Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Covelo GalicianHabitational name from places called Covelo. From Galician
cova meaning "cave".
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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Coward EnglishOccupational name for a cowherd, from Old English
cuhierde.
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.
Cowherd EnglishVariant of
Coward. A famous bearer of the name is American sports media personality Colin Cowherd (1964-).
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, ScottishFrom Old English
crabba "crab (crustacean)", a nickname for someone with a peculiar gait. Could also be from the sense of "crabapple (tree)", from Middle English
crabbe "crabapple, wild apple", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a crabapple tree, or a nickname for a cantankerous person, with reference to the sourness of the fruit.
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.
Craigie ScottishHabitational name from any of several places in Scotland called
Craigie, or simply a topographic name derived from Scottish Gaelic
creag.
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.
Crane EnglishFrom Middle English
crane "crane (bird)", a nickname for a tall, thin man with long legs. The term included the heron until the introduction of a separate word for the latter in the 14th century... [
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Cranford EnglishHabitational name from any of several places derived from Old English
cran "crane (bird)" and
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.
Cranston ScottishHabitational name from the parish named Cranston in Midlothian, from Old English given name
Cran or element
cran, both meaning "crane" and
tun "enclosure, town"... [
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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.
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."
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
Niall. This name has been explained as a metathesized form of Crennall
Crema ItalianFrom the name of a city in Lombardy, Italy, derived from Lombardic (an Old Germanic language)
krem "small hill".
Crenshaw EnglishThe derivation of this surname is from the Old English pre 7th Century "Crawa", a crow, with "sceaga" a grove, thus "Crowswood". The earliest recording of this placename is in the Lancashire Inquests of 1324 and appears as "Croweshagh".
Crepeau FrenchFrom the Latin word,
crispus, meaning "curly hair".
Cress German, Jewish, BelarusianA variant of the German surname Kress. From the Middle High German "kresse" meaning "gudgeon" (a type of fish) or the Old High German "krassig", meaning "greedy". Can also be from an altered form of the names Erasmus or Christian, or the Latin spelling of the Cyrillic "КРЕСС".
Cresta Italian, RomanshDerived from Italian and Romansh
cresta "crest" (ultimately from Latin
crista). This name was perhaps applied as a topographic name for someone who lived by the crest of a mountain or as a nickname with reference to the comb of a rooster.
Crete FrenchFrench (adjectival form
Crété ‘crested’): nickname for an arrogant individual, from Old French
creste ‘crest (of a hill)’ (Late Latin
crista), used with reference to the comb of a rooster... [
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Creus CatalanMeans "crosses" in Catalan, the plural of
creu. Also compare Spanish
Cruces. A famous bearer of this surname is the Spanish footballer Xavi Hernández Creus (1980-).
Crevier FrenchEither a derivative of Old French
creve meaning “crevice” or “fissure” hence a topographic name for someone who lived on arid land or an occupational name for a seller of crawfish from an agent derivative of Old French
crevis meaning “crawfish.”
Cribbs English (Rare)Unknown origin. Likely either from the Old English given name Crispin, which derives from a Latin nickname meaning "curly-haired", or from the place Cribbis near Lauder, England.
Cripps EnglishOccupational name of a pouch maker. Derived from the Middle English plural "crippes" meaning pouch. Metathesized version of
Crisp.
Crisafulli ItalianDerived from a Greek name, perhaps from
χρυσός (
khrysos) "gold" and
φύλλον (
phyllon) "leaf, foliage".
Crist EnglishFrom Old English
Crīst meaning "Christ, the Messiah" (see
Christos 1). May have been a nickname for someone who played the part of Christ in a pageant, or a short form of a given name containing it as an element, such as
Christian or
Christopher.
Crite Low German, Upper German (Americanized)Probably an Americanized form of South German
Kreit or
Kreith which are topographic names derived from Middle High German
geriute meaning “land cleared for farming” or of North German
Kreite which is a nickname for a quarrelsome person derived from Middle Low German
kreit meaning “strife.”
Crivelli ItalianFrom the Italian
crivello, which is derived from the Latin
cribrum, meaning "sieve," (a mesh food strainer); likely an occupational name for a maker or user of sieves.
Crnković CroatianDerived from
crn "black". The name refers to a person who was dark-skinned, or a person from the region Crna Gora "Black Mountain" (modern-day Montenegro).
Croaker EnglishMeant "person from Crèvecoeur", the name of various places in northern France ("heartbreak", an allusion to the poverty of the local soil).
Crobu ItalianFrom Sardinian
crobu "crow", or a place of the same name.
Crock EnglishMeans "stone or earthenware jar, pot, vessel", possibly an occupational name for a potter. Compare
Crocker.
Crocker EnglishOccupational name for a potter, from Middle English
crockere "potter". Compare
Crock.
Crockett English, ScottishNickname for someone who affected a particular hairstyle, from Middle English
croket ''large curl'' (Old Norman French
croquet, a diminutive of
croque "curl", "hook").
Crofter EnglishA surname of Scottish origin used in the Highlands and Islands and means “an owner or a tenant of a small farm”. The
Old English word croft seems to correspond with the
Dutch kroft meaning “a field on the downs”.
Crofton EnglishDerived from a place name meaning "town with a small enclosed field" in Old English.
Croitoru RomanianCroitoru is a Romanian-language surnames derived from the occupation of
croitor, meaning "tailor".
Crombrugge Belgian, FlemishPossibly means "crooked bridge", from Middle Dutch
crom "bent, not straight" and
brugge "bridge".
Cromwell EnglishHabitational name from a place called Cromwell in Nottinghamshire, derived from Old English
crump "bent, crooked" and
wille "well, stream". Famous bearers of the name were English statesman Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), considered as one of the most important figures in British history, as well as his son, English statesman Richard Cromwell (1626-1712).
Cronholm SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
krona (from Latin
corona) meaning "crown" and
holme (Old Norse
holmr) meaning "small island".
Cronje AfrikaansAltered form of the French surname
Cronier, derived from Old French
crones, a term denoting a sheltered area by a river bank where fish retreat to. This could be used as an occupational name for someone who fished in such an area, or derived from a place named with the element, such as the French village
Crosne.
Cronkhite Dutch (Americanized)Americanized form of the obsolete Dutch surname
Krankheyt, derived from
krankheid meaning "illness, weakness", most likely a nickname for a sickly individual.
Crook English, ScottishTopographic name for someone who lived by a bend in a river or road, derived from Old English *
croc "crook, bend".
Crooks EnglishHabitational name from Crookes in Sheffield (Yorkshire), named with Old Norse
krókr ‘hook, bend’.... [
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Croom EnglishBased on a nickname for a crippled person or a hunchback, derived from Middle English
crom(p) and Old English
crumb, meaning "bent", "crooked", or "stopping". (See
Crump.)
Croom EnglishAn occupational surname for a maker, seller, or user of hooks. Derived from Middle English
crome or
cromb, meaning "hook" or "crook".
Croom EnglishA habitational surname, describing someone who lived in a place named Croom or Croome.
Croslay EnglishThe name is derived from their residence in a region known as the "cross" or "for the dweller at the cross."
Crossley EnglishFrom the word
cross, of Latin origin, and
leah "woodland, clearing". Indicated that the bearer lived by a cross in a clearing
Crosthwaite EnglishHabitational name for someone from any various places named Crosthwaite in Northern England, from Old Norse
kross "cross" and
þveit "clearing".
Crow EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion, or who was thought to resemble the bird in some way, derived from Middle English
crowe, from Old English
crawe.
Crowder EnglishOccupational name for someone who played the crwth, a kind of Welsh bowed lyre widely used during Medieval Europe, derived from Middle English
crowdere.
Crowner EnglishMeans "coroner" (from Anglo-Norman
corouner "coroner", a derivative of Old French
coroune "crown").
Crownover German (Anglicized)Americanised spelling of German
Kronauer, denoting someone from
Kronau, a town near Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It could also be an Americanised form of
Kronhöfer (a variant of
Grünhofer), a habitational name for someone from a lost place called
Grünhof, derived from Middle High German
gruene meaning "green" or
kranech meaning "crane" and
hof meaning "farmstead".
Croy ScottishMeans "person from Croy", the name of various places in Scotland.
Croydon EnglishFrom the name of a town in England, which comes from Anglo-Saxon
croh “crocus” and
denu “valley”.
Crozier English, FrenchEnglish and French occupational name for one who carried a cross or a bishop’s crook in ecclesiastical processions, from Middle English, Old French
croisier.
Crudup German (Anglicized)Probably an Americanised form of North German
Gratop, a nickname for an old man, derived from Middle Low German
gra meaning "gray" and
top meaning "braid". Famous bearers of this name include the Americans Billy Crudup (1968-), an actor, and Arthur Crudup (1905-1974), a Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Cruijff DutchReferred to a person with curly locks of hair, derived from Middle Dutch
cruuf,
cruve literally meaning "curl, lock", ultimately from Latin
curvus. A famous bearer was the Dutch soccer player Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (1947-2016), commonly known as Johan Cruyff.
Cruikshank ScottishFrom a medieval Scottish nickname for someone with a crooked leg (from Scots
cruik "bent" +
shank "leg"). This was the surname of British caricaturist George Cruikshank (1792-1872) and British actor Andrew Cruikshank (1907-1988).
Crumble GermanProbably an altered form of German Krumpel or Krümpel a nickname from Middle High German krum(p) 'deformed crooked'; skeletal deformities were common in the Middle Ages often as a result of childhood illnesses such as rickets.
Crumbley EnglishDerived from the Old English word
crump meaning "bent, crooked." Perhaps a name for a person with an abnormal spine. One notable person with this surname is evil doer Ethan Crumbley, who was a school shooter in Oxford High School in Michigan.
Crump EnglishOriginally a nickname for a crippled or deformed person, from Middle English
cromp,
crump meaning "bent, crooked, stooping" (from Old English
crumb).
Cruse English, IrishName for someone from an unidentified place in Normandy, from Old French
crues,
crus,
creus "hollow".
Crusoe English (Rare)According to Reaney and Wilson this name was taken to England by John Crusoe, a Huguenot refugee from Hownescourt in Flanders, who settled in Norwich.
Cruyff DutchVariant of
Cruijff. This name was borne by the Dutch soccer player Johan Cruyff (1947-2016).