Classical Greek Origin Surnames

This is a list of surnames in which the origin is Classical Greek. Ancient Greek was the language spoken by the peoples of ancient Greece and other places in the Hellenic world.
usage
origin
Makri f Greek
Feminine form of Makris.
Makris m Greek
Means "long, tall" in Greek.
Mandić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Manda".
McAlister Scottish, Irish
From Scottish Gaelic MacAlastair or Irish Gaelic Mac Alastair meaning "son of Alistair".
McCune Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Eoghain.
McEwan Scottish
Anglicized form of MacEòghainn.
McKellar Scottish
From Gaelic MacEalair meaning "son of Ealar".
McKowen Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Eoghain.
Megalos m Greek
Means "big, great" in Greek.
Megalou f Greek
Feminine form of Megalos.
Messina Italian
From the name of the Sicilian city of Messina, founded by Greek colonists. The city was named after the Greek city Μεσσήνη (Messene).
Mikołajczak Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Mikołaj.
Mikula m Slovak, Czech
Derived from the given name Mikuláš.
Mikulová f Slovak, Czech
Feminine form of Mikula.
Murgatroyd English
From a place name meaning "Margaret's clearing".
Mylona f Greek
Feminine form of Mylonas.
Mylonas m Greek
Means "miller" in Greek, from μύλος (mylos) meaning "mill".
Napoletani Italian
Originally indicated a person from Naples in Italy.
Napoli Italian
Originally indicated a person from Naples in Italy.
Napoliello Italian
Originally indicated a person from Naples in Italy.
Nardi Italian
From the given name Nardo, which was originally a short form of names like Bernardo or Leonardo.
Nardo Italian
Variant of Nardi.
Nardovino Italian (Rare)
Either from Nardo, a short form of names like Bernardo or Leonardo, or from Ardovino, a variant of Arduino.
Nicholls English
Derived from the given name Nichol.
Nichols English
Derived from the given name Nichol.
Nicholson English
Means "son of Nicholas". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actor Jack Nicholson (1937-).
Nickleby Literature
Created by Charles Dickens for the title character in his novel Nicholas Nickleby (1839). He probably based it on Nicol, a medieval vernacular form of Nicholas, with the common English place name suffix -by, which is derived from Old Norse býr meaning "farm, settlement".
Nicodemo Italian
Derived from the given name Nicodemo.
Nicolai Italian
Means "son of Nicola 1".
Nicolaou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Νικολάου (see Nikolaou).
Nicolas French
Derived from the given name Nicolas.
Nicolescu Romanian
Means "son of Nicolae".
Nielsen Danish
Means "son of Niels 1".
Nikitin m Russian
From the given name Nikita 1.
Nikitina f Russian
Feminine form of Nikitin.
Niklasson Swedish
Means "son of Niklas".
Nikolaev m Russian, Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Russian Николаев (see Nikolayev), as well as the usual Bulgarian form.
Nikolaeva f Russian, Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Russian Николаева (see Nikolayeva), as well as the usual Bulgarian form.
Nikolajsen Danish
Means "son of Nikolaj".
Nikolaou Greek
Means "son of Nikolaos".
Nikolayev m Russian
Means "son of Nikolay".
Nikolayeva f Russian
Feminine form of Nikolayev.
Nikolova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Nikolov.
Nikolovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Nikolovski.
Nikolovski m Macedonian
Means "son of Nikola 1".
Nikula Finnish
From the given name Niku, a Finnish form of Nicholas.
Nilsen Norwegian
Means "son of Nils".
Nilsson Swedish
Means "son of Nils".
Nissen Danish
Means "son of Nis".
Nixon English
Means "son of Nick". A famous bearer was the American president Richard Nixon (1913-1994).
Owen Welsh, English
From the Welsh given name Owain.
Owens Welsh
From the Welsh given name Owain.
Pabst German
From German Papst, a cognate of Pope.
Pandev m Macedonian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Pande", Pande being a diminutive of Petar.
Pandeva f Macedonian, Bulgarian
Feminine form of Pandev.
Panossian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Փանոսյան (see Panosyan).
Panosyan Armenian
Means "son of Panos".
Pap Hungarian
Variant of Papp 1.
Papadaki f Greek
Feminine form of Papadakis.
Papadakis m Greek
From a diminutive of Greek πάπας (papas) meaning "priest".
Papadimitriou Greek
Means "son of Dimitrios the priest", from Greek πάπας (papas) combined with the given name Dimitrios.
Papadopoulos m Greek
Means "son of the priest", from Greek πάπας (papas) combined with the patronymic suffix πουλος (poulos).
Papadopoulou f Greek
Feminine form of Papadopoulos.
Papageorgiou Greek
Means "son of Georgios the priest", from Greek πάπας (papas) combined with the given name Georgios.
Papaioannou Greek
Means "son of Ioannis the priest", from Greek πάπας (papas) combined with the given name Ioannis.
Papanikolaou Greek
Means "son of Nikolaos the priest", from Greek πάπας (papas) combined with the given name Nikolaos.
Pape French
French cognate of Pope.
Papke Low German
Low German diminutive form of papa (see Pope).
Papp 1 Hungarian
From a nickname meaning "priest, cleric" in Hungarian.
Pappa f Greek
Feminine form of Pappas.
Pappas m Greek
Means "priest" in Greek.
Paquet 2 French
From a diminutive of the given name Pascal.
Park 3 English
From the medieval name Perkin, a diminutive of Peter.
Parkins English
Means "son of Parkin", a medieval diminutive of Peter.
Parkinson English
Means "son of Parkin", a medieval diminutive of Peter.
Parks English
Patronymic form of Park 3.
Pascal French
Derived from the given name Pascal.
Pascual Spanish
From the given name Pascual.
Pearce English
From the given name Piers.
Pecháček m Czech
From a diminutive of the given name Petr.
Pecháčková f Czech
Feminine form of Pecháček.
Pedersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Peder".
Pedrotti Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Pietro.
Peeters Dutch, Flemish
Dutch and Flemish variant of Peters.
Pekkanen Finnish
Derived from the given name Pekka.
Peláez Spanish
Means "son of Pelayo".
Pérez Spanish
Means "son of Pedro".
Perez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Pérez.
Perić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Pero".
Perkins English
Means "son of Perkin", a medieval diminutive of Peter.
Perko Slovene, Croatian
Derived from an archaic diminutive of Peter.
Perković Croatian
Patronymic derived from an archaic diminutive of Petar.
Perrault French
From a diminutive of the given name Pierre.
Perreault French
From a diminutive of the given name Pierre.
Perrin French
From a diminutive of the given name Pierre.
Perrot French
From a diminutive of the given name Pierre.
Persson Swedish
Means "son of Per".
Pešek m Czech
From a diminutive of the given name Petr.
Pešková f Czech
Feminine form of Pešek.
Péter Hungarian
Derived from the given name Péter.
Peter English, German, Dutch
Derived from the given name Peter.
Peters English, German, Dutch
Means "son of Peter".
Petersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Peter".
Peterson English
Means "son of Peter".
Petersson Swedish
Means "son of Peter".
Pethes Hungarian
Derived from Pete, a diminutive of Péter.
Pető Hungarian
Derived from an old diminutive of Péter.
Petőcs Hungarian
Derived from Pető, an old Hungarian diminutive of Péter.
Petőfi Hungarian
Means "son of Pető", an old diminutive of Péter.
Petraitienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Petraitis. This form is used by married women.
Petraitis m Lithuanian
From the given name Petras.
Petraitytė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Petraitis. This form is used by unmarried women.
Petran Romanian
From the Romanian given name Petre.
Petrauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Petrauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.
Petrauskas m Lithuanian
Means "son of Petras".
Petrauskienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Petrauskas. This form is used by married women.
Petrenko Ukrainian
From the given name Petro.
Petrescu Romanian
Means "son of Petre" in Romanian.
Petri Italian
Derived from the given name Pietro.
Petrić Croatian
Means "son of Petar".
Petrosyan Armenian
Means "son of Petros" in Armenian.
Petrov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Peter" in Russian and Bulgarian.
Petrova f Russian, Bulgarian
Feminine form of Petrov.
Petrovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Petrovski.
Petrovski m Macedonian
Means "son of Petar".
Pettersen Norwegian
Means "son of Petter".
Pettersson Swedish
Means "son of Petter".
Peusen Dutch
Derived from the given name Pascal.
Pfaff German
From a nickname meaning "priest, cleric" from Old High German pfaffo, from Latin papa.
Phelps English
Means "son of Philip".
Philippe French
From the given name Philippe.
Philips English, Dutch
Means "son of Philip". Famous bearers of this surname were Frederick Philips (1830-1900) and his son Gerard (1858-1942), the Dutch founders of the company Philips.
Phillips English
Means "son of Philip".
Pierce English
From the given name Piers.
Pierre French
From the given name Pierre.
Pierson English
Means "son of Piers".
Pietri Italian
Derived from the given name Pietro.
Pietrzak Polish
Means "son of Piotr".
Pires Portuguese
Means "son of Pedro".
Platt English
From Old French plat meaning "flat, thin", from Late Latin plattus, from Greek πλατύς (platys) meaning "wide, broad, flat". This may have been a nickname or a topographic name for someone who lived near a flat feature.
Pop Romanian
Variant of Popa.
Popa Romanian
From Romanian popă "priest", from Old Church Slavic popŭ. This is the most common surname in Romania.
Pope English
From a nickname that originally designated a person who played the part of the pope in a play or pageant. Otherwise the name could be used as a nickname for a man with a solemn, austere, or pious appearance. It is derived from Latin papa, ultimately from Greek πάππας (pappas) meaning "father".
Popescu Romanian
Patronymic derived from Romanian popă "priest". This is the second most common surname in Romania.
Popov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of the priest", derived from Russian and Bulgarian поп (pop).
Popova f Russian, Bulgarian
Feminine form of Popov.
Popović Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of the priest", derived from Serbo-Croatian pop meaning "priest".
Popovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Popovski.
Popovski m Macedonian
Means "son of the priest" in Macedonian.
Prosdocimi Italian
From the given name Prosdocimo, Italian form of Prosdocimus.
Řeha m Czech
Derived from the given name Řehoř.
Řehová f Czech
Feminine form of Řeha.
Sander German, Danish
Derived from the given name Alexander.
Sanders English
Patronymic of the given name Sander, a medieval form of Alexander.
Sanderson English
Means "son of Alexander".
Sándor Hungarian
Derived from the given name Sándor.
Sandu Romanian
From the given name Sandu.
San Nicolás Spanish
Indicated the original bearer was from a place named after Saint Nicholas.
Sempers English
From the name of various towns named Saint Pierre in Normandy, all of which commemorate Saint Peter.
Sidney English
Originally derived from various place names in England meaning "wide island", from Old English sid "wide" and eg "island". Another theory holds that it comes from the name of a town in Normandy called "Saint Denis", though evidence for this is lacking.
Siemon German
Variant of Simon.
Sienkiewicz Polish
Patronymic from the given name Sienko, an old diminutive of Szymon. This was the surname of the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916).
Šimek m Czech
Derived from the name Šimek, a diminutive of Šimon.
Simen English (Rare)
From the given name Simon 1.
Šimić Croatian
Means "son of Šime".
Šimko m Slovak
From a diminutive of the given name Šimon.
Šimková f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Šimek or Šimko.
Simmon German
From the given name Simon 1.
Simmons English
Derived from the given name Simon 1.
Simms English
Derived from the medieval given name Sim, a short form of Simon 1.
Simões Portuguese
Means "son of Simão" in Portuguese.
Šimon m Slovak, Czech
Derived from the given name Šimon.
Simón Spanish
From the given name Simón.
Simon English, French, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Jewish
Derived from the given name Simon 1.
Simoneit German
From the given name Simon 1.
Šimonienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Šimonis. This form is used by married women.
Šimonis m Lithuanian
Means "son of Simonas".
Simonis Dutch
Means "son of Simon 1".
Šimonová f Slovak, Czech
Feminine form of Šimon.
Simons English, German
Derived from the given name Simon 1.
Simonson English
Means "son of Simon 1".
Simonsson Swedish
Swedish form of Simonson.
Šimonytė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Šimonis. This form is used by unmarried women.
Simpkin English
From a diminutive of the given name Simon 1.
Simpson English
Means "son of Sim", Sim being a medieval short form of Simon 1. This is the name of a fictional American family on the animated television series The Simpsons, starting 1989.
Sims English
Variant of Simms.
Šimunović Croatian
Means "son of Šimun".
Sinagra 2 Italian
Derived from the given name Senagora, an Italian form of Xenagoras.
Spirou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Σπύρου (see Spyrou).
Spyrou Greek
Means "son of Spyros".
Stacey English
Variant of Stacy.
Stacy English
Derived from Stace, a medieval form of Eustace.
Stefanidi f Greek
Feminine form of Stefanidis.
Stefanidis m Greek
Means "son of Stefanos" in Greek.
Stefanidou f Greek
Feminine form of Stefanidis.
Stefanović Serbian
Means "son of Stefan".
Stefansen Danish
Means "son of Stefan".
Stefansson Swedish
Means "son of Stefan".
Steffen Low German, English
Derived from the given name Stephen.
Steffensen Danish
Means "son of Steffen".
Štěpánek m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Štěpán.
Štěpánková f Czech
Feminine form of Štěpánek.
Stepanov m Russian
Means "son of Stepan".
Stepanova f Russian
Feminine form of Stepanov.
Stephanidi f Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Στεφανίδη (see Stefanidi).
Stephanidis m Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Στεφανίδης (see Stefanidis).
Stephanidou f Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Στεφανίδου (see Stefanidou).
Stephens English
Derived from the given name Stephen.
Stephenson English
Means "son of Stephen".
Stjepanić Croatian
Means "son of Stjepan".
St Pierre French
From a French place named for Saint Peter.
Sydney English
Variant of Sidney.
Symonds English
Derived from the given name Simon 1.
Symons English
Derived from the given name Simon 1.
Szczepańska f Polish
Feminine form of Szczepański.
Szczepański m Polish
Derived from the given name Szczepan.
Szymańska f Polish
Feminine form of Szymański.
Szymański m Polish
From the given name Szymon.
Tennison English
Means "son of Denis".
Tennyson English
Means "son of Denis".
Teodoro Portuguese
Derived from the given name Teodoro.
Theodorou Greek
Means "son of Theodoros".
Todaro Italian
From a regional form of a given name Todaro, a variant of Teodoro. It is quite common in Sicily.
Todorov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Todor".
Todorova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Todorov.
Torosian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Թորոսյան (see Torosyan).
Torosyan Armenian
Means "son of Toros" in Armenian.
Trifonov m Bulgarian, Russian
Means "son of Trifon".
Trifonova f Bulgarian, Russian
Feminine form of Trifonov.
Tyson 2 English
Variant of Dyson.
Van Leeuwenhoek Dutch
Variant of Leeuwenhoek. A famous bearer of this surname is Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a pioneer in the field of microscopy.
Vasile Romanian
Derived from the given name Vasile.
Vasileiou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Βασιλείου (see Vasiliou).
Vasilescu Romanian
Means "son of Vasile".
Vasilev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Vasil".
Vasileva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Vasilev.
Vasiliauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Vasiliauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.
Vasiliauskienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Vasiliauskas. This form is used by married women.
Vasiliev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Васильев (see Vasilyev).
Vasilieva f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Васильева (see Vasilyeva).
Vasiliou Greek
Means "son of Vasilios".
Vasilyev m Russian
Means "son of Vasil".
Vasilyeva f Russian
Feminine form of Vasilyev.
Vassiliou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Βασιλείου (see Vasiliou).
Vasylenko Ukrainian
From the given name Vasyl.
Vasylyk Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Vasyl.
Vasylyshyn Ukrainian
Means "son of Vasyl".
Wasilewska f Polish
Feminine form of Wasilewski.
Wasilewski m Polish
Means "son of Wasyl".
Xanthopoulos m Greek
Means "son of Xanthos".
Xanthopoulou f Greek
Feminine form of Xanthopoulos.
Yegorov m Russian
Means "son of Yegor".
Yegorova f Russian
Feminine form of Yegorov.
Zeni Italian
Means "son of Zeno".