This is a list of surnames in which the categories include bandleaders.
ArmstrongEnglish Means "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.
ClarkEnglish Means "cleric" or "scribe", from Old English clerec meaning "priest", ultimately from Latin clericus. A famous bearer was William Clark (1770-1838), an explorer of the west of North America.
DavisEnglish, Scottish Means "son of David". This was the surname of the revolutionary jazz trumpet player Miles Davis (1926-1991).
DorseyEnglish Means "from Orsay", referring to the town of Orsay near Paris, its name deriving from the Latin personal name Orcius.
EllingtonEnglish 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".
HamptonEnglish From the name of multiple towns in England, derived from Old English ham "home" or ham "water meadow, enclosure" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".
KirkEnglish From northern Middle English kirk meaning "church", from Old Norse kirkja (cognate of Church). A famous fictional bearer is the starship captain James Kirk from the Star Trek television series (1966-1969), and subsequent films.
McIntyreScottish From Scottish Gaelic Mac an tSaoir meaning "son of the carpenter".
McKinleyScottish Anglicized form of MacFhionnlaigh. This name was borne by the American president William McKinley (1843-1901), who was assassinated.
MillerEnglish Occupational surname meaning "miller", referring to a person who owned or worked in a grain mill, derived from Middle English mille "mill".
Rey 1English, Spanish, French, Catalan Means "king" in Old French, Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin rex (genitive regis), perhaps originally denoting someone who acted like a king.
Shaw 1English Originally given to a person who lived near a prominent thicket, from Old English sceaga meaning "thicket, copse".
SousaPortuguese Originally indicated someone who lived near the River Sousa in Portugal, possibly derived from Latin salsus "salty" or saxa "rocks".
TuckerEnglish Occupational name for a fuller of cloth, derived from Old English tucian meaning "offend, torment". A fuller was a person who cleaned and thickened raw cloth by pounding it.
WebbEnglish Occupational name meaning "weaver", from Old English webba, a derivative of wefan "to weave".
YoungEnglish Derived from Old English geong meaning "young". This was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.
ZappaItalian From Italian zappa meaning "hoe, mattock", probably denoting a farmer. Two musicians of Italian origin have bore this name: Francesco Zappa (1717-1803) and Frank Zappa (1940-1993).