Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Burdonsky m RussianBurdonsky is Aleksandr Burdonsky's, Iosif Stalin's grandson (son of Vasiliy Stalin), last name. He took his wife's name to avoid negative connotation.
Bure Old Swedish, SwedishThis was the name of an influential family in 16th century Sweden. The name originated from the village
Bure (now known as
Bureå) in Skellefteå parish in Northern Sweden. The village got its name from the nearby Bure River (Swedish: Bure älv, Bureälven) whose name was derived from the Swedish dialectal word
burra "buzz, rumble".
Burel Frenchmetonymic occupational name for a worker in the wool trade or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in brown from Old French
burel borel a diminutive of
boure "frieze" a type of coarse reddish brown woolen cloth with long hairs (from Late Latin
burra "coarse untreated wool").
Burela GalicianThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality in the Comarca of La Mariña Central.
Burger English, German, DutchStatus name for a freeman of a borough. From Middle English
burg, Middle High German
burc and Middle Dutch
burch "fortified town". Also a German habitational name for someone from a place called Burg.
Burghersh EnglishThe surname of the burghersh family. Several people had it, Including Bartholomew Burghersh the Elder and Younger, and Henry Burghersh. They also married into the Badlesmere bloodline. It seems to have descended from the village of Burghersh, now known as Burwash
Burgio ItalianDenoting someone from a town of the same name, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "high, lofty", possibly by way of Arabic
بُرْج (
burj) "tower", German
burg "castle, fortification; settlement", French
bourg "burg, market town", or Latin
burgus "watchtower, fortified town".
Burgmeier GermanOccupational name for the tenant farmer of an estate belonging to a castle or fortified town, from Middle High German
burc "(fortified) town, castle" and
meier "tenant farmer" (see
Meyer 1).
Burkett EnglishEnglish: from an Old English personal name,
Burgheard, composed of the elements burh, burg ‘fort’ (see
Burke) + heard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’... [
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Burkhalter GermanTopographic name composed of the Middle High German elements
burc "castle" "protection" and
halter from
halde "slope".
Burkhardt GermanBurk is German for "Strong", and hardt is the "heart of a castle".
Burkins EnglishEnglish variant of
Birkin,
Burkin, a habitational name from the parish of Birkin in West Yorkshire, so named with Old English
bircen ‘birch grove’, a derivative of
birce (see
Birch).
Burkowski PolishIt is composed of buk (Common Slavic for "beech tree") and the Slavic suffixes -ov and -ski. In some cases, the name may originate from a toponym
Burl EnglishOld English occupational name originally meaning "cup bearer" or "butler" for one who dispensed wine and had charge of the cellar. Eventually the name came to mean the chief servant of a royal or noble household and was replaced by the French language inspired named 'Butler,' akin to the world "bottler".
Burlacu RomanianProbably means "bachelor" in Romanian, this is one of the most common surnames in Romania.
Burley EnglishEnglish habitation name from the elements
burh meaning "stronghold or fortified settlement" and
leah meaning "field or clearing".
Burlington EnglishHabitational name from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, from Old English
Bretlintun meaning
Berhtel's town.
Burmeister GermanNorth German: status name for the mayor or chief magistrate of a town, from Middle Low German
bur ‘inhabitant, dweller’, ‘neighbor’, ‘peasant’, ‘citizen’ +
mester ‘master’.
Burnell Anglo-Saxon, Medieval EnglishA name for a person with a brown complexion or dark brown hair. From the Old English
burnel via the French
brunel a diminutive of the French
brun, which means "brown". The suffix
el-- a short form of "little" was added to brun to make
Brunel... [
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Burnette FrenchDescriptive nickname from Old French
burnete ‘brown’ (see
Burnett). Possibly also a reduced form of
Buronet, from a diminutive of Old French
buron ‘hut’, ‘shack’.
Burney English, IrishForm of the French place name of 'Bernay' or adapted from the personal name
Bjorn, ultimately meaning "bear".
Burnley EnglishEnglish (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from Burnley in Lancashire, so named with the Old English river name Brun (from brun ‘brown’ or burna ‘stream’) + leah ‘woodland clearing’... [
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Burr English, Scottish, GermanNickname for a person who is difficult to shake off, derived from Middle English
burr meaning "bur" (a seedhead that sticks to clothing). It could also be a derivation from Old English
bur meaning "small dwelling, building", or a German topographic name derived from
burre meaning "mound, hill"... [
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Burridge EnglishDerived from an English place name, derived from Old English
burg "fortress, fortification, castle" and Old English
hrycg, Old Norse
hryggr "ridge" or from the name
Burgric.
Burroughs EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived by a hill or tumulus, Old English "beorg", a cognate of Old High German berg "hill", ‘mountain’ (see Berg). This name has become confused with derivatives of Old English burh ‘fort’ (see Burke)... [
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Burrow EnglishUsed to describe someone who lives in a burrow, which makes this surname’s meaning “he whom lives in a burrow.”
Burrows EnglishVariant of
Burroughs. A name for someone who lived by a hill or tumulus, also may be a further derivation from Old English
bur "bower" and
hus "house".
Burtsell English (American)Habitational name from Burshill in East Yorkshire, so named with Old English bryst ‘landslip’, ‘rough ground’ + hyll ‘hill’.
Buruaga BasqueIt indicates familial origin within the eponymous council of the municipality of Zigoitia.
Burwitz PolabianFrom Polabian
bur "farmer" and the Germanized Slavic ending
-witz.
Burzyński PolishHabitational name for someone from any of various locations called Burzyn, derived from Polish
burza meaning "storm, tempest".
Busalacchi ItalianMeans "father of Zallaq", from Arabic
أَبُو (
abu) "father of" and
الزلاق (
zallaq) of unknown meaning, possibly related to the given name
Salah 1 meaning "righteousness".
Busby EnglishHabitational name from a place in North Yorkshire, recorded in Domesday Book as
Buschebi, from Old Norse
buskr "bush, shrub" or an Old Norse personal name
Buski and
býr "homestead, village", or from some other place so called.
Buscemi SicilianName for someone originally from the town of Buscemi in Sicily, derived from the Arabic toponym قلعة أبي شامة
(qal'at 'abi shama) meaning "castle of the man with the mole" or "castle of (the family of) Abi Shama".
Buschiazzo ItalianIt's a surname in northern Italy (Piedmont). It emerges from the German spelling Bosch or Busch and this means "forest" or "wooded area".
Busfield EnglishThis is a locational surname and originates from the hamlet of 'Bousfield', eight miles from the town of Appleby in Cumberland. This hamlet was controlled by Norse Vikings for several centuries until the Norman invasion of 1066... [
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Bushida JapaneseBushi means "warrior, samurai" and da is a form of ta meaning "rice paddy, wilderness, field".
Bustamante SpanishHabitational name for someone originally from the town of Bustamante in Cantabria, Spain, derived from Latin
bustum Amantii meaning "pasture of
Amantius".
But Indian, Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, KhmerVariant of
Butt.
Butkereit German (East Prussian)Derived from Prussian-Lithuanian
butkėrė (Standard Lithuanian
butkėrė), a Balticized form of German
Böttcher "cooper, barrel maker" combined with the East Prussian German patronymic suffix
-eit.
Butragueño SpanishOriginally denoted someone who was from either the town of
Buitrago del Lozoya in Madrid, or from
Buitrago in Soria, Castile and León, Spain, both derived Spanish
buitre meaning "vulture" (see
Buitrago)... [
more]
Butsuen Japanese (Rare)From Japanese 仏 (
butsu) meaning "Buddha, Buddhism" and 園 (
en) meaning "garden; park", referring to a Buddhist-style garden.
Butta ItalianItalian: from a short form of a compound name formed with butta- ‘throw’, as for example Buttacavoli.Italian: from an old German feminine personal name Butta.Italian: variant of Botta.
Butter English, German1. English: nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a bittern, perhaps in the booming quality of the voice, from Middle English, Old French butor ‘bittern’ (a word of obscure etymology)... [
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Butterfield EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived by a pasture for cattle or at a dairy farm, or a habitational name from a place named Butterfield (for example in West Yorkshire), from Old English butere ‘butter’ + feld ‘open country’.
Butterfly EnglishFrom the insect Butterfly this Surname is borne by Star Butterfly from Star Vs. the forces of evil.
Buttiġieġ MalteseFrom Maltese
bu t-tiġieġ literally meaning "father of chickens", referring to a poulterer or someone who owned chickens.
Büttner GermanOccupational name for a cooper or barrel-maker, an agent derivative of Middle High German
büte(n) "cask", "wine barrel". This name occurs chiefly in eastern German-speaking regions.
Buttura ThaiFrom Thai บุตร (
but) meaning "son, child" and ธุระ (
thura) meaning "business; affairs; errands".
Bux Anglo-SaxonFrom boc, meaning a beach, or beech. Sometimes used as an element of a place name e.g. Buxton, in Derbyshire, Buxhall, in Suffolk, or Buxted in Sussex; variant of "Buck", a deer.
Bux Urdu, SindhiDerived from Persian بخش
(bakhsh) meaning "fortune" or "section, portion, part".
Buxtehude German, Low GermanFrom the name of the town of
Buxtehude in Lower Saxony, Germany. A famous bearer of this surname was the German-Danish Baroque composer and organist Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637-1707).
Buxton English1. A habitational name for someone from Buxton in Derbyshire, from the Middle English Buchestanes or Bucstones (meaning "bowing stones"), from Old English
būgan meaning "to bow" and
stanes, meaning "stones".... [
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Buyeo KoreanArchaic surname of the ancient Buyeo Kingdom
Buzek Silesian, PolishA nickname derived from
buza 'rebuke' or
buzować 'to scold to be cross with somebody'.
Bwye Welsh (Rare)many of this name moved from south wales to india to work for the east india company around 1900's then came back to wales.
Byam EnglishProbably means "person from Bytham", Lincolnshire ("homestead in a valley bottom"). Glen Byam Shaw (1904-1986) was a British theatre director.
Byanski Polishlooking for the meaning of this name as it is my maiden name.
Bycraft English (American, Rare, ?)Found mostly in the American Great Lakes region and Canada, likely a singular extended family. Likely of 6th century English descent, though there are very few English natives who bear the name. Name either refers to the occupation running some sort of mill machine, the original holder living near a croft (enclosed pasture or tillage) or implies "craftiness" of its original holder.
Bydłowski PolishThis indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Bydłowa.
Byer ScottishThe history of the Byer family begins in the Boernician tribes of ancient Scotland. The Byer family lived in or near the place named Byers in Scotland. The place-name, Byers, derives from the Old English word byre, which means cattle shed... [
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Byers Scottish, EnglishScottish and northern English topographic name for someone who lived by a cattleshed, Middle English
byre, or a habitational name with the same meaning, from any of several places named with Old English
b¯re, for example Byers Green in County Durham or Byres near Edinburgh.
Byfield EnglishEither a habitational name from a place named Byfield, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a field.
Bykowski PolishHabitational name for someone from a place called Bykowice or Byków.
Bylilly NavajoDerived from Navajo
bá "for him" and
álílee "magic power".
Bylin SwedishA combination of Swedish
by "village" and the suffix
-in, derived from Latin -inus, -inius "descendant of"
Bylund SwedishCombination of Swedish
by "village" and
lund "grove".
Bynes IrishThis is the surname of American actress Amanda Bynes (born April 3, 1986).
Byre EnglishProbably derived from Old English
bȳre "farm, barn".
Byres ScottishByres was first used as a surname by the descendants of the ancient Boernician clans of Scotland. The first Byres family lived in or near the place named Byers in Scotland. The place-name, Byers, derives from the Old English word byre, which means cattle shed... [
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Byron EnglishAn English place name, earlier Byram, from
byre, meaning "farm" and the suffix
-ham meaning "homestead". Famously borne by the aristocratic poet, Lord Byron.
Bystedt SwedishA combination of Swedish
by "village" and German
stedt "home, place".
Bythesea English (British)Habitational name for someone who lived near the sea, this name is nearly extinct in England today.
Byun KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
邉 (Byun) meaning "Border".
Bywater EnglishThe surname Bywater came from the Anglo-Saxon origin and means ’dweller by the water‘
Bzowski PolishHabitational name for someone who comes from the town of
Bzowo in Poland.
Caacbay Filipino, TagalogFrom Tagalog
kaakbay meaning "comrade-in-arms, person with another's arm over the shoulders".
Caamaño GalicianThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish in the municipality of Porto do Son.
Caan Scottish, German, JewishAltered spelling of Jewish
Cohen, or probably denoted a person from the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Famous bearers of this surname include American actor James Caan (1940-2022), as well as his son Scott Caan (1976-), also a noted actor.
Cababa SpanishSpanish (Cabaña) and Portuguese: habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña ‘hut’, ‘cabin’ (Late Latin capanna , a word of Celtic or Germanic origin).
Caballo Spanish, Spanish (Latin American)Derived from the Spanish word
cabello, ultimately derived from the Latin word
caballus, meaning "horse". This denoted someone who worked in a farm that took care of horses, or someone who had personality traits attributed to a horse, such as energetic behaviour.
Cabalzar RomanshDerived from Romansh
casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and the given name
Balzer.
Cabaña Spanish, PortugueseHabitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña ‘hut’, ‘cabin’ (Late Latin capanna, a word of Celtic or Germanic origin).
Cabañas Spanish, PortugueseHabitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña or Portuguese cabanha ‘hut’, ‘cabin’.
Cabaniss FrenchVariant spelling of
Cabanis, a habitational name from any of various places in Gard named Cabanis, from Late Latin capannis ‘at the huts’, ablative plural of capanna 'hut'... [
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Cabboi ItalianProbably from Sardinian
caboi "capon", a gelded cockerel, perhaps a nickname for a cowardly person.
Cabeleira PortugueseLikely originates from the Portuguese word "cabeleira," which means "head of hair" or "hairpiece." It might have been used as a nickname to describe someone with a notable or distinctive head of hair... [
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Cabell Catalan, English, GermanAs a Catalan name, a nickname for "bald" from the Spanish word
cabello. The English name, found primarily in Norfolk and Devon, is occupational for a "maker or seller of nautical rope" that comes from a Norman French word... [
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Cabernard RomanshDerived from Romansh
casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and the given name
Bernard.
Cable EnglishEnglish: metonymic occupational name for a maker of rope, especially the type of stout rope used in maritime applications, from Anglo-Norman French
cable ‘cable’ (Late Latin
capulum ‘halter’, of Arabic origin, but associated by folk etymology with Latin
capere ‘to seize’).... [
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Cacciatore ItalianDerived from Italian
cacciatore meaning "hunter, huntsman", ultimately derived from
cacciare meaning "to hunt".