ALVARADOSpanishFrom a Spanish place name, possibly derived from Spanish
alba "white".
AMANTEAItalianFrom the name of a town in Calabria, Italy. It is possibly derived from Arabic (dating from the Arab raids of the 9th century) meaning "the fortress".
ANGENENTDutchReferred to person who lived at the end of the road or the village, derived from Dutch
an gen ent meaning "at the end".
ANHOLTSDutchOriginally denoted a person from Anholt in the Netherlands, which means "hold, rest" in Dutch (a place where people could rest for the night).
ANJEMAFrisianDenoted a person from the village of Anjum in the Netherlands. It possibly means "corner" in Dutch.
ANNEVELINKDutchFrom Dutch
aan 't veldink meaning "next to the little field".
APELDOORNDutchFrom the name of a city in the Netherlands, meaning "apple tree" in Dutch.
APPELHOFDutchIndicated a person who lived by or at an apple garden, from Dutch
appel "apple" and
hof "garden, courtyard".
APPELODutchIndicated a person who was from a farm called Aperloo, probably a derivative of
appel meaning "apple".
APPLEBYEnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
æppel "apple" and Old Norse
býr "farm, settlement".
APPLETONEnglishFrom the name of several English towns, meaning "orchard" in Old English (a compound of
æppel "apple" and
tun "enclosure, yard").
APTEDEnglishProbably from an unidentified place name meaning "up tower" in Old English.
AQUINOItalian, SpanishFrom the name of an Italian town near Rome, derived from Latin
aqua meaning "water", the home town of the 13th-century saint Thomas Aquinas. In Italy the surname is derived directly from the town's name. As a Spanish-language surname, it was sometimes bestowed by missionaries in honour of the saint as they evangelized in Spanish colonies.
ARANYHungarianMeans "golden" in Hungarian. A famous bearer of the name was Hungarian poet János Arany (1817-1882).
ARAÚJOPortugueseDenoted a person hailing from one of the many areas that bear this name in Portugal, which is of unknown meaning.
ARAYASpanishDenoted a person from Araia in the Basque Country, Spain. It is of uncertain meaning.
ARCHEREnglishOccupational name for one who practiced archery, from Latin
arcus "bow" (via Old French).
ARDELEANRomanianFrom the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from Hungarian
erdő meaning "forest".
ARECHAVALETASpanishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Aretxabaleta in Spain. It means "oak trees" in Basque.
ARENASSpanishFrom various Spanish place names, which are derived from Spanish
arena meaning "sand".
ARENDONKDutchDenoted a person from Arendonk, a town between in northern Belgium. It is derived from
arend "eagle" and
donk "hill".
ARGALLCornishFrom a place name meaning "shelter, quiet place" in Cornish.
ARITZASpanish, BasqueFrom Basque
aritz meaning "oak tree". This was a nickname of Iñigo, the first king of Pamplona, Spain (9th century).
ARKWRIGHTEnglishOccupational name for a chest maker, from Middle English
arc meaning "chest, coffer" and
wyrhta meaning "maker, craftsman".
ARMATIItalianFrom Italian
armato meaning "armed, armoured, equipped".
ARMBRUSTERGermanMeans "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".
ARMISTEADEnglishMeans "hermitage", indicating a person who lived near one, from Middle English
ermite "hermit" and
stede "place".
ARMSTRONGEnglishMeans "strong arm" from Middle English. Tradition holds that the family is descended from Siward, an 11th-century Earl of Northumbria. Famous bearers of this name include the Americans Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), a jazz musician, and Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), an astronaut who was the first person to walk on the moon.
ARNONIItalianMeans "son of Arnone" from the medieval name
Arnone, of uncertain origin.
ARRINGTONEnglishFrom the name of a town in Cambridgeshire, originally meaning "Earna's settlement" in Old English (
Earna being a person's nickname meaning "eagle").
ARRIOLASpanish, BasqueFrom Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque
arri "stone" and
-ola "place of, house".
ÅRUDNorwegianFrom Norwegian
å meaning "river, stream" and the archaic word
rud meaning "clearing".
ARZTDutchMeans "doctor, physician" in German, ultimately from Latin
archiater.
ASHEnglishFrom Old English
æsc meaning "ash tree", indicating a person who lived near ash trees.
ASHLEYEnglishDenoted a person hailing from one of the many places in England which bear this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English
æsc "ash tree" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
ASHWORTHEnglishFrom an English place name meaning "ash enclosure" in Old English.
ASÍSSpanishOriginally denoted a person from the Italian city of Assisi (called
Asís in Spanish).
ASSELMANDutchDenoted a person from Assel, Asselt or Hasselt, the name of communities in the Netherlands and Belgium. They derive from Germanic
asc "ash tree" and
lauha "woods on sandy soil", or
hasal "hazel tree".
ASSENDORPDutchFrom the name of a place called Assendorp, composed of Dutch
essen and
dorp, meaning "ash tree village".
ASTURIASSpanishFrom the name of a region in Spain, formerly a medieval kingdom. It is possibly derived from Basque
asta "rock" and
ur "water".
ATELJEVIĆSerbianProbably from
Hatelji, the name of a town in Serbia, which is of unknown meaning.
ATTARPersianFrom Persian
عطر ('atir) meaning "fragrance, perfume", ultimately from Arabic. It probably denoted a seller of perfume.
ATTAWAYEnglishMeans "at the way", originally denoting someone who lived close to a road.
ATTEBERRYEnglishMeans "dweller at the fortified town" from Middle English
at and
burh "fortified place".
AUEGermanFrom German meaning "meadow by a river, wetland". There are many places with this name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
AVERESCHDutchFrom a place name, possibly from a dialectal variation of Dutch
over meaning "over" combined with
esch meaning "ash tree".
AVESKAMPDutchFrom a place name meaning "the edge of camp" in Dutch.
AYERS (3)EnglishIndicated a person from the town of Ayr in Scotland. The town was named for the river which flows through it, itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".
AYTONEnglishFrom the name of towns in Berwickshire and North Yorkshire. They are derived from Old English
ea "river" or
eg "island" combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
AZZARÀItalianSicilian name, derived from Greek dialects of southern Italy. It is from Greek
ψαρας (psaras) meaning "fisherman".