Browse Surnames

This is a list of surnames in which the gender is unisex; and the order is random.
usage
gender
Faron French
From the given name Faron.
Bischoffs German
German cognate of Bishop.
Clery Irish
Variant of Cleary.
Rousseau French
Diminutive of Roux. A famous bearer was the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) whose ideas influenced the French Revolution.
Barbier French
French cognate of Barber.
Hamm English
Means "river meadow" in Old English.
Anjema Frisian
Denoted a person from the village of Anjum in the Netherlands. It possibly means "corner" in Dutch.
Kay 1 English
Derived from the given name Kay 2.
Brkić Croatian, Serbian
Derived from Serbo-Croatian brk meaning "moustache, whisker".
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".
Mohammed Arabic, Urdu, Bengali
Derived from the given name Muhammad.
Bonney English
From northern Middle English boni meaning "pretty, attractive".
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.
Heimans Dutch
Variant of Heijman.
Beckett English
Originally a diminutive of Beck 1 or Beck 3.
Terzi 2 Turkish
Means "tailor" in Turkish, ultimately of Persian origin.
Vogels Dutch
Variant of Vogel.
Wilbur English
From the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English.
Alexiou Greek
Means "son of Alexios".
Ó Dubhthaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Duffy 1.
Dyson English
Means "son of Dye".
Vaccaro Italian
Occupational name meaning "cowherd" in Italian.
Shiraishi Japanese
From Japanese (shira) meaning "white" and (ishi) meaning "stone".
Mac Cába Irish
Irish form of McCabe.
Farrell Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Fearghail meaning "descendant of Fearghal".
Benn English
From a short form of Benedict.
Como 2 Italian
From 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".
Mac Cárthaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McCarthy.
MacDhubhghaill Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of MacDougall.
Statham English
From 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 English
Derived from Old French gallier meaning "person with a pleasant temper".
Thwaite English
Indicated a dweller in a forest clearing or pasture, from Old Norse þveit "clearing, pasture".
Devin 2 French, English
Nickname for a person who acted divinely or prophetically, from Old French devin meaning "divine" or "seer, fortune teller", ultimately from Latin divinus.
Senft 2 German
Nickname for a helpful, kind person, from Old High German semfti meaning "soft, accommodating".
Baylor German (Anglicized)
Possibly an Americanized form of Beiler.
Bodilsen Danish
Means "son of Bodil".
Akamatsu Japanese
From Japanese (aka) meaning "red" and (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree".
Ayers 2 English
Derived from the given name Ealhhere.
MacTàmhais Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McTavish.
Martelli Italian
Italian form of Martel 2.
Oakley English
From a place name meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. It was borne by American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).
Gynt Literature
Meaning 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 Dutch
Means "from Assen", a city in the Netherlands, which is possibly from essen meaning "ash trees".
Howell Welsh
From the Welsh given name Hywel.
Hayes 1 English
From 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 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Braoin meaning "descendant of Braon", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop".
Jiang 1 Chinese
From Chinese (jiāng) meaning "river, Yangtze".
Koppel Estonian, Danish
From Low German koppel meaning "paddock, pasture" (a word borrowed into Estonian).
Post Dutch, German, English
Indicated a person who lived near a post, ultimately from Latin postis.
Lazarević Serbian
Means "son of Lazar".
Krüger 2 German
In southern Germany an occupational name for a potter, derived from Middle High German kruoc meaning "jug, pot".
Quiroga Galician
Originally denoted a person from the town of Quiroga in Galicia, Spain.
Waltz German
From a diminutive of the given name Walther.
Abramsen Norwegian
Means "son of Abraham".
Grasso Italian
Means "fat" in Italian, originally a nickname for a stout person. It is derived from Latin crassus.
Valjean Literature
Created 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".
Ó Flannghaile Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Flannery.
Revie English
Variant of Reeve.
Aleksić Serbian
Means "son of Aleksa".
De Vitis Italian
Means "son of Vito 1", using a Latinized form of the given name.
Ó hEidhin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Hines.
Landolfi Italian
From the given name Landolfo, Italian form of the Lombardic name Landulf.
Sousa Portuguese
Originally indicated someone who lived near the River Sousa in Portugal, possibly derived from Latin salsus "salty" or saxa "rocks".
Serafim Portuguese
Derived from the given name Serafim.
Juriša Croatian
Derived from a diminutive form of Jure.
Maessen Dutch
Means "son of Maas".
Chaudhari Marathi, Gujarati
Alternate transcription of Marathi चौधरी or Gujarati ચૌધરી (see Chaudhary).
Kałuża Polish
Means "puddle" in Polish.
Nguyen Vietnamese
Simplified variant of Nguyễn.
Vasilescu Romanian
Means "son of Vasile".
Coupe English
From Middle English coupe meaning "barrel", a name for a barrel maker or cooper.
Yasuda Japanese
From Japanese (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" or (yasu) meaning "protect, maintain" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Karimi Persian, Arabic
Derived from the given name Karim.
Lee 2 Korean, Chinese
Korean form of Li 1, from Sino-Korean (i). This is the second most common surname in South Korea. It is also a variant Chinese romanization of Li 1.
Antonini Italian
Means "son of Antonino".
Pavlyuk Ukrainian
From the given name Pavlo.
McEwan Scottish
Anglicized form of MacEòghainn.
Rowntree English
Originally given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash.
Koval Ukrainian
Means "blacksmith" in Ukrainian.
Wróbel Polish
Means "sparrow" in Polish.
Shah Persian, Urdu
Derived from Persian شاه (shāh) meaning "king".
Orr Scottish
From a nickname derived from Gaelic odhar meaning "dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan".
Gutiérrez Spanish
Means "son of Gutierre".
Robbins English
Derived from the given name Robin.
Holt English, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English, Old Dutch and Old Norse holt meaning "forest".
Gilliam English
Variant of William. A famous bearer of the name is cartoonist and filmmaker Terry Gilliam (1940-).
Ó Treasaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Tracey 2.
Fabel German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Fabian.
Honeycutt English
Derived from the name of the English town of Hunnacott, derived from Old English hunig "honey" or the given name Huna combined with cot "cottage".
McKowen Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Eoghain.
McAfee Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of MacDhubhshìth.
McIver Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacIomhair meaning "son of Íomhar".
Marchetti Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Marco.
Rodgers English
Derived from the given name Rodger.
Braxton English
From an English place name place name meaning "Bracca's town" in Old English.
Bourdillon French
Diminutive form of Borde.
Fitzpatrick Irish
Means "son of Patrick" in Anglo-Norman, usually adopted as an Anglicization of Mac Giolla Phádraig.
Tani Japanese
From Japanese (tani) meaning "valley".
Abram English
Derived from the given name Abraham.
Mathewson English
Means "son of Matthew".
Hext English
From a nickname meaning "tallest" in Middle English. It is most common in the southwest of England in the county of Devon.
Koizumi Japanese
From Japanese (ko) meaning "small" and (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain". A notable bearer of this name is Junichiro Koizumi (1942-), who was Prime Minister of Japan.
Klossner German
Derived from German Klausner, Middle High German klosenære meaning "hermit".
Guérin French
From the Old German given name Warin.
Blanxart Catalan
Catalan form of Blanchard.
Vico Italian, Spanish
Means "town, village", derived from Latin vicus.
Hitler German
Variant 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.
Valentini Italian
Means "son of Valentino".
Caro Spanish, Italian
From Spanish and Italian caro meaning "beloved".
Sauvageon French
French diminutive form of Savage.
Amoretto Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Amore.
Pinho Portuguese
Habitational name meaning "pine" in Portuguese.
Lozano Spanish
Means "healthy, exuberant, lively" in Spanish, originally used as a nickname for an elegant or haughty person.
Barends Dutch
Means "son of Barend".
Jeffries English
Patronymic from the given name Jeffrey.
Amerighi Italian
Means "son of Amerigo".
Böhme German
Variant of Böhm.
Nishitani Japanese
From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and (tani) meaning "valley".
Phạm Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Fan, from Sino-Vietnamese (phạm). This is the fourth most common surname in Vietnam.
Peerenboom Dutch
From Dutch meaning "pear tree", referring to someone who lived or worked at a pear orchard.
Nagel German, Dutch
Means "nail" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a carpenter or nailsmith.
Turk Slovene, Croatian
Means "Turkish" in Slovene and Croatian.
Bak Danish
Means "slope, hillside" in Danish, from Old Norse bakki "bank".
Belloni Italian
Augmented form of Bello.
Amantea Italian
From 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".
Lupu Romanian
From Romanian lup meaning "wolf".
André French
Derived from the given name André.
Necchi Italian
Possibly from Italian neccio, a type of flat bread.
Son Korean
Korean form of Sun, from Sino-Korean (son).
Hall English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).
Alò Italian
Variant of Aloi.
Tafani Italian
From the nickname tafano meaning "gadfly", indicating an annoying person.
Yi Korean
Variant of Lee 2.
Tkachenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian ткач (tkach) meaning "weaver".
Herrmann German
From the given name Hermann.
Germain French
From the French given name Germain.
Doran Irish
From Irish Ó Deoradháin meaning "descendant of Deoradhán", where Deoradhán is a given name meaning "exile, wanderer".
Grimm German
From 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.
Zaman Arabic, Urdu
Derived from the given name Zaman.
Ingersleben German
From the name of the town of Ingersleben, Germany, which meant "Inge's village".
McCrae Scottish
Variant of McRae.
Leong Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Liang.
Herceg Croatian
Croatian form of Herzog.
Giugovaz Italian
Italian form of the Croatian surname Jugovac.
Andrade Portuguese, Galician
Possibly from the given name André.
Vincze Hungarian
From the given name Vince.
Pagani Italian
Italian cognate of Payne.
Carver English
Occupational surname for a carver, from Middle English kerve "cut".
Benini Italian
Means "son of Benino" from a diminutive of Bene or Beno, short forms of Benedetto.
Rocchi Italian
Derived from the given name Rocco.
Acciai Italian
Derived from medieval Italian accia meaning "axe", ultimately from Latin ascia.
Labriola Italian
Originally indicated a person from the town of Abriola in southern Italy.
Flores Spanish
Means "son of Floro" in Spanish.
Bradshaw English
From any of the places by this name in England, derived from Old English brad "broad" and sceaga "thicket".
Benizzi Italian
From the medieval given name Bonizzone.
Gilbert English, French
Derived from the given name Gilbert.
Al-Hashim Arabic
From the given name Hashim.
Zunino Italian
Derived from the given name Giovanni.
Firmin English, French
From the given name Firmin.
Gál Hungarian
Derived from the given name Gál.
Pacheco Spanish, Portuguese
Possibly from a diminutive of the given name Francisco.
Marston English
From a place name derived from Old English mersc "marsh" and tun "enclosure".
Favager French
Possibly indicated a person from the town of Faverges in eastern France, derived from Old French faverge meaning "forge".
Sparks English
From an Old Norse nickname or byname derived from sparkr meaning "sprightly".
Panza Italian, Literature
From 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).
Mac Aodhagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Keegan.
Scrooge Literature
Created 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".
Hoch German
Means "tall" in German.
Stanek Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Stanisław.
Jones English, Welsh
Derived from the given name Jon, a medieval variant of John. This is the most common surname in Wales.
Narang Hindi
From the name of a Pakistani town that was in undivided India.
Wembley English
From the name of a town, now part of Greater London, meaning "Wemba's clearing" in Old English.
Bulgarelli Italian
Diminutive of Bulgari.
Al-Ghazzawi Arabic
Originally indicated a person who came from Gaza in Palestine.
Ungaro Italian
Means "Hungarian" in Italian.
Biermann German
Derived from German bier "beer" and mann "man". The name may have referred to a brewer or a tavern owner.
Behringer German
From the given name Berengar.
Kynaston English
Originally derived from a place name meaning "Cynefrith's town" in Old English.
Farley English
From various English place names meaning "fern clearing" in Old English.
Agli Italian
From place names like Agliè, Aglietti, Agliana and Agliate, all originating from the Latin name Allius or Alleius.
Lama Italian
Derived from the name place Lama, common in Italy.
Bonaventura Italian
From the given name Bonaventura.
Morrison English
Means "son of Morris".
Sterling Scottish
Derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning.
Hirsch 2 Jewish
Derived from the given name Hirsh.
Fredriksson Swedish
Means "son of Fredrik".
Kinnunen Finnish
Possibly derived from the Finnish dialectal word kinni meaning "animal skin, fur", borrowed from Swedish skinn.
Gosse French
Derived from the Norman given name Gosse.
Sparacello Italian
From Sicilian sparaciu meaning "asparagus", an occupational name for an asparagus seller or grower.
Vroom Dutch, Flemish
From a nickname derived from Dutch vroom meaning "pious, devout".
Morello Italian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Mauro.
Ritter German
From Middle High German riter meaning "rider, knight", a cognate of Ryder.
Elmersson Swedish
Means "son of Elmar".
Noble English, Scottish
From 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 Irish
From Irish Ó hIfearnáin meaning "descendant of Ifearnán". The byname Ifearnán means "little demon".
Einarsson Swedish
Means "son of Einar".
Dufort French
Means "from the fort", from French fort "stronghold".
Kirch German
German cognate of Church.
Wayne English
Occupational name meaning "wagon maker, cartwright", derived from Old English wægn "wagon". A famous bearer was the American actor John Wayne (1907-1979).
Yamamoto Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".
Jørgensen Danish
Means "son of Jørgen".
Mahmoudi Persian
From the given name Mahmoud.
Huang Chinese
From Chinese (huáng) meaning "yellow".
Karppinen Finnish
From Finnish karppi meaning "carp", of Germanic origin.
Hashimoto Japanese
From Japanese (hashi) meaning "bridge" and (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".
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.
Resnik Slovene
Possibly from Slovene resa meaning "heather".
Hase German
From Middle High German and Middle Low German hase meaning "hare, rabbit". This was a nickname for a person who was quick or timid.
McGowan Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Ghabhann.
Grgić Croatian
Means "son of Grgur".
Adesso Italian
Perhaps a nickname for a punctual or fast person, from Italian adesso meaning "now, at this moment".
Wiley English
From any of the various English towns named Willey or from the River Wylye.
Dirkse Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".
Shakespeare English
From 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).
Michel French, German, Dutch, Basque
Derived from the given name Michel, Michiel or Mitxel.
Ó hIfearnáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Heffernan.
Wegener Low German
Low German variant of Wagner.
Ferro Italian, Spanish
Means "iron", ultimately from Latin ferrum. This was an occupational name for one who worked with iron.
Tsunoda Japanese
From Japanese (tsuno) meaning "point, corner" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Rakes English
Variant of Rake.
Matsuda Japanese
From Japanese (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Denzel German
Variant of Tanzer.
De Jong Dutch
Means "young" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch jonc. This is the most common surname in the Netherlands.
Sitz 2 German
Means "house owner", derived from Old High German siz "seat, domicile".
Vuorinen Finnish
From Finnish vuori meaning "mountain".
Oursler German
Originally a name designating a person from Ursel (now Oberursel) in Hesse, Germany.
Desjardins French
Means "from the gardens", from French jardin "garden".
Hermanson English
Means "son of Herman".
Klymenko Ukrainian
From the given name Klym.
Kiefer 1 German
Means "pine tree" in German.
Okumura Japanese
From Japanese (oku) meaning "inside" and (mura) meaning "town, village".
Muratović Bosnian
Means "son of Murat".
Torosyan Armenian
Means "son of Toros" in Armenian.
Bernat Catalan
Derived from the given name Bernat.
Lagomarsino Italian
Derived from the name of the village of Lagomarsino near Genoa.
Honeysett English
Possibly a variant of Honeycutt.
Jönsson Swedish
Means "son of Jöns".
Snijder Dutch
Means "tailor" in Dutch, a cognate of Schneider.
Vonnegut German
Possibly 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 English
Occupational 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.
Ishida Japanese
From Japanese (ishi) meaning "stone" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Samuelson English
Means "son of Samuel".
Offermans Dutch
From Dutch offer meaning "offering, donation", referring to a person who collected money in a church.
Otxoa Basque
From Basque otso meaning "wolf".
Guo Chinese
From Chinese (guō) meaning "outer city".
Serra Italian, Portuguese, Catalan
Italian, Portuguese and Catalan cognate of Sierra.
Farmer English
Occupational 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.
Ruggles English
From a medieval diminutive of the given name Roger.
Hou Chinese
From Chinese (hóu) meaning "lord, nobleman".
Frank 2 English
From Old English franc meaning "free".
Porras Spanish, Catalan
From a nickname meaning "club" in Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin porrum meaning "leek".
Hakobyan Armenian
Means "son of Hakob" in Armenian.
Carlsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Carl".
Inada Japanese
From Japanese (ina) meaning "rice plant" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Boyko Ukrainian
Originally indicated a member of the Boykos, an ethnic group of western Ukraine.
Bachmann German
Denoted a person who lived near a stream, from Middle High German bach "stream" and man "man".
Itou Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 伊藤 (see Itō).
Fenwick English
From an English place name, derived from Old English fenn "fen, swamp, bog" and wic "village, town".
Ó Bradáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Braden.
Tenley English
Possibly from the name of an English town derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Traverse French
French variant of Travers.
Yuuki Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 結城 (see Yūki).
Winograd Jewish
Jewish form of Vinogradov.
Hutson English
Variant of Hudson.
Wyndham English
From 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".
Nardovino Italian (Rare)
Either from Nardo, a short form of names like Bernardo or Leonardo, or from Ardovino, a variant of Arduino.
Achthoven Dutch
Denoted a person from various towns in the Netherlands called Achthoven, which is derived from Dutch acht "eight" and hoven "farmsteads".
McCauley Irish, Scottish
Anglicized 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 Italian
From Italian armato meaning "armed, armoured, equipped".
Brierley English
From an English place name, derived from brer "briar" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Richards English
Derived from the given name Richard.
Camacho Spanish, Portuguese
Meaning unknown, possibly related to the Celtic root *kambos meaning "crooked, twisted".