Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Benguigui Judeo-SpanishMeans "son of
Guigui", from a given name or tribal name possibly derived from Tamazight
igig meaning "stake".
Ben-Gurion HebrewMeans "son of the lion cub", from Hebrew גוּר (
gur) meaning "lion cub, young lion". A notable bearer was the Polish-born David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973; real name David Grün), the founding father of the State of Israel who also served as the country's first prime minister.
Ben Hadj Arabic (Maghrebi)Means "son of the pilgrim"; the title
Hadj refers to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This surname is mainly found in Tunisia.
Ben-hur Jewish, LiteratureMeans "son of
Hur" in Hebrew. This was also the name of the protagonist of both the 1880 novel
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and the 1959 film adaptation
Ben-Hur, named Judah Ben-Hur.
Benício Portuguese (Brazilian)Spanish form of Benedict, from the Late Latin name Benedictus, which meant "blessed". A notable bearer is Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro (born 1967).
Benigni ItalianPatronymic form of
Benigno. A notable bearer is the Italian actor and comedian Roberto Benigni (1952-).
Benkirane Arabic (Maghrebi)From Arabic بْن
(bn) meaning "son" combined with كِيرَان
(kīrān) meaning "forges, furnaces", possibly denoting descent of a blacksmith or metalworker (chiefly Moroccan).
Bennani Arabic (Maghrebi)Means "my son" in Hebrew, from בן
(ben) meaning "son" and אני
(ani) meaning "I, me". This is the name of a Moroccan family of Jewish origin that converted to Islam.
Benner GermanOccupational name for a basket and bassinet maker, from an agent derivative of Middle High German benne 'work basket', 'bassinet', 'cradle'.
Bennouna Arabic (Maghrebi)Most likely from Arabic بن
(bin) meaning "son" and the given name
Nouna, which may have been derived from an Arabic word meaning "whale, big fish" or "sabre, sword". Alternately, it may be from an Arabic name for a variety of melon... [
more]
Ben Nun HebrewJoshua or Yehoshua Ben Nun functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Exodus and Numbers, and later succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelite tribes in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua
Benthall EnglishFrom Old English
beonet meaning "bent-grass" and
halh meaning
nook.
Bentham EnglishHabitational name from any of various places named Bentham, from Old English
beonet "bent grass" +
ham "homestead" or
hamm "enclosure hemmed in by water".
Benz GermanSouth German: (in Alemannic areas) from a short form of the Germanic personal name Berthold, or to a lesser extent of Bernhard
Ben Zaken HebrewMeans "son of the old man" or "son of the elder" in Hebrew.
Benzema Arabic (Maghrebi)This is the surname of French professional footballer Karim Benzema who is of Algerian descent.
Beppu JapaneseFrom Japanese 別府 (
Beppu), the name of several Japanese towns and divisions. In some cases these places names are normally read Byū or Befu. In other cases Beppu is a clipping of longer names such as 別府門 (
Beppumon), 西別府 (
Nishibeppu) or 上別府 (
Kamibeppu).
Beramendi BasqueDerived from Basque
behera "below, under" and
mendi "mountain".
Berastegi BasqueFrom the name of a town in Basque Country, Spain, derived from the Basque suffix
-(t)egi "house, workshop; place of" and an uncertain first element. Possibly from the given name
Beraxa (also written
Beratza,
Berasa, or
Beraza), itself possibly from
beratz "soft", or from the element
beratz which means "meadow, grassy place"... [
more]
Berber GermanPossibly a habitational name from a place called Berber near Kevelaer.
Berberić BosnianOccupational name for a barber, from berber(in) meaning "barber", from Turkish.
Beres HungarianOccupational name for a farm laborer or casual harvest hand, béres, a derivative of bér 'wage', 'payment'.
Beresford EnglishEnglish: habitational name from a place in the parish of Alstonfield, Staffordshire named Beresford, from Old English beofor ‘beaver’ (or possibly from a byname from this word) + Old English ford ‘ford’... [
more]
Berethnet LiteratureUsed by Samantha Shannon in her book The Priory Of The Orange Tree as the surname of the queens of Inys, a fictional queendom in the book.... [
more]
Bergamin ItalianTraced to 1437, Bergamo. A 'bergamini' was known as a person famrmed and sold milk cows
Bergara BasqueFrom the name of a town and municipality in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, of uncertain etymology. Possibly contains the Basque element
garai "high, tall; top" or
kala "cove; place for fishing".
Bergdahl SwedishCombination of Swedish
berg "mountain, hill" and
dal "valley".
Bergdorf GermanOrigin unidentified. Possibly a German habitational name from places in Hamburg and Lower Saxony called Bergedorf, Bargdorf in Lower Saxony, or Bergsdorf in Brandenburg.
Bergen German, Dutch, Flemish, JewishOriginally denoted a person from any of the various places named
Bergen in Germany and the Netherlands. It is also a variant of
Berg. Famous bearers include the Americans Candice Bergen (1946-), an actress, and Polly Bergen (1930-2014), an actress, singer and television host.
Bergensten SwedishFrom
bergen "mountains" and
sten "stone". This is the surname of Minecraft's lead designer
Jens Bergensten, known professionally as Jeb.
Berghorst GermanTopographical name for someone who lived by a wilderness area on a mountain, from Berg 'mountain', 'hill' + Horst 'wilderness' (see
Horst).
Bergin SwedishDerived from Swedish
berg "mountain" and the common surname suffix
-in.
Bergkamp Dutch, GermanFrom the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, derived from Old Dutch and Old High German
berg meaning "mountain" and
kamp meaning "field". This name is borne by Dutch former soccer player Dennis Bergkamp (1969-).
Berglin SwedishCombination of Swedish
berg "mountain" and the surname suffix
-in.
Berglind SwedishCombination of Swedish
berg "mountain, hill" and
lind "linden tree".
Bergling SwedishCombination of Swedish
berg "mountain" and the common surname suffix
-ing "belonging to, coming from". It has also been found as a spelling variant of similarly spelled names, such as
Berlin... [
more]
Bergmark SwedishCombination of Swedish
berg "mountain, hill" and
mark "land, ground, field".
Bergoglio ItalianFrom the name of a village in Piedmont, Italy. A notable bearer is
Jorge Mario Bergoglio (1936-), better known as Pope Francis, the current head of the Catholic Church.
Bergschneider Germantopographic name for someone living by a mountain trail (as in cut into the hillside) from
Berg "mountain hill" and
Schneit "trail path running on a border" (Old High German
sneita).
Berisha AlbanianFrom the name of a tribe and historical region in northern Albania, meaning uncertain.
Beriya Georgian (Russified)Russified form of
Beria. This is the way the last name of Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the NKVD from 1938-1946, last name was spelled in the official Soviet language (Russian).
Berkhout DutchHabitational name derived from Dutch
berk "birch (tree)" and
hout "wood, forest".
Berki HungarianFrom a placename in Hungary derived from Hungarian "berek" meaning "grove".
Berlanga SpanishFrom the village or castle named "Berlanga de Duero" from Soria, Spain. Berlanga itself was derived from "berlain" which comes from the name of a precious stone derived from the Greek. So it could be related to stones.
Berlin SwedishOf uncertain origin. The name could be a shortened form of
Berglin. It could also be a habitational name from the city in Germany or from a place in Sweden named with
ber or
berg "mountain"... [
more]
Berlin German, EnglishHabitational name from the city in Germany, the name of which is of uncertain meaning. It is possibly derived from an Old Slavic stem
berl- meaning
swamp or from a West Slavic word meaning "river lake".
Berlinerblau German, JewishMeans “Prussian blue” in German. A notable bearer of this surname is Jacques Berlinerblau, a professor of Jewish civilization, and Stefania Berlinerblau, an American anatomist and physician.
Bermejo SpanishOriginally a nickname for a man with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from Spanish
bermejo "reddish, ruddy" (itself from Latin
vermiculus "little worm", from
vermis "worm", since a crimson dye was obtained from the bodies of worms).
Bermeo BasqueFrom the town Bermeo in Biscay (Basque Country, Spain). Origin likely pre-Roman.
Bermingham English (Modern, Rare)Bermingham is the Gaelicised version of 'De Birmingham' and is descended from the family of Warwickshire, England. The Irish version of the name MacFeorais/MacPheorais is derived from Pierce de Bermingham.
Bern German, Scandinavian, German (Swiss)German and Scandinavian: from the personal name Berno, a pet form of
Bernhard. In South German it comes from the habitational name from Bern, Switzerland, notably in the south; in other parts from the personal name
Berno.
Bernabéu Catalan (Valencian)From the given name
Bernabé. A famous bearer was Santiago Bernabéu (1895-1978), a Spanish soccer player and the eleventh president of the soccer club Real Madrid CF.
Bernadotte French, SwedishPossibly from the name of a historical province in Southern France named
Béarn. This was originally a French non-noble surname. French general Jean Baptise Bernadotte (1763-1844) became the king of Sweden as Charles XIV John (Swedish: Karl XIV Johan) in 1818 and founded the current royal house in Sweden, House of Bernadotte.
Bernasconi ItalianThe surname of BERNASCONI is of Italian origin, a locational name meaning the dweller on or near a small hill. The names of habitation are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages, farmsteads or other named habitations... [
more]
Bernell EnglishFrom the Old French word
brunel, a diminutive of
brun, describing someone who had brown hair. It was occasionally also used as a descriptive first name during the middle ages in England.
Berner German, Low GermanGerman habitational name, in Silesia denoting someone from a place called Berna (of which there are two examples); in southern Germany and Switzerland denoting someone from the Swiss city of Berne. ... [
more]
Bernfield GermanAn Americanized variant of the German surname, "Bergfeld", meaning "mountain field".