This is a list of surnames in which the categories include folk heroes.
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.
BolívarSpanish 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).
BonneyEnglish From northern Middle English boni meaning "pretty, attractive".
BrownEnglish 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.
BruceScottish Possibly from the name of the town of Brix in Normandy, which is of unknown meaning. It was brought to Scotland in the 12th century by the Anglo-Norman baron Robert de Brus. It was later borne by his descendant Robert the Bruce, a hero of the 14th century who achieved independence from England and became the king of Scotland.
CassidyIrish From Irish Ó Caiside meaning "descendant of Caiside". Caiside is a given name meaning "curly haired".
ChapmanEnglish Occupational name derived from Old English ceapmann meaning "merchant, trader".
ChenChinese From Chinese 陈 (chén) meaning "exhibit, display, old, ancient" and also referring to the former state of Chen, which existed in what is now Henan province from the 11th to 5th centuries BC.
GuzmánSpanish From the name of the town of Guzmán in Burgos, Spain. The town's name itself may be derived from an old Visigothic given name, from the Germanic elements *gautaz "a Geat" and *mannô "person, man".
HaleEnglish Derived from Old English halh meaning "nook, recess, hollow".
Kelly 1Irish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ceallaigh meaning "descendant of Ceallach". Famous bearers include actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
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).
LincolnEnglish Originally indicated that the bearer was from the English city of Lincoln, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". A famous bearer was Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.
MacGregorScottish Anglicized form of Gaelic MacGriogair meaning "son of Gregor". It originates from the Highland clan Gregor. A famous bearer was the Scottish folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor (1671-1734).
MiyamotoJapanese From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin". A notable bearer is video game pioneer Shigeru Miyamoto (1952-).
MurphyIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Murchadha meaning "descendant of Murchadh". This is the most common Irish surname.
Perry 1English From Old English pirige meaning "pear tree", a derivative of peru meaning "pear", itself from Latin pirum. A famous bearer was Matthew Perry (1794-1858), the American naval officer who opened Japan to the West.
PetitFrench, Catalan, English Means "small, little" derived from Old French and Catalan petit. It was perhaps used for a short, small person or to denote the younger of two individuals.
RodríguezSpanish Means "son of Rodrigo" in Spanish. This is among the most common surnames in Spain.
RossEnglish, Scottish From various place names (such as the region of Ross in northern Scotland), which are derived from Scottish Gaelic ros meaning "promontory, headland".
Roy 2Scottish From Gaelic ruadh meaning "red-haired".
SilvaPortuguese, Spanish From Spanish or Portuguese silva meaning "forest". This is the most common surname in Portugal and Brazil.
SinghHindi, 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.
SteeleEnglish Occupational name for a steelworker, from Old English stele meaning "steel".
SvobodamCzech Means "freedom" in Czech. This was a medieval name for a freeman, someone who was not a serf.
TurnerEnglish Occupational name for one who worked with a lathe, derived from Old English turnian "to turn", of Latin origin. A famous bearer is the American musician Tina Turner (1939-2023), born Anna Mae Bullock.
TylerEnglish Occupational name for a tiler of roofs, derived from Old English tigele "tile". A famous bearer of this name was American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
VillaItalian, Spanish Means "town" in Italian and Spanish, from Latin. It was originally given to a person who came from a town, as opposed to the countryside.
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 Scottish hero William Wallace.
WalshEnglish, Irish From Old English wælisc meaning "foreigner, stranger, Celt".
WashingtonEnglish From a place name meaning "settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name Wassa and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". A famous bearer was George Washington (1732-1799), the first president of the United States. This surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, resulting in a high proportion of African-American bearers.
WenChinese From Chinese 文 (wén) meaning "literature, culture, writing".