AytonEnglish From 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".
BallEnglish From Middle English bal, Old English beall meaning "ball". This was either a nickname for a rotund or bald person, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a ball-shaped feature.
BartonEnglish From a place name meaning "barley town" in Old English.
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.
EnglishEnglish Denoted 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.
FournierFrench Occupational name for a baker, from French fourneau meaning "oven".
GrahamScottish Derived from the English place name Grantham, which probably meant "gravelly homestead" in Old English. The surname was first taken to Scotland in the 12th century by William de Graham.
GrantEnglish, Scottish Derived from Norman French meaning "grand, tall, large, great".
GreenEnglish Descriptive name for someone who often wore the colour green or someone who lived near the village green.
HardenEnglish From a place name meaning "hare valley" in Old English.
Hayes 1English From various English place names that were derived from Old English hæg meaning "enclosure, fence". A famous bearer was American President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893).
HillEnglish Originally given to a person who lived on or near a hill, derived from Old English hyll.
HolmgrenSwedish Ornamental name derived from Swedish holme (Old Norse holmr) meaning "small island" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".
HoustonScottish From a place name meaning "Hugh's town". The original Houston is in Scotland near Glasgow.
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).
JeffersonEnglish Means "son of Jeffrey". A famous bearer was American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Since this surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, it is now more common among the African-American population.
JohnsonEnglish Means "son of John". Famous bearers include American presidents Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973).
MaxwellScottish 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.
MurphyIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Murchadha meaning "descendant of Murchadh". This is the most common Irish surname.
Murray 1Scottish Derived from the region in Scotland called Moray (Gaelic Moireabh), possibly of Pictish origin, meaning "seashore, coast". A notable bearer of this surname was General James Murray (1721-1794), who was the first British Governor-General of Canada.
NashEnglish Derived from the Middle English phrase atten ash"at the ash tree". A famous bearer was the mathematician John Nash (1928-2015).
O'NealIrish From Irish Ó Néill meaning "descendant of Neil".
Parish 1English Originally denoted a person who came from the French city of Paris, which got its name from the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Parisii.
ParkerEnglish Means "keeper of the park" in Middle English. It is an occupational name for a person who was a gamekeeper at a medieval park.
SumnerEnglish Occupational name for a summoner, an official who was responsible for ensuring the appearance of witnesses in court, from Middle English sumner, ultimately from Latin submonere "to advise".
SunChinese From Chinese 孙 (sūn) meaning "grandchild, descendant". A famous bearer of the surname was Sun Tzu, the 6th-century BC author of The Art of War.
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.
Wade 1English Derived from the Old English place name wæd meaning "a ford".
WalkerEnglish Occupational name for a person who walked on damp raw cloth in order to thicken it. It is derived from Middle English walkere, Old English wealcan meaning "to move".
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.
WaltonEnglish From the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English wealh "foreigner, Celt", weald "forest", weall "wall", or wille "well, spring, water hole" combined with tun "enclosure".
Wang 1Chinese From Chinese 王 (wáng) meaning "king, monarch". This is the most common surname in China (and the world).
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.
WatanabeJapanese From Japanese 渡 (wata) meaning "cross, ferry" and 辺 (nabe) meaning "area, place".
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.