Pesaro ItalianFrom the name of the city of Pesaro, in the Marche region (Latin
Pisaurum).
Pontecorvo Italian, JewishFrom the name of a town in central Italy, home to an old Jewish community. The town's name is derived from Italian
ponte "bridge" and
curvo "curved".
Power 1 English, IrishFrom Old French
Poier, indicating a person who came from the town of Poix in Picardy, France.
Provenza ItalianFrom the name of the Provence region of southern France (in Italian
Provenza). It is derived from Latin
provincia "province", a territorial division.
Quincy EnglishOriginally from various place names in Normandy that were derived from the given name
Quintus.
Raines EnglishOriginally denoted a person from Rayne, Essex, England (possibly from an Old English word meaning "shelter") or from Rennes, Brittany, France (from the name of the Gaulish tribe of the Redones).
Ramsey English, ScottishMeans
"garlic island", derived from Old English
hramsa "garlic" and
eg "island". The surname was brought to Scotland by the Norman baron Simundus de Ramsay.
Riley 1 EnglishFrom the name of the town of Ryley in Lancashire, derived from Old English
ryge "rye" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Romagna ItalianFrom the region of Romagna, on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is derived from Latin
Romania meaning "land of the Romans".
Romano 2 ItalianDenoted a person from the city of
Rome, either a resident or someone who visited as a pilgrim. In Calabria it was also used to designate a person from New Rome, a name for Constantinople.
Ross English, ScottishFrom various place names (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), which are derived from Scottish Gaelic
ros meaning "promontory, headland".
Royston EnglishOriginally taken from an Old English place name meaning "Royse's town". The given name
Royse was a medieval variant of
Rose.
Rudawski m PolishIndicated a person who lived near the Rudawa, a river in Poland.
Rutherford ScottishFrom the name of places in southern Scotland and northern England, derived from Old English
hriðer meaning "cattle, ox" and
ford meaning "ford, river crossing".
Sachs GermanOriginally indicated a person from Saxony (German
Sachsen). The region was named for the Germanic tribe of the Saxons, ultimately derived from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife".
Sandford EnglishIndicated a person from Sandford, England, which means simply "sand ford".
Santana Spanish, PortugueseFrom any of the numerous places named after Saint
Anna. A famous bearer is the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-).
Sárközi HungarianOriginally indicated someone from
Sárköz, a region in Hungary, derived from
sár "mud" and
köz "margin, lane".
Schoorl DutchOriginally indicated a person from the town of Schoorl in the province of Noord-Holland in the Netherlands. It means "forest by the shore" in Dutch.
Sciacca ItalianOriginally denoted someone from Sciacca, Sicily, Italy, which is of uncertain origin.
Seabrook EnglishDenoted a person from a town by this name in Buckinghamshire, England. It is derived from that of a river combined with Old English
broc "stream".
Selby EnglishFrom the name of a village that meant "willow farm" in Old English.
Sempers EnglishFrom the name of various towns named
Saint Pierre in Normandy, all of which commemorate Saint
Peter.
Sherburn EnglishDenoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Sherborne or Sherburn in England, derived from Old English
scir "bright" and
burna "spring, fountain, stream".
Shirazi PersianOriginally denoted someone who came from the city of Shiraz, located in southern Iran. The city's name is possibly of Elamite origin.
Shirley EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
scir "bright" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Sidney EnglishOriginally derived from various place names in England meaning "wide island", from Old English
sid "wide" and
eg "island". Another theory holds that it comes from the name of a town in Normandy called "Saint
Denis", though evidence for this is lacking.
Slane IrishOriginally indicated a person from Slane, County Meath, Ireland, which is derived from the given name
Sláine.
Slezák m Czech, SlovakOriginally a name for a person from
Silesia, a historical region that is nowadays split between Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Sousa PortugueseOriginally indicated someone who lived near the River Sousa in Portugal, possibly derived from Latin
salsus "salty" or
saxa "rocks".
Sterling ScottishDerived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning.
Tatham EnglishFrom the name of the town of Tatham in Lancashire, itself from the Old English given name
Tata combined with
ham meaning "home, settlement".
Tatton EnglishOriginally indicated a person from a town by this name, derived from the Old English given name
Tata combined with
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
Tehrani PersianIndicated a person from the Iranian city of Tehran, of unknown meaning.
Thorley EnglishFrom any of the various places in England called
Thornley or
Thorley, meaning "thorn clearing" in Old English.
Thornton EnglishFrom any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.
Tracey 1 EnglishFrom the village of Tracy-sur-mer on the Normandy coast in France. It was brought to England with William the Conqueror.
Trevor WelshOriginally from the name of various Welsh towns meaning
"big village", derived from Middle Welsh
tref "village" and
maur "large".
Troy EnglishOriginally denoted a person from the city of Troyes in France.
Upton EnglishDenoted a person hailing from one of the many towns in England bearing this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English
upp "up" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Van Alst DutchMeans
"from Aalst", the name of towns in Belgium and the Netherlands, which is possibly from Germanic *
alhs meaning "temple, shelter".
Van Amelsvoort DutchMeans
"from Amersfoort", a city in the Netherlands. It means "ford of the Amer (Eem) River" in Dutch.
Van Amstel DutchMeans
"from Amstel", a Dutch river that means "water area".
Van Andel DutchMeans
"from Andel", a town in the Netherlands, possibly meaning "upper forest" in Old Dutch.
Van As DutchMeans
"from Asch", a town in the Netherlands, meaning "ash tree".
Van Buren DutchMeans
"from Buren", a small town on the island of Ameland in the north of the Netherlands, as well as a small city in the Dutch province Gelderland. The place names derive from Old Dutch
bur meaning "house, dwelling". In the 16th century the countess Anna van Buren married William of Orange, the founder of the Dutch royal family. A famous bearer of this surname was Martin van Buren (1782-1862), the eighth President of the United States.
Van Hofwegen DutchMeans
"from Hofwegen", a town in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands, itself derived from Dutch
hof "garden, courtyard" and
weg "way, path, road".
Van Kan DutchMeans
"from Kanne", a town in the province of Limburg in Belgium. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.
Van Niftrik DutchMeans
"from Niftrik", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Van Oirschot DutchMeans
"from Oirschot", a town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is possibly from Dutch
oeros meaning "aurochs" and
schoot meaning "projection (of land)".
Van Rijn DutchMeans
"from the Rhine". A famous bearer was the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).
Van Rossum DutchMeans
"from Rossum", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch
rothe "cleared area in a forest" and
heim "home".
Van Wieren Frisian, DutchMeans
"from Wieren". This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands, which mean "seaweed".
Verona ItalianFrom the name of the city of Verona, one of the most important historical cities of northern Italy. The meaning of the city's name is uncertain.
Von Essen GermanMeans
"from Essen", a city in Germany, possibly a derivative of Old High German
asc meaning "ash tree".
Wakefield EnglishOriginally indicated a person who came from the English city of Wakefield, derived from Old English
wacu "wake, vigil" and
feld "field".
Wang 4 YiddishName for a Jew from Hungary, ultimately from Russian
Венгрия (Vengriya) meaning
"Hungary".
Warwick EnglishFrom the name of an English town, itself derived from Old English
wer "weir, dam" and
wic "village, town".
Washington EnglishFrom a place name meaning "settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name
Wassa and Old English
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". A famous bearer was George Washington (1732-1799), the first president of the United States. This surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, resulting in a high proportion of African-American bearers.
Wembley EnglishFrom the name of a town, now part of Greater London, meaning "
Wemba's clearing" in Old English.
Westcott EnglishFrom any of the several English towns by this name, derived from Old English meaning "west cottage".
Westley EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
west "west" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Weston EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
west "west" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Whitney EnglishOriginally from the name of an English town, meaning "white island" in Old English.
Wickham EnglishFrom any of various towns by this name in England, notably in Hampshire. They are derived from Old English
wic "village, town" (of Latin origin) and
ham "home, settlement".
Willoughby EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, derived from Old English
welig "willow" and Old Norse
býr "farm, settlement".
Winchester EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from
Venta, of Celtic origin, and Latin
castrum meaning "camp, fortress".
Winton EnglishDerived from the name of several English villages. Their names derive from Old English meaning "enclosure belonging to
Wine".
Wiśniewski m PolishFrom the name of various Polish towns called
Wiśniewo, derived from Polish
wiśnia meaning "sour cherry".
Wortham EnglishDerived from the name of a town in Suffolk, England meaning
"enclosed homestead".
Wyndham EnglishFrom the name of the town of Wymondham, meaning "home belonging to Wigmund", from the given name
Wigmund combined with Old English
ham meaning "home, settlement".
Wyrzykowski m PolishPossibly from the Polish place name
Wyrzyki, of uncertain meaning, maybe "away from the river".
York EnglishFrom the name of the English city of York, which was originally called
Eburacon (Latinized as
Eboracum), meaning "yew" in Brythonic. In the Anglo-Saxon period it was corrupted to
Eoforwic, based on Old English
eofor "boar" and
wic "village". This was rendered as
Jórvík by the Vikings and eventually reduced to
York.
Yoxall EnglishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Yoxall in Staffordshire, itself derived from Old English
geoc "oxen yoke" and
halh "nook, recess".
Zabala BasqueOriginally denoted someone who lived in a place of this name in Biscay. It is derived from Basque
zabal meaning "large, wide".