AALTO FinnishFrom Finnish
aalto meaning
"wave". A famous bearer was Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976).
AYERS (3) EnglishIndicated 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".
BLACKBURN EnglishFrom the name of a city in Lancashire, meaning "black stream" in Old English.
BREEN IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Braoin meaning
"descendant of Braon", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop".
BREISACHER GermanOriginally denoted one who came from the town of Breisach, in Germany. The town's name is possibly from a Celtic word meaning "breakwater".
BRENNAN IrishFrom Irish
Ó Braonáin meaning
"descendant of Braonán", a byname meaning "rain, moisture, drop" (with a diminutive suffix).
BURNHAM EnglishFrom the name of various towns in England, typically derived from Old English
burna "stream, spring" and
ham "home, settlement".
BURNS (1) English, ScottishDerived from Old English
burna "stream, spring". A famous bearer was the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).
CALDWELL EnglishFrom various English place names derived from Old English
ceald "cold" and
well "spring, stream, well".
DOUGLAS ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
Dubhghlas, which meant
"dark river" from
dubh "dark" and
glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to
glas "grey, green"). This is the name of various places in Scotland, such as a tributary of the River Clyde.
FAIRBURN EnglishFrom a place name meaning
"fern stream", from Old English
fearn "fern" and
burna "stream".
FONSECA Spanish, PortugueseOriginally belonged to a person who lived near a dry spring, from Latin
fons "well, spring" and
siccus "dry".
FUENTES SpanishMeans
"spring, well" in Spanish, derived from Latin
fons.
HORTON EnglishFrom the names of various places in England, which are derived from Old English
horh "dirt, mud" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
IKEDA JapaneseFrom Japanese
池 (ike) meaning "pool, pond" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
IRVING Scottish, EnglishOriginally derived from a Scottish place name (in North Ayrshire) meaning "green water".
ITURBURUA BasqueMeans
"by the fountain" in Basque, from
iturri "fountain, spring".
KAWAGUCHI JapaneseMeans
"mouth of the river", from Japanese
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and
口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".
KAY (2) EnglishDerived from Old French
kay meaning
"wharf, quay", indicating one who lived near or worked on a wharf.
KERR ScottishFrom Scots
kerr meaning
"rough wet ground", ultimately from Old Norse
kjarr.
KOIZUMI JapaneseFrom 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 FinnishDerived from Finnish
koski meaning
"rapids". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
KUROSAWA JapaneseFrom Japanese
黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and
沢, 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.
KYLE ScottishDerived from Gaelic
caol meaning
"narrows, channel, strait", originally given to a person who lived by a strait.
LAGUNOV RussianPatronymic name derived from Russian
лагун (lagun) meaning
"water barrel". It was used to denote the descendants of a person who made water barrels.
LYNCH IrishFrom Irish
Ó Loingsigh meaning
"descendant of Loingseach", a given name meaning "mariner".
MARLOW EnglishOriginally 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).
MATARACI TurkishOccupational name for a person who made water bottles or flasks, from Turkish
matara "flask".
MONROE ScottishDesignated a person who had originally lived near the mouth of the Roe River in Derry, Ireland.
MOORE (1) EnglishOriginally indicated a person who lived on a moor, from Middle English
mor meaning
"open land, bog".
MURRAY (1) ScottishDerived from the region in Scotland called
Moray meaning "seaboard settlement". A notable bearer of this surname was General James Murray (1721-1794), who was the first British Governor-General of Canada.
NYE EnglishOriginally indicated a person who lived near a river, from Middle English
atten eye meaning
"at the river".
PAN (2) ChineseFrom Chinese
潘 (pān) meaning
"water in which rice has been rinsed", and also referring to a river that flows into the Han River.
PATAKI HungarianDerived from Hungarian
patak meaning
"creek, brook" (a word of Slavic origin). It was given to people who lived near a creek.
POLLOCK ScottishFrom 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 EnglishOriginally referred to one who lived near a pond.
POOLE EnglishFrom Old English
pol meaning
"pool", referring to a person who lived by a small body of water.
POZZI ItalianFrom Italian
pozzo meaning
"well, pit", derived from Latin
puteus.
RAFFERTY IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Rabhartaigh meaning
"descendant of Rabhartach". The given name
Rabhartach means "flood tide".
RANTA FinnishOriginally indicated a person who lived near the shore, from Finnish
ranta meaning
"shore, beach".
RIBEIRO PortugueseMeans
"little river, stream" in Portuguese, ultimately from Latin
riparius meaning "riverbank".
RIOS PortugueseOriginally denoted a person who lived near a river, from Portuguese
rios "river", ultimately from Latin
rivus.
RIVERS EnglishDenoted a person who lived near a river, from Middle English, from Old French
riviere meaning
"river", from Latin
riparius meaning "riverbank".
RUTHERFORD ScottishFrom the name of places in southern Scotland and northern England, derived from Old English
hryðer meaning "cattle, ox" and
ford meaning "ford, river crossing".
RYE EnglishTopographic 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) GermanOriginally denoted a person from the town of Sallern in Bavaria, possibly from a Celtic element meaning "stream".
SEABROOK EnglishDenoted 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".
SHERBURN EnglishDenoted 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".
STAFFORD EnglishFrom the name of the English city of Stafford, Staffordshire, derived from Old English
stæð meaning "wharf, landing place" and
ford meaning "ford, river crossing".
SULZBACH GermanToponymic name from German places named Sulzbach meaning "salty stream", derived from Old High German
sulza "salty water" and
bah "stream".
TIMBERLAKE EnglishFrom an English place name, derived from Old English
timber "timber, wood" and
lacu "lake, pool, stream".
URBINA BasqueDerived from Basque
ur "water" and
bi "two", indicating a place where two waterways met.
VAN AMSTEL DutchMeans
"from Amstel", a Dutch river that means "water area".
VIRTANEN FinnishDerived from Finnish
virta meaning
"stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
WALTON EnglishFrom the name of any of several villages in England, derived from Old English
wealh "foreigner, Celt",
weald "forest",
weall "wall", or
well "well, spring, water hole" combined with
tun "enclosure".
WELLS EnglishDerived from Middle English
welle meaning
"well, spring, water hole".
WYRZYKOWSKI PolishPossibly from the Polish place name
Wyrzyki, of uncertain meaning, maybe "away from the river".