Browse Surnames

Waterman 1 English
Means "servant of Walter".

Borchard German
Derived from the given name Burkhard.

Grosser German
Variant of Groß.

Blakeley English
From name of various English places, derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Kocsis Hungarian
Means "coachman" in Hungarian.

Welch English
Variant of Walsh.

Szczepański m Polish
Derived from the given name Szczepan.

Skalická f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Skalický.

Soldati Italian
From Italian soldato meaning "soldier", ultimately from Latin solidus, a type of Roman coin.

Rogers English
Derived from the given name Roger.

Rodgers English
Derived from the given name Rodger.

Ek Swedish
Means "oak" in Swedish.

Stanciu Romanian
Derived from Romanian stânci meaning "rocks".

Schwenke 2 German
From a given name, a Low German diminutive of Swanhild.

Constantin Romanian, French
From the given name Constantin.

Poulin French
Derived from Old French poule meaning "chicken". It was most likely used to denote a person who raised or sold poultry.

Aloia Italian
Variant of Aloi.

Lopes Portuguese
Means "son of Lopo" in Portuguese.

Gautier French
From the given name Gautier.

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.

Penn 2 English
Occupational name for a person who kept penned animals, from Old English penn.

Keane Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Catháin.

Kuznetsova f Russian
Feminine form of Kuznetsov.

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.

Sponaugle German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Spannagel.

Raptis m Greek
Means "tailor" in Greek.

Dressler German
Means "turner" from Middle High German dreseler, an agent derivative of drehen "to turn". A turner was a person who used a lathe to create small objects from wood or bone.

Dubicka f Polish
Feminine form of Dubicki.

Oberto Italian
Derived from the given name Uberto.

Russell English
From a Norman French nickname that meant "little red one", perhaps originally describing a person with red hair.

Rivero Spanish
Variant of Rivera.

Vasiliou Greek
Means "son of Vasilios".

Antunes Portuguese
Means "son of António".

Nussenbaum Jewish
Variant of Nussbaum.

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

Sörös Hungarian
From Hungarian sör meaning "beer". Originally the name was given to beer brewers.

Portner Low German
Low German cognate of Porter.

Dickens English
From the medieval given name Dicun, a medieval diminutive of Dick 1. A famous bearer of this surname was the British author Charles Dickens (1812-1870).

Wardrobe English
From Old French warder "to guard" and robe "garment", an occupational name for a servant responsible for the clothing in a household.

Fry English
From Old English frig (a variant of freo) meaning "free".

Copperfield Literature
Created from the English words copper and field by the author Charles Dickens, who used it for the title character in his novel David Copperfield (1850).

Nemes Hungarian
Means "noble, gentle" in Hungarian.

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

İbrahimov m Azerbaijani
Means "son of İbrahim".

Matsubara Japanese
From Japanese 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".

Durnin Irish
From Irish Ó Doirnáin meaning "descendant of Doirnín", a given name meaning "little fist".

MacCàba Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McCabe.

Clemens English
Derived from the given name Clement. This was the surname of the author Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), also known as Mark Twain.

Laninga Frisian
From Frisian lân meaning "land".

Bolkvadze Georgian
From Georgian ბოლქვი (bolkvi) meaning "tuber, bulb".

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

Expósito Spanish
Spanish cognate of Esposito.

Bret French
French form of Brett.

De Bruin Dutch
Dutch cognate of Brown.

Baumer German
Variant of Baum.

Janowski m Polish
Habitational name for a person from a town named Janowo, Janów or Janowice, all derived from the given name Jan 1.

Jovanovski m Macedonian
Means "son of Jovan".

Strand Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
From Old Norse strǫnd meaning "beach, sea shore". It was originally given to someone who lived on or near the sea.

Brannon Irish
Variant of Brennan.

Brook English
Denoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English broc.

Garner 2 English
Variant of Gardener.

Dieter German
Derived from the given name Dieter.

Gonzalo Spanish
From the given name Gonzalo.

Schuchard German
Variant of Schuchardt.

Fletcher English
Occupational name for a fletcher, someone who attached feathers to the shaft of an arrow. It is derived from Old French fleche meaning "arrow".

Benson English
Means "son of Benedict".

Ratti Italian
From Italian ratto meaning "rat", originally denoting a sly individual.

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

O'Callaghan Irish
Variant of Callahan.

Stojanovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Stojanovski.

Episcopo Italian
Means "bishop" in Italian, ultimately from Greek ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos).

Abatantuono Italian
From Italian abate meaning "abbot, priest" combined with the given name Antonio.

Marinos m Greek
Derived from the given name Marinos.

Zhou Chinese
From Chinese 周 (zhōu) referring to the Zhou dynasty, which held power from 1046 to 771 BC, continuing for a few more centuries as figureheads.

Bianchi Italian
From Italian bianco meaning "white", originally given to a person who was white-haired or extremely pale.

Shevchenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian швець (shvets) meaning "shoemaker".

Vargas Spanish, Portuguese
Means "slope, flooded field, pastureland" or "hut", from the Spanish and Portuguese dialectal word varga.

Baumgarten German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Tatum English
Variant of Tatham.

Borgnino Italian
From a nickname derived from the Piedmontese dialect word borgno meaning "one-eyed". This was the real surname of American actor Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012).

Novikova f Russian
Feminine form of Novikov.

Mutō Japanese
From Japanese 武 (mu) meaning "military, martial" and 藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The final character may indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.

Kavanaugh Irish
Variant of Kavanagh.

Cəfərova f Azerbaijani
Feminine form of Cəfərov.

Dahlberg Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish dal (Old Norse dalr) meaning "dale, valley" and berg meaning "mountain".

Naggia Italian
Variant of Naggi.

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

Acquati Italian
From the name of a village, part of the city of Lecco in Lombardy. Its name is presumably derived from Italian acqua "water".

Harley English
Derived from a place name meaning "hare clearing", from Old English hara "hare" or hær "rock, heap of stones" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Abbatelli Italian
Variant of Abbadelli.

Thomassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Thomas".

Bagnoli Italian
Diminutive form of Bagni.

Melnychuk Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian мельник (melnyk) meaning "miller".

Winterbottom English
From Old English winter meaning "winter" and botm meaning "ground, soil, bottom". This name probably referred to a winter pasture at the bottom of a lowland valley.

Mercado Spanish
Means "market" in Spanish, originally given to a person who lived near a market or worked in one.

Aue German
From German meaning "meadow by a river, wetland". There are many places with this name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

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

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

Cortez Spanish
Variant of Cortés.

Macaulay Scottish, Irish
Variant of McCauley.

Lewis 1 English
Derived from the given name Lewis. The author C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a bearer of this surname.

Xun Chinese
From Chinese 荀 (xún) meaning "plant, ancient state".

Ansel English
Derived from the given name Anselm.

Underhill English
Means "dweller at the foot of a hill", from Old English under and hyll.

Kladivo m Czech
Means "hammer" in Czech, a nickname for a blacksmith.

Sikora Polish
Means "tit (bird)" in Polish.

Masters English
Variant of Masterson.

Samson English, French
Derived from the given name Samson.

Romeijnders Dutch
From Dutch Romein meaning "Roman, person from Rome".

Siegel 2 German
Derived from the diminutive of Old German given names beginning with the element sigu meaning "victory".

Angioli Italian
Means "son of Angiolo".

Thurstan English
Derived from the Old Norse name Þórsteinn.

Pulkrábek m Czech
Derived from the Czech medieval title purkrabí, itself from German Burggraf, meaning "burgrave".

Van Wijk Dutch
Means "from the settlement", from Dutch wijk meaning "neighbourhood, district, settlement".

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

Jafari Persian
From the given name Jafar.

Pesty Hungarian
Variant of Pesti.

De Ven Dutch
Variant of Van der Veen.

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

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

Van As Dutch
Means "from Asch", a town in the Netherlands, meaning "ash tree".

Mlynáriková f Slovak
Feminine form of Mlynárik.

Chalupová f Czech
Feminine form of Chalupa.

Hudnall English
From various English place names, derived from the Old English given name Huda combined with halh "nook, recess".

Sherman 2 Jewish
Means "tailor" in Yiddish, derived from שער (sher) meaning "scissors".

Dwight English
From the medieval feminine name Diot, a diminutive of Dionysia, the feminine form of Dionysius.

Guerra Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "war", given to a belligerent person or one engaged in warfare.

Roxas Filipino
Filipino form of the Spanish Rojas.

Fábián Hungarian
Derived from the given name Fábián.

McClellan Irish, Scottish
Variant of McClelland.

Kendrick 3 Scottish
Variant of McKendrick.

Ferrero Italian
Regional variant of Ferrari. It is typical of the area around Turin.

Adair English
Derived from the given name Edgar.

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

Poggi Italian
Variant of Poggio.

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

MacDonald Scottish
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic MacDhòmhnaill meaning "son of Donald". It originates from the Highland clan Donald.

Appeldoorn Dutch
Variant of Van Apeldoorn.

Kahler German
From a nickname derived from German kahl meaning "bald".

Ó Maol Dhomhnaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Moloney.

Passerini Italian
From Italian passero meaning "sparrow".

Ajam Arabic
From Arabic عَجَم (ʿajam) meaning "foreigner, non-Arab".

Jugovac Croatian
From Croatian jug meaning "south".

El-Ghazzawy Arabic
Alternate transcription of Arabic الغزّاوي (see Al-Ghazzawi).

Acosta Spanish
Spanish form of Da Costa (from a misdivision of the surname).

Gonzales Spanish
Variant of González.

Ruane Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruadháin.

Michelakaki f Greek
Feminine form of Michelakakis.

Kelsey English
From an English place name meaning "Cenel's island", from the Old English name Cenel "fierce" in combination with eg "island".

Genova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Genov.

Paget English, French
Diminutive of Page.

Jinks English
Means "son of Jenk", a short form of Jenkin, a diminutive of Jen, itself a Middle English form of John.

Wróblewski m Polish
Originally indicated a person from Polish towns named Wróblewo or similar, derived from Polish wróbel meaning "sparrow".

Auteberry English
Variant of Atteberry.

Königsmann German
Means "king's man", or someone who played a king in a play.

Hutson English
Variant of Hudson.

Ciobanu Romanian
From Romanian cioban meaning "shepherd".

Wouters Dutch
Means "son of Wouter".

Łaska Polish
Means "grace, mercy" in Polish.

Valeriev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Valeri".

Beasley English
From the name of a place in Lancashire, from Old English beos "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Coeman Dutch
Variant of Koopman.

Lemoine French
Means "the monk" in French. This was typically a nickname or an occupational name for a person who worked in a monastery.

Kavalyova f Belarusian
Feminine form of Kavalyow.

Abbadelli Italian
Means "little abbot" from Italian abate and the diminutive suffix -elli.

Shvets Ukrainian
Means "shoemaker" in Ukrainian.

Mac Néill Irish
Irish form of McNeil.

Konstantinova f Russian, Bulgarian
Feminine form of Konstantinov.

Fredriksson Swedish
Means "son of Fredrik".

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.

Brant German, English
Variant of Brand 1 and Brand 2.

Boyanov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Boyan".

Kuroiwa Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks".

Vass Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian vas meaning "iron", referring to a worker in iron, a miner of iron ore or a vendor of iron goods. Alternatively, from the same root word, it may have been a nickname referring to one with a distinctively strong constitution.

Mateu Catalan
Derived from the given name Mateu.

Kazlow m Belarusian
Derived from Belarusian казёл (kaziol) meaning "male goat", probably used to denote a goatherd.

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

Alagona Italian
From the name of the Spanish region of Aragon, which was a medieval kingdom. The region was named for a river, which was itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".

O'Toole Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Tuathail meaning "descendant of Túathal".

Blau German
Means "blue" in German, most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes.

Sternberg Jewish
Ornamental name derived from old German stern "star" and berg "mountain".

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

Chaplin English, French
Occupational name for a chaplain, or perhaps for the servant of one, from Middle English, Old French chapelain. A famous bearer was the British comic actor Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977).

Brodie Scottish
Originally derived from a place in Moray, Scotland. It is probably from Gaelic broth meaning "ditch, mire".

Roma Italian
Variant of Romano 2.

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

Pavlovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Pavlovski.

Souček m Czech
From Czech suk meaning "tree knot". This could either be a topographic name or a nickname for a stubborn person.

Ericsson Swedish
Means "son of Eric".

McDougall Scottish
Variant of MacDougall.

Rodrigues Portuguese
Means "son of Rodrigo" in Portuguese.

Meeuwessen Dutch
Variant of Meeuwsen.

Keo Khmer
Means "glass" in Khmer.

Thibault French
Derived from the given name Thibault.

Christison English
Means "son of Christian".

Janvier French
Either from the given name Janvier or the French word janvier meaning "January", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.

Oppenheimer German
Originally indicated a person from Oppenheim, Germany, perhaps meaning "marshy home". A notable bearer was the American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967).

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

Dekker Dutch
Means "roofer, thatcher" in Dutch.

Yokota Japanese
From Japanese 横 (yoko) meaning "beside, next to" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

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

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

Wood English, Scottish
Originally denoted one who lived in or worked in a forest, derived from Old English wudu "wood".

Terzi 1 Italian
From the given name Terzo, or a name for a third child.

Yi Korean
Variant of Lee 2.

Fausti Italian
From the given name Fausto.

Moya Spanish
From any of various towns named Moya in Spain, of uncertain meaning.

McArthur Scottish
Means "son of Arthur" in Gaelic.

Černík m Czech
Variant of Černý.

Gosselin French
Derived from a diminutive of the French given name Gosse.

Larson Swedish (Anglicized), Danish (Anglicized), Norwegian (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Larsson or Larsen.

Bengoechea Basque
Variant of Bengoetxea.

Joosten Dutch
Derived from the given name Joost.

Vančurová f Czech
Feminine form of Vančura.

Martinelli Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Martino.

Beirne Irish
Variant of O'Byrne.

Otieno Luo
Derived from the given name Otieno.

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

Gunnarsson Swedish, Icelandic
Means "son of Gunnar".

Wattana Thai
From Thai วัฒน (wathan) meaning "culture".

Grimaldi Italian
From the given name Grimaldo. It is the surname of the royal family of Monaco, which came from Genoa.

Akmatov m Kyrgyz
Means "son of Akmat".

Rivas Spanish
Spanish form of Riva.

Ó Muircheartach Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Moriarty.

Kilpatrick Irish
From the Irish Mac Giolla Phádraig meaning "son of the servant of Saint Patrick".

Aho Finnish
Means "meadow, glade" in Finnish.

Abspoel Dutch
From Abtspoel, the name of an estate near Oegstgeest in South Holland, meaning "abbot's pool".

Huang Chinese
From Chinese 黄 (huáng) meaning "yellow".

Tosetti Italian
Diminutive form of Tosi.

Ramsay Scottish
Variant of Ramsey.

Arterberry English
Variant of Atteberry.

Alfaro Spanish
Originally denoted someone who was from the city of Alfaro in La Rioja, Spain. It is possibly derived from Arabic meaning "the watchtower".

Ferreira Portuguese, Galician
Denoted a person from a town named because it was near an iron mine, from Latin ferrum meaning "iron".

Alò Italian
Variant of Aloi.

De Jonker Dutch
Variant of Jonker.

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

Kiss Hungarian
Nickname meaning "small" in Hungarian.

Favero Italian
Variant of Fabbri.

Mac Cadáin Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Caden.

Ghasemi Persian
From the given name Ghasem.

Mackintosh Scottish
Variant of McIntosh.

Berkowicz Jewish
Variant of Berkovich.

MacFhionnlaigh Scottish Gaelic
Means "son of Fionnlagh" in Scottish Gaelic.

Ljungman Swedish
From Swedish ljung (Old Norse lyng) meaning "heather" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man".

Takács Hungarian
Means "weaver" in Hungarian.

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

Qodirova f Uzbek, Tajik
Feminine form of Qodirov.

Zvirbulis m Latvian
Means "sparrow" in Latvian.

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

Berger 1 French
Occupational name meaning "shepherd", from Old French bergier.

Van Rossem Dutch
Variant of Van Rossum.

Pakulski m Polish
Originally denoted a person from Pakuly, Poland.

Paquet 1 French
Occupational name for a firewood gatherer, from Old French pacquet "bundle".

De Lang Dutch
Dutch cognate of Long.

Reynaud French
From the given name Reynaud.

Kis Hungarian
Variant of Kiss.

Alfonso Spanish
From the given name Alfonso.

Sodiqova f Uzbek
Feminine form of Sodiqov.

Silvestri Italian
Derived from the given name Silvester.

Hendriks Dutch
Derived from the given name Hendrik.

Nováková f Czech, Slovak
Czech and Slovak feminine form of Novák.

Sevriens Dutch
Derived from the Latin given name Severinus.

Garnier 2 English
Variant of Garner 1.

Láníková f Czech
Feminine form of Láník.

MacClery Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Cléirich.

Markov m Bulgarian, Russian
Means "son of Marko or Mark".

Campbell Scottish
From a Gaelic nickname cam beul meaning "wry or crooked mouth". The surname was later represented in Latin documents as de bello campo meaning "of the fair field".

Doherty Irish
From the Irish Ó Dochartaigh meaning "descendant of Dochartach". The byname Dochartach means "obstructive".

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

Athanasiou Greek
Means "son of Athanasios".

Krauss German
Variant of Kraus.

Sullivan Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish name Ó Súileabháin meaning "descendant of Súileabhán". The name Súileabhán means "dark eye".

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

Román Spanish
From the given name Román.

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

Lockwood English
From an English place name meaning "enclosed wood".

Mills English
Originally given to one who lived near a mill or who worked in a mill, from Middle English mille.

Podsedník m Czech
Means "one who sits behind" in Czech, an equivalent to Zahradník mainly used in the region of Moravia.

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

Hanley English
From various English place names meaning "high meadow" in Old English.

Misra Hindi
Alternate transcription of Hindi मिश्र (see Mishra).

Brose German
Derived from the given name Ambrose.

Everest English
Originally denoted a person from Évreux in Normandy, itself named after the Gaulish tribe of the Eburovices. Mount Everest in the Himalayas was named for the British surveyor George Everest (1790-1866).

Everill English
Derived from the feminine given name Eoforhild.

Gil Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Gil 1.

Mullane Irish
Variant of Mullen.

Liepa Latvian
Means "linden tree" in Latvian.

Oakley English
From a place name meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. It was borne by American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).

Aston 1 English
From a place name meaning "east town" in Old English.

Fortune English
From Middle English, ultimately from Latin fortuna meaning "fortune, luck, chance". This was possibly a nickname for a gambler.

Viktorova f Russian, Bulgarian
Feminine form of Viktorov.

Piraino Italian
From the name of the town of Piraino on Sicily.

Konstantinou Greek
Means "son of Konstantinos".

Taniguchi Japanese
From Japanese 谷 (tani) meaning "valley" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".

Maddox Welsh
Derived from the given name Madoc.

Puga Galician
Means "thorn, prickle" in Galician.

Giese German, Danish
Derived from a short form of the given name Giselbert or other Old German names beginning with the element gisal meaning "pledge, hostage".

Falkner English, German
English variant and German cognate of Faulkner.

Sargent English
Variant of Sergeant.

Roche French
French cognate of Roach.