Surnames on the United States Popularity List

Flower English
From Middle English flour meaning "flower, blossom", derived from Old French flur, Latin flos. This was a nickname given to a sweet person. In other cases it could be a metonymic occupational name for a maker of flour (a word derived from the same source).

Flowers English
Variant of Flower.

Floyd Welsh
Variant of Lloyd.

Flynn Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Floinn meaning "descendant of Flann".

Fodor Hungarian
From Hungarian fodor meaning "curly, wavy", referring to a person with curly or wavy hair.

Foerstner German
Variant of Förstner.

Foley Irish
From Irish Ó Foghladha meaning "descendant of Foghlaidh". The byname Foghlaidh meant "pirate, marauder, plunderer".

Fonda Italian
Of 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, Portuguese
Originally belonged to a person who lived near a dry spring, from Latin fons "well, spring" and siccus "dry".

Fontaine French
Derived from Old French fontane meaning "well, fountain", a derivative of Latin fons.

Fontana Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish cognate of Fontaine.

Ford English
Name given to someone who lived by a ford, possibly the official who maintained it. A famous bearer was the American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947).

Forest English, French
Originally belonged to a person who lived near or in a forest. It was probably originally derived, via Old French forest, from Latin forestam (silva) meaning "outer (wood)".

Forester English
Denoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest, or one who has charge of growing timber in a forest (see Forest).

Forestier French
French cognate of Forester.

Forney German
Name for someone who lived near ferns, from Old High German farn "fern".

Forrest English
Variant of Forest.

Forsberg Swedish
Derived from Swedish fors meaning "waterfall" and berg meaning "mountain".

Forst German
Derived from Old High German forst "forest". Probably unrelated to the Old French word forest, which was derived from Latin, Old High German forst was derived from foraha meaning "fir tree".

Förstner German
Denoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest (see Forst).

Fortier French
Derived from Old French fort "stronghold", indicating a person who lived near or worked at such a place.

Fortunato Italian
From the given name Fortunato.

Fortune English
From Middle English, ultimately from Latin fortuna meaning "fortune, luck, chance". This was possibly a nickname for a gambler.

Foss English
Variant of Fosse.

Fosse English, French
Derived from Old French fosse "ditch".

Foster 1 English
Variant of Forester.

Foster 2 English
Occupational name for a scissor maker, derived from Old French forcetier.

Foster 3 English
Occupational name for a maker of saddle trees, derived from Old French fustier.

Foster 4 English
Nickname given to a person who was a foster child or foster parent.

Foth Low German
From a nickname meaning "foot" in Low German.

Fournier French
Occupational name for a baker, from French fourneau meaning "oven".

Fowler English
Occupational name for a fowler or birdcatcher, ultimately derived from Old English fugol meaning "bird".

Fox English
From the name of the animal. It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a crafty person.

Francis English
Derived from the given name Francis.

Francisco Portuguese, Spanish
Derived from the given name Francisco.

Franco Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Cognate of Frank 1. This name was borne by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (1892-1975).

François French
Derived from the given name François.

Frank 1 English
Derived from the given name Frank.

Frank 2 English
From Old English franc meaning "free".

Frank 3 German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Name for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people. A notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank (1929-1945), a victim of the Holocaust.

Franke German, Dutch
Variant of Frank 3.

Frankenstein German, Literature
From any of the various minor places by this name in Germany, meaning "stone of the Franks" in German. It was used by the author Mary Shelley in her novel Frankenstein (1818) for the character of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a monster and brings it to life. The monster, nameless in the novel, is sometimes informally or erroneously called Frankenstein in modern speech.

Franklin English
Derived from Middle English frankelin meaning "freeman". It denoted a landowner of free but not noble birth, from Old French franc meaning "free". Famous bearers include American statesman Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and American singer Aretha Franklin (1942-2018).

Franklyn English
Variant of Franklin.

Franz German
Derived from the given name Franz.

Franzese Italian
From a nickname that indicated a person who came from France. It is typical of the area around Naples.

Fraser Scottish
Meaning unknown, originally Norman French de Fresel, possibly from a lost place name in France.

Frazier Scottish
Variant of Fraser.

Frederiksen Danish
Means "son of Frederik".

Fredriksen Norwegian
Means "son of Fredrik".

Fredriksson Swedish
Means "son of Fredrik".

Freeman English
Referred to a person who was born free, or in other words was not a serf.

Frei German
Means "free" in German, probably referring to someone outside the feudal system.

Freitas Portuguese
Means "broken" in Portuguese, a name for one who lived on broken, stony ground.

French English
Originally denoted a French person, from Middle English Frensch, Old English Frencisc.

Freud German, Jewish
Means "joy" in German, a nickname for a cheerful person. A famous bearer was the psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).

Freudenberger German, Jewish
Ornamental name from old German freud meaning "joy" and berg meaning "mountain".

Freund German
From Middle High German vriunt, modern German Freund meaning "friend".

Fried German
Derived from the given name Friedrich.

Friedrich German
Derived from the given name Friedrich.

Friel Irish
From the Irish Ó Frighil meaning "descendant of Fearghal".

Fries German
Denoted someone from Frisia, an area along the coastal region of the North Sea stretching from Netherlands to Germany.

Friis Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian (mostly Danish) form of Fries.

Frisk Swedish
From Swedish frisk "healthy", which was derived from the Middle Low German word vrisch "fresh, young, frisky".

Fromm German
From a nickname derived from Middle High German vrume meaning "noble, honourable".

Frost English, German
From Old English and Old High German meaning "frost", a nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard.

Fry English
From Old English frig (a variant of freo) meaning "free".

Frye English
Variant of Fry.

Fuchs German
From Old High German fuhs meaning "fox". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.

Fuentes Spanish
Means "spring, well" in Spanish, derived from Latin fons.

Fuhrmann German
Derived from Middle High German vuorman meaning "cartwright".

Fujimori Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 森 (mori) meaning "forest".

Fujimoto Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Fujimura Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Fujioka Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 岡 (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".

Fujisawa Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh".

Fujita Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Fujiwara Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 原 (wara) meaning "field, plain".

Fukui Japanese
Denoted a person who was from Fukui prefecture in Japan.

Fukuzawa Japanese
From Japanese 福 (fuku) meaning "happiness, good fortune, blessing" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh".

Fuller English
Occupational name for a fuller, a person who thickened and cleaned coarse cloth by pounding it. It is derived via Middle English from Latin fullo.

Fülöp Hungarian
Derived from the given name Fülöp.

Fulton English
From the name of the English town of Foulden, Norfolk, meaning "bird hill" in Old English.

Furlan Italian, Slovene
From the name of the Italian region of Friuli, in the northeast of Italy, which is derived from the name of the Roman town of Forum Iulii meaning "forum of Julius".

Fürst German
From a nickname meaning "(sovereign) prince" in German. The word fürst itself is derived from Old High German furisto "first".

Furukawa Japanese
From Japanese 古 (furu) meaning "old" and 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream".

Fusco Italian
From Italian fosco meaning "dark", from Latin fuscus. This was a nickname for a person with dark features.

Gaál Hungarian
Variant of Gál.

Gabler German
Occupational name for someone who made or sold forks, from Old High German gabala "fork".

Gábor Hungarian
From the given name Gábor.

Gabor Hungarian
Variant of Gábor.

Gabrielli Italian
From the given name Gabriele 1.

Gabriels English
Derived from the given name Gabriel.

Gabrielson English
Means "son of Gabriel".

Gadsby English
Habitational name from the village of Gaddesby in Leicestershire, so named from Old Norse gaddr "spur, spike (of land)" and býr "farm, settlement".

Gaertner German
German form of Gardener.

Gage French, English
Occupational name derived either from Old French jauge "measure" (a name for an assayer) or gage "pledge, payment" (a name for a moneylender). Both words were ultimately of Frankish origin.

Gagliardi Italian
From Italian gagliardo meaning "strong, vigorous".

Gagné French (Quebec)
Variant of Gagneux. This surname is especially common in Quebec.

Gagnier French
Variant of Gagneux.

Gagnon French
Derived from old French gagnon "guard dog". The name most likely originated as a nickname for an aggressive or cruel person.

Gál Hungarian
Derived from the given name Gál.

Galanis m Greek
From Greek γαλανός (galanos) meaning "light blue".

Gale English
Derived from Middle English gaile meaning "jovial".

Gallagher Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Gallchobhair meaning "descendant of Gallchobhar".

Gallardo Spanish
Means "gallant, elegant" in Spanish.

Gallego Spanish
Originally indicated a person from Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain.

Galli Italian
Variant of Gallo, common in northern Italy.

Gallo Italian, Spanish
Means "rooster", ultimately from Latin gallus. This was a nickname for a proud person.

Gama Portuguese
Probably from a place name derived from Portuguese gama meaning "fallow deer doe", from Latin gammus.

Gang Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 강 (see Kang).

Gao Chinese
From Chinese 高 (gāo) meaning "tall, high".

Garb German
Variant of Garber.

Garber German
Variant of Gerber.

Garbo Italian
From a nickname meaning "politeness" in Italian. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990), born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson.

Garbutt English
From the given name Gerbold.

García Spanish
From 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, Spanish
Portuguese form of García. It is also an unaccented form of the Spanish name used commonly in America and the Philippines.

Garçon French
Means "boy" in French, referring to a servant.

Gardener English
Occupational surname for one who was a gardener, from Old French jardin meaning "garden" (of Frankish origin).

Gardiner English
Variant of Gardener.

Gardinier French
French form of Gardener.

Gardner English
Variant of Gardener.

Garey English
Variant of Geary.

Garfield English
Means "triangle field" in Old English. A famous bearer was American president James A. Garfield (1831-1881).

Garland English
Means "triangle land" from Old English gara and land. It originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.

Garner 1 English
From Old French gernier meaning "granary", a derivative of Latin granum meaning "grain". This name could refer to a person who worked at a granary or lived near one.

Garner 2 English
Variant of Gardener.

Garnet English
Variant of Garnett 1 or Garnett 2.

Garnett 1 English
Occupational name referring to a person who made hinges, from Old French carne "hinge".

Garnett 2 English
From a diminutive of the given name Guarin.

Garnier 1 French
From the given name Garnier.

Garnier 2 English
Variant of Garner 1.

Garofalo Italian
From a nickname, from a southern variant of the Italian word garofano meaning "carnation".

Garrard English
From the given name Gerard.

Garret English
Variant of Garrett.

Garrett English
Derived from the given name Gerald or Gerard.

Garrido Spanish
Means "elegant, ostentatious" in Spanish.

Garrod English
Derived from the given name Gerald.

Garry English
Variant of Geary.

Gärtner German
German form of Gardener.

Garver German
Variant of Gerber.

Gary English
Variant of Geary.

Garza Spanish
Derived from Spanish garza meaning "heron".

Gáspár Hungarian
Derived from the given name Gáspár.

Gaspar Portuguese, Spanish
Derived from the given name Gaspar.

Gaspard French
From the given name Gaspard.

Gaspari Italian
From the given name Gaspare.

Gašper Slovene
Derived from the given name Gašper.

Gass German
Name for someone who lived on a street in a city, from German gasse.

Gates English
Originally denoted a person who lived near the town gates.

Gatti Italian
Means "cat" in Italian, originally a nickname for an agile person.

Gauthier French
Derived from the given name Gauthier.

Gautier French
From the given name Gautier.

Gavrilović Serbian
Means "son of Gavrilo".

Gavrilyuk Ukrainian
Alternate transcription of Ukrainian Гаврилюк (see Havrylyuk).

Geary English
Derived from a Norman given name that was a short form of Germanic names starting with the element ger "spear".

Gebara Basque
Habitational name for someone who lived in Gebara, a village in the province of Álava in Spain.

Geels Dutch
Variant of Geelen.

Geerts Dutch
Means "son of Geert".

Gehrig German
Variant of Gehring.

Gehring German
Derived from a short form of Old German names starting with the element ger "spear".

Geier German
Means "vulture" in German, a nickname for a greedy person.

Geiger German
Means "fiddle player" in German, derived from Old High German giga "fiddle".

Geisler German
Variant of Geissler.

Geißler German
Variant of Geissler.

Geissler German
Occupational name for a goat herder, from southern German Geiss meaning "goat" and the suffix ler signifying an occupation.

Geiszler German
Variant of Geissler.

Genova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Genov.

Genovese Italian
Denoted a person from the Italian city of Genoa (Genova in Italian).

Gensch German
From the given name Gensch, a Sorbian form of John.

Gentile Italian
From a nickname meaning "gentle, kind" in Italian.

George English
Derived from the given name George.

Georgeson English
Means "son of George".

Georgiadis m Greek
Means "son of Georgios" in Greek.

Georgiev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Georgi".

Georgieva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Georgiev.

Georgiou Greek
Means "son of Georgios".

Gérard French
From the given name Gérard.

Gerber German
Means "tanner, leather dresser" in German, derived from Old High German garawen meaning "to prepare".

Gerhard German
Derived from the given name Gerhard.

Gerhardt German
Derived from the given name Gerhard.

Gerig German
Variant of Gehring.

Germain French
From the French given name Germain.

Germano Italian
From the given name Germano.

Géroux French
Derived from the Germanic name Gerulf.

Gerst German
Occupational name for a barley farmer, derived from Old High German gersta "barley".

Gerstle German
Variant of Gerst.

Gerver German
Variant of Gerber.

Gevorgyan Armenian
Means "son of Gevorg".

Gheorghe Romanian
Derived from the given name Gheorghe.

Giannino Italian
Derived from the given name Giannino.

Giannopoulos m Greek
Means "son of Giannis" in Greek.

Gibb English
Derived from the given name Gib.

Gibbs English, Scottish
Means "son of Gib".

Gibson English, Scottish
Means "son of Gib".

Giehl German
German form of Giles.

Giese German, Danish
Derived from a short form of the given name Giselbert or other Old German names beginning with the element gisal meaning "pledge, hostage".

Gil Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Gil 1.

Gilbert English, French
Derived from the given name Gilbert.

Gilchrist Scottish
From Gaelic MacGilleChrìosd meaning "son of Gille Críst".

Giles English
From the given name Giles.

Gill English
Originally indicated someone who lived near a ravine, from Middle English gil (of Old Norse origin).

Gilliam English
Variant of William. A famous bearer of the name is cartoonist and filmmaker Terry Gilliam (1940-).

Gilroy Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Giolla Ruaidh or Mac Giolla Rí.

Gim Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 김 (see Kim).

Giménez Spanish
Variant of Jiménez.

Giordano Italian
Derived from the given name Giordano.

Girard French
From the given name Gérard.

Giraud French
From the given name Gérald.

Giroux French
Derived from the Germanic name Gerulf.

Gismondi Italian
From the Old German given name Gismund.

Giuliani Italian
From the given name Giuliano.

Giunta Italian
From the old Italian given name Bonagiunta or Bonaggiunta (derived from bono "good" and aggiunto "assistant").

Gladwin English
Derived from the Old English given name Glædwine.

Glas German, Dutch
German and Dutch cognate of Glass.

Glass English, German
From Old English glæs or Old High German glas meaning "glass". This was an occupational name for a glass blower or glazier.

Glazier English
Means "glass worker, glazier", from Old English glæs meaning "glass".

Glen Scottish
Variant of Glenn.

Glenn Scottish, English
From place names derived from Gaelic gleann "valley". A famous bearer was the American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016).

Glöckner German
Derived from Middle High German glocke "bell". It may have referred to a person who worked at or lived close to a bell tower.

Glover English
Occupational name for a person who made or sold gloves, from Middle English glovere.

Glynn Welsh, Cornish
Topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, from Welsh glyn and Cornish glin, or a habitational name from a place named with this word.

Gniewek Polish
Derived from Gniewek, a diminutive of Zbigniew, Jarogniew, or other names containing gniew "anger".

Göbel German
Derived from the given name Göbel, a diminutive of the Old German name Godabert.

Godard French
Derived from the Germanic given name Godehard.

Goddard English
Derived from the Germanic given name Godehard.

Godfrey English
From the Norman given name Godfrey.

Goebel German
Variant of Göbel.

Goffe English
Derived from Breton or Cornish goff meaning "smith", referring to a metalworker.

Gold English, German, Jewish
From Old English and Old High German gold meaning "gold", an occupational name for someone who worked with gold or a nickname for someone with yellow hair. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Goldhirsch Jewish
Means "golden stag" in Yiddish.

Goldschmidt German
Occupational name meaning "goldsmith" in German.

Golob Slovene
Means "pigeon" in Slovene.

Golub Croatian
Means "pigeon" in Croatian.

Gomes Portuguese
From the medieval given name Gomes.

Gómez Spanish
Spanish form of Gomes.

Gomez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Gómez.

Gomółka Polish
Derived from Polish gomółka, a type of round cheese, ultimately from an old Polish word meaning "round".

Gomułka Polish
Variant of Gomółka.

Gonçalves Portuguese
Means "son of Gonçalo" in Portuguese.

Gonzales Spanish
Variant of González.

González Spanish
Means "son of Gonzalo" in Spanish. This is among the most common surnames in Spain.

Gonzalez Spanish
Unaccented variant of González.

Gonzalo Spanish
From the given name Gonzalo.

Good English
From a nickname meaning "good", referring to a kindly person.

Goode English
Variant of Good.

Goodman English
Variant of Good.

Goodwin English
Derived from the given name Godwine.

Goossens Flemish
From the Germanic given name Gozzo.

Gordon Scottish
From the name of a place in Berwickshire, Scotland, derived from Brythonic words meaning "spacious fort".

Gore English
From the Old English word gara meaning "triangular plot of land".

Gorecki m Polish
Originally indicated a person from Górka, the name of various towns in Poland, ultimately from Polish góra "mountain".

Goretti Italian
Derived from the given name Gregorio.

Gori Italian
Derived from the given name Gregorio.

Górka Polish
Variant of Gorecki.

Gorman 1 German
From the Old German given name Germund.

Gorman 2 Irish
From the Irish Ó Gormáin meaning "descendant of Gormán". The given name Gormán means "little blue one".

Görög Hungarian
Means "Greek" in Hungarian.

Górski m Polish
From the Polish word góra meaning "mountain".

Gosse French
Derived from the Norman given name Gosse.

Gosselin French
Derived from a diminutive of the French given name Gosse.

Gott German
Derived from the Old German given name Goda 1.

Gotti German
Variant of Gott.

Gottlieb German
Derived from the given name Gottlieb.

Gottschalk German
Derived from the given name Gottschalk.

Gough 1 Welsh
Nickname for a red-haired person, from Welsh coch "red".

Gough 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mag Eochadha meaning "son of Eochaidh".

Gouveia Portuguese
From the name of the city of Gouveia in Portugal, of unknown meaning.

Grabowska f Polish
Feminine form of Grabowski.

Grabowski m Polish
Habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Grabów, Grabowa or Grabowo, all derived from Polish grab meaning "hornbeam tree".

Grady Irish
From Irish Ó Gráda or Ó Grádaigh meaning "descendant of Gráda". The byname Gráda means "noble, illustrious".

Graeme Scottish
Variant of Graham.

Graf German
From the German noble title Graf meaning "count", ultimately from Greek γραφεύς (grapheus) meaning "scribe".

Graham Scottish, English
Derived from the English place name Grantham, which probably meant "gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by William de Graham.

Grahame Scottish
Variant of Graham.

Grahn Swedish
From Swedish gran meaning "spruce".

Graner German
Originally denoted a person from Gran, the German name for Esztergom, a city in northern Hungary.

Granger English, French
Means "farm bailiff" from Old French grangier, ultimately from Latin granum meaning "grain". It is borne in the Harry Potter novels by Harry's friend Hermione Granger.

Grant English, Scottish
Derived from Norman French meaning "grand, tall, large, great". A famous bearer was the American general and president Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885).

Granville English
Derived from a Norman place name Grainville.

Grassi Italian
Variant of Grasso.

Grasso Italian
Means "fat" in Italian, originally a nickname for a stout person. It is derived from Latin crassus.

Graves English
Occupational name for a steward, derived from Middle English greyve, related to the German title Graf.

Gray English
From a nickname for a person who had grey hair or grey clothes.

Grayson English
Means "son of the steward", derived from Middle English greyve "steward".

Grbić Serbian, Croatian, Slovene
Means "hunchback", derived from Serbian, Croatian and Slovene grba "hump".

Greco Italian
Means "from Greece" in Italian.

Green English
Descriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green.

Greenberg German, Jewish
Anglicized form of Grünberg.

Greene English
Variant of Green.

Greenspan Jewish
Anglicized form of German Grünspan meaning "verdigris". Verdigris is the green-blue substance that forms on copper.

Greenwood English
Topographic name for someone who lived in or near a lush forest, from Old English grene "green" and wudu "wood".

Greer Scottish
Derived from the given name Gregor.

Gregersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Gregers".

Gregory English
From the given name Gregory.

Grenville English
Variant of Granville.

Grey English
Variant of Gray.

Grgić Croatian
Means "son of Grgur".

Grier Scottish
Derived from the given name Gregor.