Surnames Categorized "authors"

This is a list of surnames in which the categories include authors.
usage
Baum German, Jewish
Means "tree" in German.
Boyer Occitan
Occitan cognate of Bouvier.
Brown English
Originally 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.
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).
Dahl Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley". A famous of this surname was author Roald Dahl (1916-1990) who is mostly remembered for children's stories such as Matilda and Henry Sugar.
Dickens English
From the medieval given name Dicun, a medieval diminutive of Dick 1. A famous bearer of this surname was the English writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870).
Duff Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Dhuibh or Ó Duibh.
Fleming English
Given to a person who was a Fleming, that is a person who was from Flanders in the Netherlands.
Frost English, German
From Old English and Old High German meaning "frost", a nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard.
Hawthorne English
Denoted a person who lived near a hawthorn bush, a word derived from Old English hagaþorn, from haga meaning "haw berry" and þorn meaning "thorn bush". A famous bearer was the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), author of The Scarlet Letter.
Herzog German
From a German title meaning "duke", a nickname for a person who either acted like a duke or worked in a duke's household.
Hill English
Originally given to a person who lived on or near a hill, derived from Old English hyll.
Huxley English
From the name of a town in Cheshire. The final element is Old English leah "woodland, clearing", while the first element might be hux "insult, scorn". A famous bearer was the British author Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).
Lindgren Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch". A famous bearer of this name was Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002).
Meyers German, English
Patronymic form of Meyer 1, Mayer 3 or Myer.
Muir Scottish
Scots form of Moore 1. This name was borne by the Scottish-American naturalist John Muir (1838-1914).
Murray 1 Scottish
Derived from the region in Scotland called Moray (Gaelic Moireabh), possibly of Pictish origin, meaning "seashore, coast". A notable bearer of this surname was General James Murray (1721-1794), who was the first British Governor-General of Canada.
Rice Welsh
Derived from the given name Rhys.
Shakespeare English
From a nickname for a warlike person, from Old English scacan "to shake" and spere "spear". A famous bearer was the English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
Thornton English
From any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.
Tolkien German
Possibly from a Low German byname Tolk meaning "interpreter" (of Slavic origin). A famous bearer was the English author J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973). According to him, the surname was derived from German tollkühn meaning "foolhardy".
Travers English, French
From an English and French place name that described a person who lived near a bridge or ford, or occasionally as an occupational name for the collector of tolls at such a location. The place name is derived from Old French traverser (which comes from Late Latin transversare), which means "to cross".