Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Bei ChineseFrom Chinese 贝
(bèi) referring to the ancient fief of Bei, which was part of the state of Jin during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hebei province.
Beifong Popular CultureSurname of Toph from the American TV show "Avatar: The Last Airbender". Could be derived from the Chinese word "北方 (Běifāng)" meaning "north".
Beil GermanMeans "axe, hatchet" in German, an occupational name for someone who made or used axes, such as a carpenter.
Beilen DutchHabitational name from a village in Drenthe, Netherlands, possibly related to Old Germanic
*bagil- "swamp, marsh".
Beilke GermanFrom ancient Germanic
bīl "sword" or
bīhel "axe".
Beining GermanThis famous surname, one of the earliest recorded in history, and recorded in over two hundred spellings from Benedicte, Benech and Bennet, to Banish, Beinosovitch and Vedyasov, derives from the Roman personal name "Benedictus", meaning blessed.
Bekanowski PolishThis indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish village of Bekanówka.
Bektaş TurkishFrom the Turkic military title
beg meaning "chieftain, master" combined with Turkish
taş meaning "stone, rock".
Belalcázar SpanishIt indicates familial origin within the eponymous Andalusian municipality with the coordinates 38°34′31″N 5°10′02″W.
Belarbi Arabic (Maghrebi)Means "son of the Arab" from Arabic بْن
(bn) meaning "son (of)" and اَلعَرَبِيّ
(al-ʿarabiyy) meaning "the Arab".
Belets Russian, UkrainianBelets is a term used in Russian monasteries to denote both individuals preparing to enter monasticism but who have not yet taken vows.
Belfer JewishOccupational name from Yiddish
be(he)lfer,
ba(he)lfer "teacher’s assistant".
Belfiore ItalianMeans "beautiful (as a) flower", derived from Italian
bel "beautiful" combined with Italian
fiore "flower". Two Italian sources claim that this surname was derived from the medieval masculine given name
Belfiore (which has of course the same meaning), but I can find no evidence that this was an actual given name in medieval Italy... [
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Belgo BrazilianPossibly derived from Latin
belga "Belgian, person from Belgium".
Belgrave EnglishAristocratic surname from
French, meaning "beautiful grove"; comes from a place name in Leicestershire. A famous namesake is British polar explorer Belgrave Ninnis, who perished in Antarctica on a 1912 expedition.
Belhadj Arabic (Maghrebi)Means "son of the pilgrim" from Arabic بْن
(bn) meaning "son (of)" اَلحَاجّ
(al-ḥājj) meaning "the pilgrim".
Bělín CzechEither a nickname from Czech bílý ‘white’ or a derivative of the female personal name Běla (which also means ‘white’), denoting the son or husband of a woman so named.
Belin YiddishMetronymic from the Yiddish female personal name Beyle meaning ‘beautiful’ (related to French belle).
Béliveau French (Rare), French (Quebec)Derived from Old French
besliver meaning "to stagger along", originally a nickname referring to a drunkard. It could also denote a person who lived in a beautiful, lovely valley, derived from French
beau "beautiful" or Old French
beu,
bel "fair, lovely", combined with
val meaning "valley"... [
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Belkin RussianPatronymic from the nickname
Belka meaning "squirrel" (a derivative of
bely "white", referring to the animal's white stomach).
Belladonna English (Rare), Popular CultureNamed after an extremely poisonous plant (Atropa belladonna; also known as the deadly nightshade). One fictional bearer of this surname is Blake Belladonna, a main character from the popular web series RWBY.
Bellaïche Judeo-SpanishDerived from Arabic بن
(bin) meaning "son of" and عايش
('aysh) meaning "living, alive".
Bellante ItalianDerived from the medieval name
Bellante meaning "belligerent, combative", ultimately from Latin
bellum "war", or perhaps from a derivative of the nickname
Bello.
Bellaria ItalianFrom the place name Bellaria, in Milan, Veneto, Piedmont and Sicily, these homonyms widespread throughout Italy.
Bellefleur French, LiteratureMeans "beautiful flower" in French. This is the surname of the notable family in the 2001 to 2013 novel series
The Southern Vampire Mysteries and the 2008-2014 TV series that inspired it,
True Blood.
Bellegarde FrenchDerived from a toponym meaning "beautiful watch-tower, look-out".
Belleisle FrenchName for someone from an island named Belle Isle, French for "beautiful island".
Bellers EnglishName came from the son of a French Noble born in Leicestershire, England. Hamon Bellers took his last name after the Kirby Bellers (Bellars) which was the name of the land given to him by his father.
Bellew English, IrishOf Norman origin: habitational name from any of the various places in northern France, such as Belleu (Aisne), named in Old French with bel ‘beautiful’ + l(i)eu ‘place’, or from Belleau (Meurthe-et-Moselle), which is named with Old French bel ‘lovely’ + ewe ‘water’ (Latin aqua), or from Bellou (Calvados), which is probably named with a Gaulish word meaning ‘watercress’... [
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Bellis ItalianPatronymic from the given name
Bello, using the Latin ablative plural suffix
-is to indicate "of, belonging to".
Bellman EnglishOccupational name for someone who worked as a bell-ringer.
Bellman Swedish, EnglishSwedish and English form of
Bellmann. A notable bearer was Swedish composer, poet and entertainer Carl Michael Bellman (1740-1795).
Bellmann GermanHabitational name derived from places in Germany named either Bell, Belle, or Bellen.
Belloc FrenchHabitational name for a person from the commune of Belloc in southwestern France, of unknown etymology.
Bellocchio ItalianMeans "beautiful eyes", from
bello "beautiful" and
occhio "eyes", or perhaps from
belloccio "good-looking, attractive".
Bellock English, IrishMeaning "young bull". It was a nickname for energetic people, or those who owned bulls.
Bellumus Late RomanMeans "beautiful man" derived from the elements
bellus "beautiful" and
homo "man"
Belmondo ItalianName of Italian origin meaning "beautiful world". Famous bearers of the name are the French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo (1933-) and the Italian cross-country skier, twice Olympic champion and four times World champion Stefania Belmondo (1969-).
Belmont EnglishEnglish surname of Norman origin, a variant of the surname
Beaumont, which was derived from place names meaning "lovely hill" in Old French (from
beu,
bel "fair, lovely" and
mont "hill").
Beloborodov m RussianFrom белый (
belyy) meaning "white" and борода (
boroda) meaning "beard".
Belolyubsky m RussianFrom бело (
belo) meaning "white" and любовь (
lyubov') meaning "love".
Belotto ItalianLikely comes from the words "bello" which means "beautiful" or "handsome", "otto" may be a diminutive form of the given name "
Otto".
Belvedere ItalianFrom various place names in Italy meaning "beautiful sight", derived from Italian
bello "nice, fair, beautiful" (ultimately derived from Latin
bellus) and
vedere "to see".
Belzer GermanOccupational name for a furrier, from an agent derivative of Middle High German
bel(li)z "fur"
Belzer JewishHabitational name for someone from Belz in Ukraine.
Bełzowski PolishThis indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Bełzów.
Ben Arabic (Maghrebi)Maghrebi variant of Arabic بْن
(bn), a form of اِبْن
(ibn) meaning "son (of), offspring". It is often used as a prefix for other Maghrebi patronymic names (such as
Benali "son of
Ali 1" or
Ben Amor "son of
Amor").
Benade AfrikaansFrom Bénade, a regional or dialectical variation of Bénard or Bernard.
Ben Ali Arabic (Maghrebi), ComorianMaghrebi transcription of Arabic بن علي
(bin Ali) meaning "son of
Ali 1". A notable bearer was Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1936-2019), who served as the president of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011.
Benally NavajoFrom Navajo
binálí meaning "his grandchild", derived from
análí meaning "(paternal) grandchild". It was commonly adopted when Native Americans were required to take surnames for record purposes.
Benanti ItalianFrom a derivative of Bene, a short form of the various omen names formed with this element (from Latin bene ‘well’), such as Benedetto, Benvenuto, etc.
Benatar JewishPossibly from Hebrew בֵּן (
ben) meaning "son" and עתר (
'atar) meaning "petitioner".
Benatar Judeo-SpanishMeans "son of the perfumer", derived from Arabic عطر
('atr) meaning "perfume, scent".
Benavides SpanishPatronymic name from the Medieval personal name
Ben Avid, of Arabic origin, derived from
ibn Abd meaning "son of the servant of God".
Benda CzechBenda is short form from names Benjamin or Benedikt.
Bender German, German (East Prussian)As a German surname, Bender is a regional occupational surname from the Rhineland area denoting a "barrel-maker" (the Standard German
Fassbinder became "Fassbender" in the local dialects and ultimately was shortened to Bender).... [
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Bendul EnglishOf Anglo-Saxon origin, from the parish of Benthall in Shropshire.
Benelli ItalianThe distinguished surname Benelli originated in an area of Italy, known as the Papal States. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent... [
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