Surnames Categorized "water"

This is a list of surnames in which the categories include water.

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Aalto Finnish
From Finnish aalto meaning "wave". A famous bearer was Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).

Aaltonen Finnish
From Finnish aalto meaning "wave".

Abano Italian
Originally denoted a person from the town of Abano, Latin Aponus, which was derived from the old Celtic root ab meaning "water".

Åberg Swedish
From Swedish å meaning "river, stream" and berg meaning "mountain".

Acqua Italian
Means "water" in Italian, indicating one who dwelt by or transported water.

Acquafredda Italian
Denoted a person who came from one of the various places in Italy with this name, derived from Italian meaning "cold water".

Acquarone Italian
Meaning uncertain, possibly from a place name or an occupation derived from Italian acqua "water".

Acquati Italian
From the name of a village, part of the city of Lecco in Lombardy. Its name is presumably derived from Italian acqua "water".

Adriatico Italian
Originally denoted a person who lived near the Adriatic sea.

Agua Spanish
Means "water" in Spanish, indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.

Aguado Spanish
Derived from Spanish agua "water", indicating a person who lived near water or worked with water.

Alagona Italian
From the name of the Spanish region of Aragon, which was a medieval kingdom. The region was named for a river, which was itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".

Anaya Spanish
From the names of a few Spanish towns, possibly of Arabic origin meaning "stagnant water" or "path".

Anker Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Metonymic surname for a sailor, meaning "anchor" in Dutch, Danish and Norwegian.

Aquino Italian, Spanish
From the name of an Italian town near Rome, derived from Latin aqua meaning "water", the home town of the 13th-century saint Thomas Aquinas. In Italy the surname is derived directly from the town's name. As a Spanish-language surname, it was sometimes bestowed by missionaries in honour of the saint as they evangelized in Spanish colonies.

Arroyo Spanish
Means "stream, brook" in Spanish.

Åström Swedish
From Swedish å meaning "river, stream" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream, current, flow".

Asturias Spanish
From the name of a region in Spain, formerly a medieval kingdom. It is possibly derived from Basque asta "rock" and ur "water".

Attwater English
Variant of Atwater.

Atwater English
From Middle English meaning "dweller at the water".

Auer German
From German Aue, Old High German ouwa, meaning "meadow by a river, wetland".

Ayers 3 English
Indicated a person from the town of Ayr in Scotland. The town was named for the river that flows through it, itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".

Bach German
Topographic 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).

Bachmeier German
Originally referred to a farmer whose farm was beside a stream, from Middle High German bach "stream" and meier "steward, tenant farmer".

Bader German
Derived from Old High German bad "bath", most likely referring to a bath attendant.

Bagni Italian
From Latin balnea "bath", referring to a person who worked as a bath house attendant.

Beck 1 English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Cognate of Bach, from Middle English bekke (from Old Norse), Low German beke or Old Norse bekkr all meaning "stream".

Bergström Swedish
Derived from Swedish berg meaning "mountain" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Beverly English
Variant of Beverley.

Blackburn English
From the name of a city in Lancashire, meaning "black stream" in Old English.

Bourne English
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring".

Bradford English
Derived from the name of the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire, which meant "broad ford" in Old English. This is also the name of other smaller towns in England.

Breen Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Braoin meaning "descendant of Braon", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop".

Breisacher German
Originally denoted one who came from the town of Breisach, in Germany. The town's name is possibly from a Celtic word meaning "breakwater".

Brennan Irish
From Irish Ó Braonáin meaning "descendant of Braonán", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop" (with a diminutive suffix).

Brook English
Denoted a person who lived near a brook, a word derived from Old English broc.

Burnham English
From the name of various towns in England, typically derived from Old English burna "stream, spring" and ham "home, settlement".

Burns 1 English, Scottish
Derived from Old English burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).

Caldwell English
From various English place names derived from Old English ceald "cold" and wille "spring, stream, well".

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".

Costa Portuguese, Italian, Catalan
Means "riverbank, slope, coast" in Portuguese, Italian and Catalan, ultimately from Latin meaning "side, edge".

De La Fontaine French
French cognate of De la Fuente.

De la Fuente Spanish
Means "of the fountain" in Spanish.

Del Río Spanish
Means "of the river" in Spanish.

Diefenbach German
From a German place name meaning "deep creek".

Douglas Scottish
From 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.

Dupuis French
Means "from the well", from Old French puts, Latin puteus "well".

Ekström Swedish
From Swedish ek (Old Norse eik) meaning "oak" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Fairburn English
From a place name meaning "fern stream", from Old English fearn "fern" and burna "stream".

Fisker Danish
Means "fisherman" in Danish.

Fonseca Spanish, Portuguese
Originally belonged to a person who lived near a dry spring, from Latin fons "well, spring" and siccus "dry".

Fontaine French
Derived from Old French fontane meaning "well, fountain", a derivative of Latin fons.

Fontana Italian, Spanish
Italian and Spanish cognate of Fontaine.

Ford English
Name 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).

Forsberg Swedish
Derived from Swedish fors meaning "waterfall" and berg meaning "mountain".

Fuentes Spanish
Means "spring, well" in Spanish, derived from Latin fons.

Harmaajärvi Finnish
Means "grey lake" in Finnish.

Hellström Swedish
From Swedish häll (Old Norse hallr), a type of flat rock, combined with ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Hisakawa Japanese
From Japanese 久 (hisa) meaning "long time ago" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Holmström Swedish
From Swedish holme (Old Norse holmr) meaning "small island" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Horton English
From the names of various places in England, which are derived from Old English horh "dirt, mud" and tun "enclosure, yard, town".

Ikeda Japanese
From Japanese 池 (ike) meaning "pool, pond" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Irvine 1 Scottish
Originally derived from the name of a Scottish (North Ayrshire) town, which was named for the River Irvine, derived from Brythonic elements meaning "green water".

Irving Scottish, English
Variant of Irvine 1 or Irwin.

Ishikawa Japanese
From Japanese 石 (ishi) meaning "stone" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Iturburua Basque
Means "by the fountain" in Basque, from iturri "fountain, spring".

Izumi Japanese
From Japanese 泉 (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain".

Järvi Finnish
Means "lake" in Finnish.

Järvinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish järvi meaning "lake". It is one of the most common surnames in Finland.

Jokela Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".

Jokinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".

Kałuża Polish
Means "puddle" in Polish.

Kawaguchi Japanese
Means "mouth of the river", from Japanese 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".

Kay 2 English
Derived from Old French kay meaning "wharf, quay", indicating one who lived near or worked on a wharf.

Keaton English
From any of three English place names: Ketton in Rutland, Ketton in Durham or Keaton in Devon. The first is probably derived from an old river name or tribal name combined with Old English ea "river", with the spelling later influenced by tun "enclosure, yard, town". The second is from the Old English given name Catta or the Old Norse given name Káti combined with Old English tun. The third is possibly from Cornish kee "hedge, bank" combined with Old English tun.

Kerr Scottish, English
From Scots and northern Middle English kerr meaning "thicket, marsh", ultimately from Old Norse kjarr.

Kikkert Dutch
Derived from Dutch kikker meaning "frog".

Killough Irish
Indicated a person who was from Killough (County Down, Northern Ireland) or Killough (Wicklow, Ireland). The place name Killough means "church on the lake", derived from the Irish cill "church" and loch "lake".

Kitagawa Japanese
From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Koizumi Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" and 泉 (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain". A notable bearer of this name is Junichiro Koizumi (1942-), who was Prime Minister of Japan.

Koskinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish koski meaning "rapids". This is the second most common surname in Finland.

Krebs German
Means "crab" in German, perhaps a nickname for a person with a crab-like walk.

Kumięga Polish
Possibly from Polish kum "godfather, friend" or komięga "raft, barge".

Kurosawa Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.

Kyle Scottish
Derived from Scottish Gaelic caol meaning "narrows, channel, strait", originally given to a person who lived by a strait.

Lagunov Russian
Patronymic name derived from Russian лагун (lagun) meaning "water barrel". It was used to denote the descendants of a person who made water barrels.

Lahti Finnish
Means "bay, cove" in Finnish.

Laine Finnish, Estonian
Means "wave" in Finnish and Estonian.

Lamar French, English
Originally from a place name in Normandy, derived from Old French la mare meaning "the pool".

Langford English
From any of various places in England with this name, derived from Old English lang "long" and ford "ford, river crossing".

Ledford English
From the name of English places called Lydford, derived from hlud meaning "loud, noisy" and ford meaning "ford, river crossing".

Lincoln English
Originally indicated that the bearer was from the English city of Lincoln, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". A famous bearer was Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.

Lindbeck Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and bäck (Old Norse bekkr) meaning "stream".

Ljungstrand Swedish
From Swedish ljung (Old Norse lyng) meaning "heather" and strand (Old Norse strǫnd) meaning "beach".

Lynch Irish
From Irish Ó Loingsigh meaning "descendant of Loingseach", a given name meaning "mariner".

Lynn English
From the name of a town in Norfolk (King's Lynn), derived from Welsh llyn meaning "lake".

Marlow English
Originally a name for a person from Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England. The place name means "remnants of a lake" from Old English mere "lake" and lafe "remnants, remains". A notable bearer was the English playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).

Mataracı Turkish
Occupational name for a person who made water bottles or flasks, from Turkish matara "flask".

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.

Miura Japanese
From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 浦 (ura) meaning "bay, inlet".

Mizuno Japanese
From Japanese 水 (mizu) meaning "water" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Mizushima Japanese
From Japanese 水 (mizu) meaning "water" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Monroe Scottish
Anglicized (typically American) form of Munro.

Moore 1 English
Originally indicated a person who lived on a moor, from Middle English mor meaning "open land, bog".

Mortimer English
From the name of a town in Normandy meaning "dead water, still water" in Old French.

Murray 1 Scottish
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.

Nishikawa Japanese
From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Nordström Swedish
From Swedish nord (Old Norse norðr) meaning "north" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Nye English
Originally indicated a person who lived near a river, from Middle English atten eye meaning "at the river".

Nyström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish ny (Old Norse nýr) meaning "new" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Ogawa Japanese
From Japanese 小 (o) meaning "small" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Pan 2 Chinese
From Chinese 潘 (pān) meaning "water in which rice has been rinsed", and also referring to a river that flows into the Han River.

Pataki Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian patak meaning "creek, brook" (a word of Slavic origin). It was given to people who lived near a creek.

Peláez Spanish
Means "son of Pelayo".

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.

Poole English
From Old English pol meaning "pool", referring to a person who lived by a small body of water.

Popławski Polish
From Polish poplaw meaning "flowing water, flood".

Potočnik Slovene
From Slovene potok meaning "stream, brook".

Pozzi Italian
From Italian pozzo meaning "well, pit", derived from Latin puteus.

Rafferty Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Rabhartaigh meaning "descendant of Rabhartach". The given name Rabhartach means "flood tide".

Rana Italian, Spanish
Means "frog" in Italian and Spanish.

Ranta Finnish
Originally indicated a person who lived near the shore, from Finnish ranta meaning "shore, beach".

Rantanen Finnish
From Finnish ranta meaning "shore, beach".

Ribeiro Portuguese
Means "little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Rios Portuguese
Originally denoted a person who lived near a river, from Portuguese rios "river", ultimately from Latin rivus.

Riva Italian
Means "bank, shore" in Italian, from Latin ripa, denoting one who lived by a river or a lake.

Rivera Spanish
From Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore", from Latin riparius.

Rivers English
Denoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French riviere meaning "river", from Latin riparius meaning "riverbank".

Rundström Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish rund (from Latin rotundus) meaning "round" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Rutherford Scottish
From the name of places in southern Scotland and northern England, derived from Old English hriðer meaning "cattle, ox" and ford meaning "ford, river crossing".

Rye English
Topographic name. It could be a misdivision of the Middle English phrases atter ye meaning "at the island" or atter eye meaning "at the river". In some cases it merely indicated a person who lived where rye was grown or worked with rye (from Old English ryge).

Saller 1 German
Originally denoted a person from the town of Sallern in Bavaria, possibly from a Celtic element meaning "stream".

Sandström Swedish
From Swedish sand (Old Norse sandr) meaning "sand" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Seabrook English
Denoted a person from a town by this name in Buckinghamshire, England. It is derived from that of a river combined with Old English broc "stream".

Seymour 2 English
From an English place name, derived from Old English sæ "sea" and mere "lake".

Sherburn English
Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Sherborne or Sherburn in England, derived from Old English scir "bright" and burna "spring, fountain, stream".

Sherburne English
Variant of Sherburn.

Shimizu Japanese
From Japanese 清 (shi) meaning "clear, pure, clean" and 水 (mizu) meaning "water".

Sjöberg Swedish
From Swedish sjö (Old Norse sær) meaning "lake, sea" and berg meaning "mountain".

Söderström Swedish
From Swedish söder (Old Norse suðr) meaning "south" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Stafford English
From the name of the English city of Stafford, Staffordshire, derived from Old English stæð meaning "wharf, landing place" and ford meaning "ford, river crossing".

Stawski Polish
Derived from Polish staw meaning "pond".

Storstrand Norwegian
Originally denoted someone from Storstrand farm in Norway, derived from stor meaning "big" and strand meaning "beach".

Strand Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
From Old Norse strǫnd meaning "beach, sea shore". It was originally given to someone who lived on or near the sea.

Ström Swedish
Means "stream" in Swedish.

Strömberg Swedish
From Swedish ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream" and berg meaning "mountain".

Sulzbach German
Toponymic name from German places named Sulzbach meaning "salty stream", derived from Old High German sulza "salty water" and bah "stream".

Sundberg Swedish
From Swedish sund meaning "strait" and berg meaning "mountain".

Timberlake English
From an English place name, derived from Old English timber "timber, wood" and lacu "lake, pool, stream".

Trent English
Denoted one who lived near the River Trent in England.

Urbina Basque
Derived from Basque ur "water" and bi "two", indicating a place where two waterways met.

Van Amstel Dutch
Means "from Amstel", a Dutch river that means "water area".

Van der Beek Dutch
Means "from the creek" in Dutch.

Van der Zee Dutch
Means "from the sea" in Dutch. The original bearer may have been someone who lived on the coast.

Vela Spanish
Derived from Spanish vela meaning "sail" or the homonym vela meaning "watchful".

Vervloet Flemish
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.

Vik Norwegian
Means "cove, inlet" in Norwegian.

Virtanen Finnish
Derived from Finnish virta meaning "stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.

Waller 3 English
From Old English wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".

Walton English
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".

Waterman 2 English, Dutch
Occupational name for a boatman or a water carrier. It could also describe a person who lived by water.

Waters 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived near the water.

Wells English
Derived from Middle English wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".

Westbrook English
From the name of places in England, derived from Old English west "west" and broc "brook, stream".

Wilton English
From any of the English towns named Wilton.

Windsor English
From the name of a few English towns, one notably the site of Windsor Castle. Their names mean "riverbank with a windlass" in Old English, a windlass being a lifting apparatus. In 1917 the British royal family adopted this name (after Windsor Castle), replacing their previous name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Wyrzykowski Polish
Possibly from the Polish place name Wyrzyki, of uncertain meaning, maybe "away from the river".

Yamagishi Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain" and 岸 (kishi) meaning "beach, shore, bank".