Hillam EnglishFrom English places by this name, derived from Old English
hyll meaning
"hill".
Hilton EnglishFrom various English place names derived from Old English
hyll "hill" and
tun "enclosure, town". Famous bearers of this name include the Hilton family of hotel heirs.
Hirsch 1 GermanMeans
"deer, hart" in German. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a deer in some way, or who raised or hunted deer.
Hlaváč m CzechFrom a nickname for a person with an oddly-shaped head, derived from Czech
hlava "head".
Hobbes EnglishDerived from the medieval given name
Hob. A famous bearer of this name was British political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), the author of
Leviathan.
Hoedemaker DutchOccupational name for a hat maker, from Dutch
hoed "hat" and
maker "maker".
Hofer GermanOccupational name for a farmer, from German
Hof "farm", from Old High German
hof "yard, court".
Hofmeister GermanMeans
"master of the household", from Old High German
hof "yard, court, house" and
meistar "master" (from Latin
magister).
Hoggard EnglishOccupational name meaning
"pig herder", from Old English
hogg "hog" and
hierde "herdsman, guardian".
Holland 1 EnglishFrom various English places of this name, derived from Old English
hoh "point of land, heel" and
land "land".
Hollins EnglishReferred to someone living by a group of holly trees, from Old English
holegn.
Holmberg SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
holme (Old Norse
holmr) meaning "small island" and
berg meaning "mountain".
Holme English, ScottishReferred either to someone living by a small island (northern Middle English
holm, from Old Norse
holmr) or near a holly tree (Middle English
holm, from Old English
holegn).
Holmes English, ScottishVariant of
Holme. A famous fictional bearer was Sherlock Holmes, a detective in Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887.
Holmgren SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
holme (Old Norse
holmr) meaning "small island" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Holst Danish, Low German, DutchOriginally referred to a person from the region of
Holstein between Germany and Denmark. A famous bearer of this name was the English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934).
Holzknecht GermanOccupational name for a forester's helper, from Old High German
holz "wood" and
kneht "servant, apprentice".
Holzmann GermanDerived from Old High German
holz "wood" and
man "man", a name for someone who lived close to a wood or worked with wood.
Homewood EnglishFrom various place names derived from Old English
ham meaning "home" and
wudu meaning "wood".
Hood EnglishMetonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Old English
hod.
Hooker EnglishOriginally applied to one who lived near a river bend or corner of some natural feature, from Old English
hoc "angle, hook".
Horáček m CzechDiminutive derived from Czech
hora "mountain".
Horn English, German, Norwegian, DanishFrom the Old English, Old High German and Old Norse word
horn meaning
"horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.
Horowitz JewishFrom the German name of Hořovice, a town in the Czech Republic. Its name is derived from Czech
hora "mountain".
Horton EnglishFrom the names of various places in England, which are derived from Old English
horh "dirt, mud" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Horváth u & m Hungarian, SlovakHungarian and Slovak form of
Horvat. This is the second most common surname in Hungary and the most common surname in Slovakia (where is is typically borne by those of Hungarian ancestry).
House EnglishReferred to a person who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut.
Houston ScottishFrom a place name meaning "
Hugh's town". The original Houston is in Scotland near Glasgow.
Howard 2 EnglishOccupational name meaning
"ewe herder", from Old English
eowu "ewe" and
hierde "herdsman, guardian".
Howe EnglishName for one who lived on a hill, from Middle English
how "hill" (of Norse origin).
Hruška m Czech, SlovakMeans
"pear" in Czech and Slovak, most likely used to denote a person who grew or sold pears.
Huber GermanOccupational name for a farmer, derived from Old High German
huoba "plot of land, farm".
Huff EnglishMeans
"spur of a hill", from Old English
hoh.
Hummel 2 German, DutchNickname for a busy person, from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch
hommel, Middle High German
hummel, all meaning
"bee".
Hunter English, ScottishOccupational name that referred to someone who hunted for a living, from Old English
hunta.
Hurst EnglishOriginally a name for a person who lived near a thicket of trees, from Old English
hyrst "thicket".
Huxley EnglishFrom the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English
leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be
hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
Hyland 1 EnglishTopographic name meaning
"high land", from Old English
heah and
land.
Ibsen DanishMeans
"son of Ib". A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).
Iglesias SpanishFrom Spanish
iglesia meaning
"church", from Latin
ecclesia (of Greek origin).
Innes 1 ScottishFrom a place name derived from Gaelic
inis meaning
"island".
Ionesco RomanianVariant of
Ionescu. French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco (1909-1994), born
Ionescu, is a famous bearer of this surname.
Iordanou GreekFrom the name of the Jordan river, which is from Hebrew
יָרַד (yarad) meaning "descend" or "flow down".
Jackson EnglishMeans
"son of Jack". Famous bearers of this name include the American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) and the singer Michael Jackson (1958-2009).
Jäger GermanMeans
"hunter" in German, from Old High German
jagon meaning "to hunt".
Jain Hindi, Marathi, GujaratiReferred to a person who followed the principles of Jainism, a religion practiced in India. Jains are the followers of Lord Mahavira (599-527 BC).
Jankowski m PolishHabitational name for a person from a town named
Jankowo or
Janków, all derived from the given name
Janek.
Janowski m PolishHabitational name for a person from a town named
Janowo,
Janów or
Janowice, all derived from the given name
Jan 1.
Janvier FrenchEither from the given name
Janvier or the French word
janvier meaning
"January", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
Jaworski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various places named
Jawory or
Jaworze, derived from Polish
jawor meaning
"maple tree".
Jeffers EnglishPatronymic from the given name
Jeffrey. A famous bearer was poet Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962).
Jefferson EnglishMeans
"son of Jeffrey". A famous bearer was American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Since his surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, it is now more common among the African-American population.
Jekyll EnglishDerived from the Breton given name
Judicaël. This name was used by Robert Louis Stevenson for the character of Dr Henry Jekyll in the book
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).
Jenkins EnglishFrom the given name
Jenkin, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.
Jennings EnglishFrom the given name
Jenyn, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.
Jerome EnglishDerived from the given name
Jerome. A famous bearer of this surname was the American-born Jennie Jerome (1854-1921), Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston Churchill.
Jeż PolishMeans
"hedgehog" in Polish. It may have originally been given to a person who resembled a hedgehog in some way.
Jinks EnglishMeans
"son of Jenk", a short form of
Jenkin, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.