Ancient Origin Surnames

Sergeev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Сергеев (see Sergeyev).

Sergeeva f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Сергеева (see Sergeyeva).

Sergeyev m Russian
Means "son of Sergey".

Sergeyeva f Russian
Feminine form of Sergeyev.

Serra Italian, Portuguese, Catalan
Italian, Portuguese and Catalan cognate of Sierra.

Serrano Spanish
Variant of Sierra.

Ševčík m Czech, Slovak
Occupational name derived from Czech and Slovak švec meaning "shoemaker, cobbler".

Ševčíková f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Ševčík.

Severijns Dutch
Derived from the Latin given name Severinus.

Séverin French
Derived from the given name Séverin.

Severins Dutch
Derived from the Latin given name Severinus.

Sevriens Dutch
Derived from the Latin given name Severinus.

Seward 1 English
Derived from the given name Sigeweard.

Seward 2 English
Means "swineherd" from Old English su "sow, female pig" and hierde "herdsman, guardian".

Seward 3 Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Suaird.

Seymour 1 English
From Saint Maur, a French place name, which commemorates Saint Maurus.

Shah Persian, Urdu
Derived from Persian شاه (shāh) meaning "king".

Shain Jewish
Means "beautiful, handsome" in Yiddish, from German schön.

Shannon Irish
From Irish Ó Seanáin meaning "descendant of Seanán".

Sharma Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Nepali
Means "joy, shelter, comfort" in Sanskrit.

Sharman English
Variant of Sherman 1.

Sharp English
Nickname for a keen person, from Old English scearp "sharp".

Sharpe English
Variant of Sharp.

Shaw 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived near a prominent thicket, from Old English sceaga meaning "thicket, copse".

Shaw 2 Scottish
From a given name or byname that was derived from Gaelic sitheach meaning "wolf" (Old Irish sídach).

Shea Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Séaghdha.

Sheach Scottish
Variant of Shaw 2.

Shearer English
English cognate of Scherer.

Sheehy Irish
Variant of McSheehy.

Sheenan Irish
Variant of Shannon.

Sheinfeld Jewish
Ornamental name derived from German schön "beautiful, good, nice" and feld "field".

Shelby English
Variant of Selby.

Shepard English
Variant of Shepherd.

Shepherd English
Occupational name meaning "shepherd, sheep herder", from Old English sceaphyrde.

Sheppard English
Variant of Shepherd.

Sherazi Urdu
Urdu form of Shirazi.

Sherburn English
Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Sherborne or Sherburn in England, derived from Old English scir "bright" and burna "spring, fountain, stream".

Sherburne English
Variant of Sherburn.

Sherman 1 English
Means "shear man", referring to someone who used shears in his line of work, such as a sheep-shearer.

Shevchenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian швець (shvets) meaning "shoemaker".

Shevchuk Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian швець (shvets) meaning "shoemaker".

Shine 1 English
Means "beautiful, attractive" from Old English sciene.

Shirazi Persian
Originally denoted someone who came from the city of Shiraz, located in southern Iran. The city's name is possibly of Elamite origin.

Shirley English
From an English place name, derived from Old English scir "bright" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Shriver German
German cognate of Scriven.

Shvets Ukrainian
Means "shoemaker" in Ukrainian.

Shwetz Ukrainian (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Shvets.

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.

Siebert German
Derived from the given name Siegbert.

Siegel 2 German
Derived from the diminutive of Old German given names beginning with the element sigu meaning "victory".

Siegel 3 Jewish
Variant of Segal 1.

Sieger German
From the given name Sieghard.

Siegert German
Derived from the given name Sieghard.

Siekert German (Rare)
Derived from the given name Sieghard.

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).

Sierra Spanish
Originally indicated a dweller on a hill range or ridge, from Spanish sierra "mountain range", derived from Latin serra "saw".

Sierżant Polish
Polish cognate of Sergeant.

Sigurdsson Icelandic, Swedish
Means "son of Sigurður".

Sigurðsson Icelandic
Means "son of Sigurður".

Sikora Polish
Means "tit (bird)" in Polish.

Silje Norwegian
Derived from the given name Silje.

Silva Portuguese, Spanish
From Spanish or Portuguese silva meaning "forest". This is the most common surname in Portugal and Brazil.

Silveira Portuguese
Means "forests" in Portuguese.

Silver English
From a nickname for a person with grey hair, from Old English seolfor "silver".

Silverstein Jewish
Variant of Zilberstein.

Silvestri Italian
Derived from the given name Silvester.

Šimek m Czech
Derived from the name Šimek, a diminutive of Šimon.

Simen English (Rare)
From the given name Simon 1.

Simeonov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Simeon".

Simeonova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Simeonov.

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.

Simonsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of 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.

Sinclair English
Derived from a Norman French town called "Saint Clair".

Singh Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Indian (Sikh)
From Sanskrit सिंह (siṃha) meaning "lion". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his Sikh male followers the surname Singh and all females Kaur. It is among the most common surnames in India.

Siskin Jewish
Variant of Ziskind.

Siskind Jewish
Variant of Ziskind.

Sitz 1 German
Derived from a given name beginning with the Old High German element sigu meaning "victory".

Sjöberg Swedish
From Swedish sjö (Old Norse sær) meaning "lake, sea" and berg meaning "mountain".

Sjögren Swedish
From Swedish sjö (Old Norse sær) meaning "lake, sea" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Skála m Czech
Means "rock" in Czech, indicating that the original bearer lived near a prominent rock.

Skała Polish
Polish cognate of Skála.

Skalická f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Skalický.

Skalický m Czech, Slovak
Indicated the original bearer came from a place named Skalice, Skalica or Skalička in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, derived from the Slavic root skala meaning "rock".

Skálová f Czech
Feminine form of Skála.

Skov Danish
Topographic name meaning "forest, wood" in Danish, from Old Norse skógr.

Skovgaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish skov "forest, wood" and gård "farm, yard".

Skywalker Popular Culture
From the English words sky and walker, created by George Lucas as the surname for several characters in his Star Wars movie series, notably the hero Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy (beginning 1977). Early drafts of the script had the name as Starkiller.

Slane Irish
Originally indicated a person from Slane, County Meath, Ireland, which is derived from the given name Sláine.

Slávik m Slovak
Slovak cognate of Slavík.

Slavík m Czech
Means "nightingale" in Czech.

Sláviková f Slovak
Feminine form of Slávik.

Slavíková f Czech
Feminine form of Slavík.

Slavkov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Slavko".

Slavkova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Slavkov.

Slootmaekers Dutch, Flemish
Occupational name for a locksmith, from Dutch slot "lock" and maker "maker".

Slováček m Czech
Variant of Slovák.

Slováčková f Czech
Feminine form of Slováček.

Slovák m Slovak, Czech
Originally described one who was from Slovakia.

Slováková f Slovak, Czech
Feminine form of Slovák.

Ślusarczyk Polish
Diminutive form of Ślusarski.

Ślusarska f Polish
Feminine form of Ślusarski.

Ślusarski m Polish
Occupational name for a locksmith, from Polish ślusarz, of Germanic origin.

Slusser German
Variant of Schlosser.

Smagulov m Kazakh
Means "son of Smagul".

Smagulova f Kazakh
Feminine form of Smagulov.

Small English
From a nickname for a small person, from Middle English smal.

Smalls English
Variant of Small.

Smeets Dutch
Variant of Smit.

Smets Dutch
Variant of Smit.

Smit Dutch
From Middle Dutch smit "metalworker, blacksmith", a cognate of Smith.

Smith English
Means "metalworker, blacksmith" from Old English smiþ, related to smitan "to smite, to hit". It is the most common surname in most of the English-speaking world. A famous bearer was the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).

Smits Dutch
Variant of Smit.

Smola m Czech
Czech form of Smolak.

Smolak Polish
Occupational name for a distiller of pitch, derived from the Old Slavic word smola meaning "pitch, resin".

Smolarek Polish
Variant of Smolak.

Smolová f Czech
Feminine form of Smola.

Smythe English
Variant of Smith.

Snaaijer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Snaijer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneiders Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneijder Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneijders Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneijer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Sneijers Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Snel Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snell.

Snell English
From Old English snel meaning "fast, quick, nimble".

Snelling English
Variant of Snell.

Snider English
Variant of Snyder.

Sniders English
Variant of Snyder.

Śniegowska f Polish
Feminine form of Śniegowski.

Śniegowski m Polish
Derived from Polish śnieg meaning "snow".

Snijder Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Snijders Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

Snyder English
Means "tailor", derived from Middle English snithen "to cut", an occupational name for a person who stitched coats and clothing.

Snyders English
Variant of Snyder.

Soares Portuguese
Means "son of Suero".

Sobel Jewish
Variant of Sobol.

Soból Polish
Polish cognate of Sobol.

Sobol Ukrainian, Russian, Jewish
Occupational name for a fur trader, from the Slavic word sobolĭ meaning "sable, marten". As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Söderberg Swedish
From Swedish söder (Old Norse suðr) meaning "south" and berg meaning "mountain".

Söderström Swedish
From Swedish söder (Old Norse suðr) meaning "south" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Sokal Polish
Polish cognate of Sokol.

Sokół Polish
Polish cognate of Sokol.

Sokol mu Slovak, Czech, Jewish
From Czech and Slovak sokol meaning "falcon", a nickname or an occupational name for a falconer. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Sokoll Jewish
Variant of Sokol.

Sokolof Jewish
Means "son of Sokol".

Sokoloff Jewish
Means "son of Sokol".

Sokolov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Sokol".

Sokolova f Russian, Bulgarian
Feminine form of Sokolov.

Sokolová f Slovak, Czech
Feminine form of Sokol.

Sokolovskaya f Russian
Feminine form of Sokolovsky.

Sokolovsky m Russian
Means "son of Sokol".

Sokołowska f Polish
Feminine form of Sokołowski.

Sokołowski m Polish
From the name of Polish towns called Sokołów or similar, derived from Polish sokół meaning "falcon".

Sokolsky Jewish
Means "son of Sokol".

Solberg Norwegian, Swedish
From a place name, derived from Old Norse sól meaning "sun" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Swedish name it may be ornamental.

Soler Occitan, Catalan
Denoted a person from any of the numerous places in the area whose names derive from Occitan or Catalan soler meaning "ground, floor".

Solheim Norwegian
From the name various of various villages in Norway, derived from Old Norse sól meaning "sun" and heimr meaning "home".

Solomon English, Romanian, Jewish
Derived from the given name Solomon.

Sommer 1 German, English
Means "summer", from Old High German sumar or Old English sumor. This was a nickname for a cheerful person, someone who lived in a sunny spot, or a farmer who had to pay taxes in the summer.

Sordi Italian
From Italian sordo meaning "deaf", from Latin surdus.

Sörensen Swedish
Swedish form of Sørensen.

Sørensen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Søren".

Sorenson Danish (Anglicized), Swedish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Sørensen or Sörensson.

Sörensson Swedish
Swedish form of Sørensen.

Sorg German
Variant of Sorge.

Sorge German
Means "worry, care, anxiety" in German, from Old High German sorga.

Soto Spanish
Means "grove of trees, small forest" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin saltus.

Sourd French
French cognate of Sordi.

Southers German
Possibly an Americanized form of Sauter.

Southgate English
Name for a person who lived near the southern gate of a town or in a town named Southgate, from Old English suþ and gæt.

Sowards English, Irish
Possibly a variant of Seward 1 or Seward 3.

Spear English
From Old English spere "spear", an occupational name for a hunter or a maker of spears, or a nickname for a thin person.

Spearing English
Patronymic form of Spear.

Spears English
Patronymic form of Spear.

Specht German
Means "woodpecker" in German.

Speight English
English form of Specht, probably a loanword from German or Dutch.

Spirou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Σπύρου (see Spyrou).

Spyrou Greek
Means "son of Spyros".

Stacey English
Variant of Stacy.

Stack English
From a nickname for a big person, derived from Middle English stack "haystack", of Old Norse origin.

Stacks English
Variant of Stack.

Stacy English
Derived from Stace, a medieval form of Eustace.

Stan Romanian
Derived from the given name Stan 2.

Staněk m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Stanislav.

Stanek Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Stanisław.

Stanev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Stane", Stane being a diminutive of Stanislav.

Staneva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Stanev.

Stanford English
Derived from various English place names meaning "stone ford" in Old English.

Stankevičienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Stankevičius. This form is used by married women.

Stankevičius m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Stankiewicz.

Stankevičiūtė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Stankevičius. This form is used by unmarried women.

Stankić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Stanko".

Stankiewicz Polish
From a diminutive of Stanisław.

Staňková f Czech
Feminine form of Staněk.

Stanković Serbian
Means "son of Stanko".

Stanley English
From various place names meaning "stone clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904).

Stanton English
From one of the many places named Stanton or Staunton in England, derived from Old English stan meaning "stone" and tun meaning "enclosure, town".

Stárek m Czech
From a nickname derived from Czech starý meaning "old".

Starek Polish
From a nickname derived from Polish stary meaning "old".

Stark English, German
From a nickname meaning "strong, rigid", from Old English stearc or Old High German stark.

Stárková f Czech
Feminine form of Stárek.

Starr English
From Middle English sterre meaning "star". This was usually a nickname, but it could also occasionally be a sign name from the name of an inn called the Star.

Stasiuk Ukrainian, Polish
From a diminutive of the given name Stanislav.

Steen Low German
Low German variant of Stein. A famous bearer was the 17th-century Dutch painter Jan Steen.

Steensen Danish
Means "son of Steen".

Stefanidi f Greek
Feminine form of Stefanidis.

Stefanidis m Greek
Means "son of Stefanos" in Greek.

Stefanidou f Greek
Feminine form of Stefanidis.

Stefanov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Stefan".

Stefanova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Stefanov.

Stefanović Serbian
Means "son of Stefan".

Stefansen Danish
Means "son of Stefan".

Stefánsson Icelandic
Means "son of Stefán".

Stefansson Swedish
Means "son of Stefan".

Steffen Low German, English
Derived from the given name Stephen.

Steffensen Danish
Means "son of Steffen".

Stein German, Jewish
From Old High German stein meaning "stone". It might indicate the original bearer lived near a prominent stone or worked as a stonecutter. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Steiner German
Variant of Stein.

Steinmann German
Means "stone man" in German, used as a habitational name for a person who lived near a prominent stone or an occupational name for a stone worker.

Steinsson Icelandic
Means "son of Steinn".

Stenberg Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Derived from Scandinavian sten (Old Norse steinn) meaning "stone" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Swedish name it is ornamental.

Stendahl Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish sten (Old Norse steinn) meaning "stone" and dal (Old Norse dalr) meaning "valley".

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".

Stern 2 German, Jewish
German cognate of Starr.

Sternberg Jewish
Ornamental name derived from old German stern "star" and berg "mountain".

Stevens English
Variant of Stephens.

Stevenson English
Variant of Stephenson.

Stewart Scottish
Occupational name for an administrative official of an estate or steward, from Old English stig "house" and weard "guard". The Stewart family (sometimes spelled Stuart) held the Scottish crown for several centuries. One of the most famous members of the Stewart family was Mary, Queen of Scots.

Stidolph English
From the Old English given name Stithulf.

Stigsson Swedish
Means "son of Stig".

Stjepanić Croatian
Means "son of Stjepan".

St John English
From a place named for Saint John.

St Martin French
From a place named for Saint Martin.

Stoddard English
Occupational name for a horse keeper, from Old English stod "stallion, stud" and hierde "herder".

Stojanov m Macedonian
Means "son of Stojan".

Stojanova f Macedonian
Feminine form of Stojanov.

Stojanović Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Stojan".

Stojanovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Stojanovski.

Stojanovski m Macedonian
Means "son of Stojan".

Stoke English
From the name of numerous places in England, derived from Old English stoc meaning "place, dwelling".

Stokes English
Variant of Stoke.

Stone English
Name for a person who lived near a prominent stone or worked with stone, derived from Old English stan.

Stoyanov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Stoyan".

Stoyanova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Stoyanov.

St Pierre French
From a French place named for Saint Peter.

Strand Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
From Old Norse strǫnd meaning "beach, sea shore". It was originally given to someone who lived on or near the sea.

Strange English
Derived from Middle English strange meaning "foreign", ultimately from Latin extraneus.

Straub German
From Old High German strub meaning "rough, unkempt".

Street English
Habitational name for a person who lived in a place called Street, for example in Somerset. It is derived from Old English stræt meaning "Roman road", from Latin strata.

Strnad mu Czech, Slovene
Means "bunting (bird)" in Czech and Slovene.

Strnadová f Czech
Czech feminine form of Strnad.

Strobel German
Diminutive form of Straub.

Ström Swedish
Means "stream" in Swedish.

Strøm Norwegian, Danish
Means "stream" in Norwegian and Danish.

Stroman German
Means "straw man" in German, an occupational name for a seller of straw.

Strömberg Swedish
From Swedish ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream" and berg meaning "mountain".

Stroud English
From Old English strod meaning "marshy ground overgrown with brushwood".

Strudwick English
From an English place name derived from Old English strod meaning "marshy ground overgrown with brushwood" and wic meaning "village, town".

Struna Slovene
From Slovene struna meaning "string, cord", possibly denoting a maker of rope.

Stuart Scottish
Variant of Stewart.

Stuber German
Occupational name for the owner of an inn, derived from Old High German stuba "room".

Stück German, Jewish
From Old High German stucki meaning "piece, part".

Stueck German, Jewish
Variant of Stück.

Sturm German
Means "storm" in German, originally a nickname for a volatile person.

Suárez Spanish
Means "son of Suero".

Suchá f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Suchý.

Suchý m Czech, Slovak
Means "dry" in Czech and Slovak. This was a nickname for a thin person.