Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Batey English (?)Originates from mostly northern England. Is the presumed given name to fishers. (With it meaning "Small fishing boat" in old English.)
Bathgate Scottish, EnglishFrom the town of Bathgate, west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The town's name derives from Cumbric
*beith, meaning 'boar' (Welsh
baedd) and
*gaith. meaning 'wood' (Welsh
coed).
Batistuta ItalianPossibly from a diminutive of the given name
Battista. A famous bearer is the former Argentinian soccer player Gabriel Batistuta (1969-).
Batlokwa Tswana, Southern Africana branch of the Bakgatla section of the Bantu speaking communities which originated from the Great Lakes and Northern Central Africa. Batlokwa are said to have been a breakaway branch of the Bakgatla which is another Bahurutse section of the Tswana people.
Batmaz TurkishMeans "unsinkable, buoyant" or "cheerful, carefree" in Turkish.
Batres SpanishThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
Batt EnglishThis is patronymic form of the medieval personal name "Batte", meaning "son of Batte", ... [
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Batta IndianHindu name of unknown meaning, based on the name of a subgroup among the Tank goldsmiths of Panjab.
Battello ItalianThough it coincides with Italian
battello "boat, dinghy", it probably derives from the given name
Bathyllus, a latinized form of a Greek name... [
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Battersby EnglishDerives from the place of Battersby in North Yorkshire, which is composed of Old Norse personal name
Bǫðvarr and the Old Norse suffix
býr "farm, settlement"... [
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Battiloro ItalianMeans "goldworker", specifically an artisan who applied gold foil to other material, from Italian
batti "to beat, to strike" and
'l oro "the gold".
Batungbakal FilipinoTagalog Filipino surname meaning "iron stone", from Tagalog
bato "stone" combined with
bakal "iron, steel".
Batz Upper GermanDerived from Alemannic Swabian
Batz "pile; large quantity", possibly applied as a nickname either for a man of large physical proportions or for a man of wealth. The term also denoted a coin and may have been used metonymically for a coiner... [
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Batz MayanFrom Mayan
b'atz' meaning "monkey", specifically referring to the black howler (Alouatta caraya).
Baucom EnglishVariant spelling of
BALCOMBE, a habitational name from West Sussex derived from Old English
bealu "evil" and
cumb "valley".
Baudelaire FrenchA French surname, coming from the word "baudelaire", which is a short, broad, and curved sword used in heraldry.
Baudric French (Rare)Derived from the medieval French given name
Baudric, which was a variant form of
Baldéric, the French form of
Baldric.
Baudry FrenchDerived from the medieval French given name
Baudry, which was a variant form of
Baudric, a given name that itself was a variant form of
Baldéric (see
Baldric)... [
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Bauerdick GermanA surname originating from the Rhineland region of Germany. It is derived from German
Bauer (
Bur in the locals dialects) "farmer" and
Deich (
Diek and
Dick in the local dialects) "levee" or
Teich "pond"... [
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Bauersack GermanSemi-Germanized form of the Polish surname
Burczak, originally derived from Polish
burczec "growl; shout".... [
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Bäumchen GermanSurname of German origin meaning "little tree". It could have been used to describe someone who lived near a tree or forest.
Baumeister GermanOccupational name for a "builder" in German; from Middle High German 'buwen' 'to build' + meister 'master'.... [
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Baumfree Dutch, American, African AmericanThis name is clearly derived from Sojourner Truth, a former African-American slave who was born as Isabella Bomefree (but at some point the surname was changed to the more German-looking Baumfree). Although Sojourner's original owners - James and Elizabeth Bomefree/Baumfree - were apparently of Dutch descent, it is questionable whether the surname is really of Dutch origin... [
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Baumkötter German (Modern)From the German words 'Baum' meaning 'tree' and 'Kötter' a type of villager who dwelt in a cottage, similar to the Scottish Cotter. "Presumably a 'Baumkötter' earned money from a small orchard on their property."
Bauza CatalanFrom Balearic Catalan
bausá meaning "foolish" or "silly".
Bauzon FilipinoPossibly from Hokkien 茅
(bâu) meaning "thatch, reeds" and 孫
(sun) meaning "grandchild".
Bavaro ItalianEthnic name from
bavaro "Bavarian" someone from Bavaria, now part of Germany, but formerly an independent kingdom.
Bawa PunjabiSikh name based on the name of a Jat clan. It is also a title given to the male descendants of the first three Sikh gurus.
Bax EnglishPossibly a short form of
Baxter, or maybe from the Anglo-Saxon word
box, referring to the box tree.
Baxendale EnglishHabitational name, probably an altered form of Baxenden, a place near Accrington, which is named with an unattested Old English word bæcstān meaning "bakestone" (a flat stone on which bread was baked) + denu meaning "valley"... [
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Bay English, French, DutchDerived from Middle English and Old French
bay,
bai and Middle Dutch
bay, all meaning "reddish brown". It was originally a nickname for someone with a hair color similar to that.
Bayabao Filipino, MaranaoFrom Maranao
Bayabaw, the term used to refer to traditional subdivisions of the eastern regions of Lanao.
Bayerstowe EnglishFrom a locational name from Bairstow in West Yorkshire, probably so-called from the Old English elements
beger "berry" and
stow place.
Baykalov RussianDerived from the name of Lake Baikal, derived from Turkish
baiköl meaning "rich lake".
Baylis EnglishDerived from the Middle English 'bail(l)i', a development of the Old French 'baillis'. In Scotland the word survives as 'bailie', the title of a chief magistrate for a part of a county or barony. The word survives in England as 'bailiff', an officer who serves writs and summonses for the court.
Bazin FrenchDerivative of the ancient Germanic personal name
Bazo a shortened form of
Badizo a name based on the element
bad (from
badhuo) "battle".
Bazin m RussianFrom Russian
база (baza), meaning "base, foundation, storehouse". Denoted to a person who either lived near one or worked at one.
Baz-ool Tuvan (Rare)Means "another boy" from Tuvan база
(baza) meaning "also, too, another" combined with оол
(ool) "son, boy".
Bazzaty OssetianDerived from Georgian ბაზი
(bazi) meaning "falcon" or from a given name derived from Tatar базу
(bazu) meaning "to dare" (given in hopes that a son would become a warrior).
Bazzi ArabicPerhaps derived from an Arabic word meaning "foster brother(s)".
Bea SpanishHabitational name from a place of this name in Teruel.
Beaber English (American)Americanized spelling of German
Bieber or
Biber, from Middle High German biber ‘beaver’, hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way, a topographic name for someone who lived in a place frequented by beavers or by a field named with this word, or a habitational name from any of various place names in Hesse containing this element.
Beach EnglishName for someone living near a beach, stream, or beech tree.
Beakley EnglishThe surname Beakley is a nickname for a person with a prominent nose. Looking back further, we find the name Beakley was originally from the Old English word beke or the Old French word bec, each of which referred to the beak of a bird.
Beall ScottishDerived from the Gaelic word beal, which means "mouth" or "opening." It could have been a nickname for someone with a large or prominent mouth.
Beam EnglishFrom Old English
beam "beam" or "post". It could be a topographic name from someone living near a post or tree, or it could be a metonymic occupational name for a weaver.... [
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Beamish EnglishHabitational name for someone from Beaumais-sur-Dire in Calvados Beaumetz in Somme or one of three places called Beaumetz in Pas-de-Calais, all in northern France. In some cases it may be derived from a place called Beamish in County Durham... [
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Bear EnglishFrom the Middle English nickname Bere meaning "bear" (Old English bera, which is also found as a byname), or possibly from a personal name derived from a short form of the various Germanic compound names with this first element... [
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Beard English (American)Nickname for a bearded man (Middle English, Old English beard). To be clean-shaven was the norm in non-Jewish communities in northwestern Europe from the 12th to the 16th century, the crucial period for surname formation... [
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Bearden EnglishEnglish habitational name, a variant of
Barden, or from places in Devon and Cornwall called Beardon.
Beardmore EnglishA habitational name from a lost place (probably in the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands of England, where the surname is particularly common).
Beas Spanish (Mexican)Spanish (common in Mexico): habitational name from any of the places in Andalusia named Beas.
Beau FrenchNickname for a handsome man (perhaps also ironically for an ugly one) from Old French
beu bel "beautiful, handsome" (from Late Latin
bellus)... [
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Beaubien French (Quebec), EnglishFrom French
beau meaning "beautiful" and
bien meaning "well, good". The name referred to someone with physical beauty.
Beauchamp English, FrenchFrom the name of various places in France, for example in Manche and Somme, which was derived from Old French
beu,
bel meaning "fair, lovely" and
champ,
champs "field, plain".
Beaudelaire French (Quebec)Franco-American & French-Canadian variant of the French surname Baudelaire. Also seen in Louisiana French-Creole.
Beaufay French (Rare)In most cases, this surname is a locational surname that most likely took its name from the village of
Beaufay, which is nowadays located in the Sarthe department of France. The village was called
Bello Faeto,
Bellofaido and
Belfaidus during the Early Middle Ages, ultimately deriving its name from Latin
bellus fagus (or
bellum fagetum) meaning "beautiful beech tree(s)" or "beautiful beech woodland"... [
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Beauford EnglishVariation of
Buford. It is derived from the French word "
beau", meaning "beautiful", and "
ford", an Old English word meaning "river crossing".
Beauregard FrenchHabitational name from any of various places in France named Beauregard for their fine view or fine aspect, for example in Ain, Dordogne, Drôme, Lot, and Puy-de-Dôme, from
beau "fair, lovely" and
regard "aspect, outlook".
Beauregarde FrenchVariant of
Beauregard used by one of the main characters in Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as well as its film and broadway adaptations.
Beauséjour French (Rare)Literally means "beautiful sojourn", derived from French
beau "beautiful, nice, fine" and French
séjour "sojourn, short stay". As such, this surname is most likely a locational surname, in that it originally referred to a scenic place to sojourn in... [
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Beausoleil French (Quebec)Surname of French origin. A topographic name from beau ‘lovely fair’ + soleil ‘sun’ probably denoting a place that was exposed to the sun or a habitational name from any of various minor places called so.... [
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Beauvais FrenchFrom French place names derived from "beautiful sight".
Beauvoir EnglishFrom the surname of Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), a French feminist and philosopher.
Becci ItalianPossibly derived from a dialectic form of
vecchio "old", or from Celtic
becci "beaks", perhaps indicating someone with a large nose.
Becerra Spanish, GalicianNickname probably for a high-spirited person from
becerra "young cow, heifer". It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a cowherd.
Becher GermanShortened form of
Becherer as well as a surname given to for someone who distilled or worked with pitch, in which case it is derived from Middle High German
bech / pech "pitch".
Bechet EnglishA famous bearer of this surname was Sidney Bechet (1897–1959), an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.
Bechmann German (Rare)Surname denoting someone who worked with pitch, from Middle High German
bech / pech "pitch" and
man, a suffix which can mean "man" or simply be used as a name suffix.
Bechtle GermanThe surname Bechtle was first found in Hessen, where the family contributed greatly to the development of an emerging nation. The earliest bearers of this name to be mentioned in ancient chronicles were
Bechtold of Fulda in 1387,
Bechtold Suleffel of Frankfurt in 1442, and
Tibertius Bechtolf of Frankfurt in 1568... [
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Beckemeyer GermanBeckemeyer is a surname of German origin. The name likely traces back to a place named Beckum, located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The "-eyer" suffix could potentially mean "from" or "of" in this context, so " Beckemeyer " could translate to "from Beckum".
Becker EnglishOccupational name for a maker or user of mattocks or pickaxes, from an agent derivative of Old English
becca "mattock".
Beckett EnglishHabitational name derived from the Old English given name
Bicca or from
beo "bee" combined with
cot "cottage, shelter, small house".
Beckingham EnglishFrom the name of two villages in England, one in Lincolnshire and one in Nottinghamshire.
Beckius SwedishCombination of Swedish
bäck "small stream, brook" and the common surname suffix
-ius.
Beckles EnglishFrom a place in Suffolk named "Beccles". From Old English
bæce meaning "stream" and
les meaning "meadow".
Beckley EnglishThis surname was taken from an English habitational name from any of the various places, in Kent, Oxfordshire, and Sussex, named Beckley whose name was derived from the Old English byname
Becca and the Old English
lēah "woodland clearing".... [
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Beckson English (British)The name comes from having lived in an enclosed place, means dweller at the old enclosure or dwelling. The surname Aldeman was first found in Essex, Suffolk and Yorkshire at Aldham. In all cases, the place name meant "the old homestead," or "homestead of a man called Ealda," from the Old English personal name + "ham."
Beckwith English (African)Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Beckwith, from Old English bece "beech" + Old Norse viðr "wood" (replacing the cognate Old English wudu).
Becquerel FrenchA notable bearer was French scientist Henri Becquerel (1852-1908) who discovered radioactivity. A becquerel (Bq), the SI unit for radioactivity, is named after him.