Old Germanic Origin Surnames

Bernhardsson Swedish
Means "son of Bernhard".

Berntsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Bernt".

Berntsson Swedish
Means "son of Bernt".

Berry English
Derived from a place name, which was derived from Old English burh "fortification".

Berti Italian
Derived from the given name Berto.

Bertolini Italian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Bertoldo.

Bertrand French
Derived from the given name Bertrand.

Beulen Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Beulens Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Beumer Dutch
Possibly a Dutch form of Baumer or Böhmer.

Beumers Dutch
Possibly a Dutch form of Baumer or Böhmer.

Beutel German
From Middle High German biutel meaning "bag", originally belonging to a person who made or sold bags.

Beverley English
From the name of an English city, derived from Old English beofor "beaver" and (possibly) licc "stream".

Beverly English
Variant of Beverley.

Beyersdorf German
Means "farmers village", from German Bauer meaning "farmer" and Dorf meaning "village".

Bezuidenhout Dutch
From Dutch zuid "south" and hout "forest". It refers to the south of the forest in The Hague.

Biancardi Italian
Italian form of Blanchard.

Bianchi Italian
From Italian bianco meaning "white", originally given to a person who was white-haired or extremely pale.

Bianco Italian
Variant of Bianchi.

Bieber German, Jewish
From Middle High German biber meaning "beaver", possibly a nickname for a hard worker.

Biondi Italian
Means "fair-haired, blond" in Italian. This name was borne by the American swimmer Matt Biondi (1965-).

Biondo Italian
Variant of Biondi.

Bird English
Occupational name for a person who raised or hunted birds.

Bjarnesen Danish
Means "son of Bjarne".

Björk Swedish
From Swedish björk meaning "birch tree", Old Norse bjǫrk.

Björklund Swedish
From Swedish björk (Old Norse bjǫrk) meaning "birch tree" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".

Björkman Swedish
From Swedish björk (Old Norse bjǫrk) meaning "birch tree" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Björnsson Swedish, Icelandic
Means "son of Björn".

Black English
Means 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.

Blackbourne English
Variant of Blackburn.

Blackburn English
From the name of a city in Lancashire, meaning "black stream" in Old English.

Blackman English
From a nickname, a variant of Black.

Blackwood English, Scottish
From an English place name meaning "black wood".

Blake English
Variant of Black. A famous bearer was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827).

Blakeley English
From name of various English places, derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Blakely English
Variant of Blakeley.

Blakeslee English
Variant of Blakesley.

Blakesley English
From the name of a town in Northamptonshire, itself meaning "Blæcwulf's meadow" in Old English. Blæcwulf is a byname meaning "black wolf".

Blanc French
Means "white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond.

Blanchard French, English
Derived from the given name Blanchard.

Blanchet French
From a diminutive of the name Blanc.

Blanchett French (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Blanchet or Blanchette.

Blanchette French (Quebec)
Variant of Blanchet.

Blanco Spanish
Means "white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a person who was pale or had blond hair.

Blanxart Catalan
Catalan form of Blanchard.

Blau German
Means "blue" in German, most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes.

Blom Swedish
Means "bloom, flower" in Swedish.

Blomgren Swedish
From Swedish blomma (Old Norse blóm) meaning "flower" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Blomqvist Swedish
From Swedish blomma (Old Norse blóm) meaning "flower" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Bloodworth English
Originally 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 English
From a nickname for a person with blue eyes or blue clothing.

Blum German, Jewish
Means "flower" in German and Yiddish.

Blumenthal German, Jewish
Derived from German Blumen "flowers" and Thal "valley".

Blumstein Jewish
Ornamental name meaning "flower stone" in German.

Blythe English
From Old English meaning "happy, joyous, blithe".

Boatwright English
Occupational name meaning "maker of boats".

Bodilsen Danish
Means "son of Bodil".

Boelens Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Boels Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Boer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Bauer.

Boesch German, Low German
Variant of Bösch 1 or Bösch 2.

Bognár Hungarian
Hungarian form of Wagner.

Böhm German
Originally indicated a person from the region of Bohemia (Böhmen in German).

Böhme German
Variant of Böhm.

Böhmer German, Jewish
Variant of Böhm.

Bohn German
Occupational name for a bean grower, derived from Middle High German bone "bean".

Bolton English
From any of the many places in England called Bolton, derived from Old English bold "house" and tun "enclosure".

Bone 2 English
Variant of Baines 2.

Boon 3 Dutch
Dutch cognate of Bohn.

Boothman English
Variant of Booth.

Borchard German
Derived from the given name Burkhard.

Borchardt German
Derived from the given name Burkhard.

Borde French
From 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 Swedish
From Swedish borg meaning "fortification, castle".

Borghi Italian
Locative origin, from the common place name Borgo meaning "village".

Bos Dutch
Variant of Bosch 1.

Bösch 2 Low German
Variant of Bosch 1.

Bosch 1 Dutch, Low German
Derived from Middle Dutch bosch meaning "wood, forest".

Bosch 2 Catalan
Catalan cognate of Bosco.

Bosco Italian
Means "forest" in Italian.

Bosque Spanish
Spanish form of Bosco.

Both Dutch
From the Low German given name Bode.

Botha Afrikaans
South African variant of Both.

Bothe Dutch
Variant of Both.

Botwright English
Variant of Boatwright.

Bouchard French
From the Old German given name Burkhard.

Bourdillon French
Diminutive form of Borde.

Bourke English
Variant of Burke.

Bourne English
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring".

Bower English
From Old English bur meaning "dwelling, room".

Bowers English
Variant of Bower.

Boyce English
From Old French bois meaning "wood", originally given to someone who lived by or in a wood.

Braddock English
From various locations derived from Old English meaning "broad oak".

Bradford English
Derived 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.

Bradley English
From a common English place name, derived from brad "broad" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Brand 1 German, Dutch, English
Derived from the Old German given name Brando or its Old Norse cognate Brandr.

Brand 2 German, Dutch
From 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.

Brändle German
Derived from a diminutive of the Old German given name Brando.

Brandt German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch
Variant of Brand 1 or Brand 2.

Branson English
Means "son of Brandr".

Brant German, English
Variant of Brand 1 and Brand 2.

Brantley German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Brändle.

Brauer Low German
Derived from Middle Low German bruwer meaning "brewer".

Braun German
Means "brown" in German.

Braune German
Variant of Braun.

Breitbarth German
From Old High German breit "broad" and bart "beard", originally a nickname for someone with a full beard.

Brewer English
Occupational name for a maker of ale or beer.

Brewster English
Variant of Brewer, originally a feminine form of the occupational term.

Bridges English
Originally denoted a person who lived near a bridge, or who worked as a bridgekeeper, derived from Middle English brigge, Old English brycg.

Brierley English
From an English place name, derived from brer "briar" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Briggs English
Variant of Bridges.

Brigham English
Originally 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.

Briley English
Possibly a variant of Brierley.

Brinley English
Possibly from English places named Brindley, derived from Old English berned "burned" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Broadbent English
From a place name derived from Old English brad "broad" and beonet "bent grass".

Bronson English
Patronymic form of Brown.

Brook English
Denoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English broc.

Brooke English
Variant of Brook.

Brooks English
Variant of Brook.

Brouwer Dutch
Occupational name for a brewer of beer or ale, Middle Dutch brouwer.

Brown English
Originally 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.

Browne English
Variant of Brown.

Brownlow English
From 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.

Bruhn German
Variant of Braun.

Bruin Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.

Brun French, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means "brown" in French, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. It was originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin.

Brune German
Variant of Braun.

Brunet French
From a diminutive of French brun meaning "brown".

Brunetti Italian
Diminutive of Bruno.

Bruno Italian, Portuguese
Means "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 German
From Middle High German buoche "beech" and holz "wood".

Buckholtz German (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Buchholz.

Buckley 1 English
From an English place name derived from bucc "buck, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Buhr Low German
Low German form of Bauer.

Bul Dutch
Dutch cognate of Bull.

Bull English
From a nickname for a person who acted like a bull.

Bulle Dutch
From the given name Boele.

Bullens Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Bullock English
From a nickname meaning "young bull".

Bumgarner German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Burgess English
From Middle English and Old French burgeis meaning "city-dweller", ultimately from Frankish burg "fortress".

Burgstaller German
From 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, Irish
Derived 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 English
Means "brown" in Middle English, from Old French brunet, a diminutive of brun.

Burnham English
From the name of various towns in England, typically derived from Old English burna "stream, spring" and ham "home, settlement".

Burns 1 English, Scottish
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).

Burton English
From a common English place name, derived from Old English meaning "fortified town".

Busch German
Means "bush" in German, a name for someone who lived close to a thicket.

Bush English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a prominent bush or thicket.

Byquist Swedish
Variant of Byqvist.

Byqvist Swedish
Derived from Swedish by (Old Norse býr) meaning "village" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Byrd English
Variant of Bird.

Byström Swedish
From Swedish by (Old Norse býr) meaning "village" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Caldwell English
From various English place names derived from Old English ceald "cold" and wille "spring, stream, well".

Carl English, German
From the given name Carl.

Carlsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Carl".

Carlson Swedish
Means "son of Carl".

Carlsson Swedish
Means "son of Carl".

Carman 1 English
Occupational name for a carter, from Middle English carre "cart" (of Latin origin) and man "man".

Carr 1 Scottish, English
Variant of Kerr.

Cartwright English
Occupational name indicating one who made carts.

Cason English
From the English place name Cawston, derived from the Old Norse given name Kálfr combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".

Caulfield English
From a place name meaning "cold field", from Old English ceald "cold" and feld "pasture, field".

Chadwick English
From the name of English towns meaning "settlement belonging to Chad" in Old English.

Chapman English
Occupational name derived from Old English ceapmann meaning "merchant, trader".

Charles French
From the given name Charles.

Cheshire English
Originally indicated a person from the county of Cheshire in England. Cheshire is named for its city Chester.

Chester English
From the name of a city in England, derived from Latin castrum "camp, fortress".

Church English
From the English word, derived from Old English cirice, ultimately from Greek κυριακόν (kyriakon) meaning "(house) of the lord". It probably referred to a person who lived close to a church.

Churchill English
From an English place name meaning "church hill". A famous bearer was Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the British prime minister during World War II.

Clay English
Means simply "clay", originally referring to a person who lived near or worked with of clay.

Clayton English
From the name of various places meaning "clay settlement" in Old English.

Cleveland English
Derived from a place name meaning "cliff land" in Old English.

Clifford English
Derived from various place names that meant "ford by a cliff" in Old English.

Clifton English
Derived from various place names meaning "settlement by a cliff" in Old English.

Cline German, Jewish
Anglicized spelling of Klein.

Clinton English
Derived from the English place name Glinton, of uncertain meaning, or Glympton, meaning "settlement on the River Glyme". This surname is borne by former American president Bill Clinton (1946-).

Coburn Scottish, English
Variant of Cockburn.

Cock English
Derived from the medieval nickname cok meaning "rooster, cock". The nickname was commonly added to given names to create diminutives such as Hancock or Alcock.

Cockburn Scottish, English
Originally indicated someone who came from Cockburn, a place in Berwickshire. The place name is derived from Old English cocc "rooster" and burna "stream".

Cocks English
Patronymic form of Cock.

Cody Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cuidighthigh or Mac Óda. A famous bearer was the American frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917).

Coeman Dutch
Variant of Koopman.

Coemans Dutch
Variant of Koopman.

Coenen Dutch
Derived from the given name Coenraad.

Coke English
Variant of Cook.

Cokes English
Variant of Cook.

Colbert English, French
Derived from the given name Colobert.

Cole English
From a medieval short form of Nicholas or from the byname Cola.

Colt English
Occupational name for a keeper of horses, derived from Middle English colt.

Colter English
Variant of Colt using an agent suffix.

Colton English
From a place name meaning "Cola's town".

Combs English
Variant of Coombs.

Cook English
Derived from Old English coc meaning "cook", ultimately from Latin coquus. It was an occupational name for a cook, a man who sold cooked meats, or a keeper of an eating house.

Cooke English
Variant of Cook.

Cookson English
Patronymic form of Cook.

Coombs English
From Old English cumb meaning "valley", the name of several places in England.

Copperfield Literature
Created from the English words copper and field by the author Charles Dickens, who used it for the title character in his novel David Copperfield (1850).

Corey English
Derived from the Old Norse given name Kóri, of unknown meaning.

Corrà Italian
From a short form of the given name Corrado.

Cory English
Variant of Corey.

Coumans Dutch
Variant of Koopman.

Cox English
Patronymic form of Cock.

Crawford English
From a place name derived from Old English crawa "crow" and ford "river crossing". A notable bearer was the American actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977), born Lucille Fay LeSueur.

Császár Hungarian
Hungarian form of Kaiser.

Cuyler Dutch
Variant of Kuijlaars or Koole.

Daalman Dutch
Variant of Daalmans.

Daalmans Dutch
Originally indicated a person who lived in a valley, from Dutch dal meaning "dale, valley" and man meaning "man".

Daelman Dutch
Variant of Daalmans.

Daelmans Dutch
Variant of Daalmans.

Dahl Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley". A famous of this surname was author Roald Dahl (1916-1990) who is mostly remembered for children's stories such as Matilda and Henry Sugar.

Dahlberg Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish dal (Old Norse dalr) meaning "dale, valley" and berg meaning "mountain".

Dahlman Swedish
From Swedish dal (Old Norse dalr) meaning "dale, valley" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Dahlmans Dutch
Variant of Daalmans.

Dale English
From Old English dæl meaning "valley", originally indicating a person who lived there.

Dalgaard Danish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley" and garðr meaning "yard, farmstead".

Dallas 1 English
From Old English dæl meaning "valley" and hus meaning "house".

Dalton English
Derived from a place name meaning "valley town" in Old English. A notable bearer of the surname was the English chemist and physicist John Dalton (1766-1844).

Dam Dutch, Danish
Means "dike, dam" in Dutch and Danish. In modern Danish it also means "pond".

Dane 1 English
Variant of Dean 1 or Dean 2.

Dane 2 English
Originally denoted a Dane, that is a person from Denmark.

Darwin English
From the given name Deorwine. A famous bearer was the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882).

Daube German
Variant of Taube.

Dayton English
Variant of Deighton.

Deadman English
Variant of Debenham.

Dean 1 English
Derived from Middle English dene meaning "valley".

Debenham English
Originally denoted a person from the town of Debenham in Suffolk, derived from the name of the River Deben (meaning "deep" in Old English) combined with ham meaning "home, settlement".

De Boer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Bauer.

De Bruijn Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.

De Bruin Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.

De Cock Flemish
Flemish cognate of Cook.

Dedrick English
Derived from the given name Dederick, an older form of Derek.

De Graaf Dutch
Dutch cognate of Graf.

De Groot Dutch
From Dutch groot meaning "big, great".

De Haan Dutch
Means "rooster" in Dutch.

De Haas Dutch
Dutch cognate of Hase.

Deighton English
From English towns by this name, from Old English dic "ditch" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

De Jong Dutch
Means "young" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch jonc. This is the most common surname in the Netherlands.

De Jonge Dutch
Variant of De Jong.

Dekker Dutch
Means "roofer, thatcher" in Dutch.

De Kock Dutch
Dutch cognate of Cook.

De Koning Dutch
Dutch cognate of King.

De Lang Dutch
Dutch cognate of Long.

De Lange Dutch
Dutch cognate of Long.

Del Bosque Spanish
Means "of the forest" in Spanish.

Denman English
From Middle English dene "valley" combined with man.

Derichs German
Means "son of Dirk".

Derrick English
Derived from the given name Derrick (see Derek). A famous bearer of this surname is the character Stephan Derrick from the German television series Derrick (1974-1998).

Derricks English
Derived from the given name Derrick.

Derrickson English
Means "son of Derrick".

Desjardins French
Means "from the gardens", from French jardin "garden".

De Smet Flemish
Flemish variant of Smit.

De Snaijer Dutch
Dutch cognate of Snyder.

De Veen Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

De Ven Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

De Vos Dutch
Variant of Vos.

Devos Flemish
Flemish variant of Vos.

De Vroom Dutch, Flemish
Variant of Vroom.

De Vroome Dutch
Variant of Vroom.

De Wit Dutch
Variant of De Witte.

De With Dutch
Variant of De Witte.

De Witt Dutch
Variant of De Witte.

De Witte Dutch
Means "the white" in Dutch, a nickname for a person with white hair.

Dexter English
Occupational name meaning "dyer" in Old English (originally this was a feminine word, but it was later applied to men as well).

Dick English
From the given name Dick 1.

Dickens English
From the medieval given name Dicun, a medieval diminutive of Dick 1. A famous bearer of this surname was the British author Charles Dickens (1812-1870).

Dickenson English
Variant of Dickinson.

Dickinson English
Means "son of Dicun", Dicun being a medieval diminutive of Dick 1. American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a famous bearer.

Dickman English
From Old English dic "ditch" combined with man "person, man". It was originally a name for a ditch digger or someone who lived near a ditch.

Dickson English
Means "son of Dick 1".

Diefenbach German
From a German place name meaning "deep creek".

Dierickx Flemish
Means "son of Dirk".

Dieter German
Derived from the given name Dieter.

Dietrich German
Derived from the given name Dietrich.

Dijkstra Frisian
Variant of Dykstra.

Dirchs Dutch (Rare)
Means "son of Dirk".

Dircks Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".

Dircksens Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".

Dirckx Flemish, Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".

Dirix Flemish, Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".

Dirks Dutch, German
Means "son of Dirk".

Dirkse Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".

Dirksen Dutch, German
Means "son of Dirk".

Dirkx Dutch, Flemish
Means "son of Dirk".

Dittmar German
Derived from the given name Dietmar.

Dixon English
Means "son of Dick 1".

Dobbs English
Derived from the medieval given name Dobbe, a diminutive of Robert.

Dobson English
Means "son of Dobbe", a medieval diminutive of Robert.

Dodge English
From Dogge, a medieval diminutive of Roger.

Downer English
Name for someone who lived on or near a down, which is an English word meaning "hill".

Drechsler German
Variant of Dressler.

Dreher German
Means "turner" from Middle High German drehen "to turn". A turner was a person who used a lathe to create small objects from wood or bone.

Dreier German
Variant of Dreher.

Dreschner German
Derived from Middle High German dreschen "to thresh". A thresher was a person who separated the grains from a cereal plant by beating it.

Dressler German
Means "turner" from Middle High German dreseler, an agent derivative of drehen "to turn". A turner was a person who used a lathe to create small objects from wood or bone.

Dreyer German
Variant of Dreher.

Duarte Portuguese, Spanish
From the given name Duarte.

Dubois French
Means "from the forest", from French bois "forest".

Dudley English
From a place name meaning "Dudda's clearing" in Old English. The surname was borne by a British noble family.

Duerr German
Variant of Dürr.