FrisianDenoted a person from the village of Anjum in the Netherlands. It possibly means "corner" in Dutch.
Read 2 EnglishFrom 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".
Bonney EnglishFrom northern Middle English
boni meaning
"pretty, attractive".
Báthory HungarianOriginally 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.
Terzi 2 TurkishMeans
"tailor" in Turkish, ultimately of Persian origin.
Wilbur EnglishFrom the nickname
Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English.
Como 2 ItalianFrom the name of the city of Como in Lombardy, the rival city of Milan during the Middle Ages. Its name may come from a Celtic root meaning "valley".
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".
Waller 1 EnglishDerived from Old French
gallier meaning
"person with a pleasant temper".
Thwaite EnglishIndicated a dweller in a forest clearing or pasture, from Old Norse
þveit "clearing, pasture".
Devin 2 French, EnglishNickname for a person who acted divinely or prophetically, from Old French
devin meaning
"divine" or
"seer, fortune teller", ultimately from Latin
divinus.
Senft 2 GermanNickname for a helpful, kind person, from Old High German
semfti meaning
"soft, accommodating".
Oakley EnglishFrom a place name meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. It was borne by American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).
Gynt LiteratureMeaning unknown. This name was used by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen for the central character in his play
Peer Gynt (1867). Ibsen based the story on an earlier Norwegian folktale
Per Gynt.
Van Assen DutchMeans
"from Assen", a city in the Netherlands, which is possibly from
essen meaning "ash trees".
Hayes 1 EnglishFrom various English place names that were derived from Old English
hæg meaning
"enclosure, fence". A famous bearer was American President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).
Breen IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Braoin meaning
"descendant of Braon", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop".
Koppel Estonian, DanishFrom Low German
koppel meaning
"paddock, pasture" (a word borrowed into Estonian).
Krüger 2 GermanIn southern Germany an occupational name for a potter, derived from Middle High German
kruoc meaning
"jug, pot".
Quiroga GalicianOriginally denoted a person from the town of Quiroga in Galicia, Spain.
Grasso ItalianMeans
"fat" in Italian, originally a nickname for a stout person. It is derived from Latin
crassus.
Valjean LiteratureCreated by Victor Hugo for Jean Valjean, the hero of his novel
Les Misérables (1862). The novel explains that his father, also named Jean, received the nickname Valjean or Vlajean from a contraction of French
voilá Jean meaning
"here's Jean".
Sousa PortugueseOriginally indicated someone who lived near the River Sousa in Portugal, possibly derived from Latin
salsus "salty" or
saxa "rocks".
Coupe EnglishFrom Middle English
coupe meaning
"barrel", a name for a barrel maker or cooper.
Yasuda JapaneseFrom Japanese
安 (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" or
保 (yasu) meaning "protect, maintain" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Lee 2 Korean, ChineseKorean form of
Li 1, from Sino-Korean
李 (i). This is the second most common surname in South Korea. It is also a variant Chinese romanization of
Li 1.
Rowntree EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash.
Orr ScottishFrom a nickname derived from Gaelic
odhar meaning
"dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan".
Gilliam EnglishVariant of
William. A famous bearer of the name is cartoonist and filmmaker Terry Gilliam (1940-).
Honeycutt EnglishDerived from the name of the English town of Hunnacott, derived from Old English
hunig "honey" or the given name
Huna combined with
cot "cottage".
Braxton EnglishFrom an English place name place name meaning "Bracca's town" in Old English.
Hext EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"tallest" in Middle English. It is most common in the southwest of England in the county of Devon.
Koizumi JapaneseFrom Japanese
小 (ko) meaning "small" and
泉 (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain". A notable bearer of this name is Junichiro Koizumi (1942-), who was Prime Minister of Japan.
Klossner GermanDerived from German
Klausner, Middle High German
klosenære meaning
"hermit".
Hitler GermanVariant of
Hiedler. This was spelling used by Alois Hitler, the father of German dictator Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), when he adopted his stepfather Johann Georg Hiedler's surname.
Lozano SpanishMeans
"healthy, exuberant, lively" in Spanish, originally used as a nickname for an elegant or haughty person.
Phạm VietnameseVietnamese form of
Fan, from Sino-Vietnamese
范 (phạm). This is the fourth most common surname in Vietnam.
Peerenboom DutchFrom Dutch meaning
"pear tree", referring to someone who lived or worked at a pear orchard.
Nagel German, DutchMeans
"nail" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a carpenter or nailsmith.
Bak DanishMeans
"slope, hillside" in Danish, from Old Norse
bakki "bank".
Amantea ItalianFrom the name of a town in Calabria, Italy. It is possibly derived from Arabic (dating from the Arab raids of the 9th century) meaning "the fortress".
Necchi ItalianPossibly from Italian
neccio, a type of flat bread.
Tafani ItalianFrom the nickname
tafano meaning
"gadfly", indicating an annoying person.
Doran IrishFrom Irish
Ó Deoradháin meaning
"descendant of Deoradhán", where
Deoradhán is a given name meaning "exile, wanderer".
Grimm GermanFrom a nickname for a stern person, derived from Old High German
grim "stern, severe, angry". Famous bearers include Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859), known for compiling German folktales.
Ingersleben GermanFrom the name of the town of Ingersleben, Germany, which meant "Inge's village".
Carver EnglishOccupational surname for a carver, from Middle English
kerve "cut".
Acciai ItalianDerived from medieval Italian
accia meaning
"axe", ultimately from Latin
ascia.
Labriola ItalianOriginally indicated a person from the town of Abriola in southern Italy.
Bradshaw EnglishFrom any of the places by this name in England, derived from Old English
brad "broad" and
sceaga "thicket".
Marston EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
mersc "marsh" and
tun "enclosure".
Favager FrenchPossibly indicated a person from the town of Faverges in eastern France, derived from Old French
faverge meaning "forge".
Sparks EnglishFrom an Old Norse nickname or byname derived from
sparkr meaning
"sprightly".
Panza Italian, LiteratureFrom a variant of the Italian word
pancia meaning
"stomach, paunch", originally a nickname for a chubby person. The Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes used it in his novel
Don Quixote (1605), where it is the surname of Don Quixote's squire Sancho Panza. Not a common Spanish surname, Cervantes may have based it directly on the Spanish word
panza (a cognate of the Italian word).
Scrooge LiteratureCreated by Charles Dickens for the central character in his short novel
A Christmas Carol (1843). He probably based it on the rare English word
scrouge meaning
"to squeeze". In the book Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old man who is visited by three spirits who show him visions of his past, present and future. Since the book's publication,
scrooge has been used as a word to mean "miser, misanthrope".
Jones English, WelshDerived from the given name
Jon, a medieval variant of
John. This is the most common surname in Wales.
Narang HindiFrom the name of a Pakistani town that was in undivided India.
Wembley EnglishFrom the name of a town, now part of Greater London, meaning "
Wemba's clearing" in Old English.
Biermann GermanDerived from German
bier "beer" and
mann "man". The name may have referred to a brewer or a tavern owner.
Farley EnglishFrom various English place names meaning
"fern clearing" in Old English.
Agli ItalianFrom place names like
Agliè,
Aglietti,
Agliana and
Agliate, all originating from the Latin name
Allius or
Alleius.
Lama ItalianDerived from the name place
Lama, common in Italy.
Sterling ScottishDerived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning.
Kinnunen FinnishPossibly derived from the Finnish dialectal word
kinni meaning
"animal skin, fur", borrowed from Swedish
skinn.
Sparacello ItalianFrom Sicilian
sparaciu meaning
"asparagus", an occupational name for an asparagus seller or grower.
Vroom Dutch, FlemishFrom a nickname derived from Dutch
vroom meaning
"pious, devout".
Ritter GermanFrom Middle High German
riter meaning
"rider, knight", a cognate of
Ryder.
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.
Heffernan IrishFrom Irish
Ó hIfearnáin meaning
"descendant of Ifearnán". The byname
Ifearnán means "little demon".
Dufort FrenchMeans
"from the fort", from French
fort "stronghold".
Wayne EnglishOccupational name meaning
"wagon maker, cartwright", derived from Old English
wægn "wagon". A famous bearer was the American actor John Wayne (1907-1979).
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.
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.
Adesso ItalianPerhaps a nickname for a punctual or fast person, from Italian
adesso meaning
"now, at this moment".
Shakespeare EnglishFrom a nickname for a warlike person, from Old English
scacan "to shake" and
spere "spear". A famous bearer was the English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
Ferro Italian, SpanishMeans
"iron", ultimately from Latin
ferrum. This was an occupational name for one who worked with iron.
De Jong DutchMeans
"young" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch
jonc. This is the most common surname in the Netherlands.
Sitz 2 GermanMeans
"house owner", derived from Old High German
siz "seat, domicile".
Oursler GermanOriginally a name designating a person from Ursel (now Oberursel) in Hesse, Germany.
Vonnegut GermanPossibly from the German words
von meaning "from, of, by" and
gut meaning "good". A famous bearer was the American author Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).
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.
Offermans DutchFrom Dutch
offer meaning
"offering, donation", referring to a person who collected money in a church.
Farmer EnglishOccupational name for a tax collector, from Middle English
ferme "rent, revenue, provision", from medieval Latin
firma, ultimately from Old English
feorm. This word did not acquire its modern meaning until the 17th century.
Porras Spanish, CatalanFrom a nickname meaning
"club" in Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin
porrum meaning "leek".
Inada JapaneseFrom Japanese
稲 (ina) meaning "rice plant" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Boyko UkrainianOriginally indicated a member of the Boykos, an ethnic group of western Ukraine.
Bachmann GermanDenoted a person who lived near a stream, from Middle High German
bach "stream" and
man "man".
Fenwick EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
fenn "fen, swamp, bog" and
wic "village, town".
Tenley EnglishPossibly from the name of an English town derived from Old English
tind "point" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Wyndham EnglishFrom the name of the town of Wymondham, meaning "home belonging to Wigmund", from the given name
Wigmund combined with Old English
ham meaning "home, settlement".
Achthoven DutchDenoted a person from various towns in the Netherlands called Achthoven, which is derived from Dutch
acht "eight" and
hoven "farmsteads".
McCauley Irish, ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
Mac Amhalghaidh or
Mac Amhalghadha meaning
"son of Amhalghaidh". The given name
Amhalghaidh, from Old Irish
Amalgaid, is of uncertain meaning.
Armati ItalianFrom Italian
armato meaning
"armed, armoured, equipped".