Surnames on the United States Popularity List

Aalders Dutch
Means "son of Aldert".

Aalfs Dutch
Means "son of Aalf", a short form of Adolf.

Aalto Finnish
From Finnish aalto meaning "wave". A famous bearer was Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).

Aaron Jewish, English
From the given name Aaron.

Aarts Dutch
Means "son of Aart".

Abano Italian
Originally denoted a person from the town of Abano, Latin Aponus, which was derived from the old Celtic root ab meaning "water".

Abarca Spanish
From 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.

Abascal Spanish
Means "priest's street" from Basque abas "priest" and kale "street".

Abasolo Basque
Means "priest's meadow" from Basque abas "priest" and solo "meadow".

Abatangelo Italian
From Italian abate meaning "abbot, priest" combined with the given name Angelo.

Abate Italian
From Italian abate meaning "abbot, priest", derived via Latin and Greek from an Aramaic word meaning "father". This was used either as a nickname or an occupational name for a worker in a priest's house.

Abbà Italian
Variant of Abate.

Abbas Arabic, Urdu
From the given name Abbas.

Abbasi Persian, Urdu
From the given name Abbas.

Abbasov m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Abbas".

Abbate Italian
Variant of Abate.

Abbey English
Indicated a person who lived near an abbey or worked in an abbey, from Middle English abbeye.

Abbink Dutch
From various Dutch places meaning "(farm) belonging to Abbe".

Abbott English
English cognate of Abate.

Abdullaev m Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh
Alternate transcription of Cyrillic Абдуллаев (see Abdullayev).

Abdullah Arabic
Derived from the given name Abd Allah.

Abdullayev m Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh
Means "son of Abdulla".

Abe 1 Japanese
From Japanese 安 (a) meaning "peace" and 倍 (be) meaning "multiple times".

Abe 2 Japanese
From Japanese 安 (a) meaning "peace" and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".

Abel 1 English, French, Danish, Spanish, Portuguese
Derived from the given name Abel.

Abel 2 German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Albert.

Abelli Italian
From the given name Abele.

Abelló Catalan
From the Latin given name Abellio, which may have been derived from the name of a Pyrenean god.

Abeln German
Patronymic derived from a diminutive of Albert.

Abels Dutch
Means "son of Abel".

Aben Dutch
Means "son of Abe 2".

Åberg Swedish
From Swedish å meaning "river, stream" and berg meaning "mountain".

Abiodun Yoruba
From the given name Abiodun.

Abioye Yoruba
From the given name Abioye.

Abney English
From the name of a town in Derbyshire, derived from Old English meaning "Abba's island".

Abraham Jewish, English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch
Derived from the given name Abraham.

Abrahams Jewish, English, Dutch
Means "son of Abraham".

Abrahamsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Abraham".

Abrahamson Jewish, English
Means "son of Abraham".

Abram English
Derived from the given name Abraham.

Abrami Italian
Derived from the given name Abramo.

Abramo Italian
Derived from the given name Abramo.

Abrams Jewish, English
Means "son of Abraham".

Abramson English
Means "son of Abraham".

Abreu Portuguese, Galician
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a given name that was of Germanic origin.

Abt German
German cognate of Abate.

Accardi Italian
Variant of Acardi.

Accardo Italian
Variant of Acardi.

Accorsi Italian
From the given name Bonaccorso.

Acheson Scottish
Scots form of Atkinson.

Achilles German
Derived from the given name Achilles.

Achterberg Dutch, German
From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, for example the village of achterberg in Utrecht. The place names are derived from Low German achter "behind" and berg "mountain, hill".

Acker German, English
Denoted a person who lived near a field, derived from Middle English aker or Middle High German acker meaning "field".

Ackerman English
Means "ploughman", derived from Middle English aker "field" and man.

Ackermann German
Denoted a person who lived near a field, from Middle High German acker "field" and man "man".

Acosta Spanish
Spanish form of Da Costa (from a misdivision of the surname).

Acquafredda Italian
Denoted a person who came from one of the various places in Italy with this name, derived from Italian meaning "cold water".

Adair English
Derived from the given name Edgar.

Ádám Hungarian
Hungarian form of Adam.

Adam u & m English, French, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Jewish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Adamczak Polish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Adamczyk Polish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Adami Italian
Means "son of Adamo".

Adamić Croatian
Means "son of Adam".

Adamík m Czech, Slovak
Czech and Slovak diminutive form of Adam.

Adamo Italian
Italian form of Adam.

Adams English, Jewish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Adamsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Adam".

Adamson English
Means "son of Adam".

Adcock English
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Adam.

Addario Italian
Derived from the given name Addarius, of unknown meaning.

Addicks Dutch
Means "son of Addik", a diminutive of Adde.

Addison English
Means "son of Addy 2".

Adebayo Yoruba
From the given name Adebayo.

Adema Frisian
Means "son of Ade 2".

Adesso Italian
Perhaps a nickname for a punctual or fast person, from Italian adesso meaning "now, at this moment".

Adkins English
Variant of Atkins.

Adler German, Jewish
Means "eagle" in German.

Adomaitis m Lithuanian
From the given name Adomas.

Adriatico Italian
Originally denoted a person who lived near the Adriatic sea.

Aerts Dutch, Flemish
From a diminutive of the given name Arnout.

Afolabi Yoruba
From the given name Afolabi.

Afolayan Yoruba
Means "walks like a wealthy person, walks with confidence" in Yoruba.

Africano Italian
From the given name Africano, the Italian form of Africanus.

Agema Frisian
Means "son of Age 1".

Agli Italian
From place names like Agliè, Aglietti, Agliana and Agliate, all originating from the Latin name Allius or Alleius.

Agnelli Italian
From Italian agnello meaning "lamb" (ultimately from Latin agnus), denoting a pious or timid person.

Agosti Italian
Means "son of Agosto", a variant of Augusto.

Agostini Italian
Means "son of Agostino".

Agresta Italian
From Latin agrestis meaning "rural, rustic".

Agricola Italian
From Latin agricola meaning "farmer".

Aguado Spanish
Derived from Spanish agua "water", indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.

Aguilar Spanish
From a place name that was derived from Spanish águila meaning "eagle", ultimately from Latin aquila.

Aguirre Spanish
From Basque ageri meaning "open, cleared, prominent", originally given to a peron who lived in an open area.

Ahearn Irish
Anglicized form of Ó hEachthighearna.

Ahearne Irish
Anglicized form of Ó hEachthighearna.

Ahlberg Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish al (Old Norse ǫlr) meaning "alder" and berg meaning "mountain".

Ahlers Low German
Means "son of Alard".

Ahlgren Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish al (Old Norse ǫlr) meaning "alder" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Ahlström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish al (Old Norse ǫlr) meaning "alder" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Ahmad Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indian (Muslim)
Derived from the given name Ahmad.

Ahmadi Persian
From the given name Ahmad.

Ahmed Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indian (Muslim)
Derived from the given name Ahmad.

Aiello Italian
From various place names in Italy, such as Aiello del Friuli, Aiello del Sabato and others. They are derived from Latin agellus meaning "little field".

Aiken English
From the medieval given name Atkin, a diminutive of Adam.

Ainsley Scottish
From a place name: either Annesley in Nottinghamshire or Ansley in Warwickshire. The place names themselves derive from Old English anne "alone, solitary" or ansetl "hermitage" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Ainsworth English
Habitational name for a person from the village of Ainsworth near Manchester, itself from the Old English given name Ægen and worþ meaning "enclosure".

Airò Italian
From the given name Aroldo.

Aita Italian
Originally denoted a person from Aieta, Italy, a place name derived from Greek ἀετός (aetos) meaning "eagle".

Aitken Scottish, English
Derived from the medieval given name Atkin, a diminutive of Adam.

Ajello Italian
Variant of Aiello.

Akai Japanese
From Japanese 赤 (aka) meaning "red" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".

Akamatsu Japanese
From Japanese 赤 (aka) meaning "red" and 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree".

Åkerman Swedish
Swedish form of Ackermann.

Akerman English
Variant of Ackerman.

Akers English
Variant of Acker.

Åkesson Swedish
Means "son of Åke".

Akiyama Japanese
From Japanese 秋 (aki) meaning "autumn" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".

Akkerman Dutch
Dutch form of Ackermann.

Aksoy Turkish
From Turkish ak "white" and soy "lineage, ancestry".

Alamilla Spanish
From Spanish alamillo meaning "poplar, aspen".

Al-Amin Arabic
Means "the truthful" from Arabic امين (amin).

Alan English, Scottish
Derived from the given name Alan.

Alba Spanish
From a Spanish nickname meaning "white".

Albanesi Italian
Originally indicated a person who came from Albania.

Albani Italian
Derived from the given name Albano.

Albano Italian
Derived from the given name Albano.

Alberda Dutch
Derived from the given name Albert.

Alberghini Italian
Diminutive of Alberghi.

Alberici Italian
Means "son of Alberico".

Albero Italian
From Italian albero meaning "tree", ultimately from Latin arbor, referring to someone who lived in the woods or worked as a woodcutter.

Albers Dutch
Means "son of Albert".

Albert English, French, Catalan, Hungarian, Romanian, German
Derived from the given name Albert.

Alberto Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
From the given name Alberto.

Alberts English, Dutch
Means "son of Albert".

Albertsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Albert".

Albertson English
Means "son of Albert".

Albini Italian
Means "son of Albino".

Albinson English
Means "son of Albin".

Albrecht German
From the given name Albrecht.

Albring Dutch
Variant of Alberink.

Albu Romanian
From Romanian alb meaning "white".

Albuquerque Portuguese
From the name of the Spanish town of Alburquerque, near the Portuguese border in the province of Badajoz. It is probably derived from Latin alba quercus meaning "white oak".

Aldana Basque
From the name of a Basque town, derived from aldats meaning "slope".

Alden English
Derived from the Old English given name Ealdwine.

Alders Dutch
Means "son of Aldert".

Aleksandrov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Aleksandr".

Alekseyev m Russian
Means "son of Aleksey".

Alesci Italian
Means "son of Alessio".

Alescio Italian
From the given name Alessio.

Aleshire German
Anglicized form of Alscher.

Alesi Italian
From the given name Alessio.

Alesio Italian
From the given name Alessio.

Alessandri Italian
Means "son of Alessandro".

Alessi Italian
From the given name Alessio.

Alexander English
Derived from the given name Alexander.

Alexanderson Swedish
Variant of Alexandersson.

Alexiou Greek
Means "son of Alexios".

Alfaro Spanish
Originally denoted someone who was from the city of Alfaro in La Rioja, Spain. It is possibly derived from Arabic meaning "the watchtower".

Alferink Dutch
Means "(farm) belonging to Alfhard" in Dutch.

Alfero Italian
From the given name Adalfarus.

Alfonso Spanish
From the given name Alfonso.

Alfredson English
Means "son of Alfred".

Alfson Swedish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Alfsson.

Alger English
From the given name Algar.

Ali Arabic
From the given name Ali 1.

Aliberti Italian
Means "son of Alberto".

Aliev m Tajik, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Avar, Chechen
Alternate transcription of Tajik/Kyrgyz/Chechen Алиев, Kazakh Әлиев or Avar ГӀалиев (see Aliyev).

Əliyev m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Əli".

Aliyev m Tajik, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Avar, Chechen, Azerbaijani
Means "son of Ali 1". This is also an alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Əliyev.

Əliyeva f Azerbaijani
Feminine form of Əliyev.

Aliyeva f Tajik, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Avar, Chechen, Azerbaijani
Feminine form of Aliyev. This is also an alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Əliyeva.

Alkema Frisian
Means "son of Alke".

Allan English, Scottish
Derived from the given name Alan.

Allard French, English
Derived from the given name Adalhard (or the Old English cognate Æðelræd).

Allaway Scottish
From a Scottish place name, itself derived from alla "wild" and mhagh "field".

Allegri Italian
From an Italian nickname derived from allegro meaning "quick, lively".

Allegro Italian
Variant of Allegri.

Allen English, Scottish
Derived from the given name Alan.

Alles Dutch
Means "son of Alle".

Allison English
Means "son of Alan" or "son of Alexander" (as well as other given names beginning with Al).

Allsopp English
From the name of the village of Alsop en la Dale in Derbyshire, England. It means "Ælli's valley" in Old English.

Alma Frisian
Means "son of Ale 2", the suffix -ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.

Almássy Hungarian
Means "from the apple orchard", derived from Hungarian alma meaning "apple".

Almeida Portuguese
Designated a person who had originally lived in the town of Almeida in Portugal. The place name is from Arabic ال مائدة (al ma'idah) meaning "the plateau, the table".

Almstedt Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish alm (Old Norse almr) meaning "elm" and stad (Old Norse staðr) meaning "town, city".

Alò Italian
Variant of Aloi.

Aloi Italian
From a dialectal form of the name Aloisio.

Aloia Italian
Variant of Aloi.

Aloisi Italian
From the given name Aloisio.

Alonso Spanish
From the given name Alonso.

Altamura Italian
From the name of the Italian city of Altamura, which means "high walls" in Italian.

Altena Dutch
From the name of a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "close, near" in Dutch.

Althaus German
Name for a person dwelled in or by an old house, from German alt "old" and haus "house".

Altimari Italian
Derived from the given name Altimaro, an alteration of Adelmar.

Alunni Italian
From Italian alunno meaning "student".

Alvarado Spanish
From a Spanish place name, possibly derived from Spanish alba "white".

Álvarez Spanish
Means "son of Álvaro".

Alvarez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Álvarez.

Alves Portuguese
Means "son of Álvaro".

Alvey English
Derived from the given name Ælfwig.

Alvin English
Variant of Elwyn.

Amadei Italian
Means "son of Amadeo".

Amador Spanish
Derived from the given name Amador.

Amano Japanese
From Japanese 天 (ama) meaning "heaven" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Amantea Italian
From 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".

Amato Italian
From the given name Amato.

Amatore Italian
From the given name Amatore.

Ambrogi Italian
Means "son of Ambrogio".

Ambrosi Italian
Means "son of Ambrogio".

Amjad Arabic
Derived from the given name Amjad.

Amos Jewish
From the given name Amos.

Amsel 1 Jewish
Derived from the given name Anshel.

Amsel 2 German
Means "blackbird" in German.

Amundsen Norwegian
Means "son of Amund". This name was borne by the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen (1872-1928).

Anand Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi
Means "happiness, bliss" in Sanskrit.

Ananias Dutch
From the Latin given name Ananias.

Anastasiou Greek
Means "son of Anastasios".

Anaya Spanish
From the names of a few Spanish towns, possibly of Arabic origin meaning "stagnant water" or "path".

Andela Dutch
From the given name Andreas.

Andersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Anders". A noteworthy bearer was the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).

Anderson English
Means "son of Andrew".

Andersson Swedish
Means "son of Anders". This is the most common surname in Sweden.

Andonov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Andon".

André French
Derived from the given name André.

Andreas German
Derived from the given name Andreas.

Andreasen Danish
Means "son of Andreas".

Andreassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Andreas".

Andréasson Swedish
Variant of Andreasson.

Andreasson Swedish
Means "son of Andreas".

Andreev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Андреев (see Andreyev).

Andreeva f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Андреева (see Andreyeva).

Andrés Spanish
Derived from the given name Andrés.

Andres German
Derived from the given name Andreas.

Andresen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Andreas".

Andreu Catalan
From the given name Andreu.

Andrews English
Means "son of Andrew".

Andrewson English
Variant of Anderson.

Andreyev m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Andrey".

Andries Dutch
Derived from the given name Andries.

Andringa Dutch
Means "(farm) belonging to Andries" in Dutch.

Andrysiak Polish
Means "son of Andrzej".

Andrzejewski m Polish
Habitational name for a person from towns called Andrzejewo or similar, derived from the given name Andrzej.

Anema Frisian
Means "son of Ane 2".

Angelov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Angel".

Angelova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Angelov.

Angus Irish, Scottish
From the given name Aonghus.

Anker Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Metonymic surname for a sailor, meaning "anchor" in Dutch, Danish and Norwegian.

Ansaldi Italian
Means "son of Ansaldo".

Ansel English
Derived from the given name Anselm.

Anselmi Italian
Means "son of Anselmo".

Anselmo Portuguese, Italian
From the given name Anselmo.

Anson English
Means "son of Agnes".

Antal Hungarian
Derived from the given name Antal.

Antić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Anto" or "son of Ante 1".

Antonelli Italian
Means "son of Antonello".

Antoni f Greek
Feminine form of Antonis.

Antonini Italian
Means "son of Antonino".

Antonino Italian
Derived from the given name Antonino.

Antonio Spanish
Derived from the given name Antonio.

Antoniou Greek
Means "son of Antonios".

Antonis m & u Greek, Dutch
Derived from the given name Antonis or Antonius.

Antonov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Anton".

Antonova f Russian, Bulgarian
Feminine form of Antonov.

Antonsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Anton".

Antunes Portuguese
Means "son of António".

Antúnez Spanish
Means "son of Antonio".

Aoki Japanese
From Japanese 青 (ao) meaning "green, blue" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".

Aoyama Japanese
From Japanese 青 (ao) meaning "green, blue" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".

Apostolov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Apostol".

Appleby English
From the name of various English towns, derived from Old English æppel "apple" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement".

Appleton English
From the name of several English towns, meaning "orchard" in Old English (a compound of æppel "apple" and tun "enclosure, yard").

Apted English
Probably from an unidentified place name meaning "up tower" in Old English.

Aquila Italian
From a nickname meaning "eagle" in Italian.

Aquino Italian, Spanish
From the name of an Italian town near Rome, derived from Latin aqua meaning "water", the home town of the 13th-century saint Thomas Aquinas. In Italy the surname is derived directly from the town's name. As a Spanish-language surname, it was sometimes bestowed by missionaries in honour of the saint as they evangelized in Spanish colonies.

Araújo Portuguese
Denoted a person hailing from one of the many areas that bear this name in Portugal, which is of unknown meaning.

Araujo Spanish
Spanish form of Araújo.

Araya Spanish
Denoted a person from Araia in the Basque Country, Spain. It is of uncertain meaning.

Arbeit German
From German arbeit meaning "work".

Arbore Italian
From Latin arbor meaning "tree".

Arce Spanish
Means "maple tree" in Spanish.

Archambault French
From the archaic French given name Archambault, which is related to Archibald.

Archer English
Occupational name for one who practiced archery, from Latin arcus "bow" (via Old French).

Ardelean Romanian
From the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from Hungarian erdő meaning "forest".

Ardizzone Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Ardito.

Arena Italian
Italian cognate of Arenas.

Arenas Spanish
From various Spanish place names, which are derived from Spanish arena meaning "sand".

Arends Dutch
Means "son of Arend".

Arendse Afrikaans
Variant of Arends.

Arendsen Dutch
Variant of Arends.

Arents Dutch
Variant of Arends.

Arentz Dutch
Variant of Arends.

Argall Cornish
From a place name meaning "shelter, quiet place" in Cornish.

Argyris m Greek
Means "silver" in Greek.

Arias Spanish
Possibly derived from a medieval given name of Germanic origin.

Arima Japanese
From Japanese 有 (ari) meaning "have, possess" and 馬 (ma) meaning "horse".

Arkema Frisian
Means "son of Arke 2".

Arkwright English
Occupational name meaning "chest maker", from Middle English arc meaning "chest, coffer" and wyrhta meaning "maker, craftsman".

Armando Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Derived from the given name Armando.

Armani Italian
Means "son of Ermanno".