Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Bickel German, German (Swiss), JewishGerman: from bickel ‘pickaxe’ or ‘chisel’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who made pickaxes or worked with a pickaxe or for a stonemason. South German: from a pet form of Burkhart... [
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Bickerman EnglishThe toponym Bickerton is derived from the Old English beocere, which means bee-keeper, and tun, which originally denoted a fence or enclosure.
Bickham EnglishHabitational name from places so named in Devon and Somerset, most of which are most probably named with an Old English personal name
Bicca and Old English
cumb "valley". The first element could alternatively be from
bica "pointed ridge".
Bidaurreta BasqueIt indicates familial origin within the eponymous Navarrese municipality.
Biddle English, IrishVariant of English
BEADLE or German
BITTEL. The name is now popular in the north east region of America, where it was brought by English and Irish immigrants.
Biddulph EnglishFrom the name of a town in Staffordshire, England, derived from Old English
bī meaning "beside" and
dylf meaning "digging" (a derivative of
delfan "to dig").
Biedermann German, Jewishnickname for an honest man from a compound of Middle High German
biderbe "honorable" and
man "man". Jewish surname adopted because of its honorific meaning from German
bieder "honest, upright" and
mann "man".
Biedroń PolishNickname, either from dialect biedron ‘spotted bullock’, or for someone with conspicuous or deformed hips, from a derivative of dialect biedro ‘hip’.
Biehl GermanFrom Middle Low German
bil "hatchet", Middle High German
biel; given to someone who made or used hatchets.
Biel Polish, Czech, SlovakNickname for a white- or fair-haired person, from Polish
biel, Old Czech
bielý, Slovak
biely "white".
Bielawski PolishThis indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Bielawa.
Bielec PolishNickname for a man with white hair or a blond beard, from biały meaning "white".
Bielecki PolishHabitational name for someone from a place called Bielcza, derived from Polish
biel meaning "white".
Bieler German, JewishJewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of the many places in eastern Europe whose name incorporates the Slavic element
byel- ‘white’.... [
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Bieliński PolishHabitational name for someone from any of various places named Bielin, Bielina, Bielino or Bieliny, all derived from Polish
biel meaning "white".
Bieniak PolishPolish family name with Germanic origins. The Bieniak family lived in the Polish villages of Grębków and nearby Kózki for nearly 500 years.
Bieńkowski PolishHabitational name for someone from any of various places called Bieńkowice, Bieńkowiec, or Bieńkowo.
Bier German, Jewishfrom Middle High German
bier "beer" German
bier Yiddish
bir a metonymic occupational name for a brewer of beer or a tavern owner or in some cases perhaps a nickname for a beer drinker.
Bierbaum GermanGerman: topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, Middle Low German berbom. Compare
Birnbaum.
Bierce English, WelshEnglish variant and Welsh form of
Pierce. A famous bearer was the American author, journalist and poet Ambrose Bierce (1842-c. 1914), who wrote
The Devil's Dictionary and other works... [
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Bieri German (Swiss)Derived from a diminutive of the given name
Pierre which was also commonly used in German-speaking Switzerland.
Biesheuvel DutchFrom
Biesheuvel, the name of a small village in the north of the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch
bies meaning "bulrush, club rush" (a grasslike plant that grows in wetlands and damp locations) and
heuvel meaning "hill"... [
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Biesiada PolishNickname from biesiada meaning "feast", "banquet", probably for someone who liked to feast.
Biesiadecki PolishPossible name for a person who came from
Biesiadki or
Biesiadka in Poland.
Bigelow EnglishHabitational name from a place in England called Big Low meaning "big mound".
Biggers Scottish, EnglishPossibly related to the Scottish place name Biggar in South Lanarkshire or the English place name Biggar in Cumbria
Biggins EnglishHabitational name from any of the various places in England named with northern Middle English
bigging "building" (from Old Norse). This word came to denote especially an outbuilding, and is still used in and around Northumberland and Cumbria.
Biggs EnglishDerived from the ancient word, "bigga", meaning large.
Biglin English (British)German origin, settled by a single farmer in East Yorkshire in 1750. The name comes from the phrase "big land" meaning someone who owns alot of land.
Bigot FrenchEither from Old French
bigot possibly meaning "beggar" or from the Norman interjection
bî got ("by God"), used as a pejorative nickname for the Normans... [
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Bigović CroatianMeaning unknown. Sources say that there's only 35 people with this surname in Croatia.... [
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Bikuña BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous village in Araba.
Bilbao SpanishSpanish: Habitational Name From The City Of Bilbao In Biscay Basque Country.
Bilczewski PolishThis indicates familial origin within either of 2 distinct Greater Polish villages by the name of Bilczew.
Bildt Swedish (Rare)Bildt is a Danish-Swedish-Norwegian noble family originating from Jutland in Denmark and now domiciled in Bohus county in southwest Sweden. The Norwegian branch of the family died out in the beginning of the 18th century... [
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Bilek CzechNickname for a fair-haired person, from
bílek "whiteness", a derivative of
bílý "white".
Bilić CroatianDerived from dialectal
bil, standard Croatian
bijel, meaning "white".... [
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Bilici TurkishMeans "visionary", "seer", "omniscient", "aware", "knowing" and derivated from "bil-" root which means "to know".
Bilir TurkishMeans "understanding, knowledgeable" in Turkish.
Billeaud FrenchFrom a personal name composed of the Germanic elements
bil "sword" (or possibly
bili "gentle") +
wald "ruler".
Billig GermanHabitational name from a place named Billig, near Cologne. Nickname from Middle High German billich ‘proper’, ‘appropriate’.
Billings EnglishIt comes from the old English
bil, meaning "sword or halberd", though the word later came to refer to a pruning hook used to harvest fruit. It's also possible that the name comes from a location in ancient England called
Billing, which would've gotten its name from the same source.
Billingsly EnglishHabitational name from a place in Shropshire named Billingsley, from Old English Billingesleah, probably 'clearing (Old English leah) near a sword-shaped hill'
Bilsland ScottishFrom a place near Kilmaurs in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Allegedly a combination of
Bil and
land "farm, land, property".
Bilyk UkrainianNickname derived from Ukrainian білий (
bilyy) meaning "white".
Bindschädler German (Swiss)Derived from German
binden "to bind" and Swiss German
schädlen "to make wood vessels", this is an occupational surname referring to a cooper, a barrel maker.
Binetti ItalianComes from a diminutive of Bino. Italianized form of French
'Binet'. Habitational name from a place called Binetto (named with Latin vinetum ‘vineyard’) in Bari province.
Bingel GermanA topographic name derived from a diminutive of Middle High German
binge, which means "depression", "ditch", or "pit". May also be derived from
pingel, which is a Westphalian nickname for a pedantic person.
Bingemann German (Rare)Possibly a habitational name for someone from a place named Bingen or Bingum. May also be from a topographic name derived from the German word
Binge, which means "trench", and may also refer to a kettle-shaped depression or a collapsed shaft in a mine (see
Bingel).
Binger EnglishDerived from the Old English name
Binningas, which was a name for someone who lived near stables.
Bingham EnglishUltimately deriving from the toponym of Melcombe Bingham in Dorset. The name was taken to Ireland in the 16th century, by Richard Bingham, a native of Dorset who was appointed governor of Connaught in 1584... [
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Bingley EnglishHabitational surname for someone originally from the town of Bingley in West Yorkshire, England. The name is either derived from the given name
Bynna combined with the suffix
-inga meaning "the people of" or from the Old English elements
bing meaning "hollow" and
leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
Bini ItalianComes from the given name
Albino and other names ending with
-bino ending.
Bink EnglishTopographic name for someone living by a bink, a northern dialect term for a flat raised bank of earth or a shelf of flat stone suitable for sitting on. The word is a northern form of modern English bench.
Bin Laden Arabic (Rare)Means "son of Laden", from a name derived from Arabic لدن
(ladin) meaning "soft, mellow". It was most notoriously borne by Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden (1957-2011), though it is also the surname of an wealthy upper-class Saudi family (of which the former is descended from).
Binowski PolishHabitational name for someone from
binowo or other places starting with
binow in Poland.
Binsaki Japanese (Rare)From Japanese 鬢 (
bin) meaning a type of hairstyle and 崎 (
saki) meaning "small peninsula; cape".
Biondolillo ItalianProbably from Sicilian
biunnuliddu "little fair one", a nickname for someone with blonde hair. Compare
Biondi.
Birčanin SerbianPossibly derived from the village of Birač, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Birch English, German, Danish, Swedish (Rare)From Middle High German
birche, Old English
birce, Old Danish
birk, all meaning "birch". This was likely a topographic name for someone living by a birch tree or a birch forest... [
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Birchall EnglishProbably a habitational name from Birchill in Derbyshire or Birchills in Staffordshire, both named in Old English with
birce "birch" +
hyll "hill".
Birdson African AmericanIt means son of Bird and most likely came from someone who was given the name Bird. The word bird is found in all English language dictionaries and was not intended to be a name.
Birdsong EnglishFrom the English words bird and song. Possibly an English translation of the German surname Vogelsang.
Birge HungarianOccupational name for a shepherd, from
birga, a variant spelling of
birka 'sheep'.
Birindelli ItalianIt is a regional surname of Tuscany common in provinces like Pisa, Lucca or Livorno.... [
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Birk GermanEither a variant of
Buerk or a habitational name derived from places named Birk, Birke, or Birken.
Birkeland NorwegianDerived from Old Norse
birki "birch" and
land "farm, land". This was the name of several farms in Norway.
Birket EnglishIt's a locational surname taken from the village of Birket Houses in Lancashire.
Birkin EnglishThe surname "Birkin" comes from a village in Yorkshire of the same name, first recorded as "Byrcene" in the Yorkshire charters of 1030, and as "Berchine" and "Berchinge" in the Domesday Book. The first known person with the surname "Birkin" was Jon de Birkin, a baron who lived in the late-11th century.
Birnbaum GermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, from Middle High German
bir "pear" and
boum "tree".
Birne English, German, JewishMeans "pear" in German, making it the German equivalent of
Perry 1, perhaps originally referring to a person who harvested or sold pears... [
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Birney EnglishScottish: habitational name from a place in Morayshire, recorded in the 13th century as Brennach, probably from Gaelic braonach 'damp place'.
Birnie ScottishPart of the clan MacInnes from the Scottish highlands. It was originally the name of a church (Burn-nigh) which became Birnie or Birney.
Biscornet LiteratureDerived from the Latin words
bis, meaning "two" and
cornet, meaning "horn". According to French urban legend, this was the last name of the architect who built the doorways in the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral... [
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Biscotti ItalianAn occupational surname for someone who sells or bakes biscotti.
Bish EnglishComes from the old English word
bis meaning "dingy" or "murky". Was given to someone who dressed in drab or murky colors.
Bisley English (British)Bisley is a locational surname from the village of Bisley in Surrey. It comes from the words
biss meaning “water” and
leah meaning “farm”.
Bissonnette French (Quebec)North American spelling of French
Bissonet, a topographic name from a diminutive of Old French
buisson meaning "bush, scrub".
Bistolfo ItalianBistolfi has a lineage between Alessandria Casale Monferrato, Acqui Terme and Prasco, Genoa and Savona. Bistolfo may derive from a modified form of the medieval name Guisulfus. In an act of 1327 Gui-sulfus Cottalorda (Mayor of Breil) signed an important peace agreement with Tenda, probably passing by the name Wisulfus, and therefore by common substitution of W with B.
Bitar ArabicMeans "farrier, blacksmith, smith" in Arabic.
Bitencourt Brazilian, Portuguese (Brazilian), French (Rare), EnglishBITENCOURT, derives from Bittencourt, Bettencourt and Bethencourt; They are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [
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Bitsilly NavajoMeans "his younger brother", from Navajo
bi- meaning "his" and
atsilí meaning "younger brother".
Bitsuie NavajoFrom
bitsóí meaning "his grandchild", a commonly adopted surname when the BIA required Native Americans to take surnames for the purpose of official records.
Bittaker EnglishPossibly an altered spelling of
Whitaker. An infamous bearer was the American serial killer and rapist Lawrence Bittaker (1940-2019).
Bittenbinder GermanOccupational name for a cooper, from Middle High German
büte(n) "cask", "(wine) barrel" +
binder "binder" (agent derivative of
binden "to bind").
Bitton Judeo-SpanishFrom the medieval given name
Viton or
Vita, both derived from Latin
vita meaning "life".
Bixio ItalianFrom an older form of Ligurian
bixo "grey", a nickname for someone with grey hair.
Bizon PolishNickname from bizon meaning "whip", used for a big, ponderous person.
Bizzell Englisha corn merchant; one who made vessels designed to hold or measure out a bushel.
Bjeljac Serbian, Croatian, BosnianFrom the Croation Area of Kordun specifically Koranski Lug. Possibly also Bosnia. A large migration of Serbs were enticed by the Austrian government to move from Bosnia to Croatia to act as a buffer militia between the Ottoman Empire of Bosnia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Croatia... [
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Bjørklund NorwegianFrom any of several farms named with Norwegian
bjørk "birch" and
lund "grove".
Björkqvist SwedishCombination of Swedish
björk "birch tree" and
qvist, an obsolete spelling of
kvist, "twig".
Björn SwedishMeans "bear" in Swedish. Either taken directly from the given name (see
Björn) or from a nickname for a big, hairy person. It may also be derived from a place named with the element
björn.