Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
PopoolaYoruba "The way of the rich man" or "The way of prosperity"
PopoviciRomanian Means "son of the priest" from Romanian popă meaning "priest".
PorteousScottish A topographic surname for someone who lived in the lodge at the entrance to a manor house, derived from Middle English port, meaning "gateway" or "entrance", and hous meaning "house". It can also be an occupational name with similar meaning, derived from Latin portarius meaning "porter"... [more]
PremaratneSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit प्रेम (prema) meaning "love, affection" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
PrideauxCornish Means "person from Prideaux, earlier Pridias", Cornwall (perhaps based on Cornish prȳ "clay"). The modern Frenchified spelling is based on the idea that the name comes from French près d'eaux "near waters" or pré d'eaux "meadow of waters".
PuigdemontCatalan Means "top of the hill" or "peak of the mountain". It is derived from Catalan puig meaning "hill, peak" combined with either damunt meaning "on top, above", or munt (a diminutive of muntanya) meaning "mountain", using the preposition d'... [more]
QuailEnglish, Manx A variant of Quayle, derived from various patronymics meaning "son of Paul". Alternately, an English nickname derived from the bird, perhaps given to a person who was timid, or known for being promiscuous.
QuimpoFilipino From Hokkien 金舖 (kim-phò͘) meaning "gold shop" or 金寳 (kim-pó) meaning "golden treasure".
QuineManx Shortened Anglicization of Manx Mac Vian "son of Mian".
QuinlivanIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Caoindealbháin meaning "descendant of Caoindealbhán", a personal name composed of caoin "comely, fair" and dealbh "form" with the diminutive suffix -án (compare Quinlan).
QuinneyEnglish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coinne “descendant of Coinne”
RacioppiItalian, Sicilian Derived from Sicilian racioppu meaning "cluster of grapes", hence presumably a metonymic occupational name for someone who sold or produced grapes.
RaderGerman Variation of Rademacher, meaning "maker of wheels" in German ("rat" meaning wheel), later shortened to Rader and other variations such as Redder, Raeder, Redler, etc.
RaineyIrish, Scottish An Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Raighne, Ó Ráighne meaning "descendent of Raonull", the given name Raonull being derived from Old Norse Rögnvaldr, Røgnvaldr, Rǫgnvaldr (compare Ronald).
RandolphEnglish, German Classicized spelling of Randolf, a Germanic personal name composed of the elements rand "rim (of a shield), shield" and wolf "wolf". This was introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers in the Old Norse form Rannúlfr, and was reinforced after the Norman Conquest by the Norman form Randolf.
RapaceSwedish (Modern, Rare) From French and Italian rapace meaning "predatory, bird of prey, raptor". A notable bearer is Swedish actress Noomi Rapace.
RathgeberGerman From Middle High German ratgebe or Middle Low German ratgever "giver of advice, counselor", an occupational name for an adviser or wise man.
RatnapalaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure" and पाल (pala) meaning "guard, protector".
RatnapriyaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure" and प्रिय (priya) meaning "beloved, dear".
RatnasiriSinhalese, Thai Derived from Sanskrit रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure" and श्री (shri) meaning "diffusing light, radiance, splendour, beauty"... [more]
RempeGerman (Americanized, Modern) The roots of the German surname Rempe lie in the former duchy of Silesia, now part of Poland. The name means, simply, "son of Rempel," and was a popular first name in Silesia during the Middle Ages.
RenfrewScottish Anglicized form of the Gaelic Rinn Friù, meaning "cradle of the Royal Stewards." It is derived from either the historical county of Renfrewshire in the west central lowlands of Scotland, or the town of Renfrew within both the historical and present-day boundaries of the county.
RennisonEnglish Patronymic surname meaning "son of Renard". Derived as a shortened form of Reynoldson from the Old French personal name Renart with the -son suffix... [more]
RickardssonSwedish Means "son of Rickard". A notable bearer of the surname is the Swedish cross country skier, Daniel Rickardsson.
RickmanEnglish Means "son of Rick". A famous bearer was American Alan Rickman (1946-2016).
RideoutEnglish Means "outrider (a municipal or monastic official in the Middle Ages whose job was to ride around the country collecting dues and supervising manors)".
RighettiItalian Means "son of Righetto" a pet form of the personal name Rigo.
RochussenDutch Means "son of Rochus". Famous bearers of this name are the Dutch prime minister Jan Jacob Rochussen (1797-1871) and the 19th-century painter Charles Rochussen (1814-1894).
RockettFrench From the French "la roche," or "of the rock." Some family histories trace this back to French Hugenots (sp) who immigrated to England in the 1500's from the Normandy region of France.
RodmanEnglish The surname Rodman is an ancient English surname, derived from a trade name, "men who were by the tenure or customs of their lands to ride with or for the lord of the manor about his business". The most famous bearer of this name is the basketball player Dennis Rodman.
RottenPopular Culture From the English word rotten, meaning "In a state of decay/cruel, mean, immoral/bad, horrible". In the Icelandic children's television program LazyTown, Robbie Rotten is the main antagonist of the show who desires silence and peace, continuously formulates reckless schemes that often feature him masquerading in various disguises as a means of hoodwinking or tempting residents away from an active lifestyle... [more]
RotterdamDutch Denoting someone from a place named Rotterdam "place of the muddy water".
RottscheitGerman Modernization of Rotscheidt, also a city in Germany (Rottscheidt) bearing another modern alternate spelling. When broken down it ultimately means "red" and "piece of wood", implying that the families of today descends from woodwrokers.
RozemaFrisian Possibly a contraction of Roelfsema meaning "son of Roelf" or derived from Roos. Also spelled Rosema, Roosma, Rozeman.
RubinoItalian The surname Rubino derives from the name Rubino, in turn originated from the Latin term "Rubeus" (red) with evident reference to the well-known precious stone. It is thought that originally the surname was attributed to the physical characteristics of having red hair, however, the origin of the surname Rubino from the Hebrew term "Ruben" which meant "son of providence", or even from the apheresis of the name "Cherubino".
RubinovRussian, Jewish Means "son of Rubin" in Russian, though it could also be derived from Russian рубин (rubin) "ruby".
RudatisGerman (East Prussian) Derived from Old Prussian ruds and Lithuanian rudas "(of hair) red" or Lithuanian rudis "redhead".
RueangsiThai From Thai เรือง (rueang) meaning "bright, brilliant" and ศรี (si) meaning "glory, honour, splendour".
RusconiItalian From Italian rusca, "splinter, sliver of wood".
RushIrish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ruis "descendant of Ros", a personal name perhaps derived from ros "wood". In Connacht it has also been used as a translation of Ó Luachra (see Loughrey).
RutterEnglish Either (i) "player of the rote (a medieval stringed instrument played by plucking)"; or (ii) from a medieval nickname for a dishonest or untrustworthy person (from Old French routier "robber, mugger")... [more]
RybakovRussian Means "son of the fisher" from Russian рыбак (rybak) meaning "fisherman".
SaavedraSpanish Derived from the place-name Saavedra and therefore signifies "descendant or son of one from Saavedra". The place-name Saavedra is located in the north western province of Lugo in Galicia, Spain and is believed to be derived from the elements "Saa" meaning "Hall" and "Vedra" (feminine) meaning "Old".
SackhoffGerman Occupational name for a farmer who cultivated land to grow plants, particularly crops, derived from Middle High German sack meaning "sack, end of a valley, area of cultivation" and hof meaning "farmstead, manor, farm"... [more]
SadozaiPashto, Balochi Means "son of Sado" in Pashto. The Sadozai are a Pashtun sub-tribe of the Popalzai mainly inhabiting Pakistan as well as a Baloch tribe living by the Gulf of Oman in Iran... [more]
SadulaevChechen From the Arabic given name Saʼdulla meaning “happiness of Allah” from سَعِدَ (saʿida) “to be happy, to be lucky” combined with Allah.
SagorskyPolish, Russian It means literally "of the city/town Sagorsk". Sagorsk is a city near the Russian capital of Moskva. The ending of "sky" means "of". The "Sagor" part of the surname sounds to me like "za gor" which is "za gorod"... [more]
SaharaJapanese From Japanese 左 (sa), a clipping of 左衛門尉 (saemon-no-jō) meaning "judge of senior gate guards" and 原 (hara) meaning "meadow; plain; field".
SaharaouiArabic (Maghrebi) From Arabic صحراوي (Ṣaḥrāwī) meaning "inhabitant of the desert" (from صحراء (Ṣaḥrā') "desert"), referring to the indigenous Sahrawi people of Western Sahara (see Sahraoui)... [more]
SahraouiArabic (Maghrebi) Means "of the desert" or "of the Sahara" from Arabic صَحْرَاء (ṣaḥrāʾ) meaning "desert".
SakuramiyaJapanese From Japanese 桜, 櫻 (sakura) meaning "cherry blossom" combined with 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace".
SakurayashikiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 桜 (sakura) meaning "cherry blossom" and 屋敷 (yashiki) meaning "estate; grounds; mansion; compound; residence".... [more]
SaładajczykPolish A Polish surname consisting of 3 elements: sała or сала a word of East Slavic origin meaning "salo" or "slanina", daj meaning "give" and czyk meaning "son of". The name means "the son of the one who gives the salo".
SalakayaAbkhaz Mingrelian form of the Abkhaz surname Шакар-ипа (Shakar-ipa) meaning "son of Shakar". The name itself may be derived from Persian شکر (šakar) meaning "sugar" or from Arabic شَكَرَ (šakara) meaning "to be thankful, to be grateful".
SamarageSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit समर (samara) meaning "coming together, meeting" or "conflict, struggle" combined with the Sinhala suffix -ගේ (-ge) meaning "of, home, house".
SamararatneSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit समर (samara) meaning "coming together, meeting" or "conflict, struggle" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
SamarawickramaSinhalese Means "conqueror of battles" from Sanskrit समर (samara) meaning "conflict, struggle" and विक्रम (vikrama) meaning "valour, power, strength".
SankeyEnglish, Irish Habitational name from a place in Lancashire, which derived from the name of an ancient British river, perhaps meaning "sacred, holy." ... [more]
SantanderSpanish From the toponymy, it is discussed whether Santander is a derivation of San Emeterio or San Andrés. Due to the proximity of the Basque country (Ander = Andrés) and the tenor of some ancient texts, it can be concluded that it refers to San Andrés... [more]
SantessonSwedish Means "son of Sante". Sante is a medieval Swedish form of Alexander.
SasakoJapanese Sasa means "bamboo grass" and no means "child, first sign of the Chinese zodiac: the rat".
SastrowardoyoJavanese Means "writings of the heart" from Sanskrit शास्त्र (shastra) meaning "scripture, writings" and हृदय (hrdaya) meaning "heart". This is the name of a Javanese family of nobility.
SatomiyaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 里 (sato) meaning "village" and 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace".
SaxenaIndian, Hindi Traditionally believed to be derived from Sanskrit सखिसेना (sakhisena) meaning "friend of the army", from सखा (sakha) meaning "friend, companion" and सेना (sena) meaning "army"... [more]
ScanagattaItalian Probably means "cat killer", from Italian scannare "to slaughter, to cut the throat of" and gatto "cat", with the figurative meaning of "cheat, scoundrel". (Compare Pelagatti)... [more]
ScanavaccaItalian Possibly an occupational name for a butcher, from scannare "to slaughter, to cut the throat of" and vacca "cow".
ScannabissiItalian Possibly from scannare "to slaughter, to cut the throat of" and biscio "snake". Alternately, the first element may be from an archaic form of zanna, "tooth (of an animal)".
ScannapiecoItalian Occupational name for a butcher, from scannare "to slaughter, to cut the throat of" and piecuro "sheep, lamb".
ScheidGerman, Jewish Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary (between two valleys etc.) or crossroads Middle High German scheide, a habitational name from any of various places called ScheidtScheiden... [more]
SchildJewish From German Schild "shield", "(house) sign", applied either as an ornamental name or as a habitational name for someone who lived in a house distinguished by a sign.
ScotfordEnglish Derived from Scotforth, the name of a village near Lancaster (in Lancashire) in England. The village's name means "ford of the Scot(s)" and is derived from Old English Scott "Scot" combined with Old English ford "ford".
ScotlandEnglish (i) "person from Scotland"; (ii) "person from Scotland or Scotlandwell", Perth and Kinross; (iii) from the Norman personal name Escotland, literally "territory of the Scots"
SeaforthEnglish The name of a projection of the sea on the east coast of Lewis, on the Long Island, Scotland. Means "the forth of the sea".
SeatterScottish From an ancient barony called "The lands of Setter", Stromness, Orkney. Derives from the Ancient Norse word "saetr" meaning a hut or shelter for animals.
SeddaItalian From a place name in Sardinia, meaning "top of a mountain". May alternately derive from Sardinian sedda "saddle", indicating the bearer's occupation.
SekewaelIndonesian The last name Sekewael is an original name from one of the island in Maluku. That one island name is "Negeri Oma." The meaning of Sekewael is "The Guardian of the River" because in "Negeri Oma" any body want to use the river of the water they have to ask for permission by Sekewael family... [more]
SelanderSwedish Combination of Swedish sel "stretch of calm water in a river or stream" and the common surname suffix -ander (originally from Greek aner "man"). The first element, sel, is also a common place name element in Northern Sweden and it's possible that this name is both ornamental and locational in origin.
SelgEstonian Selg is an Estonian surname meaning "back", "spine" and "back of".
SelwynEnglish from the Middle English personal name Selewin (Old English Selewine perhaps from sele "manor" or sǣl "happiness prosperity" and wine "friend")... [more]
SenaratneSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit सेना (sena) meaning "army" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
SeneviratneSinhalese From Sinhala සෙනෙවි (senevi) meaning "commander, general" combined with Sanskrit रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
SenriJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 千里 with 千 (sen, chi) meaning "thousand" and 里 (ri, sato) meaning "league, parent's home, ri (type of measurement), village."... [more]