Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
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" or 尾 (
bi) meaning "end, tail, foot of a mountain" combined with 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.
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").
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 complimentary nickname for a woman or a pejorative term for an effeminate man, from Old French meaning
blanc "white" and
flor "flower". A famous bearer of the name was Northern Irish footballer Robert Dennis 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.
Blauman German, JewishFrom German
Blau meaning "blue" and
Mann meaning "man". It can be a nickname for a person who wears blue clothes.
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.
Błażejewski PolishName for someone from a place called Błażejewo, Błażejewice, Błażejewko or Błażej, all derived from the given name
Błażej.
Blazer DutchFrom Middle Dutch
blaser "blower", from
blâsen "to blow, to sound (a wind instrument); to brag", hence an occupational name for a player of the trumpet or other wind instrument, or a nickname for a braggart or boaster.
Blazkowicz PolishFrom the video game series, Wolfenstein, Blazkowicz is the main character.
Błędowski m PolishHabitational name for a person from a place named Błędowa, Błędowo or Błędów.
Bledsoe EnglishComes from a place in Gloucestershire called
Bledisloe, comes from an Old English personal name
Blið.
Bleecker DutchOld form of Dutch
bleker "bleacher", an occupational name for a bleacher of textiles, a launderer, or the owner of a public bleaching ground.
Bleeker DutchOccupational name for a bleacher of textiles, from Middle Dutch
ble(e)kere.
Bleibaum German"Lead tree" possibly changed at Ellis Island from Blumenbaum meaning "flowering tree"
Bleiberg Jewish, GermanMeans "lead hill" in German. Can be a toponymic name, likely from a place involved in lead mining, or an ornamental name.
Blemker Dutch (Americanized)Possibly an Americanized form of an occupational name for a bleacher of textiles, derived from Middle Dutch
bleker.
Blennerhassett EnglishThe Blennerhassett surname comes from someone having lived in Cumberland, on the Borderlands between Scotland and England. ... [
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Błeński PolishThis indicates familial origin anywhere within a cluster of 3 Kuyavian villages in Gmina Izbica Kujawska: Błenna, Błenna A, or Błenna B.
Blesse English (British), Filipino, Indian, FrenchThe last name Blesse was first discovered in Oxfordshire and held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. In the Philippines, Blesse means "a blessing in the family." In India, Blesse means "bless you."
Blessed EnglishFrom a medieval nickname for a fortunate person. This surname is borne by British actor Brian Blessed (1936-).
Bleuler German (Swiss)From an agent derivative of Middle High German
bliuwen meaning "to pound". Hence an occupational name for the owner of a pounding mill.
Blewett EnglishFrom a medieval nickname for a blue-eyed person or one who habitually wore blue clothing (from Middle English
bleuet "cornflower" or
bluet "blue cloth").
Blijleven DutchFrom a nickname meaning "happy life" in Dutch, indicating a cheerful person.
Blin WelshThe same as Blaen, a point, the inland extremity of a valley. Blin also signifies weary, troublesome.
Blink DutchTopographic name from
blink "bare hill, white dune".
Blinov m RussianFrom Russian
блин (blin), meaning "potato pancake".
Bliss Medieval English, Medieval English (Anglicized)Originally a nickname for a cheerful person, derived from the Old English
blisse, meaning "gladness" or "joy." Another origin of the surname is habitional, coming from from the village of Blay in Calvados (modern-day Normandy), spelled as Bleis in 1077, or from the village of Stoke Bliss in Worcestershire, first known as Stoke de Blez, named after the Norman family de Blez.... [
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Blissett EnglishA different form of
Blessed. A bearer of this surname is Luther Blissett (1958-), a Jamaican-born English footballer ("Luther Blissett" has been used since 1994 as a cover name for activists engaging in anti-cultural establishment polemics and spoofs on the internet and elsewhere).
Blitz GermanThis surname is presumed to be coming from a nickname for a fast runner or a quick tempered person, from German
blitz(er) meaning "lightning" (ultimately from Middle High German
blicze.)
Bloch Jewish, German, FrenchRegional name for someone in Central Europe originating from Italy or France, from Polish "Włoch" meaning "Italian" (originally "stranger / of foreign stock"), ultimately derived – like many names and words in various European languages – from the Germanic Walhaz.
Bloem DutchMeans "flower, bloom" or "flour (of wheat, corn)" in Dutch. Could be a nickname for a pretty or cheerful person, a metonymic occupational name for a florist, gardener, baker or miller, or a habitational name for a person who lived near flowers or a sign depicting them... [
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Bloemen Dutch, FlemishMeans "flowers, blooms" or "flour" in Dutch. Can be a nickname denoting beauty or a cheerful disposition, an occupational name for a gardener, miller, or baker, or a habitational name for someone who lived near flowers, or a sign depicting them... [
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Bloemendaal DutchMeans "valley of flowers", the name of several places in the Netherlands, derived from
bloem "flower" and
dal "valley, dale". Cognate to German
Blumenthal.
Blogg EnglishThe name is most likely Anglo-Saxon or early medieval English in origin. ... [
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Blok DutchMeans "block" in Dutch. This could be a nickname for someone with a heavy build, a metonymic occupational name for someone who used a block of wood in their work, such as a shoemaker, a milliner, or an executioner, or a toponymic surname for someone living on an enclosed piece of land.
Blond FrenchNickname from Old French
blund,
blond meaning "blond, fair-haired", a word of ancient Germanic origin.
Blond JewishNickname from German Yiddish
blond "fair-haired".
Błoński PolishHabitational name for someone from any of various places named Błonie, derived from Polish
błonie meaning "pasture, meadow".
Blood EnglishOccupational name for a bloodletter, or a blood relative, or an oath-taker, derived from Middle English
blood.
Blood WelshAnglicized form of Welsh ap Llwyd ‘son of Llwyd’.
Blood EnglishDerived from the Old English byname Blīþa (meaning "happy, blithe").