Browse Surnames

Zeman m Czech, Slovak
Means "landowner", ultimately from Old Slavic zemľa meaning "land".

Béringer French
From the given name Bérenger.

Pond English
Originally referred to one who lived near a pond.

Aarts Dutch
Means "son of Aart".

Pryce Welsh
Variant of Price.

Agnusdei Italian
From Latin Agnus Dei meaning "lamb of God". This was a nickname for someone who was particularly religious or someone who wore this symbol.

Gilmour Scottish, Irish
Variant of Gilmore.

Langley 2 French (Anglicized)
Americanized spelling of Langlais.

Pražak m Czech
Means "from Prague" in Czech.

Holt English, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English, Old Dutch and Old Norse holt meaning "forest".

Kiss Hungarian
Nickname meaning "small" in Hungarian.

Isaksen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Isak".

Bálint Hungarian
Derived from the given name Bálint.

Asenova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Asenov.

Halle German
German variant of Hall.

Bezuidenhout Dutch
From Dutch zuid "south" and hout "forest". It refers to the south of the forest in The Hague.

Henry English
Derived from the given name Henry.

Walsh English, Irish
From Old English wælisc meaning "foreigner, stranger, Celt".

MacDaniel Scottish
Variant of MacDonald.

Durdyýewa f Turkmen
Feminine form of Durdyýew.

Todd English
Means "fox", derived from Middle English todde.

Pawłowski m Polish
Habitational name for someone from a town named Pawłowo, derived from the given name Paweł.

Laporte French
Means "the door, the gateway" in French, from Latin porta. This was a name for someone who lived near the town gates or who operated them.

Bolívar Spanish
From Bolibar, the name of a small Basque village, derived from Basque bolu "mill" and ibar "meadow". This name was borne by the revolutionary Simón Bolívar (1783-1830).

Rae Scottish
Variant of McRae.

Haywood English
From various place names meaning "fenced wood" in Old English.

Bartalotti Italian
Means "son of Bartalotto", a diminutive of Bartolo.

Sharman English
Variant of Sherman 1.

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

Neuman German, Jewish
Variant of Neumann.

Russo Italian
Variant of Rossi.

Langford English
From any of various places in England with this name, derived from Old English lang "long" and ford "ford, river crossing".

Cardoso Portuguese, Spanish
From a place name meaning "thorny" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin carduus.

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

Salminen Finnish
From Finnish salmi meaning "strait".

Gros French
Means "thick, fat, big" in French, from Late Latin grossus, possibly of Germanic origin.

Blake English
Variant of Black. A famous bearer was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827).

Skalický m Czech, Slovak
Indicated the original bearer came from a place named Skalice, Skalica or Skalička in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, derived from the Slavic root skala meaning "rock".

Ravn Danish
Means "raven" in Danish, from Old Norse hrafn.

Maksimov m Russian
Means "son of Maksim".

Noyer French
French form of Nogueira.

Weigand German
From the given name Wiegand.

McCulloch Scottish
Scottish form of McCullough.

Hunnisett English
Possibly a variant of Honeycutt.

Bondar Ukrainian
Means "cooper, barrel maker" in Ukrainian.

Dieter German
Derived from the given name Dieter.

Spillum Norwegian
Originally denoted a person from Spillum, Norway.

Omarov m Kazakh
Means "son of Omar 1".

Stern 1 English
From Old English styrne meaning "stern, severe". This was used as a nickname for someone who was stern, harsh, or severe in manner or character.

Arrington English
From the name of a town in Cambridgeshire, originally meaning "Earna's settlement" in Old English (Earna being a person's nickname meaning "eagle").

Jež um Slovene, Czech
Cognate of Jeż.

Hakobyan Armenian
Means "son of Hakob" in Armenian.

Coombs English
From Old English cumb meaning "valley", the name of several places in England.

Aarens Dutch
Means "son of Arend".

Zoltánfi Hungarian
Means "son of Zoltán".

Schneijder Dutch (Rare)
Variant of Snijder.

Jaskólski m Polish
Originally indicated a person from various Polish towns named Jaskółki, derived from Polish jaskółka "swallow (bird)".

McGowan Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Ghabhann.

Busto Spanish, Italian
From the name of towns in Spain and Italy, derived from Late Latin bustum meaning "ox pasture".

Ó Faoláin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Whelan.

Peck 1 English
Variant of Peak.

Fülöp Hungarian
Derived from the given name Fülöp.

Ó Deasmhumhnaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Desmond.

Lewerentz German
Variant of Lewerenz.

Kollár m Slovak
Slovak form of Kolář.

Kumięga Polish
Possibly from Polish kum "godfather, friend" or komięga "raft, barge".

Weiss German, Yiddish
From Middle High German wiz or Yiddish װייַס (vais) meaning "white". This was originally a nickname for a person with white hair or skin.

Yukimura Japanese
From Japanese 雪 (yuki) meaning "snow" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

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

Aarse Dutch
Means "son of Arend".

Hussain Arabic
Derived from the given name Husayn.

Ronchi Italian
From Italian places named Ronchi, derived from ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It is most common in northern and central Italy.

Bader German
Derived from Old High German bad "bath", most likely referring to a bath attendant.

Bates English
Means "son of Bate".

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".

Lucas English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch
Derived from the given name Lucas. A famous bearer of this surname is George Lucas (1944-), the creator of the Star Wars movies.

Summerfield English
Originally indicated the bearer was from a town of this name, derived from Old English sumor "summer" and feld "field".

Furukawa Japanese
From Japanese 古 (furu) meaning "old" and 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream".

Bergström Swedish
Derived from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Kamau Kikuyu
Derived from the given name Kamau.

Kyle Scottish
Derived from Scottish Gaelic caol meaning "narrows, channel, strait", originally given to a person who lived by a strait.

Szilágyi Hungarian
Denoted one from the region of Szilágy in Hungary, derived from Hungarian szil meaning "elm" and ágy meaning "bed".

Von Grimmelshausen German
Means "from Grimmelshausen", a town in Germany. It is itself derived from Grimmel, of uncertain meaning, and hausen meaning "houses". A famous bearer was the German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621-1676).

Sergeev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Сергеев (see Sergeyev).

Abdullaev m Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh
Alternate transcription of Cyrillic Абдуллаев (see Abdullayev).

Harvey English
From the Breton given name Haerviu (see Harvey).

Ó hIfearnáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Heffernan.

Velitchkova f Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Величкова (see Velichkova).

Sokołowska f Polish
Feminine form of Sokołowski.

Jaskulska f Polish
Feminine form of Jaskulski.

Ó Cuinneagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Cunningham 2.

Ahmadi Persian
From the given name Ahmad.

Rais Italian
Occupational name for the fisherman in charge of the boat, from Italian rais "captain", of Arabic origin. It is typical of Sicily and Sardinia.

Easton English
From the name of various places meaning "east town" in Old English.

Zientek Polish (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Ziętek.

Ilbert English
Derived from a Norman form of the Old German given name Hildiberht.

Ježová f Czech
Czech feminine form of Jež.

Achilles German
Derived from the given name Achilles.

Finn Irish
Derived from the given name Fionn.

Nejem Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic نجم (see Najm).

Prescott English
From the name of various English places meaning "priest's cottage" in Old English.

Qurbanov m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Qurban".

Bencivenni Italian
Means "son of Bencivenne", from the medieval name Bencivenga, a Tuscan variant of Benvenuto.

Steube German
Variant of Steuben.

Serrano Spanish
Variant of Sierra.

Muraro Italian
Occupational name for a wall builder, from Italian murare meaning "to wall up".

Mei Chinese
From Chinese 梅 (méi) meaning "plum, apricot".

O'Reilly Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Raghailligh.

Guan Chinese
From Chinese 关 (guān) meaning "frontier pass".

Lahtinen Finnish
From Finnish lahti meaning "bay, cove".

Havrylyuk Ukrainian
From a diminutive of the given name Havryil.

Traverso Italian
Italian form of Travers.

Stetson English
Possibly from the name of the village of Stidston in Devon, meaning "Stithweard's town".

Vasileiou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Βασιλείου (see Vasiliou).

Leone Italian
Derived from the given name Leone 1.

Nishikawa Japanese
From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Hughes 2 Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

Elwin English
Variant of Elwyn.

Vroom Dutch, Flemish
From a nickname derived from Dutch vroom meaning "pious, devout".

Albrektsson Swedish
Variant of Albrechtsson.

Glöckner German
Derived from Middle High German glocke "bell". It may have referred to a person who worked at or lived close to a bell tower.

Ó Gormáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Gorman 2.

Eliassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Elias".

Soto Spanish
Means "grove of trees, small forest" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin saltus.

Schnyder German
Variant of Schneider.

Beyer German
Variant of Bayer.

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

Van Donk Dutch
Means "from the hill", derived from Dutch donk meaning "(sandy) hill".

Dickerson English
Means "son of Dick 1".

Biermann German
Derived from German bier "beer" and mann "man". The name may have referred to a brewer or a tavern owner.

Maślanka Polish
Polish cognate of Máselník.

Antonov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Anton".

Haraldsen Norwegian
Means "son of Harald".

Holst Danish, Low German, Dutch
Originally referred to a person from the region of Holstein between Germany and Denmark. A famous bearer of this name was the English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934).

Grabowska f Polish
Feminine form of Grabowski.

Ojeda Spanish
From the name of the Ojeda river in Soria, Spain, possibly derived from Latin folia "leaves".

Hofer German
Occupational name for a farmer, from German Hof "farm", from Old High German hof "yard, court".

Salucci Italian
From Italian sale meaning "salt".

Salzwedel German
Originally denoted a person from Salzwedel, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "salt ford".

Obando Spanish
Habitational name for someone who came from Obando in Extremadura, Spain.

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

Molina Spanish
Means "mill" in Spanish.

Raptis m Greek
Means "tailor" in Greek.

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

Hunt English
Variant of Hunter.

Rowe 1 English
Means "row" in Middle English, indicating a dweller by a row of hedges or houses.

Martinova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Martinov.

Deacon English
Means "deacon", ultimately from Greek διάκονος (diakonos) meaning "servant".

De Groot Dutch
From Dutch groot meaning "big, great".

Grieve Scottish
Occupational name meaning "steward, farm manager" in Middle English, related to the German title Graf.

Abrahams Jewish, English, Dutch
Means "son of Abraham".

Klerken Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Chaykovskaya f Russian
Feminine form of Chaykovsky.

Lopez Spanish
Unaccented variant of López.

Konstantinov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Konstantin".

Thibault French
Derived from the given name Thibault.

Freeman English
Referred to a person who was born free, or in other words was not a serf.

Mateeva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Mateev.

Jehličková f Czech
Feminine form of Jehlička.

Duffy 1 Irish
Derived from Irish Ó Dubhthaigh meaning "descendant of Dubthach". Their original homeland was Monaghan where the surname is still the most common; they are also from Donegal and Roscommon.

Elwyn English
Derived from the given names Ælfwine, Æðelwine or Ealdwine.

Ajello Italian
Variant of Aiello.

Combs English
Variant of Coombs.

Dixon English
Means "son of Dick 1".

Romanyuk Ukrainian
From the given name Roman.

Antall Hungarian (Rare)
Variant of Antal.

Leifsson Icelandic, Swedish
Means "son of Leif".

O'Hearn Irish
Anglicized form of Ó hEachthighearna.

Hadzhiev m Bulgarian
Derived from Bulgarian хаджия (hadzhiya) meaning "pilgrim", ultimately from Arabic حَجّ (ḥajj).

Caivano Italian
From the name of the town of Caivano near Naples, derived from Latin Calvianum, derived from the Roman cognomen Calvus.

Jordà Catalan
Derived from the given name Jordà.

Lam Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Lin.

Washington English
From 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.

Garry English
Variant of Geary.

Lippi Italian
From the given name Filippo. It is common in the area of Florence.

Paul English, French, German, Dutch
From the given name Paul.

Cucinotta Italian
Derived from a diminutive of Italian cucina meaning "kitchen".

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

Pinho Portuguese
Habitational name meaning "pine" in Portuguese.

Desroches French
Means "from the rocks", from French roche "rock".

Charbonneau French
Derived from a diminutive form of French charbon "charcoal", a nickname for a person with black hair or a dark complexion.

Negri Italian
Nickname derived from Italian negro "black", used to refer to someone with dark hair or dark skin.

Kaloyanchev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Kaloyan".

Meadows English
Referred to one who lived in a meadow, from Old English mædwe.

Leslie Scottish
From a Scottish clan name, earlier Lesselyn, derived from a place name in Aberdeenshire, itself probably from Gaelic leas celyn meaning "garden of holly".

Bourreau 2 French
Occupational name for an executioner or torturer, derived from bourrer "to hit, to stuff with cloth" (derived from French boure "stuffing").

McGill Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Ghoill meaning "son of the foreigner", derived from gall "foreigner".

Brewer English
Occupational name for a maker of ale or beer.

Gatti Italian
Means "cat" in Italian, originally a nickname for an agile person.

Viteri Spanish, Basque
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a Basque place name.

Kirch German
German cognate of Church.

Veenstra Dutch
Derived from Dutch veen meaning "fen, swamp, peat".

Němec m Czech
Means "German" in Czech.

Hale English
Derived from Old English halh meaning "nook, recess, hollow".

Ughi Italian
From the given name Ugo.

Kovač Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Slovene
Means "blacksmith", a derivative of Slavic kovati meaning "to forge".

Rojo Spanish
Means "red" in Spanish, referring to the colour of the hair or complexion.

Ruan Chinese
From Chinese 阮 (ruǎn), which refers to a type of musical instrument, similar to a lute.

Baines 1 Welsh
From Welsh ab Einws meaning "son of Einws", a diminutive of Einion.

Ślązak Polish
Polish cognate of Slezák.

Adamsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Adam".

Ogden English
From a place name derived from Old English ac "oak" and denu "valley".

Bailey English
From Middle English baili meaning "bailiff", which comes via Old French from Latin baiulus "porter".

Sharipova f Uzbek, Tajik
Feminine form of Sharipov.

Hathaway English
Habitational name for someone who lived near a path across a heath, from Old English hæþ "heath" and weg "way".

Giannopoulos m Greek
Means "son of Giannis" in Greek.

Spellmeyer German
Possibly from German spielen meaning "to play, to jest" combined with meyer meaning "village headman". Perhaps it referred to someone who was played or acted as the village headman.

Cattaneo Italian
Variant of Capitani used in Lombardy.

Apostolova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Apostolov.

Samara 2 f Greek
Feminine form of Samaras.

Lundquist Swedish
Variant of Lundqvist.

Matevosian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Մաթեւոսյան (see Matevosyan).

Varela Spanish
Derived from Spanish vara "stick". It may have originally been given to one who used a stick in his line of work, for example an animal herder.

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.

Kovaleva f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Ковалёва (see Kovalyova).

Raskob German
Variant of Raskopf.

Horváth um Hungarian, Slovak
Hungarian 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).

Eads English
Means "son of Eda 2" or "son of Adam".

Ó Luain Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Lane 3.

Sieger German
From the given name Sieghard.

Dumitrescu Romanian
Means "son of Dumitru".

Gutenberg German, Jewish
Variant of Guttenberg. A notable bearer was the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), whose family hailed from an estate by this name.

Crespi Italian
Variant of Crespo.

Nikitin m Russian
From the given name Nikita 1.

MacDuff Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Dhuibh.

Bousaid Arabic
Means "father of Said" in Arabic.

Landi Italian
Derived from the given name Lando.

Boone English
Variant of Boon 1 or Boon 2.

Ostrowska f Polish
Feminine form of Ostrowski.

Wada Japanese
From Japanese 和 (wa) meaning "harmony, peace" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Pellé French
From French pelé meaning "bald".

Fowler English
Occupational name for a fowler or bird catcher, ultimately derived from Old English fugol meaning "bird".

Silje Norwegian
Derived from the given name Silje.

Shine 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Seighin.

De León Spanish
Referred to someone from the Leon region of Spain.

Siena Italian
Indicated a person from Siena in Italy, which was named after the Gaulish tribe of the Senones.

Thorn English, Danish
Originally applied to a person who lived in or near a thorn bush.

Castro Spanish, Portuguese
Means "castle" in Spanish and Portuguese, referring to one who lived near a castle. A famous bearer was Fidel Castro (1926-2016), revolutionary and president of Cuba.

Cantú Spanish (Mexican)
Variant of Cantù, common in Mexico.

Kadyrowa f Turkmen
Feminine form of Kadyrow.

Jephson English
Variant of Jepson.

Klimková f Czech
Czech feminine form of Klimek.

Shimamura Japanese
From Japanese 島 (shima) meaning "island" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Jerome English
Derived from the given name Jerome. A famous bearer of this surname was the American-born Jennie Jerome (1854-1921), Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston Churchill.

Salim Arabic
From the given name Salim.

Traylor English
Meaning unknown.

Durán Spanish
Spanish cognate of Durand.

Habich German
German cognate of Hawk.

Župan Croatian
Croatian cognate of Zupan.

D'Amore Italian
From the given name Amore.

Filipová f Czech, Slovak
Czech and Slovak feminine form of Filip.

Kiefer 2 German
Occupational name for a barrel maker, derived from Old High German kuofa meaning "barrel".

Edvardsen Norwegian
Means "son of Edvard".

Hirano Japanese
From Japanese 平 (hira) meaning "level, even, peaceful" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Tangeman German
Originally indicated a person from a place named Tange in northern Germany.

Koizumi Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" and 泉 (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain". A notable bearer of this name is Junichiro Koizumi (1942-), who was Prime Minister of Japan.

Lykke Danish
Means "happiness" in Danish.

Arvidsson Swedish
Means "son of Arvid".

Wroński m Polish
Derived from Polish wrona meaning "crow".

Marie French
From the given name Marie.

Sanford English
Variant of Sandford.

Graham Scottish, English
Derived from the English place name Grantham, which probably meant "gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by William de Graham.

Estévez Spanish
Means "son of Esteban".

De Kloet Dutch
Variant of Kloet.

Adcock English
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Adam.

Cochran Scottish
Variant of Cochrane.

Eikenboom Dutch
Means "oak tree", from Dutch eik "oak" and boom "tree".

Holmes English, Scottish
Variant of Holme. A famous fictional bearer was Sherlock Holmes, a detective in Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery stories beginning in 1887.

Averesch Dutch
From a place name, possibly from a dialectal variation of Dutch over meaning "over" combined with esch meaning "ash tree".

Friseal Scottish Gaelic
Gaelic form of Fraser.

Koeman Dutch
Variant of Koopman.

Juárez Spanish
Variant of Suárez.

Asanuma Japanese
From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 沼 (numa) meaning "swamp, marsh".

Shimizu Japanese
From Japanese 清 (shi) meaning "clear, pure, clean" and 水 (mizu) meaning "water".

Ivanow m Belarusian
Means "son of Ivan".

Flintstone Popular Culture
From the English words flint and stone, created by Hanna-Barbera Productions for the caveman family (Fred, Wilma and Pebbles) in their animated television show The Flintstones, which ran from 1960 to 1966.

MacKay Scottish
Anglicized form of MacAoidh.

Kinsley English
From the name of a town in West Yorkshire, meaning "clearing belonging to Cyne". The Old English given name Cyne is a short form of longer names beginning with cyne meaning "royal".

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

Sánchez Spanish
Means "son of Sancho".

MacIomhair Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McIver.

Hamilton English, Scottish
From an English place name, derived from Old English hamel "crooked, mutilated" and dun "hill". This was the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists).

School Dutch
From Dutch school, ultimately from Latin schola meaning "school", indicating a person who worked at or lived near a school.

Zavala Spanish
Variant of Zabala.

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

Dunst German
Derived from Middle High German dunst "haze".

Milano Italian
Originally indicated someone who came from Milan.

Deighton English
From English towns by this name, from Old English dic "ditch" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Arkes Dutch
Means "son of Arke 2".

Wilbur English
From the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English.

MacDhòmhnaill Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of MacDonald.

Thacker English
Northern Middle English variant of Thatcher.

Van Herten Dutch
Means "from Herten", a small town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. The town's name comes from Dutch herten, the plural of hert meaning "deer".

MacGilleChrìosd Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of Gilchrist.

Klementová f Czech
Feminine form of Klement.

Ó Corcráin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Corcoran.

Marchetti Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Marco.

Dresdner German
Originally indicated a person who came from the city of Dresden in German.

Segal 2 French
Occupational name for a grower or seller of rye, from Old French, from Latin secale "rye".

Nakamura Japanese
From Japanese 中 (naka) meaning "middle" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".