Ancient Origin Surnames

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".

Ștefan Romanian
From the given name Ștefan.

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".

Stevanović Serbian
Means "son of Stevan".

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.

Sudworth English
From an English place name composed of Old English suþ "south" and worþ "enclosure".

Suero Spanish
Derived from the given name Suero.

Suess German
Variant of Süß. A famous bearer was the American children's author Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel.

Suggitt English
Variant of Southgate.

Sulaymanov m Kyrgyz
Means "son of Sulayman".

Sulaymanova f Kyrgyz
Feminine form of Sulaymanov.

Šulc m Czech
Czech form of Schulz.

Šulcová f Czech
Feminine form of Šulc.

Suleimenov m Kazakh
Means "son of Suleimen".

Suleimenova f Kazakh
Feminine form of Suleimenov.

Summerfield English
Originally indicated the bearer was from a town of this name, derived from Old English sumor "summer" and feld "field".

Summers 1 English
Variant of Sumner.

Summers 2 English
Variant of Sommer 1.

Sumner English
Occupational name for a summoner, an official who was responsible for ensuring the appearance of witnesses in court, from Middle English sumner, ultimately from Latin submonere "to advise".

Sundberg Swedish
From Swedish sund meaning "strait" and berg meaning "mountain".

Sundén Swedish
From Swedish sund meaning "sound, strait".

Sundström Swedish
From Swedish sund meaning "strait" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Süss German
Variant of Süß.

Süß German
From Old High German suozi meaning "sweet".

Susskind Jewish
Variant of Ziskind.

Sutton English
From various English place names meaning "south town".

Svéd Hungarian
Means "Swedish" in Hungarian.

Svendsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Svend".

Svensen Norwegian
Means "son of Sven".

Svenson Swedish
Variant of Svensson.

Svensson Swedish
Means "son of Sven".

Swanson English
Patronymic form of Middle English swein meaning "servant" (of Old Norse origin). This word was also used as a byname, and this surname could be a patronymic form of that.

Sweeney Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Suibhne.

Sweet English
From a nickname meaning "sweet, pleasant", from Old English swete.

Sydney English
Variant of Sidney.

Sýkora m Czech, Slovak
Means "tit (bird)" in Czech and Slovak.

Sýkorová f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Sýkora.

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.

Szewc Polish
Means "shoemaker" in Polish.

Szewczyk Polish
Diminutive form of Szewc.

Szulc Polish
Polish form of Schulz.

Szwarc Polish
Polish phonetic spelling of German Schwarz.

Szwed Polish
Variant of Szweda.

Szweda Polish
Derived from Polish Szwed meaning "Swede, person from Sweden".

Szwedko Polish
Variant of Szweda.

Szymańska f Polish
Feminine form of Szymański.

Szymański m Polish
From the given name Szymon.

Tadić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Tadija".

Taft English
Variant of Toft.

Tamaro Italian
Possibly from the Old German given name Thietmar. It is typical of the area around Trieste in northern Italy.

Tamás Hungarian
Derived from the given name Tamás.

Tanzi Italian
From a short form of the given name Costanzo.

Tarasenko Ukrainian
From the given name Taras.

Tash English
From Middle English at asche meaning "at the ash tree".

Tate English
Derived from the Old English given name Tata.

Tatham English
From the name of the town of Tatham in Lancashire, itself from the Old English given name Tata combined with ham meaning "home, settlement".

Tatton English
Originally indicated a person from a town by this name, derived from the Old English given name Tata combined with tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".

Tatum English
Variant of Tatham.

Taube German
From a nickname meaning "dove" in German.

Tchaikovskaya f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Чайковская (see Chaykovskaya).

Tchaikovsky m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Чайковский (see Chaykovsky).

Teague 1 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Taidhg meaning "descendant of Tadhg".

Tehrani Persian
Indicated a person from the Iranian city of Tehran, of unknown meaning.

Tenley English
Possibly from the name of an English town derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Tennison English
Means "son of Denis".

Tennyson English
Means "son of Denis".

Teodoro Portuguese
Derived from the given name Teodoro.

Terrell English
Probably derived from the Norman French nickname tirel meaning "to pull", referring to a stubborn person.

Terry English
Derived from the medieval name Thierry, a Norman French form of Theodoric.

Terzi 1 Italian
From the given name Terzo, or a name for a third child.

Terzi 2 Turkish
Means "tailor" in Turkish, ultimately of Persian origin.

Terzić Bosnian
From Bosnian terzija meaning "tailor", ultimately of Persian origin.

Tesař m Czech
Means "carpenter" in Czech, ultimately from the Old Slavic word tesla meaning "adze".

Tesařík m Czech
Diminutive of Tesař.

Tesaříková f Czech
Feminine form of Tesařík.

Tesařová f Czech
Feminine form of Tesař.

Tesla Serbian
Occupational name for a carpenter, derived from Serbian tesla meaning "adze". This name was notably borne by the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943).

Teunissen Dutch
Means "son of Teunis".

Thacker English
Northern Middle English variant of Thatcher.

Thälmann German
From the given name Thilo. It was borne by the German communist party leader Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944).

Thatcher English
Referred to a person who thatched roofs by attaching straw to them, derived from Old English þæc meaning "thatch, roof". A famous bearer was the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).

Theodorou Greek
Means "son of Theodoros".

Theunissen Dutch
Means "son of Theunis".

Thibault French
Derived from the given name Thibault.

Thomas English, Welsh, French, German
Derived from the given name Thomas.

Thomassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Thomas".

Thompkins English
From a diminutive of the given name Thomas.

Thompsett English
From a diminutive of the given name Thomas.

Thompson English
Means "son of Thomas".

Thomson English
Variant of Thompson.

Thorburn English, Scottish
Derived from the Old Norse given name Þórbjǫrn.

Þórirsson Icelandic
Means "son of Þórir".

Thorley English
From any of the various places in England called Thornley or Thorley, meaning "thorn clearing" in Old English.

Thorn English, Danish
Originally applied to a person who lived in or near a thorn bush.

Thorne English
Variant of Thorn.

Thornton English
From any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.

Thorpe English
From Old Norse þorp meaning "village".

Thorsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Thor".

Thurstan English
Derived from the Old Norse name Þórsteinn.

Tichá f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Tichý.

Tichý m Czech, Slovak
Means "quiet" in Czech and Slovak.

Tiedeman Low German
Variant of Tiedemann.

Tiedemann Low German
Derived from the given name Tiedemann.

Tierney Irish
From Irish Ó Tíghearnaigh meaning "descendant of Tighearnach".

Tifft English
Variant of Toft.

Tighe Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Taidhg.

Tillens Flemish
From the old Dutch name Tiel, a medieval diminutive of Dietrich.

Tirrell English
Variant of Terrell.

Tkachenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian ткач (tkach) meaning "weaver".

Tkachuk Ukrainian
From Ukrainian ткач (tkach) meaning "weaver".

Tobias English, German, Jewish
From the given name Tobias.

Tobin English
From a diminutive of the given name Tobias.

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.

Todorović Serbian
Means "son of Todor".

Toft English
Denoted a person hailing from one of the many places in Britain of that name, derived from Old Norse topt meaning "homestead".

Toller English
Occupational name meaning "tax gatherer", derived from Old English toln "toll, fee, tax".

Toloni Italian
Derived from the given name Bartolomeo.

Toma Romanian
From the given name Toma 2.

Tomàs Catalan
Derived from the given name Tomàs.

Tómasson Icelandic
Means "son of Tómas".

Tomasson Swedish
Means "son of Tomas".

Tomčić Serbian, Croatian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Toma 2.

Tomczak Polish
From a diminutive of the given name Tomasz.

Tomić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Toma 2".

Tomov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Toma 2".

Tomova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Tomov.

Toole Irish
Variant of O'Toole.

Torosian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Թորոսյան (see Torosyan).

Torosyan Armenian
Means "son of Toros" in Armenian.

Torres Spanish, Portuguese
Name for a person who lived in or near a tower, ultimately from Latin turris.

Tos Spanish
Spanish form of Tosi.

Tosell Catalan
Catalan form of Tosi.

Toselli Italian
Diminutive form of Tosi.

Toset Catalan
Catalan form of Tosi.

Tosetti Italian
Diminutive form of Tosi.

Tosi Italian
Means "clean-shaven", usually denoting a younger man, from Latin tonsus "shaved".

Towner English
Variant of Toller.

Townsend English
Indicated a person who lived at the town's edge, from Old English tun "enclosure, yard, town" and ende "end, limit".

Tracey 1 English
From the village of Tracy-sur-mer on the Normandy coast in France. It was brought to England with William the Conqueror.

Tracey 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Treasaigh meaning "descendant of Treasach".

Tracy English, Irish
Variant of Tracey 1 or Tracey 2.

Trajkovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Trajkovski.

Trajkovski m Macedonian
Means "son of Trajko".

Traver French
French variant of Travers.

Travere French
French variant of Travers.

Travers English, French
From an English and French place name that described a person who lived near a bridge or ford, or occasionally as an occupational name for the collector of tolls at such a location. The place name is derived from Old French traverser (which comes from Late Latin transversare), which means "to cross".

Traversa Italian
Italian form of Travers.

Traverse French
French variant of Travers.

Traversi Italian
Italian form of Travers.

Traversini Italian
Italian variant of Travers.

Traverso Italian
Italian form of Travers.

Travert French
French variant of Travers.

Traves English
English variant of Travers.

Travieso Spanish
Spanish form of Travers.

Travis English
English variant of Travers.

Traviss English
English variant of Travers.

Treacy Irish
Variant of Tracey 2.

Trevis English
English variant of Travers.

Trevor Welsh
Originally from the name of various Welsh towns meaning "big village", derived from Middle Welsh tref "village" and maur "large".

Trifonov m Bulgarian, Russian
Means "son of Trifon".

Trifonova f Bulgarian, Russian
Feminine form of Trifonov.

Troelsen Danish
Means "son of Troels".

Trudeau French (Quebec)
From a diminutive of the given name Thouroude, a medieval French form of the Norse name Torvald. This name has been borne by two Canadian prime ministers, Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919-2000) and his son Justin Trudeau (1971-).

Trueman English
Variant of Truman.

Truman English
Means "trusty man" in Middle English. A famous bearer of the surname was American president Harry S. Truman (1884-1972).

Tsvetanov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Tsvetan".

Tsvetanova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Tsvetanov.

Tsvetkov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Tsvetko".

Tsvetkova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Tsvetkov.

Tudor Romanian
Derived from the given name Tudor 2.

Tuff English
Variant of Tuft.

Tuft English
Denoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.

Tumicelli Italian
Possibly from a diminutive of the given name Bartolomeo.

Tunison Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Teunissen.

Turnbull English, Scottish
Nickname for someone thought to be strong enough to turn around a bull.

Turner English
Occupational name for one who worked with a lathe, derived from Old English turnian "to turn", of Latin origin. A famous bearer is the American musician Tina Turner (1939-2023), born Anna Mae Bullock.

Tyrell English
Variant of Terrell.

Tyrrell English
Variant of Terrell.

Tyson 2 English
Variant of Dyson.

Uberti Italian
Derived from the given name Uberto.

Uggeri Italian
Derived from the given name Edgardo.

Ughi Italian
From the given name Ugo.

Ulfsson Swedish
Means "son of Ulf".

Underhill English
Means "dweller at the foot of a hill", from Old English under and hyll.

Underwood English
Means "dweller at the edge of the woods", from Old English under and wudu.

Ungaretti Italian
Diminutive of Ungaro.

Ungaro Italian
Means "Hungarian" in Italian.

Ungur Romanian
Variant of Ungureanu.

Ungureanu Romanian
From Romanian ungur meaning "Hungarian".

Unterbrink Low German
Means "dweller under the slope" from Old Saxon undar "under" and brink "edge, slope".

Upton English
Denoted a person hailing from one of the many towns in England bearing this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English upp "up" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Urban mu Czech, Slovak, Polish, German
Derived from the given name Urban.

Urbanová f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Urban.

Urbonaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Urbonas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Urbonas m Lithuanian
From the given name Urbonas.

Urbonienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Urbonas. This form is used by married women.

Vacca Italian
Means "cow" in Italian, originally denoting a person who worked with cattle.

Vaccaro Italian
Occupational name meaning "cowherd" in Italian.

Vacek m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Václav.

Vacík m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Václav.

Vacíková f Czech
Feminine form of Vacík.

Vacková f Czech
Feminine form of Vacek.

Valdez Spanish
Means "son of Baldo".

Vale Portuguese
Means "valley" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin vallis.

Valencia Spanish
From the name of the Spanish city of Valencia.

Valent m Slovak
Derived from the given name Valentín.

Valenta m Czech
Derived from the given name Valentin.

Valenti Italian
Patronymic from the given name Valente, an Italian form of Valens. A famous bearer of the surname was Jack Valenti (1921-2007), advisor to American president Lyndon Johnson.

Valentin French, German
From the given name Valentin.

Valentine English
From the given name Valentine 1.

Valentini Italian
Means "son of Valentino".

Valentinov m Bulgarian, Russian
Means "son of Valentin".

Valentinova f Bulgarian, Russian
Feminine form of Valentinov.

Valentová f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Valenta or Valent.

Valeriev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Valeri".

Valerieva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Valeriev.

Valerio Italian
From the given name Valerio.

Valero Spanish
From the given name Valero.

Valjean Literature
Created by Victor Hugo for Jean Valjean, the hero of his novel Les Misérables (1862). The novel explains that his father, also named Jean, received the nickname Valjean or Vlajean from a contraction of French voilá Jean meaning "here's Jean".

Van Aalst Dutch
Variant of Van Alst.

Van Achteren Dutch
Variant of Van Agteren.

Van Agteren Dutch
Means "from behind", probably referring to a place behind something, such as a building or a place at the end of the road.

Van Akkeren Dutch
Variant of Van den Akker.

Van Alst Dutch
Means "from Aalst", the name of towns in Belgium and the Netherlands, which is possibly from Germanic *alhs meaning "temple, shelter".