Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
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").
Blakestone English (British)The surname Blakeston was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Blaxton, a township in the parish of Finningley, union and soke of Doncaster.... [
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Blakeway EnglishLiterally means "black way", thus referring to a black road near which the original bearer must have lived. A famous bearer of this surname was Jacob Blakeway (b. 1583-?), the biological father of
Mayflower passenger Richard More (1614-1696).
Blakewood Medieval EnglishDerived from the Old English words blaec, which means black, and wudu, which means wood, and indicates that the original bearer lived near a dark, wooded area.
Blamey EnglishFrom blaidh-mez, the wolf's meadow; or pleu-mez, the parish meadow.
Blanchflower EnglishFrom a medieval nickname applied probably to an effeminate man (from Old French
blanche flour "white flower"). This surname was borne by Northern Irish footballer Danny Blanchflower (1926-1993).
Bland EnglishBland is a habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire called Bland, the origin of which is uncertain. Possibly it is from Old English (ge)bland ‘storm’, ‘commotion’ (from blandan ‘to blend or mingle’), with reference to its exposed situation... [
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Blandford EnglishHabitational name from Blandford Forum and other places called Blandford in Dorset (Blaneford in Domesday Book), probably named in Old English with bl?ge 'gudgeon' (genitive plural blægna) + ford 'ford'.
Blaney IrishTopographic name from Welsh
blaenau, plural of
blaen "point, tip, end", i.e. uplands, or remote region, or upper reaches of a river.
Blank German, Dutch, JewishMeans "white, pale, bright", a nickname for a person with white or fair hair or a pale complexion. As a Jewish name, it’s ornamental.
Blankenbijl DutchMeans "white axe", from
blanken "white, pale; bare" and
bijl "axe". Possibly a toponymic name, or perhaps an occupational name for a woodcutter or carpenter.
Blankenbühler GermanPossibly means "from the bare hill", from
blanken "bare, bright" and
bühl "hill".
Blankenship EnglishVariant of
Blenkinsop, a surname derived from a place in Northumberland called Blenkinsopp. The place name possibly derives from Cumbric
blaen "top" and
kein "back, ridge", i.e. "top of the ridge", combined with Old English
hōp "valley" (compare
Hope).
Blasey FrenchThe name may have been associated with a 4th century (316) French saint Blasius of Armenie (Armienes,) and later introduced into and adopted by Yorkshire people as their saint of wool-combers from a Norman noble.
Blasioli ItalianAncient and illustrious Benevento family, called Blasi or Di Blasi, of clear and avita nobility.
Blasius German, FrenchFrom the Latin personal name
Blasius. This was a Roman family name, originating as a byname for someone with some defect, either of speech or gait, from Latin
blaesus "stammering, lisping", itself from Ancient Greek βλαισός
(blaisos) "bent, crooked; bow-legged".
Blasquez SpanishFrom the medieval diminutive Velasco, from the Basque word 'bela' meaning "crow", and the diminutive suffix 'sko'.
Blatt German, JewishOrnamental name derived from German
blatt and Yiddish
blat meaning "leaf", or a topographic name for someone who lived at a farm on a ledge on a mountainside, derived from Middle High German
blate meaning "flat surface, ledge, plateau".
Blaum GermanGerman last name, likely a variant of the last name Blom or Blum, referring to the word flower/blooming.
Blaxton EnglishThere are two possible origins for this surname; one- from the name of the village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster (part of South Yorkshire, England) on the border of Lincolnshire, or two- from the Old English personal name
Blaecstan, meaning "black stone"
Blay FrenchFrom Old French bloi 'blond', or a habitational name from a placename, perhaps by metanalysis from Blois in Loir-et-Cher, France. Usually someone with the lastname 'Blay' is a gentle or merry person.
Blaylock EnglishThe surname of James P. Blaylock (1950-), an early steampunk author. His surname may mean "black lock" from Middle English
blakelok, originally referring to a person with dark hair.