Browse Submitted Surnames

Acatecatl Nahuatl
From Nahuatl acatl "reed, cane" and tecatl "person; inhabitant of a place".

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

Agbulos Filipino, Ilocano
Means "to let go, to set free" in Ilocano.

Almazán Spanish
Habitational name demoting someone originally from the municipality of Almazán in Castile and León, Spain. The name itself is derived from Arabic المكان المحصن (al-makān al-ḥiṣn) meaning "the fortified place" or "the stronghold".

Almodovar Portuguese (Anglicized), Spanish (Anglicized)
Habitational name from Almodóvar (Almodóvar del Campo, Almodóvar del Pinar or Almodóvar del Río) in Spain, or from Almodôvar, Portugal... [more]

Amunategi Basque
It literally means a "place of apple trees", denoting someone who lived and/or worked there.

Angoco Chamorro
“to Trust in” “to rely on” “to have confidence in” “to have faith in” “to place reliance in” “to confide in”

Asato Japanese (Rare)
There are several readings for the name but 2 are Asa:"Morning",and To:"Door,Asa:"Safe" and To:"Village". There are multiple places in the Ryukyu's (where the name originates and mostly stays) that have that name;that could've been the influence... [more]

Asensio Basque
It signifies "dweller at the place where the blackberry bushes grew."

Ashikaga Japanese
Ashikaga is a surname that originated with samurai families. Kaga means "Flower Bud,Reed" and Ashi means "Place",but it is most commonly, ( if not always ) written with characters meaning ,"foot" and "advantage".

Ashmore English
English locational name, from either "Aisemare", (from Old English pre 7th Century "aesc" meaning ash plus "mere" a lake; hence "lake where ash-trees grow), or from any of several minor places composed of the Old English elements "aesc" ash plus "mor" a marsh or fen.

Asō Japanese
Combination of the kanji 麻 (asa, "hemp plant") and 生 (fu, "place where vegetation grows"), thus "place where hemp plants grow". A famous bearer of this surname is Japanese Prime Minister Tarō Asō (麻生 太郎; b. 1940).

Attenborough English
Habitational name for a person from the village of Attenborough in Nottinghamshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Adda and burh meaning "fortified place". A famous bearer of this name was the English actor and filmmaker Richard Attenborough (1923-2014)... [more]

Auestad Norwegian
A surname most commonly found in the Rogaland region of Norway. The most common theory for the meaning is that it originated from øde sted (or in older spellings, øde stad) meaning "abandoned/barren/solitary place"... [more]

Aune Norwegian
Derived from Old Norse auðn "wasteland, desolate place".

Bantayan Filipino, Cebuano
Means "watchtower, guard-place" in Cebuano.

Bohner German
Occupational name from an agent derivative of Middle Low German bönen meaning "to board, to lay a floor", and a topographic name for someone who lived in a loft, derived from a variant of Bohne combined with the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant.

Bolloqui Basque
Means "mill place."

Breed English
Habitational name from any of various minor places, for example Brede in Sussex, named with Old English brǣdu "breadth, broad place" (a derivative of brād "broad").

Bukhari Arabic, Urdu
Indicated a person from the city of Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan, itself possibly derived from Sogdian βuxārak meaning "place of good fortune".

Bumpus English
(i) from a medieval nickname for a vigorous walker (from Old French bon "good" + pas "pace"); (ii) perhaps "person who lives by a place through which travel is easy" (from Old French bon "good" + pas "passage")

Burbidge Anglo-Saxon
This interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is a dialectal variant of the locational surname, deriving from any of the places called "Burbage", in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Wiltshire... [more]

Bystedt Swedish
A combination of Swedish by "village" and German stedt "home, place".

Cabatuan Filipino, Cebuano
Derived from Cebuano kabatoan meaning "rocky area, rocky place".

Canteloup French
Name of several places in France. The surname means "Song of the Wolf" from canta and loup as in "place where the wolves howl".

Carrasquillo Spanish
The surname Carrasquillo is of Spanish origin and it is derived from the word "carrasca" which means "holm oak". Therefore, the name roughly translates to "a place where there are holm oaks".

Catapano Italian
Means "catapan, governor of a catepanate", ultimately from Byzantine Greek κατεπάνω (katepánō) "(the one) placed at the top, or the topmost".

Cervera Spanish
A name for someone coming from any one of many places called Cervera, coming from Late Latin cervaria, meaning "place of stags".

Dalusong Filipino, Tagalog, Pampangan
Means "to attack upon an enemy coming from a higher place" in Tagalog, also a Kapampangan variant of Dalusung.

Dasalan Filipino, Tagalog
Means "place of prayer" from Tagalog dasal "prayer".

Decena Spanish (Philippines)
From the Spanish word decena meaning "a set of ten".

Delogu Italian
Means "from/of the place", from Sardinian de "of, from" and logu "place".

Deplaz Romansh
Derived from the preposition de "of" and Romansh plaz "plaza; place".

Eben English
Meaning unknown. It could be from the given name Eden, from the place name Eden, meaning "Place Of Pleasure".

Ermatinger German (Swiss)
The surname Ermatinger derives from the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance. It simply means "from Ermatingen".... [more]

Escuintla Nahuatl
From Nahuatl Itzcuintlan meaning "abundance or place of dogs".

Farnworth English
Farnworth is a combination of two words: old-English fearn meaning "fern" and worth, making the full meaning of Farnworth "settlers from a place where ferns are abundant." The oldest known record of the surname was in Farnworth with Kearsley (modern-day Farnworth), Lancashire in 1185... [more]

Fordyce Scottish
A Scottish Gaelic surname meaning "A cold place to the southward." From Gaelic fuar, meaning "cold," and deas, meaning "south."

Fukube Japanese
From Japanese 福 (fuku) meaning "happiness, good fortune, blessing" and 辺 (be) meaning "area, place, vicinity".

Garro Basque
Means "place of the flame" in Basque.

Guthrie Scottish, Irish
As a Scottish surname, this is either a habitational name for a person from the village of Guthrie near Forfar, itself from Gaelic gaothair meaning "windy place" (a derivative of gaoth "wind") and the locative suffix -ach, or alternatively it might possibly be an Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mag Uchtre meaning "son of Uchtre", a personal name of uncertain origin, perhaps related to uchtlach "child".... [more]

Haavisto Finnish
Means "place with aspens" or "group of aspens". This name comes from a combination of haapa, "aspen", and the suffix -sto which is used for places and groups of things.

Hagen German, Dutch, Danish
from the ancient Germanic personal name Hagen a short form of various compound names formed with hag "enclosure protected place" as the first element.

Hamabe Japanese
From Japanese 浜 (hama) meaning "beach, seashore" and 辺 (be) meaning "area, place, vicinity".

Hamedani Persian
Indicated a person from the city of Hamedan (or Hamadan) in Iran, from the Old Persian name Hagmatāna meaning "(place of) gathering".

Hennard French
From the ancient Germanic personal name Haginhard composed of the elements hag "enclosure protected place" and hard "strong hardy".

Hietala Finnish
Finnish. (hieta) meaning, “fine-sand” combined with (la) meaning, “abode, house, place, or land of….”

Hinata Japanese
From Japanese 日向 (hinata) meaning "sunny place", 陽向 (hinata) meaning "toward the sun", or a non-standard reading of 向日葵 (himawari) meaning "sunflower". Other kanji compounds are also possible.

Hjermstad Norwegian (Rare)
Hjerm means royal swords, stad means place. So Hjermstad means "place for the King's swords".

Horiba Japanese
From Japanese 堀 (hori) meaning "ditch, moat, canal" and 場 (ba) meaning "place, situation, circumstances".

Horsley English
Old English hors ‘horse’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’... [more]

Hostetler German
The name itself comes from the word Hostet or Hochstatt meaning "high place". Thus Hostetler is someone living in a high place or on high ground.

Huehuetenango Nahuatl
Means "place of the ancients" in Nahuatl.

Ibba Italian
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Sardinian v-ibba "settlement" (compare Deidda), or from Latin ibi "that place, there".

Jabashiri Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 蛇走 (jabashiri), sound- and script-changed from 砂場走 (shabahashiri), from 砂 (sha) meaning "sand", 場 (ba) meaning "place", and 走 (hashiri), from 走り (hashiri) meaning "run", referring to a place where the sand collapses quickly.

Kabuto Japanese (Rare)
This surname is used as 甲, 兜, 加太, 甲頭, 加部東 or 鹿伏兎 with 甲 (ka, kan, kou, kinoe, kabuto) meaning "A grade, armour, carapace, first class, former, high (voice), instep", 兜 (to, tou, kabuto) meaning "headpiece, helmet", 加 (ka, kuwa.eru, kuwa.waru) meaning "add(ition), Canada, include, increase, join", 太 (ta, tai, futo.i, futo.ru) meaning "big around, plump, thick", 頭 (zu, to, tou, atama, kashira, kaburi, -gashira) meaning "head", 部 (bu, -be) meaning "bureau, class, copy, department, part, portion, section", 東 (tou, higashi) meaning "east", 鹿 (rou, ka, shika) meaning "deer", 伏 (fuku, fu.su, fu.seru) meaning "bend down, bow, cover, lay (pipes), prostrated" or 兎 (tsu, to, usagi) meaning "hare, rabbit."... [more]

Kari Finnish, German (Austrian), Slovene (?), Hungarian, Indian, Marathi
As a Finnish name, it is a topographic and ornamental name from kari "small island", "stony rapids", "sandbar", or "rocky place in a field". This name is found throughout Finland.... [more]

Kataba Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 片 (kata) meaning "one side; one-sided" and 場 (ba) meaning "place".

Kawabe Japanese
From Japanese 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream" and 辺 (be) meaning "area, place, vicinity".

Knapp English
Topographic name for someone who lived by a hillock, Middle English "nappe, Old English cnæpp, or habitational name from any of the several minor places named with the word, in particular Knapp in Hampshire and Knepp in Sussex.

Kohlstedt Medieval German (Modern)
Likely derived from the German word Kohl, meaning “Cabbage,” and a Variation of the word Stadt, meaning “City, town, and/or place.”

Kokoszka Polish
Nickname for a fussy or broody person, from kokoszka "laying hen".

Kumigashira Japanese
From 組 (kumi) meaning "group, set," and 頭 (kashira) meaning "head".

Kunida Japanese
From Japanese 国 (kuni) meaning "a land, a large place" combined with 田 (da) meaning "paddy, field".

Kunihiko Japanese
Kuni means "country, large place" and hiko means "prince".

Kuniki Japanese
Kuni means "country, large place" and ki means "tree, wood".

Kunimatsu Japanese
Kuni means "country, land, large place" and matsu means "pine".... [more]

Kunimura Japanese
Kuni means "country, large place" and mura means "village, hamlet".

Kunio Japanese
Kuni means "country, large place" and o means "tail".

Kuniyoshi Japanese
Kuni means "large place, country" and yoshi means "good luck".

Kuniyuki Japanese
Kuni means "country, large place" and yuki can mean "good" or "snow".

Lafrenière French
Topographic name derived from French frenière meaning "place of ash trees". It is often Americanised as Freeman.

Laycock English
The name comes from a small village in England called "Laycock" and has something to do with "the place of the birds."... [more]

Lear English
Means (i) "person from Leire", Leicestershire ("place on the river Leire", a river-name that may also be the ancestor of Leicestershire); or (ii) "person from Lear", any of several variously spelled places in northern France with a name based on Germanic lār "clearing"... [more]

Leckey Scottish, English, Irish
Originally Scottish, but also found in England, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Possibly derives from the barony of Leckie (meaning "place of flagstones", from Gaelic leac, "flagstone") in Stirlingshire.

Lecubarri Basque
Noble and old surname from the province of Biscay in the Basque Country, were it was first recorded. It comes from the roots "lek(h)u" meaning "place", and the ending "barri" which means "new" in the Basque language... [more]

Lochner German
Means "a place where rivers meet with a partial obstruction from a wooden dam. "

Lumbantoruan Batak
From Batak lumban meaning "village, hamlet" and toruan meaning "lower (area or place), below".

Lundy English
Either (i) "person from Lundie", the name of various places in Scotland (meaning "place by a marsh"); or (ii) a different form of Mcalinden.

Macedo Portuguese, Spanish (Latin American)
Referred to a person who worked or lived at an apple orchard. It is derived from Vulgar Latin mattianēta meaning "place with apple trees."

Manhattan English
From the name of the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City, in the U.S. state of New York. Derived from the Munsee Lenape language term manaháhtaan (where manah- means "gather", -aht- means "bow" and -aan is an abstract element used to form verb stems), meaning "the place where we get bows" or "place for gathering the (wood to make) bows"... [more]

Mashhadi Persian
Indicated a person from the city of Mashhad in Iran, itself derived from Arabic مشهد (mashhad) meaning "place of martyrdom".

Matoba Japanese
From Japanese 的 (mato) meaning "target, mark" and 場 (ba) meaning "place, situation, circumstances".

Mattila Finnish
Means "Matti's farm". A combination of Matti and the suffix -la "farm, place".

Michalsky Polish
A variant of Michalski. "Polish and Jewish (from Poland): habitational name for someone from a place called Michale in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or Michały in Masovian Voivodeship both named with the personal name Michał (see Michal ). Jewish (from Poland): patronymic from the personal name Michal." ... [more]

Murakami Japanese
From Japanese 村 (mura) meaning "town, village" and 上 (kami) meaning "start, high place, top".

Muston English
Habitational name from places so named, from Old English mus "mouse", or must, "muddy stream or place" combined with tun "enclosure, settlement". Another explanation could be that the first element is derived from an old Scandinavian personal name, Músi (of unknown meaning), combined with tun.

Nairn Scottish
Means "person from Nairn", Highland region ("(place at the mouth of the river) Nairn", a Celtic river-name perhaps meaning "penetrating one").

Najafi Persian
Indicated a person from the city of Najaf in Iraq, derived from Arabic نجف (najafa) meaning "elevated place".

Northway English
Habitational name from one or more of the minor places called with Middle English bi northe weie "(place) to the north of the way or road" from the elements norþ "north" and weg "way" including Northway in Monkleigh Widecombe in the Moor and Parkham Norway in Whitestone Narraway in Drewsteignton (all Devon) and Northway in Halse (Somerset)... [more]

Ōba Japanese
From Japanese 大 (ō) meaning "big, great" and 場 (ba) meaning "place, situation, circumstances".

Olmstead English (British)
Comes from the Old French ermite "hermit" and Old English stede "place".... [more]

Onslow English
Locational name from a place called Onslow described in Victorian times as being "a place within the liberty of Shrewsbury, in Salop', the original and still confusingly used, name for the county of Shropshire.

Oortwijn Dutch
Patronym of Oort meaning "place" or "location"

Orosco Spanish, Basque
Variant of Orozco. Means "place of the holly trees" from oros meaning "holly tree" and the suffix -ko signifying a place. Also believed to have been derived from Latin orosius meaning "the son of bringer of wisdom".

Orris English (Canadian)
This unusual and interesting name is of Italian, Latin origin, and derives from one of the earliest Roman names, "Horatius". The name is thought to mean something connected with "hora", the Latin for "hour", but the original meaning has been lost... [more]

Osaragi Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 大仏 (osaragi), from Old Japanese オホソレキ (ohosoreki), from オホ (oho) meaning "great; large", ソレ (sore) meaning "slash-and-burn cultivation" , and キ (ki) meaning "place", referring to a place in the mountains that had been slash-and-burn cultivated.

Pagayawan Filipino, Maranao
Means "place of rainbows" from Maranao pagayaw meaning "rainbow".

Palić Serbian, Croatian
Derived from paliti, meaning "to fire" or "to set on fire".

Paljević Montenegrin, Croatian
Derived from paliti (палити), meaning "to burn, to set of fire".

Pangilinan Filipino, Tagalog
Means "place of abstinence" from Tagalog pangilin meaning "abstinence, to abstain" and the suffix -an meaning "place of, time of". It was used to denote abstinence from certain foods for religious purposes.

Pedreira Portuguese, Galician
Means "quarry, rocky place" in Portuguese and Galician, originally a habitational name from any of various places called Pedreira or A Pedreira.

Peevey Norman, English
Means "a place with a fine view". Composed of the Old French roots beu, which means "fair" and "lovely", and voir, which means "to see".

Pillsbury English
Derived from a place in Derbyshire, England, so named from the genitive of the Old English given name Pil and burh meaning "fortified place".

Putney English
habitational name from Putney in Surrey (now Greater London) named in Old English from the personal name Putta (genitive Puttan) and hyth "landing place quay".

Reinoso Spanish
Meaning "place of fields".

Ridala Estonian
Ridala is an Estonia surname meaning "set, line, or range" "area".

Riivik Estonian
Riivik is an Estonian surname derived from "rivik", meaning "setting stick", "galley", and "assembler".

Roffey English
There are two small villages named "Roffey". One in England, near Horsham, and one in France, Burgundy. The name is of Norman orgin. First mentioned in (surviving English documents) in 1307 when a George Roffey buys a house... [more]

Roser German
German: topographic name for "someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew" (see Rose 1), with the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.German (Röser): habitational name from places called Rös, Roes, or Rösa in Bavaria, Rhineland, and Saxony, or a variant of Rosser.Swiss German (Röser): from a short form of a Germanic personal name based on hrod "renown".English: "unexplained".

Rotterdam Dutch
Denoting someone from a place named Rotterdam "place of the muddy water".

Roxburgh Scottish
From Roxburgh, a village near the market town of Kelso in the Scottish Borders area in Scotland, derived from the Old English byname Hroc meaning "rook" and burh meaning "fortified place"... [more]

Sainsbury English
habitational name from Saintbury (Gloucestershire) from the Old English personal name Sæwine (genitive Sæwines from Old English sæ "sea" and wine ‘friend’) plus burg "fortified place".

Sakagami Japanese
From Japanese 坂 or 阪 (saka) meaning "slope" and 上 (kami) meaning "high place, top".

Santander Spanish
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]

Sawabe Japanese
From Japanese 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh" and 辺 (be) meaning "area, place, vicinity".

S-charplaz Romansh
Derived from the given name S-cher and Romansh plaz "place".

Schlatter Upper German
Topographic name from Middle High German slâte "reedy place", or a habitational name from any of several places named Schlatt, from the same word.

Scobie Scottish
Means "person from Scobie", an unidentified place in Perth and Kinross ("thorny place"). A fictional bearer is Henry Scobie, the conscience-wracked and ultimately suicidal deputy commissioner of police in Graham Greene's West Africa-set novel 'The Heart of the Matter' (1948).

Shallcross English
Means "person from Shallcross", Derbyshire ("place by the Shacklecross", an ancient stone cross in the High Peak, its name perhaps denoting a cross to which people could be shackled as a penance).

Shijou Japanese
From Japanese 市 (shi) meaning "market, town", 四 (shi) meaning "four" or 砥 (shi) meaning "whetstone"; combined with 場 (jou) meaning "place", 條 (jou) meaning "article, twig, ray", 条 (jou) with the same meaning as the previous one, or 上 (jou) meaning "above".

Shimoji Okinawan (Rare)
Comes from the island in Okinawa, Japan, called Shimoji. The combination of Kanji characters are 下 meaning "down, below", and 地 meaning "place, territory".

Shrewsbury English
From Shrewsbury, a market town and the county town of Shropshire, England, derived from Old English scrobb meaning "scrub, brushwood" and burg meaning "fortified place".

Solano Spanish, Aragonese
From various Spanish place names, which are derived from Spanish solano meaning "place exposed to the sun" (from Late Latin solanus "pertaining to the sun", a derivative of sol "sun")... [more]

Southwick English
An English/Scottish locational name from a variety of places, including, Southwick in Northamptonshire, England, and Southwick in Gloucestershire, Sussex, Durham, Hampshire. ... [more]

Sovereign French
Translation of the French surname Souverain which is derived from Old French souverain meaning "high place".

Stadtmueller German
From Middle High German stet meaning "place", "town" + müller meaning "miller", hence an occupational name for a miller who ground the grain for a town.

Stallard English
Byname for a valiant or resolute person, from a reduced pronunciation of Middle English stalward, stalworth "stalwart" (an Old English compound of stǣl "place" and wierðe "worthy").

Suazo Spanish, Spanish (Latin American), Basque
"Castilianized form of Basque Zuhatzu, habitational name from places in Araba and Navarre named Zuhatzu, from Basquezu(h)aitz‘tree’ + the collective suffix -zu, tsu."... [more]

Tadokoro Japanese
It literally means "farmland, country", from 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy", and 所 (dokoro) meaning "place, institute, plant, station".

Tamaki Japanese
From Japanese 玉 (tama) meaning "jewel, ball, sphere" combined with 城 (ki) meaning "castle", 置 (ki) meaning "put, place, set", or 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".

Tanabe Japanese
From Japanese 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy" and 辺 or 邊 (nabe) meaning "area, place".

Tatsumi Japanese
This surname is used as the combinations shown above + others that aren't on this entry.... [more]

Tunstall English
Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations in England named Tunstall, derived from Old English tun meaning "enclosure, garden, farm" and steall meaning "position, place, site".

Vadén Swedish
Combination of Swedish place name element vad which in most cases mean "ford, place for wading", and the common surname suffix -én.

Väisänen Finnish
Topographic name from väisä meaning either meaning "road" or "sign placed on the ice" + the common surname suffix -nen.

Vallance English
Means "person from Valence", southeastern France (probably "place of the brave").

Vanaaseme Estonian
Vanaaseme is an Estonian surname meaning "old place".

Van Nistelrooij Dutch
Means "from Nistelrode", a small village in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch nest meaning "nest, burrow, resting place" and lo meaning "light forest", combined with rode meaning "land cleared of trees"... [more]

Vee Norwegian
Habitational name from farmsteads named Ve, for example in Hordaland and Sogn, from Old Norse vé "sacred place".

Viramontes Spanish
Viramontes is composed of the elements "mira" and "montes," two Spanish words with the combined meaning of "place with a view of the mountains."

Virkkula Kven
from virkku meaning "spike" and the ending -la meaning "place".

Wemyss Scottish
From the lands of Wemyss in Fife, which is derived from Gaelic uaimheis "cave place".

Westrop English (British)
Viking name local to Somerset and several counties in the North East of England. Approximate meaning "place to the west of the village with the church".

Winstead English
Perhaps derived from the town of Wanstead in Greater London, England (recorded in the Domesday Book as Wenesteda), named with Old English wænn meaning "wagon" and stede meaning "place, site", but it is more likely derived from the village of Winestead in East Yorkshire, England, named from Old English wefa meaning "wife" and hamstede meaning "homestead"... [more]

Yamanobe Japanese
From Japanese 山 (yama) meaning "mountain", 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness" and 辺 (be) meaning "area, place, vicinity".

Zuleta Spanish, Basque
Variant of Zulueta, which comes from the Basque topographic name 'zulo' meaning ‘hole hollow’ + the collective suffix '-eta' meaning "place or group of."

Zuloaga Basque
It literally means "place of holes".