Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Cleveland EnglishEnglish regional name from the district around Middlesbrough named Cleveland ‘the land of the cliffs’, from the genitive plural (
clifa) of Old English
clif ‘bank’, ‘slope’ +
land ‘land’... [
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Cleveland Norwegian (Anglicized)Americanized spelling of Norwegian
Kleiveland or
Kleveland, habitational names from any of five farmsteads in Agder and Vestlandet named with Old Norse
kleif "rocky ascent" or
klefi "closet" (an allusion to a hollow land formation) and
land "land".
Clevenger EnglishOccupational name for a keyholder derived from the word
claviger, itself from Latin
claviger meaning "key-bearer".
Cleverley EnglishProbably means "person from Cleveley", Lancashire ("woodland clearing by a cliff").
Cliff Englishhabitational name from any of numerous places called Cliff(e), Cle(e)ve, or Clive, from Old English
clif "slope, bank, cliff", or a topographic name from the same word... [
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Clift EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived by a crevice in rock, derived from Middle English
clift meaning "cleft". The American actor Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) was a famous bearer of this name.
Clisby EnglishSurname originating in the village of Cleasby in North Yorkshire's Richmondshire district.
Clive EnglishEnglish surname meaning "cliff" in Old English, originally belonging to a person who lived near a cliff.
Clopton EnglishHabitational name from any of various places, for example in Essex, Suffolk, and Warwickshire, named Clopton from Old English clopp(a) meaning "rock", "hill" + tūn meaning "settlement".
Clore English (American)Americanized spelling of German
Klor (from a short form of the medieval personal name Hilarius (see Hillary) or Klar).
Closs GermanVariant of
Kloss and, in North America, also an altered form of this. It is also found in Lorraine, France.
Closson Scottishthis name is of the noble family in Orkney islands known as the closson whom came to Orkney with the viking raiders in the early 900's and they founded the noble house of closson there of
Clotts EnglishFound in the United States, most likely either an English spelling of
Klutz, meaning "awkward, clumsy," or as a plural form of the English surname Clot, meaning "cloth ."
Cloud EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived near an outcrop or hill, from Old English
clud "rock" (only later used to denote vapor formations in the sky).
Cloud FrenchFrom the Germanic personal name
Hlodald, composed of the elements
hlod "famous, clear" and
wald "rule", which was borne by a saint and bishop of the 6th century.
Clough English (British)The distinguished surname Clough is of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin. It is derived from the Old English "cloh," meaning "ravine" or "steep-sided valley," and was first used to refer to a "dweller in the hollow."
Cluff EnglishDerived from pre 7th century word "cloh" meaning a ravine or steep-sided valley.
Clutterbuck EnglishEnglish surname of unknown origin, possibly a corrupted form of a Dutch surname derived from Dutch
klateren "to clatter" and
beek "brook", or from
klateren and
bok "buck, billy goat", or from an older form of
kladboek meaning "account book, minute book".
Clwyd WelshThis indicates familial origin near the River Clwyd.
Cly NavajoFrom Navajo
tłʼaaí meaning "lefty, left-handed one", from the verb
nishtłʼa "to be left-handed".
Clyde ScottishA river in the south-west of Scotland, running through Inverclyde, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire, and the city of Glasgow. The second longest in Scotland; and the eighth longest in the United Kingdom... [
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Coach IrishOrigin uncertain. Most probably a reduced form of Irish McCoach, which is of uncertain derivation, perhaps a variant of
McCaig.
Coach FrenchPossibly an altered spelling of French Coache, from the Norman and Picard term for a damson, probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of plums.
Coady IrishCoady or
Cody originated in the Southern Counties of Ireland. The Norman family Odo le Ercedekne acquired land in Kilkenny, Ireland in early 1300's. In medieval records it was spelled
Lerceddkne and then
Archdeken and then
Archdeacon... [
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Coakley IrishFrom Irish Gaelic
Mac Caochlaoich "son of
Caochlaoch", a personal name meaning literally "blind warrior".
Coard English, Northern IrishDerived from Old French
corde "string", a metonymic occupational name for a maker of cord or string, or a nickname for an habitual wearer of decorative ties and ribbons.
Coates EnglishName for a cottager or a person who lived in a humble dwelling, derived from Old English
cote meaning "cottage, hut". It could also be used as a habitational name for someone from any of numerous locations with this name.
Coatney EnglishThe initial bearer of this surname lived in a little cottage.
Cobain ScottishThis unusual surname is of Old Norse origin and is found particularly in Scotland. It derives from an Old Norse personal name
Kobbi, itself from an element meaning large, and the Gaelic
bain, denoting a fair person, with the diminutive ('little' or 'son of') form
Cobbie.
Çobanov m AzerbaijaniMeans "son of the shepherd", from Azerbaijani
çoban meaning "shepherd".
Çoban-zade Crimean TatarMeans "son of a sheperd" from Crimean Tatar
сопан (çopan) meaning "sheperd" and Persian
زاده (zade) meaning "born, offsping, child".
Cobbold EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Cubald (from Old English
Cūthbeald, literally "famous-brave").
Coccia ItalianMeaning uncertain, possibly from Sicilian
cocciu "grain, berry", denoting a kind of gruel; an occupational name for a farmer from Greek
κόκκος (
kokkos) "grain, seed"; or from Italian
coccia "head, shell", referring to someone with a large head, or who was stubborn.
Coccimiglio ItalianFrom Sicilian
cuccumeli, the name of several fruit-bearing deciduous trees or of the hackberry plant, itself borrowed from an Ancient Greek word; possibly
κοκκύμηλον (
kokkymelon) "plum", literally "cuckoo apple", or from
κόκκος (
kókkos) "grain, seed, kernel" and
μῆλον (
mêlon) "apple, any fruit from a tree".
Cocco ItalianPossibly from Italian
cocco, meaning "darling, favourite" or "hen's egg".
Cochet FrenchEither from
cochet a diminutive of
coq "rooster" used as a nickname for a vain conceited or womanizing individual... [
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Cocke Englishnickname from Middle English cok ‘cock’, ‘male bird or fowl’ (Old English cocc), given for a variety of possible reasons. Applied to a young lad who strutted proudly like a cock, it soon became a generic term for a youth and was attached with hypocoristic force to the short forms of many medieval personal names (e.g. Alcock, Hancock, Hiscock, Mycock)... [
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Cocuzza Italian, SicilianMeans "gourd, pumpkin", possibly a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of gourds, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a large head or rotund figure.
Coda ItalianMeans "tail" in Italian, from Latin
cauda, probably referring to the bearer living on a long, narrow piece of land.
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".
Coetsee AfrikaansCoetsee is a rare Afrikaans given name derived from a historically significant South African surname. Coetsee/Coetzee is a Dutch-influenced adaptation of the French Huguenot surname, Couché, which means "to lay down" or "to place." The name has occupational origins, referencing upholsterers, bedmakers, or those who crafted bedding, as well as scribes and record keepers... [
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Coetsee AfrikaansThe surname Coetsee is of French Huguenot origin, derived from the Old French surname Couché or Cossé, meaning “laid down” or “placed in a reclining position.” It originally referred to craftsmen involved in bed-making and upholstery, as well as scribes who recorded information by “laying down” words on paper... [
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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.
Coish EnglishVariant of
Cosh, derived from Middle English
cosche "small cottage, hut, hovel".
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 Chinese (Filipino)From the name of family patriarch Kho Giok Hoan (許玉寰), a 19th-century Chinese-Filipino businessman originally from Fujian. He was also known by his Hokkien nickname Khó͘ Hoân-ko (許寰哥) meaning "brother Kho Hoan", comprised of 許
(Khó͘), the Hokkien romanization of his surname, 寰
(Hoân), the second syllable of his given name, and 哥
(ko), a male honorific meaning "brother"... [
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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.
Colclough EnglishDerived from a place called Cowclough in Whitworth, Lancashire.
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 for a person from any of the places named Colgate or similar in England, from Old English
col "coal, charcoal" and
gæt "gate", indicating a gate leading into a woodland where charcoal was burned... [
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Coll CatalanTopographic name from Catalan
coll meaning "hill, mountain pass", ultimately from Latin
collum.
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 EnglishFrom the English word for someone who works with coal, originally referring to a charcoal burner or seller. Derived from Old English
col "coal, charcoal" combined with the agent suffix
-ier.
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 2, 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.
Colone ItalianFrom an augmentative form meaning “big Nicolas” of the personal name
Cola.
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.