Baak DutchFrom a Frisian given name, a short form of Germanic names starting with the element
batu "fight, struggle".
Baarda FrisianFrom the name of the town of
Baard in the Netherlands, possibly derived from a given name that was a variant of
Bert.
Baardwijk DutchFrom the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly from
Baard, a variant of
Bert, and
wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district".
Baars DutchIndicated a person coming from the town of Beers in the Netherlands.
Baarsma FrisianIndicated a person coming from the small town of Beers in Frisia.
Baart DutchMeans
"beard" in Dutch, originally describing a person who wore a beard.
Babić Serbian, CroatianMatronymic surname derived from Serbo-Croatian
baba "grandmother, old woman".
Bach 1 GermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Middle High German
bach meaning
"stream". This name was borne by members of the Bach musical family, notably the composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).
Bachchan HindiFrom Hindi
बच्चा (bachchā) meaning
"child", a word of Persian origin. This surname was adopted by the Indian poet Harivansh Rai Srivastava (1907-2003).
Bachmann GermanDenoted a person who lived near a stream, from Middle High German
bach "stream" and
man "man".
Bachmeier GermanOriginally referred to a farmer whose farm was beside a stream, from Middle High German
bach "stream" and
meier "steward, tenant farmer".
Backus EnglishMeans
"bakery", an occupational name for a baker, from Old English
bæchus literally "bake house".
Bader GermanDerived from Old High German
bad "bath", most likely referring to a bath attendant.
Baggins LiteratureCreated by J. R. R. Tolkien for the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the hero of
The Hobbit (1937), and also for his cousin Frodo Baggins, the hero of
The Lord of the Rings (1954). He probably derived it from the English word
bag. The Baggins family home was called Bag End, and Tolkien himself had an aunt who owned a farm by this name, so that may have been his inspiration. Tolkien used English-like translations of many hobbit names; according to his notes the real hobbit-language form of the surname was
Labingi.
Baggio ItalianOriginally denoted a person from the Italian town of Baggio (now part of Milan). It is probably derived from Latin
Badalocum meaning "watch place".
Bagley EnglishFrom various English place names, derived from the Old English given name
Bacga combined with
leah "woodland, clearing".
Bagni ItalianFrom Italian
bagno "bath", derived from Latin
balneum, referring to a person who worked as a bath house attendant.
Bähr GermanFrom Middle High German
bër "bear" or
ber "boar". This was originally a nickname for a strong or brave person.
Bailey EnglishFrom Middle English
baili meaning
"bailiff", which comes via Old French from Latin
baiulus "porter".
Baines 2 EnglishFrom a nickname derived from Old English
ban "bones", probably for a thin person.
Bak DanishMeans
"slope, hillside" in Danish, from Old Norse
bakki "bank".
Bakema FrisianMeans
"son of Bake", a short form of names starting with the Old German element
batu "fight, struggle".
Baker EnglishOccupational name meaning
"baker", derived from Middle English
bakere.
Bakhuizen DutchMeans
"bakery" from Dutch
bak "bake" and
huis "house", an occupational name for a baker.
Bakke NorwegianMeans
"slope, hillside" in Norwegian, from Old Norse
bakki "bank".
Bakken NorwegianMeans
"the slope, the hillside" in Norwegian, from Old Norse
bakki "bank".
Balčiūnas m LithuanianFrom a given name that was derived from Lithuanian
baltas meaning "white".
Baldinotti ItalianDerived from the given name
Baldinotto, from the Latin name
Baldinoctus, a diminutive of
Baldo.
Balfour ScottishFrom various place names that were derived from Gaelic
baile "village" and
pòr "pasture, crop, cropland".
Ball EnglishFrom Middle English
bal, Old English
beall meaning
"ball". This was either a nickname for a rotund or bald person, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a ball-shaped feature.
Ballerini ItalianFrom Italian
ballerino meaning
"dancer", an occupational name or nickname for someone who liked to dance.
Bancroft EnglishFrom any of the various places of this name, derived from Old English
bean meaning "bean" and
croft meaning "small enclosed field".
Bandini ItalianFrom the Latin name
Bandinus, a derivative of
Bandus, which is of unknown meaning.
Bandyopadhyay BengaliFrom the name of the village of
Bandoghat combined with
upadhaya "instructor, priest".
Banks EnglishOriginally indicated someone who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.
Banner EnglishOccupational name for a flag carrier, derived from Old French
baniere meaning
"banner", ultimately of Germanic origin.
Bannister EnglishFrom Norman French
banastre meaning
"basket". This was originally a name for a maker of baskets.
Barber English, ScottishIndicated a barber, one who cut hair for a living, ultimately from Latin
barba "beard".
Barclay English, ScottishFrom the English place name
Berkeley, derived from Old English
beorc "birch" and
leah "woodland, clearing". The surname was imported to Scotland in the 12th century.
Bardolph LiteratureThe name of a drunken thief and frequent companion of John
Falstaff in four of William Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare probably adapted it from the aristocratic English surname
Bardolf, now rare, which was itself derived from the Germanic given name
Bardulf.
Barker EnglishFrom Middle English
bark meaning
"to tan". This was an occupational name for a leather tanner.
Barlow EnglishDerived from a number of English place names that variously mean "barley hill", "barn hill", "boar clearing" or "barley clearing".
Barnes EnglishDenoted a person who worked or lived in a barn. The word
barn is derived from Old English
bere "barley" and
ærn "dwelling".
Barnett EnglishDerived from Old English
bærnet meaning "place cleared by burning".
Baron English, FrenchFrom 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.
Barr EnglishIndicated a person who lived near a barrier, from Old French
barre.
Barrett EnglishProbably derived from the Middle English word
barat meaning
"trouble, deception", originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Barros Portuguese, SpanishFrom the Portuguese and Spanish word
barro meaning
"clay, mud". This could either be an occupational name for a person who worked with clay or mud such as a builder or artisan, or a topographic name for someone living near clay or mud.
Barsotti ItalianProbably from the medieval Latin word
baro meaning
"man, freeman" (of Frankish origin).
Barton EnglishFrom a place name meaning "barley town" in Old English.
Barwegen FrisianDerived from the name of a village in Frisia meaning "road to the dike".
Bašić Croatian, SerbianMeans
"son of the chief", derived from Serbo-Croatian
baša meaning "chief, boss" (of Turkish origin).
Bassani ItalianDerived from the place name Bassano, belonging multiple villages in Italy.
Basso ItalianOriginally a nickname for a short person, from Latin
bassus "thick, low".
Basurto SpanishFrom the Basque place name
Basurtu, a village (now part of Bilbao) in Biscay. It means "middle of the forest".
Báthory HungarianOriginally indicated a person from Bátor, a village in Hungary, which might be of Turkic origin meaning "hero". This was the surname of a Hungarian noble family who historically controlled the town. One of the family members, Stephen Báthory, became the king of Poland in the 16th century.
Battle EnglishFrom a nickname for a combative person. In some cases it may come from the name of English places called
Battle, so named because they were sites of battles.
Bauer GermanFrom Old High German
bur meaning
"peasant, farmer".
Baum German, JewishMeans
"tree" in German. A famous bearer was the American author L. Frank Baum (1856-1919).
Baumgartner GermanOccupational name for a person who worked or lived at an orchard, from German
Baumgarten "orchard" (derived from
Baum "tree" and
Garten "garden").
Baumhauer GermanOccupational name meaning
"woodcutter", derived from German
Baum "tree" and
hauen "to chop".
Beasley EnglishFrom the name of a place in Lancashire, from Old English
beos "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Beauchêne FrenchFrom French place names derived from
beau "beautiful" and
chêne "oak".
Beaufort FrenchFrom various French place names derived from
beau "beautiful" and
fort "strong place, fortress".
Beaulieu FrenchFrom various French place names derived from
beau "beautiful" and
lieu "place".
Beck 3 EnglishFrom a nickname for a person with a big nose, from Middle English
bec meaning
"beak".
Beck 4 EnglishFrom Old English
becca meaning
"pickaxe", an occupational surname.
Becker GermanDerived from Middle High German
becker meaning
"baker".
Beckham EnglishFrom an English place name meaning "Becca's homestead" in Old English (with
Becca being a masculine byname meaning "pickaxe"). A famous bearer is retired English soccer player David Beckham (1975-).
Becskei HungarianIndicated a person from Becske, a town in Hungary, which might be derived from the given name
Benedek.
Beech 2 EnglishOriginally a name for a person who lived near a beech tree, from Old English
bece.
Beethoven Dutch (Archaic)From a place name derived from Dutch
beet "beet, beetroot" and
hoven "farms". This name was borne by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), whose family was of Flemish origin. The surname is now mostly extinct.
Begbie ScottishFrom the name of a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is derived from the Old Norse given name
Baggi and
býr "farm, settlement".
Begum Indian (Muslim), Bengali (Muslim), Urdu, PunjabiFrom 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).
Beiler GermanDerived from Middle High German
beile meaning
"measuring stick".
Belcher EnglishFrom a Middle English version of Old French
bel chiere meaning
"beautiful face". It later came to refer to a person who had a cheerful and pleasant temperament.
Bell 1 EnglishFrom Middle English
belle meaning
"bell". It originated as a nickname for a person who lived near the town bell, or who had a job as a bell-ringer.
Bellandi ItalianMeans
"son of Bellando", from a medieval given name derived from Latin
bellandus meaning "which is to be fought".
Bellincioni ItalianMeans
"son of Bellincione", from a medieval name (borne for example by Dante's grandfather) that was probably a derivative of Italian
bello "beautiful, fair".
Bello Spanish, ItalianMeans
"beautiful" in Spanish and Italian, originally a nickname for an attractive person.
Bellomo ItalianFrom a nickname derived from Italian
bello "beautiful, fair" and
uomo "man".
Beltz GermanOccupational name for a tanner of hides, derived from Middle High German
belz meaning
"fur".
Benenati ItalianMeans
"son of Benenato", a given name derived from Latin
bene "good, well" and
natus "good".
Bengoetxea BasqueMeans
"the house furthest down" from Basque
bengo "furthest down" and
etxe "house".
Bennington EnglishFrom the English town name
Benington, which can mean either
"settlement belonging to Beonna's people" or
"settlement by the River Beane".
Bentley EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.
Benton EnglishDenoted someone who came from Benton, England, which is derived from Old English
beonet "bent grass" and
tun "enclosure".
Beran m CzechDerived from Czech
beran meaning
"ram, male sheep".
Berger 1 FrenchOccupational name meaning
"shepherd", from Old French
bergier.
Bergman SwedishFrom Swedish
berg meaning "mountain" and
man (Old Norse
maðr) meaning "person, man", originally a name for a person living on a mountain.
Bergmann GermanFrom Old High German
berg meaning "mountain" and
man meaning "man", originally denoting someone who lived on a mountain.
Berlusconi ItalianProbably from the Milanese word
berlusch meaning
"cross-eyed, crooked".