This is a list of surnames in which the number of syllables is 3.
Abarca SpanishFrom the name of a type of leather-soled shoe or sandal made on the Balearic Islands. It originally indicated a person who made or sold this item.
Abascal SpanishMeans
"priest's street" from Basque
abas "priest" and
kale "street".
Acconcio ItalianFrom the medieval Italian given names
Accuntius or
Acconcius, of uncertain meaning.
Ackerman EnglishMeans
"ploughman", derived from Middle English
aker "field" and
man.
Agnelli ItalianFrom Italian
agnello meaning
"lamb" (ultimately from Latin
agnus), denoting a pious or timid person.
Aguilar SpanishFrom a place name that was derived from Spanish
águila meaning
"eagle", ultimately from Latin
aquila.
Aguirre SpanishFrom Basque
ageri meaning
"open, cleared, prominent", originally given to a peron who lived in an open area.
Akai JapaneseFrom Japanese
赤 (aka) meaning "red" and
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
Alfarsi ArabicMeans
"the Persian" in Arabic, derived from Arabic
فارس (Faris) meaning "Persia".
Almássy HungarianMeans
"from the apple orchard", derived from Hungarian
alma meaning "apple".
Al-Mufti ArabicRefers to a
mufti, a Muslim legal advisor consulted in applying a religious law.
Al Su'ud ArabicFrom Arabic
آل (aal) meaning "family" combined with the given name
Su'ud. Normally transcribed
Al Saud, this is the family name of the ruling dynasty of Saudia Arabia.
Amano JapaneseFrom Japanese
天 (ama) meaning "heaven" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Aoki JapaneseFrom Japanese
青 (ao) meaning "green, blue" and
木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
Asano JapaneseFrom Japanese
浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Ávila SpanishFrom the name of the city of Ávila in Spain. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly of Punic or Celtic origin.
Ayala SpanishFrom the name of the town of Ayala (called
Aiara in Basque) in Álava, Spain. It might be derived from Basque
aiher "slope" or
alha "pasture".
Bannister EnglishFrom Norman French
banastre meaning
"basket". This was originally a name for a maker of baskets.
Barone ItalianFrom the title
barone "baron", derived via Latin from Frankish
baro "man, warrior, servant".
Beethoven Dutch (Archaic)From a place name derived from Dutch
beet "beet, beetroot" and
hoven "farms". This name was borne by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), whose family was of Flemish origin. The surname is now mostly extinct.
Bodrogi HungarianOriginally denoted someone living near the Bodrog, a river in northeastern of Hungary.
Bolívar SpanishFrom
Bolibar, the name of a small Basque village, derived from Basque
bolu "mill" and
ibar "meadow". This name was borne by the revolutionary Simón Bolívar (1783-1830).
Bologna ItalianFrom the name of the city of Bologna in northern Italy. It may derive from a Celtic word meaning "settlement".
Brambilla ItalianDerived from the Italian town of Brembilla in Lombardy, itself named after the Brembo river.
Budai HungarianOriginally indicated a person from the Hungarian city of
Buda (one of the two cities that were joined to make Budapest in 1873).
Bukowski m PolishOriginally denoted someone who came from a place called
Bukowo or
Bukowiec, which derive from Polish
buk "beech".
Cabello SpanishMeans
"hair" in Spanish, used as a nickname for a person with a large amount of hair.
Calderón SpanishOccupational name for a person who made, repaired or sold cauldrons or kettles, from Spanish
calderón "cauldron", from Late Latin
caldaria.
Cárdenas SpanishFrom the name of towns in the Spanish provinces of Almería and La Rioja. They are derived from Spanish
cárdeno "blue, purple".
Carmona SpanishFrom the name of the city of Carmona in Andalusia, Spain. It is possibly derived from Phoenician
𐤒𐤓𐤕 𐤇𐤌𐤍 (Qart Ḥamun) meaning "city of Hammon" (the name of a Carthaginian god, see
Ba'al Hammon).
Carpenter EnglishFrom the occupation, derived from Middle English
carpentier (ultimately from Latin
carpentarius meaning "carriage maker").
Carrasco SpanishTopographic name derived from Spanish
carrasca meaning
"holm oak" (species Quercus ilex).
Carrillo SpanishMeans
"cheek, jaw" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a person with a distinctive cheek or jaw.
Caruso ItalianMeans
"close-cropped hair" in Italian, also having the secondary sense "boy, young man".
Castilla SpanishOriginally indicated a person from Castile, a region (and medieval kingdom) in Spain. The name of the region is derived from Late Latin
castellum meaning "castle".
Cervantes SpanishPossibly from Old Spanish
servanto meaning
"servant" or
ciervo meaning
"stag". A famous bearer was the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616).
Chamberlain EnglishOccupational name for one who looked after the inner rooms of a mansion, from Norman French
chambrelain.
Chancellor EnglishOccupational name for an administrator, a chancellor, from Norman French
chancelier.
Charbonneau FrenchDerived from a diminutive form of French
charbon "charcoal", a nickname for a person with black hair or a dark complexion.
Chaykovsky m 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".
Colombo ItalianEither from Italian
colomba "dove" indicating a dove keeper, or from the given name
Colombo, which is derived from the same word. This was the Italian surname of the 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus.
Connolly IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Conghalaigh, which means
"descendant of Conghalach".
Conghalach is a nickname meaning "valiant".
Constable EnglishFrom Old French
conestable, ultimately from Latin
comes stabuli meaning "officer of the stable".
Contreras SpanishFrom the name of a town in Burgos, Spain, derived from Late Latin
contraria meaning "area opposite".
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. A famous bearer is the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (1939-), as well as other members of his extended family also in show business.
Dąbrowski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various locations named
Dąbrowa or
Dobrów, derived from Polish
dąb meaning "oak".
Da Gama PortugueseVariant of
Gama. This name was borne by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524).
Delacroix FrenchMeans
"of the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads. A notable bearer was the French painter Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863).
Delaney 1 EnglishDerived from Norman French
de l'aunaie meaning
"from the alder grove".
Delgado Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"thin" in Spanish and Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
delicatus meaning "delicate, tender, charming".
Devereux EnglishIndicated a person from Evreux in France, itself named after the Gaulish tribe of the Eburovices, which was probably derived from a Celtic word meaning "yew".
Dickinson EnglishMeans
"son of Dicun",
Dicun being a medieval diminutive of
Dick 1. American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a famous bearer.
Doležal m CzechNickname for a lazy person, derived from the past participle of the Czech verb
doležat "to lie down".
Donaldson EnglishMeans
"son of Donald". A notable bearer is the online personality Jimmy Donaldson (1998-), who goes by the alias MrBeast.
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.
Edison EnglishMeans
"son of Eda 2" or
"son of Adam". The surname was borne by American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).
Egawa JapaneseFrom Japanese
江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Ellington EnglishFrom the name of multiple towns in England. The town's name is derived from the masculine given name
Ella (a short form of Old English names beginning with the elements
ælf meaning "elf" or
eald meaning "old") combined with
tun meaning "enclosure, town".
Ellison EnglishPatronymic form of the English name
Ellis, from the medieval given name
Elis, a vernacular form of
Elijah.
Emerson EnglishMeans
"son of Emery". The surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American writer and philosopher who wrote about transcendentalism.
Espina SpanishMeans
"thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.
Faragó HungarianAn occupational name meaning
"woodcutter", from Hungarian
farag meaning "carve, cut".
Fekete HungarianMeans
"black" in Hungarian, originally a nickname for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion.
Ferrari ItalianOccupational name for a metalworker or smith, derived from Latin
ferrarius, a derivative of
ferrum meaning "iron".
Forester EnglishDenoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest, or one who has charge of growing timber in a forest (see
Forest).
Fukui JapaneseDenoted a person who was from Fukui prefecture in Japan.
Gallego SpanishOriginally indicated a person from Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain.
García SpanishFrom a medieval given name of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Basque word
hartz meaning "bear". This is the most common surname in Spain.
Garcia Portuguese, SpanishPortuguese form of
García. It is also an unaccented form of the Spanish name used commonly in America and the Philippines.
Gardener EnglishOccupational surname for one who was a gardener, from Old French
jardin meaning "garden" (of Frankish origin).
Gárdonyi HungarianOriginally denoted a person from Gárdony, a town near Budapest in Hungary.
Gereben HungarianMeans
"hackle, hatchel" in Hungarian (a hackle is a tool used to comb out fibers).
Gouveia PortugueseFrom the name of the city of Gouveia in Portugal, of unknown meaning.
Grabowski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various places called
Grabów,
Grabowa or
Grabowo, all derived from Polish
grab meaning "hornbeam tree".
Guerrero SpanishMeans
"warrior" in Spanish, an occupational name for a soldier. It is derived from Late Latin
werra "war", of Germanic origin.
Guevara SpanishHispanicized form of
Gebara. A notable bearer was Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara (1928-1967).
Gustafsson SwedishMeans
"son of Gustaf". The actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was originally named Greta Gustafsson.
Hamilton English, ScottishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
hamel "crooked, mutilated" and
dun "hill". This was the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists).
Hathaway EnglishHabitational name for someone who lived near a path across a heath, from Old English
hæþ "heath" and
weg "way".
Hidalgo SpanishMeans
"nobleman" in Spanish. The Spanish word is a contraction of the phrase
hijo de algo meaning "son of something". This surname was typically in origin a nickname or an occupational name for one who worked in a noble's household.
Himura JapaneseFrom Japanese
緋 (hi) meaning "scarlet, dark red" and
村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
Hirano JapaneseFrom Japanese
平 (hira) meaning "level, even, peaceful" and
野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Hirata JapaneseFrom Japanese
平 (hira) meaning "level, even, peaceful" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Iglesias SpanishFrom Spanish
iglesia meaning
"church", from Latin
ecclesia (of Greek origin).
Ikeda JapaneseFrom Japanese
池 (ike) meaning "pool, pond" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Imai JapaneseFrom Japanese
今 (ima) meaning "now, present" and
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".