Gatti ItalianMeans
"cat" in Italian, originally a nickname for an agile person.
Gerber GermanMeans
"tanner, leather dresser" in German, derived from Old High German
garawen meaning "to prepare".
Gerst GermanOccupational name for a barley farmer, derived from Old High German
gersta "barley".
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.
Glass English, GermanFrom Old English
glæs or Old High German
glas meaning
"glass". This was an occupational name for a glass blower or glazier.
Glenn Scottish, EnglishFrom place names derived from Gaelic
gleann "valley". A famous bearer was the American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016).
Glynn Welsh, CornishTopographic 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.
Gold English, German, JewishFrom 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.
Good EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"good", referring to a kindly person.
Górski m PolishFrom the Polish word
góra meaning
"mountain".
Grant English, ScottishDerived from Norman French meaning
"grand, tall, large, great". A famous bearer was the American general and president Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885).
Grasso ItalianMeans
"fat" in Italian, originally a nickname for a stout person. It is derived from Latin
crassus.
Graves EnglishOccupational name for a steward, derived from Middle English
greyve, related to the German title
Graf.
Gray EnglishFrom a nickname for a person who had grey hair or grey clothes.
Green EnglishDescriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green.
Grieve ScottishOccupational name meaning
"steward, farm manager" in Middle English, related to the German title
Graf.
Griffin 2 EnglishNickname from the mythological beast with body of a lion with head and wings of an eagle. It is ultimately from Greek
γρύψ (gryps).
Gros FrenchMeans
"thick, fat, big" in French, from Late Latin
grossus, possibly of Germanic origin.
Groß GermanFrom Old High German
groz meaning
"tall, big".
Groves EnglishFrom Old English
graf meaning
"grove". This originally indicated a person who lived near a grove (a group of trees).
Gully EnglishNickname for a big person, from Middle English
golias meaning "giant" (ultimately from
Goliath, the Philistine warrior who was slain by David in the Old Testament).
Haber German, JewishOccupational name for one who grew or sold oats, derived from Old High German
habaro "oat". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
Hadžić BosnianFrom Bosnian
hadž meaning
"hajj, pilgrimage", ultimately derived from Arabic
حَجّ (ḥajj). It originally denoted a person who had completed the hajj.
Hafner GermanOccupational name for a potter, derived from Old High German
hafan "pot, vessel".
Hail EnglishFrom a nickname derived from Middle English
hail meaning
"healthy" (of Old Norse origin).
Hale EnglishDerived from Old English
halh meaning
"nook, recess, hollow".
Han Chinese, KoreanFrom Chinese
韩 (hán) referring to the ancient state of Han, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Shanxi and Henan provinces.
Hardy English, FrenchFrom Old French and Middle English
hardi meaning
"bold, daring, hardy", from the Germanic root *
harduz.
Hart EnglishMeans
"male deer". It was originally acquired by a person who lived in a place frequented by harts, or bore some resemblance to a hart.
Hase GermanFrom Middle High German and Middle Low German
hase meaning
"hare, rabbit". This was a nickname for a person who was quick or timid.
Häusler GermanName for someone who lived in a house with no land, derived rom Old High German word
hus meaning
"house".
Hawk EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had a hawk-like appearance or who acted in a fierce manner, derived from Old English
hafoc "hawk".
Hawking EnglishFrom a diminutive of
Hawk. A famous bearer was the British physicist Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).
Hawthorne EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a hawthorn bush, a word derived from Old English
hagaþorn, from
haga meaning "enclosure, yard" and
þorn meaning "thorn bush". A famous bearer was the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of
The Scarlet Letter.
Hayes 1 EnglishFrom various English place names that were derived from Old English
hæg meaning
"enclosure, fence". A famous bearer was American President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).
Hayter EnglishName for a person who lived on a hill, from Middle English
heyt meaning
"height".
He ChineseFrom Chinese
何 (hé), representing a southern pronunciation of the name of the ancient state of Han (see
Han). After Han was destroyed by the state of Qin, those who resettled further south changed their name to this character in order to match the local pronunciation.
Head EnglishFrom Middle English
hed meaning
"head", from Old English
heafod. It may have referred to a person who had a peculiar head, who lived near the head of a river or valley, or who served as the village headman.
Heath EnglishOriginally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.
Heeren DutchFrom Dutch
heer "lord, master", a nickname for a person who acted like a lord or who worked for a lord.
Herschel German, JewishDiminutive form of
Hirsch 1 or
Hirsch 2. A famous bearer was the British-German astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822), as well as his sister Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) and son John Herschel (1792-1871), also noted scientists.
Herzog GermanFrom a German title meaning
"duke", a nickname for a person who either acted like a duke or worked in a duke's household.
Hill EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived on or near a hill, derived from Old English
hyll.
Hillam EnglishFrom English places by this name, derived from Old English
hyll meaning
"hill".
Hirsch 1 GermanMeans
"deer, hart" in German. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a deer in some way, or who raised or hunted deer.
Hlaváč m CzechFrom a nickname for a person with an oddly-shaped head, derived from Czech
hlava "head".
Holguín SpanishPossibly from Spanish
holgar "to rest, to enjoy oneself".
Hollins EnglishReferred to someone living by a group of holly trees, from Old English
holegn.
Holme English, ScottishReferred either to someone living by a small island (northern Middle English
holm, from Old Norse
holmr) or near a holly tree (Middle English
holm, from Old English
holegn).
Holmes English, ScottishVariant of
Holme. A famous fictional bearer was Sherlock Holmes, a detective in Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887.
Hood EnglishMetonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Old English
hod.
Hooker EnglishOriginally applied to one who lived near a river bend or corner of some natural feature, from Old English
hoc "angle, hook".
Horáček m CzechDiminutive derived from Czech
hora "mountain".
Horn English, German, Norwegian, DanishFrom the Old English, Old High German and Old Norse word
horn meaning
"horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.
Horváth um Hungarian, SlovakHungarian and Slovak form of
Horvat. This is the second most common surname in Hungary and the most common surname in Slovakia (where is is typically borne by those of Hungarian ancestry).
House EnglishReferred to a person who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut.
Howe EnglishName for one who lived on a hill, from Middle English
how "hill" (of Norse origin).
Hruška m Czech, SlovakMeans
"pear" in Czech and Slovak, most likely used to denote a person who grew or sold pears.
Hu ChineseFrom Chinese
胡 (hú) meaning
"beard, whiskers, recklessly, wildly, barbarian".
Huber GermanOccupational name for a farmer, derived from Old High German
huoba "plot of land, farm".
Huff EnglishMeans
"spur of a hill", from Old English
hoh.
Hummel 2 German, DutchNickname for a busy person, from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch
hommel, Middle High German
hummel, all meaning
"bee".
Hurst EnglishOriginally a name for a person who lived near a thicket of trees, from Old English
hyrst "thicket".
Iglesias SpanishFrom Spanish
iglesia meaning
"church", from Latin
ecclesia (of Greek origin).
Im KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
林 (im) meaning
"forest", making it the Korean form of
Lin, or
任 (im) of uncertain meaning, making it the Korean form of
Ren.
Innes 1 ScottishFrom a place name derived from Gaelic
inis meaning
"island".
Jäger GermanMeans
"hunter" in German, from Old High German
jagon meaning "to hunt".
Jain Hindi, Marathi, GujaratiReferred to a person who followed the principles of Jainism, a religion practiced in India. Jains are the followers of Lord Mahavira (599-527 BC).
Janvier FrenchEither from the given name
Janvier or the French word
janvier meaning
"January", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
Järvinen FinnishDerived from Finnish
järvi meaning
"lake". It is one of the most common surnames in Finland.
Jaso BasqueDerived from Basque
jats meaning
"sorghum", a type of cereal grass.
Jaworski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various places named
Jawory or
Jaworze, derived from Polish
jawor meaning "maple tree".
Jeż PolishMeans
"hedgehog" in Polish. It may have originally been given to a person who resembled a hedgehog in some way.
Joly FrenchFrom Old French
joli meaning
"happy, jolly, pretty".
Jonker DutchFrom the Dutch title
jonkheer meaning
"young lord". It was originally a medieval noble designation (not an actual title) for a young nobleman.
Jung 1 GermanMeans
"young" in German, from Middle High German
junc.
Kafka m CzechDerived from Czech
kavka meaning
"jackdaw". A notable bearer was the author Franz Kafka (1883-1924).
Kaiser GermanFrom Middle High German
keiser meaning
"emperor", originally a nickname applied to someone who acted kingly. The title ultimately derives from the Roman name
Caesar.
Kalmár HungarianOccupational name meaning
"merchant, shopkeeper" in Hungarian, of German origin.
Kappel German, DutchName for a person who lived near or worked at a chapel, ultimately from Late Latin
cappella, a diminutive of
cappa "cape", arising from the holy relic of the torn cape of Saint
Martin, which was kept in small churches.
Kaur Indian (Sikh)Means
"princess", ultimately from Sanskrit
कुमारी (kumārī) meaning "girl". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his Sikh female followers the surname
Kaur and all males
Singh. In many instances, it is also used as a middle name with the family name serving as the surname.
Kay 2 EnglishDerived from Old French
kay meaning
"wharf, quay", indicating one who lived near or worked on a wharf.
Kędzierski m PolishFrom a nickname meaning
"curly", describing a person with curly hair.
Kemp EnglishDerived from Middle English
kempe meaning
"champion, warrior".
Kerr Scottish, EnglishFrom Scots and northern Middle English
kerr meaning
"thicket, marsh", ultimately from Old Norse
kjarr.
Khan Urdu, Pashto, BengaliFrom a title meaning
"king, ruler", probably of Mongolian origin but used in many languages.
Kim KoreanKorean form of
Jin, from Sino-Korean
金 (gim) meaning
"gold". This is the most common surname in South Korea.
King EnglishFrom Old English
cyning "king", originally a nickname for someone who either acted in a kingly manner or who worked for or was otherwise associated with a king. A famous bearer was the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
Kirk EnglishFrom northern Middle English
kirk meaning
"church", from Old Norse
kirkja (cognate of
Church). A famous fictional bearer is the starship captain James Kirk from the
Star Trek television series (1966-1969), and subsequent films.
Kitchen EnglishOccupational name for a person who worked in a kitchen (of a monastery for example), derived from Old English
cycene, ultimately from Latin
coquina.
Kjær DanishTopographic name for someone living near a wetland, from Danish
kær "marsh", from Old Norse
kjarr "thicket".
Klein German, Dutch, JewishMeans
"small, little" from German
klein or Yiddish
kleyn. A famous bearer of this name is clothes designer Calvin Klein (1942-).
Kloet DutchPossibly from Middle Dutch
cloet meaning
"lump, ball". In some cases this was a nickname for an oafish person. In other cases it may have been a name for someone who lived near a sign that had a globe on it.
Knef GermanOccupational name for a shoemaker, derived from Low German
knif meaning
"shoemaker's knife".
Knight EnglishFrom Old English
cniht meaning
"knight", a tenant serving as a mounted soldier.
Knopf GermanMeans
"button" in German, originally belonging to a button maker or button seller.
Kohl GermanDerived from Middle High German
kol "cabbage".
Konečný m Czech, SlovakMeans
"final, last" in Czech and Slovak, perhaps a nickname for the youngest son of a family or a topographic name for someone who lived at the end of a settlement.
Koppel Estonian, DanishFrom Low German
koppel meaning
"paddock, pasture" (a word borrowed into Estonian).
Kowalski m PolishFrom Polish
kowal meaning
"blacksmith". This is the second most common surname in Poland.
Kozioł PolishMeans
"male goat" in Polish, probably used to denote a goatherd.
Kranz German, JewishDerived from Old High German
kranz meaning
"wreath", an occupational name for a maker of wreaths or an ornamental Jewish name.
Kraus GermanFrom Middle High German
krus meaning
"curly", originally a nickname for a person with curly hair.
Kravitz JewishOccupational name derived from Polish
krawiec meaning
"tailor".
Kříž m CzechMeans
"cross" in Czech, ultimately from Latin
crux.
Król PolishMeans
"king" in Polish. The name referred to one who acted like a king or was connected in some way with a king's household.
Kron German, SwedishFrom German
Krone and Swedish
krona meaning
"crown" (from Latin
corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.
Krüger 1 GermanIn northern Germany an occupational name for a tavern keeper, derived from Middle Low German
kroch meaning
"tavern".
Krüger 2 GermanIn southern Germany an occupational name for a potter, derived from Middle High German
kruoc meaning
"jug, pot".
Kučera m Czech, SlovakMeans
"curl" in Czech and Slovak, a nickname for a person with curly locks of hair.
Kudrna m CzechMeans
"curl" in Czech, a nickname for someone with curly hair.
Kukk EstonianMeans
"rooster" in Estonian, ultimately of Germanic origin.
Kumar Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, TamilMeans
"boy, prince" in Sanskrit.
Kunkel GermanOccupational name for a maker of distaffs, from Middle High German
kunkel "distaff, spindle", of Latin origin.
Kurz GermanMeans
"short" in German, ultimately from Latin
curtus.
Kwiatkowski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various locations named
Kwiatków,
Kwiatkowo or
Kwiatkowice, named from a diminutive of Polish
kwiat meaning "flower".
Kyle ScottishDerived from Scottish Gaelic
caol meaning
"narrows, channel, strait", originally given to a person who lived by a strait.
Lachapelle FrenchMeans
"the chapel" in French, most likely used to denote a person who lived by a church or a chapel.
Lacroix FrenchMeans
"the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.
Laguardia ItalianOccupational name meaning
"sentry, sentinel" in Italian, also a locative name referring to a person who lived near a watchtower. Fiorello Laguardia (1882-1947) was the first mayor of New York of Italian origin.