Surnames Categorized "nature"

This is a list of surnames in which the categories include nature.
usage
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.
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".
Ash English
From Old English æsc meaning "ash tree", indicating a person who lived near ash trees.
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".
Beaumont French, English
From French place names derived from beau "beautiful" and mont "mountain".
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".
Blakeley English
From name of various English places, derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Blumenthal German, Jewish
Derived from German Blumen "flowers" and Thal "valley".
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".
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".
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".
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.
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.
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".
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".
Haggard English
From a nickname meaning "wild, untamed, worn", from Old French, ultimately from a Germanic root.
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.
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.
Holt English, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English, Old Dutch and Old Norse holt meaning "forest".
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".
Ibarra Basque, Spanish
From Basque place names derived from ibar meaning "meadow".
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.
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 "meadow".
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.
Lehtinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehti meaning "leaf".
Lehtonen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehto meaning "grove, small forest".
Lind Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Derived from Old Norse lind meaning "linden tree".
Linden German
Derived from Old High German linta meaning "linden tree".
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".
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".
Morikawa Japanese
From Japanese (mori) meaning "forest" and (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
Moriyama Japanese
From Japanese (mori) meaning "forest" and (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
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".
Ono Japanese
From Japanese (o) meaning "small" and (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
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".
Peacock English
From Middle English pecok meaning "peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.
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).
Popławski Polish
From Polish poplaw meaning "flowing water, flood".
Rafferty Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Rabhartaigh meaning "descendant of Rabhartach". The given name Rabhartach means "flood tide".
Regenbogen German, Jewish
From a German nickname meaning "rainbow".
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.
Rivera Spanish
From Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore", from Latin riparius.
Roosa Dutch
From Dutch roos meaning "rose".
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.
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.
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.
Shirley English
From an English place name, derived from Old English scir "bright" and leah "woodland, clearing".
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.
Stone English
Name for a person who lived near a prominent stone or worked with stone, derived from Old English stan.
Tenley English
Possibly from the name of an English town derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing".
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.
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 Russian
From the Russian word утка (utka) meaning "duck".
Vadas Hungarian
From Hungarian vad meaning "wild", either a nickname or an occupational name for a hunter of wild game.
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.
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 Jewish
Ornamental name derived from German Wald meaning "forest" and Vogel meaning "bird".
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".
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".
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".
Yukimura Japanese
From Japanese (yuki) meaning "snow" and (mura) meaning "town, village".