Abe 1 JapaneseFrom Japanese
安 (a) meaning "peace" and
倍 (be) meaning "multiple times".
Ainsley ScottishFrom a place name: either Annesley in Nottinghamshire or Ansley in Warwickshire. The place names themselves derive from Old English
anne "alone, solitary" or
ansetl "hermitage" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Aoki JapaneseFrom Japanese
青 (ao) meaning "green, blue" and
木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
Auer GermanFrom German
Aue, Old High German
ouwa, meaning
"meadow by a river, wetland".
Ayton EnglishFrom the name of towns in Berwickshire and North Yorkshire. They are derived from Old English
ea "river" or
ieg "island" combined with
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Bach 1 GermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Middle High German
bach meaning
"stream". This name was borne by members of the Bach musical family, notably the composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).
Bagley EnglishFrom various English place names, derived from the Old English given name
Bacga combined with
leah "woodland, clearing".
Bailey EnglishFrom Middle English
baili meaning
"bailiff", which comes via Old French from Latin
baiulus "porter".
Baker EnglishOccupational name meaning
"baker", derived from Middle English
bakere.
Banks EnglishOriginally indicated someone who lived near a hillside or a bank of land.
Barlow EnglishDerived from a number of English place names that variously mean "barley hill", "barn hill", "boar clearing" or "barley clearing".
Barton EnglishFrom a place name meaning "barley town" in Old English.
Báthory HungarianOriginally indicated a person from Bátor, a village in Hungary, which might be of Turkic origin meaning "hero". This was the surname of a Hungarian noble family who historically controlled the town. One of the family members, Stephen Báthory, became the king of Poland in the 16th century.
Bauer GermanFrom Old High German
bur meaning
"peasant, farmer".
Beaufort FrenchFrom various French place names derived from
beau "beautiful" and
fort "strong place, fortress".
Begum Indian (Muslim), Bengali (Muslim), Urdu, PunjabiFrom a title traditionally used as an honorific for Muslim women in India and other parts of southern Asia. It is derived from a feminine form of the Turkic title
beg meaning "chieftain" (modern Turkish
bey).
Best 1 EnglishDerived 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).
Bird EnglishOccupational name for a person who raised or hunted birds.
Bishop EnglishMeans simply
"bishop", ultimately from Greek
ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) meaning "overseer". It probably originally referred to a person who served a bishop.
Black EnglishMeans either
"black" (from Old English
blæc) or
"pale" (from Old English
blac). It could refer to a person with a pale or a dark complexion, or a person who worked with black dye.
Blair ScottishFrom any one of several places of this name in Scotland, which derive from Gaelic
blàr meaning "plain, field, battlefield".
Blake EnglishVariant of
Black. A famous bearer was the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827).
Blanc FrenchMeans
"white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond.
Blanco SpanishMeans
"white" in Spanish. The name most likely referred to a person who was pale or had blond hair.
Blue EnglishFrom a nickname for a person with blue eyes or blue clothing.
Bohn GermanOccupational name for a bean grower, derived from Middle High German
bone "bean".
Bolívar SpanishFrom
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).
Bond EnglishOccupational name for a peasant farmer, from Middle English
bonde. A famous bearer is the fictional spy James Bond, created by Ian Flemming in 1953.
Bouvier FrenchMeans
"cowherd" in French, from Latin
boviarus, a derivative of
bos "cow".
Bowie ScottishAnglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
Buidheach, derived from
buidhe meaning
"yellow". A famous bearer was the American pioneer James Bowie (1796-1836), for whom the bowie knife is named. The British musician David Bowie (1947-2016), born David Robert Jones, took his stage name from the American pioneer (and the knife).
Bowman EnglishOccupational name for an archer, derived from Middle English
bowe, Old English
boga meaning "bow".
Boyce EnglishFrom Old French
bois meaning
"wood", originally given to someone who lived by or in a wood.
Boyd ScottishFrom the name of the Scottish island of Bute (
Bód in Gaelic), which is of unknown meaning.
Brady IrishAnglicized form of the Irish name
Ó Brádaigh meaning
"descendant of Brádach". A famous bearer is the American football quarterback Tom Brady (1977-).
Brahms GermanDerived from the given name
Abraham. A famous bearer of this surname was the German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897).
Braxton EnglishFrom an English place name place name meaning "Bracca's town" in Old English.
Bridges EnglishOriginally denoted a person who lived near a bridge, or who worked as a bridgekeeper, derived from Middle English
brigge, Old English
brycg.
Bristow EnglishFrom the name of the city of Bristol, originally
Brycgstow in Old English, meaning "the site of the bridge".
Brock EnglishDerived from Old English
brocc meaning
"badger", ultimately of Celtic origin.
Brown EnglishOriginally 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.
Broz CroatianDerived from
Broz, a diminutive of
Ambrozije. This was the birth surname of the Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980).
Bruce ScottishPossibly 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.
Burke English, IrishDerived from Middle English
burgh meaning
"fortress, fortification, castle". It was brought to Ireland in the 12th century by the Norman invader William de Burgh.
Burnham EnglishFrom the name of various towns in England, typically derived from Old English
burna "stream, spring" and
ham "home, settlement".
Burns 1 English, ScottishDerived from Old English
burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).
Burton EnglishFrom a common English place name, derived from Old English meaning "fortified town".
Busch GermanMeans
"bush" in German, a name for someone who lived close to a thicket.
Butcher EnglishOccupational name for a butcher, derived from Old French
bouchier.
Butler English, IrishOccupational name derived from Norman French
butiller "wine steward", ultimately from Late Latin
butticula "bottle". A famous bearer of this surname is the fictional character Rhett Butler, created by Margaret Mitchell for her novel
Gone with the Wind (1936).
Cameron ScottishMeans
"crooked nose" from Gaelic
cam "crooked" and
sròn "nose".
Cao ChineseFrom Chinese
曹 (cáo) referring to the ancient state of Cao, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
Carson ScottishMeaning uncertain, possibly from the town of Courson in Normandy.
Case EnglishFrom Norman French
casse meaning
"box, case", ultimately from Latin
capsa. This was an occupational name for a box maker.
Castle EnglishFrom Middle English
castel meaning
"castle", from Late Latin
castellum, originally indicating a person who lived near a castle.
Castro Spanish, PortugueseMeans
"castle" in Spanish and Portuguese, referring to one who lived near a castle. A famous bearer was Fidel Castro (1926-2016), revolutionary and president of Cuba.
Chambers EnglishFrom Old French
chambre meaning
"chamber, room", an occupational name for a person who worked in the inner rooms of a mansion.
Chase EnglishOccupational name for a hunter, from Middle English
chase "hunt".
Chaves Portuguese, SpanishFrom the name of a Portuguese city, derived from the Roman name
Flavius (being named for the emperor Vespasian, whose family name was Flavius).
Chen ChineseFrom 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.
Cheng 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
程 (chéng) meaning
"rule, order, regulations", also referring to the territory of Cheng (in present-day Henan province) that existed during the Zhou dynasty.
Clark EnglishMeans
"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.
Clay EnglishMeans simply
"clay", originally referring to a person who lived near or worked with of clay.
Clayton EnglishFrom the name of various places meaning "clay settlement" in Old English.
Clifton EnglishDerived from various place names meaning "settlement by a cliff" in Old English.
Cody IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Cuidighthigh or
Mac Óda. A famous bearer was the American frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917).
Cohen JewishMeans
"priest" from Hebrew
כֹּהֵן (kohen). It originally denoted one of the priestly tribe of Levi.
Colby EnglishFrom various English place names, which were derived from the Old Norse byname
Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and
býr "farm, settlement".
Conti ItalianFrom the Italian noble title
conte meaning
"count", derived from Latin
comes (genitive
comitis) meaning "companion, attendant". It denoted a person who worked for a count or behaved like one.
Corvi ItalianNickname derived from Italian
corvo meaning
"crow".
Costa Portuguese, Italian, CatalanMeans
"riverbank, slope, coast" in Portuguese, Italian and Catalan, ultimately from Latin meaning "side, edge".
Craig ScottishDerived from Gaelic
creag meaning
"crag, rocks, outcrop", originally belonging to a person who lived near a crag.
Croft EnglishFrom Old English
croft meaning
"enclosed field".
Curtis EnglishNickname for a courteous person, derived from Old French
curteis meaning
"refined, courtly".
Dalí SpanishFrom a given name, itself a diminutive of names beginning with the Old German element
adal meaning "noble". This was the surname of the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).
Daly IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Dálaigh meaning
"descendant of Dálach".
Darwin EnglishFrom the given name
Deorwine. A famous bearer was the British naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882).
Davis English, ScottishMeans
"son of David". This was the surname of the revolutionary jazz trumpet player Miles Davis (1926-1991).
De Jong DutchMeans
"young" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch
jonc. This is the most common surname in the Netherlands.
Delacroix FrenchMeans
"of the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads. A notable bearer was the French painter Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863).
Dickens EnglishFrom the medieval given name
Dicun, a medieval diminutive of
Dick 1. A famous bearer of this surname was the British author Charles Dickens (1812-1870).
Dior FrenchPossibly from French
doré meaning
"golden". A famous bearer was the French fashion designer Christian Dior (1905-1957).
Disney EnglishMeans
"from Isigny", referring to the town of Isigny in Normandy. This surname was borne by the American animator and filmmaker Walt Disney (1901-1966).
Doherty IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Dochartaigh meaning
"descendant of Dochartach". The byname
Dochartach means "obstructive".
Doran IrishFrom Irish
Ó Deoradháin meaning
"descendant of Deoradhán", where
Deoradhán is a given name meaning "exile, wanderer".
Dorsey EnglishMeans
"from Orsay", referring to the town of Orsay near Paris, its name deriving from the Latin personal name
Orcius.
Douglas ScottishFrom the name of a town in Lanarkshire, itself named after a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water, derived from Gaelic
dubh "dark" and
glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to
glas "grey, green"). This was a Scottish Lowland clan, the leaders of which were powerful earls in the medieval period.
Doyle IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Dubhghaill, which means
"descendant of Dubhghall". A famous bearer was Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), the author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories.
Drake EnglishDerived from the Old Norse byname
Draki or the Old English byname
Draca both meaning
"dragon", both via Latin from Greek
δράκων (drakon) meaning "dragon, serpent".
Dubois FrenchMeans
"from the forest", from French
bois "forest".
Duke EnglishFrom the noble title, which was originally from Latin
dux "leader". It was a nickname for a person who behaved like a duke, or who worked in a duke's household.
Dunbar ScottishFrom the name of a town in East Lothian, Scotland, derived from Gaelic
dùn meaning "fort" and
barr meaning "summit", so called from its situation on a rock that projects into the sea.
Dunst GermanDerived from Middle High German
dunst "haze".
Dupont FrenchMeans
"from the bridge", from French
pont "bridge".
Dvořák m CzechOccupational name derived from Czech
dvůr "manor", indicating a person who worked at such a place. This name was borne by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904).
Dyer EnglishOccupational name meaning
"cloth dyer", from Old English
deah "dye".
Earl EnglishFrom the aristocratic title, which derives from Old English
eorl meaning
"nobleman, warrior". It was either a nickname for one who acted like an earl, or an occupational name for a person employed by an earl.
Easton EnglishFrom the name of various places meaning "east town" in Old English.
Eaton EnglishFrom any of the various English towns with this name, derived from Old English
ea "river" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Edison EnglishMeans
"son of Eda 2" or
"son of Adam". The surname was borne by American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931).
Elzinga DutchProbably from a place name that was a derivative of Dutch
els meaning "alder tree".
English EnglishDenoted a person who was of English heritage. It was used to distinguish people who lived in border areas (for example, near Wales or Scotland). It was also used to distinguish an Anglo-Saxon from a Norman.
Engström SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
äng (Old Norse
eng) meaning "meadow" and
ström (Old Norse
straumr) meaning "stream".
Espina SpanishMeans
"thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.
Fairclough EnglishFrom a place name meaning
"fair ravine, fair cliff" in Old English.
Faulkner English, ScottishOccupational name meaning
"keeper of falcons", from Middle English and Scots
faulcon, from Late Latin
falco, of Germanic origin.
Fay 1 French, EnglishReferred to a person who came from various places named Fay or Faye in northern France, derived from Old French
fau "beech tree", from Latin
fagus.
Fermi ItalianOriginally indicated a person from the town of Fermo in the Marche region of Italy, originally called
Firmum in Latin meaning "strong, steady, firm".
Fields EnglishName for a person who lived on or near a field or pasture, from Old English
feld.
Finch English, LiteratureFrom 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).
Fitzgerald IrishMeans
"son of Gerald" in Anglo-Norman French. It was brought to Ireland with William the Conqueror. A famous bearer was Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), an American jazz singer.
Fleming EnglishGiven to a person who was a Fleming, that is a person who was from
Flanders in the Netherlands.
Flower EnglishFrom Middle English
flour meaning
"flower, blossom", derived from Old French
flur, Latin
flos. This was a nickname given to a sweet person. In other cases it could be a metonymic occupational name for a maker of flour (a word derived from the same source).
Foley IrishFrom Irish
Ó Foghladha meaning
"descendant of Foghlaidh". The byname
Foghlaidh meant "pirate, marauder, plunderer".
Ford EnglishName given to someone who lived by a ford, possibly the official who maintained it. A famous bearer was the American industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947).
Forst GermanDerived from Old High German
forst "forest". Probably unrelated to the Old French word
forest, which was derived from Latin, Old High German
forst was derived from
foraha meaning "fir tree".
Fowler EnglishOccupational name for a fowler or birdcatcher, ultimately derived from Old English
fugol meaning "bird".
Fox EnglishFrom the name of the animal. It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a crafty person.
Frank 3 German, Dutch, Danish, NorwegianName for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people. A notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank (1929-1945), a victim of the Holocaust.
Frost English, GermanFrom Old English and Old High German meaning
"frost", a nickname for a person who had a cold personality or a white beard.
Fry EnglishFrom Old English
frig (a variant of
freo) meaning
"free".
Furlan Italian, SloveneFrom the name of the Italian region of
Friuli, in the northeast of Italy, which is derived from the name of the Roman town of Forum Iulii meaning "forum of Julius".
Gabler GermanOccupational name for someone who made or sold forks, from Old High German
gabala "fork".
Gale EnglishDerived from Middle English
gaile meaning
"jovial".
Gates EnglishOriginally denoted a person who lived near the town gates.
Gatsby English (Rare), LiteratureRare variant of
Gadsby. This name was used by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald for the central character in his novel
The Great Gatsby (1925). In the book, James Gatz renames himself as Jay Gatsby at age 17 because he believes it sounds more sophisticated.
Geary EnglishDerived from a Norman given name that was a short form of Germanic names starting with the element
ger "spear".