Browse Surnames

Richard English, French, German, Dutch
From the given name Richard.

Richards English
Derived from the given name Richard.

Richardson English
Means "son of Richard".

Richter German
Means "judge" in German, from Middle High German rihtære.

Rickard English
From the given name Richard.

Rider English
Variant of Ryder.

Ridge English
Denoted a person who lived near a ridge, from Old English hrycg.

Ridley English
Denoted a person who hailed from one of the various places of this name in England. The places are derived from Old English hreod "reed" or ryddan "to strip, to clear" combined with leah "woodland, clearing".

Rieck Low German
Low German form of Reich.

Riese German, Jewish
Means "giant" in German, from Old High German risi.

Rietveld Dutch
Means "reed field", from Dutch riet "reed" and veld "field". It is found mostly in the western part of the Netherlands (the Holland area).

Rigby English
Originally derived from the name of a town in Lancashire, itself from Old Norse hryggr "ridge" and býr "farm, settlement".

Rijnders Dutch, Frisian
Variant of Reinders.

Riker German
Possibly a variant of Reich.

Riley 1 English
From the name of the town of Ryley in Lancashire, derived from Old English ryge "rye" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Rimmer English
Occupational name meaning "poet", from Middle English rime meaning "rhyme".

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.

Ritter German
From Middle High German riter meaning "rider, knight", a cognate of Ryder.

Rivers English
Denoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French riviere meaning "river", from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Roach English
From Middle English and Old French roche meaning "rock", from Late Latin rocca, a word that may be of Celtic origin. It indicated a person who lived near a prominent rock, or who came from a town by this name (such as Les Roches in Normandy).

Robbins English
Derived from the given name Robin.

Robert French, English
From the given name Robert.

Roberts English
Means "son of Robert".

Robertson English
Means "son of Robert".

Robinson English
Means "son of Robin".

Robson English
Means "son of Rob".

Roderick English
Derived from the given name Roderick.

Rodgers English
Derived from the given name Rodger.

Rodney English
From a place name meaning "Hroda's island" in Old English (where Hroda is an Old English given name meaning "fame").

Rogers English
Derived from the given name Roger.

Rogerson English
Means "son of Roger".

Roggeveen Dutch
Means "rye field" in Dutch. A famous bearer was Jacob Roggeveen (1659-1729), the first European explorer to Easter Island.

Roijackers Dutch
Variant of Rooijakkers.

Roijakkers Dutch
Variant of Rooijakkers.

Rollins English
From a diminutive of the given name Roland.

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

Romeijn Dutch
Derived from the given name Romein.

Romeijnders Dutch
From Dutch Romein meaning "Roman, person from Rome".

Romeijnsen Dutch
Means "son of Romein" in Dutch.

Romijn Dutch
Derived from the given name Romein.

Romijnders Dutch
Variant of Romeijnders.

Romijnsen Dutch
Means "son of Romein" in Dutch.

Romilly English, French
Originally denoted a person who came from any of the various places in northern France called Romilly or from Romiley in England.

Rompa Dutch
Variant of Van Rompa.

Rooijakkers Dutch
Means "red field", from Dutch rood "red" and akker "field".

Roosa Dutch
From Dutch roos meaning "rose".

Roosevelt Dutch
Means "rose field" from Dutch roos "rose" and veld "field". This was the surname of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).

Roscoe English
From the name of a town in Lancashire, derived from Old Norse rá "roebuck" and skógr "wood, forest".

Rose 1 English, French, German, Jewish
Means "rose" from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German rose, all from Latin rosa. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in an area abundant with roses. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental, from Yiddish רויז (roiz).

Rose 2 English
Derived from the feminine given name Rose.

Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.

Rosenberger German, Jewish
Variant of Rosenberg.

Rosenfeld German, Jewish
Means "field of roses" in German. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Ross English, Scottish
From various place names (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), which are derived from Scottish Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland".

Rot German, Jewish
Variant of Roth.

Roth German, Jewish
From Middle High German rot meaning "red". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.

Rothbauer German
From Old High German riuten "to clear land" and bur "peasant, farmer".

Rothenberg German, Jewish
From Middle High German rot meaning "red" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish name it may be ornamental.

Rounds English
Patronymic derived from Middle English rond meaning "round, plump", ultimately from Latin rotundus.

Rowbottom English
Originally indicated a person who lived in an overgrown valley, from Old English ruh "rough, overgrown" and boðm "valley".

Rowe 1 English
Means "row" in Middle English, indicating a dweller by a row of hedges or houses.

Rowe 2 English
From the medieval name Row, which is either a variant of Roul or short form of Roland.

Rowland English
Derived from the given name Roland.

Rowntree English
Originally given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash.

Roy 1 French, English
Variant of Rey 1.

Royce English
Originally derived from the medieval given name Royse, a variant of Rose.

Royceston English
Variant of Royston.

Roydon English
Originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill", from Old English ryge "rye" and dun "hill".

Royle English
Originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill" from Old English ryge "rye" and hyll "hill".

Royston English
Originally taken from an Old English place name meaning "Royse's town". The given name Royse was a medieval variant of Rose.

Ruf German
From the given name Rolf.

Ruff German, English
From the given name Rolf.

Ruggles English
From a medieval diminutive of the given name Roger.

Rush English
Indicated a person who lived near rushes, the grasslike plant that grows in a marsh, from Old English rysc.

Ruskin 2 English
From a diminutive of the feminine given name Rose.

Russel English
Variant of Russell.

Russell English
From a Norman French nickname that meant "little red one", perhaps originally describing a person with red hair.

Rutgers Dutch
Derived from the given name Rutger.

Rutten Dutch
Derived from the given name Rutger.

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

Rye English
Topographic name. It could be a misdivision of the Middle English phrases atter ye meaning "at the island" or atter eye meaning "at the river". In some cases it merely indicated a person who lived where rye was grown or worked with rye (from Old English ryge).

Ryer German (Anglicized)
Possibly an Americanized form of Reiher.

Ryland English
From various English place names, derived from Old English ryge "rye" and land "land".

Ryley English
Variant of Riley 1.

Ryskamp Dutch
Meaning unknown, probably ending with Dutch kamp meaning "camp".

Sachs German
Originally indicated a person from Saxony (German Sachsen). The region was named for the Germanic tribe of the Saxons, ultimately derived from the Germanic word *sahsą meaning "knife".

Sackville English
From the name of the Norman French town of Saqueneville.

Sadler English
Occupational name for a maker of saddles, from Old English sadol "saddle".

Saller 1 German
Originally denoted a person from the town of Sallern in Bavaria, possibly from a Celtic element meaning "stream".

Saller 2 German
Denoted a person who lived by a prominent sallow tree, from Middle High German salhe "sallow tree".

Salmon English, French
Derived from the given name Solomon.

Salomon French, German, Jewish
Derived from the given name Salomon or Salomo.

Salvage English
Variant of Savage.

Salzwedel German
Originally denoted a person from Salzwedel, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "salt ford".

Sampson English
Derived from a medieval form of the given name Samson.

Sams English
Derived from the given name Samuel.

Samson English, French
Derived from the given name Samson.

Samuel English, Welsh, French, Jewish
Derived from the given name Samuel.

Samuels English
Derived from the given name Samuel.

Samuelson English
Means "son of Samuel".

Sander German, Danish
Derived from the given name Alexander.

Sanders English
Patronymic of the given name Sander, a medieval form of Alexander.

Sanderson English
Means "son of Alexander".

Sandford English
Indicated a person from Sandford, England, which means simply "sand ford".

Sands English
From Old English, indicated the original nearer lived on sandy ground.

Sanford English
Variant of Sandford.

Sangster English, Scottish
Occupational name or nickname for a singer, from Old English singan "to sing, to chant".

Sappington English
Possibly from the city of Sapperton, England, derived from Old English sapere meaning "soap maker" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".

Sargent English
Variant of Sergeant.

Sauber German
Means "clean, tidy" in German.

Sauer German
Means "sour" in German, a nickname for an embittered or cantankerous person.

Saunders English, Scottish
Variant of Sanders.

Sauter German
Occupational name for a cobbler, from Latin sutor "sewer, cobbler".

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".

Savege English (Rare)
Variant of Savage.

Savidge English
Variant of Savage.

Sawyer English
Occupational name meaning "sawer of wood, woodcutter" in Middle English, ultimately from Old English sagu meaning "saw". Mark Twain used it for the main character in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Saylor English
Occupational name meaning "acrobat, dancer", derived from Old French sailleor, from Latin sallitor.

Scarlett English
Denoted a person who sold or made clothes made of scarlet, a kind of cloth, possibly derived from Persian سقرلاط (saqrelāṭ).

Schäfer German
From Old High German scaphare meaning "shepherd".

Scheer German, Dutch
Variant of Scherer.

Schenck German
Variant of Schenk.

Schenk German, Dutch
From Middle High German, Middle Dutch schenke meaning "wine server" (from Old High German scenken "to pour out").

Scherer German
Occupational name for a cutter of cloth or a sheep-shearer, from Old High German skeran "to cut".

Schermer Dutch, Low German
Dutch and Low German form of Schirmer.

Schindler German
Occupational name for a roof tiler, from Middle High German schindel "shingle". A famous bearer was Oskar Schindler (1908-1974), who saved over a thousand Polish Jews during World War II.

Schipper Dutch
Occupational name meaning "skipper, ship captain" in Dutch.

Schirmer German
Means "fencer, fencing master", from Old High German skirmen meaning "to defend".

Schlender German
From Middle High German slinderen "to dawdle" or Middle Low German slinden "to swallow, to eat".

Schlimme German
From German schlimm "bad, crooked, awry".

Schlösser German
Variant of Schlosser.

Schlosser German
Occupational name for a locksmith, derived from Old High German sloz meaning "lock".

Schmeling German
From Middle Low German smal meaning "small, slender".

Schmid German
Variant of Schmidt.

Schmidt German
Occupational name derived from Middle High German smit "smith, metalworker", a cognate of Smith.

Schmitt German
Variant of Schmidt.

Schmitz German
Variant of Schmidt, originating in the Rhine area in western Germany.

Schneider German, Jewish
From German schneider or Yiddish shnayder, making it a cognate of Snyder.

Schneiders Dutch
Variant of Snyder.

Schneijder Dutch
Variant of Snyder.

Schnell German
German cognate of Snell.

Schnoor German
Variant of Schnur.

Schnur German, Jewish
From Old High German snuor meaning "rope, cord", an occupational name for a maker of rope.

Schofield English
From various northern English place names, which were derived from Old Norse skáli "hut" and Old English feld "field".

Scholten Dutch
Variant of Schouten.

Scholz German
Variant of Schulz.

School Dutch
From Dutch school, ultimately from Latin schola meaning "school", indicating a person who worked at or lived near a school.

Schoorel Dutch
Variant of Schoorl.

Schoorl Dutch
Originally indicated a person from the town of Schoorl in the province of Noord-Holland in the Netherlands. It means "forest by the shore" in Dutch.

Schorel Dutch
Variant of Schoorl.

Schöttmer German
Originally indicated a person from Schötmar, Germany (now part of the city of Bad Salzuflen in North Rhine-Westphalia).

Schouten Dutch
Occupational name derived from Middle Dutch schout meaning "sheriff, bailiff".

Schräder Low German (Rare)
Variant of Schröder 1.

Schrader Low German
Variant of Schröder 1.

Schreck German
From Middle High German schrecken meaning "to frighten, to scare".

Schreiber German
German cognate of Scriven.

Schreier German, Jewish
Occupational name for a town crier, from Old High German scrian meaning "to shout, to yell".

Schrijnemakers Dutch
Occupational name for a cabinet maker, from Dutch schrijn "box, container" and maker "maker".

Schröder 1 Low German
Occupational name for a tailor, from Middle Low German schroden meaning "to cut".

Schröder 2 German
Variant of Schröter.

Schroeder German
Variant of Schröder 1 and Schröder 2.

Schroeter German
Variant of Schröter.

Schröter German
Means "beer-porter, wine-porter" in German, an occupational name for a carrier of wine or beer barrels.

Schubert German
Variant of Schuchardt. This name was borne by the Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828).

Schuchard German
Variant of Schuchardt.

Schuchardt German
From Middle High German schuochwürte meaning "shoemaker, cobbler".

Schuchert German
Variant of Schuchardt.

Schuhart German
Variant of Schuchardt.

Schuhmacher German
From the Middle High German occupational name schuochmacher meaning "shoemaker".

Schuler German
Means "scholar, student" in German, ultimately from Latin schola meaning "school".

Schult Low German
Low German variant of Schulz.

Schulte Low German
Low German variant of Schulz.

Schultes German
Variant of Schulz.

Schultheis German
Variant of Schulz.

Schultheiss German
Variant of Schulz.

Schultheiß German
Variant of Schulz.

Schultz German
Variant of Schulz.

Schultze German
Variant of Schulz.

Schulz German
Occupational name derived from Middle High German schultheiße meaning "mayor, judge".

Schulze German
Variant of Schulz.

Schumacher German
Variant of Schuhmacher.

Schuster German
Means "shoemaker, cobbler", from Middle High German schuoch "shoe" and suter, from Latin sutor "sewer, cobbler".

Schüttmann German
Means "watchman, guard" from Middle High German schützen "to protect".

Schuyler Dutch
Possibly a Dutch form of Schuler.

Schwangau German
From the name of a town in southern Germany, possibly related to German Schwan meaning "swan".

Schwartz German, Jewish
Variant of Schwarz.

Schwarz German, Jewish
Means "black" in German, from Old High German swarz. It originally described a person with black hair or a dark complexion.

Schwarzenberg German
Means "black mountain" in German.

Schwarzenegger German
From a place name, derived from Old High German swarz meaning "black" and ekka meaning "edge, corner". A famous bearer of this name is actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).

Schweitzer German
Indicated a person from Switzerland (see Schweiz).

Schwenke 1 German
Derived from Middle High German swenken meaning "to swing".

Schwenke 2 German
From a given name, a Low German diminutive of Swanhild.

Schwinghammer German
Occupational name for a blacksmith, literally meaning "swing hammer" in German.

Scott English, Scottish
Originally given to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Scottish Gaelic.

Scriven English
Occupational name meaning "writer, clerk, scribe" in Old French, derived from Latin scriba.

Scrivener English
Variant of Scriven.

Scrivenor English
Variant of Scriven.

Scrivens English
Variant of Scriven.

Seabrook English
Denoted a person from a town by this name in Buckinghamshire, England. It is derived from that of a river combined with Old English broc "stream".

Seabrooke English
Variant of Seabrook.

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

Seeger German
From the given name Sieghard.

Seegers Dutch
Means "son of Sieger".

Seelen Dutch
Variant of Ceelen.

Segers Dutch
Means "son of Sieger".

Seghers Dutch
Means "son of Sieger".

Seidel German
From a diminutive of the given name Siegfried.

Selby English
From the name of a village that meant "willow farm" in Old English.

Sempers English
From the name of various towns named Saint Pierre in Normandy, all of which commemorate Saint Peter.

Senft 1 German
Occupational name for a mustard seller, from German Senf "mustard".

Senft 2 German
Nickname for a helpful, kind person, from Old High German semfti meaning "soft, accommodating".

Senior English
Originally a name for the elder of two brothers.

Sergeant English, French
Occupational name derived from Old French sergent meaning "servant", ultimately from Latin servire "to serve".

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.

Severijns Dutch
Derived from the Latin given name Severinus.

Severins Dutch
Derived from the Latin given name Severinus.

Sevriens Dutch
Derived from the Latin given name Severinus.

Seward 1 English
Derived from the given name Sigeweard.

Seward 2 English
Means "swineherd" from Old English su "sow, female pig" and hierde "herdsman, guardian".

Sexton English
Occupational name for a sexton (Middle English sexteyn), a caretaker for a church or graveyard.

Seymour 1 English
From Saint Maur, a French place name, which commemorates Saint Maurus.

Seymour 2 English
From an English place name, derived from Old English sæ "sea" and mere "lake".

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).

Sharman English
Variant of Sherman 1.

Sharp English
Nickname for a keen person, from Old English scearp "sharp".

Sharpe English
Variant of Sharp.

Sharrow English
Originally a name for someone from Sharrow, England, derived from Old English scearu "boundary" and hoh "point of land, heel".

Shaw 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived near a prominent thicket, from Old English sceaga meaning "thicket, copse".

Shearer English
English cognate of Scherer.

Shelby English
Variant of Selby.

Shelton English
From the name of various English towns, meaning "shelf town" in Old English.

Shepard English
Variant of Shepherd.

Shepherd English
Occupational name meaning "shepherd, sheep herder", from Old English sceaphyrde.

Sheppard English
Variant of Shepherd.

Sherburn English
Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Sherborne or Sherburn in England, derived from Old English scir "bright" and burna "spring, fountain, stream".

Sherburne English
Variant of Sherburn.

Sherman 1 English
Means "shear man", referring to someone who used shears in his line of work, such as a sheep-shearer.

Shine 1 English
Means "beautiful, attractive" from Old English sciene.

Shirley English
From an English place name, derived from Old English scir "bright" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Short English
From a nickname for a short person, from Middle English schort.

Shriver German
German cognate of Scriven.

Siddall English
From the name of various English towns, derived from Old English sid "wide" and halh "nook, recess".

Sidney English
Originally derived from various place names in England meaning "wide island", from Old English sid "wide" and eg "island". Another theory holds that it comes from the name of a town in Normandy called "Saint Denis", though evidence for this is lacking.

Siebert German
Derived from the given name Siegbert.

Siegel 1 German
Occupational name for a maker of seals or signet rings, ultimately from Latin sigillum "seal".

Siegel 2 German
Derived from the diminutive of Old German given names beginning with the element sigu meaning "victory".

Sieger German
From the given name Sieghard.

Siegert German
Derived from the given name Sieghard.

Siekert German (Rare)
Derived from the given name Sieghard.

Siemon German
Variant of Simon.

Sigourney English
From the name of the commune of Sigournais in western France, called Segurniacum in medieval Latin, itself of unknown meaning.

Silver English
From a nickname for a person with grey hair, from Old English seolfor "silver".

Simen English (Rare)
From the given name Simon 1.

Simmon German
From the given name Simon 1.

Simmons English
Derived from the given name Simon 1.

Simms English
Derived from the medieval given name Sim, a short form of Simon 1.

Simon English, French, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Jewish
Derived from the given name Simon 1.

Simoneit German
From the given name Simon 1.

Simonis Dutch, German
Means "son of Simon 1".

Simons English, German, Dutch
Derived from the given name Simon 1.

Simonson English
Means "son of Simon 1".

Simpkin English
From a diminutive of the given name Simon 1.

Simpson English
Means "son of Sim", Sim being a medieval short form of Simon 1. This is the name of a fictional American family on the animated television series The Simpsons, starting 1989.

Sims English
Variant of Simms.

Sinclair English
Derived from a Norman French town called "Saint Clair".

Sitz 1 German
Derived from a given name beginning with the Old High German element sigu meaning "victory".

Sitz 2 German
Means "house owner", derived from Old High German siz "seat, domicile".

Skeates English
From the Old Norse nickname or byname skjótr meaning "swift".

Skinner English
Occupational name for a person who skinned animals, from Old Norse skinn.

Slade English
Derived from Old English slæd meaning "valley".

Slater English
Occupational name indicating that an early member worked covering roofs with slate, from Old French esclat "shard", of Germanic origin.

Slootmaekers Dutch, Flemish
Occupational name for a locksmith, from Dutch slot "lock" and maker "maker".

Slusser German
Variant of Schlosser.

Small English
From a nickname for a small person, from Middle English smal.

Smalls English
Variant of Small.

Smedley English
From an unidentified place name probably meaning "smooth clearing" in Old English.

Smeets Dutch
Variant of Smit.

Smets Dutch
Variant of Smit.

Smit Dutch
From Middle Dutch smit "metalworker, blacksmith", a cognate of Smith.

Smith English
Means "metalworker, blacksmith" from Old English smiþ, related to smitan "to smite, to hit". It is the most common surname in most of the English-speaking world. A famous bearer was the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).

Smits Dutch
Variant of Smit.

Smythe English
Variant of Smith.

Snaaijer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Snaijer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneiders Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneijder Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneijders Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneijer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneijers Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Snel Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snell.

Snell English
From Old English snel meaning "fast, quick, nimble".

Snelling English
Variant of Snell.

Snider English
Variant of Snyder.

Sniders English
Variant of Snyder.

Snijder Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Snijders Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Snyder English
Means "tailor", derived from Middle English snithen "to cut", an occupational name for a person who stitched coats and clothing.

Snyders English
Variant of Snyder.

Solomon English, Romanian, Jewish
Derived from the given name Solomon.

Sommer 1 German, English
Means "summer", from Old High German sumar or Old English sumor. This was a nickname for a cheerful person, someone who lived in a sunny spot, or a farmer who had to pay taxes in the summer.