Browse Surnames

Khachaturian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Խաչատրյան (see Khachaturyan).

Maçon French
French cognate of Mason.

Roach English
From Middle English and Old French roche meaning "rock", from Late Latin rocca, a word that may be of Celtic origin. It indicated a person who lived near a prominent rock, or who came from a town by this name (such as Les Roches in Normandy).

Jukić Croatian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Juraj.

Périgord French
From the name of a region in southern France, possibly of Gaulish origin.

Von Brandt German
Means "from the area cleared by fire", from Middle High German brant.

Nascimbene Italian
Variant of Nascimbeni.

Sheppard English
Variant of Shepherd.

Hawthorne English
Denoted a person who lived near a hawthorn bush, a word derived from Old English hagaþorn, from haga meaning "enclosure, yard" and þorn meaning "thorn bush". A famous bearer was the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of The Scarlet Letter.

Al-Mufti Arabic
Refers to a mufti, a Muslim legal advisor consulted in applying a religious law.

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

Harding English
Derived from the given name Heard. A famous bearer was American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).

Klerx Dutch
Variant of De Klerk.

Gage French, English
Occupational name derived either from Old French jauge "measure" (a name for an assayer) or gage "pledge, payment" (a name for a moneylender). Both words were ultimately of Frankish origin.

Dupuy French
Means "from the hill", from Occitan puy "hill", from Latin podium "platform".

Pető Hungarian
Derived from an old diminutive of Péter.

Hrabětová f Czech
Feminine form of Hrabě.

Romagnoli Italian
Variant of Romagna.

Mari Italian
Aphetic form of Altimari.

Schroeter German
Variant of Schröter.

Gerhardsson Swedish
Means "son of Gerhard".

Ó Gráda Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Grady.

Schultes German
Variant of Schulz.

Parodi Italian
From the name of a village near Genoa in northern Italy.

Albescu Romanian
Derived from Romanian alb meaning "white".

Giuliani Italian
From the given name Giuliano.

Niklasson Swedish
Means "son of Niklas".

Mikhailov m Russian
Means "son of Mikhail".

Casal Spanish
From the Spanish word casal meaning "farmhouse, country house", ultimately from Late Late casalis, from Latin casa.

Harrelson English
Means "son of Harold". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actor Woody Harrelson (1961-).

Rogerson English
Means "son of Roger".

Strickland English
From the name of a town in Cumbria, derived from Old English stirc "calf, young bullock" and land "cultivated land".

O'Shea Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Séaghdha.

Adamsson Swedish
Means "son of Adam".

Mathiasen Danish
Means "son of Mathias".

Noguera Spanish, Catalan
Spanish and Catalan form of Nogueira.

Urbonas m Lithuanian
From the given name Urbonas.

Stefanov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Stefan".

Al-Amin Arabic
Means "the truthful" from Arabic أمين (ʾamīn).

Michailidis m Greek
Means "son of Michail" in Greek.

Hopson English
Variant of Hobson.

Lehmann German
From Middle High German lehenman meaning "vassal, liege man".

Nylund Swedish
From Swedish ny (Old Norse nýr) meaning "new" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".

Assendorp Dutch
From the name of a place called Assendorp, composed of Dutch essen and dorp, meaning "ash tree village".

Rantanen Finnish
From Finnish ranta meaning "shore, beach".

Aaltonen Finnish
From Finnish aalto meaning "wave".

Gale English
Derived from Middle English gaile meaning "jovial".

Lysenko Ukrainian
From a nickname, either from Ukrainian лис (lys) meaning "fox" or лисий (lysy) meaning "bald".

Hermansen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Herman".

Enns German
Derived from a short form of the German given name Anselm.

Feng 2 Chinese
From Chinese 凤 (fèng) meaning "phoenix, fire bird, fenghuang".

Avraham Jewish
From the given name Abraham.

Prebensen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Preben".

Accardi Italian
Variant of Acardi.

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

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

Van Houtem Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Ardovini Italian
Means "son of Arduino".

Eld Swedish
From Old Norse eldr, modern Swedish eld, meaning "fire".

Horne English
Variant of Horn.

Seymour 2 English
From an English place name, derived from Old English sæ "sea" and mere "lake".

Íñiguez Spanish
Means "son of Íñigo" in Spanish.

Ahmadova f Azerbaijani
Alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Əhmədova.

Mould English
From the given name Mauld, a medieval form of Matilda.

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

Vaško m Slovak
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Václav.

Jansens Dutch
Variant of Jansen.

Wynne English
Derived from the given name Wine.

Karga Turkish
Nickname meaning "crow" in Turkish.

Dimitrijević Serbian
Means "son of Dimitrije".

Jónás Hungarian
Derived from the given name Jónás.

Rodriguez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Rodríguez.

Crocetti Italian
Italian diminutive form of Croce.

Ishikawa Japanese
From Japanese 石 (ishi) meaning "stone" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Butler English, Irish
Occupational name derived from Norman French butiller "wine steward", ultimately from Late Latin butticula "bottle". A famous bearer of this surname is the fictional character Rhett Butler, created by Margaret Mitchell for her novel Gone with the Wind (1936).

Wilder English, German
Variant of Wild.

Dennel French
Variant of Daniel.

Connolly Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Conghalaigh, which means "descendant of Conghalach". Conghalach is a nickname meaning "valiant".

Abbascia Italian
Variant of Abatescianni.

Alma Frisian
Means "son of Ale 2", the suffix -ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.

Senft 2 German
Nickname for a helpful, kind person, from Old High German semfti meaning "soft, accommodating".

Oursler German
Originally a name designating a person from Ursel (now Oberursel) in Hesse, Germany.

Gates English
Originally denoted a person who lived near the town gates.

Kunkel German
Occupational name for a maker of distaffs, from Middle High German kunkel "distaff, spindle", of Latin origin.

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.

Cardona Catalan
From the name of a town in Catalonia, of uncertain meaning.

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.

Stankić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Stanko".

Pop Romanian
Variant of Popa.

Fekete Hungarian
Means "black" in Hungarian, originally a nickname for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion.

Herrmann German
From the given name Hermann.

Þórirsson Icelandic
Means "son of Þórir".

Glynn Welsh, Cornish
Topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, from Welsh glyn and Cornish glin, or a habitational name from a place named with this word.

Sanford English
Variant of Sandford.

Gustavsson Swedish
Means "son of Gustav".

Dziedzic Polish
Derived from Polish dziedzic "landowner".

Georgiadis m Greek
Means "son of Georgios" in Greek.

Moto Japanese
From Japanese 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin". More commonly it is the final character in Japanese surnames.

Dobreva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Dobrev.

Beltz German
Occupational name for a tanner of hides, derived from Middle High German belz meaning "fur".

Harmon English
From the given name Herman.

Kay 2 English
Derived from Old French kay meaning "wharf, quay", indicating one who lived near or worked on a wharf.

Ó Laoghaire Irish
Irish Gaelic form of O'Leary.

Byrne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Himura Japanese
From Japanese 緋 (hi) meaning "scarlet, dark red" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Romano 1 Italian
Derived from the given name Romano.

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

Paternoster English, Italian
Occupational name for a maker of rosaries, also called paternosters. They are derived from the Latin phrase pater noster "our Father", the opening words of the Lord's Prayer.

Berne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Dragović Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Drago".

Ortega Spanish
From a Spanish place name (belonging to various villages) derived from ortiga "nettle".

Ó Caoimháin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Cavan.

Filip um Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak
Derived from the given name Filip.

Lázaro Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Lázaro.

Śląski m Polish
Polish cognate of Slezák.

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

Laninga Frisian
From Frisian lân meaning "land".

Jeffery English
Derived from the given name Jeffrey.

Alfredson English
Means "son of Alfred".

Ralston Scottish
Originally denoted a person from Ralston, Scotland, which was derived from the given name Ralph combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".

Mac Néill Irish
Irish form of McNeil.

Križman Slovene
From Slovene križ meaning "cross".

Van Tonder Dutch
Means "from Tønder", a town in Denmark near the German border.

Marino Italian, Spanish
Derived from the given name Marino.

Choudhury Bengali
Alternate transcription of Bengali চৌধুরী (see Chowdhury).

Jafarova f Azerbaijani
Alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Cəfərova.

Sýkora m Czech, Slovak
Means "tit (bird)" in Czech and Slovak.

Marszałek Polish
Polish cognate of Marshall.

Earl English
From the aristocratic title, which derives from Old English eorl meaning "nobleman, warrior". It was either a nickname for one who acted like an earl, or an occupational name for a person employed by an earl.

Fannon Irish
From the Irish Ó Fionnáin meaning "descendant of Fionn".

Leonard English
Derived from the given name Leonard.

Guzmán Spanish
From the name of the town of Guzmán in Burgos, Spain. The town's name itself may be derived from an old Visigothic given name, from the Germanic elements *gautaz "a Geat" and *mannô "person, man".

Alamilla Spanish
From Spanish alamillo meaning "poplar, aspen".

Caron French
Variant of Charron.

Keely Irish
Variant of Keeley.

Sárközy Hungarian
Variant of Sárközi.

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

Havlíček m Czech
From a diminutive of the given name Havel.

Baak Dutch
From a Frisian given name, a short form of Germanic names starting with the element batu "fight, struggle".

Huffmann German
Variant of Hoffmann.

Ecclestone English
Variant of Eccleston.

Pecháčková f Czech
Feminine form of Pecháček.

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

Tordai Hungarian
From Torda, the Hungarian name of the city of Turda in Romania (formerly within the Kingdom of Hungary).

Blakesley English
From the name of a town in Northamptonshire, itself meaning "Blæcwulf's meadow" in Old English. Blæcwulf is a byname meaning "black wolf".

Amoretto Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Amore.

Johns English
Derived from the given name John.

Juhász Hungarian
Occupational name meaning "shepherd" in Hungarian, from juh "sheep".

Öman Swedish
From Swedish ö (Old Norse ey) meaning "island" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Kərimov m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Kərim".

Vilhjálmsson Icelandic
Means "son of Vilhjálmur".

Kneib German
Variant of Knef.

Mirzəyeva f Azerbaijani
Feminine form of Mirzəyev.

Maiella Italian
From the name of the Maiella massif in Abruzzo, Italy.

Gutierrez Spanish
Variant of Gutiérrez.

Asano Japanese
From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Ó Rinn Irish
Means "descendant of Rinn". The given name Rinn means "star" in Irish.

Hrubý m Czech
Means "crude, coarse" in Czech.

Sandoval Spanish
Derived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin saltus "forest, glade" and novalis "unploughed land".

Montanari Italian
Means "from the mountain" in Italian.

Schmid German
Variant of Schmidt.

Orlov m Russian
Derived from Russian орёл (oryol) meaning "eagle".

Reynders Dutch, Frisian
Variant of Reinders.

Bobalová f Czech
Feminine form of Bobal.

Vicente Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Vicente.

Fertig German
Means "ready, prepared" in German.

Karimova f Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Tatar, Azerbaijani
Feminine form of Karimov. It is also an alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Kərimova.

Mag Shamhradháin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McGovern.

Ó Caiside Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Cassidy.

Tornincasa Italian
From a medieval Italian name given to a boy born after the death of a previous one, derived from Italian ritorna in casa "come back home".

Bryan English
From the given name Brian.

Tolvaj Hungarian
Means "thief" in Hungarian.

Albano Italian
Derived from the given name Albano.

Aukema Frisian
Means "son of Auke".

Rhydderch Welsh
From the given name Rhydderch.

Rettig German
Derived from Middle High German retich, Middle Low German redik meaning "radish", an occupational name for a grower or seller of radishes.

Čech m Czech
Means "Czech". The name was used to differentiate a native of Bohemia from the natives of Silesia, Moravia and other regions that are now part of the Czech Republic.

Benn English
From a short form of Benedict.

Maroz Belarusian
Belarusian form of Moroz.

Matsson Swedish
Means "son of Mats".

Qasımov m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Qasım".

Mercier French
French form of Mercer.

Romijn Dutch
Derived from the given name Romein.

Suzuki Japanese
From Japanese 鈴 (suzu) meaning "bell" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood". This is the second most common surname in Japan. A notable bearer was the artist Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770).

Chapman English
Occupational name derived from Old English ceapmann meaning "merchant, trader".

Thorpe English
From Old Norse þorp meaning "village".

Camus French
Means "flat-nosed" in French. A notable bearer was the French philosopher Albert Camus (1913-1960).

Ayers 1 English
From Middle English eir meaning "heir".

Macháňová f Czech
Feminine form of Macháň.

Lindon English
Variant of Lyndon.

Keys 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

Vasiliauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Vasiliauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.

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.

Villalba Spanish
Denoted a person from one of the various Spanish places by this name. It is derived from Spanish villa "town" and alba "white".

Paddon English
Variant of Patton.

Van Rompay Flemish, Dutch
Variant of Van Rompaey.

Nakano Japanese
From Japanese 中 (naka) meaning "middle" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Granville English
Derived from a Norman place name Grainville.

Martinović Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Martin".

Irving Scottish, English
Variant of Irvine 1 or Irwin.

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".

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).

Botterill English
Probably indicated someone from the town of Les Bottereaux in Normandy, itself derived from Old French bot "toad".

Sláviková f Slovak
Feminine form of Slávik.

Baumgartner German
Occupational name for a person who worked or lived at an orchard, from German Baumgarten "orchard" (derived from Baum "tree" and Garten "garden").

Kavalyow m Belarusian
Derived from Belarusian каваль (kaval') meaning "blacksmith".

Basso Italian
Originally a nickname for a short person, from Latin bassus "thick, low".

Murgia Sardinian
Means "brine" in Sardinian, perhaps a nickname for someone who pickled foods.

Albert English, French, Catalan, Hungarian, Romanian, German
Derived from the given name Albert.

Stefanidis m Greek
Means "son of Stefanos" in Greek.

Dohman German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Thomas.

Žilinskas m Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Zieliński.

Vacík m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Václav.

Matthewson English
Means "son of Matthew".

Henriksen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Henrik".

Rusu Romanian
From Romanian rus meaning "Russian".

Bachmeier German
Originally referred to a farmer whose farm was beside a stream, from Middle High German bach "stream" and meier "steward, tenant farmer".

Niemczyk Polish
From Polish Niemiec meaning "German" and the patronymic suffix -czyk.

Holtz German
German cognate of Holt.

Vinković Croatian
Means "son of Vinko".

Arrighi Italian
Means "son of Arrigo".

Chaykovsky m Russian
Russian form of Chayka. A famous bearer was the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Chaykovsky (1840-1893), with the surname commonly Romanized as Tchaikovsky.

Winston English
Derived from the given name Wynnstan.

Benešová f Czech
Feminine form of Beneš.

Toyoda Japanese
From Japanese 豊 (toyo) meaning "bountiful, luxuriant" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy". A famous bearer was Kiichiro Toyoda (1894-1952), founder of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Medvedev m Russian
Derived from Russian медведь (medved) meaning "bear".

Fishman English
Occupational name for a fisherman.

Spitz German
Means "sharp" in German, indicating the original bearer lived near a pointed hill.

Van der Meer Dutch
Means "from the lake" in Dutch.

Van Dalen Dutch
Means "from the valley", from Old Dutch dal meaning "valley".

Ślusarski m Polish
Occupational name for a locksmith, from Polish ślusarz, of Germanic origin.

Dudová f Czech
Czech feminine form of Duda.

Mehmedović Bosnian
Means "son of Mehmed".

Price Welsh
Derived from Welsh ap Rhys, which means "son of Rhys".

Rutgers Dutch
Derived from the given name Rutger.

Negrini Italian
Variant of Negri.

Venäläinen Finnish
Means "Russian" in Finnish. This name was originally used by the ethnic Finns who lived on the Russian side of the border.

Léandre French
Derived from the given name Léandre.

Kavaliauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Kavaliauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Pabst German
From German Papst, a cognate of Pope.

Ó hAnnagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of O'Hannagain.

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

Sowards English, Irish
Possibly a variant of Seward 1 or Seward 3.

Siebert German
Derived from the given name Siegbert.

Jamshidi Persian
From the given name Jamshid.

Vilar Portuguese, Galician, Catalan
Means "hamlet, farm" in Portuguese, Galician and Catalan, from Late Latin villare, a derivative of Latin villa.

Hughes 1 English
Patronymic of the given name Hugh.

Zlatkov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Zlatko".

Kaloyanchev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Kaloyan".

Lupu Romanian
From Romanian lup meaning "wolf".

Quaranta Italian
Means "forty" in Italian.

Padovano Italian
Originally denoted one who came from the city of Padua in Italy, from Italian Padova, itself from Latin Patavium, of unknown meaning.

Roxas Filipino
Filipino form of the Spanish Rojas.

Honeycutt English
Derived from the name of the English town of Hunnacott, derived from Old English hunig "honey" or the given name Huna combined with cot "cottage".

Butts English
From a nickname meaning "thick, stumpy", from Middle English butt.

Urbański m Polish
Habitational name for a person from towns called Urbanowo or Urbanowice, derived from the given name Urban.

Brock English
Derived from Old English brocc meaning "badger", ultimately of Celtic origin.

Skinner English
Occupational name for a person who skinned animals, from Old Norse skinn.

May English
Derived from the given name Matthew.

Poingdestre Jèrriais
Jèrriais form of Poindexter.

Treacy Irish
Variant of Tracey 2.

McGuinness Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mag Aonghuis meaning "son of Aonghus".

Battaglia Italian
From a nickname meaning "battle" in Italian.

Krakowski mu Polish, Jewish
Habitational name for a person from the city of Kraków in southern Poland.

Bellincioni Italian
Means "son of Bellincione", from a medieval name (borne for example by Dante's grandfather) that was probably a derivative of Italian bello "beautiful, fair".

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

Babineaux French
Variant of Babin.

Chong Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhang.

Irvin Scottish, English
Variant of Irvine 1 or Irwin.

Janssens Dutch, Flemish
Means "son of Jan 1".

Michaels English
Derived from the given name Michael.

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

Attaway English
Means "at the way", originally denoting someone who lived close to a road.

Knopf German
Means "button" in German, originally belonging to a button maker or button seller.

Rinne 1 Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Rinn.

Cameron Scottish
Means "crooked nose" from Gaelic cam "crooked" and sròn "nose".

Brown English
Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin. A notable bearer is Charlie Brown from the Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz.

Shvets Ukrainian
Means "shoemaker" in Ukrainian.

Pesaresi Italian
Variant of Pesaro.

Hoover German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Huber.

Matveeva f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Матвеева (see Matveyeva).

Araujo Spanish
Spanish form of Araújo.

Steed English
Occupational name for one who tended horses, derived from Middle English steed, in turn derived from Old English steda meaning "stallion".

Voss German
From Middle Low German vos meaning "fox". It was originally a nickname for a clever person or a person with red hair.

McElligott Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Mac Uileagóid meaning "son of Uileagóid", a diminutive of Uilleag.

Arts 2 Dutch
Dutch cognate of Arzt.

Gynt Literature
Meaning unknown. This name was used by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen for the central character in his play Peer Gynt (1867). Ibsen based the story on an earlier Norwegian folktale Per Gynt.

Berardi Italian
From the given name Berardo.

Mac an Fleisdeir Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of Lister.

Lindquist Swedish
Variant of Lindqvist.

Maier 1 German
Variant of Meyer 1.

Lewis 2 Welsh
Anglicized form of Llywelyn.

Jerković Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Jerko".

Mohammadi Persian
From the given name Mohammad.

Hawk English
Originally a nickname for a person who had a hawk-like appearance or who acted in a fierce manner, derived from Old English hafoc "hawk".

Seward 2 English
Means "swineherd" from Old English su "sow, female pig" and hierde "herdsman, guardian".

Ström Swedish
Means "stream" in Swedish.

Tiedeman Low German
Variant of Tiedemann.

Temitope Yoruba
From the given name Temitope.

Sapienti Italian
Means "wise, learned" in Italian.