Emmet EnglishVariant of
Emmett. This name was borne by the Irish nationalist Robert Emmet (1778-1803).
Falstaff LiteratureThe name of a buffoonish character, John Falstaff, appearing in four of William Shakespeare's plays. He is the central character in
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602). Shakespeare probably adapted it from the surname of John Fastolf, a 15th-century knight. The medieval surname Fastolf, no longer in use, was derived from the Norse given name
Fastúlfr.
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.
Geary EnglishDerived from a Norman given name that was a short form of Germanic names starting with the element
ger "spear".
Giese German, DanishDerived from a short form of the given name
Giselbert or other Old German names beginning with the element
gisal meaning "pledge, hostage".
Giffard French, EnglishPossibly from Old French
gifart meaning
"chubby" or possibly from the Germanic name
Gebhard. Walter Giffard was one of the Norman companions of William the Conqueror.
Gilliam EnglishVariant of
William. A famous bearer of the name is cartoonist and filmmaker Terry Gilliam (1940-).
Grimaldi ItalianFrom the given name
Grimaldo. It is the surname of the royal family of Monaco, which came from Genoa.
Janvier FrenchEither from the given name
Janvier or the French word
janvier meaning
"January", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
Jekyll EnglishDerived from the Breton given name
Judicaël. This name was used by Robert Louis Stevenson for the character of Dr Henry Jekyll in the book
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).
Jerome EnglishDerived from the given name
Jerome. A famous bearer of this surname was the American-born Jennie Jerome (1854-1921), Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Sir Winston Churchill.
John EnglishDerived from the given name
John. A famous bearer is British musician Elton John (1947-), born Reginald Dwight.
Khachaturyan ArmenianMeans
"son of Khachatur" in Armenian. A famous bearer was the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturyan or Khachaturian (1903-1978).