Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AzzopardiMaltese Possibly derived from the Hebrew term סְפָרַדִּי (s'faradí) used to refer to Jews originating from Iberia (called Sephardim or Sephardic Jews). It may also be of Greek origin from a word meaning "black, Mauritanian" or "soldier" with a connection to Middle Persian spʿh "army" used to refer to a person of African descent or someone who worked as a mercenary... [more]
BlackmoreEnglish BLACKMORE, an English name, has two possible beginnings: ... [more]
BlackwellEnglish From an English place name derived from Old English blæc meaning "black" and wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".
BlagdenAnglo-Saxon Blagden is a locational surname deriving from any one of the places called Blackden or Blagdon, or Blagden farm in Hempstead, Essex. Blackden in Cheshire, Blagden in Essex and Blagdon in Northumberland share the same meaning and derivation, which is "the dark or black valley", derived from the Old English pre 7th Century "blaec", black, with "denu", valley, while the places called Blagdon in Devon, Dorset and Somerset, recorded as Blakedone in 1242, Blakeson in 1234, and Blachedone in the Domesday Book of 1086 respectively mean "the black hill", derived from the Old English "blaec", black, and "dun", down, hill, mountain... [more]
BlakestoneEnglish (British) The surname Blakeston was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Blaxton, a township in the parish of Finningley, union and soke of Doncaster.... [more]
BlakewayEnglish Literally means "black way", thus referring to a black road near which the original bearer must have lived. A famous bearer of this surname was Jacob Blakeway (b. 1583-?), the biological father of Mayflower passenger Richard More (1614-1696).
BlaxtonEnglish There are two possible origins for this surname; one- from the name of the village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster (part of South Yorkshire, England) on the border of Lincolnshire, or two- from the Old English personal name Blaecstan, meaning "black stone"
BlaylockEnglish The surname of James P. Blaylock (1950-), an early steampunk author. His surname may mean "black lock" from Middle English blakelok, originally referring to a person with dark hair.
CanavanIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ceanndubháin "descendant of Ceanndubhán", a byname meaning "little black-headed one", from ceann "head" combined with dubh "black" and the diminutive suffix -án.
ChernenkoUkrainian, Russian From Ukrainian чорний (chorniy) or Russian черный (cherniy) both meaning "black".
ChernookyRussian Derived from Russian черноокий (chernooky) meaning "black-eyed, having dark brown eyes". This surname has Polish, Ukrainian or Belarusian noble origin.
ChernovRussian From Russian чёрный (chyorniy) meaning "black".
ChernovaRussian Derived from Russian чёрный (chyorniy) meaning "black". Feminine counterpart of Chernov.
ChernyavskyRussian Derived from Russian чёрный (chyornyy) meaning "black".
ChernykhRussian Derived from Russian черный (cherniy) meaning "black".
CoullsonScottish Gaelic (Anglicized, Rare), English All origins of the name are patronymic. Meanings include an Anglicized version of the Gaelic MacCumhaill, meaning "son of Cumhall", which means "champion" and "stranger" and an Anglicized patronymic of the Gaelic MacDhubhghaill, meaning "son of Dubhgall." The personal name comes from the Gaelic words dubh, meaning "black" and gall, meaning "stranger."... [more]
CrnkovićCroatian Derived from crn "black". The name refers to a person who was dark-skinned, or a person from the region Crna Gora "Black Mountain" (modern-day Montenegro).
CunniffIrish From Irish Gaelic Mac Conduibh "son of Condubh", a personal name meaning literally "black dog".
CzarneckiPolish Name for someone from a place called Czarnca, Czarnocin or Czarnia, all derived from Polish czarny meaning "black".
CzarnieckiPolish Name for a person from a town named Czarnca, Czarne, Czarnocin or Czarnia, all derived from Polish czarny meaning "black".
DaikokuyaJapanese (Rare) Possibly from Japanese prefix 大 (dai) meaning "large" and 黒 (koku) meaning "black" and suffix 屋 (ya) meaning "shop".
DamasFrench French form of DAMASCUS. Famous bearer Léon-Gontran Damas (1912-1978) was a French poet and politican from French Guiana, cofounder of the Négritude Mouvement and author of the collection "Black Label".
DarraghIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Dhubhdarach, a personal name meaning "black one of the oak tree".
DevoyEnglish Anglicized form of Gaelic surname Ó Dubhuidhe ‘descendant of Dubhuidhe’, a name probably derived from dubh "dark, black" and buidhe "sallow".
DiopWestern African, Wolof From Joob, the name of a Wolof clan, derived from a totemic word meaning "black craned swan" or "peacock".
DowdIrish From Irish Ó Dubhda meaning "descendant of Dubhda", where Dubhda is a byname derived from Irish dubh "black, black-haired".
DowellEnglish, Scottish, Irish Derived from the Gaelic name Dubhgall, composed of the elements dubh meaning "black" and gall, "stranger". This was used as a byname for Scandinavians, in particular to distinguish the dark-haired Danes from fair-haired Norwegians.
DugmoreMedieval English This habitational name is chiefly found in the West Midlands region of England. The origin is certainly Old English pre 7th Century and may be Ancient British i.e. pre Roman 55 A.D. The origins are lost but are believed to develop from "Dubh" meaning "black" and "mor" a morass or swamp... [more]
EllerhoffGerman This name means "Black Alder Tree Courtyard" and was inspired by a tree in a yard at the family farm in Nettelstedt, Germany.
HodsonEnglish Hodson is a very interesting surname in that it has multiple origins, depending on the Hodson lineage in question. ... [more]
HuyềnVietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 玄 (huyền) meaning "deep, profound, mysterious, black".
IshiguroJapanese Ishi means "Stone" and Guro is just a form of Kuro, meaning "Black". Hiroshi Ishiguro was the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory.
KarakuşTurkish Means "black bird" from Turkish kara meaning "black, dark" and kuş meaning "bird".
Kara-SalTuvan Means "black beard", derived from Tuvan кара (kara) meaning "black" combined with сал (sal) meaning "beard, moustache".
KarasevdasGreek Possibly from the Turkish word kara meaning "black, dark" and the given name Sevda literally meaning "passion, strong love" in Turkish.
KarasuTurkish Means "black water" derived from Turkish kara meaning "black, dark" combined with su "water".
KarataşTurkish From Turkish kara meaning "black" and taş meaning "stone, rock".
KariyapperumaSinhalese Derived from the words “black” or "dark", and “peruma,” which means “big.” Together, the name can be interpreted to mean "great blackness" or "big darkness."
KirwanIrish From Gaelic Ó Ciardhubháin meaning "descendant of Ciardhubhán", a given name composed of the elements ciar "dark" and dubh "black" combined with a diminutive suffix.
KurobaJapanese From the Japanese 黒 (kuro) "black" and 羽 (ha or hane) "wing."
KurobeJapanese From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".
KurogiJapanese Variant of Kuroki, Kuro means "Black" and Gi means "Tree, Wood".
KurogiriJapanese From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 霧 (giri) meaning "mist"
KuroseJapanese Kuro means "black" and se means "current, ripple".
KuroshimaJapanese From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".
KurosuJapanese From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 須 (su) meaning "mandatory, necessary".
KuroyanagiJapanese From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 柳 (yanagi) meaning "willow".
LenoirFrench French surname which was originally a nickname for a person with dark hair or skin, derived from noir "black" combined with the definite article le. A famous bearer is Étienne Lenoir (1822 - 1900), the inventor of the internal combustion engine.
LeydonIrish (Anglicized, Modern) His name was commemorated in numerous place-names, such as Lugdunum (Celtic *Lugudūnon, "fort of Lugus"; modern Lyon, France), capital of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis... [more]
MacduffScottish Gaelic From the ancient Scottish Gaelic Mac duib meaning "son of the black/dark man." This name may have originated as a ethnic term about the native Scots used by Viking conquestors during the later half of the First Millenium... [more]
MavrogiannisGreek Literally means "black Giannis", derived from Greek μαύρος (mavros) "black, Moorish" and Giannis.
MavromichalisGreek Means "black Michalis (Michael)" in Greek. In Mani, it is said to derive from an orphan named Μιχάλης (Michalis). Because of the dark clothing worn during times of mourning, orphans were often called μαύρος (mavros) meaning "black".
MavropanosGreek Literally means "black cloth", derived from Greek μαύρος (mavros) "black, Moorish" and πανί (pani) "cloth".
MavrosGreek Means "black, dark" in Greek, originally used as a nickname for a person with a dark complexion.
McduffScottish, Northern Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Duibh, a patronymic from the personal name Dubh "black, dark".
MeguroJapanese From Japanese 目 (me) meaning "eye, look, appearance" and 黒 (kuro) meaning "black".
MelanchthonHistory Means "black earth", derived from Greek μελανός (melanos), the genitive of the adjective μέλας (melas) meaning "black, dark", and χθών (chthon) meaning "land, earth, soil"... [more]
MontenegroSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in Spain and Portugal named Montenegro, from Spanish and Portuguese monte meaning "mountain, hill" and negro meaning "black".
MustanenFinnish It derives from the Finnish word for the colour "black", musta.
MustkiviEstonian Mustkivi is an Estonian surname meaning "black stone".
MustmaaEstonian Mustmaa is an Estonian surname meaning "black land".
NearsEnglish French in origin, it is derived from the word "Noir," which is the equivalent of the English word "Black." It could have referred to a person with dark features, hair, or perhaps even one who was thought to engage in nafarious, or "dark," deeds.
NegreCatalan Nickname or ethnic name from negre "black" (Latin niger), denoting someone with dark hair or a dark complexion.
NegroItalian, Spanish, Portuguese, Jewish Nickname or ethnic name from negro "black" (Latin niger), denoting someone with dark hair or a dark complexion.
NegroItalian, Spanish, Galician, Portuguese, Jewish Nickname or ethnic name from negro "black" (continuation of Latin niger), denoting someone with dark hair, dark eyes, a dark complexion, someone who wore dark clothes, someone who worked a job in the night, or was otherwise associated with the night.
NegruRomanian Nickname or ethnic name from negru "black" (Latin niger), denoting someone with dark hair or a dark complexion.
NilsiamThai From Thai นิล (nin) meaning "very deep black" and สยาม (Sayam) meaning "Siam".
NoirFrench Means "black" in French, originally used in Northern France as an ethnic nickname for someone from Southern France, Spain, Italy or North Africa. It also may have been used for someone who wore dark clothing or for someone who had an occupation during the night or was associated with the night.
O'DowdIrish The original Gaelic form was Dubhda. The first portion of the name comes from the word dubh, which means "black" or "dark-complexioned."
O'duffyIrish The name O'Duffy originates from the gaelic surname "O Dubhthaigh". Dubh meaning "Black" in Gaeilge. They claim descent from the ancient Heremon kings of Ireland. They descend from "Cahir Mor", the King of Leinster in the second century... [more]
Ó DuibhidhirIrish Means "descendant of Duibhuidhir". Duibhuidhir is a personal name composed of the elements dubh "dark, black" and odhar "sallow, tawny".
PaakspuuEstonian Paakspuu is an Estonian surname meaning "alder buckthorn" and "black alder".
PaonilThai From Thai เปา (pao) meaning "judicial officer, referee, umpire" and นิล (nin) meaning "very deep black".
PretoPortuguese comes from the Portuguese word preto meaning "black" or "dark". referring to someone with dark skin and/or hair. possibly a cognate of the spanish surname Prieto
RamamurthyIndian, Tamil Derived from Sanskrit राम (rāma) meaning "pleasing, pleasant, charming" or "dark, black" (see Rama) combined with मूर्ति (mūrti) meaning "idol, icon".
SarakatsanisGreek Derived from the Greek Σαρακατσάνοι (Sarakatsanoi) referred to an ethnic Greek population subgroup who were traditionally transhumant shepherds, native to Greece, with a smaller presence in neighbouring Bulgaria, southern Albania, and North Macedonia... [more]
SchwartzmanJewish Nickname for a dark-skinned or dark-haired person, from German schwarz meaning "black" and man meaning "man, person".
SchwarzkopfGerman Means "black head", from German Schwarz "black", and Kopf "head".
SemenduevJudeo-Tat From the given name Semendu or Simandu, which was possibly derived from Persian سیاه (siyah) meaning "black" and مرد (mard) meaning "man" or Hebrew סימן טוב (siman tov) meaning "good sign, good mark".
SikumbangMinangkabau Allegedly from the phrase si kumbang meaning "black tiger", probably derived from Minangkabau kumbang which can mean "beetle" or "tiger, leopard". The name may have been used to refer to Tamil settlers from southern India who had darker skin and practised a tiger-like form of martial arts... [more]
SodanoItalian, Sicilian nickname or ethnic name from Arabic sawdān "black Negro". nickname from Old Sicilian sudanu "sultan".
SudanArabic, Italian, Spanish Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Sudan or who had traded with Sudan. The name of the country is ultimately derived from Arabic سُود (sud) meaning "black", referring to the darker skin of the inhabitants.