Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Colburn EnglishHabitational name from a place near Catterick in North Yorkshire.
Colden English, ScottishEnglish: habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Colden, from Old English
cald ‘cold’
col ‘charcoal’ +
denu ‘valley’.... [
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Coley EnglishWith variant
Colley can mean "dark" or "blackbird" or it can be a nickname for Nicholas.
Colfax EnglishFrom a medieval nickname for someone with dark or black hair, from Old English
cola "charcoal" and
feax "hair".
Colley EnglishWith variant
Coley, can mean "dark" or "blackbird" or it can be a nickname for Nicholas. Colley was used as a surname for generations of students from the same family taught by a teacher over many years in James Hilton's sentimental novel "Goodbye, Mr... [
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Collier EnglishThis name is derived from Middle English
cole, from Old English
col meaning "coal", combined with the agent suffix
(i)er, which denotes someone who does/works with something. Thus, the surname was originally used for a burner, gatherer or seller of coal.
Collin SwedishEither a combination of an unknown first name element (possibly derived from a place name) and the common surname suffix
-in, or a variant of German
Colin.
Collis EnglishA variant of
Collins, itself a patronymic of given names Collin or Colin, both ultimately nicknames for Nicholas.
Collu ItalianFrom a dialectical form of Italian
collo, meaning "neck" or "parcel, package".
Colmenares SpanishIt literally means "apiaries", denoting someone who either worked at some or lived near some.
Colo ItalianFrom the personal name Colo, a short form of Nicolo (see Nicholas). (Colò) nickname from medieval Greek kolos ‘lame’, classical Greek kylos.
Cologne FrenchHabitational name from a place in France called Cologne.
Colombres AsturianThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish in Ribadeva.
Colonel AmericanFrom a French word for a military rank of an officer who led a column of regimental soldiers. Could be a nickname for someone with a military bearing or demeanor.
Colonna Italiantopographic name from
colonna "column" (from Latin
columna).
Colter EnglishEnglish occupational name for someone who looked after asses and horses, from an agent derivative of
Colt. Compare
Coulthard. Variant spelling of German
Kolter.
Combe FrenchEither a topographic name for someone living in or near a ravine from
combe "narrow valley ravine" (from Latin
cumba a word of Gaulish origin); or a habitational name from Combe the name of several places in the southern part of France of the same etymology.
Combeferre Literature (?)Combeferre is the surname of one of the strong, persuasive members of the ABC in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables. Meaning is unknown.
Combès FrenchEither a topographic name from
combe "narrow valley ravine" (see
Combe ) or a habitational name from any of various places in southern France for example in Hérault named Combes.
Comer EnglishOccupational name for a maker or seller of combs, or to someone who used them to prepare wool or flax for spinning, derived from Middle English
combere, an agent derivative of Old English
camb meaning "comb"... [
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Comito ItalianFrom the medieval Latin
comitus, meaning "count", or the medieval Greek form of this word,
komitos, used as a nickname for someone who put on airs and graces or worked for a count.
Commander Anglo-Saxon, FrenchFrom Middle English
comander,
comandor and
comandour and also from Old French
comandeor, all meaning "commander", "leader" or "ruler". The first recorded use of the name is through a family seat held in Somerset.
Commons BretonIt's generally believed this name comes from a Breton personal name, derived from element "cam," meaning "bent," or "crooked;" or from the herb "cummin" (cumin). Or from the place name Comines, in Flanders, Northern France.... [
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Čomor Bosnian (Rare), BosnianČomor is a rare surname in the world and has (mostly) Herzegovenian origins. You can find most Čomors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only 400 people bare the surname. Čomor has two meanings; First meaning is 'buttercup' and the second one is 'a disease that comes from eating fatty (oily) foods, fever with a constant feeling of nausea and disgust'
Compton EnglishHabitational name from any of the numerous places throughout England (but especially in the south) named Compton, from Old English cumb meaning "short, straight valley" + tūn meaning "enclosure", "settlement".
Comte FrenchNickname for someone who worked for a count or for someone acting haughty from Old French
conte cunte "count". French cognitive of
Conte and variant of
Lecomte.
Concepción SpanishMeans "conception'' in Spanish, in reference to the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary.
Conde Spanish1 Spanish and Portuguese: “nickname from the title of rank
conde ‘count’, a derivative of Latin
comes,
comitis ‘companion’.”... [
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Condom FrenchRegional name for someone who lives in a French province named "Condom".
Condrick IrishSurname of an Irish immigrant who had snuck onto a ship and travelled to Australia during the early 1900's.
Conejo SpanishSpanish for rabbit from Latin "cuniculus". Given to someone who hunted rabbits.
Coney EnglishMeans "seller of rabbits", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a rabbit (in either case from Middle English
cony "rabbit").
Confalone Italianfrom
gonfalone "standard banner" from Old French
gonfalon (of ancient Germanic origin) a metonymic occupational name for a standard bearer either in a military context or as the officer of a guild responsible for carrying the banner in religious processions... [
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Congdon Irish, EnglishA variant of Irish "
Condon". In English usage: a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place; probably Devon or Cornwall, where the modern surname is most frequent.
Cong Tang Ton Nu VietnameseOften written with the middle two words uncapitalized when with a full name; example: Con tang ton Nu Hue Hue. The first name is Hue Hue, and the surname is Cong tang ton Nu. It is a female royal Vietnamese surname created by the
Nguyen Dynasty.
Coniglio ItalianFrom
coniglio "rabbit" (from Latin
cuniculus ) applied as a nickname for a timid person or a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in rabbits. Italian cognitive of
Coelho.
Conklin Irish, DutchOrigin unidentified. Most likely of Dutch origin (the name is found in the 18th century in the Hudson Valley), or possibly a variant of Irish
Coughlin.
Conlon IrishAnglicized form of Gaelic Ó Conalláin or Ó Caoindealbháin.
Connington EnglishThis name means "The king's manor, the royal estate," from the Old Scandinavian word "konunger" + the Old English word "tun." It was listed twice in the Domesday Book of 1086, once as Coninctune and secondly as Cunitone.
Conquest EnglishProbably from a medieval nickname, perhaps applied to a domineering person. This surname is borne by the British poet, historian and critic Robert Conquest (1917-).
Conran IrishThe surname Conran is derived from 'O Conarain', and Conran is a more anglicized version.... [
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Considine IrishAnglicisation of Irish
Mac Consaidín meaning "son of Consaidín". The given name
Consaidín is the Irish form of
Constantine... [
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Conte ItalianMeans "count (a title of nobility)" in Italian.
Contestabile ItalianMeans "debatable, questionable" in Italian, perhaps a nickname for an argumentative person, or for someone of dubious respectability.
Contractor Indian (Parsi)Parsi occupational surname for a contractor, or someone who works on the basis of a contract. As the British rule of India demanded for all Parsees to adopt a surname, many adopted English vocabulary based on their occupation (i.e.
Engineer or
Merchant).
Converse EnglishOriginally a nickname for a Jew converted to Christianity or an occupational name for someone converted to the religious way of life, a lay member of a convent, from Middle English and Old French
convers "convert".
Conway Welsh, Scottish, IrishAs a Welsh surname, it comes from the name of a fortified town on the coast of North Wales (Conwy formerly Conway), taken from the name of the river on which it stands. The river name
Conwy may mean "holy water" in Welsh.... [
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Conzett RomanshDerived from
Conz, a variant of the given name
Kunz, in combination with the diminutive suffix
-ett.
Coogan IrishAnglicized form of the Gaelic name "MacCogadhain"; composed of the Gaelic prefix "mac," which means "son of," and the Gaelic personal name "Cuchogaidh", which means "Hound of War". The name is also found in Ireland as Cogan, Coggan, Coggen, Cogin, Coggon, Coogan and Goggin(s).
Cookinham Jewish (Americanized)This has the form of an English habitational name; however, there is no record of any such place name in the British Isles, and the surname does not appear in present-day records. It is probably an Americanized form of Jewish Guggenheim .
Cooley IrishAnglicized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Chúille ‘son of the servant of (Saint) Mochúille’, a rare Clare name.
Coolidge EnglishProbably an occupational name for a college servant or someone with some other association with a university college, for example a tenant farmer who farmed one of the many farms in England known as College Farm, most of which are or were owned by university colleges.
Cooter EnglishA Sussex, England surname of uncertain meaning. Could be a local pronunciation of
Cotter, meaning "cottage dweller" for a serf in the feudal system allowed to live in a cottage in exchange for labor on the cottage owner's estate.
Cope Anglo-SaxonEarliest origins of the Cope surname date from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain, for a person who habitually wore a long cloak or cape. The surname Cope is derived from the Old English word cope, which emerged about 1225 and comes from the Old English word cape, which refers to a cloak or cape.
Copeland EnglishSome sources say that Copeland is English: "one that is good at coping". Another says Copeland is Northern English and Scottish, from Cumberland and Northumberland meaning "bought land". Old Norse, kaupa-land for‘bought land’.
Coppenhaver GermanAmericanized spelling, probably originally spelled Kopenhaver or Koppenhaver. Means "owner of a hill".
Copus EnglishFor full analysis of the origin for the name Copus/Copas I would refer you to my family website copusfamily.co.uk
Corbeanu RomanianDerived from Romanian
corb, itself originally from the Latin
corvus meaning "raven" (bird).
Corbett English, Scottish, WelshNickname from Norman French
corbet meaning 'little crow, raven'. This surname is thought to have originated in Shropshire. The surname was taken by bearers to Scotland in the 12th Century, and to Northern Ireland in the 17th Century.... [
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Corbin English, FrenchDerived from French
corbeau meaning "raven," originally denoting a person who had dark hair.
Corbyn EnglishVariant of
Corbin, notably borne by current Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (1949-).
Corcovado SpanishMeans "hunchback" in Spanish. It would denote a person with a curved spine.
Cordasco ItalianFrom the given name
Corda or
Cordio (a short form of Accord(i)o, literally "agreement") + the suffix -
asco denoting kinship.
Corday FrenchEither from the French word
corde meaning "cord/rope/string", or from the Latin word
cor meaning "heart." This was the surname of Charlotte Corday, the assassin who killed Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat during the French revolution.
Cordell EnglishMeans "maker of cord" or "seller of cord" in Middle English.
Corden EnglishDerives from Old French
Cordon meaning "a seller of ribbon" or from
Cordoan, a locational job description for a worker in fine kid leather. Originally associated with the city of Cordova in Spain... [
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Cordero SpanishMeans "lamb" in Spanish, either used as an occupational name for a shepherd or a religious name referring to Jesus as the Lamb of God.
Cordier FrenchGiven to someone who worked or made with cord and or strings from old French
corde "string".
Cordisco ItalianPossibly from Italian
cordesco "second-born lamb, butchered calf".
Córdoba SpanishIndicates someone who was originally from the city of
Córdoba (Cordova) in Andalusia, Spain. The name itself is derived from Phonecian
Qʾrtuba meaning "Juba’s city", itself from Phonecian
qʾrt meaning "city" and
juba referring to King Juba I of Numidia.
Cordonnier FrenchAn occupational surname for a cordwainer or shoemaker, and derived from Old French
cordouanier, literally meaning "cobbler".
Cordoveiru AsturianThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the municipality of Pravia.
Cordray EnglishFrom a medieval nickname for a proud man (from Old French
cuer de roi "heart of a king").
Coreano Filipino, Spanish, PortugueseMeans "Korean" in Spanish and Portuguese, possibly an ethnic name or regional name for someone from Korea or who had connections with Korea.
Cork EnglishMetonymic occupational name for a supplier of red or purple dye or for a dyer of cloth, Middle English
cork (of Celtic origin; compare
Corkery).
Corkery Irish (Anglicized)Anglicized form of Gaelic
Ó Corcra "descendant of
Corcra", a personal name derived from
corcair "purple" (ultimately cognate with Latin
purpur).