Browse Surnames

This is a list of surnames in which the gender is unisex; and the order is random.
usage
gender
Tanaka Japanese
Means "dweller in the rice fields", from Japanese (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy" and (naka) meaning "middle".
Shaw 2 Scottish
From a given name or byname that was derived from Gaelic sitheach meaning "wolf" (Old Irish sídach).
Ricci Italian
From Italian riccio meaning "curly", a nickname for someone with curly hair. It is ultimately from Latin ericius meaning "hedgehog".
Huddleson English
Means "son of Hudel", a diminutive of Hudde.
Struna Slovene
From Slovene struna meaning "string, cord", possibly denoting a maker of rope.
Sessions English
From the name of the city of Soissons in northern France, itself derived from the name of the Celtic tribe of the Suessiones.
Holguín Spanish
Possibly from Spanish holgar "to rest, to enjoy oneself".
Grover English
From Old English graf meaning "grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).
Olesen Danish
Means "son of Ole".
Van der Stoep Dutch
Means "from the paved entrance", from Dutch stoep meaning "paved porch at the entrance to a house".
Swanson English
Patronymic form of Middle English swein meaning "servant" (of Old Norse origin). This word was also used as a byname, and this surname could be a patronymic form of that.
Africani Italian
Means "son of Africano", the Italian form of Africanus.
Doran Irish
From Irish Ó Deoradháin meaning "descendant of Deoradhán", where Deoradhán is a given name meaning "exile, wanderer".
Siena Italian
Indicated a person from Siena in Italy, which was named after the Gaulish tribe of the Senones.
Krakowski mu Polish, Jewish
Habitational name for a person from the city of Kraków in southern Poland.
Grześkiewicz Polish
Derived from the given name Grzegorz.
Bosch 2 Catalan
Catalan cognate of Bosco.
Rigó Hungarian
Means "thrush" in Hungarian.
Lazzari Italian
Means "son of Lazzaro".
Kinley Scottish
Anglicized form of MacFhionnlaigh.
Gundersen Norwegian
Means "son of Gunder".
Peynirci Turkish
From Turkish peynir meaning "cheese".
Schuhmacher German
From the Middle High German occupational name schuochmacher meaning "shoemaker".
Boivin French
Nickname for a wine drinker, from Old French boi "to drink" and vin "wine".
Mann German, English
From a nickname meaning "man". This may have originally been given in order to distinguish the bearer from a younger person with the same name.
Sulzbach German
Toponymic name from German places named Sulzbach meaning "salty stream", derived from Old High German sulza "salty water" and bah "stream".
Palomo Spanish
Means "pigeon, dove", from Latin palumbes.
Ibbot English
Variant of Ibbott.
McGee Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.
Duke English
From the noble title, which was originally from Latin dux "leader". It was a nickname for a person who behaved like a duke, or who worked in a duke's household.
Huxley English
From the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
Shepherd English
Occupational name meaning "shepherd, sheep herder", from Old English sceaphyrde.
Muggia Italian
From the town of Muggia in northeastern Italy near the Slovenian border. It was called Muglae in Latin.
Alves Portuguese
Means "son of Álvaro".
Braxton English
From an English place name place name meaning "Bracca's town" in Old English.
Arbeit German
From German arbeit meaning "work".
Benes Hungarian
Hungarian form of Beneš.
Ngo Vietnamese
Simplified variant of Ngô.
Morales Spanish
Derived from Spanish moral meaning "mulberry tree", of Latin origin.
Kelley Irish
Variant of Kelly 1.
Pantoja Spanish
Originally indicated a person from the town of Pantoja, in Toledo, Spain.
Brewer English
Occupational name for a maker of ale or beer.
Losa Spanish
From Spanish losa meaning "tile, slab".
Yamamoto Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".
Abbes Dutch
Means "son of Abbe".
O'Byrne Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Broin meaning "descendant of Bran 1".
Ito Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 伊藤 (see Itō).
Gabriels English
Derived from the given name Gabriel.
Combs English
Variant of Coombs.
Pinho Portuguese
Habitational name meaning "pine" in Portuguese.
Darwin English
From the given name Deorwine. A famous bearer was the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882).
Ritchie Scottish
From a Scottish diminutive of the given name Richard.
Crisp English
English cognate of Crespo.
Adamoli Italian
Diminutive form of Adami.
Sousa Portuguese
Originally indicated someone who lived near the River Sousa in Portugal, possibly derived from Latin salsus "salty" or saxa "rocks".
Milne Scottish
From Scots and Middle English milne (a variant of mille) meaning "mill".
Chiu Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhao.
Viola Italian
From the given name Viola.
Guerra Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "war", given to a belligerent person or one engaged in warfare.
Braden Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Bradáin meaning "descendant of Bradán".
Schreier German, Jewish
Occupational name for a town crier, from Old High German scrian meaning "to shout, to yell".
Trudu Sardinian
Means "thrush" in Sardinian (from Latin turdus).
Ihejirika Igbo
Means "the one that I have is greater" in Igbo.
Markó Hungarian
Derived from the given name Márk.
Grigore Romanian
From the given name Grigore.
Butts English
From a nickname meaning "thick, stumpy", from Middle English butt.
Smits Dutch
Variant of Smit.
Park 3 English
From the medieval name Perkin, a diminutive of Peter.
Ellington English
From the name of multiple towns in England. The town's name is derived from the masculine given name Ella (a short form of Old English names beginning with the elements ælf meaning "elf" or eald meaning "old") combined with tun meaning "enclosure, town".
De Bruijn Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.
Käufer German
Variant of Kaufer.
Forsberg Swedish
Derived from Swedish fors meaning "waterfall" and berg meaning "mountain".
Kearney Irish
From the Irish name Ó Ceithearnaigh meaning "descendant of Ceithearnach", a given name meaning "warrior".
Kingston English
From a place name meaning "king's town" in Old English.
De Vroome Dutch
Variant of Vroom.
Dufour French
Occupational name for a baker, from French four "oven".
Keighley English
Derived from an English place name meaning "clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name Cyhha is of unknown meaning.
Persson Swedish
Means "son of Per".
Sepúlveda Spanish
Derived from the name of the Sepúlveda Valley in the mountains of Segovia, and was originally used to denote people from that region. It is possibly derived from Spanish sepultar "to bury".
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).
Íñiguez Spanish
Means "son of Íñigo" in Spanish.
Chen Chinese
From Chinese (chén) meaning "exhibit, display, old, ancient" and also referring to the former state of Chen, which existed in what is now Henan province from the 11th to 5th centuries BC.
Nagarkar Marathi
Derived from the name of the town of Nagar in Maharashtra, India.
Poulsen Danish
Means "son of Poul".
Böttcher German
Occupational name meaning "cooper, barrel maker" in German.
Cock English
Derived from the medieval nickname cok meaning "rooster, cock". The nickname was commonly added to given names to create diminutives such as Hancock or Alcock.
Boyko Ukrainian
Originally indicated a member of the Boykos, an ethnic group of western Ukraine.
Hassan Arabic, Persian, Urdu
From the given name Hassan.
Pavia Italian
From the name of the city of Pavia in Lombardy, Italy. It is of unknown meaning.
Tobias English, German, Jewish
From the given name Tobias.
Pérez Spanish
Means "son of Pedro".
Matsubara Japanese
From Japanese (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and (hara) meaning "field, plain".
Rueda Spanish
Spanish cognate of Royer.
Román Spanish
From the given name Román.
Ahmad Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indian (Muslim)
Derived from the given name Ahmad.
Dalgaard Danish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley" and garðr meaning "yard, farmstead".
Graham Scottish, English
Derived from the English place name Grantham, which probably meant "gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by William de Graham.
Tveit Norwegian
Habitational name derived from Old Norse þveit meaning "clearing".
Chase English
Occupational name for a hunter, from Middle English chase "hunt".
Locatelli Italian
From Locatello, a town in Lombardy, northern Italy, near the city of Bergamo.
Brierley English
From an English place name, derived from brer "briar" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Quiroga Galician
Originally denoted a person from the town of Quiroga in Galicia, Spain.
Dreher German
Means "turner" from Middle High German drehen "to turn". A turner was a person who used a lathe to create small objects from wood or bone.
Norling Swedish
Originally denoted a person who came from the north.
Pugliese Italian
From an adjectival derivative of Puglia, from Latin Apulia, a region of southeast Italy containing the boot heel and some of the coastline of the Adriatic Sea. It is a regional name for someone from that region.
Hubbard English
Derived from the given name Hubert.
Jain Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati
Referred to a person who followed the principles of Jainism, a religion practiced in India. Jains are the followers of Lord Mahavira (599-527 BC).
Pan 1 Provençal
Means "baker", from Latin panis meaning "bread".
Simões Portuguese
Means "son of Simão" in Portuguese.
Aerts Dutch, Flemish
From a diminutive of the given name Arnout.
Cuocco Italian
Italian cognate of Cook.
Jennings English
From the given name Jenyn, a diminutive of Jen, itself a Middle English form of John.
Lyle English
Derived from Norman French l'isle meaning "island".
Araya Spanish
Denoted a person from Araia in the Basque Country, Spain. It is of uncertain meaning.
Laninga Frisian
From Frisian lân meaning "land".
Poppins Literature
Used by P. L. Travers for the magical nanny in her Mary Poppins series of books, first published in 1934. It is not known how Travers devised the name. She may have had the English words pop or poppet (meaning "young woman") in mind.
García Spanish
From a medieval given name of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Basque word hartz meaning "bear". This is the most common surname in Spain.
Matsumura Japanese
From Japanese (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and (mura) meaning "town, village".
Edgar English
Derived from the given name Edgar.
Victors English
Derived from the given name Victor.
Hammond English
From the Norman given name Hamo or the Old Norse given name Hámundr.
Bárány Hungarian
Means "lamb" in Hungarian.
Meir Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.
Caiazzo Italian
From the name of a city near Naples, originally Caiatia in Latin, a derivative of the given name Caius.
Maślanka Polish
Polish cognate of Máselník.
Emmet English
Variant of Emmett. This name was borne by the Irish nationalist Robert Emmet (1778-1803).
Cruz Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese cognate of Cross.
Fernandez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Fernández.
Nordin Swedish
Derived from Swedish nord meaning "north" (Old Norse norðr).
Maas Dutch, Low German
From the given name Maas.
Spirou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Σπύρου (see Spyrou).
Funar Romanian
Means "rope maker" in Romanian.
MacBeth Scottish
Derived from the Gaelic given name Mac Beatha meaning "son of life", which denoted a man of religious devotion. This was the name of an 11th-century Scottish king, and the name of a play based on his life by William Shakespeare.
Frank 1 English
Derived from the given name Frank.
Carlisle English
From the name of a city in northern England. The city was originally called by the Romans Luguvalium meaning "stronghold of Lugus". Later the Brythonic element ker "fort" was appended to the name of the city.
Shimizu Japanese
From Japanese (shi) meaning "clear, pure, clean" and (mizu) meaning "water".
Yamada Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Pottinger English
Occupational name, either for an apothecary, from Old French potecaire, or a seller of stew, from Old French potagier.
Bove Italian
Derived from an Italian nickname meaning "bull, ox".
Lyons English
Variant of Lyon 1.
Ericsson Swedish
Means "son of Eric".
Ma Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "horse".
Gatsby English (Rare), Literature
Rare variant of Gadsby. This name was used by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald for the central character in his novel The Great Gatsby (1925). In the book, James Gatz renames himself as Jay Gatsby at age 17 because he believes it sounds more sophisticated.
Barrett English
Probably derived from the Middle English word barat meaning "trouble, deception", originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Blum German, Jewish
Means "flower" in German and Yiddish.
Leroy French
Variant of Rey 1, using the definite article.
Williamson English
Means "son of William".
McCallum Scottish
Variant form of MacCallum.
Gass German
Name for someone who lived on a street in a city, from German gasse.
Liu Chinese
From Chinese (liú) meaning "kill, destroy". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Han dynasty.
Pinheiro Portuguese
Means "pine tree" in Portuguese.
Alonso Spanish
From the given name Alonso.
Lagomarsino Italian
Derived from the name of the village of Lagomarsino near Genoa.
Luís Portuguese
From the given name Luís.
Tarpinian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Դարբինյան (see Darbinyan).
Nakai Japanese
From Japanese (naka) meaning "middle" and (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
Cortés Spanish
Means "polite, courteous" in Spanish.
Kinnunen Finnish
Possibly derived from the Finnish dialectal word kinni meaning "animal skin, fur", borrowed from Swedish skinn.
Nass Norwegian
Variant of Ness.
Isaacson English
Means "son of Isaac".
Gaillard French
Means "lively, strong" in French.
Lenin History
Surname adopted by the Russian revolutionary and founder of the former Soviet state Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), whose birth surname was Ulyanov. He probably adapted it from the name of the River Lena in Siberia.
O'Hara Irish
From the Irish Ó hEaghra, which means "descendant of Eaghra", Eaghra being a given name of uncertain origin. Supposedly, the founder of the clan was Eaghra, a 10th-century lord of Luighne. A famous fictional bearer of this surname is Scarlett O'Hara, a character in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind (1936).
Mihailović Serbian
Means "son of Mihailo".
Fannon Irish
From the Irish Ó Fionnáin meaning "descendant of Fionn".
Brambilla Italian
Derived from the Italian town of Brembilla in Lombardy, itself named after the Brembo river.
Zeni Italian
Means "son of Zeno".
Barsamian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Պարսամյան (see Parsamyan).
Twist English, Literature
Probably from the name of towns in England and Wales called Twist or Twiss. This surname was used by Charles Dickens for the hero of his novel Oliver Twist (1838), about an orphan surviving the streets of London. Dickens probably had the vocabulary word twist in mind when naming the character.
Jansink Dutch
Variant of Jansen.
Marušić Croatian
Matronymic name meaning "son of Marija".
Ó Cearmada Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Carmody.
Araujo Spanish
Spanish form of Araújo.
Oberst German
From Old High German obar meaning "above, upper", indicating a person from the uppermost end of a village or the top of a house.
Filipek Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Filip.
Harden English
From a place name meaning "hare valley" in Old English.
Drake English
Derived from the Old Norse byname Draki or the Old English byname Draca both meaning "dragon", both via Latin from Greek δράκων (drakon) meaning "dragon, serpent".
Palladino Italian
From Italian paladino meaning "knight, defender", from Late Latin palatinus meaning "palace officer".
Spannagel German
Occupational name for a nailsmith, from Middle High German span nagel "connecting bolt".
Sparks English
From an Old Norse nickname or byname derived from sparkr meaning "sprightly".
Hasenkamp German
From a northern German place name meaning "rabbit field", from Old Saxon haso "hare" and kamp "field" (from Latin campus).
Mac Cormaic Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McCormick.
Bognár Hungarian
Hungarian form of Wagner.
Ó hAodha Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Hayes 2.
Pleško Slovene
Nickname for a bald person, from Slovene pleša meaning "bald patch".
Baggio Italian
Originally denoted a person from the Italian town of Baggio (now part of Milan). It is probably derived from Latin Badalocum meaning "watch place".
Seppä Finnish
Means "smith" in Finnish.
Brodeur French
Means "embroiderer" in French.
Tremblay French
From French tremble meaning "aspen". It is especially widespread in Quebec, being the most common surname there.
Fowler English
Occupational name for a fowler or bird catcher, ultimately derived from Old English fugol meaning "bird".
Tomioka Japanese
From Japanese (tomi) meaning "wealth, abundance" and (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".
Agani Italian
Means "son of Agano", a given name of unknown meaning.
Jaffe Hebrew
Alternate transcription of Hebrew יָפֶה (see Yaffe).
Bellini Italian
From Italian bello meaning "beautiful".
Tangeman German
Originally indicated a person from a place named Tange in northern Germany.
Laurent French
From the given name Laurent.
Thrussell English
From Old English þrostle meaning "song thrush", referring to a cheerful person.
Wauters Dutch
Means "son of Wouter".
Orellana Spanish
Originally indicated a person from one of the two towns named Orellana in Badajoz, Spain. Their names are probably derived from Latin Aureliana meaning "of Aurelius".
Bulgarelli Italian
Diminutive of Bulgari.
Aho Finnish
Means "meadow, glade" in Finnish.
Spyrou Greek
Means "son of Spyros".
Lau Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Liu.
Caomhánach Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Kavanagh.
Lundqvist Swedish
Derived from Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".
Mallory English
From Old French maleüré meaning "unfortunate", a term introduced to England by the Normans.
Lazarević Serbian
Means "son of Lazar".
Kalbfleisch German
Occupational name for a butcher who dealt in veal, from German kalb meaning "calf" and fleisch meaning "meat".
Causer English
Occupational name for one who made leggings, derived from Old French chausse "leggings".
Somma Italian
From the names of Italian places like Somma Lombardo or Somma Vesuviana, derived from Latin summa meaning "summit".
Bourgeois French
French cognate of Burgess.
Bedrosian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Պետրոսյան (see Petrosyan).
Power 1 English, Irish
From Old French Poier, indicating a person who came from the town of Poix in Picardy, France.
Koenig German
German cognate of King.
Alfredsson Swedish
Means "son of Alfred".
Jepson English
Means "son of Jep".
Takeda Japanese
From Japanese (take) meaning "military, martial" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Kuijpers Dutch
Variant of Kuiper.
Torosian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Թորոսյան (see Torosyan).
Antonis mu Greek, Dutch
Derived from the given name Antonis or Antonius.
Abelli Italian
From the given name Abele.
Fortuyn Dutch
Dutch cognate of Fortune.
Lebrun French
From a nickname meaning "the brown" in French, from brun "brown".
Scherer German
Occupational name for a cutter of cloth or a sheep-shearer, from Old High German skeran "to cut".
Jiang 2 Chinese
From Chinese (jiāng) meaning "ginger".
Asano Japanese
From Japanese (asa) meaning "shallow" and (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Schuster German
Means "shoemaker, cobbler", from Middle High German schuoch "shoe" and suter, from Latin sutor "sewer, cobbler".
Antonsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Anton".
Fonseca Spanish, Portuguese
Originally belonged to a person who lived near a dry spring, from Latin fons "well, spring" and siccus "dry".
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).
Ola Basque
From Basque ola meaning "hut, small house, forge".
Brooks English
Variant of Brook.
Renaud French
From the given name Renaud.
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).
Adams English, Jewish
Derived from the given name Adam.
Solís Spanish
From the name of a village in Asturias, Spain, derived from Spanish sol "sun".
Hartmann German
From the German given name Hartmann.
Mertens Dutch, Low German, Flemish
From the given name Merten.
Milani Italian
Variant of Milano.
Carl English, German
From the given name Carl.
Kästner German
Means "cabinet maker", derived from Middle High German kaste "box".
Thatcher English
Referred to a person who thatched roofs by attaching straw to them, derived from Old English þæc meaning "thatch, roof". A famous bearer was the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
Arthur English, French
From the given name Arthur.
Suero Spanish
Derived from the given name Suero.
Burke English, Irish
Derived from Middle English burgh meaning "fortress, fortification, castle". It was brought to Ireland in the 12th century by the Norman invader William de Burgh.
Okamura Japanese
From Japanese (oka) meaning "hill, ridge" and (mura) meaning "town, village".
Scarlett English
Denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet, a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ).
Bodnár Hungarian
Means "cooper, barrel maker" in Hungarian.
Moors English
Variant of Moore 1.
Jameson English
Means "son of James".
Mohan Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Mocháin meaning "descendant of Mochán".
Horne English
Variant of Horn.
Rautio Finnish
Means "smith" in Finnish.
Steube German
Variant of Steuben.
Campos Portuguese, Spanish
Portuguese and Spanish variant of Campo.
Alvarsson Swedish
Means "son of Alvar".
Barbier French
French cognate of Barber.
Zentai Hungarian
Originally indicated a person from the city of Senta in Serbia (formerly a part of Hungary and called Zenta).
Nyman Swedish
From Swedish ny (Old Norse nýr) meaning "new" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".
Sung Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese (see Song).
Bösch 1 German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Sebastian.
Giese German, Danish
Derived from a short form of the given name Giselbert or other Old German names beginning with the element gisal meaning "pledge, hostage".
Fejes Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian fej meaning "head", originally a nickname applied to a stubborn person.
Barre French
French cognate of Barr.
Hodgson English
Means "son of Hodge", a medieval diminutive of Roger.
O'Connor Irish
From Irish Ó Conchobhair meaning "descendant of Conchobar".
Bengtsdotter Swedish
Means "daughter of Bengt".
Gary English
Variant of Geary.
Balık Turkish
From a Turkish word meaning "fish".
Ó Cuaig Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Quigg.
Laurito Italian
From the name of the town of Laurito, near Salerno in the area of Naples.
Durnin Irish
From Irish Ó Doirnáin meaning "descendant of Doirnín", a given name meaning "little fist".
Langdon English
Derived from the name of various places, of Old English origin meaning "long hill" (effectively "ridge").
Redondo Spanish
Means "round" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a plump person, ultimately from Latin rotundus.