Surnames Categorized "nature"

This is a list of surnames in which the categories include nature.
usage
Agramunt Catalan
Originally denoted a person from the town of Agramunt, Spain. It means "field hill" in Catalan.
Akiyama Japanese
From Japanese (aki) meaning "autumn" and (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
Albero Italian
From Italian albero meaning "tree", ultimately from Latin arbor, referring to someone who lived in the woods or worked as a woodcutter.
Aldenkamp Dutch
Possibly from an unknown place name meaning "old field" in Dutch.
Allaway Scottish
From a Scottish place name, itself derived from alla "wild" and mhagh "field".
Aoki Japanese
From Japanese (ao) meaning "green, blue" and (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
Appelhof Dutch
Indicated a person who lived by or at an apple garden, from Dutch appel "apple" and hof "yard, court".
Appleby English
From the name of various English towns, derived from Old English æppel "apple" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement".
Appleton English
From the name of several English towns, meaning "orchard" in Old English (a compound of æppel "apple" and tun "enclosure, yard").
Arbore Italian
From Latin arbor meaning "tree".
Asanuma Japanese
From Japanese (asa) meaning "shallow" and (numa) meaning "swamp, marsh".
Ash English
From Old English æsc meaning "ash tree", indicating a person who lived near ash trees.
Aue German
From German meaning "meadow by a river, wetland". There are many places with this name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Auer German
From German Aue, Old High German ouwa, meaning "meadow by a river, wetland".
Ayala Spanish
From the name of the town of Ayala (called Aiara in Basque) in Álava, Spain. It might be derived from Basque aiher "slope" or alha "pasture".
Bagley English
From various English place names, derived from the Old English given name Bacga combined with leah "woodland, clearing".
Barlow English
Derived from a number of English place names that variously mean "barley hill", "barn hill", "boar clearing" or "barley clearing".
Beauchêne French
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and chêne "oak".
Beaumont French, English
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and mont "mountain".
Beech 2 English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a beech tree, from Old English bece.
Berg German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German, Old Dutch and Old Norse berg meaning "mountain".
Berggren Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".
Bergman Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and man (Old Norse maðr) meaning "person, man", originally a name for a person living on a mountain.
Bergmann German
From Old High German berg meaning "mountain" and man meaning "man", originally denoting someone who lived on a mountain.
Bergqvist Swedish
From Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".
Berry English
Derived from a place name, which was derived from Old English burh "fortification".
Blakeley English
From name of various English places, derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Blakesley English
From the name of a town in Northamptonshire, itself meaning "Blæcwulf's meadow" in Old English. Blæcwulf is a byname meaning "black wolf".
Blumenthal German, Jewish
Derived from German Blumen "flowers" and Thal "valley".
Braband German
Derived from the name of the region of Brabant in the Netherlands and Belgium. It possibly means "ploughed region" or "marshy region" in Old High German.
Bradley English
From a common English place name, derived from brad "broad" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Brandon English
From the name of various places in England meaning "hill covered with broom" in Old English.
Brierley English
From an English place name, derived from brer "briar" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Brownlow English
From Old English brun meaning "brown" and hlaw meaning "mound, small hill". The name was probably given to a family living on a small hill covered with bracken.
Buckley 1 English
From an English place name derived from bucc "buck, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Bullock English
From a nickname meaning "young bull".
Bush English
Originally a name for a person who lived near a prominent bush or thicket.
Carrasco Spanish
Topographic name derived from Spanish carrasca meaning "holm oak" (species Quercus ilex).
Clayton English
From the name of various places meaning "clay settlement" in Old English.
Clifford English
Derived from various place names that meant "ford by a cliff" in Old English.
Cock English
Derived from the medieval nickname cok meaning "rooster, cock". The nickname was commonly added to given names to create diminutives such as Hancock or Alcock.
Cockburn Scottish, English
Originally indicated someone who came from Cockburn, a place in Berwickshire. The place name is derived from Old English cocc "rooster" and burna "stream".
Collingwood English
From a place name, itself derived from Old French chalenge meaning "disputed" and Middle English wode meaning "woods".
Corna Italian
Derived from the names of places in northern Italy, especially Lombardy, from a word that means "crag, cliff" in the Lombard dialect.
Cowden English
From various English place names, which meaning either "coal valley", "coal hill" or "cow pasture" in Old English.
Croft English
From Old English croft meaning "enclosed field".
Delaney 1 English
Derived from Norman French de l'aunaie meaning "from the alder grove".
Denman English
From Middle English dene "valley" combined with man.
Dubois French
Means "from the forest", from French bois "forest".
Dumbledore Literature
From the dialectal English word dumbledore meaning "bumblebee". It was used by J. K. Rowling for the headmaster of Hogwarts in her Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.
Engberg Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish äng (Old Norse eng) meaning "meadow" and berg meaning "mountain".
Engström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish äng (Old Norse eng) meaning "meadow" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".
Espina Spanish
Means "thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.
Espino Spanish
Variant of Espina.
Espinosa Spanish
From Spanish espinoso meaning "thorny", ultimately from Latin spinosus, a derivative of spina meaning "thorn, spine". This was the real surname of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), who was of Portuguese Jewish origin.
Fairburn English
From a place name meaning "fern stream", from Old English fearn "fern" and burna "stream".
Feld German, Jewish
Means "field" in German. The name was originally given to someone who lived on land cleared of forest.
Fenn English
From a name for someone who dwelt near a marsh, from Old English fenn meaning "fen, swamp, bog".
Fenwick English
From an English place name, derived from Old English fenn "fen, swamp, bog" and wic "village, town".
Fields English
Name for a person who lived on or near a field or pasture, from Old English feld.
Flores Spanish
Means "son of Floro" in Spanish.
Forest English, French
Originally belonged to a person who lived near or in a forest. It was probably originally derived, via Old French forest, from Latin forestam (silva) meaning "outer (wood)".
Forst German
Derived 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".
Fox English
From the name of the animal. It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a crafty person.
Fujimori Japanese
From Japanese (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and (mori) meaning "forest".
Fujimoto Japanese
From Japanese (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".
Fujioka Japanese
From Japanese (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".
Fujisawa Japanese
From Japanese (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh".
Fujita Japanese
From Japanese (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Fujiwara Japanese
From Japanese (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and (wara) meaning "field, plain".
Fukuzawa Japanese
From Japanese (fuku) meaning "happiness, good fortune, blessing" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh".
Gardener English
Occupational surname for one who was a gardener, from Old French jardin meaning "garden" (of Frankish origin).
Garland English
Means "triangle land" from Old English gara and land. It originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.
Green English
Descriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green.
Greenwood English
Topographic name for someone who lived in or near a lush forest, from Old English grene "green" and wudu "wood".
Grover English
From Old English graf meaning "grove of trees". A famous bearer was the American president Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).
Grünewald German
Means "green forest" from German grün "green" and Wald "forest".
Gwózdek Polish
Derived from either archaic Polish gwozd meaning "forest" or gwóźdź meaning "nail".
Haggard English
From a nickname meaning "wild, untamed, worn", from Old French, ultimately from a Germanic root.
Hamm English
Means "river meadow" in Old English.
Hartley English
Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Hartley, from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Hawking English
From a diminutive of Hawk. A famous bearer was the British physicist Stephen Hawking (1942-2018).
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.
Hayashi Japanese
From Japanese (hayashi) meaning "forest".
Hayden 1 English
From place names meaning either "hay valley" or "hay hill", derived from Old English heg "hay" and denu "valley" or dun "hill".
Haywood English
From various place names meaning "fenced wood" in Old English.
Heath English
Originally belonged to a person who was a dweller on the heath or open land.
Hedlund Swedish
From Swedish hed (Old Norse heiðr) meaning "heath, moor" and lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove".
Herschel German, Jewish
Diminutive form of Hirsch 1 or Hirsch 2. A famous bearer was the British-German astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822), as well as his sister Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) and son John Herschel (1792-1871), also noted scientists.
Hino Japanese
From Japanese (hi) meaning "sun, day" or (hi) meaning "fire" and (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Hirsch 1 German
Means "deer, hart" in German. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a deer in some way, or who raised or hunted deer.
Holme English, Scottish
Referred either to someone living by a small island (northern Middle English holm, from Old Norse holmr) or near a holly tree (Middle English holm, from Old English holegn).
Holt English, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English, Old Dutch and Old Norse holt meaning "forest".
Horsfall English
From a minor place in Yorkshire derived from Old English hors "horse" and fall "clearing".
Hoshino Japanese
From Japanese (hoshi) meaning "star" and (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Hu Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "beard, whiskers, recklessly, wildly, barbarian".
Huff English
Means "spur of a hill", from Old English hoh.
Hummel 1 German, Dutch
Derived from the given name Humbert.
Hummel 2 German, Dutch
Nickname for a busy person, from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch hommel, Middle High German hummel, all meaning "bee".
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).
Ibarra Basque, Spanish
From Basque place names derived from ibar meaning "meadow".
Im Korean
From Sino-Korean (im) meaning "forest", making it the Korean form of Lin, or (im) of uncertain meaning, making it the Korean form of Ren.
Keith Scottish
From a place name that is probably derived from the Brythonic element cet meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles.
Kerr Scottish, English
From Scots and northern Middle English kerr meaning "thicket, marsh", ultimately from Old Norse kjarr.
Kjær Danish
Topographic name for someone living near a wetland, from Danish kær "marsh", from Old Norse kjarr "thicket".
Kobayashi Japanese
From Japanese (ko) meaning "small" and (hayashi) meaning "forest".
Kohl German
Derived from Middle High German kol "cabbage".
Kurosawa Japanese
From Japanese (kuro) meaning "black" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.
Langbroek Dutch
From the name of a small town in the province of Utrecht, Holland, derived from lang meaning "wide" and broek meaning "marsh, wetland".
Langley 1 English
From any of the various places with this name, all derived from Old English lang "long" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Layton English
Derived from the name of English towns, meaning "town with a leek garden" in Old English.
Lee 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived on or near a leah, Old English meaning "woodland, clearing".
Lehtinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehti meaning "leaf".
Lehtonen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehto meaning "grove, small forest".
Liepa Latvian
Means "linden tree" in Latvian.
Lind Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Derived from Old Norse lind meaning "linden tree".
Linden German, Dutch
Indicated a person who lived near a linden tree, derived from Old High German linta or Old Dutch linda.
Linton English
Originally from place names meaning either "flax town" or "linden tree town" in Old English.
Lowell English
From a nickname derived from a Norman French lou meaning "wolf" and a diminutive suffix.
Lyndon English
Originally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.
Ma Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "horse".
Madeira Portuguese
Occupational name for a carpenter, from Portuguese madeira "wood".
Mägi Estonian
Means "hill, mountain" in Estonian.
Mah Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese (see Ma).
Marsh English
Originally denoted one who lived near a marsh or bog, derived from Old English mersc "marsh".
Marston English
From a place name derived from Old English mersc "marsh" and tun "enclosure".
Maxwell Scottish
From a place name meaning "Mack's stream", from the name Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name Magnus, combined with Old English wille "well, stream". A famous bearer was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
McMahon Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Mac Mathghamhna meaning "son of Mathgamain".
Meadows English
Referred to one who lived in a meadow, from Old English mædwe.
Mizuno Japanese
From Japanese (mizu) meaning "water" and (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Moore 1 English
Originally indicated a person who lived on a moor, from Middle English mor meaning "open land, bog".
Morikawa Japanese
From Japanese (mori) meaning "forest" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Moriyama Japanese
From Japanese (mori) meaning "forest" and (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
Moser German
Name for someone who lived near a peat bog, from Middle High German mos.
Moss 1 English
From Middle English mos meaning "bog, moss".
Northrop English
Originally denoted one who came from a town of this name England, meaning "north farm".
Ó Cuilinn Irish
Means "descendant of Cuileann", Cuileann being a nickname meaning "holly".
Ojeda Spanish
From the name of the Ojeda river in Soria, Spain, possibly derived from Latin folia "leaves".
Ono Japanese
From Japanese (o) meaning "small" and (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
Oppenheimer German
Originally indicated a person from Oppenheim, Germany, perhaps meaning "marshy home".
Ortega Spanish
From a Spanish place name (belonging to various villages) derived from ortiga "nettle".
Østergård Danish
From Danish øst meaning "east" and gård meaning "enclosure, farm".
Padmore English
Originally indicated a person from Padmore in England, derived from Old English padde "toad" and mor "moor, marsh".
Park 2 English
From Middle English park, from Latin parricus, of Frankish origin. This was a name for someone who worked in or lived in a park.
Peacock English
From Middle English pecok meaning "peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.
Pilkvist Swedish
From Swedish pil (Old Norse píli) meaning "willow" and qvist (Old Norse kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".
Plaskett English
Originally denoted a dweller by a swampy meadow, from Old French plascq meaning "wet meadow".
Poirot French, Literature
From a diminutive of French poire "pear", originally referring to a pear merchant or someone who lived near a pear tree. Starting in 1920 this name was used by the mystery writer Agatha Christie for her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Christie based the name on that of Jules Poiret, a contemporary fictional detective.
Pollock Scottish
From the name of a place in Renfrewshire, Scotland, derived from a diminutive of Gaelic poll meaning "pool, pond, bog". A famous bearer was the American artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956).
Pond English
Originally referred to one who lived near a pond.
Popławski m Polish
From Polish poplaw meaning "flowing water, flood".
Priede Latvian
Means "pine tree" in Latvian.
Rafferty Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Rabhartaigh meaning "descendant of Rabhartach". The given name Rabhartach means "flood tide".
Read 2 English
From Old English ryd, an unattested form of rod meaning "cleared land". It is also derived from various English place names with various meanings, including "roe headland", "reeds" and "brushwood".
Regenbogen German, Jewish
From a German nickname meaning "rainbow", probably a habitational name for someone who lived in a house with the sign of a rainbow. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
Reis German, Jewish
From Middle High German ris meaning "twig, branch, bush", denoting a person who lived in an overgrown area. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Rhodes English
Topographic name derived from Old English rod meaning "cleared land", or a locational name from any of the locations named with this word.
Rietveld Dutch
Means "reed field", from Dutch riet "reed" and veld "field". It is found mostly in the western part of the Netherlands (the Holland area).
Rivera Spanish
From Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore", from Latin riparius.
Roosa Dutch
From Dutch roos meaning "rose".
Roosevelt Dutch
Means "rose field" from Dutch roos "rose" and veld "field". This was the surname of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).
Rosa Italian, Catalan
Italian and Catalan form of Rose 1.
Rosales Spanish
Means "rose bushes" in Spanish.
Rose 1 English, 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).
Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.
Rosenfeld German, Jewish
Means "field of roses" in German. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
Rowan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruadháin.
Rowbottom English
Originally indicated a person who lived in an overgrown valley, from Old English ruh "rough, overgrown" and boðm "valley".
Rowe 2 English
From the medieval name Row, which is either a variant of Roul or short form of Roland.
Rowntree English
Originally given to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash.
Sadowski m Polish
Denoted someone who lived in Sadowo, Sadowice or other places beginning with Polish sad "garden, orchard".
Salo Finnish
Means "forest" in Finnish.
Salonen Finnish
From Finnish salo meaning "forest".
Sandberg Swedish, Norwegian, Jewish
From Swedish and Norwegian sand (Old Norse sandr) meaning "sand" and berg meaning "mountain" (or in the case of the Jewish surname, from the Yiddish or German cognates).
Sandoval Spanish
Derived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin saltus "forest, glade" and novalis "unploughed land".
Savage English
English nickname meaning "wild, uncouth", derived from Old French salvage or sauvage meaning "untamed", ultimately from Latin silvaticus meaning "wild, from the woods".
Schoorl Dutch
Originally indicated a person from the town of Schoorl in the province of Noord-Holland in the Netherlands. It means "forest by the shore" in Dutch.
Sheinfeld Jewish
Ornamental name derived from German schön "beautiful, good, nice" and feld "field".
Shirley English
From an English place name, derived from Old English scir "bright" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Siliņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian sils meaning "pine forest".
Silvestri Italian
Derived from the given name Silvester.
Skov Danish
Topographic name meaning "forest, wood" in Danish, from Old Norse skógr.
Smedley English
From an unidentified place name probably meaning "smooth clearing" in Old English.
Stanley English
From various place names meaning "stone clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904).
Stone English
Name for a person who lived near a prominent stone or worked with stone, derived from Old English stan.
Su Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "perilla", also referring to an ancient minor state called Su.
Summerfield English
Originally indicated the bearer was from a town of this name, derived from Old English sumor "summer" and feld "field".
Tenley English
Possibly from the name of an English town derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Thorley English
From any of the various places in England called Thornley or Thorley, meaning "thorn clearing" in Old English.
Thorn English, Danish
Originally applied to a person who lived in or near a thorn bush.
Thorne English
Variant of Thorn.
Thornton English
From any of the various places in England by this name, meaning "thorn town" in Old English.
Trask English
Originally indicated a person from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, derived from Old Norse þresk meaning "fen, marsh".
Tuft English
Denoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.
Turnbull English, Scottish
Nickname for someone thought to be strong enough to turn around a bull.
Tveit Norwegian
Habitational name derived from Old Norse þveit meaning "clearing".
Utkin m Russian
Derived from Russian утка (utka) meaning "duck".
Vadas Hungarian
From Hungarian vad meaning "wild", either a nickname or an occupational name for a hunter of wild game.
Vance English
Indicated a dweller by a fen, from Old English fenn meaning "fen, marsh".
Van Dalen Dutch
Means "from the valley", from Old Dutch dal meaning "valley".
Van der Linden Dutch
Means "from the linden trees", from Dutch linde meaning "linden tree".
Vandroogenbroeck Flemish
Means "from the dry marsh" in Dutch. The city of Brussels was built on dry marshes.
Van Gogh Dutch
Means "from Goch", a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, near the border with the Netherlands. It may be derived from a Low German word meaning "meadow, floodplain". This name was borne by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890).
Vernon English
Locational name in the Eure region of Normandy, from the Gaulish element vern "alder (tree)" with the genitive case maker onis.
Vestergaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish vest "west" and gård "farm, yard".
Vogel German, Dutch
From Old High German and Old Dutch fogal meaning "bird". It was originally an occupational name for a bird catcher, or a nickname for a person who liked to sing.
Voll 1 Norwegian
Originally indicated a person who lived in a meadow, from Old Norse vǫllr "meadow, field".
Voss German
From Middle Low German vos meaning "fox". It was originally a nickname for a clever person or a person with red hair.
Waldvogel German, Jewish
From a nickname for a carefree person, derived from German Wald meaning "forest" and Vogel meaning "bird". As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Weasley Literature
Used by J. K. Rowling for the character of Ron Weasley (and other members of his family) in her Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997. Rowling presumably derived it from the English word weasel, perhaps in combination with the common place name/surname suffix -ley, which is derived from Old English leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
Whinery English
From Middle English whin "gorse bush" and wray "nook of land".
Wilton English
From any of the English towns named Wilton.
Winston English
Derived from the given name Wynnstan.
Witherspoon English
Originally given to a person who dwelt near a sheep enclosure, from Middle English wether "sheep" and spong "strip of land".
Wolf German, English
From Middle High German or Middle English wolf meaning "wolf", or else from an Old German given name beginning with this element.
Wolfe English
Variant of Wolf.
Wood English, Scottish
Originally denoted one who lived in or worked in a forest, derived from Old English wudu "wood".
Woodcock English
Nickname referring to the woodcock bird.
Woodward English
Occupational name for a forester, meaning "ward of the wood" in Old English.
Yamada Japanese
From Japanese (yama) meaning "mountain" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Yasuda Japanese
From Japanese (yasu) meaning "peace, quiet" or (yasu) meaning "protect, maintain" and (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Ye Chinese
From Chinese () meaning "leaf".
Yukimura Japanese
From Japanese (yuki) meaning "snow" and (mura) meaning "town, village".