Browse Surnames

O'Donnell Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Domhnaill meaning "descendant of Domhnall".

Kozioł Polish
Means "male goat" in Polish, probably used to denote a goatherd.

Sommer 2 German
From Middle High German sumber or sommer meaning "basket, wickerwork, drum".

Conti Italian
From the Italian noble title conte meaning "count", derived from Latin comes (genitive comitis) meaning "companion, attendant". It denoted a person who worked for a count or behaved like one.

Barker English
From Middle English bark meaning "to tan". This was an occupational name for a leather tanner.

Cruz Spanish, Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese cognate of Cross.

Law English
Derived from Old English hlaw "hill".

Volk German
Derived from given names beginning with the Old High German element folk meaning "people".

Ó Díomasaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Dempsey.

Ó Ceithearnaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Kearney.

Omdahl Norwegian
Denoted a person hailing from any one of a number of farms in Norway called either Åmdal or Omdal meaning "elm valley".

Franjić Croatian
Means "son of Franjo".

Zajícová f Czech
Feminine form of Zajíc.

Penzak Yiddish
Variant of Penzig.

Williamson English
Means "son of William".

Coeman Dutch
Variant of Koopman.

De Vroom Dutch, Flemish
Variant of Vroom.

Perkins English
Means "son of Perkin", a medieval diminutive of Peter.

Gunther German
Derived from the given name Günther.

Simoneit German
From the given name Simon 1.

Geissler 1 German
Derived from the given name Giselher.

Mac Aodha Irish
Means "son of Aodh" in Irish.

Kendrick 2 Welsh
Derived from the given name Cynwrig.

Readdie English
Variant of Ready 1.

Isakova f Russian
Feminine form of Isakov.

Mora Spanish
Derived from Spanish mora meaning "mulberry", of Latin origin.

Shaw 2 Scottish
From a given name or byname that was derived from Gaelic sitheach meaning "wolf" (Old Irish sídach).

Hüber German
Variant of Huber.

Alger English
From the given name Algar.

Battle English
From a nickname for a combative person. In some cases it may come from the name of English places called Battle, so named because they were sites of battles.

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

Novik Belarusian
From Belarusian новы (novy) meaning "new".

Lyndon English
Originally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.

Heikki Finnish
From the given name Heikki.

Hancock English
From a diminutive of the medieval name Hann.

MacDermott Irish
Variant of McDermott.

Sultana Bengali, Urdu, Maltese
Bengali, Urdu and Maltese form of Sultan.

Wendell German
Variant of Wendel (typically American).

Abbiati Italian
Originally a name for a person from the city of Abbiategrasso, near Milan in Italy, called Abiatum in Latin.

Antić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Anto" or "son of Ante 1".

Obradović Serbian
Means "son of Obrad".

Ó Cuana Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Cooney.

Silverstein Jewish
Variant of Zilberstein.

Benjaminson English
Means "son of Benjamin".

Christian English, French, German
Derived from the given name Christian.

Theodorou Greek
Means "son of Theodoros".

Tomova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Tomov.

Herrero Spanish
Spanish cognate of Ferrari.

Southers German (Anglicized)
Possibly an Americanized form of Sauter.

Kuroki Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".

Warren 1 English
Denoted a person who lived near a warren, from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure" (of Germanic origin).

Palmisano Italian
Locative name from the town of Palmi in the Calabria region of southern Italy.

Anthonyson English (Rare)
Means "son of Anthony".

Swindlehurst English
From the place name Swinglehurst in the Forest of Bowland in central Lancashire, derived from Old English swin "swine, pig", hyll "hill" and hyrst "wood, grove".

Kędzierska f Polish
Feminine form of Kędzierski.

Křížová f Czech
Feminine form of Kříž.

Buono Italian
From a nickname meaning "good" in Italian.

Díaz Spanish
Means "son of Diego" in Spanish.

Kavalchuk Belarusian
Belarusian cognate of Kovalchuk.

Finn Irish
Derived from the given name Fionn.

Voronin m Russian
Derived from Russian ворона (vorona) meaning "crow".

Tennyson English
Means "son of Denis".

Jansingh Dutch
Variant of Jansen.

Daelman Dutch
Variant of Daalmans.

Mikaelsson Swedish
Means "son of Mikael".

Borde French
From Old French bord meaning "board, plank", derived from Frankish *bord. This name belonged to a person who lived in a house made of planks.

MacGuinness Irish
Variant of McGuinness.

Henriksen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Henrik".

Heijmans Dutch
Variant of Heijman.

Siliņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian sils meaning "pine forest".

Elton English
From an English place name meaning "Ella's town".

Aveskamp Dutch
From a place name meaning "edge of camp" in Dutch.

Tyrrell English
Variant of Terrell.

Lyall Scottish
From the Old Norse given name Liulfr, which was derived in part from úlfr "wolf".

Lemaire French
Means "the mayor" in French. It was a title given to a town official, or else a nickname for someone who was pompous and officious.

Fabron French
Diminutive form of Fabre.

Puig Catalan
Catalan cognate of Poggio.

Stacks English
Variant of Stack.

Andreassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Andreas".

Jeppesen Danish
Means "son of Jeppe".

Sandford English
Indicated a person from Sandford, England, which means simply "sand ford".

Aleksić Serbian
Means "son of Aleksa".

Cock English
Derived from the medieval nickname cok meaning "rooster, cock". The nickname was commonly added to given names to create diminutives such as Hancock or Alcock.

Mendel 2 German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Meino. A famous bearer was Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), a Czech monk and scientist who did experiments in genetics.

Proulx French
Derived from Old French preu meaning "valiant, brave".

Van Beek Dutch
Means "from the creek" in Dutch.

Čtvrtníková f Czech
Feminine form of Čtvrtník.

Foss English
Variant of Fosse.

Takeuchi Japanese
From Japanese 竹 (take) meaning "bamboo" and 内 (uchi) meaning "inside".

Ionesco Romanian
Variant of Ionescu. French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco (1909-1994), born Ionescu, is a famous bearer of this surname.

Štěpánek m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Štěpán.

Láníková f Czech
Feminine form of Láník.

Svensson Swedish
Means "son of Sven".

Hofmann German
Variant of Hoffmann.

Ferraro Italian
Variant of Ferrari.

Jeż Polish
Means "hedgehog" in Polish. It may have originally been given to a person who resembled a hedgehog in some way.

Ferreira Portuguese, Galician
Denoted a person from a town named because it was near an iron mine, from Latin ferrum meaning "iron".

Senft 1 German
Occupational name for a mustard seller, from German Senf "mustard".

Fallon Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Fallamháin meaning "descendant of Fallamhán", a given name meaning "leader".

Romano 2 Italian
Denoted 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.

Martinović Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Martin".

Rasch German
German form of Rask.

Derby English
Variant of Darby.

North English
Name for a person who lived to the north.

Peck 2 English
Occupational name for a maker of pecks (vessels used as peck measures), derived from Middle English pekke.

Ó Tadhgáin Irish (Rare)
Irish Gaelic form of Teagan.

Filippi Italian
Derived from the given name Filippo.

Gabor Hungarian
Variant of Gábor.

Aoyama Japanese
From Japanese 青 (ao) meaning "green, blue" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".

Noguchi Japanese
From Japanese 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".

Willemsen Dutch
Means "son of Willem".

Palumbo Italian
From Italian palombo meaning "pigeon" (also "dogfish"). This form is typical of southern Italy.

Vescovi Italian
Derived from Italian vescovo meaning "bishop".

Probert Welsh
Derived from Welsh ap Robert, which means "son of Robert".

Valdez Spanish
Means "son of Baldo".

Teodoro Portuguese
Derived from the given name Teodoro.

Dunkel German
Means "dark" in German.

Nyitrai Hungarian
Indicated someone from Nitra, a city and historic principality of Slovakia (formerly in Hungary). Its name is derived from that of a local river, which is of unknown meaning.

Gilmour Scottish, Irish
Variant of Gilmore.

Ververs Dutch
Occupational name derived from Dutch verver meaning "dyer, painter".

Jönsson Swedish
Means "son of Jöns".

Gábor Hungarian
From the given name Gábor.

Kaloyancheva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Kaloyanchev.

Řezníková f Czech
Feminine form of Řezník.

Evangelista Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Means "evangelist" in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Wyrzykowski m Polish
Possibly from the Polish place name Wyrzyki, of uncertain meaning, maybe "away from the river".

Jørgensen Danish
Means "son of Jørgen".

Pawlak Polish
Means "son of Paweł".

Buhr Low German
Low German form of Bauer.

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

Sinagra 2 Italian
Derived from the given name Senagora, an Italian form of Xenagoras.

Lévesque French
Derived from French évêque, a cognate of Bishop.

Masi Italian
From the given name Maso a short form of Tommaso.

Sokolov m Russian, Bulgarian
Patronymic form of Sokol.

Klerk Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Rooijakkers Dutch
Means "red field", from Dutch rood "red" and akker "field".

Hildebrand German
From the given name Hildebrand.

Pierre French
From the given name Pierre.

Espina Spanish
Means "thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.

Kafka m Czech
Derived from Czech kavka meaning "jackdaw". A notable bearer was the author Franz Kafka (1883-1924).

Santo Italian
Italian form of Santos.

Schmidt German
Occupational name derived from Middle High German smit "smith, metalworker", a cognate of Smith.

Mack 2 Scottish, English
From the given name Mack 2.

Kimberly English
Variant of Kimberley.

Baasch Low German
From Middle Low German bas meaning "boss".

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

Herczog Hungarian
Hungarian form of Herzog.

Airaldi Italian
Means "son of Aroldo".

Beaumont French, English
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and mont "mountain".

Arendse Afrikaans
Variant of Arends.

Gorecka f Polish
Feminine form of Gorecki.

Sun Chinese
From Chinese 孙 (sūn) meaning "grandchild, descendant". A famous bearer of the surname was Sun Tzu, the 6th-century BC author of The Art of War.

I'Anson English
Variant of Janson.

Scavo Italian
Means "serf, slave", from Old Sicilian scavu.

Kariuki Kikuyu
Derived from the given name Kariuki.

Riber Danish
Originally indicated a person from the county or town of Ribe in southwestern Denmark.

Leccese Italian
Variant of Lecce.

Lepik Estonian
Means "alder forest" in Estonian, from lepp "alder tree".

Vale Portuguese
Means "valley" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin vallis.

Ağayev m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Ağa".

Tomczak Polish
From a diminutive of the given name Tomasz.

Balčiūnaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Balčiūnas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Adamová f Czech, Slovak
Czech and Slovak feminine form of Adam.

Branson English
Means "son of Brandr".

Randrup Danish
From the name of homesteads in Denmark (in Viborg or Rebild municipalities).

Delaney 1 English
Derived from Norman French de l'aunaie meaning "from the alder grove".

Bardakçı Turkish
Means "glassmaker" from Turkish bardak "glass".

Shelton English
From the name of various English towns, meaning "shelf town" in Old English.

Negrescu Romanian
Patronymic derived from Romanian negru "black".

Ó Cearmada Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Carmody.

Kavalyova f Belarusian
Feminine form of Kavalyow.

Nye English
Originally indicated a person who lived near a river, from Middle English atten eye meaning "at the river".

Forestier French
French cognate of Forester.

Hermansen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Herman".

Halvorsen Norwegian
Means "son of Halvor".

Van den Heuvel Dutch
Means "from the hill" in Dutch.

Lindqvist Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Kiefer 1 German
Means "pine tree" in German.

Miyagawa Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Novak Slovene, Croatian, Serbian
Derived from Slavic novŭ "new", originally a name for someone who was new to a village.

Knežević Croatian, Serbian
Patronymic of Serbo-Croatian knez meaning "prince" (ultimately of Germanic origin).

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

Rusnak Polish
Means "Russian" in Polish.

Kendrick 1 English
From the Old English given names Cyneric or Cenric.

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

Mitchell 2 English
Originally a nickname for a large person, from Old English micel "big".

Tesařová f Czech
Feminine form of Tesař.

Kontos m Greek
Means "short" in Greek.

Ślusarska f Polish
Feminine form of Ślusarski.

Van Amersvoort Dutch
Variant of Van Amelsvoort.

McNiven Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Cnáimhín.

Keir Scottish
Variant of Kerr.

MacClery Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Cléirich.

Wescott English
Variant of Westcott.

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

Lockwood English
From an English place name meaning "enclosed wood".

McFee Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of MacDhubhshìth.

Gulyás Hungarian
Means "herdsman, tender of cows" in Hungarian.

Pololáník m Czech
Derived from Czech polo "one half" and lán, a medieval Czech measure of land (approximately 18 hectares). The name denoted someone who owned this much land.

Van der Stoep Dutch
Means "from the paved entrance", from Dutch stoep meaning "paved porch at the entrance to a house".

Alinejad Persian
Means "descendant of Ali 1" in Persian.

Mendes Portuguese
Portuguese form of Menéndez.

Chaudhri Hindi
Alternate transcription of Hindi चौधरी (see Chaudhary).

McGovern Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mag Shamhradháin meaning "son of Samhradháin", a given name meaning "summer".

Cino Italian
From the given name Cino, a short form of names ending in cino.

Seabrook English
Denoted 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".

Palomer Provençal
Means "pigeon keeper" from Latin palumbes "pigeon".

Sokal Polish
Polish cognate of Sokol.

Ménard French
From the Germanic given name Meginhard.

Van Middelburg Dutch (Rare)
Means "from Middelburg", the name of a city in Zeeland in the Netherlands, itself meaning "middle fortress" in Dutch.

Soból Polish
Polish cognate of Sobol.

Jó Hungarian
Means "good" in Hungarian.

Chiba Japanese
From Japanese 千 (chi) meaning "thousand" and 葉 (ha) meaning "leaf".

Reyer German
Variant of Reiher.

Rivas Spanish
Spanish form of Riva.

Radcliff English
From various place names in England that mean "red cliff" in Old English.

Thwaite English
Indicated a dweller in a forest clearing or pasture, from Old Norse þveit "clearing, pasture".

Haynes English
Patronymic derived from the Norman name Hagano.

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

Ó Riagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Reagan.

Bulle Dutch
From the given name Boele.

Carstensen Danish
Means "son of Carsten".

Charpentier French
French cognate of Carpenter, derived from Old French charpentier.

Melville Scottish
From the place name Malleville meaning "bad town" in Norman French.

Mac Mathghamhna Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McMahon.

McDevitt Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mac Daibhéid meaning "son of Dáibhí".

Masson 2 French
From a short form of the given name Thomasson, itself a diminutive of Thomas.

Byqvist Swedish
Derived from Swedish by (Old Norse býr) meaning "village" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".

Yakovenko Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Yakiv.

Lowry English, Scottish
From a diminutive of the given name Laurence 1.

Floros m Greek
From Greek φλώρος (floros) meaning "greenfinch", derived from classical Greek χλωρός (chloros) meaning "green".

Skeates English
From the Old Norse nickname or byname skjótr meaning "swift".

Unterbrink Low German
Means "dweller under the slope" from Old Saxon undar "under" and brink "edge, slope".

Bray English
From a place name derived from Cornish bre "hill".

Montana Italian
Variant of Montagna.

Metharom Thai
Possibly refers to a place or institute of learning or where knowledge is provided.

Rijnders Dutch, Frisian
Variant of Reinders.

Bustos Spanish
Variant of Busto.

Espinosa Spanish
From Spanish espinoso meaning "thorny", ultimately from Latin spinosus, a derivative of spina meaning "thorn, spine". This was the real surname of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), who was of Portuguese Jewish origin.

Apostolov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Apostol".

Quijano Spanish
From the name of a village in northern Spain.

Ryer German (Anglicized)
Possibly an Americanized form of Reiher.

Hollins English
Referred to someone living by a group of holly trees, from Old English holegn.

Lopez Spanish
Unaccented variant of López.

Pei Chinese
From Chinese 裴 (péi), possibly referring to an ancient city.

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

Kovachev m Bulgarian
Derived from Bulgarian ковач (kovach) meaning "blacksmith".

Ó Manacháin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Monahan.

El-Mofty Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic المفتي (see Al-Mufti).

Spiker Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Spijker 1 or Spijker 2.

Martínez Spanish
Means "son of Martín" in Spanish.

Jonkheer Dutch
Variant of Jonker.

Lukeson English (Rare)
Means "son of Luke".

Xie Chinese
From Chinese 谢 (xiè) referring to the minor state of Xie, which existed in what is now Hubei province.

Kazem Arabic, Persian
From the given name Kazim.

Akamatsu Japanese
From Japanese 赤 (aka) meaning "red" and 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree".

Pásztor Hungarian
Means "shepherd" in Hungarian.

Robertson English
Means "son of Robert".

Jonker Dutch
From the Dutch title jonkheer meaning "young lord". It was originally a medieval noble designation (not an actual title) for a young nobleman.

Granville English
Derived from a Norman place name Grainville.

Bisset English
From Old French bis meaning "drab, dingy", a nickname for someone who looked drab.

Tomàs Catalan
Derived from the given name Tomàs.

O'Hannagain Irish
From Irish Ó hAnnagáin, which means "descendant of Annagán". The given name Annagán was a diminutive of Annadh meaning "delay".

Ó Cinnéidigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Kennedy.

Mortensen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Morten".

Malý m Czech
Means "small" in Czech.

Read 1 English
Means "red" from Middle English read, probably denoting a person with red hair or complexion.

Key 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

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".

Messerli German (Swiss)
Swiss diminutive form of Messer.

Wyrzyk Polish
Variant of Wyrzykowski.

Appleton English
From the name of several English towns, meaning "orchard" in Old English (a compound of æppel "apple" and tun "enclosure, yard").

Westenberg Dutch
Means "west of the mountain", originally referring to a person who lived there.

Goranov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Goran".

Maroz Belarusian
Belarusian form of Moroz.

Brandon English
From the name of various places in England meaning "hill covered with broom" in Old English.

Haenraets Dutch
Variant of Haanraads.

Zappa Italian
From Italian zappa meaning "hoe, mattock", probably denoting a farmer. Two musicians of Italian origin have bore this name: Francesco Zappa (1717-1803) and Frank Zappa (1940-1993).

Giffard French, English
Possibly 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.

Van Achthoven Dutch
Variant of Achthoven.

Perry 1 English
From Old English pirige meaning "pear tree", a derivative of peru meaning "pear", itself from Latin pirum. A famous bearer was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.

Ó Maolagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Milligan.

Konečná f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Konečný.

Buday Hungarian
Variant of Budai.

Samara 2 f Greek
Feminine form of Samaras.

Ó Foghladha Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Foley.

Marsden English
From a place name derived from Old English mearc "boundary" and denu "valley".

Mitchell 1 English, Scottish
Derived from the given name Michael.

Yamaguchi Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance". Olympic figure-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi (1971-) bears this name.

Wade 1 English
Derived from the Old English place name wæd meaning "a ford".

McCrory Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Ruaidhrí meaning "son of Ruaidhrí".

Valentinova f Bulgarian, Russian
Feminine form of Valentinov.

Dempsey Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Díomasaigh meaning "descendant of Díomasach", a given name meaning "proud".

Mandić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Manda".

Ahmad Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Indian (Muslim)
Derived from the given name Ahmad.

Dallas 1 English
From Old English dæl meaning "valley" and hus meaning "house".

Jeffers English
Patronymic from the given name Jeffrey. A famous bearer was poet Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962).

Messina Italian
From the name of the Sicilian city of Messina, founded by Greek colonists. The city was named after the Greek city Μεσσήνη (Messene).

Nicchi Italian
From the Italian word nicchio meaning "shell", possibly a nickname for people related to the sea.

Romão Portuguese
Portuguese form of Romano 1 or Romano 2.