Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Bonera ItalianBresciano surname (i.e., concentrated in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy), derived from the medieval Italian given name
Bonora or
Buonora which in turn meant "(it was a) good hour (when you were born)" from Latin
bonus "good" and
hora "time, hour".
Bonfiglio ItalianFrom the given name
Bonfiglio an omen or well-wishing name meaning "good son" from
bono "good" and
figlio "child, son"... [
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Bongiorno ItalianItalian from the medieval personal name
Bongiorno (composed of
bono ‘good’ +
giorno ‘day’), bestowed on a child as an expression of the parents’ satisfaction at the birth (‘it was a good day when you were born’).
Bongiovanni ItalianComes from the personal name
Giovanni composed of the elements
bon ‘good’ +
Giovanni, Italian equivalent of John
Boniadi Persian (Rare)Probably indicated a person from the Iranian village of Boniad, possibly derived from Persian بنیاد
(bonyad) meaning "foundation, base". A notable bearer is Iranian-English actress
Nazanin Boniadi (1980-).
Bonkobara JapaneseFrom 盆 (
bon) meaning "tray, bowl, basin, lantern festival", combined with 子 (
ko, shi) meaning "child, sign of the rat", and 原 (
hara) meaning "field, plain".
Bonnar IrishTranslation of the Gaelic "O'Cnaimhsighe", descendant of Cnaimhseach, a byname meaning "Midwife
Bonnefoy FrenchThe name is derived from the French words
bonne, meaning good, and
foi meaning faith.
Bonnemaison FrenchLiterally means "good house", derived from French
bonne "good" and French
maison "house". As such, this surname is most likely a locational surname, in that it originally either referred to someone who lived in a good house (probably more like a mansion) or to someone who was born in (or lived in) the place Bonnemaison, which is nowadays located in the Calvados department of France... [
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Bonnevier SwedishLikely brought to Sweden by Walloon immigrants in the 16th century.
Bonnin FrenchDerived from a diminutive of
Bon, it is also found in the island of Mallorca and Turin, Italy.
Bonsall English (British)This is a locational name which originally derived from the village of Bonsall, near Matlock in Derbyshire. The name is Norse-Viking, pre 10th Century and translates as 'Beorns-Halh' - with 'Beorn' being a personal name meaning 'Hero' and 'Halh' a piece of cultivated land - a farm.
Bonsor FrenchBonsor is from French origin mean good day
Bon soir Bontemps FrenchDerived from Old French
bon temps meaning "good time". One popular bearer of the name is the American poet and novelist Arna Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973).
Bontrager GermanComing from the Old German, Bonträger or Bornträger, meaning 'water carrier'.
Bonuš CzechFrom a pet form of the personal name Bonifác, Czech form of Bonifacio.
Boo KoreanFrom Sino-Korean 富 (Bu) meaning "Fortune".
Booke AmericanAmerican variant of the German name
Buche meaning "beech" in reference to the beech tree. Notable bearer is the actor
Sorrell Booke (1930-1994).
Bookman German (East Prussian)Bookman, as a surname, derives from East Purssian origin. It is the American version of “Buchmann” with “Buch” meaning book in German, and “Mann” meaning man, creating the Americanized German surname Bookman.
Bookwalter English (American)German: variant of Buchwalder, a habitational name for someone from any of various places called Buchwald or Buchwalde in Saxony and Pomerania, meaning 'beech forest'. The surname Buchwalter is very rare in Germany.... [
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Bool EnglishThis surname derives from the Old English pre 7th Century
bula, or the Medieval English
bulle,
bolle, meaning "bull", and was given as a nickname to one with great physical strength.
Boom DutchFrom Old Dutch
bom "tree", a nickname for someone tall or robust, or a toponymic surname for someone who lived by a notable tree. It could also be an occupational name for someone who operated a boom barrier
Boomgaarden East Frisian, DutchFrom Dutch
boomgaard "orchard", literally "tree garden", an occupational name for an orchard worker or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by an orchard.
Boomhouwer DutchOccupational name meaning "woodcutter", from
boom "tree" and
houwen "to hew, chop". Compare German
Baumhauer.
Boon DutchFrom
boon "bean". Refers to a person who grows beans, or a nickname for someone tall and thin (i.e. stringbean).
Boonyaratglin ThaiFrom Thai บุญ (
bun) meaning "delight; happiness", รัต (
rat) of unknown meaning, and กลิน (
klin) of unknown meaning.
Boorman EnglishThis surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may be either a topographical name for someone who lived in a particularly noteworthy or conspicuous cottage, from the Old English
bur "bower, cottage, inner room" with
mann "man", or a locational name from any of the various places called Bower(s) in Somerset and Essex, which appear variously as
Bur,
Bure and
Bura in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Boot EnglishMetonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of boots, ultimately from Old French
bote "boot, high-sided leather shoe".
Boot German, DutchMetonymic occupational name for a boat builder, sailor, or a ship’s carpenter, from Dutch
boot "boat, ship".
Boot Dutch, GermanPatronymic form of
Bode, derived from either Old High German
boto "messenger, envoy" or the related
bot "command, order".
Boothroyd EnglishPossibly from the Old English booth meaning "hut, shack" and royd meaning "clearing (in the woods)".
Booty EnglishMeans butt. Usually big and round.There are also two of them.
Bora Indian, AssameseFrom a military title used during the Ahom Kingdom that indicated an official who commanded 20 soldiers.
Borák CzechHabitational name for someone from one of many places named with bor meaning "pine forest"; alternatively from a short form of the personal names Dalibor or Bořivoj, containing the element -bor meaning "battle".
Borbak-ool TuvanDerived from Tuvan борбак
(borbak) meaning "round, rounded, spherical" combined with оол
(ool) "son, boy".
Borberg DanishBorberg is derived from the location Borbjerg in Western Jutland in Denmark.
Borcha AragoneseProper, non-Castilianized form of
Borja; it indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
Borders EnglishAmericanization of surname Bader. Forefathers who were Hessian soldiers during the American revolution.
Bordner GermanA variant spelling of Bartner, a job name for a battle axe maker.
Bordziłowski PolishFrom Old Germanic Bardil, meaning "beard" or "axe." It was possibly a nickname for a bearded person who had an axe.
Borecki EnglishHabitational name for someone from a place called Borek or Borki, from
bór "pine forest".
Borén SwedishCombination of an unknown first element and the common surname suffix
-én (originally from Latin
-enius "descendant of"). Also possible habitational name derived from places named with
Bor-, such as Borås, Borensberg, and Borlänge... [
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Boren GermanOf unclear origin, most likely a variant of the German surname
Born.
Borg MalteseFrom Maltese
borġ meaning "castle, citadel, tower".
Borges Portuguese, SpanishPossibly from Old French
burgeis meaning "town-dweller" (see
Burgess). Alternately, it may have denoted someone originally from the city of Bourges in France.
Borgo ItalianBorgo is an Italian surname, which means 'village' or 'borough'.
Borjigin MongolianThis is the name of a Mongol sub-clan, of which Genghis Khan was part of. A suggested origin is a Turkic-language term
borčïqïn meaning "man with dark blue eyes", though this is somewhat dubious... [
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Borkowski PolishHabitational name for someone from any of various locations called Borki, Borkowice or Borek, all derived from Polish
bór meaning "conifer forest, pine forest".
Bormann GermanThis surname is presumed to be a variant of
Bornemann, which is made up of Middle Low German
born meaning "spring" and
man meaning "man," denoting someone who lived by a spring or a well.
Born German, EnglishA topographical name indicating someone who lived near a stream, from the Old English "burna, burne". Alternatively, it could be contemporarily derived from the modern English word "born". Possible variants include
Bourne,
Burns 1 and
Boren.
Borne DutchShortened form of the Dutch surname
van den Borne, derived from Middle Dutch
borne "well, spring, source". A habitational name for someone from Born in the province of Limburg (Netherlands) or from a place associated with the watercourse of the Borre river in French Flanders.
Borne FrenchFrom Old French
borgne "one-eyed, blind", a nickname for someone with only one eye, or who had other problems with their vision, such as a squint or cross-eyes.
Bornemann Low GermanTopographic name denoting someone who lived by a well or spring, from Middle Low German
born "spring, well" and
man "person, man".
Boro Indian, BodoFrom the name of the Boro (or Bodo) people, itself either meaning "great people" or derived from the name of the Hindu god
Varaha.
Boronda American (Hispanic), BasqueBoronda is a Californio surname that is also of Basque origin. Boronda is the name of a place in Salinas California named after Jose Eusebio Boronda where he made his house out of Adobe. Today, It is a California national Historic landmark in Boronda road in Salinas.
Borowicz PolishPatronymic from a pet form of Borowy, or from Borzyslaw, Bolebor, or some other personal name formed with the element bor ‘to fight’.
Borrelli ItalianThere are three possible origins of this surname. It could derive from some place names located in Catania and Campania -two Italian southern regions. Another hypothesis is that it derives from the Celtic word
borro, meaning "proud" or maybe "ditch"... [
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Borresen DanishThe Danish surname Borresen has two origins. Boerresen is composed of -sen 'son' + the given name Boerre, the modern equivalent of Old Norse Byrgir 'the helper' (from proto-Indo-European root BHER- 'to carry, bear')... [
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Borromeo Spanish (Philippines)Nickname derived from Italian
buon romeo meaning "good pilgrim", from
buono meaning "good" and
Romeo meaning "pilgrim (to Rome)".
Borsheim Norwegian (Rare)Habitational name from either of two farmsteads in Norway: Borsheim in Rogaland and Børsheim in Hordaland. Borsheim is a combination of an unknown first element and Norwegian
heim "home", while Børsheim is a combination of Old Norse
byrgi "fence, enclosure" and
heim.
Bortnik RussianMeans "beekeeper" in Russian, used as an occupational name.
Borzani ItalianFamily of ancient and noble tradition, originally from Romagna. The commendator GB of Crollalanza reports the blazon of this family in the volumes of his historical blazon dictionary of the noble and notable Italian families... [
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Borzykh RussianDerived from Russian борзый
(borzy) meaning "swift, brisk".
Bosch AmericanThe surname Bosch originates from the Old Norse word "buski," meaning "bush," or "woods” thus it is classed at a toponymic surname and was most likely used by a man who lived near a prominent bush... [
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Boschman DutchFrom Middle Dutch
bosch "wood, forest" and
man "person, man", a name for someone who lived or worked in a forest.
Boscolo ItalianHabitational name for someone who lived by a forest, derived from Italian
bosco meaning "woods, forest".
Bosinney CornishDenotes the original bearer came from Bossiney, Cornwall. Bossiney comes from Cornish
Bod and
Cini, meaning "Cini's dwelling," with Cini being a Cornish name of unknown meaning.... [
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Bosley EnglishEnglish habitation surname derived from the Old English personal name
Bosa and the Old English
leah "clearing, field". It's also possibly a variant of the French surname Beausoleil meaning "beautiful sun" from the French
beau 'beautiful, fair' and
soleil 'sun'... [
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Bosma West Frisian, DutchMeans "man of the forest", from Dutch
bos "forest, woods" and the Frisian suffix
-ma.
Boşnak TurkishMeans "Bosniak" in Turkish. One of the only major ethnic groups that adopted Islam during the Ottoman Empire. A huge diaspora of Bosniaks live in Turkey and many Turks have Bosniak heritage.
Bošnjak Croatian, SerbianDerived from "Bošnjak", for someone who has their roots in Bosnia. This surname is rare in Bosnian Muslims.
Boso ItalianFrom the medieval personal name Boso, from a Germanic personal name derived from a pejorative nickname meaning ‘leader’, ‘nobleman’, or ‘arrogant person’. Compare Dutch Boos.
Bosoy RussianDerived from Russian босой
(bosoy) meaning "barefoot". This may have been a nickname for a low-class person.
Boss EnglishFrom an originally French term meaning "hunchback".
Bossier FrenchOccupational name for a cooper, from an agent derivative of Old French
bosse 'barrel'.
Bosso ItalianDerived from Italian
bosso "box tree", probably applied as a topographic name but possibly also as a metonymic occupational name for a wood carver or turner.
Boston EnglishHabitational name from the town Boston in Lincolnshire, England. The name means "
Botwulf’s stone".... [
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Boström SwedishCombination of Swedish
bo "dwelling, home" and
ström "stream, river".
Bostwick EnglishFrom an English surname which was from a lost or unidentified place name. The second element is clearly Old English
wic "outlying (dairy) farm".
Boswell French (Anglicized)The name Boswell is an Anglicization of the name of a French village: Boseville (Beuzeville). This was a village of 1400 inhabitants near Yvetot, in Normandy. (from 'A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames', by Charles W. Bardsley, New York, 1901)... [
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Botelho Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazilian)From the Portuguese word
botelho, which can denote a measure of grain, a grain sack, or seaweed, and was probably applied as an occupational name for a grain dealer or a gatherer of kelp or seaweed.
Botkin RussianThis was the surname of
Evgeniy Botkin ( 1865 - 1918) who was the Russian court physician. He remained loyal to the family of Tsar Nicholas II Romanov when the revolution occurred and followed them into exile in Siberia... [
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