Surnames Categorized "animals"

Aakster Dutch
Derived from Old Dutch ekster "magpie".

Adler German, Jewish
Means "eagle" in German.

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

Agnusdei Italian
From Latin Agnus Dei meaning "lamb of God". This was a nickname for someone who was particularly religious or someone who wore this symbol.

Azarola Basque
Possibly from Basque azeri meaning "fox".

Bagley English
From various English place names, derived from the Old English given name Bacga combined with leah "woodland, clearing".

Bähr German
From Middle High German bër "bear" or ber "boar". This was originally a nickname for a strong or brave person.

Baran Polish, Slovak, Ukrainian
Means "ram, male sheep" in Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian.

Bárány Hungarian
Means "lamb" in Hungarian.

Barends Dutch
Means "son of Barend".

Barlow English
Derived from a number of English place names that variously mean "barley hill", "barn hill", "boar clearing" or "barley clearing".

Beran Czech
Derived from Czech beran meaning "ram, male sheep".

Beránek Czech
Means "little ram, male lamb" in Czech.

Bergfalk Swedish
Derived from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and falk (Old Norse falki) meaning "falcon".

Best 1 English
Derived 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).

Beverly English
Variant of Beverley.

Bieber German, Jewish
From Middle High German biber meaning "beaver", possibly a nickname for a hard worker.

Bird English
Occupational name for a person who raised or hunted birds.

Blakesley English
From the name of a town in Northamptonshire, itself meaning "Blæcwulf's meadow" in Old English. Blæcwulf is a byname meaning "black wolf".

Blevins Welsh
Derived from the Welsh given name Bleddyn.

Boerio Italian
From Italian boaro meaning "cowherd".

Botterill English
Probably indicated someone from the town of Les Bottereaux in Normandy, itself derived from Old French bot "toad".

Bouvier French
Means "cowherd" in French, from Latin boviarus, a derivative of bos "cow".

Bove Italian
Derived from an Italian nickname meaning "bull, ox".

Brock English
Derived from Old English brocc meaning "badger", ultimately of Celtic origin.

Buckley 1 English
From an English place name derived from bucc "buck, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Buckley 2 Irish
From Irish Ó Buachalla meaning "descendant of Buachaill", a nickname meaning "cowherd, servant".

Bull English
From a nickname for a person who acted like a bull.

Bullock English
From a nickname meaning "young bull".

Busto Spanish, Italian
From the name of towns in Spain and Italy, derived from Late Latin bustum meaning "ox pasture".

Cabral Portuguese
From places named from Late Latin capralis meaning "place of goats", derived from Latin capra meaning "goat".

Cabrera Spanish
From various place names derived from Late Latin capraria meaning "place of goats", from Latin capra meaning "goat".

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).

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

Chevrolet French
From a diminutive of chèvre meaning "goat", indicating a person who cultivated goats.

Ciobanu Romanian
From Romanian cioban meaning "shepherd".

Cock English
Derived from the medieval nickname cok meaning "rooster, cock". The nickname was commonly added to given names to create diminutives such as Hancock or Alcock.

Cockburn Scottish, English
Originally indicated someone who came from Cockburn, a place in Berwickshire. The place name is derived from Old English cocc "rooster" and burna "stream".

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.

Cojocaru Romanian
From Romanian cojoc meaning "sheepskin coat". This was an occupational name for a maker of these coats.

Colt English
Occupational name for a keeper of horses, derived from Middle English colt.

Conroy Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Conaire, which means "descendant of Conaire". Conaire is a nickname meaning "hound keeper".

Corvi Italian
Nickname derived from Italian corvo meaning "crow".

Ćosić Croatian, Serbian
From Croatian and Serbian ćosav "beardless", ultimately from Persian کوسه (koseh) meaning "shark".

Cowden English
From various English place names, which meaning either "coal valley", "coal hill" or "cow pasture" in Old English.

Crawford English
From a place name derived from Old English crawa "crow" and ford "river crossing".

Darby English
From the name of the town Derby meaning "deer farm" in Old Norse.

Daube German
Variant of Taube.

Deering English
From the Old English given name Deora meaning "dear, beloved".

Di Caprio Italian
From the name of the island of Capri near Naples, itself possibly derived from Latin capra meaning "goat" or Greek κάπρος (kapros) meaning "wild boar".

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.

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

Farkas Hungarian
Means "wolf" in Hungarian.

Finch English, Literature
From the name of the bird, from Old English finc. It was used by Harper Lee for the surname of lawyer Atticus Finch and his children in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).

Fisker Danish
Means "fisherman" in Danish.

Fox English
From the name of the animal. It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a crafty person.

Fuchs German
From Old High German fuhs meaning "fox". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.

Gagnon French
Derived from old French gagnon "guard dog". The name most likely originated as a nickname for an aggressive or cruel person.

García Spanish
From a medieval given name of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Basque word hartz meaning "bear". This is the most common surname in Spain.

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

Geelen Dutch
Derived from the given name Geel, itself from Gillis or Gilbert.

Geels Dutch
Variant of Geelen.

Geier German
Means "vulture" in German, a nickname for a greedy person.

Geissler German
Occupational name for a goat herder, from southern German Geiss meaning "goat" and the suffix ler signifying an occupation.

Géroux French
Derived from the Germanic name Gerulf.

Giehl German
German form of Giles.

Gil Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Gil 1.

Giles English
From the given name Giles.

Giroux French
Derived from the Germanic name Gerulf.

Goldhirsch Jewish
Means "golden stag" in Yiddish.

Gujić Bosnian
Means "son of a snake" from the Bosnian word guja meaning "snake".

Gulyás Hungarian
Means "herdsman, tender of cows" in Hungarian.

Habich German
German cognate of Hawk.

Habicht German
German cognate of Hawk.

Harden English
From a place name meaning "hare valley" in Old English.

Hardwick English
From Old English heord "herd" and wic "village, town".

Harford English
Habitational name from places called Harford in Gloucestershire and Devon, meaning "hart ford" or "army ford".

Harland English
From various place names meaning "hare land" in Old English.

Harley English
Derived from a place name meaning "hare clearing", from Old English hara "hare" or hær "rock, heap of stones" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Hart English
Means "male deer". It was originally acquired by a person who lived in a place frequented by harts, or bore some resemblance to a hart.

Hartell English
From various place names derived from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and hyll "hill".

Hartley English
Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Hartley, from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Hase German
From Middle High German and Middle Low German hase meaning "hare, rabbit". This was a nickname for a person who was quick or timid.

Hasenkamp German
From a northern German place name meaning "rabbit field", from Old Saxon haso "hare" and kamp "field" (from Latin campus).

Hawk English
Originally a nickname for a person who had a hawk-like appearance or who acted in a fierce manner, derived from Old English hafoc "hawk".

Hawking English
From a diminutive of Hawk. A famous bearer was the British physicist Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).

Herschel German, Jewish
Diminutive form of Hirsch 1 or Hirsch 2. A famous bearer was the British-German astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822), as well as his sister Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) and son John Herschel (1792-1871), also noted scientists.

Hirsch 1 German
Means "deer, hart" in German. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a deer in some way, or who raised or hunted deer.

Hogarth English
Variant of Hoggard.

Hoggard English
Occupational name meaning "pig herder", from Old English hogg "hog" and hierde "herdsman, guardian".

Horsfall English
From a minor place in Yorkshire derived from Old English hors "horse" and fall "clearing".

Howard 2 English
Occupational name meaning "ewe herder", from Old English eowu "ewe" and hierde "herdsman, guardian".

Hummel 1 German, Dutch
Derived from the given name Humbert.

Hummel 2 German, Dutch
Nickname for a busy person, from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch hommel, Middle High German hummel, all meaning "bee".

Ilves Estonian
Means "lynx" in Estonian.

Jelen Czech
From a nickname meaning "stag" in Czech.

Jeż Polish
Means "hedgehog" in Polish. It may have originally been given to a person who resembled a hedgehog in some way.

Jughashvili Georgian (Rare)
Meaning uncertain. One theory suggests Ossetian roots with the meaning "son of the herder", derived from Ossetian дзуг (dzug) meaning "herd, flock, troop". Alternately, it could be derived from the name of the village of ჯუღაანი (Jughaani) in eastern Georgia. The most notable bearer was Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), born Ioseb Jughashvili, a leader of the Soviet Union.

Kalb German
Occupational name meaning "calf (animal)" in German.

Kalbfleisch German
Occupational name for a butcher who dealt in veal, from German kalb meaning "calf" and fleisch meaning "meat".

Karga Turkish
Nickname meaning "crow" in Turkish.

Kasabian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Ղասաբյան (see Ghasabyan).

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

Kazlow Belarusian
Patronymic from Belarusian казёл (kaziol) meaning "male goat", probably used to denote a goatherd.

Kecskeméti Hungarian
Originally indicated a person who came from the Hungarian city of Kecskemét, derived from kecske meaning "goat".

Kellogg English
Occupational name for a pig butcher, from Middle English killen "to kill" and hog "pig, swine, hog".

Kidd English
From a nickname meaning "young goat, kid" in Middle English, of Old Norse origin.

Kikkert Dutch
Derived from Dutch kikker meaning "frog".

Koç Turkish
Means "ram" in Turkish.

Kozioł Polish
Means "male goat" in Polish, probably used to denote a goatherd.

Kozlov Russian
Patronymic from Russian козёл (kozyol) meaning "male goat", probably used to denote a goatherd.

Kozłowski Polish
Originally a name for a person from Kozłów, Kozłowo, or other places with a name derived from Polish kozioł meaning "male goat".

Krebs German
Means "crab" in German, perhaps a nickname for a person with a crab-like walk.

Lagorio Italian
From a nickname derived from Ligurian lagö, referring to a type of lizard, the European green lizard. This little reptile is respected because it supposedly protects against vipers.

Lamb English
From the name of the animal, perhaps a nickname for a shy person.

Leach English
Originally indicated a person who was a physician, from the medieval practice of using leeches to bleed people of ills.

Leeuwenhoek Dutch
Means "lion's corner" in Dutch. The first bearer of this name lived on the corner (Dutch hoek) of the Lion's Gate (Dutch Leeuwenpoort) in the city of Delft.

Lennartsson Swedish
Means "son of Lennart".

Léon French
Variant of Lyon 1, Lyon 2 or Lyon 3.

Leon English
Variant of Lyon 1, Lyon 2 or Lyon 3.

Leonard English
Derived from the given name Leonard.

Leonardi Italian
From the given name Leonardo.

Leonardsen Norwegian
Means "son of Lennart".

Leonardson English
Means "son of Leonard".

Leonardsson Swedish
Variant of Lennartsson.

Leone Italian
Derived from the given name Leone 1.

Leoni Italian
Derived from the given name Leone 1.

Lis Polish
Means "fox" in Polish, a nickname for a sly person.

Lobo Spanish, Portuguese
Originally a nickname meaning "wolf" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Loewe German
Variant of Löwe.

Lomidze Georgian
Means "son of the lion", from Georgian ლომი (lomi) meaning "lion".

Löwe German, Jewish
Means "lion" in German.

Lowell English
From a nickname derived from a Norman French lou meaning "wolf" and a diminutive suffix.

Lupo Italian
From an Italian nickname meaning "wolf".

Lupu Romanian
From Romanian lup meaning "wolf".

Lyall Scottish
From the Old Norse given name Liulfr, which was derived in part from úlfr "wolf".

Lyon 2 English, French
From a nickname derived from Old French and Middle English lion meaning "lion".

Lyon 3 French, English
From the given name Leon.

Ma Chinese
From Chinese 马 (mǎ) meaning "horse".

MacCarrick Irish
Means "son of Cúcharraige" in Irish. The given name Cúcharraige is composed of cú "hound" and carraig "rock".

Madden Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Madaidhín.

Madigan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Madaidhín.

Mah Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 马 (see Ma).

Mahoney Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Mathghamhna meaning "descendant of Mathgamain".

Maki 1 Japanese
From Japanese 牧 (maki) meaning "shepherd, tend cattle".

Mårdh Swedish
From Swedish mård meaning "pine marten".

Markey Irish
From the Irish Ó Marcaigh meaning "descendant of Marcach", a given name meaning "horse rider".

Marshall English
Derived from Middle English mareschal "marshal", from Latin mariscalcus, ultimately from Germanic roots akin to Old High German marah "horse" and scalc "servant". It originally referred to someone who took care of horses.

Maus German
From a nickname meaning "mouse", from Old High German mus.

McCullough Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mac Cú Uladh meaning "son of Cú Uladh". The byname Cú Uladh means "hound of Ulster". This surname has also been associated with Old Irish cullach "boar".

McMahon Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mac Mathghamhna meaning "son of Mathgamain".

McNamara Irish
From Irish Mac Conmara meaning "son of Conmara". The given name Conmara is composed of cú "hound" and muir "sea".

Medved Slovene, Croatian, Russian, Ukrainian
Means "bear" in several Slavic languages.

Moles Catalan
From Catalan mola meaning "millstone".

Mutton English
Referred to a shepherd or else someone who in some way resembled a sheep, derived from Norman French mouton "sheep".

Muyskens Dutch
Means "little mouse" in Dutch.

Myška Czech
From nickname derived from Czech myš meaning "mouse".

Nedvěd Czech
Czech cognate of Medved, derived from the dialectal nedvěd.

Ó hEachthighearna Irish
Means "descendant of Echthigern" in Irish.

Ó Madaidhín Irish
Means "descendant of Madaihín", a given name derived from Irish madadh meaning "dog, mastiff".

Orsini Italian
From a nickname meaning "little bear" in Italian, from Latin ursus "bear".

Otxoa Basque
From Basque otso meaning "wolf".

Padmore English
Originally indicated a person from Padmore in England, derived from Old English padde "toad" and mor "moor, marsh".

Passerini Italian
From Italian passero meaning "sparrow".

Pastor Spanish
Means "shepherd" in Spanish.

Pavone Italian
Means "peacock" in Italian. It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.

Peacock English
From Middle English pecok meaning "peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.

Pecora Italian
Means "sheep" in Italian, an occupational name for a shepherd.

Peura Finnish
Means "deer" in Finnish.

Picasso Italian
From Italian pica meaning "magpie". This probably denoted someone who was talkative or prone to stealing, although it may have described someone's unusual colouring. The Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a famous bearer of this name.

Porcher English, French
Means "swineherd" from Old French and Middle English porchier, from Latin porcus "pig".

Pound English
Occupational name for a person who kept animals, from Old English pund "animal enclosure".

Protz German
From a nickname meaning "showy, pompous", derived from an old southern German word meaning "toad".

Purcell English
From Old French pourcel "piglet", from Latin porcellus, a derivative of porcus "pig". This was a nickname or an occupational name for a swineherd.

Rana Italian, Spanish
Means "frog" in Italian and Spanish.

Rao 2 Italian
Derived from the given name Raul.

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

Ratti Italian
From Italian ratto meaning "rat", originally denoting a sly individual.

Ravn Danish
Means "raven" in Danish, from Old Norse hrafn.

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".

Rebane Estonian
Means "fox" in Estonian.

Rey 2 English
Means "female roe deer" from Old English ræge, probably denoting someone of a nervous temperament.

Ricci Italian
From Italian riccio meaning "curly", a nickname for someone with curly hair. It is ultimately from Latin ericius meaning "hedgehog".

Robin French
From the given name Robin.

Róg Polish
Means "animal horn" in Polish.

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

Rowe 2 English
From the medieval name Row, which is either a variant of Roul or short form of Roland.

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".

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

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

Seward 2 English
Means "swineherd" from Old English su "sow, female pig" and hierde "herdsman, guardian".

Shaw 2 Scottish
From a given name or byname that was derived from Gaelic sitheach meaning "wolf" (Old Irish sídach).

Shepherd English
Occupational name meaning "shepherd, sheep herder", from Old English sceaphyrde.

Singh Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Indian (Sikh)
From Sanskrit सिंह (sinha) meaning "lion". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his Sikh male followers the surname Singh and all females Kaur. It is among the most common surnames in India.

Sobol Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish
Occupational name for a fur trader, from the Slavic word soboli meaning "sable, marten". As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

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

Specht German
Means "woodpecker" in German.

Steed English
Occupational name for one who tended horses, derived from Middle English steed, in turn derived from Old English steda meaning "stallion".

Stidolph English
From the Old English given name Stithulf.

Stoddard English
Occupational name for a horse keeper, from Old English stod "stallion, stud" and hierde "herder".

Strickland English
From the name of a town in Cumbria, derived from Old English stirc "calf, young bullock" and land "cultivated land".

Swindlehurst English
From the place name Swinglehurst in the Forest of Bowland in central Lancashire, derived from Old English swin "swine, pig", hyll "hill" and hyrst "wood, grove".

Szarka Hungarian
From Hungarian szarka meaning "magpie", often used as a euphemistic term for a thief.

Szarvas Hungarian
Means "deer" in Hungarian.

Taube German
From a nickname meaning "dove" in German.

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

Tilki Turkish
From a nickname meaning "fox" in Turkish.

Todd English
Means "fox", derived from Middle English todde.

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

Turnbull English, Scottish
Nickname for someone thought to be strong enough to turn around a bull.

Utkin Russian
From the Russian word утка (utka) meaning "duck".

Vacca Italian
Means "cow" in Italian, originally denoting a person who worked with cattle.

Van Leeuwenhoek Dutch
Variant of Leeuwenhoek. A famous bearer of this surname is Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), a pioneer in the field of microscopy.

Villalobos Spanish
Denoted a person from the town of Villalobos, Spain, which is derived from Spanish villa "town" and lobo "wolf".

Vlček Czech
Diminutive form of Czech vlk meaning "wolf".

Vogel German, Dutch
From Old High German and Old Dutch fogal meaning "bird". It was originally an occupational name for a bird catcher, or a nickname for a person who liked to sing.

Volkov Russian
Patronymic derived from Russian волк (volk) meaning "wolf".

Voronin Russian
Derived from Russian ворона (vorona) meaning "crow".

Voss German
From Middle Low German vos meaning "fox". It was originally a nickname for a clever person or a person with red hair.

Waldvogel Jewish
Ornamental name derived from German Wald meaning "forest" and Vogel meaning "bird".

Weasley Literature
Used by J. K. Rowling for the character of Ron Weasley (and other members of his family) in her Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997. Rowling presumably derived it from the English word weasel, perhaps in combination with the common place name/surname suffix -ley, which is derived from Old English leah meaning "woodland, clearing".

Whelan Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Faoláin meaning "descendant of Faolán".

Wilbur English
From the nickname Wildbor meaning "wild boar" in Middle English.

Wilk Polish
Means "wolf" in Polish.

Witherspoon English
Originally given to a person who dwelt near a sheep enclosure, from Middle English wether "sheep" and spong "strip of land".

Wolf German, English
From Middle High German or Middle English wolf meaning "wolf", or else from an Old German given name beginning with this element.

Woodcock English
Nickname referring to the woodcock bird.

Wrona Polish
Derived from Polish wrona meaning "crow".

Wronski Polish
Derived from Polish wrona meaning "crow".

Zając Polish
Means "hare" in Polish.

Żbikowski Polish
From Polish towns named Żbikowice or Żbików, which are derived from żbik "wildcat".