Latin Origin Surnames

Moschella Italian
From a diminutive of Italian mosca meaning "housefly", perhaps originally a nickname for an annoying person.

Mosconi Italian
Variant of Moschella.

Moulin French
Means "mill" in French.

Mueller German
Variant of Müller.

Muhlfeld German
Means "mill field" in German.

Mulder Dutch
Dutch equivalent of Miller.

Müller German
German equivalent of Miller, derived from Middle High German mülnære or müller.

Muller German
Variant of Müller.

Mullins 1 English
Derived from Norman French molin "mill".

Munteanu Romanian
From Romanian muntean meaning "mountaineer, from the mountains", ultimately from Latin mons.

Muraro Italian
Occupational name for a wall builder, from Italian murare meaning "to wall up".

Murgatroyd English
From a place name meaning "Margaret's clearing".

Myer English
From Old French mire meaning "doctor", derived from Latin medicus.

Myers English
Patronymic form of Myer or Mayer 3.

Nardi Italian
From the given name Nardo, which was originally a short form of names like Bernardo or Leonardo.

Nardo Italian
Variant of Nardi.

Nardovino Italian (Rare)
Either from Nardo, a short form of names like Bernardo or Leonardo, or from Ardovino, a variant of Arduino.

Natale Italian
From the given name Natale.

Nazarian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Նազարյան (see Nazaryan).

Nazario Italian
From the given name Nazario.

Nazaryan Armenian
Means "son of Nazar".

Negrescu Romanian
Patronymic derived from Romanian negru "black".

Negri Italian
Nickname derived from Italian negro "black", used to refer to someone with dark hair or dark skin.

Negrini Italian
Variant of Negri.

Nelissen Dutch
Means "son of Cornelis".

Nelli Italian
Derived from the given name Nello.

Nenci Italian
Means "son of Nencio", a Tuscan diminutive of the name Lorenzo.

Neri Italian
From Italian nero "black", indicating a person with a dark complexion or dark hair.

Neroni Italian
Variant of Neri.

Nespola Italian
Variant of Nespoli.

Nespoli Italian
From the name of towns such as Nespoli and Nespoledo, derived from Italian nespola meaning "medlar (tree)".

Neuville French
From the names of various French towns meaning "new town".

Neville English, Irish
From the names of towns in Normandy, variously Neuville or Néville, meaning "new town" in French.

Newell English
Variant of Neville.

Newport English
Given to one who came from the town of Newport (which means simply "new port"), which was the name of several English towns.

Nieddu Italian
From Sardinian nieddu meaning "black", derived from Latin niger.

Nieri Italian
Either a variant of Neri, or from the Italian name Raniero.

Nieves Spanish
From the given name Nieves.

Nigro Italian
Variant of Negri.

Nisi Italian
Means "son of Niso", an Italian form of the mythological name Nisus.

Noble English, Scottish
From a nickname meaning "noble, high-born, illustrious", derived via Middle English and Old French from Latin nobilis. In some cases the nickname may have been given ironically to people of the opposite character.

Nogueira Portuguese, Galician
From Portuguese and Galician nogueira meaning "walnut tree", from the Late Latin nucarius, ultimately from Latin nux meaning "nut".

Noguera Spanish, Catalan
Spanish and Catalan form of Nogueira.

Notaro Italian
Occupational name for a clerk, derived from Latin notarius.

Noyer French
French form of Nogueira.

Ó Cléirigh Irish
Means "descendant of the clerk" in Irish.

O'Clery Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Cléirigh.

Oliveira Portuguese
Means "olive tree" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin oliva. It indicated a person who lived near or worked with olive trees.

Oliver English, Catalan, German, French
Derived from the given name Oliver.

Oliversen Norwegian
Means "son of Oliver".

Oliverson English
Means "son of Oliver".

Oliversson Swedish
Means "son of Oliver".

Olivier French
Derived from the given name Olivier.

Olmo Spanish
Means "elm tree" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin ulmus. The name originally indicated a person who lived near such a tree.

Olmos Spanish
Variant of Olmo.

Olson Swedish (Anglicized), Norwegian (Anglicized), Danish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Olsson or Olsen.

Olsson Swedish
Means "son of Olaf".

Ó Maoilsheachlainn Irish
Means "descendant of Maolsheachlann" in Irish.

Ongaro Italian
Variant of Ungaro.

Orbán Hungarian
Derived from the given name Orbán.

Orellana Spanish
Originally indicated a person from one of the two towns named Orellana in Badajoz, Spain. Their names are probably derived from Latin Aureliana meaning "of Aurelius".

Oriol Catalan
From Catalan or meaning "gold", originally a nickname for a person with blond hair.

Orsini Italian
From a nickname meaning "little bear" in Italian, from Latin ursus "bear".

Pabst German
From German Papst, a cognate of Pope.

Pacheco Spanish, Portuguese
Possibly from a diminutive of the given name Francisco.

Paddon English
Variant of Patton.

Paden English
Variant of Patton.

Padovan Italian
Regional variant of Padovano.

Padovano Italian
Originally denoted one who came from the city of Padua in Italy, from Italian Padova, itself from Latin Patavium, of unknown meaning.

Pagani Italian
Italian cognate of Payne.

Pagano Italian
Italian cognate of Payne.

Pahlke German
Low German cognate of Peel.

Pain English
Variant of Payne.

Pál Hungarian
Derived from the given name Pál.

Pallesen Danish
Means "son of Palle".

Palmeiro Portuguese
Portuguese form of Palmer.

Palmer English
Means "pilgrim", ultimately from Latin palma "palm tree", since pilgrims to the Holy Land often brought back palm fronds as proof of their journey.

Palomer Provençal
Means "pigeon keeper" from Latin palumbes "pigeon".

Palomo Spanish
Means "pigeon, dove", from Latin palumbes.

Palumbo Italian
From Italian palombo meaning "pigeon" (also "dogfish"). This form is typical of southern Italy.

Pander Dutch
Variant of Penders.

Panders Dutch
Variant of Penders.

Panza Italian, Literature
From a variant of the Italian word pancia meaning "stomach, paunch", originally a nickname for a chubby person. The Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes used it in his novel Don Quixote (1605), where it is the surname of Don Quixote's squire Sancho Panza. Not a common Spanish surname, Cervantes may have based it directly on the Spanish word panza (a cognate of the Italian word).

Pape French
French cognate of Pope.

Papke Low German
Low German diminutive form of papa (see Pope).

Paquet 2 French
From a diminutive of the given name Pascal.

Paredes Portuguese, Spanish
Denoted a person who lived near a wall, from Portuguese parede and Spanish pared meaning "wall", both derived from Latin paries.

Parent English, French
Derived from Old French parent meaning either "notable" (from Latin pārēre meaning "to be apparent") or "parent" (from Latin parere meaning "to produce, to give birth").

Parish 2 English
Derived from the medieval given name Paris, an Old French diminutive form of Patrick.

Pascal French
Derived from the given name Pascal.

Pascual Spanish
From the given name Pascual.

Pasternack Polish (Anglicized), Yiddish
Americanized form of Pasternak.

Pasternak Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Yiddish
Means "parsnip" in various Slavic languages, ultimately from Latin pastinaca. A famous bearer was Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), author of Doctor Zhivago.

Pastor Spanish
Means "shepherd" in Spanish.

Pastore Italian
Means "shepherd" in Italian.

Paszek Polish
Derived from a diminutive of Paweł.

Pásztor Hungarian
Means "shepherd" in Hungarian.

Patenaude French (Quebec)
French form of Paternoster.

Paternoster English, Italian
Occupational name for a maker of rosaries, also called paternosters. They are derived from the Latin phrase pater noster "our Father", the opening words of the Lord's Prayer.

Paterson English, Scottish
Means "son of Patrick".

Patrick English
From the given name Patrick.

Patrickson English
Means "son of Patrick".

Patriksson Swedish
Means "son of Patrik".

Patterson English, Scottish
Means "son of Patrick".

Patton English, Scottish
Diminutive of the medieval name Pate, a short form of Patrick.

Paul English, French, German, Dutch
From the given name Paul.

Paulauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Paulauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Paulauskas m Lithuanian
From the given name Paulius.

Paulauskienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Paulauskas. This form is used by married women.

Paulis Dutch
From the given name Paul.

Paulissen Dutch
Means "son of Paul".

Paulsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Paul".

Paulson English
Means "son of Paul".

Pauwels Dutch, Flemish
Means "son of Paul".

Pavesi Italian
Variant of Pavia.

Pavía Spanish
Spanish form of Pavia.

Pavia Italian
From the name of the city of Pavia in Lombardy, Italy. It is of unknown meaning.

Pavić Croatian
Means "son of Pavle".

Pavičić Croatian
Means "son of Pavao".

Pavlenko Ukrainian
From the given name Pavlo.

Pavletić Croatian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Pavle.

Pavlík m Slovak, Czech
From a diminutive of the given name Pavol or Pavel.

Pavlíková f Slovak, Czech
Feminine form of Pavlík.

Pavlov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Pavel". A famous bearer of this surname was the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.

Pavlova f Russian, Bulgarian
Feminine form of Pavlov.

Pavlović Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Pavle".

Pavlovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Pavlovski.

Pavlovskaya f Russian
Feminine form of Pavlovsky.

Pavlovski m Macedonian
Means "son of Pavle".

Pavlovsky m Russian
Means "son of Pavel".

Pavone Italian
Means "peacock" in Italian. It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.

Pavoni Italian
Variant of Pavone.

Pawlak Polish
Means "son of Paweł".

Pawlitzki German
German surname derived from a Slavic form of the given name Paul.

Payne English
From a medieval given name or nickname derived from Latin paganus meaning "heathen, pagan" (from an earlier sense "rural, rustic"), which was given to children whose baptism had been postponed or adults who were not overly religious.

Paz Spanish
Means "peace" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a calm person.

Peel English
Nickname for a thin person, derived from Old French pel, Latin palus meaning "stake, post" (related to English pole).

Pellegrini Italian
Variant of Pellegrino.

Pellegrino Italian
Means "pilgrim, traveller" in Italian, ultimately from Latin peregrinus.

Pender 2 Dutch
Variant of Penders.

Penders Dutch
From Middle Dutch paender meaning "brewer", derived from panne meaning "pan, pot", ultimately from Latin patina.

Penners Dutch
Variant of Penders.

Pentti Finnish
Derived from the given name Pentti.

Pereira Portuguese, Galician
From Portuguese and Galician pereira meaning "pear tree", ultimately from Latin pirum meaning "pear".

Pereiro Galician
Variant of Pereira.

Pereyra Portuguese, Galician
Variant of Pereira.

Perry 1 English
From Old English pirige meaning "pear tree", a derivative of peru meaning "pear", itself from Latin pirum. A famous bearer was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.

Pesaresi Italian
Variant of Pesaro.

Pesaro Italian
From the name of the city of Pesaro, in the Marche region (Latin Pisaurum).

Petit French, Catalan, English
Means "small, little" derived from Old French and Catalan petit. It was perhaps used for a short, small person or to denote the younger of two individuals.

Peusen Dutch
Derived from the given name Pascal.

Pfaff German
From a nickname meaning "priest, cleric" from Old High German pfaffo, from Latin papa.

Piazza Italian
Means "plaza" in Italian, indicating that the residence of the original bearer was near the town square. It is derived from Latin platea.

Pilgrim English, German
Nickname for a person who was a pilgrim, ultimately from Latin peregrinus.

Pineda Spanish, Catalan
Means "pine forest" in Spanish and Catalan.

Pinheiro Portuguese
Means "pine tree" in Portuguese.

Pinho Portuguese
Habitational name meaning "pine" in Portuguese.

Pini Italian
Name for a person who lived near a pine tree, from Italian pino, Latin pinus.

Pinto Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
Means "mottled" in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, derived from Late Latin pinctus, Latin pictus "painted".

Planche French
French form of Plank.

Planck German
German variant of Plank.

Plank German, English
Means "plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.

Planque French
French form of Plank.

Plaza Spanish
Spanish cognate of Piazza.

Poggi Italian
Variant of Poggio.

Poggio Italian
Means "hillock, small hill" in Italian, a derivative of Latin podium meaning "balcony, platform".

Pohl 2 German
From the given name Paul.

Poirier French
Means "pear tree" in French, originally a nickname for someone who lived close to such a tree.

Poirot French, Literature
From a diminutive of French poire "pear", originally referring to a pear merchant or someone who lived near a pear tree. Starting in 1920 this name was used by the mystery writer Agatha Christie for her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Christie based the name on that of Jules Poiret, a contemporary fictional detective.

Poletti Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Paolo. This name is typical of northern and central Italy.

Pope English
From a nickname that originally designated a person who played the part of the pope in a play or pageant. Otherwise the name could be used as a nickname for a man with a solemn, austere, or pious appearance. It is derived from Latin papa, ultimately from Greek πάππας (pappas) meaning "father".

Porcher English, French
Means "swineherd" from Old French and Middle English porchier, from Latin porcus "pig".

Porra Catalan
Variant of Porras.

Porras Spanish, Catalan
From a nickname meaning "club" in Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin porrum meaning "leek".

Portelli Italian
Diminutive form of Porto.

Porter English
Occupational name meaning "doorkeeper", ultimately from Old French porte "door", from Latin porta.

Portner Low German
Low German cognate of Porter.

Porto Italian
Designated a person who lived near a harbour, from Italian porto, Latin portus.

Portoghese Italian
Means "Portuguese" in Italian.

Post Dutch, German, English
Indicated a person who lived near a post, ultimately from Latin postis.

Poulsen Danish
Means "son of Poul".

Power 2 English
From Middle English povre meaning "poor", via Old French from Latin pauper. It could have been a nickname for someone who had no money or a miser.

Powers English
Variant of Power 1 or Power 2.

Prinsen Dutch
Means "son of the prince", the term prince would have denoted someone who acted in a regal manner.

Prinz German, Jewish
Means "prince", used as an ornamental name by Jews or as a nickname for someone who acted in a princely manner.

Provenza Italian
From the name of the Provence region of southern France (in Italian Provenza). It is derived from Latin provincia "province", a territorial division.

Provenzano Italian
Variant of Provenza typical of southern Italy, namely Sicily and Calabria.

Puerta Spanish
Means "door, gate", a topographic name for a person who lived near the gates of the town.

Puig Catalan
Catalan cognate of Poggio.

Purcell English
From Old French pourcel "piglet", from Latin porcellus, a derivative of porcus "pig". This was a nickname or an occupational name for a swineherd.

Quincey English
Variant of Quincy.

Quincy English
Originally from various place names in Normandy that were derived from the given name Quintus.

Quiñones Spanish
From various Spanish place names derived from quiñón meaning "shared piece of land", derived from Latin quinque "five".

Quintana Spanish, Catalan
Originally indicated someone who lived on a piece of land where the rent was a fifth of its produce, from Spanish and Catalan quintana "fifth", from Latin quintus.

Raine 1 English
From a nickname derived from Old French reine meaning "queen".

Rana Italian, Spanish
Means "frog" in Italian and Spanish.

Ray English
Variant of Rey 1, Rey 2, Rye or Wray.

Rayne English, French
Variant of Raine 1 or Raine 2.

Ré Italian
Italian form of Rey 1.

Redondo Spanish
Means "round" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a plump person, ultimately from Latin rotundus.

Rey 1 English, Spanish, French, Catalan
Means "king" in Old French, Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin rex (genitive regis), perhaps originally denoting someone who acted like a king.

Reyes Spanish
Spanish variant of Rey 1.

Ribeiro Portuguese
Means "little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Ricchetti Italian
Diminutive form of Ricci.

Ricci Italian
From Italian riccio meaning "curly", a nickname for someone with curly hair. It is ultimately from Latin ericius meaning "hedgehog".

Ríos Spanish
Spanish cognate of Rios.

Rios Portuguese
Originally denoted a person who lived near a river, from Portuguese rios "river", ultimately from Latin rivus.

Riva Italian
Means "bank, shore" in Italian, from Latin ripa, denoting one who lived by a river or a lake.

Rivas Spanish
Spanish form of Riva.

Rivera Spanish
From Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore", from Latin riparius.

Rivero Spanish
Variant of Rivera.

Rivers English
Denoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French riviere meaning "river", from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Rivière French
French cognate of Rivers.

Rizzi Italian
Variant of Ricci.

Rizzo Italian
Variant of Ricci.

Roach English
From Middle English and Old French roche meaning "rock", from Late Latin rocca, a word that may be of Celtic origin. It indicated a person who lived near a prominent rock, or who came from a town by this name (such as Les Roches in Normandy).

Robledo Spanish
Means "oak wood" from Spanish roble "oak", ultimately from Latin robur.

Robles Spanish
Originally indicated a person who lived near an oak tree or forest, from Spanish roble "oak", from Latin robur.

Rocca Italian
Italian cognate of Roach.

Rocha Portuguese, Galician
Portuguese and Galician cognate of Roach.

Roche French
French cognate of Roach.

Roig Catalan
Means "red" in Catalan, from Latin rubeus, originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a red complexion.

Rojas Spanish
Variant of Rojo.

Rojo Spanish
Means "red" in Spanish, referring to the colour of the hair or complexion.

Roma Italian
Variant of Romano 2.

Romà Catalan
Catalan form of Romano 1 or Romano 2.

Romagna Italian
From the region of Romagna, on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is derived from Latin Romania meaning "land of the Romans".

Romagnoli Italian
Variant of Romagna.

Román Spanish
From the given name Román.

Roman Romanian, Polish, Ukrainian
From the given name Roman.

Romano 1 Italian
Derived from the given name Romano.

Romano 2 Italian
Denoted a person from the city of Rome, either a resident or someone who visited as a pilgrim. In Calabria it was also used to designate a person from New Rome, a name for Constantinople.

Romanov m Russian
Means "son of Roman". This was the surname of the last dynasty of Russian tsars.

Romanova f Russian
Feminine form of Romanov.

Romão Portuguese
Portuguese form of Romano 1 or Romano 2.

Rome French, English
English and French form of Romano 2.

Romeijn Dutch
Derived from the given name Romein.

Romeijnders Dutch
From Dutch Romein meaning "Roman, person from Rome".

Romeijnsen Dutch
Means "son of Romein" in Dutch.

Romero Spanish
Derived from Spanish romero meaning "pilgrim to Rome".

Romijn Dutch
Derived from the given name Romein.

Romijnders Dutch
Variant of Romeijnders.

Romijnsen Dutch
Means "son of Romein" in Dutch.

Romilly English, French
Originally denoted a person who came from any of the various places in northern France called Romilly or from Romiley in England.

Roncalli Italian
From the names of places like Ronco or Ronchi, quite common in northern Italy, derived from ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It was the surname of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1881-1963), the pope John XXIII.

Ronchi Italian
From Italian places named Ronchi, derived from ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It is most common in northern and central Italy.

Roosa Dutch
From Dutch roos meaning "rose".

Roosevelt Dutch
Means "rose field" from Dutch roos "rose" and veld "field". This was the surname of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).

Rosa Italian, Catalan
Italian and Catalan form of Rose 1.

Rosales Spanish
Means "rose bushes" in Spanish.

Rosário Portuguese
Means "rosary" in Portuguese. This name was often given to people born on the day of the festival of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Rosario Spanish
Spanish form of Rosário.

Rose 1 English, French, German, Jewish
Means "rose" from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German rose, all from Latin rosa. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in an area abundant with roses. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental, from Yiddish רויז (roiz).

Rose 2 English
Derived from the feminine given name Rose.

Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.

Rosenberger German, Jewish
Variant of Rosenberg.

Rosenfeld German, Jewish
Means "field of roses" in German. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Rossi Italian
Derived from a nickname for a red-haired person, from Italian rosso, Latin russus meaning "red". This is the most common surname in Italy.

Rossini Italian
Diminutive form of Rossi. A famous bearer was the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868).

Rounds English
Patronymic derived from Middle English rond meaning "round, plump", ultimately from Latin rotundus.

Rousseau French
Diminutive of Roux. A famous bearer was the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) whose ideas influenced the French Revolution.

Roussel French
French form of Russell.

Roux French
Derived from Old French ros meaning "red", from Latin russus, a nickname for a red-haired person.

Roxas Filipino
Filipino form of the Spanish Rojas.

Roy 1 French, English
Variant of Rey 1.

Royer French
From French roue meaning "wheel", ultimately from Latin rota, an occupational name for a wheelwright.

Rózsa Hungarian
From the feminine given name Rózsa.

Rubio Spanish
Nickname for a person with red hair, from Latin rubeus "red".

Rundström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish rund (from Latin rotundus) meaning "round" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Ruskin 2 English
From a diminutive of the feminine given name Rose.

Russel English
Variant of Russell.

Russell English
From a Norman French nickname that meant "little red one", perhaps originally describing a person with red hair.

Russo Italian
Variant of Rossi.

Růžička m Czech
Means "little rose" in Czech.

Růžičková f Czech
Feminine form of Růžička.

Ruzsa Hungarian
Dialectical variant of Rózsa.

Sáez Spanish
Variant of Sánchez.

Salcedo Spanish
Derived from Latin salix meaning "willow tree". The name was originally given to one who lived near a willow tree.

Salinas Spanish
Occupational name for a salt worker or someone who lived bear a salt works, from Spanish salina "salt works, salt mine", ultimately from Latin sal "salt".

Salucci Italian
From Italian sale meaning "salt".

Salvador Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Salvador.

Salvage English
Variant of Savage.

Salvaggi Italian
Italian form of Savage.

Salvatici Italian
Italian form of Savage.

Salvi Italian
From the given name Salvo or Salvio.

Sánchez Spanish
Means "son of Sancho".

Sanchez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Sánchez.

Sancho Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Sancho.

San Nicolás Spanish
Indicated the original bearer was from a place named after Saint Nicholas.

Santana Spanish, Portuguese
From any of the numerous places named after Saint Anna. A famous bearer is the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-).

Santiago Spanish, Portuguese
From various Spanish and Portuguese places called Santiago.

Santini Italian
Diminutive form of Santo.

Santo Italian
Italian form of Santos.

Santoro Italian
Means "all saint's day" in Italian, a nickname for one born on that day.

Santos Portuguese, Spanish
Means "saint" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin sanctus. This was a nickname for a pious person.

Sanz Spanish
From the given name Sancho.

Sargent English
Variant of Sergeant.

Sargsyan Armenian
Means "son of Sargis" in Armenian.

Sarkisian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Սարգսյան (see Sargsyan).

Sarkissian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Սարգսյան (see Sargsyan).