Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
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".
Bircher German (Swiss)South German and Swiss German topographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood, from Middle High German birche "birch" + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
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”.
Bismuth Judeo-SpanishFrom an Arabic word referring to a type of dry bread eaten by pilgrims to Mecca.
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.
Biswas BengaliDerived from Sanskrit विश्वास
(viśvāsa) meaning "trust, confidence, faith".
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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Bito JapaneseFrom 美 (
bi) meaning "beauty" and 藤 (
to) meaning "wisteria".
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.
Bizkarra BasqueDerived from Basque
bizkar "back (of a mountain), hill, slope".
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.
Björnberg SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
björn meaning "bear" and
berg meaning "mountain".
Blaauw Dutch, South AfricanArchaic spelling of Dutch
blauw "blue", a nickname referring to the bearer’s eye colour, clothes, or possibly a pale and sickly complexion. It could also be an occupational name for someone who made blue dye, or bluing for laundry.
Blach PolishAlternatively perhaps a metonymic occupational name from Old Polish blach ‘skeet iron’, ‘metal fittings’.
Blacher FrenchMainly used in Southern France. Topographic name for someone who lived by an oak grove, originating in the southeastern French dialect word blache ‘oak plantation’ (said to be of Gaulish origin), originally a plantation of young trees of any kind.
Blachowski PolishRelated to forming or rolling thin sheets of metal, perhaps gilding.
Blackberry EnglishEnglish surname of unexplained origin, probably from the name of a lost or unidentified place.
Blackley EnglishThe name derives from the Anglo-Saxon
Blæcleah which meant "dark wood" or "dark clearing".
Blacksmith EnglishOccupational name for a blacksmith, a smith who work with iron. The name is rare in England and mostly found in North America, suggesting that it's a translation of a non-English name meaning "blacksmith" (see
Kowalski,
Raudsepp and
Lefèvre for example).
Blackstock EnglishEnglish and southern Scottish: topographic name from Middle English blak(e) ‘black’, ‘dark’ + stok ‘stump’, ‘stock’.
Blackwell EnglishFrom an English place name derived from Old English
blæc meaning "black" and
wille meaning "well, spring, water hole".
Blade EnglishMetonymic occupational name for a cutler, from Middle English
blade "cutting edge, sword".
Blaga RomanianProbably related to several places named Blaga in Romania.
Blagden EnglishDerived from any of several places across England called
Blagden,
Blackden, or
Blagdon, which can varyingly derive from Old English
blæc dun ("black hill") or
blæc denu ("black valley").