Surnames with 3 Syllables

Aaltonen Finnish
From Finnish aalto meaning "wave".

Abarca Spanish
From 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 Spanish
Means "priest's street" from Basque abas "priest" and kale "street".

Abate Italian
From 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.

Abbasi Persian, Urdu
From the given name Abbas.

Abbate Italian
Variant of Abate.

Abdullah Arabic
Derived from the given name Abd Allah.

Abelló Catalan
From the Latin given name Abellio, which may have been derived from the name of a Pyrenean god.

Abraham Jewish, English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch
Derived from the given name Abraham.

Abrahams Jewish, English, Dutch
Means "son of Abraham".

Abrami Italian
Derived from the given name Abramo.

Abramo Italian
Derived from the given name Abramo.

Abramson English
Means "son of Abraham".

Accardi Italian
Variant of Acardi.

Accardo Italian
Variant of Acardi.

Acconci Italian
Variant of Acconcio.

Acconcio Italian
From the medieval Italian given names Accuntius or Acconcius, of uncertain meaning.

Acerbi Italian
From Italian acerbo meaning "bitter, harsh, severe".

Achilles German
Derived from the given name Achilles.

Ackerman English
Means "ploughman", derived from Middle English aker "field" and man.

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

Adamczak Polish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Adamczyk Polish
Derived from the given name Adam.

Adami Italian
Means "son of Adamo".

Adamić Croatian
Means "son of Adam".

Adamo Italian
Italian form of Adam.

Addison English
Means "son of Addy 2".

Adesso Italian
Perhaps a nickname for a punctual or fast person, from Italian adesso meaning "now, at this moment".

Adolfsson Swedish
Means "son of Adolf".

Affini Italian
From Latin affinis meaning "neighbouring, kindred".

Agnelli Italian
From Italian agnello meaning "lamb" (ultimately from Latin agnus), denoting a pious or timid person.

Agramunt Catalan
Originally denoted a person from the town of Agramunt, Spain. It means "field hill" in Catalan.

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

Aguirre Spanish
From Basque ageri meaning "open, cleared, prominent", originally given to a peron who lived in an open area.

Ahmadi Persian
From the given name Ahmad.

Akai Japanese
From Japanese 赤 (aka) meaning "red" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".

Åkerman Swedish
Swedish form of Ackermann.

Al-Amin Arabic
Means "the truthful" from Arabic أمين (ʾamīn).

Albani Italian
Derived from the given name Albano.

Albano Italian
Derived from the given name Albano.

Albero Italian
From Italian albero meaning "tree", ultimately from Latin arbor, referring to someone who lived in the woods or worked as a woodcutter.

Alberto Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
From the given name Alberto.

Albertson English
Means "son of Albert".

Albini Italian
Means "son of Albino".

Albinson English
Means "son of Albin".

Albinsson Swedish
Means "son of Albin".

Aleppo Italian
From the name of the Syrian city of Aleppo, which is from Arabic خالاب (Khālāb), of uncertain meaning.

Alessi Italian
From the given name Alessio.

Alexandre French, Portuguese
From the given name Alexandre.

Alfarsi Arabic
Means "the Persian" in Arabic, derived from Arabic فارس (Fāris) meaning "Persia".

Alfonso Spanish
From the given name Alfonso.

Alfredson English
Means "son of Alfred".

Al-Hashim Arabic
From the given name Hashim.

Əliyev m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Əli".

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

Allegri Italian
From an Italian nickname derived from allegro meaning "quick, lively".

Allegro Italian
Variant of Allegri.

Allison English
Means "son of Alan" or "son of Alexander" (as well as other given names beginning with Al).

Almássy Hungarian
Means "from the apple orchard", derived from Hungarian alma meaning "apple".

Almeida Portuguese
Designated a person who had originally lived in the town of Almeida in Portugal. The place name is from Arabic ال مائدة (al māʾida) meaning "the plateau, the table".

Al-Mufti Arabic
Refers to a mufti, a Muslim legal advisor consulted in applying a religious law.

Alonso Spanish
From the given name Alonso.

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

Al Su'ud Arabic
From Arabic آل (ʾāl) 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.

Alunni Italian
From Italian alunno meaning "student".

Álvarez Spanish
Means "son of Álvaro".

Alvarez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Álvarez.

Amador Spanish
Derived from the given name Amador.

Amano Japanese
From Japanese 天 (ama) meaning "heaven" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Amato Italian
From the given name Amato.

Andersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Anders". A noteworthy bearer was the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).

Anderson English
Means "son of Andrew".

Andersson Swedish
Means "son of Anders". This is the most common surname in Sweden.

Andreas German
Derived from the given name Andreas.

Andreev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Андреев (see Andreyev).

Andrewson English
Variant of Anderson.

Andreyev m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Andrey".

Angelov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Angel".

Angioli Italian
Means "son of Angiolo".

Ansaldi Italian
Means "son of Ansaldo".

Anselmi Italian
Means "son of Anselmo".

Anselmo Portuguese, Italian
From the given name Anselmo.

Anthony English
From the given name Anthony.

Antonio Spanish
From the given name Antonio.

Antonov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Anton".

Aoki Japanese
From Japanese 青 (ao) meaning "green, blue" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".

Aquila Italian
From a nickname meaning "eagle" in Italian.

Aquino Italian, Spanish
From 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.

Arbore Italian
From Latin arbor meaning "tree".

Archambault French
From the archaic French given name Archambault, which is related to Archibald.

Argyris m Greek
Means "silver" in Greek.

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

Armando Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Derived from the given name Armando.

Armani Italian
Means "son of Ermanno".

Armati Italian
From Italian armato meaning "armed, armoured, equipped".

Arriola Spanish, Basque
From Basque place names, themselves derived from Basque arri "stone" and -ola "place of, house".

Arroyo Spanish
Means "stream, brook" in Spanish.

Arthurson English
Means "son of Arthur".

Asano Japanese
From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Asenov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Asen".

Atkinson English
Means "son of Atkin", a medieval diminutive of Adam.

Attwater English
Variant of Atwater.

Atwater English
From Middle English meaning "dweller at the water".

Augustin French, German
From the given name Augustin.

Augustine English
From the given name Augustine 1.

Avery English
Derived from a Norman French form of the given names Alberich or Alfred.

Ávila Spanish
From the name of the city of Ávila in Spain. It is of uncertain meaning, possibly of Punic or Celtic origin.

Ayala Spanish
From 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".

Baldini Italian
Derived from the given name Baldino, a diminutive of Baldo.

Banderas Spanish
Spanish cognate of Banner.

Banister English
Variant of Bannister.

Bannerman English
Variant of Banner.

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

Barbieri Italian
Italian cognate of Barber.

Barone Italian
Italian cognate of Baron.

Basile Italian, French
From the given name Basilio or Basile.

Bátori Hungarian
Variant of Báthory.

Battaglia Italian
From a nickname meaning "battle" in Italian.

Bautista Spanish
Derived from the given name Bautista.

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.

Bellini Italian
From Italian bello meaning "beautiful".

Benítez Spanish
Means "son of Benito".

Benito Spanish
From the given name Benito.

Béranger French
From the given name Bérenger.

Berardi Italian
From the given name Berardo.

Bermúdez Spanish
Means "son of Bermudo".

Bernardi Italian
From the given name Bernardo.

Bernardo Portuguese
From the given name Bernardo.

Beverley English
From the name of an English city, derived from Old English beofor "beaver" and (possibly) licc "stream".

Beverly English
Variant of Beverley.

Bicchieri Italian
Means "drinking glasses" in Italian, referring originally to a person who made or sold them.

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

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

Bogdanić Croatian
Means "son of Bogdan".

Bogdanov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Bogdan".

Bolívar Spanish
From 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 Italian
From the name of the city of Bologna in northern Italy. It may derive from a Celtic word meaning "settlement".

Borgogni Italian
From the name of the French region of Burgundy (called Bourgogne in French), which is named after the Germanic tribe the Burgundians, meaning "people from the high land".

Borisov m Russian, Bulgarian
Means "son of Boris".

Bousaid Arabic
Means "father of Said" in Arabic.

Brambilla Italian
Derived from the Italian town of Brembilla in Lombardy, itself named after the Brembo river.

Branković Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Branko".

Brzezicka f Polish
Feminine form of Brzezicki.

Brzezicki m Polish
Derived from Polish brzezina meaning "birch grove".

Budai Hungarian
Originally indicated a person from the Hungarian city of Buda (one of the two cities that were joined to make Budapest in 1873).

Buffone Italian
Means "jester, joker" in Italian.

Bukowska f Polish
Feminine form of Bukowski.

Bukowski m Polish
Originally denoted someone who came from a place called Bukowo or Bukowiec, which derive from Polish buk meaning "beech".

Bulgari Italian
Originally denoted a person who came from Bulgaria, which is named after the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, itself possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed".

Cabello Spanish
Means "hair" in Spanish, used as a nickname for a person with a large amount of hair.

Calderón Spanish
Occupational name for a person who made, repaired or sold cauldrons or kettles, from Spanish calderón "cauldron", from Late Latin caldaria.

Camacho Spanish, Portuguese
Meaning unknown, possibly related to the Celtic root *kambos meaning "crooked, twisted".

Campana Italian, Spanish
Occupational name from Late Latin campana meaning "bell", ultimately derived from the Italian region of Campania, where bells were produced.

Capela Portuguese
Portuguese form of Kappel.

Capella Catalan
Catalan form of Kappel.

Capilla Spanish
Spanish form of Kappel.

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

Carboni Italian
Variant of Carbone.

Cárdenas Spanish
From the name of towns in the Spanish provinces of Almería and La Rioja. They are derived from Spanish cárdeno "blue, purple".

Cardona Catalan
From the name of a town in Catalonia, of uncertain meaning.

Cardoso Portuguese, Spanish
From a place name meaning "thorny" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin carduus.

Carmona Spanish
From 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 English
From the occupation, derived from Middle English carpentier (ultimately from Latin carpentarius meaning "carriage maker").

Carpentier French
French form of Carpenter.

Carrara Italian
From the name of a city in Tuscany famous for its marble quarries. It is probably derived from Late Latin quadreria meaning "quarry".

Carrasco Spanish
Topographic name derived from Spanish carrasca meaning "holm oak" (species Quercus ilex).

Carrillo Spanish
Means "cheek, jaw" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a person with a distinctive cheek or jaw.

Caruso Italian
Means "close-cropped hair" in Italian, also having the secondary sense "boy, young man".

Carvalho Portuguese
Means "oak" in Portuguese, perhaps originally referring to a person who lived near such a tree.

Casado Spanish
From a nickname meaning "married" in Spanish.

Casale Italian
Italian cognate of Casal.

Castelo Portuguese
Portuguese cognate of Castle.

Castilla Spanish
Originally 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".

Castillo Spanish
Spanish cognate of Castle.

Cavallo Italian
Means "horse" in Italian, an occupational name for a horseman.

Cervantes Spanish
Possibly from Old Spanish servanto meaning "servant" or ciervo meaning "stag". A famous bearer was the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616).

Červená f Czech
Feminine form of Červený.

Červený m Czech
Means "red" in Czech.

Chalupa m Czech
Means "cottage" in Czech.

Chamberlain English
Occupational name for one who looked after the inner rooms of a mansion, from Norman French chambrelain.

Chancellor English
Occupational name for an administrator, a chancellor, from Norman French chancelier.

Charbonneau French
Derived from a diminutive form of French charbon "charcoal", a nickname for a person with black hair or a dark complexion.

Charpentier French
French cognate of Carpenter, derived from Old French charpentier.

Chaudhuri Bengali
Alternate transcription of Bengali চৌধুরী (see Chowdhury).

Chaykovsky m Russian
Russian form of Chayka. A famous bearer was the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Chaykovsky (1840-1893), with the surname commonly Romanized as Tchaikovsky.

Chevalier French
From a nickname derived from French chevalier meaning "knight", from Late Latin caballarius "horseman", Latin caballus "horse".

Choudhury Bengali
Alternate transcription of Bengali চৌধুরী (see Chowdhury).

Chowdhury Bengali
Bengali form of Chaudhary.

Christian English, French, German
Derived from the given name Christian.

Christianson English
Means "son of Christian".

Christopher English
Derived from the given name Christopher.

Christophers English
Derived from the given name Christopher.

Cinege Hungarian
Means "titmouse bird" in Hungarian.

Ciobanu Romanian
From Romanian cioban meaning "shepherd".

Cipriani Italian
From the given name Cipriano.

Clemente Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Clemente.

Coelho Portuguese
From the Portuguese word for "rabbit", either a nickname or an occupational name referring to a hunter or seller of rabbits.

Coello Galician
Galician cognate of Coelho.

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

Constable English
From Old French conestable, ultimately from Latin comes stabuli meaning "officer of the stable".

Constantin Romanian, French
From the given name Constantin.

Contreras Spanish
From the name of a town in Burgos, Spain, derived from Late Latin contraria meaning "area opposite".

Coppola Italian
From 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.

Correia Portuguese
Means "leather strap, belt" in Portuguese, denoting a person who worked with leather products.

Costanzo Italian
From the given name Costanzo.

Cremona Italian
From the Italian city of Cremona, south of Milan, in Lombardy.

Crocetti Italian
Italian diminutive form of Croce.

Csintalan Hungarian
Means "mischievous, naughty" in Hungarian.

Cvetkova f Bulgarian
Alternate transcription of Bulgarian Цветкова (see Tsvetkova).

Czajkowska f Polish
Feminine form of Czajkowski.

Czajkowski m Polish
Originally indicated a person from any of the Polish towns named Czajków, all derived from Polish czajka meaning "lapwing (bird)".

Dąbrowska f Polish
Feminine form of Dąbrowski.

Dąbrowski m Polish
Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations named Dąbrowa or Dobrów, derived from Polish dąb meaning "oak".

Da Costa Portuguese
Variant of Costa.

Da Gama Portuguese
Variant of Gama. This name was borne by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524).

Damyanov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Damyan".

Daniel um English, French, German, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian
Derived from the given name Daniel.

Danielson English
Means "son of Daniel".

Davidson English
Means "son of David".

Da Vinci Italian (Rare)
Means "from Vinci", a town near Florence. A famous bearer was the Italian artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).

Davison English
Means "son of David".

Delacroix French
Means "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).

Dela Cruz Spanish (Filipinized)
Variant of De la Cruz primarily used in the Philippines (where it is the most common surname).

Delaney 1 English
Derived from Norman French de l'aunaie meaning "from the alder grove".

Delaney 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dubhshláine meaning "descendant of Dubhshláine".

Del Bosque Spanish
Means "of the forest" in Spanish.

Delgado Spanish, Portuguese
Means "thin" in Spanish and Portuguese, ultimately from Latin delicatus meaning "delicate, tender, charming".

Demirci Turkish
Means "blacksmith" in Turkish.

Derrickson English
Means "son of Derrick".

Desjardins French
Means "from the gardens", from French jardin "garden".

Devereux English
Indicated 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".

Dickenson English
Variant of Dickinson.

Dickerson English
Means "son of Dick 1".

Dickinson English
Means "son of Dicun", Dicun being a medieval diminutive of Dick 1. American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a famous bearer.

Dimitrov m Bulgarian, Macedonian
Means "son of Dimitar".

Doležal m Czech
Nickname for a lazy person, derived from the past participle of the Czech verb doležat "to lie down".

Domingo Spanish
From the given name Domingo.

Domínguez Spanish
Means "son of Domingo".

Donaldson English
Means "son of Donald". A notable bearer is the online personality Jimmy Donaldson (1998-), who goes by the alias MrBeast.

Donati Italian
From the given name Donato.

Đorđević Serbian
Means "son of Đorđe".

D'Ovidio Italian
From the given name Ovidio.

Duarte Portuguese, Spanish
From the given name Duarte.

Dubicka f Polish
Feminine form of Dubicki.

Dubicki m Polish
Originally indicated a person from the town of Dubica in Poland.

Dumbledore Literature
From 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.

Dumitru Romanian
Derived from the given name Dumitru.

Dunai Hungarian
From Duna, the Hungarian name for river Danube.

Dunajska f Polish
Feminine form of Dunajski.

Dunajski m Polish
Derived from Dunaj, the Polish name for the river Danube.

Durante Italian
Italian cognate of Durand.

Edison English
Means "son of Eda 2" or "son of Adam". The surname was borne by American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).

Edwardson English
Means "son of Edward".

Egawa Japanese
From Japanese 江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Einarsson Swedish
Means "son of Einar".

Elena Italian
Derived from the given name Elena.

Eliot English
Variant of Elliott.

Eliott English
Variant of Elliott.

Ellery English
From the medieval masculine name Hilary.

Ellington English
From 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".

Elliot English
Variant of Elliott.

Elliott English
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Elias.

Ellison English
Patronymic form of the English name Ellis, from the medieval given name Elis, a vernacular form of Elijah.

Ellisson English
Variant of Ellison.

Elliston English
Variant of Ellison.

Emerson English
Means "son of Emery". The surname was borne by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American writer and philosopher who wrote about transcendentalism.

Enríquez Spanish
Means "son of Enrique".

Erickson English
Means "son of Eric".

Ericson English, Swedish
Means "son of Eric".

Ericsson Swedish
Means "son of Eric".

Eriksen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Erik".

Eriksson Swedish
Means "son of Erik".

Espina Spanish
Means "thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.

Espino Spanish
Variant of Espina.

Esteban Spanish
From the given name Esteban.

Estévez Spanish
Means "son of Esteban".

Estrada Spanish
Spanish form of Street.

Evanson English
Means "son of Evan".

Evelyn English
Derived from the given name Aveline.

Everett English
From the given name Everard.

Everly English
From place names meaning derived from Old English eofor "boar" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Fábián Hungarian
Derived from the given name Fábián.

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

Falconer English, Scottish
Variant of Faulkner.

Faragó Hungarian
An occupational name meaning "woodcutter", from Hungarian farag meaning "carve, cut".

Farina Italian
Occupational name for a miller, derived from Italian farina "flour".

Fattore Italian
Means "land agent, bailiff, steward, farmer" in Italian.

Fazekas Hungarian
Occupational name meaning "potter" in Hungarian.

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

Fekete Hungarian
Means "black" in Hungarian, originally a nickname for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion.

Felipe Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian)
From the given name Felipe.

Ferguson Irish, Scottish
Means "son of Fergus".

Fernandes Portuguese
Means "son of Fernando".

Fernández Spanish
Means "son of Fernando". This is among the most common surnames in Spain.

Fernandez Spanish
Unaccented variant of Fernández.

Ferrara Italian
Italian form of Ferreira.

Ferrari Italian
Occupational name for a metalworker or smith, derived from Latin ferrarius, a derivative of ferrum meaning "iron".

Ferraro Italian
Variant of Ferrari.

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