Conner EnglishFrom Middle English
connere meaning
"inspector", an occupational name for an inspector of weights and measures.
Connolly IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Conghalaigh, which means
"descendant of Conghalach".
Conghalach is a nickname meaning "valiant".
Conroy IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Conaire, which means
"descendant of Conaire".
Conaire is a nickname meaning "hound keeper".
Constable EnglishFrom Old French
conestable, ultimately from Latin
comes stabuli meaning "officer of the stable".
Conti ItalianFrom 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.
Contreras SpanishFrom the name of a town in Burgos, Spain, derived from Late Latin
contraria meaning "area opposite".
Conway Welsh, EnglishFrom the name of the River Conwy in Wales, or the town situated at the mouth of the river. It is possibly derived from Welsh
cyn "foremost" and the common river name suffix
wy.
Cook EnglishDerived from Old English
coc meaning
"cook", ultimately from Latin
coquus. It was an occupational name for a cook, a man who sold cooked meats, or a keeper of an eating house.
Coombs EnglishFrom Old English
cumb meaning
"valley", the name of several places in England.
Cooney IrishFrom Irish
Ó Cuana meaning
"descendant of Cuana".
Cuana probably means "handsome, elegant". The Cooney sept originated in County Tyrone.
Copperfield LiteratureCreated from the English words
copper and
field by the author Charles Dickens, who used it for the title character in his novel
David Copperfield (1850).
Coppola ItalianFrom the name of a type of hat characteristic of Sicily and southern Italy. This surname indicated a person who wore or made these hats. A famous bearer is the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (1939-), as well as other members of his extended family also in show business.
Corcoran IrishFrom Irish
Ó Corcráin meaning
"descendant of Corcrán", a given name derived from the Gaelic word
corcair "purple".
Corey EnglishDerived from the Old Norse given name
Kóri, of unknown meaning.
Corleone Sicilian, LiteratureFrom the name of the town of Corleone in Sicily, which is of uncertain meaning. This surname is well known from the novel
The Godfather (1969) by Mario Puzo, as well as the films based on his characters. The story tells how Vito Andolini comes to America from Sicily, receiving the new surname
Corleone at Ellis Island, and starts a criminal empire based in New York.
Corna ItalianDerived from the names of places in northern Italy, especially Lombardy, from a word that means
"crag, cliff" in the Lombard dialect.
Cornett EnglishDerived from Old French
cornet meaning
"horn", referring to one who worked as a horn blower.
Correia PortugueseMeans
"leather strap, belt" in Portuguese, denoting a person who worked with leather products.
Corvi ItalianNickname derived from Italian
corvo meaning
"crow".
Corwin EnglishDerived from Old French
cordoan "leather", ultimately from the name of the Spanish city of Cordova.
Ćosić Croatian, SerbianFrom Croatian and Serbian
ćosav "beardless", ultimately from Persian
کوسه (kūseh) meaning "shark".
Costa Portuguese, Italian, CatalanMeans
"riverbank, slope, coast" in Portuguese, Italian and Catalan, ultimately from Latin meaning "side, edge".
Cotterill EnglishDerived from Middle English
cotter meaning
"cottager", referring to a small tenant farmer.
Couch CornishFrom Cornish
cough "red", indicating the original bearer had red hair.
Coupe EnglishFrom Middle English
coupe meaning
"barrel", a name for a barrel maker or cooper.
Courtenay 1 EnglishFrom the name of towns in France that were originally derivatives of the Gallo-Roman personal name
Curtenus, itself derived from Latin
curtus "short".
Coutts ScottishFrom the name of the town of Cults in Aberdeenshire, derived from a Gaelic word meaning "woods".
Cowden EnglishFrom various English place names, which meaning either "coal valley", "coal hill" or "cow pasture" in Old English.
Coy EnglishMeans
"quiet, shy, coy" from Middle English
coi.
Cracchiolo ItalianDerived from Italian
cracchiola, referring to a chicory-like vegetable.
Craig ScottishDerived from Gaelic
creag meaning
"crag, rocks, outcrop", originally belonging to a person who lived near a crag.
Crawford EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
crawe "crow" and
ford "river crossing". A notable bearer was the American actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977), born Lucille Fay LeSueur.
Cremaschi ItalianFrom the name of the city of Crema in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Cremona ItalianFrom the Italian city of Cremona, south of Milan, in Lombardy.
Crewe EnglishOriginally denoted someone from Crewe in Cheshire, which is from Welsh
criu "weir, dam, fish trap".
Croft EnglishFrom Old English
croft meaning
"enclosed field".
Cropper EnglishOccupational name derived from Middle English
croppe "crop", referring to a fruit picker or a crop reaper.
Crosby EnglishFrom the name of various towns in England, derived from Old Norse
kross "cross" (a borrowing from Latin
crux) and
býr "farm, settlement".
Cross EnglishLocative name meaning
"cross", ultimately from Latin
crux. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.
Crowley 1 IrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Cruadhlaoich meaning
"descendant of Cruadhlaoch", a given name meaning "hardy hero".
Cruyssen DutchFrom the name of a place in the Netherlands, derived from
kruis "cross".
Čtvrtník m CzechDerived from Czech
čtvrtlán meaning
"one quarter of a lán", where a
lán is a medieval Czech measure of land (approximately 18 hectares). The name denoted someone who owned this much land.
Cuéllar SpanishDerived from the name of the town of Cuéllar in the Segovia province of Spain. It may be derived from Latin
collis meaning "hill".
Cullen 1 EnglishFrom the name of the German city of
Cologne, which was derived from Latin
colonia "colony".
Cunha PortugueseFrom any of the numerous places in Portugal called Cunha, possibly from Portuguese
cunha meaning "wedge".
Cunningham 1 ScottishFrom the name of place in the Ayrshire district of Scotland. It possibly comes from Gaelic
cuinneag meaning "milk pail".
Curie FrenchOccupational 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.
Curtis EnglishNickname for a courteous person, derived from Old French
curteis meaning
"refined, courtly".
Czajkowski m PolishOriginally indicated a person from any of the Polish towns named Czajków, all derived from Polish
czajka meaning "lapwing (bird)".