Browse Surnames

Brzezicki m Polish
Derived from Polish brzezina meaning "birch grove".

Kubo Japanese
From Japanese 久 (ku) meaning "long time ago" and 保 (ho) meaning "protect".

Trengove English
Originally indicated a person from Trengove in Cornwall, England.

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

Isaksson Swedish
Means "son of Isak".

Rutherford Scottish
From the name of places in southern Scotland and northern England, derived from Old English hriðer meaning "cattle, ox" and ford meaning "ford, river crossing".

Géroux French
Derived from the Germanic name Gerulf.

Einstein Jewish
Ornamental name derived from German ein "one" and stein "stone". A famous bearer was the German physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955).

Ó hEidhin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Hines.

Holden English
From various English place names, derived from Old English hol "hollow, sunken, deep" and denu "valley".

Pitts English
Indicated a person who lived by a pit or hollow, from Old English pytt. It could also indicate a person from Pitt (Hants) or Pett (East Sussex) in England.

Hamasaki Japanese
From Japanese 浜 (hama) meaning "beach, seashore" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".

Ó Maolagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Milligan.

Radev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Rade", a diminutive of Radoslav or Radomir.

Waller 1 English
Derived from Old French gallier meaning "person with a pleasant temper".

Spanos m Greek
Means "hairless, beardless" in Greek, ultimately from σπάνιος (spanios) meaning "scarce, rare".

MacNiven Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Naoimhín.

Atsma Frisian
Means "son of Atse".

De Haas Dutch
Dutch cognate of Hase.

MacAngus Scottish
Variant of MacInnes.

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).

Atchison Scottish
Scots form of Atkinson.

Leitner German
Referred to one who lived on a hillside, from Middle High German lite "slope".

Czinege Hungarian
Variant of Cinege.

Mikołajczak Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Mikołaj.

Hitler German
Variant of Hiedler. This was spelling used by Alois Hitler, the father of German dictator Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), when he adopted his stepfather Johann Georg Hiedler's surname.

Ó Caiside Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Cassidy.

Sundén Swedish
From Swedish sund meaning "sound, strait".

Díez Spanish
Means "son of Diego" in Spanish.

Padovan Italian
Regional variant of Padovano.

Whittaker English
Variant of Whitaker.

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

Alieva f Tajik, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Avar, Chechen
Alternate transcription of Tajik/Kyrgyz/Chechen Алиева, Kazakh Әлиева or Avar ГӀалиева (see Aliyeva).

Mac Cléirich Irish
Means "son of the clerk" in Irish.

Vogel German, Dutch
From Old High German and Old Dutch fogal meaning "bird". It was originally an occupational name for a bird catcher, or a nickname for a person who liked to sing.

Szewc Polish
Means "shoemaker" in Polish.

Szulc Polish
Polish form of Schulz.

Grabowska f Polish
Feminine form of Grabowski.

Schulte Low German
Low German variant of Schulz.

Haanraats Dutch
Variant of Haanraads.

Ivanova f Bulgarian, Russian, Macedonian, Belarusian
Feminine form of Ivanov or Ivanow.

Fukuzawa Japanese
From Japanese 福 (fuku) meaning "happiness, good fortune, blessing" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh".

Grigorov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Grigor".

Opeyemi Yoruba
From the given name Opeyemi.

Flannery Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Flannghaile meaning "descendant of Flannghal", a given name meaning "red valour".

Nedbálková f Czech
Feminine form of Nedbálek.

Mihaylov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Mihail".

Maldonado Spanish
From a nickname meaning "badly given, ill-favoured" in Spanish.

Vasileva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Vasilev.

Satou Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 佐藤 (see Satō).

Moriarty Irish
From Irish Ó Muircheartach meaning "descendant of Muirchertach". This was the surname given by Arthur Conan Doyle to a master criminal in the Sherlock Holmes series.

Gavrilyuk Ukrainian
Alternate transcription of Ukrainian Гаврилюк (see Havrylyuk).

Erkens Dutch
Derived from the given name Erk, a variant of Erik.

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.

MacColuim Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of MacCallum.

Cuesta Spanish
Spanish form of Costa.

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

MacCionaodha Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McKenna.

Bobalová f Czech
Feminine form of Bobal.

Akers English
Variant of Acker.

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

Vilhjálmsson Icelandic
Means "son of Vilhjálmur".

Wiśniewska f Polish
Feminine form of Wiśniewski.

Bone 1 English
Derived from Old French bon meaning "good".

Tóthová f Slovak
Slovak feminine form of Tóth.

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

Kristensen Danish
Means "son of Kristen 1".

Harmon English
From the given name Herman.

Salem Arabic
From the given name Salim.

Mag Uidhir Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McGuire.

Abdulrashid Arabic
Derived from the given name Abd ar-Rashid.

Sato Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 佐藤 (see Satō).

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.

Olander Swedish
Denoted someone from the islands of Öland (eastern Sweden) or Åland (western Finland).

Vankova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Vankov.

Tasker English
From Middle English taske meaning "task, assignment". A tasker was a person who had a fixed job to do, particularly a person who threshed grain with a flail.

Ready 1 English
From Middle English redi meaning "prepared, prompt".

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

Julien French
From the given name Julien.

Quliyev m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Qulu".

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

Castillo Spanish
Spanish cognate of Castle.

Van Damme Flemish
Means "from Damme", the name of a town in Belgium, derived from Dutch dam meaning "dam". A famous bearer is the Belgian actor Jean-Claude Van Damme (1960-), who was born with the surname Van Varenberg.

Langdon English
Derived from the name of various places, of Old English origin meaning "long hill" (effectively "ridge").

MacFarlane Scottish
Variant of McFarlane.

Hathway English
Variant of Hathaway.

Suen Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Sun.

Romagnoli Italian
Variant of Romagna.

Sansone Italian
Derived from the given name Sansone.

Aguilar Spanish
From a place name that was derived from Spanish águila meaning "eagle", ultimately from Latin aquila.

Ó Ciardha Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Carey.

Dirkse Dutch
Means "son of Dirk".

Yanev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Yane", a diminutive of Yoan 2.

Kwok Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Guo.

Pineda Spanish, Catalan
Means "pine forest" in Spanish and Catalan.

Laurito Italian
From the name of the town of Laurito, near Salerno in the area of Naples.

Sherburne English
Variant of Sherburn.

Nyquist Swedish
Variant of Nyqvist.

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

Mortensen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Morten".

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

Klement m Czech
Derived from the given name Klement.

Tittensor English
Indicated a person from Tittensor, England, which means "Titten's ridge".

Kawa Polish
Derived from Polish kawka "jackdaw".

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

Hadjiev m Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Хаджиев (see Hadzhiev).

Salonen Finnish
From Finnish salo meaning "forest".

Ozoliņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian ozols meaning "oak tree".

Koç Turkish
Means "ram" in Turkish.

Alexander English
Derived from the given name Alexander.

Großer German
Variant of Groß.

Braune German
Variant of Braun.

Moors English
Variant of Moore 1.

Matić Croatian
Means "son of Matija".

Saitou Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 斎藤 (see Saitō).

Dyer English
Occupational name meaning "cloth dyer", from Old English deah "dye".

Kiss Hungarian
Nickname meaning "small" in Hungarian.

Levitt English
Variant of Leavitt.

Adamczyk Polish
Derived from the given name Adam.

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

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

Samuels English
Derived from the given name Samuel.

Abdullayeva f Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh
Feminine form of Abdullayev.

Khalid Arabic, Urdu
From the given name Khalid.

Asenov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Asen".

Snyders English, Dutch (Anglicized), German (Anglicized)
Variant of Snyder.

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

Jakobsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Jakob".

Meyer 4 English
Variant of Myer.

Cremaschi Italian
From the name of the city of Crema in Lombardy, northern Italy.

Pereyra Portuguese, Galician
Variant of Pereira.

Innes 2 Scottish
From the given name Aonghus.

Arenas Spanish
From various Spanish place names, which are derived from Spanish arena meaning "sand".

Shakespeare English
From a nickname for a warlike person, from Old English scacan "to shake" and spere "spear". A famous bearer was the English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

Averill English
From Middle English aueril, Old French avrill meaning "April", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.

Rhydderch Welsh
From the given name Rhydderch.

Sadowska f Polish
Feminine form of Sadowski.

Christians English
Derived from the given name Christian.

Lara Spanish
From the name of a village in Burgos, Spain. It might be derived from Latin lar "household god, house, home".

McCauley Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh or Mac Amhalghadha meaning "son of Amhalghaidh". The given name Amhalghaidh, from Old Irish Amalgaid, is of uncertain meaning.

Møller Danish
Danish form of Müller.

Sulaymanova f Kyrgyz
Feminine form of Sulaymanov.

Bachchan Hindi
From Hindi बच्चा (bachchā) meaning "child", a word of Persian origin. This surname was adopted by the Indian poet Harivansh Rai Srivastava (1907-2003).

Kröger German
Variant of Krüger 1 and Krüger 2.

Wirth German, Jewish
Occupational name for an innkeeper, derived from German wirt meaning "host".

Hristova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Hristov.

Cuoco Italian
Italian cognate of Cook.

Xu 2 Chinese
From Chinese 许 (xǔ) referring to the minor state of Xu, which existed to the 4th century BC in what is now Henan province. The character 许 means "allow, permit".

Dragić Serbian, Croatian, Slovene
Patronymic from any of the Slavic given names starting with Drag (see Drago).

Hase German
From Middle High German and Middle Low German hase meaning "hare, rabbit". This was a nickname for a person who was quick or timid.

Bager Danish
Danish cognate of Baker.

Appelhof Dutch
Indicated a person who lived by or at an apple garden, from Dutch appel "apple" and hof "yard, court".

Boros Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian bor "wine". Originally it could have indicated someone who made or sold wine.

Berntsson Swedish
Means "son of Bernt".

Mulligan Irish
Variant of Milligan.

Ó Cuinneagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Cunningham 2.

Siskin Jewish
Variant of Ziskind.

Christianson English
Means "son of Christian".

Blaise French
Derived from the given name Blaise.

Silvestri Italian
Derived from the given name Silvester.

Pontecorvo Italian, Jewish
From the name of a town in central Italy, home to an old Jewish community. The town's name is derived from Italian ponte "bridge" and curvo "curved".

Soukupová f Czech
Feminine form of Soukup.

Spurling English
From Middle English sparewe "sparrow" and the diminutive suffix -ling.

Schirmer German
Means "fencer, fencing master", from Old High German skirmen meaning "to defend".

François French
Derived from the given name François.

Stevanović Serbian
Means "son of Stevan".

Beulens Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Ahlberg Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish al (Old Norse ǫlr) meaning "alder" and berg meaning "mountain".

Kędzierski m Polish
From a nickname meaning "curly", describing a person with curly hair.

Hoedemaker Dutch
Occupational name for a hat maker, from Dutch hoed "hat" and maker "maker".

Gonzales Spanish
Variant of González.

Boelens Dutch
Means "son of Boele".

Ó Riagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Reagan.

Lombardo Italian
Variant of Lombardi.

Yuuki Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji 結城 (see Yūki).

Biskup Polish
Polish cognate of Bishop.

Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.

McKenna Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Cionaodha meaning "son of Cionaodh".

Mac Síthigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McSheehy.

Lefebvre French
Variant of Lefèvre.

Dunajski m Polish
Derived from Dunaj, the Polish name for the river Danube.

Alberighi Italian
Variant of Alberici.

Pemberton English
From the name of a town near Manchester, derived from Celtic penn meaning "hill" combined with Old English bere meaning "barley" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".

Barna Hungarian
Means "brown" in Hungarian.

Georges French
From the given name Georges.

Lafrenz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Hodžić Bosnian
From Bosnian hodža meaning "master, teacher, imam", a word of Persian origin.

Leone Italian
Derived from the given name Leone 1.

Roxas Filipino
Filipino form of the Spanish Rojas.

Hickey Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó hÍcidhe meaning "descendant of the healer".

Wembley English
From the name of a town, now part of Greater London, meaning "Wemba's clearing" in Old English.

Lopez Spanish
Unaccented variant of López.

Olesen Danish
Means "son of Ole".

Kidd English
From a nickname meaning "young goat, kid" in Middle English, of Old Norse origin.

Arterbury English
Variant of Atteberry.

Andreyev m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Andrey".

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

Goddard English
Derived from the Germanic given name Godehard.

Farro Italian
Derived from the name of a place on Sicily, Italy, derived from Latin far meaning "wheat, spelt".

Berry English
Derived from a place name, which was derived from Old English burh "fortification".

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

Cuypers Dutch
Variant of Kuiper.

Ó Murchadha Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Murphy.

Schindler German
Occupational name for a roof tiler, from Middle High German schindel "shingle". A famous bearer was Oskar Schindler (1908-1974), who saved over a thousand Polish Jews during World War II.

Kavanaugh Irish
Variant of Kavanagh.

Suárez Spanish
Means "son of Suero".

Mejía Spanish
Possibly from a nickname derived from Spanish Mesías meaning "Messiah", from Latin Messias, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (mashiyaḥ) meaning "anointed".

Gama Portuguese
Probably from a place name derived from Portuguese gama meaning "fallow deer doe", from Latin gammus.

Urbonas m Lithuanian
From the given name Urbonas.

Banderas Spanish
Spanish cognate of Banner.

Winston English
Derived from the given name Wynnstan.

Trent English
Denoted one who lived near the River Trent in England.

Coolen Dutch
From the given name Nicolaas.

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

Church English
From the English word, derived from Old English cirice, ultimately from Greek κυριακόν (kyriakon) meaning "(house) of the lord". It probably referred to a person who lived close to a church.

Čiernik m Slovak
Variant of Čierny.

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

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".

Vitali Italian
From the given name Vitale.

Naggia Italian
Variant of Naggi.

Warren 2 English
Originally denoted a person from the town of La Varenne in Normandy, which may derive from a Gaulish word meaning "sandy soil".

Baldinotti Italian
Derived from the given name Baldinotto, from the Latin name Baldinoctus, a diminutive of Baldo.

Capello 1 Italian
From Late Latin cappa meaning "cloak, cape, hood". This was a name for one who made or wore cloaks.

Procházková f Czech
Feminine form of Procházka.

Claes Flemish
From the given name Klaus.

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

Kotnik Slovene
From Slovene kot meaning "corner". The name referred to someone who was from a remote area.

Wasilewska f Polish
Feminine form of Wasilewski.

Faure Occitan, French
Occitan form of Fèvre.

Amos Jewish
From the given name Amos.

Bryan English
From the given name Brian.

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

Janzen Dutch
Means "son of Jan 1".

Aalfs Dutch
Means "son of Aalf", a short form of Adolf.

Sáez Spanish
Variant of Sánchez.

Smedley English
From an unidentified place name probably meaning "smooth clearing" in Old English.

Szalai Hungarian
Possibly denoted a person from the region of Zala in western Hungary, itself named for the Zala River.

Ainsley Scottish
From a place name: either Annesley in Nottinghamshire or Ansley in Warwickshire. The place names themselves derive from Old English anne "alone, solitary" or ansetl "hermitage" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Herceg Croatian
Croatian form of Herzog.

Monahan Irish
From Irish Ó Manacháin meaning "descendant of Manacháin". The given name Manacháin meant "little monk", from manach "monk" and a diminutive suffix.

Dreier German
Variant of Dreher.

Øster Danish
From Danish øst meaning "east", originally denoting a dweller on the eastern side of a place.

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

Dirksen Dutch, German
Means "son of Dirk".

Koivisto Finnish
Means "birch forest" in Finnish, derived from koivu "birch tree".

Lacroix French
Means "the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.

Quixada Spanish (Archaic)
Old spelling of Quijada.

Nicholson English
Means "son of Nicholas". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actor Jack Nicholson (1937-).

Herbert English, German, French
Derived from the male given name Herbert.

Hanegan Irish
Variant of O'Hannagain.

Mihova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Mihov.

Agnarsson Icelandic
Means "son of Agnar".

Shvets Ukrainian
Means "shoemaker" in Ukrainian.

Ferber German
Variant of Färber.

Slováčková f Czech
Feminine form of Slováček.

Gérard French
From the given name Gérard.

Disney English
Means "from Isigny", referring to the town of Isigny in Normandy. This surname was borne by the American animator and filmmaker Walt Disney (1901-1966).

Papke Low German
Low German diminutive form of papa (see Pope).

Ó Laoghaire Irish
Irish Gaelic form of O'Leary.

Ó Foghladha Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Foley.

Tesařová f Czech
Feminine form of Tesař.

Walczak Polish
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Walenty.

Ó Treasaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Tracey 2.

Okorie Igbo
From the given name Okorie.

Ó Comhraidhe Irish
Means "descendant of Comhraidhe", in which the given name Comhraidhe is of unknown meaning.

Shapiro Jewish
Means "pretty, lovely" in Hebrew, from Aramaic.

Zyma Ukrainian
Ukrainian form of Zima.

Unruh German
Refers to a restless, fidgety, nervous person, from German unruhe meaning "unrest".

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

Núñez Spanish
Means "son of Nuño".

Jahn German
From a Low German short form of Johannes.

Vencel Hungarian
Derived from the given name Vencel.

Angelova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Angelov.

Acheson Scottish
Scots form of Atkinson.

Royceston English
Variant of Royston.

Jonkheer Dutch
Variant of Jonker.

Alberghini Italian
Diminutive of Alberghi.

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

Csintalan Hungarian
Means "mischievous, naughty" in Hungarian.

Rhee Korean
North Korean form of Lee 2.

Klymenko Ukrainian
From the given name Klym.

Ó Brádaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Brady.

Reyer German
Variant of Reiher.

Hyland 1 English
Topographic name meaning "high land", from Old English heah and land.

Fortunato Italian
From the given name Fortunato.

Gagnier French
Variant of Gagneux.

Bootsma Frisian
Occupational name meaning "boatman", derived from Dutch boot "boat".

Kovářová f Czech
Feminine form of Kovář.

Adam um English, French, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Jewish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Asturias Spanish
From the name of a region in Spain, formerly a medieval kingdom. It is possibly derived from Basque asta "rock" and ur "water".

Nicolaou Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Νικολάου (see Nikolaou).

Ognyanova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Ognyanov.

De Wit Dutch
Variant of De Witte.

Harrington English
From the name of towns in England, meaning either "Hæfer's town" or "stony town" in Old English.

Wyrzykowska f Polish
Feminine form of Wyrzykowski.

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

Ignatiev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Игнатьев (see Ignatyev).

Lukáčová f Slovak
Feminine form of Lukáč.

Scordato Italian
Means "forgotten, left behind" in Italian.

Uchiyama Japanese
From Japanese 内 (uchi) meaning "inside" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".