Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
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 Russian, UkrainianOccupational name for a beekeeper who works in the forest with wild honeybees, from Russian борть (
bortʹ) "beehive in a hollow tree".
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.
Bostan RomanianNickname from Romanian
bostan meaning "pumpkin, melon".
Bostan Turkish, Persian, ArabicDerived from Persian بوستان
(bostan) meaning "garden". Perhaps someone who works or lives near a garden or an orchard.
Bostock EnglishFrom the name of a village in Cheshire, England, meaning "Bota’s place", derived from the Old English given name
Bota combined with
stoc "place, dwelling".
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".
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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Botticelli ItalianEtymology uncertain. It can derive from the Italian word
botte meaning "barrel" and from the occupation
bottaio meaning "cooper". In the case of Sandro Botticelli it has probably another origin... [
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Bottom EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived at the bottom of a valley, derived from Middle English
botme "dell, valley".
Bottomley EnglishEnglish (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Bottomley, from Old English botm ‘broad valley’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.
Bouazizi Arabic (Maghrebi)Means "father of
Aziz" in Arabic (chiefly Maghrebi). A notable bearer was Mohamed Bouazizi (1984-2011), a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire... [
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Bouchareb Arabic (Maghrebi)Means "father of the moustache" or "father of the drinker" from Arabic أَبُو
(ʾabū) meaning "father" and شَارِب
(šārib) meaning "moustache" or "drinker".
Boudreaux FrenchVariant of
Beaudreau. Originated in ancient area known as Languedoc, where the family was established. Comes from having lived in Languedoc, where the name was found since the early Middle Ages.
Bouhired Arabic (Maghrebi)Meaning unknown. A notable bearer is
Djamila Bouhired (1935-), an Algerian militant and nationalist who opposed the French rule over Algeria.
Bouhouche Berber, Northern AfricanKabyle name possibly derived from Arabic أَبُو
(ʾabū) meaning "father" and حَوْش
(ḥawš) meaning "courtyard, enclosure, farm" (chiefly Algerian).
Boujettif Northern African (Archaic)Meaning, "The family of the son of the Clever Head" or "One Whom Possess a Clever Head."
Bou (normally used in the North African Regions of the Maghrib Countries) has 2 possible derivative meanings both originating from the Arabic language, "Son of..." or an Arabic word
Tho meaning, "One Who Possess A Quality."
Jettif is a variance of
Jettef,
Jeif or
Ji'f which is derived from the ancient Tamazight or Imazighen (popularly known as Berber) and is pronounced "j-ixf" which means Clever, head, or brain."
Boukouras GreekName of Dacian/Illyrian or Thracian origin. It means "happy". Also, see the Romanian surname
Bukur Boulahrouz Arabic (Maghrebi), BerberMeans "father of Lahrouz", possibly an Arabic given name of unknown meaning. It is chiefly used in Algeria and Morocco. The retired Dutch soccer player Khalid Boulahrouz (1981-) is a famous bearer of this name.
Boulier FrenchOccupational name for a maker of balls or the organizer of a game of boules, from French
boule meaning "ball".
Boulton EnglishMeans "district" characterized by bends from the Old English words boga and land.
Boumediene Arabic (Maghrebi)Means "father of
Midian" in Arabic (chiefly Algerian). A notable bearer was
Houari Boumediene (1932-1978), born as
Mohamed ben Brahim Boukharouba, an Algerian revolutionary who served as the second President of Algeria from 1976-1978.
Bounpaseuth LaoFrom Lao ບຸນ
(boun) meaning "happiness, prosperity, goodness" and ປະເສີດ
(pasoet) meaning "excellent, magnificent".
Bounvilay LaoFrom Lao ບຸນ
(boun) meaning "happiness, prosperity, goodness" and ວິໄລ
(vilay) meaning "splendid, beautiful".
Bounyavong LaoFrom Lao ບຸນ
(boun) meaning "happiness, prosperity, goodness" and ວົງ
(vong) meaning "lineage, family".
Bouras Arabic (Maghrebi)Means "father of the head" from Arabic أبو
(abu) meaning "father" and رأس
(ras) meaning "head, leader, chief".
Bouras GreekDerived from Albanian
burrë meaning "man, husband".
Bourassa IndianSeems to be an Indian name. I am in touch with a relative whose family were Pottawatomi Indians in Oklahoma. This name comes from that reservation.
Bourbon FrenchHabitational name for a person mainly from the lordship of Bourbon-l'Archambault in Allier, now a spa town, derived from the Celtic god
Borvo, from Proto-Celtic *
borvo "froth, foam". It could be from other places containing Bourbon of the same origin.
Bourget FrenchPossibly meaning "from the city, town" or given to wealthy families, (from bourgeois)
Bourguignon FrenchOriginally denoted a person from Burgundy (called
Bourgogne in French), a historical region of east-central France.
Bourque French (Quebec)Unknown history. A famous bearer is Raymond Bourque (B.-1960), a Quebec born professional ice hockey player from 1979-2001.
Bousquet OccitanOriginally a name for someone living or working in a wooded area.
Bouteflika Arabic (Maghrebi)Possibly means "one who makes things explode" in Algerian Arabic. A famous bearer is Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1937-), who served as president of Algeria from 1999 to 2019.
Bouteiller Frenchoccupational name for a wine steward or butler usually the chief servant of a medieval household or for a maker of bottles from
bouteiller an agent derivative of
bouteille "bottle"... [
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Boutella Arabic (Maghrebi, Rare)Means "father of the mountain" or "father of the hill", from Arabic أَبُو
(ʾabū) meaning "father (of)" and تَلّ
(tall) meaning "hill, foothill". Two notable bearers include father and daughter
Safy (1950-) and
Sofia (1982-) Boutella, an Algerian singer and an Algerian-French actress, respectively.
Boutet Frenchfrom a pet form of the ancient Germanic personal name
Boto a short form of any of various names composed with the element
bod "messenger"... [
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