Aalto FinnishFrom Finnish
aalto meaning
"wave". A famous bearer was Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).
Abate ItalianFrom Italian
abate meaning
"abbot, priest", derived via Latin and Greek from an Aramaic word meaning "father". This was used either as a nickname or an occupational name for a worker in a priest's house.
Abbadelli ItalianMeans
"little abbot" from Italian
abate and the diminutive suffix
-elli.
Abbaticchio ItalianMeans
"little abbot" from Italian
abate and the diminutive suffix
-icchio, from Latin
-iculus.
Abe 1 JapaneseFrom Japanese
安 (a) meaning "peace" and
倍 (be) meaning "multiple times".
Abe 2 JapaneseFrom Japanese
安 (a) meaning "peace" and
部 (be) meaning "part, section".
Acerbi ItalianFrom Italian
acerbo meaning
"bitter, harsh, severe".
Adesso ItalianPerhaps a nickname for a punctual or fast person, from Italian
adesso meaning
"now, at this moment".
Affini ItalianFrom Latin
affinis meaning
"neighbouring, kindred".
Agnelli ItalianFrom Italian
agnello meaning
"lamb" (ultimately from Latin
agnus), denoting a pious or timid person.
Agnusdei ItalianFrom Latin
Agnus Dei meaning
"lamb of God". This was a nickname for someone who was particularly religious or someone who wore this symbol.
Aksoy TurkishFrom Turkish
ak "white" and
soy "lineage, ancestry".
Alderliesten DutchFrom Dutch
allerliefste meaning
"most dearest". This name could have referred to the nature of the person or perhaps a phrase the person commonly used.
Allegri ItalianFrom an Italian nickname derived from
allegro meaning
"quick, lively".
Aquino Italian, SpanishFrom the name of an Italian town near Rome, derived from Latin
aqua meaning "water", the home town of the 13th-century saint Thomas Aquinas. In Italy the surname is derived directly from the town's name. As a Spanish-language surname, it was sometimes bestowed by missionaries in honour of the saint as they evangelized in Spanish colonies.
Arany HungarianMeans
"golden" in Hungarian. A famous bearer of the name was Hungarian poet János Arany (1817-1882).
Armati ItalianFrom Italian
armato meaning
"armed, armoured, equipped".
Armstrong EnglishMeans
"strong arm" from Middle English. Tradition holds that the family is descended from Siward, an 11th-century Earl of Northumbria. Famous bearers of this name include the Americans Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), a jazz musician, and Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), an astronaut who was the first person to walk on the moon.
Astor OccitanDerived from Occitan
astur meaning
"hawk". The wealthy and influential Astor family, prominent in British and American society, originated in the Italian Alps.
Averill EnglishFrom Middle English
aueril, Old French
avrill meaning
"April", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
Baart DutchMeans
"beard" in Dutch, originally describing a person who wore a beard.
Bachchan Indian, HindiFrom Hindi
बच्चा (bachcha) meaning
"child", a word of Persian origin. This surname was adopted by the Indian poet Harivansh Rai Srivastava (1907-2003).
Bähr GermanFrom Middle High German
bër "bear" or
ber "boar". This was originally a nickname for a strong or brave person.
Baines 2 EnglishFrom a nickname derived from Old English
ban "bones", probably for a thin person.
Ball EnglishFrom Middle English
bal, Old English
beall meaning
"ball". This was either a nickname for a rotund or bald person, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a ball-shaped feature.
Ballerini ItalianFrom Italian
ballerino meaning
"dancer", an occupational name or nickname for someone who liked to dance.
Barrett EnglishProbably derived from the Middle English word
barat meaning
"trouble, deception", originally given to a quarrelsome person.
Barsotti ItalianProbably from the medieval Latin word
baro meaning
"man, freeman" (of Frankish origin).
Basso ItalianOriginally a nickname for a short person, from Latin
bassus "thick, low".
Battle EnglishFrom a nickname for a combative person. In some cases it may come from the name of English places called
Battle, so named because they were sites of battles.
Beck 3 EnglishFrom a nickname for a person with a big nose, from Middle English
bec meaning
"beak".
Begum Indian (Muslim), Bengali (Muslim), Urdu, PunjabiFrom a title traditionally used as an honorific for Muslim women in India and other parts of southern Asia. It is derived from a feminine form of the Turkic title
beg meaning "chieftain" (modern Turkish
bey).
Belcher EnglishFrom a Middle English version of Old French
bel chiere meaning
"beautiful face". It later came to refer to a person who had a cheerful and pleasant temperament.
Bello Spanish, ItalianMeans
"beautiful" in Spanish and Italian, originally a nickname for an attractive person.
Bellomo ItalianFrom a nickname derived from Italian
bello "beautiful, fair" and
uomo "man".
Beran CzechDerived from Czech
beran meaning
"ram, male sheep".
Berlusconi ItalianProbably from the Milanese word
berlusch meaning
"cross-eyed, crooked".
Best 1 EnglishDerived from Middle English
beste meaning
"beast", an occupational name for a keeper of animals or a nickname for someone who acted like a beast. A famous bearer of this surname was soccer legend George Best (1946-2005).
Bianchi ItalianFrom Italian
bianco meaning
"white", originally given to a person who was white-haired or extremely pale.
Bieber German, JewishFrom Middle High German
biber meaning
"beaver", possibly a nickname for a hard worker.
Biondi ItalianMeans
"fair-haired, blond" in Italian. This name was borne by the American swimmer Matt Biondi (1965-).
Bisset EnglishFrom Old French
bis meaning
"drab, dingy", a nickname for someone who looked drab.
Black EnglishMeans 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.
Blake EnglishVariant of
Black. A famous bearer was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827).
Blanc FrenchMeans
"white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond.
Blanco SpanishMeans
"white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a person who was pale or had blond hair.
Blau GermanMeans
"blue" in German, most likely used to refer to a person who wore blue clothes.
Blue EnglishFrom a nickname for a person with blue eyes or blue clothing.
Boivin FrenchNickname for a wine drinker, from Old French
boi "to drink" and
vin "wine".
Bonfils FrenchDerived from Old French
bon fils meaning
"good son".
Bonheur FrenchFrom Old French
bonne heure meaning
"good time" or
"lucky".
Bonner EnglishFrom Middle English
boneire "kind, courteous", derived from Norman French
bon aire "good bloodline".
Bonney EnglishFrom northern Middle English
boni meaning
"pretty, attractive".
Borgnino ItalianFrom nickname derived from the Piedmontese dialect word
borgno meaning
"one-eyed". This was the real surname of American actor Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012).
Borst DutchFrom a nickname derived from Dutch
borst "chest".
Bove ItalianDerived from an Italian nickname meaning
"bull, ox".
Bowie ScottishAnglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Buidheach, derived from
buidhe meaning
"yellow". A famous bearer was the American pioneer James Bowie (1796-1836), for whom the bowie knife is named. The British musician David Bowie (1947-2016), born David Robert Jones, took his stage name from the American pioneer (and the knife).
Božić CroatianMeans
"Christmas" in Croatian, a diminutive of
bog meaning "god".
Breitbarth GermanFrom Old High German
breit "broad" and
bart "beard", originally a nickname for someone with a full beard.
Brett EnglishOriginally a name given to someone who was a Breton or a person from Brittany.
Britton EnglishOriginally given to a person who was a Briton (a Celt of England) or a Breton (an inhabitant of Brittany).
Brock EnglishDerived from Old English
brocc meaning
"badger", ultimately of Celtic origin.
Brown EnglishOriginally 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.
Brun French, Danish, Norwegian, SwedishMeans
"brown" in French, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. It was originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin.
Brunet FrenchFrom a diminutive of French
brun meaning
"brown".
Bruno ItalianMeans
"brown" in Italian, a nickname for a person with brown hair or brown clothes.
Buckley 2 IrishFrom Irish
Ó Buachalla meaning
"descendant of Buachaill", a nickname meaning "cowherd, servant".
Bull EnglishFrom a nickname for a person who acted like a bull.
Bullard EnglishPossibly a nickname derived from Middle English
bole "fraud, deceit".
Bunker EnglishDerived from Old French
bon cuer meaning
"good heart".
Bureau FrenchFrom Old French
burel, diminutive of
bure, a type of woolen cloth. It may have originated as a nickname for a person who dressed in the material or as an occupational name for someone who worked with it.
Butts EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"thick, stumpy", from Middle English
butt.
Cabello SpanishMeans
"hair" in Spanish, used as a nickname for a person with a large amount of hair.
Cameron ScottishMeans
"crooked nose" from Gaelic
cam "crooked" and
sròn "nose".
Campbell ScottishFrom 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".
Cano SpanishMeans
"white-haired, old" in Spanish, from Latin
canus.
Capello 2 ItalianNickname for a thin person, from Italian
capello meaning
"a hair", ultimately derived from Latin
capillus.
Carbone ItalianFrom a nickname for a person with dark features, from Italian
carbone meaning
"coal".
Carnevale ItalianFrom an Italian nickname meaning
"carnival", perhaps given to a festive person.
Caruso ItalianMeans
"close-cropped hair" in Italian, also having the secondary sense "boy, young man".
Cervantes SpanishPossibly from Old Spanish
servanto meaning
"servant" or
ciervo meaning
"stag". A famous bearer was the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616).
Charbonneau FrenchDerived from a diminutive form of French
charbon "charcoal", a nickname for a person with black hair or a dark complexion.
Chastain FrenchFrom Old French
castan "chestnut tree" (Latin
castanea), a name for someone who lived near a particular chestnut tree, or possibly a nickname for someone with chestnut-coloured hair.
Chaykovsky RussianRussian form of
Chayka. A famous bearer was the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Chaykovsky (1840-1893), with the surname commonly Romanized as
Tchaikovsky.
Chevalier FrenchFrom a nickname derived from French
chevalier meaning
"knight", from Late Latin
caballarius "horseman", Latin
caballus "horse".
Chey KhmerMeans
"victory" in Khmer, from Sanskrit
जय (jaya).
Čížek CzechMeans
"siskin" in Czech, referring to a type of bird in the finch family.
Cock EnglishDerived from the medieval nickname
cok meaning
"rooster, cock". The nickname was commonly added to given names to create diminutives such as
Hancock or
Alcock.
Coelho PortugueseFrom the Portuguese word for
"rabbit", either a nickname or an occupational name referring to a hunter or seller of rabbits.
Coppola ItalianFrom the name of a type of hat characteristic of Sicily and southern Italy. This surname indicated a person who wore or made these hats.
Corvi ItalianNickname derived from Italian
corvo meaning
"crow".
Ćosić Croatian, SerbianFrom Croatian and Serbian
ćosav "beardless", ultimately from Persian
کوسه (koseh) meaning "shark".
Couch CornishFrom Cornish
cough "red", indicating the original bearer had red hair.
Coy EnglishMeans
"quiet, shy, coy" from Middle English
coi.
Cracchiolo ItalianDerived from Italian
cracchiola, referring to a chicory-like vegetable.
Curtis EnglishNickname for a courteous person, derived from Old French
curteis meaning
"refined, courtly".
Delacroix FrenchMeans
"of the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.
Delgado Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"thin" in Spanish and Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
delicatus meaning "delicate, tender, charming".
Devin 2 EnglishNickname for a person who acted divinely, from Old French
devin "divine", ultimately from Latin.
De Witte DutchMeans
"the white" in Dutch, a nickname for a person with white hair.
Doležal CzechNickname for a lazy person, derived from the past participle of the Czech verb
doležat "to lie down".
Donne Scottish, IrishFrom Gaelic
donn meaning
"brown", a nickname for a person with brown hair.
Drake EnglishDerived from the Old Norse byname
Draki or the Old English byname
Draca both meaning
"dragon", both via Latin from Greek
δράκων (drakon) meaning "dragon, serpent".
Droit FrenchMeans
"right, straight" in French, a nickname for an upright person.
Du ChineseFrom Chinese
杜 (dù) meaning
"stop, prevent" or
"birchleaf pear tree".
Duke EnglishFrom the noble title, which was originally from Latin
dux "leader". It was a nickname for a person who behaved like a duke, or who worked in a duke's household.
Dumbledore LiteratureFrom the dialectal English word
dumbledore meaning
"bumblebee". It was used by J. K. Rowling for the headmaster of Hogwarts in her
Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Dunn English, Scottish, IrishDerived from Old English
dunn "dark" or Gaelic
donn "brown", referring to hair colour or complexion.
Dunst GermanDerived from Middle High German
dunst "haze".
Durand French, EnglishFrom Old French
durant meaning
"enduring", ultimately from Latin
durans. This was a nickname for a stubborn person.
Earl EnglishFrom the aristocratic title, which derives from Old English
eorl meaning
"nobleman, warrior". It was either a nickname for one who acted like an earl, or an occupational name for a person employed by an earl.
Eld SwedishFrom Old Norse
eldr, modern Swedish
eld, meaning
"fire".
Elder EnglishDerived from Old English
ealdra meaning
"older", used to distinguish two people who had the same name.
English EnglishDenoted a person who was of English heritage. It was used to distinguish people who lived in border areas (for example, near Wales or Scotland). It was also used to distinguish an Anglo-Saxon from a Norman.
Esposito ItalianMeans
"exposed" in Italian and denoted a child who was rescued after being abandoned by its parents.
Falco ItalianDerived from Italian
falco "falcon". The name was used to denote a falconer or a person who resembled a falcon in some way.
Falkenrath GermanDerived from Middle High German
falke "falcon" and
rat "counsel, advice".
Farran EnglishDerived from Old French
ferrant meaning
"iron grey".
Fear EnglishDerived from Middle English
feare meaning
"friend, comrade".