FarmerEnglish Occupational name for a tax collector, from Middle English ferme"rent, revenue, provision", from medieval Latin firma, ultimately from Old English feorm. This word did not acquire its modern meaning until the 17th century.
FletcherEnglish Occupational name for a fletcher, someone who attached feathers to the shaft of an arrow. It is derived from Old French fleche meaning "arrow".
FowlerEnglish Occupational name for a fowler or birdcatcher, ultimately derived from Old English fugol meaning "bird".
FreemanEnglish Referred to a person who was born free, or in other words was not a serf.
GarcíaSpanish 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.
HamiltonEnglish, Scottish From 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).
HanChinese, Korean From Chinese 韩 (hán) referring to the ancient state of Han, which existed from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC in what is now Shanxi and Henan provinces.
HarperEnglish Originally belonged to a person who played the harp or who made harps.
JacksonEnglish Means "son of Jack". Famous bearers of this name are the American president Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) and the singer Michael Jackson (1958-2009).
JenningsEnglish From the given name Jenyn, a diminutive of Jen, itself a Middle English form of John.
Kelly 1Irish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ceallaigh meaning "descendant of Ceallach".
KimKorean Korean form of Jin, from Sino-Korean 金 (gim) meaning "gold". This is the most common surname in Korea.
KingEnglish From Old English cyning"king", originally a nickname for someone who either acted in a kingly manner or who worked for or was otherwise associated with a king. A famous bearer was the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
LawrenceEnglish Derived from the given name Laurence 1. Famous bearers include revolutionary T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935) and author D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930).
MachadoPortuguese, Spanish Denoted a person who made or used hatchets, derived from Spanish and Portuguese machado"hatchet", both from Latin marculus "little hammer".
MillerEnglish Occupational surname meaning "miller", referring to a person who owned or worked in a grain mill, derived from Middle English mille "mill".
NoelFrench, English Either from the given name Noël, or else derived directly from Old French noel "Christmas" and given to a person who had a particular connection with the holiday.
PlankGerman, English Means "plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.
QuijadaSpanish Means "jaw" in Spanish, a nickname for someone with a large jaw.
QuinnIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cuinn meaning "descendant of Conn".
QuintanaSpanish, Catalan Originally indicated someone who lived on a piece of land where the rent was a fifth of its produce, from Spanish and Catalan quintana "fifth", from Latin quintus.
RodríguezSpanish Means "son of Rodrigo" in Spanish. This is among the most common surnames in Spain.
Rose 1English, French, German, Jewish Means "rose" from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German rose, all from Latin rosa. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in an area abundant with roses. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental, from Yiddish רויז (roiz).
SmithEnglish Means "metalworker, blacksmith" from Old English smiþ, related to smitan "to smite, to hit". It is the most common surname in most of the English-speaking world. A famous bearer was the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).
ThorntonEnglish From any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.
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.
UnderwoodEnglish Means "dweller at the edge of the woods", from Old English under and wudu.
UptonEnglish Denoted a person hailing from one of the many towns in England bearing this name. The place name itself is derived from Old English upp "up" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".
UreñaSpanish Probably derived from the name of Urueña, a town in the province of Valladolid, Spain, which is of unknown meaning.
WagnerGerman From Middle High German wagener meaning "wagon maker, cartwright". This name was borne by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883).
WallaceScottish, English, Irish Means "foreigner, stranger, Celt" from Norman French waleis (of Germanic origin). It was often used to denote native Welsh and Bretons. A famous bearer was the 13th-century Sir William Wallace of Scotland.
WillisEnglish Derived from the given name William. A famous bearer of this surname is actor Bruce Willis (1955-).
WinfieldEnglish From various English place names, derived from Old English winn "meadow, pasture" and feld "field".
Wright 1English From Old English wyrhta meaning "wright, maker", an occupational name for someone who was a craftsman. Famous bearers were Orville and Wilbur Wright, the inventors of the first successful airplane.
YatesEnglish From Old English geat meaning "gate", a name for a gatekeeper or someone who lived near a gate.
YoungEnglish Derived from Old English geong meaning "young". This was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.