Browse Submitted Surnames

Accola Romansh
Derived from Medieval Latin accola "tenant; farmer", ultimately from Classical Latin accola "one who lives near a place; a neighbor".

Alif Malay (Arabized, Rare, Archaic)
"Good friends" "Close friend" "Best friend" "Companion" "Close companion" "Kind" "Meek" "Gentle" "Compassionated" "soft"

Beacher English
Means "near the beech trees".

Bizkarrondo Basque
It literally means "near the shoulder of a mountain".

Brinck German
Means "home on or near a hill".... [more]

Cave Norman, French, English
A name of various possible origins. As a Norman French name Cave can mean "bald" from cauf or it can mean "worker in a wine cellar" or "one who dwelt in or near a cave". As an English name Cave refers to a Yorkshire river whose fast current inspired the name meaning "swift".

Chikafuji Japanese
Chika means "near" and fuji means "wisteria".

Chikahisa Japanese
Chika means "near" and hisa means "long time, long time ago, longevity".

Chikano Japanese
Chika means "near" and no means "field, rice paddy".

Claxon Anglo-Saxon, Medieval English
Derived from the Old English elements clǽg, which denoted places with a clayey soil and tūn, usually meaning "dwellings" or an "enclosed space", but was used in relation to any kind of human habitation... [more]

Cricks American
"living near a river." Comes from a similar origin of Rios

Dozier French
Meaning "lives near willow trees" or possibly someone who made goods, such as baskets, from willow wood.

Ellermeyer German
It is a combination of the German words “Eller,” which means “alder,” and “Meyer,” which means “steward” or farmer”. So, it is thought to refer to someone who was either a steward or farmer who lived near an alder grove.

Flash English
Means "person who lives near a pool" (Middle English flasshe "pool, marsh").

Gilstrap English (British, Anglicized, Rare)
This is a place name acquired from once having lived at a place spelled Gill(s)thorp(e), Gilsthorp(e), Gill(s)throp(e) or Gil(s)throp(e) located in the Old Danelaw area of England.... [more]

Haag Germanic (Archaic)
'The German surname Haag, like many surnames, was taken from some geographical feature near the dwelling place of its first bearer. Coming from the Old Norse haga, or some local variation of the word, the name means "one who lives near a hedged or fenced enclosure."... [more]

Kierkegaard Danish
Means "farm near the church" from elements kirke meaning "church" and gaard meaning "farm." A famous bearer is Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher.

Kikyo Japanese
This surname is used as 桔梗, 喜京, 木京 or 鬼京 with 桔 (kitsu, ketsu, ki), which is used in plant names, 梗 (kyou, kou, oomune, fusagu, yamanire) meaning "close up, flower stem, for the most part", 喜 (ki, yoroko.basu, yoroko.bu) meaning "rejoice, take pleasure in", 木 (boku, moku, ki, ko-) meaning "tree, wood", 鬼 (ki, oni, oni-) meaning "devil, ghost" and 京 (kyou, kin, kei, miyako) meaning "capital."... [more]

Kogure Japanese
From Japanese 木 (ko) meaning "tree, wood" and 暮 (kure) meaning "end, close".

Kondō Japanese
From Japanese 近 (kon) meaning "near, close" and 藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The latter character could indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.

Kondou Japanese
From Japanese 近 (kon) meaning "near, close" and 藤 (dou) meaning "wisteria". The latter character could indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.

Konoe Japanese
Means "royal guardian" in Japanese. The kanji that make up this name are 近 (kon, "near, close") and 衛 (e, "protection"). A famous bearer of this surname was Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe (近衞 文麿; 1891–1945).

Laidla Estonian
Laidla is an Estonian surname meaning "near an islet".

Lapitan Filipino, Tagalog
Means "approach, come close to" in Tagalog.

Ligi Estonian
Ligi is an Estonian surname meaning "near" or "accessible".

Manton English
Locational surname, derived from old English "the dweller near the chalky or sandy earth."

Nabrotzky German
Supposedly means "lived near water". Originated from Prussia.

Nagamatsu Japanese
This surname is used as 永松, 長松 or 永末 with 永 (ei, naga.i) meaning "eternity, lengthy, long," 長 (chou, osa, naga.i) meaning "leader, long," 松 (shou, matsu) meaning "pine tree" and 末 (batsu, matsu, sue) meaning "close, end, posterity, powder, tip."

Neighbor English
From the Middle English word neighbor, derived from neghebour, which in turn comes from the Old English words neah, meaning "near", and gebur, meaning "a dweller". This may have been used as a nickname for someone who was a 'good neighbor', more likely it evolved from the term of address for someone living nearby.

Nhek Khmer
Means "close, together, often, frequently" in Khmer. It may also be from a short form of Chinese 涅槃 (nièpán) meaning "nirvana".

Okey English
Location name meaning "lives near oak trees".

Parelius Norwegian
Latinization of a learned Hellenized translation of either Solvorn, a placename in Luster (Sogn og Fjordane), or of Solnør, a placename in Skodje/Ørskog (Møre og Romsdal), Norway. The surname itself is then derived from Greek para heliou "near (or close by) the sun".

Pathé French
Meaning, "Dweller near an important path or footway."

Peachy English (Anglicized)
Means “lived near a peach tree, sold peaches, or was associated with the fruit in some other way”. Originally arrived with the in England after the Norman conquest of 1066.

Prideaux Cornish
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".

Rodwell English
Rodwell, a name of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational surname deriving from any one of various places in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Kent, England. In English, the meaning of the name Rodwell is "Lives by the spring near the road".

Rugeley Anglo-Saxon
A locational surname whose literal meaning is "woodland clearing on or near a ridge", derived from the Old English hrycg meaning "ridge" and leah, meaning "clearing". First recorded as a surname in Staffordshire, England, but refers to a village in Normandy called Rugles.

Salk English (American)
Likely the English form of Schalk, which means "dweller near a willow tree".

Suekawa Japanese
Sue means "posterity, close, end, powder, tip" and kawa means "river, stream".

Sueno Japanese
This surname is used as either 末延 or 末野 with 末 (batsu, matsu, sue) meaning "close, end, posterity, powder, tip", 延 (en, no.basu, no.biru, no.be, no.beru) meaning "prolong, stretching" and 野 (sho, ya, no, no-) meaning "civilian life, field, plains, rustic."... [more]

Weld English
Meant "one who lives in or near a forest (or in a deforested upland area)", from Middle English wold "forest" or "cleared upland". A famous bearer is American actress Tuesday Weld (1943-).

Yorita Japanese
From Japanese 依 (yori) meaning "reliant" or 寄 (yori) meaning "bring near", combined with 田 (ta) meaning "rice field".