Surnames from Locations

Pichler Upper German
From Bavarian Bühel meaning "hill".

Pickering English
From the name of a town in Yorkshire, derived from Old English Piceringas, the name of a tribe.

Pickle English
Derived from Middle English pighel meaning "small field".

Pierno Italian
From the name of the small town of Pierno in southern Italy near Potenza.

Pinheiro Portuguese
Means "pine tree" in Portuguese.

Pinho Portuguese
Habitational name meaning "pine" in Portuguese.

Pini Italian
Name for a person who lived near a pine tree, from Italian pino, Latin pinus.

Piotrowska f Polish
Feminine form of Piotrowski.

Piotrowski m Polish
Habitational name for a person from towns named Piotrów, Piotrowo or Piotrowice, all derived from the given name Piotr.

Piovene Italian
From the name of the town of Piovene Rocchette in Veneto, Italy.

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

Pisani Italian
From Italian pisano, the name for an inhabitant of the city of Pisa, Italy. The city's name is of unknown meaning.

Pitt English
Originally given to a person who lived near a pit or a hole, derived from Old English pytt "pit".

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.

Plamondon French
Derived from French plat "flat" and mont "mountain", referring to someone who lived near a flat-topped mountain.

Planche French
French form of Plank.

Planck German
German variant of Plank.

Plank German, English
Means "plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.

Planque French
French form of Plank.

Plaskett English
Originally denoted a dweller by a swampy meadow, from Old French plascq meaning "wet meadow".

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.

Plaza Spanish
Spanish cognate of Piazza.

Pletcher German
Anglicized form of Pletscher.

Pletscher German
Possibly from the name of a field where cattle fodder was grown, from German Bletsch.

Poggi Italian
Variant of Poggio.

Poggio Italian
Means "hillock, small hill" in Italian, a derivative of Latin podium meaning "balcony, platform".

Pohl 1 Low German
Low German cognate of Poole.

Poirier French
Means "pear tree" in French, originally a nickname for someone who lived close to such a tree.

Poirot French, Literature
From a diminutive of French poire "pear", originally referring to a pear merchant or someone who lived near a pear tree. Starting in 1920 this name was used by the mystery writer Agatha Christie for her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Christie based the name on that of Jules Poiret, a contemporary fictional detective.

Polák m Czech, Slovak
Means "Pole, person from Poland" in Czech and Slovak.

Poláková f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Polák.

Pollock Scottish
From the name of a place in Renfrewshire, Scotland, derived from a diminutive of Gaelic poll meaning "pool, pond, bog". A famous bearer was the American artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956).

Polzin German
From the name of a town in Pomerania, Poland (formerly part of Germany). In Polish it is called Połczyn.

Pond English
Originally referred to one who lived near a pond.

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".

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

Popławska f Polish
Feminine form of Popławski.

Popławski m Polish
From Polish poplaw meaning "flowing water, flood".

Portelli Italian
Diminutive form of Porto.

Porto Italian
Designated a person who lived near a harbour, from Italian porto, Latin portus.

Portoghese Italian
Means "Portuguese" in Italian.

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

Potenza Italian
From the name of the southern Italian city of Potenza, called Potentia in Latin, meaning "power, force".

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

Power 1 English, Irish
From Old French Poier, indicating a person who came from the town of Poix in Picardy, France.

Powers English
Variant of Power 1 or Power 2.

Pozzi Italian
From Italian pozzo meaning "well, pit", derived from Latin puteus.

Pražak m Czech
Means "from Prague" in Czech.

Pražaková f Czech
Feminine form of Pražak.

Prescott English
From the name of various English places meaning "priest's cottage" in Old English.

Presley English
Variant of Priestley. This name was borne by musician Elvis Presley (1935-1977).

Pressley English
Variant of Priestley.

Preston English
Originally derived from various place names meaning "priest town" in Old English.

Priestley English
From a place name meaning "priest clearing", from Old English preost and leah.

Provenza Italian
From the name of the Provence region of southern France (in Italian Provenza). It is derived from Latin provincia "province", a territorial division.

Provenzano Italian
Variant of Provenza typical of southern Italy, namely Sicily and Calabria.

Puerta Spanish
Means "door, gate", a topographic name for a person who lived near the gates of the town.

Pugliese Italian
From an adjectival derivative of Puglia, from Latin Apulia, a region of southeast Italy containing the boot heel and some of the coastline of the Adriatic Sea. It is a regional name for someone from that region.

Puig Catalan
Catalan cognate of Poggio.

Pusztai Hungarian
From Hungarian puszta meaning "plain, steppe". The name was given to someone living on a plain.

Putin m Russian
From Russian путь (put) meaning "road, path". This surname is borne by the Russian president Vladimir Putin (1952-).

Putina f Russian
Feminine form of Putin.

Putnam English
From Puttenham, the name of towns in Hertfordshire and Surrey in England, which mean "Putta's homestead".

Quesada Spanish
Habitational name from Quesada, a place in Jaén in southern Spain. The place name is of uncertain derivation; it could be connected to Old Spanish requexada meaning "corner, tight spot".

Quijano Spanish
From the name of a village in northern Spain.

Quincey English
Variant of Quincy.

Quincy English
Originally from various place names in Normandy that were derived from the given name Quintus.

Quiñones Spanish
From various Spanish place names derived from quiñón meaning "shared piece of land", derived from Latin quinque "five".

Quintana Spanish, Catalan
Originally indicated someone who lived on a piece of land where the rent was a fifth of its produce, from Spanish and Catalan quintana "fifth", from Latin quintus.

Quiroga Galician
Originally denoted a person from the town of Quiroga in Galicia, Spain.

Quirós Spanish
Denoted a person from one of the various places of this name in Spain, which may derive from Galician queiroa meaning "heather".

Quixano Spanish (Archaic)
Old spelling of Quijano.

Radcliff English
From various place names in England that mean "red cliff" in Old English.

Radclyffe English
Variant of Radcliff.

Raines English
Originally denoted a person from Rayne, Essex, England (possibly from an Old English word meaning "shelter") or from Rennes, Brittany, France (from the name of the Gaulish tribe of the Redones).

Rains English
Variant of Raines.

Rake English
Originally a name for a dweller on a narrow pass or hillside, from Old English hrace meaning "throat, gorge".

Rakes English
Variant of Rake.

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".

Ramos Spanish
Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, from Latin ramus meaning "branch".

Ramsay Scottish
Variant of Ramsey.

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.

Randrup Danish
From the name of homesteads in Denmark (in Viborg or Rebild municipalities).

Ranta Finnish
Originally indicated a person who lived near the shore, from Finnish ranta meaning "shore, beach".

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

Rapallino Italian
From the name of the town of Rapallo near Genoa.

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

Rasputina f Russian
Feminine form of Rasputin.

Rattray Scottish
From a Scottish place name meaning "fortress town", from Gaelic ráth meaning "fortress" and a Pictish word meaning "town".

Ravenna Italian
From the name of the city of Ravenna in northern Italy, which is of uncertain origin, possibly Etruscan.

Ray English
Variant of Rey 1, Rey 2, Rye or Wray.

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".

Ready 2 Scottish
Originally denoted a person from Reedie farm in Angus, Scotland.

Reenberg Danish
Meaning unknown. The second element is probably from Old Norse berg "mountain" (modern Danish bjerg).

Regenbogen German, Jewish
From a German nickname meaning "rainbow", probably a habitational name for someone who lived in a house with the sign of a rainbow. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Reis German, Jewish
From Middle High German ris meaning "twig, branch, bush", denoting a person who lived in an overgrown area. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Reiter German
Variant of Reuter 1.

Remington English
From the name of the town of Rimington in Lancashire, derived from the name of the stream Riming combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, town".

Resnik Slovene
Possibly from Slovene resa meaning "heather".

Reuter 1 German
Fom Middle High German riute meaning "cleared land".

Rhodes English
Topographic name derived from Old English rod meaning "cleared land", or a locational name from any of the locations named with this word.

Ribeiro Portuguese
Means "little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Riber Danish
Originally indicated a person from the county or town of Ribe in southwestern Denmark.

Richelieu French
From the name of the town of Richelieu, derived from French riche "wealthy" and lieu "place". The historic figure Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), born Armand du Plessis, was so-called because he became the first Duke of Richelieu. He appears in Alexander Dumas' novel The Three Musketeers (1844).

Ridge English
Denoted a person who lived near a ridge, from Old English hrycg.

Ridley English
Denoted a person who hailed from one of the various places of this name in England. The places are derived from Old English geryd "channel" or hreod "reed" combined with leah "woodland, clearing".

Rietveld Dutch
Means "reed field", from Dutch riet "reed" and veld "field". It is found mostly in the western part of the Netherlands (the Holland area).

Rigby English
Originally derived from the name of a town in Lancashire, itself from Old Norse hryggr "ridge" and býr "farm, settlement".

Riggi Italian
From the name of the Italian city of Reggio Calabria, from Latin Rhegium, of Greek origin.

Riley 1 English
From the name of the town of Ryley in Lancashire, derived from Old English ryge "rye" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Rinne 2 Finnish
Means "hillside" in Finnish.

Ríos Spanish
Spanish cognate of Rios.

Rios Portuguese
Originally denoted a person who lived near a river, from Portuguese rios "river", ultimately from Latin rivus.

Ripley English
From the name of various English towns, from Old English rippel "grove, thicket" and leah "woodland, clearing". A notable fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley from the movie Alien (1979) and its sequels.

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

Rivas Spanish
Spanish form of Riva.

Rivera Spanish
From Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore", from Latin riparius.

Rivero Spanish
Variant of Rivera.

Rivers English
Denoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French riviere meaning "river", from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Rivière French
French cognate of Rivers.

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).

Robledo Spanish
Means "oak wood" from Spanish roble "oak", ultimately from Latin robur.

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

Rocca Italian
Italian cognate of Roach.

Rocha Portuguese, Galician
Portuguese and Galician cognate of Roach.

Roche French
French cognate of Roach.

Rodney English
From a place name meaning "Hroda's island" in Old English (where Hroda is an Old English given name meaning "fame").

Roggeveen Dutch
Means "rye field" in Dutch. A famous bearer was Jacob Roggeveen (1659-1729), the first European explorer to Easter Island.

Roijackers Dutch
Variant of Rooijakkers.

Roijakkers Dutch
Variant of Rooijakkers.

Roma Italian
Variant of Romano 2.

Romà Catalan
Catalan form of Romano 1 or Romano 2.

Romagna Italian
From the region of Romagna, on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It is derived from Latin Romania meaning "land of the Romans".

Romagnoli Italian
Variant of Romagna.

Romano 2 Italian
Denoted a person from the city of Rome, either a resident or someone who visited as a pilgrim. In Calabria it was also used to designate a person from New Rome, a name for Constantinople.

Romão Portuguese
Portuguese form of Romano 1 or Romano 2.

Rome French, English
English and French form of Romano 2.

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

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

Romijnders Dutch
Variant of Romeijnders.

Romilly English, French
Originally denoted a person who came from any of the various places in northern France called Romilly or from Romiley in England.

Rompa Dutch
Variant of Van Rompa.

Roncalli Italian
From the names of places like Ronco or Ronchi, quite common in northern Italy, derived from ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It was the surname of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1881-1963), the pope John XXIII.

Ronchi Italian
From Italian places named Ronchi, derived from ronco meaning "cleared land, terraced land". It is most common in northern and central Italy.

Rooijakkers Dutch
Means "red field", from Dutch rood "red" and akker "field".

Roosa Dutch
From Dutch roos meaning "rose".

Roosevelt Dutch
Means "rose field" from Dutch roos "rose" and veld "field". This was the surname of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).

Rosa Italian, Catalan
Italian and Catalan form of Rose 1.

Rosales Spanish
Means "rose bushes" in Spanish.

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

Rose 1 English, French, German, Jewish
Means "rose" from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German rose, all from Latin rosa. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in an area abundant with roses. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental, from Yiddish רויז (roiz).

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

Rosenberger German, Jewish
Variant of Rosenberg.

Rosenfeld German, Jewish
Means "field of roses" in German. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Ross English, Scottish
From various place names (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), which are derived from Scottish Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland".

Rothenberg German, Jewish
From Middle High German rot meaning "red" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish name it may be ornamental.

Rothschild Jewish
From Middle High German rot "red" and schilt "shield", or Yiddish רויט (roit) and שילד (shild). The famous Rothschild family of bankers took their name from a house with a red shield on it.

Rovigatti Italian
From the name of the city of Rovigo in northeastern Italy near Venice. It was called Rodigium in Latin, and is of unknown meaning.

Rowbottom English
Originally indicated a person who lived in an overgrown valley, from Old English ruh "rough, overgrown" and boðm "valley".

Rowe 1 English
Means "row" in Middle English, indicating a dweller by a row of hedges or houses.

Rowntree English
Originally given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash.

Royceston English
Variant of Royston.

Roydon English
Originally derived from a place name meaning "rye hill", from Old English ryge "rye" and dun "hill".

Royston English
Originally taken from an Old English place name meaning "Royse's town". The given name Royse was a medieval variant of Rose.

Rudaski Polish (Anglicized)
Americanized variant of Rudawski.

Rudawska f Polish
Feminine form of Rudawski.

Rudawski m Polish
Indicated a person who lived near the Rudawa, a river in Poland.

Ruoho Finnish
Means "grass" in Finnish.

Rush English
Indicated a person who lived near rushes, the grasslike plant that grows in a marsh, from Old English rysc.

Rusnak Polish
Means "Russian" in Polish.

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".

Rutherfurd Scottish
Variant of Rutherford.

Rutkowska f Polish
Feminine form of Rutkowski.

Rutkowski m Polish
Originally a name for a person from Rutki, Poland.

Ruud Norwegian
Derived from Old Norse ruð meaning "cleared land".

Rye English
Topographic name. It could be a misdivision of the Middle English phrases atter ye meaning "at the island" or atter eye meaning "at the river". In some cases it merely indicated a person who lived where rye was grown or worked with rye (from Old English ryge).

Ryland English
From various English place names, derived from Old English ryge "rye" and land "land".

Ryley English
Variant of Riley 1.

Ryskamp Dutch
Meaning unknown, probably ending with Dutch kamp meaning "camp".

Saar Estonian
From Estonian saar meaning "island".

Saari Finnish
From Finnish saari meaning "island".

Saarinen Finnish
From Finnish saari meaning "island".

Sachs German
Originally indicated a person from Saxony (German Sachsen). The region was named for the Germanic tribe of the Saxons, ultimately derived from the Germanic word *sahsą meaning "knife".

Sackville English
From the name of the Norman French town of Saqueneville.

Sadowska f Polish
Feminine form of Sadowski.

Sadowski m Polish
Denoted someone who lived in Sadowo, Sadowice or other places beginning with Polish sad "garden, orchard".

Sakamoto Japanese
From Japanese 坂 or 阪 (saka) meaning "slope" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Sakurada Japanese
From Japanese 桜 (sakura) meaning "cherry blossom" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Salamanca Spanish
Originally indicated a person from Salamanca, a city in western Spain that is of unknown meaning.

Salazar Basque, Spanish
From Spanish sala meaning "hall" and Basque zahar meaning "old". It can also refer to the town of Salazar in Burgos, Spain, which is of the same origin.

Salcedo Spanish
Derived from Latin salix meaning "willow tree". The name was originally given to one who lived near a willow tree.

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".

Saller 1 German
Originally denoted a person from the town of Sallern in Bavaria, possibly from a Celtic element meaning "stream".

Saller 2 German
Denoted a person who lived by a prominent sallow tree, from Middle High German salhe "sallow tree".

Salminen Finnish
From Finnish salmi meaning "strait".

Salo Finnish
Means "forest" in Finnish.

Salonen Finnish
From Finnish salo meaning "forest".

Salzwedel German
Originally denoted a person from Salzwedel, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "salt ford".

Sanada Japanese
From Japanese 真 (sana) meaning "real, genuine" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Sandberg Swedish, Norwegian, Jewish
From Swedish and Norwegian sand (Old Norse sandr) meaning "sand" and berg meaning "mountain" (or in the case of the Jewish surname, from the Yiddish or German cognates).

Sandford English
Indicated a person from Sandford, England, which means simply "sand ford".

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

Sands English
From Old English, indicated the original nearer lived on sandy ground.

Sanford English
Variant of Sandford.

San Nicolás Spanish
Indicated the original bearer was from a place named after Saint Nicholas.

Sano Japanese
From Japanese 佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Santana Spanish, Portuguese
From any of the numerous places named after Saint Anna. A famous bearer is the Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana (1947-).

Santiago Spanish, Portuguese
From various Spanish and Portuguese places called Santiago.

Sappington English
Possibly from the city of Sapperton, England, derived from Old English sapere meaning "soap maker" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".

Sárközi Hungarian
Originally indicated someone from Sárköz, a region in Hungary, derived from sár "mud" and köz "margin, lane".

Sarkozi Hungarian (Anglicized)
Variant of Sárközi.

Sárközy Hungarian
Variant of Sárközi.

Sarkozy Hungarian (Anglicized)
Variant of Sárközy.

Sarno Italian
Originally denoted a person from Sarno in Italy, named for the Sarno River (called Sarnus in Latin).

Sasaki Japanese
From Japanese 佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" (repeated, indicated by the iteration mark 々) and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".

Sault French
French cognate of Soto.

Sauveterre French
From the name of various towns in France, derived from French sauve "safe" and terre "land".

Savona Italian
From the name of the city of Savona in northern Italy, called Savo by the Romans, of uncertain meaning.

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

School Dutch
From Dutch school, ultimately from Latin schola meaning "school", indicating a person who worked at or lived near a school.

Schoorel Dutch
Variant of Schoorl.

Schoorl Dutch
Originally indicated a person from the town of Schoorl in the province of Noord-Holland in the Netherlands. It means "forest by the shore" in Dutch.

Schorel Dutch
Variant of Schoorl.

Schöttmer German
Originally indicated a person from Schötmar, Germany (now part of the city of Bad Salzuflen in North Rhine-Westphalia).

Schwangau German
From the name of a town in southern Germany, possibly related to German Schwan meaning "swan".

Schwarzenberg German
Means "black mountain" in German.

Schwarzenegger German
From a place name, derived from Old High German swarz meaning "black" and ekka meaning "edge, corner". A famous bearer of this name is actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).

Schweitzer German
Indicated a person from Switzerland (see Schweiz).

Sciacca Italian
Originally denoted someone from Sciacca, Sicily, Italy, which is of uncertain origin.

Sciacchitano Italian
Variant of Sciacca.

Scott English, Scottish
Originally given to a person from Scotland or a person who spoke Scottish Gaelic.

Seabrook English
Denoted a person from a town by this name in Buckinghamshire, England. It is derived from that of a river combined with Old English broc "stream".

Seabrooke English
Variant of Seabrook.

Seki Japanese
From Japanese 関 (seki) meaning "frontier pass".

Selby English
From the name of a village that meant "willow farm" in Old English.

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

Sepúlveda Spanish
Derived from the name of the Sepúlveda Valley in the mountains of Segovia, and was originally used to denote people from that region. It is possibly derived from Spanish sepultar "to bury".

Serizawa Japanese
From Japanese 芹 (seri) meaning "celery" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh".

Serra Italian, Portuguese, Catalan
Italian, Portuguese and Catalan cognate of Sierra.

Serrano Spanish
Variant of Sierra.

Sessa Italian
Originally indicated a person from from Sessa or Sessa Cilento, Italy (from Latin Suessa, of uncertain meaning).

Sessions English
From the name of the city of Soissons in northern France, itself derived from the name of the Celtic tribe of the Suessiones.

Seymour 1 English
From Saint Maur, a French place name, which commemorates Saint Maurus.

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

Sharrow English
Originally a name for someone from Sharrow, England, derived from Old English scearu "boundary" and hoh "point of land, heel".

Shaw 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived near a prominent thicket, from Old English sceaga meaning "thicket, copse".

Shelby English
Variant of Selby.

Shelton English
From the name of various English towns, meaning "shelf town" in Old English.

Shen Chinese
From Chinese 申 (shēn) referring to the ancient state of Shen, which existed during the Zhou dynasty.

Sherazi Urdu
Urdu form of Shirazi.

Sherburn English
Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Sherborne or Sherburn in England, derived from Old English scir "bright" and burna "spring, fountain, stream".

Sherburne English
Variant of Sherburn.

Shibuya Japanese
From Japanese 渋 (shibu) meaning "astringent, rough" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".

Shimada Japanese
From Japanese 島 (shima) meaning "island" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Shimamura Japanese
From Japanese 島 (shima) meaning "island" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Shimizu Japanese
From Japanese 清 (shi) meaning "clear, pure, clean" and 水 (mizu) meaning "water".

Shin Korean
Korean form of Shen, from Sino-Korean 申 (sin).

Shinkawa Japanese
From Japanese 新 (shin) meaning "fresh, new" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Shinoda Japanese
From Japanese 篠 (shino) meaning "dwarf bamboo" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Shinohara Japanese
From Japanese 篠 (shino) meaning "dwarf bamboo" and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".

Shinozaki Japanese
From Japanese 篠 (shino) meaning "dwarf bamboo" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".

Shirai Japanese
From Japanese 白 (shira) meaning "white" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".

Shiraishi Japanese
From Japanese 白 (shira) meaning "white" and 石 (ishi) meaning "stone".

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

Shirazi Persian
Originally denoted someone who came from the city of Shiraz, located in southern Iran. The city's name is possibly of Elamite origin.

Shirley English
From an English place name, derived from Old English scir "bright" and leah "woodland, clearing".

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

Sidney English
Originally derived from various place names in England meaning "wide island", from Old English sid "wide" and eg "island". Another theory holds that it comes from the name of a town in Normandy called "Saint Denis", though evidence for this is lacking.

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

Sierra Spanish
Originally indicated a dweller on a hill range or ridge, from Spanish sierra "mountain range", derived from Latin serra "saw".

Sigourney English
From the name of the commune of Sigournais in western France, called Segurniacum in medieval Latin, itself of unknown meaning.

Silva Portuguese, Spanish
From Spanish or Portuguese silva meaning "forest". This is the most common surname in Portugal and Brazil.

Silveira Portuguese
Means "forests" in Portuguese.

Sinagra 1 Italian
Originally denoted a person from Sinagra on Sicily, possibly derived from Latin sinus "inlet" and ager "field".

Sinclair English
Derived from a Norman French town called "Saint Clair".

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

Skała Polish
Polish cognate of Skála.

Skalická f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Skalický.

Skalický m Czech, Slovak
Indicated the original bearer came from a place named Skalice, Skalica or Skalička in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, derived from the Slavic root skala meaning "rock".

Skálová f Czech
Feminine form of Skála.

Skjeggestad Norwegian
From a place name, derived from Norwegian skjegg "beard" and stad "town, place".

Skov Danish
Topographic name meaning "forest, wood" in Danish, from Old Norse skógr.

Skovgaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish skov "forest, wood" and gård "farm, yard".

Skywalker Popular Culture
From the English words sky and walker, created by George Lucas as the surname for several characters in his Star Wars movie series, notably the hero Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy (beginning 1977). Early drafts of the script had the name as Starkiller.

Slade English
Derived from Old English slæd meaning "valley".

Slane Irish
Originally indicated a person from Slane, County Meath, Ireland, which is derived from the given name Sláine.

Śląska f Polish
Feminine form of Śląski.

Śląski m Polish
Polish cognate of Slezák.

Ślązak Polish
Polish cognate of Slezák.

Slezák m Czech, Slovak
Originally a name for a person from Silesia, a historical region that is nowadays split between Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Slezáková f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Slezák.

Slováček m Czech
Variant of Slovák.

Slováčková f Czech
Feminine form of Slováček.

Slovák m Slovak, Czech
Originally described one who was from Slovakia.

Slováková f Slovak, Czech
Feminine form of Slovák.

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

Śniegowska f Polish
Feminine form of Śniegowski.

Śniegowski m Polish
Habitational name for a person from Sniegow, Sniegowo or other places with a name derived from Polish śnieg "snow".

Sokołowska f Polish
Feminine form of Sokołowski.

Sokołowski m Polish
Usually refers to the city of Sokołów Podlaski in Poland. It may sometimes be derived from Polish sokół meaning "falcon".