Browse Surnames

Tosell Catalan
Catalan form of Tosi.

Ellis English, Welsh
Derived from the given name Elijah, or sometimes Elisedd.

Evers Dutch
Means "son of Evert".

Scholz German
Variant of Schulz.

Calhoun Scottish
Variant of Colquhoun.

Ó Treasaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Tracey 2.

Herzog German
From a German title meaning "duke", a nickname for a person who either acted like a duke or worked in a duke's household.

Gómez Spanish
Spanish form of Gomes.

Krakowska f Polish
Feminine form of Krakowski.

Leonardson English
Means "son of Leonard".

Pavlovsky m Russian
Means "son of Pavel".

Traversini Italian
Italian variant of Travers.

Fernandez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Fernández.

Doherty Irish
From the Irish Ó Dochartaigh meaning "descendant of Dochartach". The byname Dochartach means "obstructive".

Alemagna Italian
From Alemannia, the Latin name for Germany.

Vinci 2 Italian
Originally indicated a person from Vinci near Florence, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.

Mutō Japanese
From Japanese 武 (mu) meaning "military, martial" and 藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The final character may indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.

Domingo Spanish
From the given name Domingo.

McKeever Irish
Variant of McIver.

Medveďová f Slovak
Feminine form of Medveď.

Svobodová f Czech
Feminine form of Svoboda.

Morelli Italian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Mauro.

Mottershead English
From the name of a lost place in Cheshire, derived from the Old English byname Motere meaning "speaker" and heafod meaning "headland".

Kollen Dutch
From the given name Nicolaas.

Jespersen Danish
Means "son of Jesper".

Stavrou Greek
From the given name Stavros.

Curie French
Occupational 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.

Welch English
Variant of Walsh.

Sourd French
French cognate of Sordi.

Daley Irish
Variant of Daly.

Simen English (Rare)
From the given name Simon 1.

Kilduff Irish
From the Irish Mac Giolla Dhuibh meaning "son of the black-haired man".

Isaev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Исаев (see Isayev).

Staňková f Czech
Feminine form of Staněk.

Tesařová f Czech
Feminine form of Tesař.

Kumar Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "boy, prince" in Sanskrit.

Hampson English
Means "son of Hamo".

Rubio Spanish
Nickname for a person with red hair, from Latin rubeus "red".

Thompsett English
From a diminutive of the given name Thomas.

Zahradník m Czech
Derived from Czech zahrada meaning "garden". It referred to someone who owned less land than a Sedlák or a Dvořák, but more land than a Chalupník.

Gregersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Gregers".

Horníková f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Horník.

Filippova f Russian
Feminine form of Filippov.

Hansson Swedish
Means "son of Hans".

Dragomirov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Dragomir".

Haas Dutch, German
Variant of Hase.

Mach mu Czech, Polish
From a diminutive of the given names Matěj or Maciej.

Tadić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Tadija".

Hlaváčková f Czech
Feminine form of Hlaváček.

Elliott English
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Elias.

Parrino Sicilian
From a Sicilian variant of Italian padrino meaning "godfather".

Benbow English
From a nickname "bend the bow" given to an archer.

Pardo Spanish
Means "brown" in Spanish, originally a nickname for someone with brown hair.

Giuliani Italian
From the given name Giuliano.

Abano Italian
Originally denoted a person from the town of Abano, Latin Aponus, which was derived from the old Celtic root ab meaning "water".

Halmi Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian halom meaning "mound, small hill". Originally the name was given to someone who lived near or on a hill.

Lombardi Italian
Originally indicated someone who came from the Lombardy region of northern Italy, which was named for the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who invaded in the 6th century. Their name is derived from the Old German roots lang "long" and bart "beard".

Kurz German
Means "short" in German, ultimately from Latin curtus.

Lyle English
Derived from Norman French l'isle meaning "island".

Hämäläinen Finnish
Derived from the region in southern Finland known as Häme, also called Tavastia.

Wilson English
Means "son of Will". A famous bearer was the American president Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).

Piovene Italian
From the name of the town of Piovene Rocchette in Veneto, Italy.

Alberto Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
From the given name Alberto.

Da Gama Portuguese
Variant of Gama. This name was borne by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524).

Ó Manacháin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Monahan.

Argyris m Greek
Means "silver" in Greek.

Wayne English
Occupational name meaning "wagon maker, cartwright", derived from Old English wægn "wagon". A famous bearer was the American actor John Wayne (1907-1979).

Antonelli Italian
Means "son of Antonello".

Kavanagh Irish
Derived from the Irish Gaelic name Caomhánach, which means "a student of saint Caomhán". It was the name used by a 12th-century king of Leinster, Domhnall Caomhánach, the eldest son of the historic Irish king Diarmait Mac Murchada.

Holgersson Swedish
Means "son of Holger".

Linna Finnish
Means "castle" in Finnish. A famous namesake is Väinö Linna (1920-1992), Finnish author of The Unknown Soldier.

Kerner German
Derived from Old High German kerno "seed", an occupational name for one who sold or planted seeds.

Pitt English
Originally given to a person who lived near a pit or a hole, derived from Old English pytt "pit".

Van Bueren Dutch
Variant of Van Buren.

Bálint Hungarian
Derived from the given name Bálint.

Sloan Irish
From Irish Ó Sluaghadháin meaning "descendant of Sluaghadhán".

Hass German
From the given name Hasso.

Matsson Swedish
Means "son of Mats".

Jedynak Polish
Means "only child" in Polish.

Payton English
From the name of the town of Peyton in Sussex. It means "Pæga's town".

Colbert English, French
Derived from the given name Colobert.

Schmeling German
From Middle Low German smal meaning "small, slender".

Schwinghammer German
Occupational name for a blacksmith, literally meaning "swing hammer" in German.

Robertson English
Means "son of Robert".

Motta Italian
From various names of places around Italy. It is derived from a Gaulish word meaning "hill".

Roscoe English
From the name of a town in Lancashire, derived from Old Norse rá "roebuck" and skógr "wood, forest".

Bret French
French form of Brett.

Veselá f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Veselý.

Banister English
Variant of Bannister.

Kok Dutch
Dutch cognate of Cook.

Hrabětová f Czech
Feminine form of Hrabě.

De Laurentis Italian
Means "son of Lorenzo", a Latinized form of the given name.

Lovrić Croatian
Means "son of Lovro".

Olszewski m Polish
Originally denoted someone who lived near an alder tree, from Polish olsza meaning "alder tree".

Abbadelli Italian
Means "little abbot" from Italian abate and the diminutive suffix -elli.

Jonkheer Dutch
Variant of Jonker.

Amerighi Italian
Means "son of Amerigo".

Mayer 3 English
Occupational name for a mayor, from Middle English mair, derived via Old French from Latin maior.

Karagianni f Greek
Feminine form of Karagiannis.

Sidney English
Originally 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.

Barnet English
Variant of Barnett.

Vargas Spanish, Portuguese
Means "slope, flooded field, pastureland" or "hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word varga.

Blanchett French (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Blanchet or Blanchette.

Raskopf German
Possibly from German rasch "quick" and Kopf "head".

Kron German, Swedish
From German Krone and Swedish krona meaning "crown" (from Latin corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.

Couture French
Means "tailor" in Old French.

Rennold English
Variant of Reynolds.

Krebs German
Means "crab" in German, perhaps a nickname for a person with a crab-like walk.

Alger English
From the given name Algar.

Borisov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Boris".

Walton English
From the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English wealh "foreigner, Celt", weald "forest", weall "wall", or wille "well, spring, water hole" combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Stevenson English
Variant of Stephenson.

Chavdarov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Chavdar".

Swift English
Nickname for a quick person, from Old English swift.

Rietveld Dutch
Means "reed field", from Dutch riet "reed" and veld "field". It is found mostly in the western part of the Netherlands (the Holland area).

Jankovič Slovene
Means "son of Janko".

Bertolini Italian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Bertoldo.

Young English
Derived from Old English geong meaning "young". This was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.

Short English
From a nickname for a short person, from Middle English schort.

Hermann German
From the given name Hermann.

Schultes German
Variant of Schulz.

Groot Dutch
Variant of De Groot.

D'Cruze Indian (Christian)
Variant of Cruz more common among Christians from India.

Lyons English
Variant of Lyon 1.

Boucher French
Means "butcher" in French.

Lázaro Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Lázaro.

Popławska f Polish
Feminine form of Popławski.

Christinsen English
Means "son of Christian".

Danielsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Daniel".

McTavish Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacTàmhais meaning "son of Tàmhas".

Eady English
From a diminutive of the given name Eda 2 or Adam.

Merritt English
From an English place name meaning "boundary gate".

Kató Hungarian
Derived from a diminutive of the Hungarian feminine given name Katalin.

Wahner German
Variant of Wagner.

Merrill 1 English
Derived from the given name Muriel.

Díaz Spanish
Means "son of Diego" in Spanish.

Šťastný m Czech
Means "happy" in Czech.

Boyadzhieva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Boyadzhiev.

McDaniel Scottish
Variant of MacDonald.

Briedis m Latvian
Means "deer" in Latvian.

Adamczak Polish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Giménez Spanish
Variant of Jiménez.

Colquhoun Scottish
From a place name meaning "narrow corner" or "narrow wood" in Gaelic.

Iglesias Spanish
From Spanish iglesia meaning "church", from Latin ecclesia (of Greek origin).

Poggi Italian
Variant of Poggio.

Tafani Italian
From the nickname tafano meaning "gadfly", indicating an annoying person.

Ansel English
Derived from the given name Anselm.

Sharrow English
Originally a name for someone from Sharrow, England, derived from Old English scearu "boundary" and hoh "point of land, heel".

Jandová f Czech
Czech feminine form of Janda.

Kalbfleisch German
Occupational name for a butcher who dealt in veal, from German kalb meaning "calf" and fleisch meaning "meat".

Vieth German
From the given name Veit.

Lakatos Hungarian
Means "locksmith" in Hungarian, a word of Romance origin.

Alfonso Spanish
From the given name Alfonso.

Ó Maoil Eoin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Malone.

Andreassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Andreas".

Faragó Hungarian
An occupational name meaning "woodcutter", from Hungarian farag meaning "carve, cut".

Van der Zee Dutch
Means "from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.

Prohászka Hungarian
Hungarian form of Procházka.

Hayes 1 English
From 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).

Kavaliova f Belarusian
Alternate transcription of Belarusian Кавалёва (see Kavalyova).

Schuchardt German
From Middle High German schuochwürte meaning "shoemaker, cobbler".

Barbieri Italian
Italian cognate of Barber.

Ventimiglia Italian
From the name of the historical Italian city Ventimiglia, now near the French border, ultimately from Latin Albintimilium.

Kašparová f Czech
Feminine form of Kašpar.

Kerimow m Turkmen
Means "son of Kerim".

Ueda Japanese
From Japanese 上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Lennox Scottish
From the name of a district in Scotland, called Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly meaning "place of elms".

Rosa Italian, Catalan
Italian and Catalan form of Rose 1.

Crewe English
Originally denoted someone from Crewe in Cheshire, which is from Welsh criu "weir, dam, fish trap".

Phelps English
Means "son of Philip".

Van Pey Dutch (Rare)
Means "from Pey", a town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.

Crouch English
Variant of Cross.

Medved Slovene, Croatian, Ukrainian
Means "bear" in several languages, from the Old Slavic root medvědĭ.

De Rege Italian (Rare)
Italian variant of Rey 1.

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

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

Astrauskas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Ostrowski.

Cremona Italian
From the Italian city of Cremona, south of Milan, in Lombardy.

Musiał Polish
Polish cognate of Musil.

Baumgärtner German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Núñez Spanish
Means "son of Nuño".

Jaworski m Polish
Habitational name for someone from any of the various places named Jawory or Jaworze, derived from Polish jawor meaning "maple tree".

Velasco Spanish
Derived from the given name Velasco.

MacNeachdainn Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of Mac Neachtain.

Halloran Irish
From Irish Ó hAllmhuráin meaning "descendant of Allmhurán". The given name Allmhurán means "stranger from across the sea".

Lange German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian cognate of Long.

Zelenková f Czech
Feminine form of Zelenka.

Chavdarova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Chavdarov.

Beridze Georgian
Means "son of the monk", from Georgian ბერი (beri) meaning "monk".

Turchi Italian
Means "Turkish" in Italian.

Markova f Bulgarian, Russian
Feminine form of Markov.

Ganza Italian
Probably from the feminine medieval given name Allegranza or Alleganza, a derivative of Allegra. It comes from northern Lombardy.

Spitznogle German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Spitznagel.

Cvetkova f Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Цветкова (see Tsvetkova).

Merrill 2 English
From the name of various places in England, derived from Old English myrige "pleasant" and hyll "hill".

Uesugi Japanese
From Japanese 上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and 杉 (sugi) meaning "cedar".

Savatier French
From Old French savatier "shoemaker", derived from savate "shoe", of uncertain ultimate origin.

Nagyová f Slovak
Slovak feminine form of Nagy.

Idowu Yoruba
From the given name Idowu.

Quixote Literature
Created by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes for the main character in his novel Don Quixote (1605), about a nobleman who goes mad after reading too many heroic romances and decides to become a wandering knight under the name Don Quixote. His real name in part one of the book is conjectured to be Quixada or Quesada, though in part two (published 10 years after part one) it is revealed as Alonso Quixano. The Spanish suffix -ote means "large".

Gross German
Variant of Groß.

Liepa Latvian
Means "linden tree" in Latvian.

Dierickx Flemish
Means "son of Dirk".

Mac Cionaodha Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McKenna.

Mandel German, Yiddish
Means "almond" in German, an occupational name for a grower or seller, or a topographic name for a person who lived near an almond tree. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Vaughn Welsh
Variant of Vaughan.

Rapp 1 Swedish
From Swedish rapp meaning "quick, prompt", one of the names adopted by soldiers in the 17th century.

Bergman Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man", originally a name for a person living on a mountain.

Colter English
Variant of Colt using an agent suffix.

Sadler English
Occupational name for a maker of saddles, from Old English sadol "saddle".

Treloar English
Originally denoted a person from a place of this name in Cornwall, England.

Abascal Spanish
Means "priest's street" from Basque abas "priest" and kale "street".

Fedorova f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Фёдорова (see Fyodorova).

Pavlovskaya f Russian
Feminine form of Pavlovsky.

Pereyra Portuguese, Galician
Variant of Pereira.

Moravec m Czech
Originally indicated a person from Moravia (Czech Morava).

Dahlman Swedish
From Swedish dal (Old Norse dalr) meaning "dale, valley" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Cadwallader Welsh
From the given name Cadwalader.

Agnarsson Icelandic
Means "son of Agnar".

McQueen Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Shuibhne.

Bagnoli Italian
Diminutive form of Bagni.

Bruno Italian, Portuguese
Means "brown" in Italian and Portuguese, a nickname for a person with brown hair or brown clothes. A famous bearer was the cosmologist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600).

Marlow English
Originally a name for a person from Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England. The place name means "remnants of a lake" from Old English mere "lake" and lafe "remnants, remains". A notable bearer was the English playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).

Marchesi Italian
From the Italian title marchese meaning "marquis". It was probably a nickname for a person who behaved like a marquis or worked in the household of a marquis.

Miyashita Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 下 (shita) meaning "under, below".

Văn Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Wen, from Sino-Vietnamese 文 (văn).

Seppänen Finnish
Variant of Seppä.

Lee 2 Korean, Chinese
Korean form of Li 1, from Sino-Korean 李 (i). This is the second most common surname in South Korea. It is also a variant Chinese romanization of Li 1.

Janda mu Czech, Polish
Derived from the given name Jan 1.

Daly Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dálaigh meaning "descendant of Dálach".

Hawthorn English
Variant of Hawthorne.

Akmatova f Kyrgyz
Feminine form of Akmatov.

Collingwood English
From a place name, itself derived from Old French chalenge meaning "disputed" and Middle English wode meaning "woods".

Mihov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Miho", the given name Miho being a diminutive of Mihail.

Visser Dutch
Occupational name meaning "fisherman" in Dutch.

Bover Catalan
Catalan cognate of Bove.

Vila Catalan
Catalan form of Villa.

Lewerenz German
From a northern German form of the given name Lorenz.

Patton English, Scottish
Diminutive of the medieval name Pate, a short form of Patrick.

Ashley English
Denoted a person hailing from one of the many places in England that bear this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English æsc "ash tree" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Travieso Spanish
Spanish form of Travers.

Tani Japanese
From Japanese 谷 (tani) meaning "valley".

Kravchenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian кравець (kravets) meaning "tailor".

Andries Dutch
Derived from the given name Andries.

Krupin m Russian
Derived from Russian крупа (krupa) meaning "grain".

Baron English, French
From the title of nobility, derived from Latin baro (genitive baronis) meaning "man, freeman", possibly from Frankish barō meaning "servant, man, warrior". It was used as a nickname for someone who worked for a baron or acted like a baron.

Beiler German
Derived from Middle High German beile meaning "measuring stick".

Faron French
From the given name Faron.

Ó Cuinneagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Cunningham 2.

Danailov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Danail".

Gulbrandsen Norwegian
Means "son of Gulbrand" in Norwegian.

Dobbs English
Derived from the medieval given name Dobbe, a diminutive of Robert.

Cornett English
Derived from Old French cornet meaning "horn", referring to one who worked as a horn blower.

Endicott English
Topographic name derived from Old English meaning "from the end cottage".

Ayton English
From the name of towns in Berwickshire and North Yorkshire. They are derived from Old English ea "river" or ieg "island" combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Bondesan Italian
Venetian name derived from the name of the town of Bondeno in northern Italy.

Schofield English
From various northern English place names, which were derived from Old Norse skáli "hut" and Old English feld "field".

Brasher English
Means "brass worker", derived from Old English bræs "brass".

Chmela m Czech
Derived from Czech chmel "hops", referring to a person who grew hops, a plant used in brewing beer.

Arriola Spanish, Basque
From Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque arri "stone" and -ola "place of, house".

Nunes Portuguese
Means "son of Nuno".

Rasputina f Russian
Feminine form of Rasputin.

Gruber Upper German
From German Grube meaning "pit", indicating a person who lived or worked in a pit or depression. This is the most common surname in Austria.

Branson English
Means "son of Brandr".

Nguyễn Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Ruan, from Sino-Vietnamese 阮 (nguyễn). This is the most common Vietnamese surname, accounting for over a third of the population.

Abramsson Swedish
Means "son of Abraham".

Kalniņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian kalns meaning "mountain, hill".

Chong Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhang.

Ó hEaghra Irish
Irish Gaelic form of O'Hara.

Kostelecká f Czech
Feminine form of Kostelecký.

Wegener Low German
Low German variant of Wagner.

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

Lamarre French
Variant of Lamar.

Teixeira Portuguese
From Portuguese teixo meaning "yew tree".

Heath English
Originally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.

Dragomir Romanian
From the given name Dragomir.

Gustafsson Swedish
Means "son of Gustaf". The actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was originally named Greta Gustafsson.

Lorentz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

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

Cano Spanish
Means "white-haired, old" in Spanish, from Latin canus.

Émile French
Derived from the given name Émile.

Růžičková f Czech
Feminine form of Růžička.

Němcová f Czech
Feminine form of Němec.

Pék Hungarian
Means "baker" in Hungarian.

Scheinberg Jewish
Ornamental name meaning "beautiful mountain" from German schön "beautiful, good, nice" and berg "mountain".

Howard 2 English
Occupational name meaning "ewe herder", from Old English eowu "ewe" and hierde "herdsman, guardian".

Bašić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of the chief", derived from Serbo-Croatian baša meaning "chief, boss" (of Turkish origin).

Kopecká f Czech
Feminine form of Kopecký.

McWilliam Scottish
Means "son of William" in Gaelic.

Vlasák m Czech
Derived from Czech vlas "hair", probably referring to a barber or a person who bought and sold hair.

Dalgaard Danish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley" and garðr meaning "yard, farmstead".

Ardiccioni Italian
Means "son of Ardiccione", a derivative of Ardito.

Sitko Polish
Means "fine sieve" in Polish, a diminutive of the Polish word sito "sieve".

Sweet English
From a nickname meaning "sweet, pleasant", from Old English swete.

Steube German
Variant of Steuben.

Mac Giolla Mhuire Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Gilmore.

Dixon English
Means "son of Dick 1".

Wilk Polish
Means "wolf" in Polish.

Krstevska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Krstevski.

Macko m Slovak
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Matej.