Browse Surnames

Good English
From a nickname meaning "good", referring to a kindly person.

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

Dupuis French
Means "from the well", from Old French puts, Latin puteus "well".

Schofield English
From various northern English place names, which were derived from Old Norse skáli "hut" and Old English feld "field".

Landau German, Jewish
Derived from the town of Landau in the Palatinate region of Germany, of Old High German origin meaning "land valley".

Van Houtem Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Asenov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Asen".

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

Hayden 1 English
From place names meaning either "hay valley" or "hay hill", derived from Old English heg "hay" and denu "valley" or dun "hill".

Bogdán Hungarian
From the given name Bogdan.

Barbu Romanian
From Romanian barbă meaning "beard".

Peura Finnish
Means "deer" in Finnish.

Salinas Spanish
Occupational name for a salt worker or someone who lived bear a salt works, from Spanish salina "salt works, salt mine", ultimately from Latin sal "salt".

Nussbaum German, Jewish
Means "nut tree", derived from the German Nuss "nut" and Baum "tree".

De Jong Dutch
Means "young" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch jonc. This is the most common surname in the Netherlands.

Fleury French
From the name of various towns in northern France, derived from the Gallo-Roman personal name Florus.

Gunnarsson Swedish, Icelandic
Means "son of Gunnar".

Katırcı Turkish
Derived from Turkish katır meaning "mule", a name for a person who made transports by mule.

Zdunowski m Polish
Denoted a person from one of the various towns named Zduny in Poland, which is derived from Polish zdun meaning "potter". It can also be an occupational surname derived directly from zdun.

Gallo Italian, Spanish
Means "rooster", ultimately from Latin gallus. This was a nickname for a proud person.

Whitney English
Originally from the name of an English town, meaning "white island" in Old English.

Jansson Swedish
Means "son of Jan 1".

Jandová f Czech
Czech feminine form of Janda.

Gatti Italian
Means "cat" in Italian, originally a nickname for an agile person.

Baranová f Slovak
Slovak feminine form of Baran.

Enríquez Spanish
Means "son of Enrique".

Murdock Irish
Derived from the given name Murchadh.

Šimunović Croatian
Means "son of Šimun".

Ramsey English, Scottish
Means "garlic island", derived from Old English hramsa "garlic" and eg "island". The surname was brought to Scotland by the Norman baron Simundus de Ramsay.

Leclercq French
Variant of Leclerc.

Brožová f Czech
Feminine form of Brož.

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

Haraldsen Norwegian
Means "son of Harald".

Laganà Italian
Occupational name for a greengrocer, meaning "vegetables" in southern Italian dialects, ultimately from Greek λάχανον (lachanon).

Tedesco Italian
From Italian tedesco meaning "German".

Baldwin English
Derived from the given name Baldwin.

Haden English
From a place name derived from Old English hæþ "heath" and dun "hill".

Spellmeyer German
Possibly from German spielen meaning "to play, to jest" combined with meyer meaning "village headman". Perhaps it referred to someone who was played or acted as the village headman.

Mac Eoghain Irish
Means "son of Eoghan" in Irish.

Montoya Spanish
From the name of a village in the province of Álava in Spain. It is possibly of Basque origin, or possibly from Latin mons "mountain, hill".

Triggs English
From a byname derived from Old Norse tryggr meaning "true, loyal".

Savage English
English nickname meaning "wild, uncouth", derived from Old French salvage or sauvage meaning "untamed", ultimately from Latin silvaticus meaning "wild, from the woods".

Szweda Polish
Derived from Polish Szwed meaning "Swede, person from Sweden".

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

Feng 1 Chinese
From Chinese 冯 (féng), which referred to an ancient city in Henan province.

Patterson English, Scottish
Means "son of Patrick".

Heath English
Originally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.

Mathiasen Danish
Means "son of Mathias".

Bengochea Basque
Variant of Bengoetxea.

Arima Japanese
From Japanese 有 (ari) meaning "have, possess" and 馬 (ma) meaning "horse".

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

Droit French
Means "right, straight" in French, a nickname for an upright person.

Antonescu Romanian
Means "son of Anton".

Robles Spanish
Originally indicated a person who lived near an oak tree or forest, from Spanish roble "oak", from Latin robur.

Buchanan Scottish
From the name of a region in Stirlingshire, Scotland, which means "house of the canon" in Gaelic.

Georgiev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Georgi".

Sherman 1 English
Means "shear man", referring to someone who used shears in his line of work, such as a sheep-shearer.

Akselsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Aksel".

Rameckers Dutch
Variant of Rademaker.

Gunvaldsen Norwegian
Means "son of Gunvald".

Nishikawa Japanese
From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

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

Post Dutch, German, English
Indicated a person who lived near a post, ultimately from Latin postis.

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

Rutgers Dutch
Derived from the given name Rutger.

Moroz Ukrainian
Means "frost" in Ukrainian.

Garza Spanish
Derived from Spanish garza meaning "heron".

Samara 2 f Greek
Feminine form of Samaras.

Gil Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Gil 1.

Elliot English
Variant of Elliott.

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.

Petrauskaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Petrauskas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Tang 2 Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Deng.

Landon English
Variant of Langdon.

Adomaitis m Lithuanian
From the given name Adomas.

Enache Romanian
Romanian form of Giannakis.

Baglio Italian
Italian cognate of Bailey.

Fitzpatrick Irish
Means "son of Patrick" in Anglo-Norman, usually adopted as an Anglicization of Mac Giolla Phádraig.

Vitale Italian
From the given name Vitale.

Selvaggio Italian
Italian form of Savage.

Heyman Jewish
From the given name Chayyim.

Drechsler German
Variant of Dressler.

Van der Hout Dutch
Variant of Van Houten.

Morelli Italian
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Mauro.

Ardovini Italian
Means "son of Arduino".

Prebensen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Preben".

Hail English
From a nickname derived from Middle English hail meaning "healthy" (of Old Norse origin).

Abe 2 Japanese
From Japanese 安 (a) meaning "peace" and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".

Carey Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ciardha meaning "descendant of Ciardha".

Wickham English
From any of various towns by this name in England, notably in Hampshire. They are derived from Old English wic "village, town" (of Latin origin) and ham "home, settlement".

Resnik Slovene
Possibly from Slovene resa meaning "heather".

Jafari Persian
From the given name Jafar.

McNeil Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacNèill meaning "son of Niall".

Bernardi Italian
From the given name Bernardo.

Bowen Welsh
From Welsh ap Owain meaning "son of Owain".

Martín Spanish
Derived from the given name Martín.

Van Rossem Dutch
Variant of Van Rossum.

Pittman English
Variant of Pitt.

Potočnik Slovene
From Slovene potok meaning "stream, brook".

Dobbs English
Derived from the medieval given name Dobbe, a diminutive of Robert.

Ughi Italian
From the given name Ugo.

Stauss German
Means "buttocks" from Middle High German stuz.

Pender 2 Dutch
Variant of Penders.

Hašková f Czech
Feminine form of Hašek.

Van Agthoven Dutch
Variant of Achthoven.

Nikolajsen Danish
Means "son of Nikolaj".

Årud Norwegian
From Norwegian å meaning "river, stream" and the archaic word rud meaning "cleared land".

Willemse Dutch
Derived from the given name Willem.

Albani Italian
Derived from the given name Albano.

Tupper English
Occupational name for a herdsman, derived from Middle English toupe "ram".

Medeiros Portuguese
From various Portuguese place names that were derived from Portuguese medeiro meaning "haystack", ultimately from Latin meta meaning "cone, pyramid".

Russo Italian
Variant of Rossi.

Laine Finnish, Estonian
Means "wave" in Finnish and Estonian.

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

Berglund Swedish
Ornamental name from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".

Nosek mu Czech, Polish
Means "small nose" in Czech and Polish.

Sabbadin Italian
From a nickname from Italian sabbato "Saturday", a name for one born on that day of the week.

Yu 2 Chinese
From Chinese 余 (yú) meaning "surplus".

Kokot Slovene, Croatian
Slovene and Croatian cognate of Kohut.

Struna Slovene
From Slovene struna meaning "string, cord", possibly denoting a maker of rope.

Ó hÉidín Irish
Means "descendant of Éidín" in Irish. The given name Éidín is a diminutive of éideadh meaning "clothes, armour".

Feigenbaum German, Jewish
Means "fig tree" in German.

Ruskin 2 English
From a diminutive of the feminine given name Rose.

Calvin French (Latinized)
Latinized form of Chauvin, used to refer to the French theologian Jean Cauvin (1509-1564).

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

Balčiūnaitė f Lithuanian
Feminine form of Balčiūnas. This form is used by unmarried women.

Perry 1 English
From Old English pirige meaning "pear tree", a derivative of peru meaning "pear", itself from Latin pirum. A famous bearer was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.

Sneijders Dutch
Variant of Snijder.

Jelínková f Czech
Feminine form of Jelínek.

Borislavova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Borislavov.

Parent English, French
Derived from Old French parent meaning either "notable" (from Latin pareo meaning "to be apparent") or "parent" (from Latin pario meaning "to produce, to give birth").

Lewerentz German
Variant of Lewerenz.

Leslie Scottish
From a Scottish clan name, earlier Lesselyn, derived from a place name in Aberdeenshire, itself probably from Gaelic leas celyn meaning "garden of holly".

Myles English
From the given name Miles.

Wilkerson English
Means "son of Wilkin".

Van Assen Dutch
Means "from Assen", a city in the Netherlands, which is possibly from essen meaning "ash trees".

Murphy Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Murchadha meaning "descendant of Murchadh". This is the most common Irish surname.

Aliyev m Tajik, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Avar, Chechen, Azerbaijani
Means "son of Ali 1". This is also an alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Əliyev.

Ergeshov m Kyrgyz
Means "son of Ergesh".

Sörensson Swedish
Swedish form of Sørensen.

Kostić Serbian
Means "son of Kosta".

Díaz Spanish
Means "son of Diego" in Spanish.

Lewandowski m Polish
From the Polish estate name Lewandów, which is itself possibly derived from a personal name or from lawenda "lavender".

Käufer German
Variant of Kaufer.

Olayinka Yoruba
From the given name Olayinka.

Planck German
German variant of Plank.

Rennell English
Variant of Reynolds.

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

Bäcker German
Variant of Becker, mostly found in northern Germany.

Medina Spanish
Means "(Arab) city" in Spanish, derived from Arabic مدينة (madīna).

Baumann German, Jewish
From Middle High German bumann meaning "farmer, builder".

Connelly Irish
Variant of Connolly.

Kerner German
Derived from Old High German kerno "seed", an occupational name for one who sold or planted seeds.

Cotterill English
Derived from Middle English cotter meaning "cottager", referring to a small tenant farmer.

Vång Swedish
Swedish variant of Wang 3.

Krawiec Polish
Means "tailor" in Polish.

Riva Italian
Means "bank, shore" in Italian, from Latin ripa, denoting one who lived by a river or a lake.

Vipond English
From Vieux-Pont, the name of various places in Normandy, derived from French vieux "old" and pont "bridge".

Whittaker English
Variant of Whitaker.

Romero Spanish
Derived from Spanish romero meaning "pilgrim to Rome".

Meyer 4 English
Variant of Myer.

Håkansson Swedish
Means "son of Håkan".

Olmos Spanish
Variant of Olmo.

Marsden English
From a place name derived from Old English mearc "boundary" and denu "valley".

Ağayev m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Ağa".

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

Ingham English
From the name of an English town, of Old English origin meaning "Inga's homestead".

Morris English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
Derived from the given name Maurice.

Dannel English
Variant of Daniel.

Lim Chinese (Hokkien)
Min Nan romanization of Lin.

Han Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 韩 (hán) referring to the ancient state of Han, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Shanxi and Henan provinces.

Bannister English
From Norman French banastre meaning "basket". This was originally a name for a maker of baskets.

Teke 2 Turkish
Occupational name for a goat herder, from Turkish teke "goat".

Róbertsson Icelandic
Means "son of Robert".

Küchler German
Occupational surname for a baker who made small cakes or cookies, derived from Middle High German kuoche "cake, pastry".

Abadzhieva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Abadzhiev.

Jovanovska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Jovanovski.

Stephanidis m Greek
Alternate transcription of Greek Στεφανίδης (see Stefanidis).

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

Howe English
Name for one who lived on a hill, from Middle English how "hill" (of Norse origin).

Szewczyk Polish
Diminutive form of Szewc.

Reynolds English
Derived from the given name Reynold.

Dudek um Polish, Czech
Means "hoopoe (bird)" in Polish and Czech.

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

De Graaf Dutch
Dutch cognate of Graf.

Bartram English
From the given name Bertram.

Landvik Norwegian
From the name of a Norwegian town meaning "land inlet".

Ziętek Polish
Possibly from a diminutive of Polish zięć meaning "son-in-law".

Drees Dutch
Variant of Dries.

Báthory Hungarian
Originally indicated a person from Bátor, a village in Hungary, which might be of Turkic origin meaning "hero". This was the surname of a Hungarian noble family who historically controlled the town. One of the family members, Stephen Báthory, became the king of Poland in the 16th century.

Marini Italian
Derived from the given name Marino.

Zakharov m Russian
Means "son of Zakhar".

MacGriogair Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of MacGregor.

Álvarez Spanish
Means "son of Álvaro".

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

Pappa f Greek
Feminine form of Pappas.

Ó Caoimh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Keefe.

Baardsen Norwegian
Means "son of Bård".

Fear English
Derived from Middle English feare meaning "friend, comrade".

Shirakawa Japanese
From Japanese 白 (shira) meaning "white" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Braband German
Derived from the name of the region of Brabant in the Netherlands and Belgium. It possibly means "ploughed region" or "marshy region" in Old High German.

Radu Romanian
From the given name Radu.

Beckett English
Originally a diminutive of Beck 1 or Beck 3.

Fonda Italian
Of Italian origin, possibly from a place derived from fondo meaning "deep". The family of Henry Fonda (1905-1982) came from the Netherlands, but they were of Genoese origin.

Adami Italian
Means "son of Adamo".

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).

Sergeeva f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Сергеева (see Sergeyeva).

Tóthová f Slovak
Slovak feminine form of Tóth.

Bennington English
From the English town name Benington, which can mean either "settlement belonging to Beonna's people" or "settlement by the River Beane".

Adriaans Dutch
Means "son of Adriaan".

Blumenthal German, Jewish
Derived from German Blumen "flowers" and Thal "valley".

Faron French
From the given name Faron.

Prosdocimi Italian
From the given name Prosdocimo, Italian form of Prosdocimus.

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

Adriaansen Dutch
Means "son of Adriaan".

Gardner English
Variant of Gardener.

Vukoja Croatian
Derived from the given name Vuk.

Jenssen Norwegian
Means "son of Jens".

Ó Maolmhuaidh Irish
Means "descendant of Maolmhuadh", Maolmhuadh being a given name meaning "proud chief", derived from Gaelic maol meaning "chief" and muadh meaning "proud, noble".

Sanna Italian
From Italian sanna or zanna meaning "tusk, fang", a nickname for a person with a protruding tooth. It is especially common on Sardinia.

Förstner German
Denoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest (see Forst).

Thompson English
Means "son of Thomas".

Ferreyra Portuguese, Galician
Variant of Ferreira.

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

Svoboda m Czech
Means "freedom" in Czech. This was a medieval name for a freeman, someone who was not a serf.

Gelashvili Georgian
Means "son of Gela".

Perrin French
From a diminutive of the given name Pierre.

Fabian German, English, Polish
Derived from the given name Fabian.

Rojo Spanish
Means "red" in Spanish, referring to the colour of the hair or complexion.

Oberst German
From Old High German obar meaning "above, upper", indicating a person from the uppermost end of a village or the top of a house.

Lewin English
Derived from the given name Leofwine.

Rapp 2 German
From Middle High German raben meaning "raven", a nickname for a person with black hair.

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

Regan Irish
Variant of Reagan.

Fournier French
Occupational name for a baker, from French fourneau meaning "oven".

McWilliam Scottish
Means "son of William" in Gaelic.

Walton English
From the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English wealh "foreigner, Celt", weald "forest", weall "wall", or wille "well, spring, water hole" combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Feld German, Jewish
Means "field" in German. The name was originally given to someone who lived on land cleared of forest.

Meggyesfalvi Hungarian
Derived from a Hungarian village named Meggyesfalva meaning "cherry village", from meggy "cherry" and falu "village".

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

Steiner German
Variant of Stein.

Valenta m Czech
Derived from the given name Valentin.

Havelka m Czech
Means "son of Havel" in Czech.

Mac Naoimhín Irish
Means "son of Naomhán" in Irish.

Bruhn German
Variant of Braun.

Ó Corraidhín Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Curran.

Bond English
Occupational name for a peasant farmer, from Middle English bonde. A famous bearer is the fictional spy James Bond, created by Ian Flemming in 1953.

Vescovi Italian
Derived from Italian vescovo meaning "bishop".

Krūmiņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian krūms meaning "bush, shrub".

Ubiña Basque
Possibly a variant of Urbina.

Pop Romanian
Variant of Popa.

Okumura Japanese
From Japanese 奥 (oku) meaning "inside" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Negri Italian
Nickname derived from Italian negro "black", used to refer to someone with dark hair or dark skin.

Ó Cathasaigh Irish
Irish Gaelic form of Casey.

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

Böhme German
Variant of Böhm.

Živković Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Živko".

Carroll Irish
From the given name Cearbhall. A famous bearer was Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Ruane Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruadháin.

Quincey English
Variant of Quincy.

Honeysett English
Possibly a variant of Honeycutt.

Ruggeri Italian
Derived from the given name Ruggero.

Csonka Hungarian
Means "maimed, mutilated" in Hungarian.

Arnold English, German
Derived from the given name Arnold.

Willey English
Variant of Wiley.

Devin 2 French, English
Nickname for a person who acted divinely or prophetically, from Old French devin meaning "divine" or "seer, fortune teller", ultimately from Latin divinus.

Rybář m Czech
Czech form of Rybár.

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

Lien Norwegian
Variant of Lie.

Kock Low German, Dutch
Low German and Dutch cognate of Cook.

Ahmadov m Azerbaijani
Alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Əhmədov.

Bolton English
From any of the many places in England called Bolton, derived from Old English bold "house" and tun "enclosure".

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

Harlan English
Variant of Harland.

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

Havelková f Czech
Feminine form of Havelka.

Amatore Italian
From the given name Amatore.

Czajka Polish
Means "lapwing (bird)" in Polish.

Tracey 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Treasaigh meaning "descendant of Treasach".

Flintstone Popular Culture
From the English words flint and stone, created by Hanna-Barbera Productions for the caveman family (Fred, Wilma and Pebbles) in their animated television show The Flintstones, which ran from 1960 to 1966.

Magomedov m Avar, Dargin, Chechen
Means "son of Magomed".

Tót Hungarian
Variant of Tóth.

Terry English
Derived from the medieval name Thierry, a Norman French form of Theodoric.

Sokol mu Slovak, Czech, Jewish
From Czech and Slovak sokol meaning "falcon", a nickname or an occupational name for a falconer. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Bălan Romanian
Means "blond" in Romanian.

Schnell German
German cognate of Snell.

Ziskind Jewish
Ornamental name, or from a given name, meaning "sweet child", derived from Yiddish זיס (zis) meaning "sweet" and קינד (kind) meaning "child", both words of Old High German origin.

Ó Meadhra Irish
Means "descendant of Meadhra". The given name Meadhra is derived from the Gaelic meadhar meaning "merry, happy".

Großer German
Variant of Groß.

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

Bachman German (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Bachmann.

Alscher German
Means "son of Adalheidis".

Warszawska f Polish
Feminine form of Warszawski.

Beckert German
Variant of Becker.

Browne English
Variant of Brown.

Bakó Hungarian
Means "axeman" in Hungarian.

Skała Polish
Polish cognate of Skála.

Mac Uileagóid Irish
Irish Gaelic form of McElligott.

Olszewski m Polish
Originally denoted someone who lived near an alder tree, from Polish olsza meaning "alder tree".

Parks English
Patronymic form of Park 3.