Aarden DutchFrom Dutch
aarden meaning
"earthen, clay". It denoted a person who worked with clay.
Acker German, EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a field, derived from Middle English
aker or Middle High German
acker meaning "field".
Ackermann GermanDenoted a person who lived near a field, from Middle High German
acker "field" and
man "man".
Aggio ItalianPossibly from the name
Aggius, probably related to the Germanic name
Agi.
Alma FrisianMeans
"son of Ale 2", the suffix
-ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.
Althaus GermanName for a person dwelled in or by an old house, from German
alt "old" and
haus "house".
Appelhof DutchIndicated a person who lived by or at an apple garden, from Dutch
appel "apple" and
hof "yard, court".
Appelo DutchIndicated a person who was from a farm called Aperloo, probably a derivative of
appel meaning "apple".
Assenberg DutchFrom Dutch
es meaning "ash tree" (plural
essen) and
berg meaning "mountain".
Assendorp DutchFrom the name of a place called Assendorp, composed of Dutch
essen and
dorp, meaning "ash tree village".
Aue GermanFrom German meaning
"meadow by a river, wetland". There are many places with this name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Auer GermanFrom German
Aue, Old High German
ouwa, meaning
"meadow by a river, wetland".
Baarda FrisianFrom the name of the town of
Baard in the Netherlands, possibly derived from a given name that was a variant of
Bert.
Baardwijk DutchFrom the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly from
Baard, a variant of
Bert, and
wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district".
Baart DutchMeans
"beard" in Dutch, originally describing a person who wore a beard.
Bach 1 GermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Middle High German
bach meaning
"stream". This name was borne by members of the Bach musical family, notably the composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).
Bachmann GermanDenoted a person who lived near a stream, from Middle High German
bach "stream" and
man "man".
Bachmeier GermanOriginally referred to a farmer whose farm was beside a stream, from Middle High German
bach "stream" and
meier "steward, tenant farmer".
Baldinotti ItalianDerived from the given name
Baldinotto, from the Latin name
Baldinoctus, a diminutive of
Baldo.
Bardolph LiteratureThe name of a drunken thief and frequent companion of John
Falstaff in four of William Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare probably adapted it from the aristocratic English surname
Bardolf, now rare, which was itself derived from the Germanic given name
Bardulf.
Bauer GermanFrom Old High German
bur meaning
"peasant, farmer".
Baumgartner GermanOccupational name for a person who worked or lived at an orchard, from German
Baumgarten "orchard" (derived from
Baum "tree" and
Garten "garden").
Baumhauer GermanOccupational name meaning
"woodcutter", derived from German
Baum "tree" and
hauen "to chop".
Becker GermanDerived from Middle High German
becker meaning
"baker".
Beethoven Dutch (Archaic)From a place name derived from Dutch
beet "beet, beetroot" and
hoven "farms". This name was borne by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), whose family was of Flemish origin. The surname is now mostly extinct.
Bergmann GermanFrom Old High German
berg meaning "mountain" and
man meaning "man", originally denoting someone who lived on a mountain.
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-).
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.
Blue EnglishFrom a nickname for a person with blue eyes or blue clothing.
Bohn GermanOccupational name for a bean grower, derived from Middle High German
bone "bean".
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.
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.
Breitbarth GermanFrom Old High German
breit "broad" and
bart "beard", originally a nickname for someone with a full beard.
Brouwer DutchOccupational name for a brewer of beer or ale, Middle Dutch
brouwer.
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.
Buchholz GermanFrom Middle High German
buoche "beech" and
holz "wood".
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.
Busch GermanMeans
"bush" in German, a name for someone who lived close to a thicket.
Cody IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Cuidighthigh or
Mac Óda. A famous bearer was the American frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917).
Daalmans DutchOriginally indicated a person who lived in a valley, from Dutch
dal meaning "dale, valley" and
man meaning "man".
Dam Dutch, DanishMeans
"dike, dam" in Dutch and Danish. In modern Danish it also means "pond".