ALBERO ItalianFrom Italian
albero meaning
"tree", ultimately from Latin
arbor, referring to someone who lived in the woods or worked as a woodcutter.
BOKOR HungarianTopographic name derived from Hungarian
bokor "bush". This is also the name of a village in Hungary.
BUSH EnglishOriginally a name for a person who lived near a prominent bush or thicket.
DESROSIERS FrenchMeans
"from the rose bushes", from French
rosier "rose bush". It probably referred to a person who lived close to, or cared for a rose garden.
ESPINA SpanishMeans
"thorn" in Spanish, a name for someone who lived near a thorn bush.
ESPINOSA SpanishFrom Spanish
espinoso meaning
"thorny", ultimately from Latin
spinosus, a derivative of
spina meaning "thorn, spine".
FAIRBURN EnglishFrom a place name meaning
"fern stream", from Old English
fearn "fern" and
burna "stream".
FORNEY GermanName for someone who lived near ferns, from Old High German
farn "fern".
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".
GAGNEUX FrenchDerived from Old French
gagnier meaning
"to farm, to cultivate".
GARDENER EnglishOccupational surname for one who was a gardener, from Old French
jardin meaning "garden" (of Frankish origin).
GARRASTAZU BasqueFrom the Basque word
arratz "bush" combined with the suffix
sta denoting a place.
GRÜNEWALD GermanMeans
"green forest" from German
grün "green" and
Wald "forest".
HAWTHORNE EnglishDenoted 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.
KEITH ScottishFrom 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.
KERNER GermanDerived from Old High German
kerno "seed", an occupational name for one who sold or planted seeds.
KERSEY EnglishFrom an English place name meaning derived from Old English
cærse "watercress" and
eg "island".
KOHL GermanDerived from Middle High German
kol "cabbage".
KRANZ German, JewishDerived from Old High German
kranz meaning
"wreath", an occupational name for a maker of wreaths or an ornamental Jewish name.
LAGANÀ ItalianOccupational name for a greengrocer, meaning
"vegetables" in southern Italian dialects, ultimately from Greek
λάχανον (lachanon).
LAVIGNE FrenchMeans
"the vineyard" in French, referring to a person who lived close to a vineyard, or was from the town of Lavigny.
LAYTON EnglishDerived from the name of English towns, meaning "town with a leek garden" in Old English.
LEWANDOWSKI PolishFrom the Polish estate name
Lewandów, which is itself possibly derived from a personal name or from
lawenda "lavender".
LUND Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, EnglishIndicated a person who lived near a grove of trees, from Old Norse
lundr meaning
"grove". There are towns in Sweden and Britain called Lund.
LYNDON EnglishOriginally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.
MORALES SpanishDerived from Spanish
moral meaning
"mulberry tree", of Latin origin.
NESPOLI ItalianFrom the name of towns such as Nespoli and Nespoledo, derived from Italian
nespola meaning "medlar (tree)".
OJEDA SpanishFrom the name of the Ojeda river in Soria, Spain, possibly derived from Latin
folia "leaves".
ORTEGA SpanishFrom a Spanish place name (belonging to various villages) derived from
ortiga "nettle".
PASTERNAK Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, YiddishMeans
"parsnip" in various Slavic languages, ultimately from Latin
pastinaca. A famous bearer was Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), author of
Doctor Zhivago.
PORRAS Spanish, CatalanFrom a nickname meaning
"club" in Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin
porrum meaning "leek".
QUIRÓS SpanishDenoted a person from one of the various places of this name in Spain, which may derive from Galician
queiroa meaning
"heather".
RAMOS SpanishOriginally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, from Latin
ramus meaning
"branch".
READ (2) EnglishFrom 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".
RETTIG GermanDerived from Middle High German
retich, Middle Low German
redik meaning
"radish", an occupational name for a grower or seller of radishes.
ROSE (1) English, French, German, JewishMeans
"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).
RUSH EnglishIndicated a person who lived near rushes, the grasslike plant that grows in a marsh, from Old English
rysc.
SANDOVAL SpanishDerived from the name of a town in Spain, ultimately from Latin
saltus "forest, glade" and
novalis "unploughed land".
SHAW (1) EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived near a prominent thicket, from Old English
sceaga meaning
"thicket, copse".
SILVA Portuguese, SpanishFrom Spanish or Portuguese
silva meaning
"forest". This is the most common surname in Portugal and Brazil.
SOTO SpanishMeans
"grove of trees, small forest" in Spanish, ultimately from Latin
saltus.
SPARACELLO ItalianFrom Sicilian
sparaciu meaning
"asparagus", an occupational name for an asparagus seller or grower.
SPINI ItalianDenoted a person who lived near thorn bushes, from Italian
spina "thorn, spine", from Latin.
VARELA SpanishDerived from Spanish
vara "stick". It may have originally been given to one who used a stick in his line of work, for example an animal herder.
VEGA SpanishFrom Spanish
vega meaning
"meadow, plain", of Basque origin.
VINOGRADOV RussianMeans
"vineyard" in Russian (ultimately from German), referring to a person who worked at a vineyard or lived near one.
WOODWARD EnglishOccupational name for a forester, meaning
"ward of the wood" in Old English.