Surnames Categorized "word names"

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

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Offermans Dutch
From Dutch offer meaning "offering, donation", referring to a person who collected money in a church.

Outlaw English
Means simply "outlaw" from Middle English outlawe.

Outterridge English
Derived from the Old English given name Uhtric.

Pace Italian
Derived from the Italian given name Pace meaning "peace".

Padmore English
Originally indicated a person from Padmore in England, derived from Old English padde "toad" and mor "moor, marsh".

Page English, French
Occupational name meaning "servant, page". It is ultimately derived (via Old French and Italian) from Greek παιδίον (paidion) meaning "little boy".

Pain English
Variant of Payne.

Pál Hungarian
Derived from the given name Pál.

Palmer English
Means "pilgrim", ultimately from Latin palma "palm tree", since pilgrims to the Holy Land often brought back palm fronds as proof of their journey.

Pan 1 Provençal
Means "baker", from Latin panis meaning "bread".

Pander Dutch
Variant of Penders.

Parent English, French
Derived from Old French parent meaning either "notable" (from Latin pārēre meaning "to be apparent") or "parent" (from Latin parere meaning "to produce, to give birth").

Park 2 English
From Middle English park, from Latin parricus, of Frankish origin. This was a name for someone who worked in or lived in a park.

Parks English
Patronymic form of Park 3.

Parry Welsh
Derived from ap Harry meaning "son of Harry".

Patterson English, Scottish
Means "son of Patrick".

Peacock English
From Middle English pecok meaning "peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.

Peak English
Originally indicated a dweller by a pointed hill, from Old English peac "peak". It could also denote a person from the Peak District in Derbyshire, England.

Peck 1 English
Variant of Peak.

Peck 2 English
Occupational name for a maker of pecks (vessels used as peck measures), derived from Middle English pekke.

Peel English
Nickname for a thin person, derived from Old French pel, Latin palus meaning "stake, post" (related to English pole).

Pender 2 Dutch
Variant of Penders.

Penner English
Variant of Penn 2.

Penny English
Nickname meaning "penny, coin" from Old English penning.

Pesty Hungarian
Variant of Pesti.

Petri Italian
Derived from the given name Pietro.

Piazza Italian
Means "plaza" in Italian, indicating that the residence of the original bearer was near the town square. It is derived from Latin platea.

Pickle English
Derived from Middle English pighel meaning "small field".

Pierce English
From the given name Piers.

Pilgrim English, German
Nickname for a person who was a pilgrim, ultimately from Latin peregrinus.

Pinto Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
Means "mottled" in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, derived from Late Latin pinctus, Latin pictus "painted".

Planche French
French form of Plank.

Plank German, English
Means "plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.

Plaza Spanish
Spanish cognate of Piazza.

Pond English
Originally referred to one who lived near a pond.

Pop Romanian
Variant of Popa.

Pope English
From a nickname that originally designated a person who played the part of the pope in a play or pageant. Otherwise the name could be used as a nickname for a man with a solemn, austere, or pious appearance. It is derived from Latin papa, ultimately from Greek πάππας (pappas) meaning "father".

Porter English
Occupational name meaning "doorkeeper", ultimately from Old French porte "door", from Latin porta.

Post Dutch, German, English
Indicated a person who lived near a post, ultimately from Latin postis.

Potter English
Occupational name for a potter, one who makes earthen vessels. This surname was used by J. K. Rowling for the hero in her Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997.

Pound English
Occupational name for a person who kept animals, from Old English pund "animal enclosure".

Power 2 English
From Middle English povre meaning "poor", via Old French from Latin pauper. It could have been a nickname for someone who had no money or a miser.

Price Welsh
Derived from Welsh ap Rhys, which means "son of Rhys".

Proudfoot English
Nickname for a person with a proud step.

Queen English
From a given name that was derived from Old English cwen meaning "queen, woman". In some occurrences it may have been a nickname.

Quick English
Nickname for a quick or agile person, ultimately from Old English cwic meaning "alive".

Quirk Irish
Variant of Quirke.

Radcliff English
From various place names in England that mean "red cliff" in Old English.

Rains English
Variant of Raines.

Rake English
Originally a name for a dweller on a narrow pass or hillside, from Old English hrace meaning "throat, gorge".

Ray English
Variant of Rey 1, Rey 2, Rye or Wray.

Read 1 English
Means "red" from Middle English read, probably denoting a person with red hair or complexion.

Ready 1 English
From Middle English redi meaning "prepared, prompt".

Ready 3 Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Rodagh.

Reed English
Variant of Read 1.

Rice Welsh
Derived from the given name Rhys.

Rider English
Variant of Ryder.

Ridge English
Denoted a person who lived near a ridge, from Old English hrycg.

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

Roach English
From Middle English and Old French roche meaning "rock", from Late Latin rocca, a word that may be of Celtic origin. It indicated a person who lived near a prominent rock, or who came from a town by this name (such as Les Roches in Normandy).

Rome French, English
English and French form of Romano 2.

Rose 1 English, French, German, Jewish
Means "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).

Rot German, Jewish
Variant of Roth.

Rounds English
Patronymic derived from Middle English rond meaning "round, plump", ultimately from Latin rotundus.

Rowan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Ruadháin.

Rowbottom English
Originally indicated a person who lived in an overgrown valley, from Old English ruh "rough, overgrown" and boðm "valley".

Rowland English
Derived from the given name Roland.

Rush English
Indicated a person who lived near rushes, the grasslike plant that grows in a marsh, from Old English rysc.

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).

Salmon English, French
Derived from the given name Solomon.

Salvage English
Variant of Savage.

Sander German, Danish
Derived from the given name Alexander.

Sands English
From Old English, indicated the original nearer lived on sandy ground.

Sass Hungarian
Variant of Sas.

Savage English
English nickname meaning "wild, uncouth", derived from Old French salvage or sauvage meaning "untamed", ultimately from Latin silvaticus meaning "wild, from the woods".

Sawyer English
Occupational name meaning "sawer of wood, woodcutter" in Middle English, ultimately from Old English sagu meaning "saw". Mark Twain used it for the main character in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Sayer Welsh
From Welsh saer meaning "carpenter".

School Dutch
From Dutch school, ultimately from Latin schola meaning "school", indicating a person who worked at or lived near a school.

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".

Senior English
Originally a name for the elder of two brothers.

Sergeant English, French
Occupational name derived from Old French sergent meaning "servant", ultimately from Latin servire "to serve".

Sessions English
From the name of the city of Soissons in northern France, itself derived from the name of the Celtic tribe of the Suessiones.

Sharp English
Nickname for a keen person, from Old English scearp "sharp".

Shearer English
English cognate of Scherer.

Shepherd English
Occupational name meaning "shepherd, sheep herder", from Old English sceaphyrde.

Shine 1 English
Means "beautiful, attractive" from Old English sciene.

Short English
From a nickname for a short person, from Middle English schort.

Sierra Spanish
Originally indicated a dweller on a hill range or ridge, from Spanish sierra "mountain range", derived from Latin serra "saw".

Silver English
From a nickname for a person with grey hair, from Old English seolfor "silver".

Skinner English
Occupational name for a person who skinned animals, from Old Norse skinn.

Slater English
Occupational name indicating that an early member worked covering roofs with slate, from Old French esclat "shard", of Germanic origin.

Small English
From a nickname for a small person, from Middle English smal.

Smith English
Means "metalworker, blacksmith" from Old English smiþ, related to smitan "to smite, to hit". It is the most common surname in most of the English-speaking world. A famous bearer was the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790).

Snider English
Variant of Snyder.

Solo Basque
Means "rural estate" in Basque.

Song Chinese, Korean
From Chinese 宋 (sòng) referring to the Song dynasty, which ruled China from 960 to 1279.

Southers German
Possibly an Americanized form of Sauter.

Southgate English
Name for a person who lived near the southern gate of a town or in a town named Southgate, from Old English suþ and gæt.

Spanos m Greek
Means "hairless, beardless" in Greek, ultimately from σπάνιος (spanios) meaning "scarce, rare".

Sparks English
From an Old Norse nickname or byname derived from sparkr meaning "sprightly".

Spear English
From Old English spere "spear", an occupational name for a hunter or a maker of spears, or a nickname for a thin person.

Spiker Dutch
Americanized form of Spijker 1 or Spijker 2.

Spooner English
Occupational name for a maker of spoons or a maker of shingles, derived from Middle English spone meaning "chip of wood, spoon".

Stack English
From a nickname for a big person, derived from Middle English stack "haystack", of Old Norse origin.

Stacks English
Variant of Stack.

Stamp English
Originally denoted a person from Étampes near Paris. It was called Stampae in Latin, but the ultimate origin is uncertain.

Stark English, German
From a nickname meaning "strong, rigid", from Old English stearc or Old High German stark.

Steed English
Occupational name for one who tended horses, derived from Middle English steed, in turn derived from Old English steda meaning "stallion".

Sterling Scottish
Derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning.

Stern 1 English
From Old English styrne meaning "stern, severe". This was used as a nickname for someone who was stern, harsh, or severe in manner or character.

Stoke English
From the name of numerous places in England, derived from Old English stoc meaning "place, dwelling".

Stokes English
Variant of Stoke.

Stone English
Name for a person who lived near a prominent stone or worked with stone, derived from Old English stan.

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.

Strange English
Derived from Middle English strange meaning "foreign", ultimately from Latin extraneus.

Street English
Habitational name for a person who lived in a place called Street, for example in Somerset. It is derived from Old English stræt meaning "Roman road", from Latin strata.

Stringer English
Occupational name for a maker of string or bow strings, from Old English streng "string".

Strong English
Nickname derived from Middle English strong or strang meaning "strong".

Stück German, Jewish
From Old High German stucki meaning "piece, part".

Styles English
Locational name for one who lived near a steep hill, from Old English stigol "stile, set of steps".

Sultan Arabic
From a nickname meaning "sultan, ruler" in Arabic.

Summerfield English
Originally indicated the bearer was from a town of this name, derived from Old English sumor "summer" and feld "field".

Summers 2 English
Variant of Sommer 1.

Sun Chinese
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.

Sung Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 宋 (see Song).

Swallow English
From the name of the bird, from Old English swealwe, a nickname for someone who resembled or acted like a swallow.

Sweet English
From a nickname meaning "sweet, pleasant", from Old English swete.

Swift English
Nickname for a quick person, from Old English swift.

Tailor English
Variant of Taylor.

Tan Chinese (Hokkien)
Min Nan romanization of Chen.

Tang 1 Chinese
From Chinese 唐 (táng) referring to the Tang dynasty, which ruled China from 618 to 907.

Tanner English
Occupational name for a person who tanned animal hides, from Old English tannian "to tan", itself from Late Latin and possibly ultimately of Celtic origin.

Tar Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian tar meaning "bald".

Tasker English
From Middle English taske meaning "task, assignment". A tasker was a person who had a fixed job to do, particularly a person who threshed grain with a flail.

Tesla Serbian
Occupational name for a carpenter, derived from Serbian tesla meaning "adze". This name was notably borne by the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943).

Thatcher English
Referred to a person who thatched roofs by attaching straw to them, derived from Old English þæc meaning "thatch, roof". A famous bearer was the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).

Thorn English, Danish
Originally applied to a person who lived in or near a thorn bush.

Tichý m Czech, Slovak
Means "quiet" in Czech and Slovak.

Tinker English
Occupational name for a mender of kettles, pots and pans. The name could derive from the tinking sound made by light hammering on metal. It is possible that the word comes from the word tin, the material with which the tinker worked.

Toller English
Occupational name meaning "tax gatherer", derived from Old English toln "toll, fee, tax".

Towner English
Variant of Toller.

Townsend English
Indicated a person who lived at the town's edge, from Old English tun "enclosure, yard, town" and ende "end, limit".

Traverse French
French variant of Travers.

Tremble French
Variant of Tremblay.

Trueman English
Variant of Truman.

Trump German
Derived from Middle High German trumbe meaning "drum". This surname is borne by the American president Donald Trump (1946-).

Tucker English
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.

Tuft English
Denoted one who lived near a clump of trees or bushes, from Middle English tufte "tuft, clump", from Old French.

Turner English
Occupational name for one who worked with a lathe, derived from Old English turnian "to turn", of Latin origin. A famous bearer is the American musician Tina Turner (1939-2023), born Anna Mae Bullock.

Twist English, Literature
Probably from the name of towns in England and Wales called Twist or Twiss. This surname was used by Charles Dickens for the hero of his novel Oliver Twist (1838), about an orphan surviving the streets of London. Dickens probably had the vocabulary word twist in mind when naming the character.

Underhill English
Means "dweller at the foot of a hill", from Old English under and hyll.

Underwood English
Means "dweller at the edge of the woods", from Old English under and wudu.

Văn Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Wen, from Sino-Vietnamese 文 (văn).

Vera Spanish
Means "shore, bank" in Spanish. This was a name for a person who lived near such a feature, or who came from any of the various locations in Spain named Vera or La Vera.

Verity English
From a nickname meaning "truth", perhaps given originally to a truthful person.

Victor French, English
Derived from the male given name Victor.

Viola Italian
From the given name Viola.

Volk German
Derived from given names beginning with the Old High German element folk meaning "people".

Vrabec um Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Slovak
Means "sparrow" in several languages, from Old Slavic vorbĭ.

Wade 2 English
From the Old English given name Wada, a derivative of the word wadan "to go".

Walker English
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".

Wall English
Originally denoted a person who lived near a prominent wall, from Old English weall.

Waller 2 English
Derived from Old English weall meaning "wall", denoting a builder of walls or someone who lived near a prominent wall.

Waltz German
From a diminutive of the given name Walther.

Ward 1 English
Derived from Old English weard meaning "guard, guardian".

Wardrobe English
From Old French warder "to guard" and robe "garment", an occupational name for a servant responsible for the clothing in a household.

Ware 2 English
From the Middle English nickname ware meaning "wary, astute, prudent".

Warner German, English
Variant of Werner.

Warren 1 English
Denoted a person who lived near a warren, from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure" (of Germanic origin).

Wash English
Derived from the Norman name Wazo.

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

Watt English
Derived from the Middle English given name Wat or Watt, a diminutive of the name Walter. A noteworthy bearer was the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819).

Way English
From Old English weg meaning "way, road, path".

Weaver 1 English
Occupational name for a weaver, derived from Old English wefan "to weave".

Weeks English
Derived from Old English wic meaning "village, town".

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

Welter German
Derived from the given name Walter.

Wen Chinese
From Chinese 文 (wén) meaning "literature, culture, writing".

West English, German
Denoted a person who lived to the west of something, or who came from the west.

Wheeler English
Occupational name for a maker of wagon wheels, derived from Middle English whele "wheel".

White English
Originally a nickname for a person who had white hair or a pale complexion, from Old English hwit "white".

Whitehead English
Nickname for someone with white or light-coloured hair, from Old English hwit "white" and heafod "head".

Whittle English
From various English place names derived from Old English hwit "white" and hyll "hill".

Wild English, German
Means "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", derived from Old English wilde. This was either a nickname for a person who behaved in a wild manner or a topographic name for someone who lived on overgrown land.

Wilder English, German
Variant of Wild.

Winter English, German, Swedish
From Old English winter or Old High German wintar meaning "winter". This was a nickname for a person with a cold personality.

Winterbottom English
From Old English winter meaning "winter" and botm meaning "ground, soil, bottom". This name probably referred to a winter pasture at the bottom of a lowland valley.

Wolf German, English
From Middle High German or Middle English wolf meaning "wolf", or else from an Old German given name beginning with this element.

Wood English, Scottish
Originally denoted one who lived in or worked in a forest, derived from Old English wudu "wood".

Woodcock English
Nickname referring to the woodcock bird.

Woods English, Scottish
Variant of Wood.

Wróbel Polish
Means "sparrow" in Polish.

Yap English
From a nickname for a clever or cunning person, from Middle English yap meaning "devious, deceitful, shrewd".

Young English
Derived from Old English geong meaning "young". This was a descriptive name to distinguish father from son.

Zhuk Belarusian
Means "beetle" in Belarusian.