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".
ANKER Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Metonymic surname for a sailor, meaning "anchor" in Dutch, Danish and Norwegian.
ATWATER English
From Middle English meaning "dweller at the water".
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".
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".
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".
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).
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 well "spring, stream, well".
DEL RÍO Spanish
Means "of the river" in Spanish.
DOUGLAS Scottish
Anglicized 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 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".
FORSBERG Swedish
Derived from Swedish fors "waterfall" and berg "mountain".
FUENTES Spanish
Means "spring, well" in Spanish, derived from Latin fons.
HARMAAJÄRVI Finnish
Means "grey lake" in Finnish.
HISAKAWA Japanese
From Japanese 久 (hisa) meaning "long time ago" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, 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".
IRVING Scottish, English
Originally derived from a Scottish place name (in North Ayrshire) meaning "green water".
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".
JÄRVI Finnish
Means "lake" in Finnish.
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.
KERR Scottish
From Scots kerr meaning "rough wet ground", ultimately from Old Norse kjarr.
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.
KUROSAWA Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 沢, 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.
KYLE Scottish
Derived from 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.
LINDBECK Swedish
From Swedish lind "linden tree" and bäck "stream".
LYNCH Irish
From Irish Ó Loingsigh meaning "descendant of Loingseach", a given name meaning "mariner".
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).
MATARACI Turkish
Occupational name for a person who made water bottles or flasks, from Turkish matara "flask".
MIZUSHIMA Japanese
From Japanese 水 (mizu) meaning "water" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".
MONROE Scottish
Designated a person who had originally lived near the mouth of the Roe River in Derry, Ireland.
MOORE (1) English
Originally indicated a person who lived on a moor, from Middle English mor meaning "open land, bog".
MURRAY (1) Scottish
Derived 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 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 "new" and ström "stream".
PATAKI Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian patak meaning "creek, brook" (a word of Slavic origin). It was given to people who lived near a creek.
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".
RANTA Finnish
Originally indicated a person who lived near the shore, 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.
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 "round" and ström "stream".
RUTHERFORD Scottish
From 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 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".
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".
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".
SHIMIZU Japanese
From Japanese 清 (shi) meaning "clear, pure, clean" and 水 (mizu) meaning "water".
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".
SULZBACH German
Toponymic name from German places named Sulzbach meaning "salty stream", derived from Old High German sulza "salty water" and bah "stream".
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.
VERVLOET Flemish
Means "from the stream" in Dutch.
VIRTANEN Finnish
Derived from Finnish virta meaning "stream". This is the second most common surname in Finland.
WALLER (3) English
From Old English well 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 well "well, spring, water hole" combined with tun "enclosure".
WATERS (1) English
Originally given to a person who lived near the water.
WELLS English
Derived from Middle English welle meaning "well, spring, water hole".
WESTBROOK English
From the name of places in England, derived from Old English west "west" and broc "brook, stream".
WYRZYKOWSKI Polish
Possibly from the Polish place name Wyrzyki, of uncertain meaning, maybe "away from the river".