Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Cornacchia ItalianNickname meaning "crow, jackdaw" in Italian, applied to someone who was talkative or thought to resemble a crow or jackdaw in some other way.
Corney EnglishA habitational surname from places in Cumbria and Hertfordshire named
Corney, from Old English
corn "grain", a metathesized form of
cron,
cran 'crane' + eg 'island'. It seems possible, from the distribution of early forms, that it may also derive from a lost place in Lancashire.
Cornwall CelticOne who came from Cornwall, a county in the South West of England.
Cornwell EnglishHabitational name from Cornwell in Oxfordshire, named from Old English corn, a metathesized form of cron, cran ‘crane’ + well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’.variant of Cornwall.
Coronacion Spanish (Philippines)Derived from Spanish
coronación, meaning "coronation", referring to the idea that the Virgin Mother of God was physically crowned as Queen of Heaven after her Assumption.
Coronado Spanishfrom
coronado "crowned" past participle of
coronare "to crown" (from Latin
corona "crown") applied as a nickname for someone who behaved in an imperious manner or derived from the village Coronado in Galacia.
Coronel Spanish, PortugueseMeans "colonel" in Spanish and Portuguese, used as an occupational name for someone in command of a regiment.
Corongiu ItalianPossibly from Sardinian
corongiu "rocky hill, boulder, large mass", denoting someone who lived near such a landmark, or perhaps a nickname based on the bearer's physical appearance.
Corpus Anglo-SaxonIt was a name given to a dark-haired person. In Yorkshire and Suffolk, the surname Corpus is derived from the Old Norse word korpr, which means raven; in Oxfordshire, the surname is derived from the Old French word corp, which has the same meaning.
Corrales SpanishHabitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations named Corrales in Spain, from Spanish
corral meaning "coral, enclosure".
Corrias ItalianProbably from Sardinian
corria "leather strap, lace, belt; narrow strip of land".
Corrie EnglishHabitational name from places in Arran, Dumfries, and elsewhere, named Corrie, from Gaelic
coire "cauldron", applied to a circular hanging valley on a mountain.
Corrigan EnglishTraditionally an Irish surname meaning "spear". From the Irish Gaelic
corragán which is a double diminutive of
corr 'pointed'.
Corrin Manx, ScottishFirst documented in 1290, sources suggest prototypes to be of Norse and/or Irish origins or a Manx contraction of Mac Oran from Mac Odhrain.
Corson EnglishNickname from Old French 'corson', a diminutive of curt ‘short’
Corson Dutch (Americanized, ?)From the given name of
Cors Pieters, a sailor with the Dutch West Indies Company, who arrived in the Dutch Colony, New Amsterdam (present day New York), on or before 1638... [
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Corte Spanish, Catalan, Italian, PortugueseFrom
corte ‘court', applied as an occupational name for someone who worked at a manorial court or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by one.
Cosca ItalianTopographic name from the Calabrian dialect word
c(u)oscu "oak", also "wood".
Coscollola CatalanThis indicates familial origin within or within the vicinity of the eponymous farmhouse in the municipality of Lladurs.
Cosgrove EnglishHabitational name from Cosgrove in Northamptonshire, named with an Old English personal name
Cof + Old English
graf "grove", "thicket".
Cossart English, FrenchFrom French, referring to "a dealer of horses" (related to the English word "courser"). This surname was brought to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066, and became one of the many Anglo-Norman words that made up Middle English.
Cossiga Italian, SardinianSardinian translation of the place name
Corsica. A famous bearer of the name is Francesco Cossiga (1928-2010), Italian politician who served as Prime Minister (1979-1980) and as President (1985-1992).
Cossu ItalianProbably from Sardinian
cossu "tub, trough, basin".
Costello IrishAnglicized form of Gaelic
Mac Oisdealbhaigh meaning "son of Oisdealbhach". The given name
Oisdealbhach is derived from Irish
os meaning "deer, fawn" and
dealbhach meaning "resembling, shapely".
Coster EnglishMetonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of costards (Anglo-Norman French, from coste 'rib'), a variety of large apples, so called for their prominent ribs.
Cott EnglishFrom the Old English personal name
Cotta. Possibly an altered spelling of French Cotte, a metonymic occupational name for a maker of chain mail, from Old French cot(t)e ‘coat of mail’, ‘surcoat’... [
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Cotter EnglishDerived from the Old English elements
cot "cottage, hut" and the suffix
-er. In the feudal system a cotter held a cottage by service (rather than by rent). Reaney gives the surname deriving from the Old French
cotier "cottager" (see: villein)... [
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Cotter IrishReduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Oitir "son of
Oitir", a personal name borrowed from Old Norse
Óttarr, composed of the elements
ótti "fear, dread" and
herr "army".
Cotton English, FrenchEnglish: habitational name from any of numerous places named from Old English
cotum (dative plural of
cot) ‘at the cottages or huts’ (or sometimes possibly from a Middle English plural,
coten)... [
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Cottrell English, FrenchFirst found in Derbyshire where the family "Cottrell" held a family seat and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege lord for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings, 1066CE... [
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Coulibaly Western African, MandingFrancization of Bambara
kulu bari meaning "without a canoe", referring to someone who crossed a river or another body of water without the use of a canoe.
Coullson Scottish Gaelic (Anglicized, Rare), EnglishAll origins of the name are patronymic. Meanings include an Anglicized version of the Gaelic
MacCumhaill, meaning "son of Cumhall", which means "champion" and "stranger" and an Anglicized patronymic of the Gaelic
MacDhubhghaill, meaning "son of Dubhgall." The personal name comes from the Gaelic words
dubh, meaning "black" and
gall, meaning "stranger."... [
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Coulon FrenchFrom Old French
colomb "pigeon" (from Latin
columba) used as a metonymic occupational name for a breeder.
Council English, German1 English: nickname for a wise or thoughtful man, from Anglo-Norman French counseil ‘consultation’, ‘deliberation’, also ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ (Latin consilium, from consulere ‘to consult’)... [
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Countryman EnglishTranslation of German Landmann, Landsmann or Dutch Landman, Landsman, which means ‘countryman’ or ‘fellow countryman’.
Courcelles FrenchThe name of several places in France, Belgium and Canada. In Middle French the word courcelle was used to describe a "small court" or a "small garden". The word is derived from the medieval Gallo-Romance and Gallo-Italian word
corticella, which was formed from the Latin word
cohors, meaning "court" or "enclosure", and the diminutive
–icella.... [
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Courfeyrac LiteratureCourfeyrac is the surname that Victor Hugo used for Marius' closest friend in the friend of the ABC. Meaning is unknown.
Couric FrenchOriginally a nickname given to a short person, derived from Middle Breton
corr,
korr meaning "dwarf, midget". A well-known bearer of this surname is the American journalist, television host and author Katie Couric (1957-).
Court English, French, IrishA topographic name from Middle English, Old French
court(e) and
curt, meaning ‘court’. This word was used primarily with reference to the residence of the lord of a manor, and the surname is usually an occupational name for someone employed at a manorial court.... [
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Courville FrenchDerived from either of two communes in the departments of Marne and Eure-et-Loir in France. It is named with Latin
curba villa, denoting a settlement in the curve of a road.
Cousin English, FrenchNickname derived from Middle English
cousin and Old French
cosin,
cusin meaning "cousin".
Cousland ScottishOf local origin from Cousland in the parish of Cranston, Midlothian.
Couter EnglishThe couter (also spelled "cowter") is the defense for the elbow in a piece of plate armour. Initially just a curved piece of metal, as plate armor progressed the couter became an articulated joint.... [
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Cova Catalan, GalicianTopographic name from Catalan and Galician cova ‘cave’, or a habitational name from a place named with this word, in the provinces of Lugo, Ourense, Pontevedra, Catalonia and Valencia.
Coventry Englishhabitational name from the city of Coventry in the West Midlands, which is probably named with the genitive case of an Old English personal name Cofa (compare
Coveney) + Old English treow 'tree'.
Covert English, FrenchThe surname is probably topographical, for someone who either lived by a sheltered bay, or more likely an area sheltered by trees. The formation is similar to couvert, meaning a wood or covert, and originally from the Latin "cooperio", to cover... [
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Cowburn EnglishThe place-name, in turn, comes from the Old English
cocc, meaning "rooster," and
burna, meaning "a stream." As such, the surname is classed as a local, or habitational name, derived from a place where the original bearer lived or held land.
Cowdell English (British)Cowdell is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Coldwell' (v. Caldwell), a township in the union of Bellingham, Northumberland Also of Colwell, a township in the union of Hexham, same county.
Cowie Scottishhabitational name from any of several places, especially one near Stirling, named Cowie, probably from Gaelic colldha, an adjective from coll ‘hazel’
Cowlishaw EnglishDerived from either of two minor places named
Cowlishaw, in Derbyshire and Lancashire, England.
Coyac NahuatlMeaning uncertain, possibly derived from Nahuatl
coyahuac "broad, wide" or
coyoctic "a hole, something with a hole in it".
Crabb English, Scottish, German, Dutch, DanishEnglish and Scottish, from Middle English crabbe, Old English
crabba ‘crab’ (the crustacean), a nickname for someone with a peculiar gait. English and Scottish from Middle English
crabbe ‘crabapple (tree)’ (probably of Old Norse origin), hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a crabapple tree... [
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Crabtree EnglishThe ancestors of the Crabtree surname lived in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when they lived in the county of Yorkshire. Their name, however, indicates that the original bearer lived near a prominent
crabtree. Craighead ScottishHabitational name for someone who lived in places of this name in Scotland.
Craigmile ScottishDerived from
Craigmyle, a place in the village of Kincardine O'Neil, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It could also be an occupational name for a baker who made cracknel biscuits.
Craine ManxShortened Anglicization of Manx
Mac Ciaráin "son of
Ciarán" or
Mac Giolla Ciaráin "son of the devotee of Ciarán".
Cram EnglishFrom the the Scottish place name
Crambeth (now Crombie), a village and ancient parish in Torryburn, Fife.
Cran Anglo-SaxonThis picturesque name is of Anglo Saxon origin and is a nickname surname given to a tall thin man, or someone with long legs, or some other fancied resemblance to the bird. The derivation is from the old English "cran(uc)", "cron(uc)", "cren(uc)", which means a crane and until the introduction of a separate word in the 14th Century also a heron... [
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Crane English, Dutch1. English: nickname, most likely for a tall, thin man with long legs, from Middle English cran ‘crane’ (the bird), Old English cran, cron. The term included the heron until the introduction of a separate word for the latter in the 14th century... [
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Cranford EnglishEnglish: habitational name from any of several places, for example in the county of Middlesex (now part of Greater London) and Northamptonshire (Cranford St. Andrew and Cranford St. John), named with Old English cran ‘crane’ + ford ‘ford’.
Cranley IrishThe surname Cranley was first found in Ulster (Irish: Ulaidh), where they held a family seat but were also to be found in County Offaly and Galway. The sept is styled the Princes of Crich Cualgne and are descended from Cu-Ulladh, a Prince in 576.
Cranshaw EnglishFrom Cranshaw in Lancashire, named from Old English
cran(uc) ‘crane’ +
sceaga ‘grove’, ‘thicket’.
Cranston ScottishCombination of the Old English byname
Cran "crane" and Old English
tun "settlement".
Crascì SicilianFrom Sicilian
craxi, an obsolete word meaning "wine", ultimately from Ancient Greek
κρᾶσις (
krasis) "mixture, blending".
Crashman AmericanSurnames of fictional characters Carl and Chloe Crashman from Carl².
Cratchit LiteratureBob Cratchit is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" novella. Bob Cratchit works for Ebenezer Scrooge as an underpaid clerk.
Crauwels Flemish, Dutch, GermanDerrives from the Middle Dutch (medieval Dutch) word "crauwel" and Middle High German word "kröuwel" which means "flesh hook", "curved fork" or "trident". The word is no longer used. The first person with this name was most likely a farmer, butcher or a person that runned an inn or a hostel that was named after this tool.
Craven Irish, EnglishIrish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Crabháin (County Galway) or Mac Crabháin (Louth, Monaghan) ‘descendant (or ‘son’) of Crabhán’... [
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Cravotta SicilianFrom a Sicilian immigrant to America, Cravotta was changed to Cravatta upon arrival at Ellis Island. The name means "bowtie."
Craw English, Scottish, Northern IrishOne who had characteristics of a crow; sometimes used as an element of a place name e.g. Crawford, and Crawfordjohn in Lanarkshire, Crawshawbooth in Lancashire, and Crawley in Sussex
Creamer EnglishDerived from Middle English and Old French
creme "cream". This was an occupational name for a seller of dairy products.
Creighton EnglishFrom Irish 'crioch' meaning "border", and Old English 'tun' meaning "town".
Crellin ManxManx: shortened form of Gaelic Mac Nialláin ‘son of Niallán’ a diminutive of the personal name
Níall. This name has been explained as a metathesized form of Crennall