Browse Surnames

Bergmann German
From Old High German berg meaning "mountain" and man meaning "man", originally denoting someone who lived on a mountain.

Lester Scottish
Variant of Lister.

Skála m Czech
Means "rock" in Czech, indicating that the original bearer lived near a prominent rock.

Macháňová f Czech
Feminine form of Macháň.

Shibuya Japanese
From Japanese 渋 (shibu) meaning "astringent, rough" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".

Crespi Italian
Variant of Crespo.

Ó hAonghuis Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Hennessy.

Jafarova f Azerbaijani
Alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Cəfərova.

Antonopoulos m Greek
Means "son of Antonios".

Beauchêne French
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and chêne "oak".

Quijada Spanish
Means "jaw" in Spanish, a nickname for someone with a large jaw.

Katona Hungarian
Means "soldier" in Hungarian.

MacGregor Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacGriogair meaning "son of Gregor". It originates from the Highland clan Gregor. A famous bearer was the Scottish folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor (1671-1734).

Mencher Polish
Possibly an occupational name derived from Polish maczarz meaning "miller".

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

Rutkowska f Polish
Feminine form of Rutkowski.

Mac Amhalghaidh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McCauley.

Van Rompaye Flemish (Rare)
Variant of Van Rompaey.

Tatham English
From the name of the town of Tatham in Lancashire, itself from the Old English given name Tata combined with ham meaning "home, settlement".

Correa Spanish
Spanish form of Correia.

Duarte Portuguese, Spanish
From the given name Duarte.

Buchvarova f Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Бъчварова (see Bachvarova).

Royce English
Originally derived from the medieval given name Royse, a variant of Rose.

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

Eldred English
From the given name Ealdræd.

Miazga Polish
Derived from Polish miazga "pulp, crush".

Murtas Sardinian
From Sardinian murta meaning "myrtle".

Maślanka Polish
Polish cognate of Máselník.

Sackville English
From the name of the Norman French town of Saqueneville.

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

Pusztai Hungarian
From Hungarian puszta meaning "plain, steppe". The name was given to someone living on a plain.

Maguire Irish
Variant of McGuire.

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

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

Zakharova f Russian
Feminine form of Zakharov.

Villeneuve French
French cognate of Villanueva.

Nelson 1 English
Means "son of Neil". This name was borne by the British admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805).

Naaji Arabic
From the given name Naaji.

Pawłowska f Polish
Feminine form of Pawłowski.

Perrin French
From a diminutive of the given name Pierre.

Rao 2 Italian
Derived from the given name Raul.

Žilinskas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Zieliński.

Hovhannisyan Armenian
Means "son of Hovhannes" in Armenian.

D'Angelo Italian
Means "son of Angelo".

Brauer Low German
Derived from Middle Low German bruwer meaning "brewer".

Christiansen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Christian".

Feldt German, Danish, Swedish
North German, Danish and Swedish variant of Feld.

Smythe English
Variant of Smith.

Santos Portuguese, Spanish
From Portuguese and Spanish santo meaning "saint", ultimately from Latin sanctus. This was a nickname for a pious person.

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

Møller Danish
Danish form of Müller.

Chavdarov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Chavdar".

Lagounov m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Лагунов (see Lagunov).

Deniaud French
Variant of Daniel.

Sanderson English
Means "son of Alexander".

Provenzano Italian
Variant of Provenza typical of southern Italy, namely Sicily and Calabria.

Miyajima Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Alessandri Italian
Means "son of Alessandro".

Jesus Portuguese
Derived from the given name Jesus.

Serpico Italian
From a nickname derived from Italian serpe "serpent, reptile".

Róg Polish
Means "animal horn" in Polish.

Sundberg Swedish
From Swedish sund meaning "strait" and berg meaning "mountain".

Nascimbene Italian
Variant of Nascimbeni.

Nuremberg German
Derived from the name of a city in Bavaria, Germany.

Clausen Danish
Means "son of Claus".

Mustonen Finnish
Derived from Finnish musta meaning "black".

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

Aerssens Dutch
Means "son of Arend".

Lacey English
Derived from Lassy, the name of a town in Normandy. The name of the town was Gaulish in origin, perhaps deriving from a personal name that was Latinized as Lascius.

McKendrick Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacEanruig meaning "son of Eanraig".

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

Barbier French
French cognate of Barber.

De Bruijn Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.

Orsós Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian orsó meaning "spindle", an occupational name for a seller or maker of spindles.

Manfredi Italian
Derived from the given name Manfredo.

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

Honda Japanese
From Japanese 本 (hon) meaning "root, origin, source" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Sempers English
From the name of various towns named Saint Pierre in Normandy, all of which commemorate Saint Peter.

Lyon 3 French, English
From the given name Leon.

Giordano Italian
Derived from the given name Giordano.

Montana Italian
Variant of Montagna.

Kröger German
Variant of Krüger 1 and Krüger 2.

Schultheiss German
Variant of Schulz.

Strange English
Derived from Middle English strange meaning "foreign", ultimately from Latin extraneus.

Foth Low German
From a nickname meaning "foot" in Low German.

Jelenová f Czech
Czech feminine form of Jelen.

MacGuinness Irish
Variant of McGuinness.

Benítez Spanish
Means "son of Benito".

Murray 1 Scottish
Derived from the region in Scotland called Moray (Gaelic Moireabh), possibly of Pictish origin, meaning "seashore, coast". A notable bearer of this surname was General James Murray (1721-1794), who was the first British Governor-General of Canada.

Cárdenas Spanish
From the name of towns in the Spanish provinces of Almería and La Rioja. They are derived from Spanish cárdeno "blue, purple".

Tamm Estonian
Means "oak" in Estonian. This is among the most common surnames in Estonia.

Fransson Swedish
Means "son of Frans".

Thomas English, Welsh, French, German
Derived from the given name Thomas.

Vodenicharov m Bulgarian
Derived from Bulgarian воденичар (vodenichar) meaning "miller".

Mack 1 Scottish, Irish
Shortened form of various Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with Mac or Mc (from Irish mac meaning "son").

Roger French
From the given name Roger.

Orbán Hungarian
Derived from the given name Orbán.

Lazzari Italian
Means "son of Lazzaro".

Jephson English
Variant of Jepson.

McNamara Irish
From Irish Mac Conmara meaning "son of Conmara". The given name Conmara is composed of cú "hound" and muir "sea".

Kraus German
From Middle High German krus meaning "curly", originally a nickname for a person with curly hair.

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

Butcher English
Occupational name for a butcher, derived from Old French bouchier.

Strobel German
Diminutive form of Straub.

Daalmans Dutch
Originally indicated a person who lived in a valley, from Dutch dal meaning "dale, valley" and man meaning "man".

Spencer English
Occupational name for a person who dispensed provisions to those who worked at a manor, derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry".

Li 2 Chinese
From Chinese 黎 (lí) meaning "black".

Kamau Kikuyu
Derived from the given name Kamau.

Rizzi Italian
Variant of Ricci.

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

Gilmore Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic MacGilleMhoire or Irish Gaelic Mac Giolla Mhuire meaning "son of the servant of Moire".

Lehtonen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehto meaning "grove, small forest".

Mishra Hindi, Marathi
Means "mixed, mingled, honourable" in Sanskrit.

Ó Ruadháin Irish
Means "descendant of Ruadhán" in Irish.

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

Ubiña Basque
Possibly a variant of Urbina.

Naumov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Naum".

Bryson English
Means "son of Brice".

Ughi Italian
From the given name Ugo.

Black English
Means either "black" (from Old English blæc) or "pale" (from Old English blac). It could refer to a person with a pale or a dark complexion, or a person who worked with black dye.

Mari Italian
Aphetic form of Altimari.

Sultonova f Uzbek, Tajik
Feminine form of Sultonov.

Moldovan Romanian
Originally indicated a person from the historic principality of Moldavia (see Moldova).

Hellström Swedish
From Swedish häll (Old Norse hallr), a type of flat rock, combined with ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Baardsen Norwegian
Means "son of Bård".

Émile French
Derived from the given name Émile.

Abbes Dutch
Means "son of Abbe".

Soukup m Czech
Means "co-buyer" in Czech, an occupational name for a merchant.

Tifft English
Variant of Toft.

Mousavi Persian
From the given name Mousa.

Jahodová f Czech
Feminine form of Jahoda.

Myles English
From the given name Miles.

McFee Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of MacDhubhshìth.

Aiza Spanish, Basque
From Basque aitz meaning "rock, stone".

Ivarsson Swedish
Means "son of Ivar".

Lindbeck Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and bäck (Old Norse bekkr) meaning "stream".

Dumas French
Means "from the farm", from Occitan mas "farmhouse", from Latin mansus "dwelling". A famous bearer was the French author Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870).

Lopez Spanish
Unaccented variant of López.

Roderick English
Derived from the given name Roderick.

Priestley English
From a place name meaning "priest clearing", from Old English preost and leah.

Croft English
From Old English croft meaning "enclosed field".

Seppä Finnish
Means "smith" in Finnish.

Abrahamsson Swedish
Means "son of Abraham".

Kulkarni Marathi
Means "village clerk, revenue collector" in Marathi.

Petrescu Romanian
Means "son of Petre" in Romanian.

Comtois French
Indicated a person from Franche-Comté, a province in eastern France, which translates to "free county".

Jansen Dutch, Norwegian
Means "son of Jan 1". This is the second most common Dutch surname.

Welch English
Variant of Walsh.

Drago Italian
From a nickname meaning "dragon" in Italian.

Bokori Hungarian
Variant of Bokor.

Howell Welsh
From the Welsh given name Hywel.

Kulmala Finnish
From Finnish kulma meaning "corner" with the suffix -la indicating a place.

Herrera Spanish
Spanish form of Ferreira.

Dermott Irish
Variant of McDermott.

Gilliam English
Variant of William. A famous bearer of the name is cartoonist and filmmaker Terry Gilliam (1940-).

Papadimitriou Greek
Means "son of Dimitrios the priest", from Greek πάπας (papas) combined with the given name Dimitrios.

Köhler German
Variant of Kohler.

MacLeòid Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McLeod.

Bonomo Italian
Italian cognate of Bonhomme.

Targaryen Literature
Created by author George R. R. Martin for his series A Song of Ice and Fire, published beginning 1996, and the television adaptation Game of Thrones (2011-2019). The Targaryens were the rulers of Westeros for almost 300 years until shortly before the beginning of the first novel. The name is presumably from the Valyrian language, though Martin provides no explanation of the meaning.

Leonardi Italian
From the given name Leonardo.

Jang Korean
Korean form of Zhang, from Sino-Korean 張 (jang).

Ebrahimi Persian
From the given name Ebrahim.

Lam Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Lin.

Pierno Italian
From the name of the small town of Pierno in southern Italy near Potenza.

Alessi Italian
From the given name Alessio.

Sodiqova f Uzbek
Feminine form of Sodiqov.

Okabe Japanese
From Japanese 岡 (oka) meaning "hill, ridge" and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".

Emmett English
Derived from a diminutive of the feminine given name Emma.

Kikkert Dutch
Derived from Dutch kikker meaning "frog".

Byrne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Delany Irish
Variant of Delaney 2.

Jehlička m Czech
From Czech jehla meaning "needle", most likely borne by tailors in reference to their occupation.

Van den Berg Dutch
Means "from the mountain", derived from Dutch berg meaning "mountain".

Venner Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

Goranov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Goran".

Uehara Japanese
From Japanese 上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".

Vandale Dutch
Variant of Van Dalen.

Gheorghe Romanian
Derived from the given name Gheorghe.

Matevosyan Armenian
Means "son of Matevos".

Červenka m Czech
Variant of Červený.

Fiala m Czech
Means "violet" in Czech, referring to the flower. It may have originally referred to a person who lived near a sign bearing violets, or it may have been given to a person who lived in a place where violets grew.

Van Hautum Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Hristov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Hristo".

Sartre French
French cognate of Sarto. A famous bearer was the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).

Böhm German
Originally indicated a person from the region of Bohemia (Böhmen in German).

Nazarian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Նազարյան (see Nazaryan).

Williamson English
Means "son of William".

Sarka Hungarian (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Szarka.

Meier 2 Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Gabor Hungarian
Variant of Gábor.

Matveyev m Russian
Means "son of Matvey".

Boesch German, Low German
Variant of Bösch 1 or Bösch 2.

Almstedt Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish alm (Old Norse almr) meaning "elm" and stad (Old Norse staðr) meaning "town, city".

Magellan History
Anglicized form of Magalhães, referring to the explorer.

Pappa f Greek
Feminine form of Pappas.

Africano Italian
From the given name Africano, the Italian form of Africanus.

Mustafa Arabic, Urdu
From the given name Mustafa.

Polák m Czech, Slovak
Means "Pole, person from Poland" in Czech and Slovak.

Maddison English
Variant of Madison.

Hall English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).

Pavičić Croatian
Means "son of Pavao".

Brady Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ó Brádaigh meaning "descendant of Brádach". A famous bearer is the American football quarterback Tom Brady (1977-).

Brinkerhoff German
From a German place name meaning "farm near a slope".

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

Kolář m Czech
Means "wheelwright", a derivative of Czech kolo "wheel".

Cseh Hungarian
Means "Czech" in Hungarian.

McLachlan Scottish
Variant of McLaughlin.

Quigley Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Coigligh meaning "descendant of Coigleach", a given name meaning "untidy".

Bryan English
From the given name Brian.

McClain Scottish
Variant of McLain.

Sheehy Irish
Variant of McSheehy.

Norris 1 English, Scottish
Means "from the north" from Old French norreis. It either denoted someone who originated in the north or someone who lived in the northern part of a settlement.

Acciai Italian
Derived from medieval Italian accia meaning "axe", ultimately from Latin ascia.

Scarsi Italian
Nickname for a poor or miserly person, from Italian scarso "scarce, scant".

Niskanen Finnish
Derived from Finnish niska meaning "neck", indicating someone who lived on a neck of land or who had a distinctive neck.

Egger German
South German occupational name meaning "plowman" or "farmer", derived from German eggen "to harrow, to plow".

Bajusz Hungarian
Means "moustache" in Hungarian.

Laakkonen Finnish
Possibly from a diminutive of the given name Niklas.

Hoedemakers Dutch
Variant of Hoedemaker.

Koster Dutch
Means "churchwarden, sexton" in Dutch, an occupational name for a caretaker of a church.

Śląski m Polish
Polish cognate of Slezák.

Stolarz Polish
Occupational name from Polish stolarz meaning "joiner, maker of furniture".

Jeanes 1 English
Derived from the given name Jan, a medieval English form of John.

Marmo Italian
Means "marble" in Italian, possibly indicating a person who lived near a quarry or one who worked with marble.

Haralampiev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Haralampi".

Ó Doirnáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Durnin.

Virtanen Finnish
Derived from Finnish virta meaning "stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.

Richardson English
Means "son of Richard".

Górska f Polish
Feminine form of Górski.

Gladwyn English
Variant of Gladwin.

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

Olofsdotter Swedish
Means "daughter of Olof".

Kools Dutch
Derived from the given name Nicolaas.

Konečný m Czech, Slovak
Means "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.

Lecce Italian
Originally indicated a person from Lecce, southern Italy. The town was known as Licea or Litium in Latin, earlier Lupiae.

Holloway English
From the name of various English places, derived from Old English hol "hollow, sunken, deep" and weg "path, way".

Moriyama Japanese
From Japanese 森 (mori) meaning "forest" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".

Parsons English
Originally denoted a son of a parson, a derivative of Latin persona "person".

Stefansen Danish
Means "son of Stefan".

Weiner German
Variant of Wagner.

Agócs Hungarian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Ágoston.

Márton Hungarian
Derived from the given name Márton.

Kingsley English
From a place name meaning "king's clearing" in Old English.

Blanco Spanish
Means "white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a person who was pale or had blond hair.

Genova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Genov.

Dibra Albanian
From the Albanian name for the city of Debar in Macedonia, originally given to someone who came from there.

Burke English, Irish
Derived from Middle English burgh meaning "fortress, fortification, castle". It was brought to Ireland in the 12th century by the Norman invader William de Burgh.

Darcy English
From Norman French d'Arcy, originally denoting someone who came from the town of Arcy in La Manche, France. A notable fictional bearer is Fitzwilliam Darcy from Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813).

Nyström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish ny (Old Norse nýr) meaning "new" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Su Chinese
From Chinese 苏 (sū) meaning "perilla", also referring to an ancient minor state called Su.

Krupa Polish
Means "groats, grain" in Polish.

Jankauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Jankauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Bartoš m Czech, Slovak
Derived from Bartoš, a diminutive of Bartoloměj or Bartolomej.

Renaud French
From the given name Renaud.

Blain Scottish
From the given name Bláán.

Cheng 2 Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zheng.

Grover English
From Old English graf meaning "grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).

Karga Turkish
Nickname meaning "crow" in Turkish.

Hayasaka Japanese
From Japanese 早 (haya) meaning "already, now" and 坂 or 阪 (saka) meaning "slope".

Graner German
Originally denoted a person from Gran, the German name for Esztergom, a city in northern Hungary.

Vestri Italian
From the given name Silvestro.

Isaksen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Isak".

Gustavsson Swedish
Means "son of Gustav".

Landon English
Variant of Langdon.

Dircksens Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".

Göbel German
Derived from the given name Göbel, a diminutive of the Old German name Godabert.

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

Wise English
From a nickname for a wise person, from Middle English wys, Old English wis.

Johnsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of John".

Ludvigsen Danish
Means "son of Ludvig".

Van Der Heijden Dutch
Means "from the heathland" in Dutch.

Goebel German
Variant of Göbel.

Szőke Hungarian
Means "blond, fair haired" in Hungarian.

Frei German
Means "free" in German, probably referring to someone outside the feudal system.

Kean Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Catháin.

Brankovich Serbian
Alternate transcription of Serbian Бранковић (see Branković).

Bell 2 English
Derived from the given name Bel, a medieval short form of Isabel.

Ilie Romanian
From the given name Ilie.

Hambleton English
From various English place names, derived from Old English hamel "crooked, mutilated" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Ibrahim Arabic, Urdu, Hausa
From the given name Ibrahim.

Ready 2 Scottish
Originally denoted a person from Reedie farm in Angus, Scotland.

Ding Chinese
From Chinese 丁 (dīng) meaning "man, person".

Traverse French
French variant of Travers.

Hayley English
Variant of Haley.

Šimonis m Lithuanian
Means "son of Simonas".

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

Jérôme French
Derived from the given name Jérôme.

Dumont French
Means "from the mountain", from French mont "mountain".

Bartolomeo Italian
Derived from the given name Bartolomeo.

Elzinga Dutch
Probably from a place name that was a derivative of Dutch els meaning "alder tree".

Kimberley English
From various English places called Kimberley. They mean either "Cyneburga's field", "Cynebald's field" or "Cynemær's field".

Krastiņa f Latvian
Feminine form of Krastiņš.

Hargrave English
Derived from Old English har meaning "grey" and graf "grove".

Kazlauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Kazlauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Yonker Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Jonker.

Nagi Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic ناجي (see Naaji).

Torosyan Armenian
Means "son of Toros" in Armenian.

Grillo Italian
From an Italian nickname meaning "cricket", perhaps given originally to a cheerful person (the cricket is associated with cheerfulness).

Illés Hungarian
Derived from the given name Illés.