Browse Surnames

Aaldenberg Dutch
Originally denoted a person who came from an uncertain place called Aaldenberg, meaning "old mountain".

Aalfs Dutch
Means "son of Aalf", a short form of Adolf.

Aalto Finnish
From Finnish aalto meaning "wave". A famous bearer was Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).

Aarle Dutch
Denoted a person who hailed from a place of this name in the Netherlands, or from Arlon in Belgium (which is Aarlen in Dutch).

Aaron Jewish, English
From the given name Aaron.

Aarse Dutch
Means "son of Arend".

Aarts Dutch
Means "son of Aart".

Abadzhieva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Abadzhiev.

Abano Italian
Originally denoted a person from the town of Abano, Latin Aponus, which was derived from the old Celtic root ab meaning "water".

Abatangelo Italian
From Italian abate meaning "abbot, priest" combined with the given name Angelo.

Abate Italian
From Italian abate meaning "abbot, priest", derived via Latin and Greek from an Aramaic word meaning "father". This was used either as a nickname or an occupational name for a worker in a priest's house.

Abbas Arabic, Urdu
From the given name Abbas.

Abbes Dutch
Means "son of Abbe".

Abbey English
Indicated a person who lived near an abbey or worked in an abbey, from Middle English abbeye.

Abdel Arabic
From the given name Abdul.

Abdul Arabic, Pashto
From the given name Abdul.

Abdullaeva f Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh
Alternate transcription of Cyrillic Абдуллаева (see Abdullayeva).

Abdullayev m Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh
Means "son of Abdulla".

Abeln German
Patronymic derived from a diminutive of Albert.

Abels Dutch
Means "son of Abel".

Åberg Swedish
From Swedish å meaning "river, stream" and berg meaning "mountain".

Abney English
From the name of a town in Derbyshire, derived from Old English meaning "Abba's island".

Abrahamsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Abraham".

Abrahamson Jewish, English
Means "son of Abraham".

Abram English
Derived from the given name Abraham.

Abreu Portuguese, Galician
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a given name that was of Germanic origin.

Achterberg Dutch, German
From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, for example the village of achterberg in Utrecht. The place names are derived from Low German achter "behind" and berg "mountain, hill".

Achterkamp Dutch
From the name of various places in the Netherlands, derived from Low German achter "behind" and kamp "field".

Acker German, English
Denoted a person who lived near a field, derived from Middle English aker or Middle High German acker meaning "field".

Acone Italian
Possibly from the name of a harbour in Bithynia (in modern Turkey).

Acqua Italian
Means "water" in Italian, indicating one who dwelt by or transported water.

Adair English
Derived from the given name Edgar.

Adami Italian
Means "son of Adamo".

Adamo Italian
Italian form of Adam.

Adams English, Jewish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Adema Frisian
Means "son of Ade 2".

Adler German, Jewish
Means "eagle" in German.

Adomaitytė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Adomaitis. This form is used by unmarried women.

Adriaansen Dutch
Means "son of Adriaan".

Aerts Dutch, Flemish
From a diminutive of the given name Arnout.

Agani Italian
Means "son of Agano", a given name of unknown meaning.

Agema Frisian
Means "son of Age 1".

Aggio Italian
Possibly from the name Aggius, probably related to the Germanic name Agi.

Agócs Hungarian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Ágoston.

Ahmad Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indian (Muslim)
Derived from the given name Ahmad.

Ahmed Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indian (Muslim)
Derived from the given name Ahmad.

Aiken English
From the medieval given name Atkin, a diminutive of Adam.

Akers English
Variant of Acker.

Akker Dutch
Dutch form of Acker.

Akkersdijk Dutch
Originally denoted a person from the town of Akkersdijk, near Delft in the Netherlands. It means "field by the dyke" in Dutch.

Aksoy Turkish
From Turkish ak "white" and soy "lineage, ancestry".

Alberdingk Dutch
Variant of Alberink.

Alberghini Italian
Diminutive of Alberghi.

Albertsson Swedish, Icelandic
Means "son of Albert".

Albrektson Swedish
Variant of Albrechtsson.

Aldebrandi Italian
Means "son of Aldebrando", an Italian form of Aldebrand.

Alden English
Derived from the Old English given name Ealdwine.

Alekseyeva f Russian
Feminine form of Alekseyev.

Alesi Italian
From the given name Alessio.

Alessandri Italian
Means "son of Alessandro".

Alfredsson Swedish
Means "son of Alfred".

Alger English
From the given name Algar.

Al-Ghazzawi Arabic
Originally indicated a person who came from Gaza in Palestine.

Aliev m Tajik, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Avar, Chechen
Alternate transcription of Tajik/Kyrgyz/Chechen Алиев, Kazakh Әлиев or Avar ГӀалиев (see Aliyev).

Aling Dutch
Variant of Alink.

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

Allan English, Scottish
Derived from the given name Alan.

Allen English, Scottish
Derived from the given name Alan.

Alles Dutch
Means "son of Alle".

Aloia Italian
Variant of Aloi.

Alves Portuguese
Means "son of Álvaro".

Alvey English
Derived from the given name Ælfwig.

Alvin English
Variant of Elwyn.

Amano Japanese
From Japanese 天 (ama) meaning "heaven" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Amato Italian
From the given name Amato.

Amiri Persian
From the given name Amir 1.

Amjad Arabic
Derived from the given name Amjad.

Amsel 1 Jewish
Derived from the given name Anshel.

Amsel 2 German
Means "blackbird" in German.

Anand Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi
Means "happiness, bliss" in Sanskrit.

Anastasiou Greek
Means "son of Anastasios".

Anaya Spanish
From the names of a few Spanish towns, possibly of Arabic origin meaning "stagnant water" or "path".

André French
Derived from the given name André.

Andreassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Andreas".

Andréasson Swedish
Variant of Andreasson.

Andreasson Swedish
Means "son of Andreas".

Andriessen Dutch
Means "son of Andries".

Anema Frisian
Means "son of Ane 2".

Anghelescu Romanian
Means "son of Anghel".

Angus Irish, Scottish
From the given name Aonghus.

Anker Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Metonymic surname for a sailor, meaning "anchor" in Dutch, Danish and Norwegian.

Annevelink Dutch
From Dutch aan 't veldink meaning "next to the little field".

Ansel English
Derived from the given name Anselm.

Anselmetti Italian
Means "son of Anselmetto", a diminutive of Anselmo.

Anson English
Means "son of Agnes".

Antal Hungarian
From the given name Antal.

Anthonyson English (Rare)
Means "son of Anthony".

Antić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Anto" or "son of Ante 1".

Antón Spanish
From the given name Antón.

Anton Romanian
From the given name Anton.

Antov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Anton".

Apostolova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Apostolov.

Appeldoorn Dutch
Variant of Van Apeldoorn.

Apted English
Probably from an unidentified place name meaning "up tower" in Old English.

Arany Hungarian
Means "golden" in Hungarian. A famous bearer of the name was Hungarian poet János Arany (1817-1882).

Araya Spanish
Denoted a person from Araia in the Basque Country, Spain. It is of uncertain meaning.

Arden English
From English place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".

Ardiccioni Italian
Means "son of Ardiccione", a derivative of Ardito.

Arena Italian
Italian cognate of Arenas.

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

Arima Japanese
From Japanese 有 (ari) meaning "have, possess" and 馬 (ma) meaning "horse".

Arkes Dutch
Means "son of Arke 2".

Ármannsson Icelandic
Means "son of Ármann".

Armbrüster German
Variant of Armbruster.

Armbruster German
Means "crossbow maker" from German armbrust "crossbow". The word armbrust was originally from Latin arcuballista meaning "bow ballista", but was modified under the influence of German arm "arm" and brust "breast".

Arntz Dutch
Means "son of Arend".

Arntzenius Dutch
Latinized form of Arntzen.

Arrighetti Italian
Means "son of Arrighetto", a diminutive of the given name Arrigo.

Arterberry English
Variant of Atteberry.

Arthursson Swedish
Means "son of Arthur".

Asano Japanese
From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Asjes Dutch
Variant of Askes.

Askes Dutch
Means "son of Aske", a diminutive of Asse.

Aslan Turkish
From the given name Aslan.

Aston 1 English
From a place name meaning "east town" in Old English.

Aston 2 English
From the Old English given name Æðelstan.

Astor Occitan
Derived from Occitan astur meaning "hawk". The wealthy and influential Astor family, prominent in British and American society, originated in the Italian Alps.

Astrauskas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Ostrowski.

Athanasiou Greek
Means "son of Athanasios".

Atsma Frisian
Means "son of Atse".

Attar Persian
From Persian عطر (ʿaṭr) meaning "fragrance, perfume", ultimately from Arabic. It probably denoted a seller of perfume.

Atterberry English
Variant of Atteberry.

Aukes Dutch
Dutch form of Aukema.

Avery English
Derived from a Norman French form of the given names Alberich or Alfred.

Ávila Spanish
From the name of the city of Ávila in Spain. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly of Punic or Celtic origin.

Ayala Spanish
From the name of the town of Ayala (called Aiara in Basque) in Álava, Spain. It might be derived from Basque aiher "slope" or alha "pasture".

Ayers 1 English
From Middle English eir meaning "heir".

Ayers 2 English
Derived from the given name Ealhhere.

Ayers 3 English
Indicated a person from the town of Ayr in Scotland. The town was named for the river that flows through it, itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".

Ayton English
From the name of towns in Berwickshire and North Yorkshire. They are derived from Old English ea "river" or ieg "island" combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Baars Dutch
Indicated a person coming from the town of Beers in the Netherlands.

Baart Dutch
Means "beard" in Dutch, originally describing a person who wore a beard.

Babić Serbian, Croatian
Matronymic surname derived from Serbo-Croatian baba "grandmother, old woman".

Babič Slovene
Slovene form of Babić.

Babin French
From the given name Babin, a medieval diminutive of Babylas.

Bachvarova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Bachvarov.

Badem Turkish
Derived from a Turkish word meaning "almond".

Bader German
Derived from Old High German bad "bath", most likely referring to a bath attendant.

Bager Danish
Danish cognate of Baker.

Baggi Italian
Variant of Baggio.

Bagni Italian
From Italian bagno "bath", derived from Latin balneum, referring to a person who worked as a bath house attendant.

Baier German
Variant of Bayer.

Baird Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac an Baird.

Baker English
Occupational name meaning "baker", derived from Middle English bakere.

Bakke Norwegian
Means "slope, hillside" in Norwegian, from Old Norse bakki "bank".

Bălan Romanian
Means "blond" in Romanian.

Baláž m Slovak
Slovak form of Balázs.

Baldi Italian
Derived from the given name Baldo.

Baldinotti Italian
Derived from the given name Baldinotto, from the Latin name Baldinoctus, a diminutive of Baldo.

Balık Turkish
From a Turkish word meaning "fish".

Balog Hungarian
Variant of Balogh.

Banes Welsh
Variant of Baines 1.

Baník m Slovak
Means "miner" in Slovak.

Banks English
Originally indicated someone who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.

Baran um Polish, Slovak, Ukrainian
Means "ram, male sheep" in Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian.

Barbu Romanian
From Romanian barbă meaning "beard".

Barış Turkish
From the given name Barış.

Barna Hungarian
Means "brown" in Hungarian.

Baron English, French
From the title of nobility, derived from Latin baro (genitive baronis) meaning "man, freeman", possibly from Frankish barō meaning "servant, man, warrior". It was used as a nickname for someone who worked for a baron or acted like a baron.

Barre French
French cognate of Barr.

Bárta m Czech
From a given name that was a diminutive of Bartoloměj.

Barta Hungarian
From the given name Barta.

Bartalotti Italian
Means "son of Bartalotto", a diminutive of Bartolo.

Bartolomei Italian
Derived from the given name Bartolomeo.

Bartolomeo Italian
Derived from the given name Bartolomeo.

Bašić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of the chief", derived from Serbo-Croatian baša meaning "chief, boss" (of Turkish origin).

Bassanelli Italian
Diminutive form of Bassani.

Bassi Italian
Variant of Basso, common in northern Italy.

Basso Italian
Originally a nickname for a short person, from Latin bassus "thick, low".

Bates English
Means "son of Bate".

Batts English
Means "son of Bate".

Bauer German
From Old High German bur meaning "peasant, farmer".

Baumgarten German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Bayer German
Originally denoted a person from Bavaria, from its German name Bayern.

Beake English
Variant of Beck 3.

Becke German
Variant of Beck 1 or Beck 2.

Beech 1 English
English cognate of Bach 1.

Beech 2 English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a beech tree, from Old English bece.

Begam Indian (Muslim), Bengali (Muslim), Urdu, Punjabi
Alternate transcription of Urdu بیگم, Bengali বেগম or Gurmukhi ਬੇਗਮ (see Begum).

Begum Indian (Muslim), Bengali (Muslim), Urdu, Punjabi
From a title traditionally used as an honorific for Muslim women in India and other parts of southern Asia. It is derived from a feminine form of the Turkic title beg meaning "chieftain" (modern Turkish bey).

Bellandini Italian
Diminutive form of Bellandi.

Bello Spanish, Italian
Means "beautiful" in Spanish and Italian, originally a nickname for an attractive person.

Beltz German
Occupational name for a tanner of hides, derived from Middle High German belz meaning "fur".

Bencivenni Italian
Means "son of Bencivenne", from the medieval name Bencivenga, a Tuscan variant of Benvenuto.

Benes Hungarian
Hungarian form of Beneš.

Beneš m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Benedikt.

Bengoechea Basque
Variant of Bengoetxea.

Bengoetxea Basque
Means "the house furthest down" from Basque bengo "furthest down" and etxe "house".

Bennington English
From the English town name Benington, which can mean either "settlement belonging to Beonna's people" or "settlement by the River Beane".

Beran m Czech
Derived from Czech beran meaning "ram, male sheep".

Berge Norwegian, German, Swedish
Variant of Berg.

Berlusconi Italian
Probably from the Milanese word berlusch meaning "cross-eyed, crooked".

Bernardino Portuguese, Spanish
From the given name Bernardino.

Bernardová f Czech
Czech feminine form of Bernard.

Berne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Berry English
Derived from a place name, which was derived from Old English burh "fortification".

Berti Italian
Derived from the given name Berto.

Bevan Welsh
Derived from Welsh ap Evan meaning "son of Evan".

Beyer German
Variant of Bayer.

Beyersdorf German
Means "farmers village", from German Bauer meaning "farmer" and Dorf meaning "village".

Biagi Italian
Means "son of Biagio".

Björk Swedish
From Swedish björk meaning "birch tree", Old Norse bjǫrk.

Black English
Means either "black" (from Old English blæc) or "pale" (from Old English blac). It could refer to a person with a pale or a dark complexion, or a person who worked with black dye.

Bláha m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Blažej.

Blain Scottish
From the given name Bláán.

Blair Scottish
From any one of several places of this name in Scotland, which derive from Gaelic blàr meaning "plain, field, battlefield".

Blake English
Variant of Black. A famous bearer was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827).

Blanc French
Means "white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond.

Blanchette French (Quebec)
Variant of Blanchet.

Bloodworth English
Originally indicated someone from the town of Blidworth in Nottinghamshire, which was derived from the Old English byname Blīþa (meaning "happy, blithe") combined with worð "enclosure".

Blumenthal German, Jewish
Derived from German Blumen "flowers" and Thal "valley".

Boatwright English
Occupational name meaning "maker of boats".

Bobal m Czech
Derived from Czech bob meaning "bean".

Boels Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Bogdanović Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Bogdan".

Bogomolova f Russian
Feminine form of Bogomolov.

Böhme German
Variant of Böhm.

Bokor Hungarian
Topographic name derived from Hungarian bokor "bush". This is also the name of a village in Hungary.

Bonaccorsi Italian
From the medieval given name Bonaccorso.

Bonaccorso Italian
From the medieval given name Bonaccorso.

Bondarenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian бондар (bondar) meaning "cooper, barrel maker".

Boone English
Variant of Boon 1 or Boon 2.

Booth English
Topographic name derived from Middle English both meaning "hut, stall".

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.

Borislavov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Borislav".

Borja Spanish
Originally indicated a person from the Spanish town of Borja in Aragon, derived from Arabic برْج (burj) meaning "tower".

Boros Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian bor "wine". Originally it could have indicated someone who made or sold wine.

Borst Dutch
From a nickname derived from Dutch borst "chest".

Bösch 1 German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Sebastian.

Bösch 2 Low German
Variant of Bosch 1.

Bosch 1 Dutch, Low German
Derived from Middle Dutch bosch meaning "wood, forest".

Bosch 2 Catalan
Catalan cognate of Bosco.

Bosco Italian
Means "forest" in Italian.

Boško m Slovak
Derived from Slovak bosý meaning "barefoot".

Bosko Polish
Derived from Polish bosy meaning "barefoot".

Botha Afrikaans
South African variant of Both.

Bothe Dutch
Variant of Both.

Bourdillon French
Diminutive form of Borde.

Bover Catalan
Catalan cognate of Bove.

Bowen Welsh
From Welsh ap Owain meaning "son of Owain".

Bower English
From Old English bur meaning "dwelling, room".

Bowie Scottish
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Buidheach, derived from buidhe meaning "yellow". A famous bearer was the American pioneer James Bowie (1796-1836), for whom the bowie knife is named. The British musician David Bowie (1947-2016), born David Robert Jones, took his stage name from the American pioneer (and the knife).

Boyadjieva f Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Бояджиева (see Boyadzhieva).

Boyadzhiev m Bulgarian
Derived from Bulgarian бояджия (boyadzhiya) meaning "dyer".

Boyce English
From Old French bois meaning "wood", originally given to someone who lived by or in a wood.

Boyer Occitan
Occitan cognate of Bouvier.

Boyko Ukrainian
Originally indicated a member of the Boykos, an ethnic group of western Ukraine.

Boyle Irish
From Irish Ó Baoighill meaning "descendant of Baoigheall". The meaning of the given name Baoigheall is uncertain, but it is thought to be connected to Irish geall meaning "pledge".

Bozhidarov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Bozhidar".

Božić Croatian
Means "Christmas" in Croatian, a diminutive of bog meaning "god".

Braam Dutch
Derived from the given name Bram.

Brady Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ó Brádaigh meaning "descendant of Brádach". A famous bearer is the American football quarterback Tom Brady (1977-).

Brams Danish
Derived from the given name Bram.

Brand 1 German, Dutch, English
Derived from the Old German given name Brando or its Old Norse cognate Brandr.

Brand 2 German, Dutch
From Old High German brant or Old Dutch brand meaning "fire", originally a name for a person who lived near an area that had been cleared by fire.

Brankovich Serbian
Alternate transcription of Serbian Бранковић (see Branković).

Brant German, English
Variant of Brand 1 and Brand 2.

Braun German
Means "brown" in German.

Bravo Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "angry, bold, brave" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Breda Italian
From the name of a town near Venice, possibly derived from a Lombardic word meaning "field".

Breen Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Braoin meaning "descendant of Braon", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop".

Breisacher German
Originally denoted one who came from the town of Breisach, in Germany. The town's name is possibly from a Celtic word meaning "breakwater".

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

Brent English
Originally derived from the name of a hill (or the village nearby) in Somerset, perhaps derived from a Celtic word meaning "hill".

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

Bretz German
Indicated a person from the town of Breetz in Brandenburg, Germany. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.

Brice English
From the given name Brice.

Brkić Croatian, Serbian
Derived from Serbo-Croatian brk meaning "moustache, whisker".

Brock English
Derived from Old English brocc meaning "badger", ultimately of Celtic origin.

Brody Scottish
Variant of Brodie.

Brook English
Denoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English broc.

Brose German
Derived from the given name Ambrose.

Brotz German
Variant of Protz.

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.

Bruce Scottish
Possibly from the name of the town of Brix in Normandy, which is of unknown meaning. It was brought to Scotland in the 12th century by the Anglo-Norman baron Robert de Brus. It was later borne by his descendant Robert the Bruce, a hero of the 14th century who achieved independence from England and became the king of Scotland.

Bruhn German
Variant of Braun.

Bruin Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.

Brune German
Variant of Braun.

Bruno Italian, Portuguese
Means "brown" in Italian and Portuguese, a nickname for a person with brown hair or brown clothes. A famous bearer was the cosmologist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600).

Bryan English
From the given name Brian.

Bryce English
From the given name Brice.

Buchvarova f Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Бъчварова (see Bachvarova).

Budai Hungarian
Originally indicated a person from the Hungarian city of Buda (one of the two cities that were joined to make Budapest in 1873).

Buday Hungarian
Variant of Budai.

Budny Polish
Possibly from Polish buda meaning "hut, cabin".

Bueno Spanish
From a nickname meaning "good" in Spanish.

Bulgarelli Italian
Diminutive of Bulgari.

Bulle Dutch
From the given name Boele.

Bunschoten Dutch
Originally indicated a person from the Dutch town of Bunschoten, which might mean "raised, enclosed land".

Buonarroti Italian
From the medieval Italian given name Buonarroto meaning "good increase". This was the surname of the Renaissance painter and sculptor Michelangelo (1475-1564).