Colt EnglishOccupational name for a keeper of horses, derived from Middle English
colt.
Como 2 ItalianFrom the name of the city of Como in Lombardy, the rival city of Milan during the Middle Ages. Its name may come from a Celtic root meaning "valley".
Comstock EnglishPossibly from the name of the River Culm in Devon, England. This name is seen in the Domesday book as Culmstoke or Colmstoke.
Comtois FrenchIndicated a person from Franche-Comté, a province in eastern France, which translates to "free county".
Conner EnglishFrom Middle English
connere meaning
"inspector", an occupational name for an inspector of weights and measures.
Connolly IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Conghalaigh, which means
"descendant of Conghalach".
Conghalach is a nickname meaning "valiant".
Conroy IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Conaire, which means
"descendant of Conaire".
Conaire is a nickname meaning "hound keeper".
Constable EnglishFrom Old French
conestable, ultimately from Latin
comes stabuli meaning "officer of the stable".
Conti ItalianFrom the Italian noble title
conte meaning
"count", derived from Latin
comes (genitive
comitis) meaning "companion, attendant". It denoted a person who worked for a count or behaved like one.
Contreras SpanishFrom the name of a town in Burgos, Spain, derived from Late Latin
contraria meaning "area opposite".
Conway Welsh, EnglishFrom the name of the River Conwy in Wales, or the town situated at the mouth of the river. It is possibly derived from Welsh
cyn "foremost" and the common river name suffix
wy.
Cook EnglishDerived 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.
Coombs EnglishFrom Old English
cumb meaning
"valley", the name of several places in England.
Cooney IrishFrom Irish
Ó Cuana meaning
"descendant of Cuana".
Cuana probably means "handsome, elegant". The Cooney sept originated in County Tyrone.
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.
Corcoran IrishFrom Irish
Ó Corcráin meaning
"descendant of Corcrán", a given name derived from the Gaelic word
corcair "purple".
Corey EnglishDerived from the Old Norse given name
Kóri, of unknown meaning.
Corna ItalianDerived from the names of places in northern Italy, especially Lombardy, from a word that means
"crag, cliff" in the Lombard dialect.
Cornett EnglishDerived from Old French
cornet meaning
"horn", referring to one who worked as a horn blower.
Correia PortugueseMeans
"leather strap, belt" in Portuguese, denoting a person who worked with leather products.
Corvi ItalianNickname derived from Italian
corvo meaning
"crow".
Corwin EnglishDerived from Old French
cordoan "leather", ultimately from the name of the Spanish city of Cordova.
Ćosić Croatian, SerbianFrom Croatian and Serbian
ćosav "beardless", ultimately from Persian
کوسه (kūseh) meaning "shark".
Costa Portuguese, Italian, CatalanMeans
"riverbank, slope, coast" in Portuguese, Italian and Catalan, ultimately from Latin meaning "side, edge".
Cotterill EnglishDerived from Middle English
cotter meaning
"cottager", referring to a small tenant farmer.
Couch CornishFrom Cornish
cough "red", indicating the original bearer had red hair.
Coupe EnglishFrom Middle English
coupe meaning
"barrel", a name for a barrel maker or cooper.
Courtenay 1 EnglishFrom the name of towns in France that were originally derivatives of the Gallo-Roman personal name
Curtenus, itself derived from Latin
curtus "short".
Coutts ScottishFrom the name of the town of Cults in Aberdeenshire, derived from a Gaelic word meaning "woods".
Cowden EnglishFrom various English place names, which meaning either "coal valley", "coal hill" or "cow pasture" in Old English.
Coy EnglishMeans
"quiet, shy, coy" from Middle English
coi.
Cracchiolo ItalianDerived from Italian
cracchiola, referring to a chicory-like vegetable.
Craig ScottishDerived from Gaelic
creag meaning
"crag, rocks, outcrop", originally belonging to a person who lived near a crag.
Crawford EnglishFrom a place name derived from Old English
crawe "crow" and
ford "river crossing". A notable bearer was the American actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977), born Lucille Fay LeSueur.
Cremona ItalianFrom the Italian city of Cremona, south of Milan, in Lombardy.
Crewe EnglishOriginally denoted someone from Crewe in Cheshire, which is from Welsh
criu "weir, dam, fish trap".
Croft EnglishFrom Old English
croft meaning
"enclosed field".
Cropper EnglishOccupational name derived from Middle English
croppe "crop", referring to a fruit picker or a crop reaper.
Crosby EnglishFrom the name of various towns in England, derived from Old Norse
kross "cross" (a borrowing from Latin
crux) and
býr "farm, settlement".
Cross EnglishLocative name meaning
"cross", ultimately from Latin
crux. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.
Crowley 1 IrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Cruadhlaoich meaning
"descendant of Cruadhlaoch", a given name meaning "hardy hero".
Cuéllar SpanishDerived from the name of the town of Cuéllar in the Segovia province of Spain. It may be derived from Latin
collis meaning "hill".
Cullen 1 EnglishFrom the name of the German city of
Cologne, which was derived from Latin
colonia "colony".
Cunha PortugueseFrom any of the numerous places in Portugal called Cunha, possibly from Portuguese
cunha meaning "wedge".
Cunningham 1 ScottishFrom the name of place in the Ayrshire district of Scotland. It possibly comes from Gaelic
cuinneag meaning "milk pail".
Curie FrenchOccupational name for a farm hand, from Old French
éscuerie "stable". Famous bearers were the married scientists Marie (1867-1934) and Pierre Curie (1859-1906), who studied radioactivity.
Curtis EnglishNickname for a courteous person, derived from Old French
curteis meaning
"refined, courtly".
Czajkowski m PolishOriginally indicated a person from any of the Polish towns named Czajków, all derived from Polish
czajka meaning "lapwing (bird)".
Dąbrowski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various locations named
Dąbrowa or
Dobrów, derived from Polish
dąb meaning "oak".
Dahl Norwegian, Swedish, DanishFrom 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 SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
dal (Old Norse
dalr) meaning "dale, valley" and
berg meaning "mountain".
Dahlman SwedishFrom Swedish
dal (Old Norse
dalr) meaning "dale, valley" and
man (Old Norse
maðr) meaning "person, man".
Dale EnglishFrom Old English
dæl meaning
"valley", originally indicating a person who lived there.
Dalí SpanishFrom a given name, itself a diminutive of names beginning with the Old German element
adal meaning "noble". This was the surname of the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).
Dallas 2 ScottishFrom the name of a place in Moray, Scotland possibly meaning
"meadow dwelling" in Gaelic.
Dalton EnglishDerived 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).
Daly IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Dálaigh meaning
"descendant of Dálach".
Dam Dutch, DanishMeans
"dike, dam" in Dutch and Danish. In modern Danish it also means "pond".
Dane 2 EnglishOriginally denoted a Dane, that is a person from Denmark.
Darby EnglishFrom the name of the English town
Derby, derived from Old Norse
djúr "animal" and
býr "farm, settlement".
Darcy EnglishFrom Norman French
d'Arcy, originally denoting someone who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. A notable fictional bearer is Fitzwilliam Darcy from Jane Austen's novel
Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Darling EnglishFrom a nickname or byname derived from Middle English
dereling, Old English
deorling, meaning
"darling, beloved one".
Darnell 2 EnglishFrom the name of a town near Sheffield, derived from Old English
derne "hidden" and
halh "nook".
Darrell EnglishOriginally denoted one who came from the town of Airel in Normandy, derived from Late Latin
arealis meaning "open space".
Darrow ScottishHabitational name from Darroch near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, said to be named from Gaelic
darach meaning "oak tree".
Darwin EnglishFrom the given name
Deorwine. A famous bearer was the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882).
Daubney EnglishFrom any of the various towns in France called Aubigny, derived from the Gallo-Roman personal name
Albinus.
Davis English, ScottishMeans
"son of David". This was the surname of the revolutionary jazz trumpet player Miles Davis (1926-1991).
Dean 2 EnglishOccupational surname meaning
"dean", referring to a person who either was a dean or worked for one. It is from Middle English
deen (ultimately from Latin
decanus meaning "chief of ten").
Debenham EnglishOriginally 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 Campo ItalianLocative surname derived from place names called Campo (meaning "field").
Deering EnglishFrom the Old English given name
Deora meaning "dear, beloved".
Deighton EnglishFrom English towns by this name, from Old English
dic "ditch" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
De Jong DutchMeans
"young" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch
jonc. This is the most common surname in the Netherlands.
Delacroix FrenchMeans
"of the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads. A notable bearer was the French painter Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863).
Delaney 1 EnglishDerived from Norman French
de l'aunaie meaning
"from the alder grove".
Delgado Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"thin" in Spanish and Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
delicatus meaning "delicate, tender, charming".
Demir TurkishMeans
"iron" in Turkish, originally referring to an ironworker.
Dempsey IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Díomasaigh meaning
"descendant of Díomasach", a given name meaning "proud".
Deng ChineseFrom Chinese
邓 (dèng) referring to the ancient state of Deng, which existed during the Shang and Zhou dynasties in what is now either Henan or Hubei province. A famous bearer was the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997).
Denman EnglishFrom Middle English
dene "valley" combined with
man.
Derrick EnglishDerived 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).
Desmond IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Deasmhumhnaigh meaning "descendant of the man from South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from the region of South Munster (Desmond) in Ireland.
Desrosiers FrenchMeans
"from the rose bushes", from French
rosier "rose bush". It probably referred to a person who lived close to, or cared for a rose garden.
Devereux EnglishIndicated a person from Evreux in France, itself named after the Gaulish tribe of the Eburovices, which was probably derived from a Celtic word meaning "yew".
Devin 2 French, EnglishNickname for a person who acted divinely or prophetically, from Old French
devin meaning
"divine" or
"seer, fortune teller", ultimately from Latin
divinus.
Devlin IrishAnglicized form of the Irish
Ó Doibhilin meaning
"descendant of Doibhilin", a given name that may be derived from the Gaelic term
dobhail meaning "unlucky".
De Vries DutchMeans
"the Frisian" in Dutch, referring to a person from Friesland.
De Witte DutchMeans
"the white" in Dutch, a nickname for a person with white hair.
Dexter EnglishOccupational name meaning
"dyer" in Old English (originally this was a feminine word, but it was later applied to men as well).
Dibra AlbanianFrom the Albanian name for the city of Debar in Macedonia, originally given to someone who came from there.
Di Caprio ItalianFrom the name of the island of Capri near Naples, itself possibly derived from Latin
capra meaning "goat" or Greek
κάπρος (kapros) meaning "wild boar".
Dickens EnglishFrom 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).
Dickinson EnglishMeans
"son of Dicun",
Dicun being a medieval diminutive of
Dick 1. American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a famous bearer.
Dickman EnglishFrom 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.