ALVARADO SpanishFrom a Spanish place name, possibly derived from Spanish
alba "white".
AMANTEA ItalianFrom 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".
ANGENENT DutchReferred to person who lived at the end of the road or the village, derived from Dutch
an gen ent meaning "at the end".
ANHOLTS DutchOriginally denoted a person from Anholt in the Netherlands, which means "hold, rest" in Dutch (a place where people could rest for the night).
ANJEMA FrisianDenoted a person from the village of Anjum in the Netherlands. It possibly means "corner" in Dutch.
ANNEVELINK DutchFrom Dutch
aan 't veldink meaning "next to the little field".
APELDOORN DutchFrom the name of a city in the Netherlands, meaning "apple tree" in Dutch.
APPELHOF DutchIndicated a person who lived by or at an apple garden, from Dutch
appel "apple" and
hof "garden, courtyard".
APPELO DutchIndicated a person who was from a farm called Aperloo, probably a derivative of
appel meaning "apple".
APPLEBY EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
æppel "apple" and Old Norse
býr "farm, settlement".
APPLETON EnglishFrom the name of several English towns, meaning "orchard" in Old English (a compound of
æppel "apple" and
tun "enclosure, yard").
APTED EnglishProbably from an unidentified place name meaning "up tower" in Old English.
AQUINO Italian, SpanishFrom the name of an Italian town near Rome, the home town of the 13th-century saint Thomas Aquinas. In Italy it 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.
ARANY HungarianMeans "golden" in Hungarian. A famous bearer of the name was Hungarian poet János Arany (1817-1882).
ARAÚJO PortugueseDenoted a person hailing from one of the many areas that bear this name in Portugal, which is of unknown meaning.
ARAYA SpanishDenoted a person from Araia in the Basque Country, Spain. It is of uncertain meaning.
ARCHER EnglishOccupational name for one who practiced archery, from Latin
arcus "bow" (via Old French).
ARDELEAN RomanianFrom the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from Hungarian
erdő meaning "forest".
ARECHAVALETA SpanishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Aretxabaleta in Spain. It means "oak trees" in Basque.
ARENAS SpanishFrom various Spanish place names, which are derived from Spanish
arena meaning "sand".
ARENDONK DutchDenoted a person from Arendonk, a town between in northern Belgium. It is derived from
arend "eagle" and
donk "hill".
ARGALL CornishFrom a place name meaning "shelter, quiet place" in Cornish.
ARITZA Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque
aritz meaning "oak tree". This was a nickname of Iñigo, the first king of Pamplona, Spain (9th century).
ARKWRIGHT EnglishOccupational name for a chest maker, from Middle English
arc meaning "chest, coffer" and
wyrhta meaning "maker, craftsman".
ARMATI ItalianFrom Italian
armato meaning "armed, armoured, equipped".
ARMBRUSTER GermanMeans "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".
ARMISTEAD EnglishMeans "hermitage", indicating a person who lived near one, from Middle English
ermite "hermit" and
stede "place".
ARMSTRONG EnglishMeans "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.
ARNONI ItalianMeans "son of Arnone" from the medieval name
Arnone, of uncertain origin.
ARRINGTON EnglishFrom the name of a town in Cambridgeshire, originally meaning "Earna's settlement" in Old English (
Earna being a person's nickname meaning "eagle").
ARRIOLA Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque
arri "stone" and
-ola "place of, house".
ÅRUD NorwegianFrom Norwegian
å meaning "river, stream" and the archaic word
rud meaning "clearing".
ARZT DutchMeans "doctor, physician" in German, ultimately from Latin
archiater.
ASH EnglishFrom Old English
æsc meaning "ash tree", indicating a person who lived near ash trees.
ASHLEY EnglishDenoted 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".
ASHWORTH EnglishFrom an English place name meaning "ash enclosure" in Old English.
ASÍS SpanishOriginally denoted a person from the Italian city of Assisi (called
Asís in Spanish).
ASSELMAN DutchDenoted 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".
ASSENDORP DutchFrom the name of a place called Assendorp, composed of Dutch
essen and
dorp, meaning "ash tree village".
ASTURIAS SpanishFrom the name of a region in Spain, formerly a medieval kingdom. It is possibly derived from Basque
asta "rock" and
ur "water".
ATELJEVIĆ SerbianProbably from
Hatelji, the name of a town in Serbia, which is of unknown meaning.
ATTAR PersianFrom Persian
عطر ('atir) meaning "fragrance, perfume", ultimately from Arabic. It probably denoted a seller of perfume.
ATTAWAY EnglishMeans "at the way", originally denoting someone who lived close to a road.
ATTEBERRY EnglishMeans "dweller at the fortified town" from Middle English
at and
burh "fortified place".
AUE GermanFrom German meaning "meadow by a river, wetland". There are many places with this name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
AVERESCH DutchFrom a place name, possibly from a dialectal variation of Dutch
over meaning "over" combined with
esch meaning "ash tree".
AVESKAMP DutchFrom 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".
AYTON EnglishFrom 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".
AZZARÀ ItalianSicilian name, derived from Greek dialects of southern Italy. It is from Greek
ψαρας (psaras) meaning "fisherman".