Abarca SpanishFrom the name of a type of leather-soled shoe or sandal made on the Balearic Islands. It originally indicated a person who made or sold this item.
Acqua ItalianMeans
"water" in Italian, indicating one who dwelt by or transported water.
Acquafredda ItalianDenoted a person who came from one of the various places in Italy with this name, derived from Italian meaning "cold water".
Agua SpanishMeans
"water" in Spanish, indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.
Aguilera SpanishFrom a place name that was derived from Spanish
aguilera meaning
"eagle's nest". A famous bearer is American singer Christina Aguilera (1980-).
Aikawa JapaneseFrom Japanese
相 (ai) meaning "mutually, together",
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection" or
哀 (ai) meaning "grief, sorrow" combined with
川 (kawa) or
河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream".
Aita ItalianOriginally denoted a person from Aieta, Italy, a place name derived from Greek
ἀετός (aetos) meaning "eagle".
Alagona ItalianFrom the name of the Spanish region of Aragon, which was a medieval kingdom. The region was named for a river, which was itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".
Albronda DutchFrom the name of various streets in the Netherlands.
Aldana BasqueFrom the name of a Basque town, derived from
aldats meaning
"slope".
Alma FrisianMeans
"son of Ale 2", the suffix
-ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.
Almeida PortugueseDesignated a person who had originally lived in the town of Almeida in Portugal. The place name is from Arabic
ال مائدة (al māʾida) meaning "the plateau, the table".
Alserda FrisianDesignated a person who was from a farm called Alserd, of uncertain meaning.
Altamura ItalianFrom the name of the Italian city of Altamura, which means "high walls" in Italian.
Altena DutchFrom the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "close, near" in Dutch.
Amantea ItalianFrom the name of a town in Calabria, Italy. It is possibly derived from Arabic (dating from the Arab raids of the 9th century) meaning "the fortress".
Anaya SpanishFrom the names of a few Spanish towns, possibly of Arabic origin meaning
"stagnant water" or
"path".
Anjema FrisianDenoted a person from the village of Anjum in the Netherlands. It possibly means "corner" in Dutch.
Araya SpanishDenoted a person from Araia in the Basque Country, Spain. It is of uncertain meaning.
Arechavaleta SpanishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Aretxabaleta in Spain. It means "oak trees" in Basque.
Aritza Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque
aritz meaning
"oak tree". This was a nickname of Iñigo, the first king of Pamplona, Spain (9th century).
Arriola Spanish, BasqueFrom Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque
arri "stone" and
-ola "place of, house".
Ávila SpanishFrom the name of the city of Ávila in Spain. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly of Punic or Celtic origin.
Ayala SpanishFrom the name of the town of Ayala (called
Aiara in Basque) in Álava, Spain. It might be derived from Basque
aiher "slope" or
alha "pasture".
Azzarà ItalianSicilian name, derived from Greek dialects of southern Italy. It is from Greek
ψαράς (psaras) meaning
"fisherman".
Baarda FrisianFrom the name of the town of
Baard in the Netherlands, possibly derived from a given name that was a variant of
Bert.
Baarsma FrisianIndicated a person coming from the small town of Beers in Frisia.
Bakema FrisianMeans
"son of Bake", a short form of names starting with the Old German element
batu "fight, struggle".
Bengoetxea BasqueMeans
"the house furthest down" from Basque
bengo "furthest down" and
etxe "house".
Bhattacharya BengaliFrom a Bengali title composed of the Sanskrit words
भट्ट (bhaṭṭa) meaning "scholar, lord" and
आचार्य (ācārya) meaning "teacher".
Bologna ItalianFrom the name of the city of Bologna in northern Italy. It may derive from a Celtic word meaning "settlement".
Bootsma FrisianOccupational name meaning
"boatman", derived from Dutch
boot "boat".
Borgia ItalianItalian form of
Borja. This was the name of an Italian noble family who were influential during the Renaissance period.
Borja SpanishOriginally indicated a person from the Spanish town of Borja in Aragon, derived from Arabic
برْج (burj) meaning "tower".
Brambilla ItalianDerived from the Italian town of Brembilla in Lombardy, itself named after the Brembo river.
Breda ItalianFrom the name of a town near Venice, possibly derived from a Lombardic word meaning "field".
Cabrera SpanishFrom various place names derived from Late Latin
capraria meaning
"place of goats", from Latin
capra meaning "goat".
Campana Italian, SpanishOccupational name from Late Latin
campana meaning
"bell", ultimately derived from the Italian region of Campania, where bells were produced.
Cardona CatalanFrom the name of a town in Catalonia, of uncertain meaning.
Carmona SpanishFrom the name of the city of Carmona in Andalusia, Spain. It is possibly derived from Phoenician
𐤒𐤓𐤕 𐤇𐤌𐤍 (Qart Ḥamun) meaning "city of Hammon" (the name of a Carthaginian god, see
Ba'al Hammon).
Carrara ItalianFrom the name of a city in Tuscany famous for its marble quarries. It is probably derived from Late Latin
quadreria meaning "quarry".
Castañeda SpanishHabitational name from any of various places called Castañeda, from a Spanish word meaning
"chesnut grove", itself derived from
castaña meaning "chesnut".
Castilla SpanishOriginally indicated a person from Castile, a region (and medieval kingdom) in Spain. The name of the region is derived from Late Latin
castellum meaning "castle".
Chmela m CzechDerived from Czech
chmel "hops", referring to a person who grew hops, a plant used in brewing beer.
Colombera ItalianFrom a derivative of Italian
colomba "dove" indicating a house where doves were held.
Coppola ItalianFrom the name of a type of hat characteristic of Sicily and southern Italy. This surname indicated a person who wore or made these hats. A famous bearer is the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (1939-), as well as other members of his extended family also in show business.
Corna ItalianDerived from the names of places in northern Italy, especially Lombardy, from a word that means
"crag, cliff" in the Lombard dialect.
Correia PortugueseMeans
"leather strap, belt" in Portuguese, denoting a person who worked with leather products.
Costa Portuguese, Italian, CatalanMeans
"riverbank, slope, coast" in Portuguese, Italian and Catalan, ultimately from Latin meaning "side, edge".
Cremona ItalianFrom the Italian city of Cremona, south of Milan, in Lombardy.
Cunha PortugueseFrom any of the numerous places in Portugal called Cunha, possibly from Portuguese
cunha meaning "wedge".
Da Gama PortugueseVariant of
Gama. This name was borne by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524).
Dibra AlbanianFrom the Albanian name for the city of Debar in Macedonia, originally given to someone who came from there.
Dykstra FrisianFrom Frisian
dyk meaning
"dike, ditch". The name was given to a person living near a dyke or embankment.
Echeverría SpanishDerived from the Basque place name
Etxeberria, which itself is derived from Basque
etxe "house" and
berri "new".
Egawa JapaneseFrom Japanese
江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Elzinga DutchProbably from a place name that was a derivative of Dutch
els meaning "alder tree".
Escamilla SpanishDerived from the name of the town of Escamilla in Gualadajara, Spain.
Escárcega SpanishDerived from the Basque place name
Eskarzaga, which itself is derived from Basque
hazkar "maple".
Esparza SpanishDerived from the Basque place name
Espartza, a town in the province of Navarre.
Espina SpanishMeans
"thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.
Espinosa SpanishFrom Spanish
espinoso meaning
"thorny", ultimately from Latin
spinosus, a derivative of
spina meaning "thorn, spine". This was the real surname of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), who was of Portuguese Jewish origin.
Farina ItalianOccupational name for a miller, derived from Italian
farina "flour".
Fava ItalianFrom Italian
fava referring to a type of broad bean.
Ferreira Portuguese, GalicianDenoted a person from a town named because it was near an iron mine, from Latin
ferrum meaning "iron".
Fiala m CzechMeans
"violet" in Czech, referring to the flower. It may have originally referred to a person who lived near a sign bearing violets, or it may have been given to a person who lived in a place where violets grew.
Figueroa SpanishFrom places named for Galician
figueira meaning
"fig tree".
Fiscella ItalianDerived from Italian
fiscella, which was a basket used to conserve cheese. The name was probably used to denote a person who made cheese.
Fonda ItalianOf Italian origin, possibly from a place derived from
fondo meaning
"deep". The family of Henry Fonda (1905-1982) came from the Netherlands, but they were of Genoese origin.
Fonseca Spanish, PortugueseOriginally belonged to a person who lived near a dry spring, from Latin
fons "well, spring" and
siccus "dry".
Gama PortugueseProbably from a place name derived from Portuguese
gama meaning
"fallow deer doe", from Latin
gammus.
Ganza ItalianProbably from the feminine medieval given name Allegranza or Alleganza, a derivative of
Allegra. It comes from northern Lombardy.
García SpanishFrom a medieval given name of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Basque word
hartz meaning "bear". This is the most common surname in Spain.
Garcia Portuguese, SpanishPortuguese form of
García. It is also an unaccented form of the Spanish name used commonly in America and the Philippines.
Gebara BasqueHabitational name for someone who lived in Gebara, a village in the province of Álava in Spain.
Giunta ItalianFrom the old Italian given name
Bonagiunta or
Bonaggiunta (derived from
bono "good" and
aggiunto "assistant").
Gomółka PolishDerived from Polish
gomółka, a type of round cheese, ultimately from an old Polish word meaning "round".