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".
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.
Berry EnglishDerived from a place name, which was derived from Old English
burh "fortification".
Beutel GermanFrom Middle High German
biutel meaning
"bag", originally belonging to a person who made or sold bags.
Beyersdorf GermanMeans
"farmers village", from German
Bauer meaning "farmer" and
Dorf meaning "village".
Bezuidenhout DutchFrom Dutch
zuid "south" and
hout "forest". It refers to the south of the forest in The Hague.
Bianchi ItalianFrom Italian
bianco meaning
"white", originally given to a person who was white-haired or extremely pale.
Bieber German, JewishFrom Middle High German
biber meaning
"beaver", possibly a nickname for a hard worker.
Biondi ItalianMeans
"fair-haired, blond" in Italian. This name was borne by the American swimmer Matt Biondi (1965-).
Bird EnglishOccupational name for a person who raised or hunted birds.
Bishop EnglishMeans simply
"bishop", ultimately from Greek
ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) meaning "overseer". It probably originally referred to a person who served a bishop.
Björkman SwedishFrom Swedish
björk (Old Norse
bjǫrk) meaning "birch tree" and
man (Old Norse
maðr) meaning "person, man".
Black EnglishMeans either
"black" (from Old English
blæc) or
"pale" (from Old English
blac). It could refer to a person with a pale or a dark complexion, or a person who worked with black dye.
Blackburn EnglishFrom the name of a city in Lancashire, meaning "black stream" in Old English.
Blake EnglishVariant of
Black. A famous bearer was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827).
Blakeley EnglishFrom name of various English places, derived from Old English
blæc "black" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Blakesley EnglishFrom the name of a town in Northamptonshire, itself meaning "Blæcwulf's meadow" in Old English.
Blæcwulf is a byname meaning "black wolf".
Blanc FrenchMeans
"white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond.
Blanco SpanishMeans
"white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a person who was pale or had blond hair.
Blau GermanMeans
"blue" in German, most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes.
Bloodworth EnglishOriginally indicated someone from the town of Blidworth in Nottinghamshire, which was derived from the Old English byname
Blīþa (meaning "happy, blithe") combined with
worð "enclosure".
Blue EnglishFrom a nickname for a person with blue eyes or blue clothing.
Böhm GermanOriginally indicated a person from the region of
Bohemia (
Böhmen in German).
Bohn GermanOccupational name for a bean grower, derived from Middle High German
bone "bean".
Bologna ItalianFrom the name of the city of Bologna in northern Italy. It may derive from a Celtic word meaning "settlement".
Bolton EnglishFrom any of the many places in England called Bolton, derived from Old English
bold "house" and
tun "enclosure".
Bonfils FrenchDerived from Old French
bon fils meaning
"good son".
Bonheur FrenchFrom Old French
bonne heure meaning
"good time" or
"lucky".
Bonner EnglishFrom Middle English
boneire "kind, courteous", derived from Norman French
bon aire "good bloodline".
Borde FrenchFrom Old French
bord meaning
"board, plank", derived from Frankish *
bord. This name belonged to a person who lived in a house made of planks.
Borg SwedishFrom Swedish
borg meaning
"fortification, castle".
Borghi ItalianLocative origin, from the common place name
Borgo meaning "village".
Boško m SlovakDerived from Slovak
bosý meaning
"barefoot".
Bosko PolishDerived from Polish
bosy meaning
"barefoot".
Bouvier FrenchMeans
"cowherd" in French, from Latin
boviarus, a derivative of
bos "cow".
Bove ItalianDerived from an Italian nickname meaning
"bull, ox".
Boyce EnglishFrom Old French
bois meaning
"wood", originally given to someone who lived by or in a wood.
Braddock EnglishFrom various locations derived from Old English meaning
"broad oak".
Bradford EnglishDerived from the name of the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire, which meant "broad ford" in Old English. This is also the name of other smaller towns in England.
Bradshaw EnglishFrom any of the places by this name in England, derived from Old English
brad "broad" and
sceaga "thicket".
Brahms GermanDerived from the given name
Abraham. A famous bearer of this surname was the German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897).
Brand 2 German, DutchFrom Old High German
brant or Old Dutch
brand meaning
"fire", originally a name for a person who lived near an area that had been cleared by fire.
Breen IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Braoin meaning
"descendant of Braon", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop".
Breitbarth GermanFrom Old High German
breit "broad" and
bart "beard", originally a nickname for someone with a full beard.
Brennan IrishFrom Irish
Ó Braonáin meaning
"descendant of Braonán", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop" (with a diminutive suffix).
Brett EnglishOriginally a name given to someone who was a Breton or a person from Brittany.
Bridges EnglishOriginally denoted a person who lived near a bridge, or who worked as a bridgekeeper, derived from Middle English
brigge, Old English
brycg.
Brigham EnglishOriginally referred to one who came from a town called Brigham, meaning "homestead by the bridge" in Old English. This is the name of towns in Cumberland and Yorkshire.
Brinley EnglishPossibly from English places named
Brindley, derived from Old English
berned "burned" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Britton EnglishOriginally given to a person who was a Briton (a Celt of England) or a Breton (an inhabitant of Brittany).
Brook EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English
broc.
Brouwer DutchOccupational name for a brewer of beer or ale, Middle Dutch
brouwer.
Brown EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin. A notable bearer is Charlie Brown from the
Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz.
Brownlow EnglishFrom Old English
brun meaning "brown" and
hlaw meaning "mound, small hill". The name was probably given to a family living on a small hill covered with bracken.
Broz CroatianDerived from
Broz, a diminutive of
Ambrozije. This was the birth surname of the Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980).
Brun French, Danish, Norwegian, SwedishMeans
"brown" in French, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. It was originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin.
Brunet FrenchFrom a diminutive of French
brun meaning
"brown".
Bruno Italian, PortugueseMeans
"brown" in Italian and Portuguese, a nickname for a person with brown hair or brown clothes. A famous bearer was the cosmologist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600).
Buchholz GermanFrom Middle High German
buoche "beech" and
holz "wood".
Bulgari ItalianOriginally denoted a person who came from Bulgaria, which is named after the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, itself possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed".
Bull EnglishFrom a nickname for a person who acted like a bull.
Bunker EnglishDerived from Old French
bon cuer meaning
"good heart".
Burgess EnglishFrom Middle English and Old French
burgeis meaning
"city-dweller", ultimately from Frankish
burg "fortress".
Burgstaller GermanFrom German
Burg "fortress, castle" and
Stelle "place, position". This was a name given to a person dwelling at or near such a site.
Burke English, IrishDerived from Middle English
burgh meaning
"fortress, fortification, castle". It was brought to Ireland in the 12th century by the Norman invader William de Burgh.
Burnett EnglishMeans
"brown" in Middle English, from Old French
brunet, a diminutive of
brun.
Burnham EnglishFrom the name of various towns in England, typically derived from Old English
burna "stream, spring" and
ham "home, settlement".
Burns 1 English, ScottishDerived from Old English
burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).
Burrows EnglishTopographic name derived from Old English
beorg meaning
"hill, mountain" or
burg meaning
"fort". Alternatively, it could come from a compound of
bur "room, cottage, dwelling" and
hus "house".
Burton EnglishFrom a common English place name, derived from Old English meaning "fortified town".
Busch GermanMeans
"bush" in German, a name for someone who lived close to a thicket.
Bush EnglishOriginally a name for a person who lived near a prominent bush or thicket.
Busto Spanish, ItalianFrom the name of towns in Spain and Italy, derived from Late Latin
bustum meaning "ox pasture".
Byqvist SwedishDerived from Swedish
by (Old Norse
býr) meaning "village" and
qvist (Old Norse
kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".
Cabral PortugueseFrom places named from Late Latin
capralis meaning
"place of goats", derived from Latin
capra meaning "goat".
Cabrera SpanishFrom various place names derived from Late Latin
capraria meaning
"place of goats", from Latin
capra meaning "goat".
Caiazzo ItalianFrom the name of a city near Naples, originally
Caiatia in Latin, a derivative of the given name
Caius.
Caivano ItalianFrom the name of the town of Caivano near Naples, derived from Latin
Calvianum, derived from the Roman cognomen
Calvus.
Caldwell EnglishFrom various English place names derived from Old English
ceald "cold" and
wille "spring, stream, well".
Campana Italian, SpanishOccupational name from Late Latin
campana meaning
"bell", ultimately derived from the Italian region of Campania, where bells were produced.