BacolodFilipino, Hiligaynon, Cebuano Derived from Hiligaynon bakolod meaning "hill, mound, rise". This is also the name of a city in the Negros Occidental province in the Philippines.
BacunawaFilipino, Cebuano Derived from Cebuano bakunawa referring to a type of serpent or dragon in Visayan mythology.
BagaoisanFilipino, Tagalog From Tagalog bagwisan meaning "to grow wings" or "to pull out the wing feathers (of a bird)".
BagrationiGeorgian Means "son of Bagrat" in Georgian. This was the name of a royal dynasty that ruled Georgia from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
BagsicFilipino, Tagalog From Tagalog bagsik meaning "fierceness, severity, strength, power".
BaguindaFilipino, Maguindanao, Maranao From the Minangkabau title bagindo denoting a prince or member of royalty. It was probably adopted in honour of Rajah Baguinda Ali (Raja Bagindo Ali in Indonesian sources), a Minangkabau prince who became a ruler of the Sulu Archipelago.
BaguioFilipino, Cebuano Hispanicized form of Cebuano bagyo meaning "typhoon, storm".
BakhtiariPersian From the given name Bakhtiar, also used to refer to a member of the Bakhtiari tribe from southwestern Iran.
BakshiIndian, Bengali, Punjabi Derived from Persian بخشی (baxši) meaning "paymaster, scribe, secretary", used as a title for officials who distributed wages in Muslim armies.
BandaraSinhalese From a title used for political and military leaders in the Sinhala Kingdom, which was derived from the name of a group of guardian deities in Sinhalese Buddhist belief.
BanglaBengali From বাংলা (Bangla), the endonym of the Bengali people, the region of Bengal (including Bangladesh), and the Bengali language. The word itself is derived either from Vanga, the name of an ancient kingdom on the Indian subcontinent, or from an Austric word meaning "sun god".
BarchoCircassian Possibly derived from an Adyghe word meaning "band, lace", referring to someone who made ropes or binding tapes, or from a Chechen word referring to a tailor.
BarinovRussian Means "son of the boyar" from Russian барин (barin) meaning "boyar, nobleman".
BaronJewish From German or Polish baron or Russian барон (baron) meaning "baron". In Israel the name is often interpreted to mean "son of strength" from Hebrew בר און (bar on).
BasraIndian, Punjabi From the name of a city in present-day Iraq, Basra (البصرة).
BassettEnglish From Old French bas meaning "short", low". It was either used as a nickname for a short person or someone of humble origins.
BasumataryIndian, Bodo From Sanskrit वसुमती (Vasumati), another name for the Hindu goddess Bhumi. She is believed to be the mythical mother of the Bodo people.
BataborFilipino, Maranao Means "coffeepot, teapot" or "green malong (tube skirt)" in Maranao.
BatawiArabic Means "Betawi" in Arabic, referring to someone originally from the city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in Indonesia.
Baz-oolTuvan (Rare) Means "another boy" from Tuvan база (baza) meaning "also, too, another" combined with оол (ool) "son, boy".
BazzatyOssetian Derived from Georgian ბაზი (bazi) meaning "falcon" or from a given name derived from Tatar базу (bazu) meaning "to dare" (given in hopes that a son would become a warrior).
BeifongPopular Culture Surname of Toph from the American TV show "Avatar: The Last Airbender". Could be derived from the Chinese word "北方 (Běifāng)" meaning "north".
BenArabic (Maghrebi) Maghrebi variant of Arabic بْن (bn), a form of اِبْن (ibn) meaning "son (of), offspring". It is often used as a prefix for other Maghrebi patronymic names (such as Benali "son of Ali 1" or Ben Amor "son of Amor").
Ben AliArabic (Maghrebi), Comorian Maghrebi transcription of Arabic بن علي (bin Ali) meaning "son of Ali 1". A notable bearer was Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1936-2019), who served as the president of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011.
BenallyNavajo From Navajo binálí meaning "his grandchild", derived from análí meaning "(paternal) grandchild". It was commonly adopted when Native Americans were required to take surnames for record purposes.
Ben HadjArabic (Maghrebi) Means "son of the pilgrim"; the title Hadj refers to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This surname is mainly found in Tunisia.
BenkiraneArabic (Maghrebi) From Arabic بْن (bn) meaning "son" combined with كِيرَان (kīrān) meaning "forges, furnaces", possibly denoting descent of a blacksmith or metalworker (chiefly Moroccan).
BennaniArabic (Maghrebi) Means "my son" in Hebrew, from בן (ben) meaning "son" and אני (ani) meaning "I, me". This is the name of a Moroccan family of Jewish origin that converted to Islam.
BennounaArabic (Maghrebi) Most likely from Arabic بن (bin) meaning "son" and the given name Nouna, which may have been derived from an Arabic word meaning "whale, big fish" or "sabre, sword". Alternately, it may be from an Arabic name for a variety of melon... [more]
BergoglioItalian From the name of a village in Piedmont, Italy. A notable bearer is JorgeMario Bergoglio (1936-), better known as Pope Francis, the current head of the Catholic Church.
BeshimovKyrgyz Possibly derived from the given name Beshim. A known bearer is Bakyt Beshimov, the deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan.
BestautyOssetian Derived from Ossetian бистэ (biste) meaning "village, suburb" or from Persian به (beh) meaning "good, excellent, better". In the case of the former, it would have been used to indicate the place of residence of an ancestor.
BhuttoSindhi Meaning uncertain. This is the name of a prominent Pakistani political family of Sindhi origin. Two of its members, ZulfikarAli Bhutto (1928-1979) and Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) served as prime ministers of Pakistan.
BhuyanIndian, Bengali, Assamese, Odia Means "landlord, chieftain", derived from Sanskrit भूमि (bhumi) meaning "earth, soil".
BingleyEnglish Habitational surname for someone originally from the town of Bingley in West Yorkshire, England. The name is either derived from the given name Bynna combined with the suffix -inga meaning "the people of" or from the Old English elements bing meaning "hollow" and leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
BluntEnglish Nickname for a person with fair hair or a light complexion from Old French blunt meaning "blond". It was also used as a nickname for a stupid person from Middle English blunt or blont meaning "dull".
BolithoCornish Habitational name for someone originally from the locality of Bolitho in western Cornwall, derived from Old Cornish bod or bos meaning "dwelling" combined with an unknown personal name.
BondocPampangan, Tagalog From Kapampangan bunduk or Tagalog bundok both meaning "mountain".
BoniadiPersian (Rare) Probably indicated a person from the Iranian village of Boniad, possibly derived from Persian بنیاد (bonyad) meaning "foundation, base". A notable bearer is Iranian-English actress Nazanin Boniadi (1980-).
BouaziziArabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of Aziz" in Arabic (chiefly Maghrebi). A notable bearer was Mohamed Bouazizi (1984-2011), a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire... [more]
BoucharebArabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of the moustache" or "father of the drinker" from Arabic أَبُو (ʾabū) meaning "father" and شَارِب (šārib) meaning "moustache" or "drinker".
BouhiredArabic (Maghrebi) Meaning unknown. A notable bearer is Djamila Bouhired (1935-), an Algerian militant and nationalist who opposed the French rule over Algeria.
BouhoucheBerber, Northern African Kabyle name possibly derived from Arabic أَبُو (ʾabū) meaning "father" and حَوْش (ḥawš) meaning "courtyard, enclosure, farm" (chiefly Algerian).
BoukharoubaArabic (Maghrebi) Meaning unknown, possibly of Kabyle origin. A notable bearer was Algerian revolutionary and President HouariBoumediene (1932-1978), who was born as Mohamed ben Brahim Boukharouba.
BoumedieneArabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of Midian" in Arabic (chiefly Algerian). A notable bearer was Houari Boumediene (1932-1978), born as Mohamed ben Brahim Boukharouba, an Algerian revolutionary who served as the second President of Algeria from 1976-1978.
BouteflikaArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly means "one who makes things explode" in Algerian Arabic. A famous bearer is Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1937-), who served as president of Algeria from 1999 to 2019.
BoutellaArabic (Maghrebi, Rare) Means "father of the mountain" or "father of the hill", from Arabic أَبُو (ʾabū) meaning "father (of)" and تَلّ (tall) meaning "hill, foothill". Two notable bearers include father and daughter Safy (1950-) and Sofia (1982-) Boutella, an Algerian singer and an Algerian-French actress, respectively.
BulguchevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush surname derived from the name of an Ingush teip (clan). The clan's name is derived from the name Bulguch of unknown meaning.
ÇakırTurkish Means "greyish blue (eyes)" in Turkish.
ÇakmakTurkish Means "lighter" in Turkish, referring to a tool used to ignite fire. This is also the name of a village in Antalya Province, Turkey.
CalderaSpanish Derived from Spanish caldera meaning "basin, crater, hollow", ultimately from Latin caldarium or caldaria both meaning "hot bath, cooking pot". The word also denotes a depression in volcanoes, and it is commonly used as an element for surnames denoting streams or mountains.
CaringalFilipino, Tagalog Means "very beautiful, very handsome", from Tagalog dingal "beautiful, handsome".
CartagenaSpanish From the name of the city of Cartagena in southeastern Spain, derived from Latin Carthāgō Nova meaning "New Carthage" (ultimately derived from Phonecian qrt-ḥdšt meaning "new city").
CasagrandeItalian Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations called Casagrande or Casa Grande, derived from Italian casa meaning "house" and grande meaning "big, large".
ChakravartiMarathi, Hindi Derived from Sanskrit चक्रवर्तिन् (chakravartin) meaning "world-ruler, emperor, monarch" (literally "wheel-turner" or "one who's wheels are turning"), from चक्र (chakra) meaning "wheel, circle" and वर्तिन् (vartin) meaning "abiding, moving, turning"... [more]