Browse Surnames

Buono Italian
From a nickname meaning "good" in Italian.

Bureš m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the old Czech given name Burjan, a derivative of Jan 1.

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.

Burns 1 English, Scottish
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).

Burns 2 Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Busch German
Means "bush" in German, a name for someone who lived close to a thicket.

Busto Spanish, Italian
From the name of towns in Spain and Italy, derived from Late Latin bustum meaning "ox pasture".

Butkuvienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Butkus. This form (or Butkienė) is used by married women.

Butts English
From a nickname meaning "thick, stumpy", from Middle English butt.

Byrne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Caden Irish
From Irish Mac Cadáin meaning "descendant of Cadán", a given name of unknown meaning.

Caito Italian
Occupational name from Sicilian càjitu meaning "official, leader", ultimately from Arabic قاضي (qāḍī) meaning "judge".

Calligaris Italian
From Late Latin caligarius meaning "shoemaker".

Calvo Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Means "bald" in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, from Latin calvus.

Campo Spanish, Italian
Means "field" in Spanish and Italian.

Camus French
Means "flat-nosed" in French. A notable bearer was the French philosopher Albert Camus (1913-1960).

Cantú Spanish (Mexican)
Variant of Cantù, common in Mexico.

Cantù Italian
From Cantù, an Italian town located in Lombardy, itself of uncertain origin.

Caomhánach Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Kavanagh.

Carey Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ciardha meaning "descendant of Ciardha".

Caron French
Variant of Charron.

Carpentier French
French form of Carpenter.

Carré French
Means "square" in French, derived from Latin quadratus. It was used as a nickname for a squat person.

Carstensen Danish
Means "son of Carsten".

Cartwright English
Occupational name indicating one who made carts.

Casal Spanish
From the Spanish word casal meaning "farmhouse, country house", ultimately from Late Late casalis, from Latin casa.

Casas Spanish
From Spanish casa meaning "house", of Latin origin.

Casey Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cathasaigh meaning "descendant of Cathassach".

Cason English
From the English place name Cawston, derived from the Old Norse given name Kálfr combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".

Castellano Spanish
Variant of Castilla.

Cavalcante Italian
Derived from Italian cavalcare "to ride".

Cavan Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Caoimháin meaning "descendant of Caomhán".

Cavey Irish
Possibly an Anglicized form of Mac Daibhéid.

Cecil Welsh
From the Welsh given name Seisyll, which was derived from the Roman name Sextilius, a derivative of Sextus.

Çelik Turkish
Occupational name for a metalworker, meaning "steel" in Turkish.

Černá f Czech
Feminine form of Černý.

Černý m Czech
Means "black" in Czech.

Červenková f Czech
Feminine form of Červenka.

Chancellor English
Occupational name for an administrator, a chancellor, from Norman French chancelier.

Chang Chinese, Korean
Alternate transcription of Chinese 张 (see Zhang) or Korean Hangul 장 (see Jang).

Chase English
Occupational name for a hunter, from Middle English chase "hunt".

Chavdarova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Chavdarov.

Chaykovsky m Russian
Russian form of Chayka. A famous bearer was the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Chaykovsky (1840-1893), with the surname commonly Romanized as Tchaikovsky.

Cheng 1 Chinese
From Chinese 程 (chéng) meaning "rule, order, regulations", also referring to the territory of Cheng (in present-day Henan province) that existed during the Zhou dynasty.

Cheng 2 Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zheng.

Chevallier French
Variant of Chevalier.

Chiba Japanese
From Japanese 千 (chi) meaning "thousand" and 葉 (ha) meaning "leaf".

Chong Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhang.

Christians English
Derived from the given name Christian.

Christison English
Means "son of Christian".

Chung Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 정 (see Jeong).

Chvátalová f Czech
Feminine form of Chvátal.

Čierniková f Slovak
Feminine form of Čiernik.

Cisternino Italian
From the name of the town of Cisternino, near the city of Bari in southern Italy.

Čížek m Czech
Means "siskin" in Czech, referring to a type of bird in the finch family.

Čížik m Slovak
Slovak cognate of Čížek.

Claes Flemish
From the given name Klaus.

Clark English
Means "cleric" or "scribe", from Old English clerec meaning "priest", ultimately from Latin clericus. A famous bearer was William Clark (1770-1838), an explorer of the west of North America.

Clery Irish
Variant of Cleary.

Cline German (Anglicized), Jewish
Anglicized spelling of Klein.

Cloet Dutch
Variant of Kloet.

Close English
From Middle English clos meaning "enclosure", a topographic name for someone who lived near a courtyard or farmyard.

Cocks English
Patronymic form of Cock.

Cohen Jewish
Means "priest" from Hebrew כֹּהֵן (kohen). It originally denoted one of the priestly tribe of Levi.

Coiro Italian
From Italian cuoio meaning "leather", ultimately from Latin corium. This was an occupational surname for a leather worker or tanner.

Cokes English
Variant of Cook.

Colby English
From various English place names, which were derived from the Old Norse byname Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and býr "farm, settlement".

Colin French
From a diminutive of the given name Nicolas.

Colón Spanish
Spanish form of Colombo.

Coman Romanian
From the name of the Cumans, a Turkic people from the Eurasian Steppe.

Combs English
Variant of Coombs.

Confortola Italian
From the old Italian given name Conforto meaning "comfort".

Constantin Romanian, French
From the given name Constantin.

Conti Italian
From the Italian noble title conte meaning "count", derived from Latin comes (genitive comitis) meaning "companion, attendant". It denoted a person who worked for a count or behaved like one.

Cooke English
Variant of Cook.

Corey English
Derived from the Old Norse given name Kóri, of unknown meaning.

Corna Italian
Derived from the names of places in northern Italy, especially Lombardy, from a word that means "crag, cliff" in the Lombard dialect.

Corrà Italian
From a short form of the given name Corrado.

Corti Italian
From Italian corte meaning "court, yard".

Corvi Italian
Nickname derived from Italian corvo meaning "crow".

Ćosić Croatian, Serbian
From Croatian and Serbian ćosav "beardless", ultimately from Persian کوسه (kūseh) meaning "shark".

Costa Portuguese, Italian, Catalan
Means "riverbank, slope, coast" in Portuguese, Italian and Catalan, ultimately from Latin meaning "side, edge".

Costantini Italian
From the given name Costantino.

Coste French
French form of Costa.

Couch Cornish
From Cornish cough "red", indicating the original bearer had red hair.

Coupe English
From Middle English coupe meaning "barrel", a name for a barrel maker or cooper.

Cracchiolo Italian
Derived from Italian cracchiola, referring to a chicory-like vegetable.

Craig Scottish
Derived from Gaelic creag meaning "crag, rocks, outcrop", originally belonging to a person who lived near a crag.

Crewe English
Originally denoted someone from Crewe in Cheshire, which is from Welsh criu "weir, dam, fish trap".

Crisp English
English cognate of Crespo.

Croce Italian
Italian form of Cross.

Croft English
From Old English croft meaning "enclosed field".

Cross English
Locative name meaning "cross", ultimately from Latin crux. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.

Cunha Portuguese
From any of the numerous places in Portugal called Cunha, possibly from Portuguese cunha meaning "wedge".

Cunningham 1 Scottish
From the name of place in the Ayrshire district of Scotland. It possibly comes from Gaelic cuinneag meaning "milk pail".

Cunningham 2 Irish
From Irish Ó Cuinneagáin meaning "descendant of Cuinneagán", a diminutive of Conn.

Cuoco Italian
Italian cognate of Cook.

Curie French
Occupational name for a farm hand, from Old French éscuerie "stable". Famous bearers were the married scientists Marie (1867-1934) and Pierre Curie (1859-1906), who studied radioactivity.

Curry Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Comhraidhe or Ó Corra.

Czajkowska f Polish
Feminine form of Czajkowski.

Czajkowski m Polish
Originally indicated a person from any of the Polish towns named Czajków, all derived from Polish czajka meaning "lapwing (bird)".

Dalca Romanian
Meaning uncertain.

Daley Irish
Variant of Daly.

Danielsson Swedish
Means "son of Daniel".

Darby English
From the name of the English town Derby, derived from Old Norse djúr "animal" and býr "farm, settlement".

Darcy English
From Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting someone who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. A notable fictional bearer is Fitzwilliam Darcy from Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).

Darzi Persian
Means "tailor" in Persian.

Daube German
Variant of Taube.

Dávid um Hungarian, Slovak
From the given name Dávid.

David um English, French, German, Welsh, Czech, Portuguese, Romanian, Jewish
From the given name David.

Davin Irish
Variant of Devin 1.

Davis English, Scottish
Means "son of David". This was the surname of the revolutionary jazz trumpet player Miles Davis (1926-1991).

D'Cruz Indian (Christian)
Variant of Cruz more common among Christians from India.

De Filippis Italian
Means "son of Filippo".

Değirmenci Turkish
From a Turkish word meaning "miller".

De la Fuente Spanish
Means "of the fountain" in Spanish.

Demir Turkish
Means "iron" in Turkish, originally referring to an ironworker.

Denis French
From the given name Denis.

Derby English
Variant of Darby.

Derrickson English
Means "son of Derrick".

De Santiago Spanish
Variant of Santiago.

Descoteaux French
Means "from the hillside", from French coteau "hillside".

Desjardins French
Means "from the gardens", from French jardin "garden".

Desrosiers French
Means "from the rose bushes", from French rosier "rose bush". It probably referred to a person who lived close to, or cared for a rose garden.

De Ven Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Devin 1 Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish surnames Ó Damháin or Ó Dubháin.

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.

De Vos Dutch
Variant of Vos.

Devos Flemish
Flemish variant of Vos.

De Wit Dutch
Variant of De Witte.

Dibra Albanian
From the Albanian name for the city of Debar in Macedonia, originally given to someone who came from there.

Diefenbach German
From a German place name meaning "deep creek".

Diego Spanish
From the given name Diego.

Di Mercurio Italian
Means "son of Mercurio".

Dimov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Dimo".

Dioli Italian
Meaning unknown.

Dirix Flemish, Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".

Dirks Dutch, German
Means "son of Dirk".

Dirkx Dutch, Flemish
Means "son of Dirk".

Dixon English
Means "son of Dick 1".

Dobbs English
Derived from the medieval given name Dobbe, a diminutive of Robert.

Dobos Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian dob meaning "drum". Originally the name was given to someone who played drums or made them.

Dodge English
From Dogge, a medieval diminutive of Roger.

Dolan Irish
From the Irish Ó Dubhshláin meaning "descendant of Dubhshláine".

Doležalová f Czech
Feminine form of Doležal.

Donne Scottish, Irish
From Gaelic donn meaning "brown", a nickname for a person with brown hair.

Doran Irish
From Irish Ó Deoradháin meaning "descendant of Deoradhán", where Deoradhán is a given name meaning "exile, wanderer".

Doyle Irish
From the Irish Ó Dubhghaill, which means "descendant of Dubhghall". A famous bearer was Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), the author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories.

Drago Italian
From a nickname meaning "dragon" in Italian.

Dragomirov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Dragomir".

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".

Drees Dutch
Variant of Dries.

Dries Dutch
From the given name Dries.

Droit French
Means "right, straight" in French, a nickname for an upright person.

Duane Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dubháin meaning "descendant of Dubhán".

Dubanowska f Polish
Feminine form of Dubanowski.

Dubanowski m Polish
Originally indicated a person from the town of Dubinowo (now Dubino in Belarus).

Dudek um Polish, Czech
Means "hoopoe (bird)" in Polish and Czech.

Duerr German
Variant of Dürr.

Duffy 1 Irish
Derived from Irish Ó Dubhthaigh meaning "descendant of Dubthach". Their original homeland was Monaghan where the surname is still the most common; they are also from Donegal and Roscommon.

Duffy 2 Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Dhuibhshíthe.

Dukes English
Patronymic form of Duke.

Dumas French
Means "from the farm", from Occitan mas "farmhouse", from Latin mansus "dwelling". A famous bearer was the French author Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870).

Dumbledore Literature
From the dialectal English word dumbledore meaning "bumblebee". It was used by J. K. Rowling for the headmaster of Hogwarts in her Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.

Dumitrescu Romanian
Means "son of Dumitru".

Dunai Hungarian
From Duna, the Hungarian name for river Danube.

Dunst German
Derived from Middle High German dunst "haze".

Dupuy French
Means "from the hill", from Occitan puy "hill", from Latin podium "platform".

Durán Spanish
Spanish cognate of Durand.

Đurić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Đuro".

Dušek m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of Dušan.

Duval French
Means "from the valley" in French.

Dyson English
Means "son of Dye".

Earls English
Patronymic form of Earl.

Easom English
Variant of Eads.

Eason English
Variant of Eads.

Eaton English
From any of the various English towns with this name, derived from Old English ea "river" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Ebner 1 German
Originally indicated a dweller on a flat piece of land, derived from Middle High German ebene "plateau".

Ebner 2 German
Means "judge, arbiter" from Middle High German ebenære.

Ecclestone English
Variant of Eccleston.

Echevarría Spanish
Variant of Echeverría.

Echeverría Spanish
Derived from the Basque place name Etxeberria, which itself is derived from Basque etxe "house" and berri "new".

Edgar English
Derived from the given name Edgar.

Egawa Japanese
From Japanese 江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Egger German
South German occupational name meaning "plowman" or "farmer", derived from German eggen "to harrow, to plow".

Elder English
Derived from Old English ealdra meaning "older", used to distinguish two people who had the same name.

Elena Italian
Derived from the given name Elena.

El-Ghazzawy Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic الغزّاوي (see Al-Ghazzawi).

Eliot English
Variant of Elliott.

Ellis English, Welsh
Derived from the given name Elijah, or sometimes Elisedd.

Elmer English
Derived from the Old English name Æðelmær.

Elton English
From an English place name meaning "Ella's town".

Elvis English
Variant of Elwes.

Elwes English
Derived from the given name Eloise.

Elwin English
Variant of Elwyn.

Elwyn English
Derived from the given names Ælfwine, Æðelwine or Ealdwine.

Émile French
Derived from the given name Émile.

Emmet English
Variant of Emmett. This name was borne by the Irish nationalist Robert Emmet (1778-1803).

Engel German
Derived from German given names beginning with Engel, such as Engelbert.

Ennis Irish
Variant of Innes 1.

Erdős Hungarian
Occupational name meaning "forester", derived from Hungarian erdő "forest".

Ernst German, Dutch, Danish
From the given name Ernst.

Esser German
Means "cartwright", related to Old High German ahsa "axle".

Eszes Hungarian
Means "clever, bright" in Hungarian.

Etxebarria Basque
Original Basque form of Echeverría.

Etxeberria Basque
Original Basque form of Echeverría.

Evans Welsh, English
Means "son of Evan".

Evers Dutch
Means "son of Evert".

Ewart 1 English
From a Norman form of Edward.

Ewart 2 English
From the name of an English town, derived from Old English ea "river" and worþ "enclosure".

Fabel German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Fabian.

Fabre Occitan, French
Occitan form of Fèvre.

Fairclough English
From a place name meaning "fair ravine, fair cliff" in Old English.

Falco Italian
Derived from Italian falco "falcon". The name was used to denote a falconer or a person who resembled a falcon in some way.

Falkenrath German
Derived from Middle High German falke "falcon" and rat "counsel, advice".

Faron French
From the given name Faron.

Farro Italian
Derived from the name of a place on Sicily, Italy, derived from Latin far meaning "wheat, spelt".

Faure Occitan, French
Occitan form of Fèvre.

Faust German
Derived from the given name Faust, a form of Faustus.

Favre French
Southern French variant of Fèvre.

Fehér Hungarian
Means "white" in Hungarian, originally referring to a person with white hair or complexion.

Feigenbaum German, Jewish
Means "fig tree" in German.

Fejes Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian fej meaning "head", originally a nickname applied to a stubborn person.

Feldt German, Danish, Swedish
North German, Danish and Swedish variant of Feld.

Félix French, Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Felix.

Fermi Italian
Originally indicated a person from the town of Fermo in the Marche region of Italy, originally called Firmum in Latin meaning "strong, steady, firm".

Ferri Italian
Variant of Ferro.

Ferro Italian, Spanish
Means "iron", ultimately from Latin ferrum. This was an occupational name for one who worked with iron.

Fèvre French
Occupational name meaning "blacksmith" in Old French, derived from Latin faber.

Fiala m Czech
Means "violet" in Czech, referring to the flower. It may have originally referred to a person who lived near a sign bearing violets, or it may have been given to a person who lived in a place where violets grew.

Field English
Variant of Fields.

Filep Hungarian
From the given name Fülöp.

Filip um Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak
Derived from the given name Filip.

Filipowska f Polish
Feminine form of Filipowski.

Filipowski m Polish
Either a patronymic from the given name Filip, or a habitational name denoting a person from the Polish town of Filipów (also derived from the given name).

Finch English, Literature
From the name of the bird, from Old English finc. It was used by Harper Lee for the surname of lawyer Atticus Finch and his children in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).

Fiore Italian
Derived from the given name Fiore.

Fitzgerald Irish
Means "son of Gerald" in Anglo-Norman French. It was brought to Ireland with William the Conqueror. A famous bearer was Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), an American jazz singer.

Flintstone Popular Culture
From the English words flint and stone, created by Hanna-Barbera Productions for the caveman family (Fred, Wilma and Pebbles) in their animated television show The Flintstones, which ran from 1960 to 1966.

Floyd Welsh
Variant of Lloyd.

Flynn Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Floinn meaning "descendant of Flann".

Fodor Hungarian
From Hungarian fodor meaning "curly, wavy", referring to a person with curly or wavy hair.

Foley Irish
From Irish Ó Foghladha meaning "descendant of Foghlaidh". The byname Foghlaidh meant "pirate, marauder, plunderer".

Fonda Italian
Of Italian origin, possibly from a place derived from fondo meaning "deep". The family of Henry Fonda (1905-1982) came from the Netherlands, but they were of Genoese origin.

Forst German
Derived from Old High German forst "forest". Probably unrelated to the Old French word forest, which was derived from Latin, Old High German forst was derived from foraha meaning "fir tree".

Fosse English, French
Derived from Old French fosse "ditch".

Frank 1 English
Derived from the given name Frank.

Frank 2 English
From Old English franc meaning "free".

Frank 3 German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Name for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people. A notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank (1929-1945), a victim of the Holocaust.

Franz German
Derived from the given name Franz.

Fredriksen Norwegian
Means "son of Fredrik".

Freud German, Jewish
Means "joy" in German, a nickname for a cheerful person. A famous bearer was the psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).

Fried German
Derived from the given name Friedrich.

Friel Irish
From the Irish Ó Frighil meaning "descendant of Fearghal".

Fries German
Denoted someone from Frisia, an area along the coastal region of the North Sea stretching from Netherlands to Germany.

Friis Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian (mostly Danish) form of Fries.

Frisk Swedish
From Swedish frisk "healthy", which was derived from the Middle Low German word vrisch "fresh, young, frisky".

Fromm German
From a nickname derived from Middle High German vrume meaning "noble, honourable".

Frost English, German
From Old English and Old High German meaning "frost", a nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard.

Fuchs German
From Old High German fuhs meaning "fox". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.

Fukui Japanese
Denoted a person who was from Fukui prefecture in Japan.

Fülöp Hungarian
Derived from the given name Fülöp.

Funar Romanian
Means "rope maker" in Romanian.

Furnadjiev m Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Фурнаджиев (see Furnadzhiev).

Fürst German
From a nickname meaning "(sovereign) prince" in German. The word fürst itself is derived from Old High German furisto "first".

Fusco Italian
From Italian fosco meaning "dark", from Latin fuscus. This was a nickname for a person with dark features.

Fylan Irish
Variant of Whelan.

Gábor Hungarian
From the given name Gábor.

Gabor Hungarian
Variant of Gábor.

Gabrielson English
Means "son of Gabriel".

Gagné French (Quebec)
Variant of Gagneux. This surname is especially common in Quebec.

Gajos Polish
Derived from Polish gaj meaning "grove, thicket".

Galli Italian
Variant of Gallo, common in northern Italy.

Gallo Italian, Spanish
Means "rooster", ultimately from Latin gallus. This was a nickname for a proud person.

Ganza Italian
Probably from the feminine medieval given name Allegranza or Alleganza, a derivative of Allegra. It comes from northern Lombardy.

Garbo Italian
From a nickname meaning "politeness" in Italian. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990), born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson.

Garey English
Variant of Geary.

Garfagnini Italian
Originally denoted one from the region of Garfagnana in Tuscany, Italy, near the historical city of Lucca.

Garrastazu Basque
From the Basque word arratz "bush" combined with the suffix sta denoting a place.

Garry English
Variant of Geary.

Garza Spanish
Derived from Spanish garza meaning "heron".

Gates English
Originally denoted a person who lived near the town gates.

Gatti Italian
Means "cat" in Italian, originally a nickname for an agile person.

Gavrilović Serbian
Means "son of Gavrilo".

Geary English
Derived from a Norman given name that was a short form of Germanic names starting with the element ger "spear".

Geels Dutch
Variant of Geelen.

Geier German
Means "vulture" in German, a nickname for a greedy person.

Gelashvili Georgian
Means "son of Gela".

Genov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Geno".

Georgiadis m Greek
Means "son of Georgios" in Greek.

Georgiadou f Greek
Feminine form of Georgiadis.

Gerig German
Variant of Gehring.

Gerst German
Occupational name for a barley farmer, derived from Old High German gersta "barley".

Gibbs English, Scottish
Means "son of Gib".

Giehl German
German form of Giles.

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".

Giles English
From the given name Giles.

Glass English, German
From Old English glæs or Old High German glas meaning "glass". This was an occupational name for a glass blower or glazier.

Glenn Scottish, English
From place names derived from Gaelic gleann "valley". A famous bearer was the American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016).

Glynn Welsh, Cornish
Topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, from Welsh glyn and Cornish glin, or a habitational name from a place named with this word.