Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Codino ItalianMeans "pigtail, plait" in Italian, literally "tail's end". Ultimately from Latin
cauda "tail (of an animal)". Perhaps given to someone who often wore their hair in such a style, possibly given to orphans or foundlings.
Codispoti ItalianA Calabrian surname from Greek
οικοδεσπότης (
oikodespótis) "host, master of the house".
Coe EnglishEnglish (Essex and Suffolk): nickname from the jackdaw, Middle English
co, Old English
ca (see
Kay). The jackdaw is noted for its sleek black color, raucous voice, and thievish nature, and any of these attributes could readily have given rise to the nickname.
Coggeshall EnglishHabitational name from Coggeshall in Essex, England, which was derived from
Cogg, an Old English personal name, and Old English
halh meaning "nook, recess".
Coggill EnglishRecorded in several forms as shown below, this is a surname of two possible nationalities and origins. Firstly it may be of Scottish locational origins, from the lands of Cogle in the parish of Watten, in Caithness, or secondly English and also locational from a place called Cogges Hill in the county of Oxfordshire... [
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Cohen IrishEither a version of Cowan or Coyne, not related with the jewish surname.
Cohitmingao Filipino, CebuanoFrom Cebuano
kuhit meaning "pole (used to reach or hook something)" and
mingaw meaning "deserted, lonely".
Cois ItalianPossibly from the name of a lost town, Coni. Alternately, may be from dialectical words meaning "to cook" or "finch", referring to an occupation or nickname.
Coit Medieval Welsh, French, EnglishThe surname Coit was first found in Carnarvonshire, a former country in Northwest Wales, anciently part of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and currently is divided between the unitary authorities of Gwynedd and Conwy, where they held a family seat... [
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Cojuangco FilipinoFrom Hokkien 許寰哥
(Khó͘ Hoân-ko), which was the nickname of Co Yu Hwan (許玉寰), a Chinese migrant who arrived in the Philippines in the 19th century. This is the name of a prominent political and business family in the Philippines.
Cokayne EnglishMedieval English nickname which meant "idle dreamer" from
Cockaigne, the name of an imaginary land of luxury and idleness in medieval myth. The place may derive its name from Old French
(pays de) cocaigne "(land of) plenty", ultimately from the Low German word
kokenje, a diminutive of
koke "cake" (since the houses in Cockaigne are made of cake).
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".
Colgate Englishhabitational name from Colgates in Kent named with Old English
col "charcoal" and
gaet "gate" indicating a gate leading into woodland where charcoal was burned... [
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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.
Colomb Frenchfrom Old French
colomb "pigeon" (from Latin
columbus) applied as a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of pigeons or doves... [
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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).
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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Comish ManxManx: from Gaelic Mac Thómais ‘son of Thomas’. The main seat of the family in the Isle of Man was Ballacomish ‘Comish's (or Thomas's) farm’ (Arbory, IoM).
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.
Coot English“an early member was a person who seemed to exhibit some of the characteristics of birds.”
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".