Browse Surnames

Ó Riain Irish
Means "descendant of Rian".

Schneiders Dutch
Variant of Snyder.

Morce English
Variant of Morriss.

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

Schnoor German
Variant of Schnur.

Huber German
Occupational name for a farmer, derived from Old High German huoba "plot of land, farm".

Landon English
Variant of Langdon.

Renault French
Derived from the given name Renaud.

Lewandowska f Polish
Feminine form of Lewandowski.

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

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

Loritz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

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

Tomov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Toma 2".

Murgatroyd English
From a place name meaning "Margaret's clearing".

Bloxham English
From a place name meaning "Blocca's homestead". The Old English byname Blocca is of uncertain origin.

Montague English
From a Norman place name meaning "sharp mountain" in Old French.

Asís Spanish
Originally denoted a person from the Italian city of Assisi (called Asís in Spanish).

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

Samaras m Greek
Means "saddle maker" in Greek, from σαμάρι (samari) meaning "saddle".

Paddon English
Variant of Patton.

Vasylyk Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Vasyl.

Marshall English
Derived from Middle English mareschal "marshal", from Latin mariscalcus, ultimately from Germanic roots akin to Old High German marah "horse" and scalc "servant". It originally referred to someone who took care of horses.

Yancy Dutch (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Jansen.

Hidalgo Spanish
Means "nobleman" in Spanish. The Spanish word is a contraction of the phrase hijo de algo meaning "son of something". This surname was typically in origin a nickname or an occupational name for one who worked in a noble's household.

Paxton English
From an English place name meaning "Pœcc's town". Pœcc is an Old English name of unknown meaning.

Rodriquez Spanish
Variant of Rodríguez.

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

Paris English, French
Variant of Parish 1.

Michelakis m Greek
Means "son of Michail".

Pastore Italian
Means "shepherd" in Italian.

Wyatt English
From the medieval given name Wyot.

Germano Italian
From the given name Germano.

Bodrogi Hungarian
Originally denoted someone living near the Bodrog, a river in northeastern of Hungary.

Alesci Italian
Means "son of Alessio".

Hou Chinese
From Chinese 侯 (hóu) meaning "lord, nobleman".

Abrams Jewish, English
Means "son of Abraham".

Vogt German
Occupational name from Middle High German voget meaning "bailiff, administrator, steward", ultimately from Latin advocatus.

Kovalchuk Ukrainian, Russian
Derived from Ukrainian коваль (koval) meaning "blacksmith".

Pierce English
From the given name Piers.

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

Stidolph English
From the Old English given name Stithulf.

Coupe English
From Middle English coupe meaning "barrel", a name for a barrel maker or cooper.

Haak Dutch
Occupational name meaning "peddler" in Dutch.

Christopher English
Derived from the given name Christopher.

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

Romagnoli Italian
Variant of Romagna.

Volkova f Russian
Feminine form of Volkov.

Genadiev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Genadi".

Vasiliou Greek
Means "son of Vasilios".

Kistler German
Occupational name meaning "chest maker, cabinetmaker" from Middle High German kiste.

Hier Welsh
Means "tall, long" from Welsh hir.

Van Kan Dutch
Means "from Kanne", a town in the province of Limburg in Belgium. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.

Tamás Hungarian
Derived from the given name Tamás.

Szewc Polish
Means "shoemaker" in Polish.

Okorie Igbo
From the given name Okorie.

Ardelean Romanian
From the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from Hungarian erdő meaning "forest".

Pavletić Croatian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Pavle.

Wash English
Derived from the Norman name Wazo.

MacGriogair Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of MacGregor.

Daelmans Dutch
Variant of Daalmans.

Kratochvil m Czech
Derived from Czech kratochvíle meaning "pastime".

Vonnegut German
Possibly from the German words von meaning "from, of, by" and gut meaning "good". A famous bearer was the American author Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).

Edvardsen Norwegian
Means "son of Edvard".

Fyodorov m Russian
Means "son of Fyodor".

Tan Chinese (Hokkien)
Min Nan romanization of Chen.

Bean English
English cognate of Bohn.

Bandyopadhyay Bengali
From the name of the village of Bandoghat combined with upadhaya "instructor, priest".

Kanemaru Japanese
From Japanese 金 (kane) meaning "gold, metal, money" and 丸 (maru) meaning "circle, round, whole".

Rees Welsh
Derived from the given name Rhys.

Mac Ghabhann Irish
Means "son of the smith" in Irish.

Pavlovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Pavlovski.

Gutermuth German
Derived from Middle High German guot meaning "good" and muot meaning "mind, spirit". It was a nickname for an optimistic person.

Lamberti Italian
Derived from the given name Lamberto.

Paquet 2 French
From a diminutive of the given name Pascal.

D'Amore Italian
From the given name Amore.

Alexandre French, Portuguese
From the given name Alexandre.

Endicott English
Topographic name derived from Old English meaning "from the end cottage".

Joosten Dutch
Derived from the given name Joost.

Schermer Dutch, Low German
Dutch and Low German form of Schirmer.

Lécuyer French
From French écuyer meaning "squire, shield-bearer", from Latin scutarius, a derivative of scutum "shield".

Olson Swedish (Anglicized), Norwegian (Anglicized), Danish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Olsson or Olsen.

Mac Alastair Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McAlister.

Elmersson Swedish
Means "son of Elmar".

Bálint Hungarian
Derived from the given name Bálint.

Janson German, Dutch, Swedish, English
Means "son of Jan 1".

Pender 1 English
From Middle English pind "to pen up". This was an occupational name for someone who penned animals.

Valiente Spanish
From a nickname derived from Spanish valiente meaning "brave".

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

Yong English
Variant of Young.

Bokori Hungarian
Variant of Bokor.

Ignatova f Bulgarian, Russian
Feminine form of Ignatov.

Platt English
From Old French plat meaning "flat, thin", from Late Latin plattus, from Greek πλατύς (platys) meaning "wide, broad, flat". This may have been a nickname or a topographic name for someone who lived near a flat feature.

Boyko Ukrainian
Originally indicated a member of the Boykos, an ethnic group of western Ukraine.

Mac Aodhagáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Keegan.

Short English
From a nickname for a short person, from Middle English schort.

Earls English
Patronymic form of Earl.

Řezníčková f Czech
Feminine form of Řezníček.

Arthurson English
Means "son of Arthur".

Felipe Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian)
From the given name Felipe.

Bateson English
Means "son of Bate".

Sherburne English
Variant of Sherburn.

Trevor Welsh
Originally from the name of various Welsh towns meaning "big village", derived from Middle Welsh tref "village" and maur "large".

Ormonde Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruaidh.

Breda Italian
From the name of a town near Venice, possibly derived from a Lombardic word meaning "field".

Chevalier French
From a nickname derived from French chevalier meaning "knight", from Late Latin caballarius "horseman", Latin caballus "horse".

Gill English
Originally indicated someone who lived near a ravine, from Middle English gil (of Old Norse origin).

Scola Italian
From Italian scuola meaning "school".

Ioannidou f Greek
Feminine form of Ioannidis.

Quliyeva f Azerbaijani
Feminine form of Quliyev.

Anselmi Italian
Means "son of Anselmo".

Correa Spanish
Spanish form of Correia.

Ibsen Danish
Means "son of Ib". A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).

Owston English
Denoted a person who came from any one of the places in Britain called Ouston or Owston.

Wang 1 Chinese
From Chinese 王 (wáng) meaning "king, monarch". This is the most common surname in China (and the world).

Poole English
From Old English pol meaning "pool", referring to a person who lived by a small body of water.

Rapti f Greek
Feminine form of Raptis.

Yi Korean
Variant of Lee 2.

Scully Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Scolaidhe.

Coeman Dutch
Variant of Koopman.

Van Nifterick Dutch
Variant of Van Niftrik.

Wyrick Polish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Wyrzyk.

Mathews English
Derived from the given name Matthew.

Both Dutch
From the Low German given name Bode.

Lama Italian
Derived from the name place Lama, common in Italy.

Quaranta Italian
Means "forty" in Italian.

Jakobsson Swedish, Icelandic
Means "son of Jakob".

Finn Irish
Derived from the given name Fionn.

Courtemanche French
Means "short sleeve" in French.

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

Amatore Italian
From the given name Amatore.

O'Shea Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Séaghdha.

Ignácz Hungarian
Derived from the given name Ignác.

Moon 2 English
Originally indicated a person from the town of Moyon in Normandy.

Siddall English
From the name of various English towns, derived from Old English sid "wide" and halh "nook, recess".

Bērziņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian bērzs meaning "birch tree".

Čechová f Czech
Feminine form of Čech.

Bunschoten Dutch
Originally indicated a person from the Dutch town of Bunschoten, which might mean "raised, enclosed land".

Černý m Czech
Means "black" in Czech.

Rasputin m Russian
From Russian распутье (rasputye) meaning "crossroads". A famous bearer was the Russian mystic Grigoriy Rasputin (1869-1916).

MacDhubhshìth Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of Mac Dhuibhshíthe.

Ma Chinese
From Chinese 马 (mǎ) meaning "horse".

Olmos Spanish
Variant of Olmo.

Carlyle English
Variant of Carlisle.

Vitale Italian
From the given name Vitale.

Romano 1 Italian
Derived from the given name Romano.

Finnin Irish
Diminutive form of Finn.

Sommer 1 German, English
Means "summer", from Old High German sumar or Old English sumor. This was a nickname for a cheerful person, someone who lived in a sunny spot, or a farmer who had to pay taxes in the summer.

Carbone Italian
From a nickname for a person with dark features, from Italian carbone meaning "coal".

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.

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

Mah Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 马 (see Ma).

Navickienė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Navickas. This form is used by married women.

Pappa f Greek
Feminine form of Pappas.

Causer English
Occupational name for one who made leggings, derived from Old French chausse "leggings".

Abioye Yoruba
From the given name Abioye.

Shine 1 English
Means "beautiful, attractive" from Old English sciene.

Agricola Italian
From Latin agricola meaning "farmer".

Abels Dutch
Means "son of Abel".

Backus English
Means "bakery", an occupational name for a baker, from Old English bæchus literally "bake house".

Korrapati Telugu
From an area called Korra or Korrapalem combined with Telugu పతి (pati) meaning "belongs to".

Freund German
From Middle High German vriunt, modern German Freund meaning "friend".

Vlachos m Greek
Means "Romanian, Wallachian" in Greek, from Old Slavic volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).

Hewitt English
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Hugh.

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

Kovář m Czech
Czech cognate of Kovač.

Travere French
French variant of Travers.

Madigan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Madaidhín.

Abaroa Basque
Possibly from Basque abaro meaning "refuge".

Aarse Dutch
Means "son of Arend".

Adamson English
Means "son of Adam".

Hallman Swedish
From Swedish hall (Old Norse hallr) meaning "rock, boulder, slab" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Plaza Spanish
Spanish cognate of Piazza.

Way English
From Old English weg meaning "way, road, path".

Al Saud Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic آل سعود (see Al Su'ud).

Barends Dutch
Means "son of Barend".

Van Breda Dutch
Means "from Breda", a city in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch breed meaning "wide" and Aa, the name of a river.

Ekmekçi Turkish
Means "baker" in Turkish.

Schwenke 1 German
Derived from Middle High German swenken meaning "to swing".

Ó Leannáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Lennon.

Pérez Spanish
Means "son of Pedro".

Ávila Spanish
From the name of the city of Ávila in Spain. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly of Punic or Celtic origin.

Bösch 1 German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Sebastian.

Lyon 1 English, French
Originally denoted a person from the city of Lyon in central France, originally Latin Lugdunum, of Gaulish origin meaning "hill fort of Lugus". It could also denote a person from the small town of Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy.

Bosco Italian
Means "forest" in Italian.

Bartha Hungarian
Variant of Barta.

Mortensen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Morten".

Vasiliev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Васильев (see Vasilyev).

Van Adrichem Dutch
Variant of Adrichem.

Martínková f Czech
Feminine form of Martínek.

Nikolayeva f Russian
Feminine form of Nikolayev.

Siskin Jewish
Variant of Ziskind.

Bachvarova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Bachvarov.

Seegers Dutch
Means "son of Sieger".

Marie French
From the given name Marie.

Bourne English
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring".

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

Trujillo Spanish
Originally denoted a person from Trujillo, Spain, originally called Turgalium in Latin.

Lincoln English
Originally indicated that the bearer was from the English city of Lincoln, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". A famous bearer was Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.

Iliev m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Iliya".

Fischer German
Occupational name meaning "fisherman" in German.

Hashimoto Japanese
From Japanese 橋 (hashi) meaning "bridge" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Andrés Spanish
Derived from the given name Andrés.

Vanhanen Finnish
From Finnish vanha meaning "old".

Làconi Sardinian
From the name of the town of Làconi on Sardinia, Italy.

Pohl 2 German
From the given name Paul.

Antonelli Italian
Means "son of Antonello".

Read 2 English
From Old English ryd, an unattested form of rod meaning "cleared land". It is also derived from various English place names with various meanings, including "roe headland", "reeds" and "brushwood".

Willemse Dutch
Derived from the given name Willem.

Lehrer Jewish
Means "teacher" in German (Yiddish לערער (lerer)).

Faust German
Derived from the given name Faust, a form of Faustus.

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).

Fiddler English
English form of Fiedler.

Antoniou Greek
Means "son of Antonios".

Lazarova f Bulgarian, Macedonian
Feminine form of Lazarov.

Abrami Italian
Derived from the given name Abramo.

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

Teodoro Portuguese
Derived from the given name Teodoro.

Valentinov m Bulgarian, Russian
Means "son of Valentin".

McNee Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Niadh.

Reyer German
Variant of Reiher.

Garrard English
From the given name Gerard.

Nikolaidis m Greek
Means "son of Nikolaos" in Greek.

Constantin Romanian, French
From the given name Constantin.

Sala Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Romanian
Occupational name for a worker at a manor house, from the Romance word sala meaning "hall, large room", of Germanic origin.

Armbruster German
Means "crossbow maker" from German armbrust "crossbow". The word armbrust was originally from Latin arcuballista meaning "bow ballista", but was modified under the influence of German arm "arm" and brust "breast".

Tindall English
From Tindale, the name of a town in Cumbria, derived from the name of the river Tyne combined with Old English dæl "dale, valley".

Vlahović Serbian, Croatian
Patronymic from Serbo-Croatian Vlah meaning "Romanian, Wallachian".

Ó Maoilsheachlainn Irish
Means "descendant of Maolsheachlann" in Irish.

Gaál Hungarian
Variant of Gál.

Nguyễn Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Ruan, from Sino-Vietnamese 阮 (nguyễn). This is the most common Vietnamese surname, accounting for over a third of the population.

Geissler 2 German
Occupational name for a goat herder, from southern German Geiss meaning "goat" and the suffix ler signifying an occupation.

Forest English, French
Originally belonged to a person who lived near or in a forest. It was probably originally derived, via Old French forest, from Latin forestam (silva) meaning "outer (wood)".

Nannini Italian
From Nanni, a diminutive of the given name Giovanni.

Bláhová f Czech
Feminine form of Bláha.

Dreesens Dutch
Variant of Driessen.

Sandu Romanian
From the given name Sandu.

Tchaikovsky m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Чайковский (see Chaykovsky).

Rybář m Czech
Czech form of Rybár.

Merrick Welsh
Derived from the given name Meurig.

Broz Croatian
Derived from Broz, a diminutive of Ambrozije. This was the birth surname of the Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980).

Bone 2 English
Variant of Baines 2.

Descoteaux French
Means "from the hillside", from French coteau "hillside".

Vasilieva f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Васильева (see Vasilyeva).

Abatescianni Italian
From Italian abate meaning "abbot, priest" combined with the given name Gianni.

Borgia Italian
Italian form of Borja. This was the name of an Italian noble family who were influential during the Renaissance period.

Hansson Swedish
Means "son of Hans".

Yoxall English
Originally indicated a person from the town of Yoxall in Staffordshire, itself derived from Old English geoc "oxen yoke" and halh "nook, recess".

Valentová f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Valenta or Valent.

Jiménez Spanish
Means "son of Jimeno".

Davlatova f Tajik, Uzbek
Feminine form of Davlatov.

Mingo Spanish
From the given name Domingo.

Jokinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".

Lehr German
From Old High German loh meaning "meadow, clearing".

Steube German
Variant of Steuben.

Alekseev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Алексеев (see Alekseyev).

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

Najm Arabic
From the given name Najm.

Kārkliņa f Latvian
Feminine form of Kārkliņš.

Schmid German
Variant of Schmidt.

Arentz Dutch
Variant of Arends.

Qasımov m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Qasım".

Hammond English
From the Norman given name Hamo or the Old Norse given name Hámundr.

Sydykov m Kyrgyz
Means "son of Sydyk".

Borysova f Ukrainian
Feminine form of Borysov.

Mlakar Slovene, Croatian
Referred to someone who lived near a pool, derived from South Slavic mlaka meaning "pool, puddle".

Burešová f Czech
Feminine form of Bureš.

Anthonsen Danish, Norwegian
Variant of Antonsen.

Schneider German, Jewish
From German schneider or Yiddish shnayder, making it a cognate of Snyder.

Martínez Spanish
Means "son of Martín" in Spanish.

Niftrik Dutch
Variant of Van Niftrik.

Ritchie Scottish
From a Scottish diminutive of the given name Richard.

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

Salo Finnish
Means "forest" in Finnish.

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

Fujiwara Japanese
From Japanese 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 原 (wara) meaning "field, plain".

Lundström Swedish
From Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Brune German
Variant of Braun.

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

Svendsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Svend".

Vasić Serbian
Means "son of Vaso 1".

Irwin English
Derived from the Old English given name Eoforwine.

Trần Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Chen, from Sino-Vietnamese 陳 (trần). This is the second most common surname in Vietnam.

Jasso Basque
Variant of Jaso.

MacRuaraidh Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McCrory.

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

Viktorov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Viktor".

Ó Cléirigh Irish
Means "descendant of the clerk" in Irish.

Cody Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cuidighthigh or Mac Óda. A famous bearer was the American frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917).

Tachibana Japanese
From Japanese 橘 (tachibana) meaning "orange, tangerine".

Gorecka f Polish
Feminine form of Gorecki.

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

Patil Marathi
Means "village chief" in Marathi.

Roth German, Jewish
From Middle High German rot meaning "red". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.

Næss Norwegian
Variant of Ness.

Blackwood English, Scottish
From an English place name meaning "black wood".

Filippov m Russian
Means "son of Filip".

Kuipers Dutch
Variant of Kuiper.

Pander Dutch
Variant of Penders.

Magomadova f Chechen
Feminine form of Magomadov.