NimitzGerman Derived from Russian немчин (nemchin) meaning "German", of Slavic origin. This surname was borne by Chester W. Nimitz (1885-1966), a fleet admiral of the United States Navy during World War II.
NolteGerman From a short form of various medieval given names derived from Germanic given names ending with -n and wald meaning "rule", for example Arnold and Reinwald... [more]
NugentEnglish, Irish, French An English, Irish (of Norman origin) and French habitational surname derived from any of several places in northern France (such as Nogent-sur-Oise), From Latin novientum and apparently an altered form of a Gaulish name meaning "new settlement".
NungesserGerman Apparently a variant spelling of German Nonnengasse, derived from a street name meaning "nuns, lane". It could also be a variant of Gnugesser, a nickname for a big eater, derived from g(e)nug meaning "enough" and esser meaning "eater" (which derived from essen meaning "to eat")... [more]
OffenbachGerman, Jewish From the name of the city of Offenbach am Main in Hesse, Germany. A famous bearer was the German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880).
OggScottish Anglicized form of a nickname from the Gaelic adjective óg meaning "young", used to distinguish the junior of two bearers of the same personal name.
OgorodnikovRussian From Russian огородник (ogorodnik) meaning "truck farmer, market gardener".
OktyabrskyRussian Meaning "October" in Russian, it often refers to the October Revolution of November 1917, a coup led by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) and the Bolshevik Party.
OldenhaveDutch From the name of a small village in the province of Drenthe, Holland, composed of Dutch oud and hoeve, meaning "old farm".
OldroydEnglish Derived from Old English euld meaning "old" and royd meaning "clearing".
OlmertJewish Possibly from a Germanic given name of uncertain meaning. It could be derived from the Old High German elements ol meaning "ancestor" and mert, a diminutive of merida meaning "fame" or "bright"... [more]
OmtzigtDutch Derived from Dutch omzicht meaning "cautious, careful, circumspection", ultimately from the verb omzien meaning "to look around". It may have originated in a Dutch village with several farms named Omzicht, or as a nickname for a cautious person... [more]
OudelandDutch Habitational name from places called Oudeland in the Netherlands, or perhaps the village of Oudelande in the Dutch province of Zeeland. Their names mean "old land" in Dutch.
OuwehandDutch Means "old hand" in Dutch, originally a nickname for a fisherman, associated with the phrase "old hands at sea". Another theory holds that it comes from a misdivision of the surname Oudeland... [more]
OvechkinRussian Patronymic derived from Russian овечка (ovechka) meaning "lamb". A famous bearer is the Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin (1985-).
OverathGerman From the name of the town of Overath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A famous bearer is the German former soccer player Wolfgang Overath (1943-).
ÖzyakupTurkish From Turkish öz meaning "core, essence, self, pure" combined with the given name Yakup. This name is borne by the Turkish-Dutch soccer player Oğuzhan Özyakup (1992-).
PacinoItalian Diminutive form of Pace. The American actor Al Pacino (1940-) is a well-known bearer of this surname.
PaddockEnglish Derived from Middle English parrock meaning "paddock, small enclosure", hence a topographic name for a dweller by a paddock or an enclosed meadow. It could also be a nickname for a person who resembled a toad or frog in some way (derived from Middle English paddock meaning "toad, frog"), or denote a person hailing from one of the many places in England that bear this name, for example the town and civil parish of Paddock Wood in Kent.
PagourtzisGreek Derived from Greek Παγούρι (Pagouri) meaning "flask, canteen", a vessel containing (usually) water.
PahlaviPersian Means "hero, champion, athletic, strong man", a variant of Pahlavan. It could also refer to a person who came from Parthia, a historical region situated in present-day Iran and Turkmenistan, derived from Persian پهلو (pahlaw) meaning "Parthian, person from Parthia"... [more]
PauwDutch, Flemish Means "peacock" in Dutch. Could be a habitational name from a sign depicting a peacock, or a nickname for a proud or flamboyant person. In some cases, it can be a shortened form of the patronymic Pauwels "son of Paul".
PechtoldGerman, Dutch, Jewish From the Old German given name Pechtholt, which is composed of the elements pecht "rotation" and holdt "hero". As a Dutch-language surname, it is derived from the Middle Dutch given name Pechte combined with Old High German walt "power, authority"... [more]
PeinadoSpanish Derived from peinado meaning "combed" (past participle of peinar meaning "to comb"), hence a nickname for a well-groomed person or for someone with naturally smooth rather than curly hair.
PeirceEnglish From the given name Piers. A notable bearer was the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who is considered to be one of the founders of pragmatism, along with William James and John Dewey.
PenryWelsh, Cornish, English Derived from Welsh ap Henry meaning "son of Henry". It is also a variant of Pendray, which is derived from a place name in Cornwall meaning "top of the village" in Middle Cornish... [more]
PercevalEnglish, Norman Derived from either the Old French given name Perceval, or from one of two places called Perceval in the department of Calvados in Normandy, France... [more]
PerskeBelarusian, Lithuanian, Jewish Variant form of Persky. This was the real surname of American actress Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), who was born Betty Joan Perske.
PerskyBelarusian, Lithuanian, Jewish Derived from the village of Pershai in the Valozhyn District of Belarus, or the place named Perki in Lithuania.
PetitjeanFrench Nickname for a small or little man, or ironically a large or tall man, derived from Old French petit meaning "small, little" combined with the given name Jean 1... [more]
PettiferEnglish Nickname for a good infantryman, an old soldier who had lost a foot, or a person who was never tired of walking, derived from Old French pedefer, pied de fer meaning "iron foot".
PflügerGerman Occupational name for a Ploughman, literally meaning "Ploughman/Plowman" in German.
PiggottEnglish, Irish, Norman From the Old French and Old English given names Picot and Pigot, or derived from Old English pic meaning "point, hill", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a hill with a sharp point (see Pike).
PijnenburgDutch From the name of an estate or hamlet called Pijnenburg in the town of Soest in Utrecht, Holland, composed of Middle Dutch pijn meaning "pine tree" and burg meaning "fortress, manor, mansion".
PikrammenosGreek From Greek πικρός (pikrós) meaning "bitter, acrid, embittered". A famous bearer is the Greek judge and politician Panagiotis Pikrammenos (1945-), who was Deputy Prime Minister of Greece... [more]
PillsburyEnglish Derived from a place in Derbyshire, England, so named from the genitive of the Old English given name Pil and burh meaning "fortified place".
PinochetBasque, French, Spanish Derived from Basque pinoche meaning "pine cone". Alternately, it could be derived from the name of the hamlet of Pinouchet, located in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France... [more]
PitsenbargerGerman Probably an altered spelling of Bezzenberger, which is derived from Boizenburg, a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
PlantagenetMedieval English, Medieval French Borne by the House of Plantagenet, a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. It also originated as a nickname for Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou (1113-1151), father of King Henry II of England (1133-1189), who ascended the English throne in 1154... [more]
PlatiniItalian Occupational name for a person who coats objects with platinum, derived from Italian platinare literally meaning "to platinize, to coat with platinum". A notable bearer is the former French soccer star Michel Platini (1955-).
PoitierFrench Evidently an altered spelling of Pothier. A famous bearer of this surname was the Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier (1927-2022).
PolitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Habitational name derived from any one of several places called Police (known as Pölitz in German) in the Czech Republic. Hugh David Politzer (1949-) is an American theoretical physicist who, along with David Gross and Frank Wilczek, discovered asymptotic freedom.
PoortvlietDutch From the name of the village and former municipality called Poortvliet in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, derived from Middle Dutch port meaning "port, harbour, storage yard, city" and vliet meaning "brook, stream, river, creek, inlet"... [more]
PortmannGerman Occupational name for a gatekeeper, derived from Middle Low German port(e) meaning "gate" and man, or a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town.
ProvidenceEnglish From the name of the capital city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, derived from Middle English providence meaning "divine guidance, care", ultimately from Latin providentia.
ProwseEnglish Nickname for a person who was proud, haughty, brave or valiant, derived from Old French prous, prou, preux, proz and prouz meaning "proud, brave, valiant". A famous bearer was David Prowse (1935-2020), an English bodybuilder, weightlifter and character actor who portrayed the villain Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies.
PuigdemontCatalan Means "top of the hill" or "peak of the mountain". It is derived from Catalan puig meaning "hill, peak" combined with either damunt meaning "on top, above", or munt (a diminutive of muntanya) meaning "mountain", using the preposition d'... [more]
PujolCatalan, French Catalan and French variant of Puig. Spanish tennis player Marcel Granollers (1986-) bears this name.
PulitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Variant form of Politzer. A famous bearer was the Hungarian-American businessman, newspaper publisher and politician Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911). His family came from Hungary, but they were of Czech origin.
RacioppiItalian, Sicilian Derived from Sicilian racioppu meaning "cluster of grapes", hence presumably a metonymic occupational name for someone who sold or produced grapes.
RamaphosaSouthern African, Venda Means "the one who is born in the evening" in Venda. This name is borne by the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa (1952-).
RamplingEnglish Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, derived from Latin ramus meaning "branch" (see Ramos). Famous bearers include English actress Charlotte Rampling (1946-) and her father, athlete and British Army officer Godfrey Rampling (1909-2009).
RamsbottomEnglish Habitational name from a market town called Ramsbottom in Greater Manchester, England (historically in Lancashire), derived from Old English hramsa meaning "wild garlic" or ramm "ram", and bothm meaning "bottom, bottom valley".
RapinoItalian From the name of two municipalities in Abruzzo, Italy. It could also be a nickname for a barber, derived from Italian rapare meaning "to crop, to shave, to scalp".
RedfordEnglish Variant of Radford. A famous bearer is American actor Robert Redford (1936-).
RedgraveEnglish From the name of a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, derived from Old English hrēod meaning "reed" or rēad "red", and græf meaning "pit, ditch" or grāf "grove"... [more]
RedmayneEnglish, Irish Derived from Redmain, a small hamlet in Cumbria, England. It is named with Old English rēad meaning "red" and Welsh main meaning "rock, stone". The name could also be derived from the given name Réamonn, which is an Irish form of Raymond... [more]
RefaeliHebrew Variant of Rafaeli. The Israeli model and actress Bar Refaeli (1985-) is a famous bearer of this name.
ReichenbergGerman, Jewish Habitational name from various places named Reichenberg in several different areas of Germany. As an ornamental name, it is composed of German reich(en) meaning "rich" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
ReilleFrench, Occitan Topographic name derived from Old Occitan relha meaning "plowshare", or a habitational name from any of several places named Reille or La Reille in southern France. A notable bearer was Honoré Charles Reille (1775-1860), a Marshal of France during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
ReisenauerGerman Probably denoted a person from a minor place called Reisenau, or a topographic name for someone living by an overgrown water meadow, derived from Middle High German ris meaning "undergrowth" and owe meaning "water meadow".
ReixachCatalan Habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Reixac in Catalonia, Spain, for example the municipality of Montcada i Reixac in the province of Barcelona.
ReizigerDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Derived from Middle Dutch reisiger meaning "traveller, voyager", ultimately from Middle High German meaning "soldier on horseback". It is notably borne by the Dutch former soccer player Michael Reiziger (1973-).
RellerGerman (Swiss) Occupational name for a miller, derived from the Swiss German dialect term relle meaning "grist mill".
RelyeaGerman, French (Anglicized) Altered spelling of southern German and French Rellier, or probably a regional variant of Swiss German Reller, especially in the western provinces of Austria... [more]
ReschkeGerman Derived from the Middle High German word "rasch" meaning "quick," or "hot-headed". As such, it may have originated as a nickname for a quick or rash person.
ReubensJewish, English Derived from the given name Reuben. This surname was borne by American comedian and actor Paul Reubens (1952-2023; birth name Paul Rubenfeld), who created and played the comic fictional character Pee-wee Herman.
RiesenbergGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a big mountain, derived from Middle High German rise meaning "giant" and berg meaning "mountain".
RimesEnglish Originally denoted one who came from the city of Reims in the Grand Est region of France, or a topographic name for someone who lived in a thickly wooded area, derived from Old French ramel (a diminutive of raim) meaning "branch", ultimately from Latin ramus... [more]
RintoulScottish Derived from a farm with the same name, near the town of Milnathort in Kinross-shire, Scotland.
RiseboroughEnglish Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Risborough, Riseborough or Risbury in England, derived from Old English hrīs meaning "brushwood" and beorg meaning "hill, mound", or from hrīs and burh meaning "fortification"... [more]
RispoliItalian A patronymic from a derivative of the given name Rispo, which is probably of Germanic origin. Alternatively, it could be a variant of Ruspoli, which is of unknown origin.
RittermanGerman From Middle High German riter meaning "rider, knight" and man literally meaning "man".
RivlinBelarusian, Jewish Matronymic name derived from the given name Rivka. A famous bearer is Reuven Rivlin (1939-), the tenth President of Israel.
RobardsEnglish Altered form of Roberts. A famous bearer was American actor Jason Robards (1922-2000), as well as his father Jason Robards Sr. (1892-1963) and son Sam Robards (1961-), also noted actors.
RochussenDutch Means "son of Rochus". Famous bearers of this name are the Dutch prime minister Jan Jacob Rochussen (1797-1871) and the 19th-century painter Charles Rochussen (1814-1894).
RouthEnglish From the village and civil parish of Routh in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England (recorded in the Domesday book as Rutha). The place name may derive from Old Norse hrúedhr meaning "rough shaly ground"... [more]
RouvoetDutch From a nickname that meant "rough foot", derived from Middle Dutch ru meaning "rough, wild" and voet meaning "foot". This name is borne by the retired Dutch politician André Rouvoet (1962-).
RoxburghScottish From Roxburgh, a village near the market town of Kelso in the Scottish Borders area in Scotland, derived from the Old English byname Hroc meaning "rook" and burh meaning "fortified place"... [more]
RuffaloItalian Variant spelling of Ruffolo. A famous bearer is American actor Mark Ruffalo (1967-).
RumfeltGerman, Dutch Altered spelling of German Romfeld, derived from Middle Low German rüm- meaning "to clear (land)" and feld meaning "open country, field", hence a topographic name or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a person engaged in clearing woodland, or in some cases a habitational name for someone from Romfelt in the Ardennes... [more]
RummeniggeGerman Meaning uncertain. It could possibly be an occupational name for a viticulturist who grew grapes to make wine, a seller or producer of Romanian wine, or a nickname for a person who preferred to drink Romanian wine... [more]
RumsfeldGerman Variant spelling of Rumfelt. A notable bearer was the American politician, businessman and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (1932-2021).
RundellEnglish Nickname derived from a diminutive of Middle English and Old French rond, rund meaning "fat, round" (see Rounds), or derived from Rundale, a local place in the village and civil parish of Shoreham in Kent, England, named with Old English rum(ig) meaning "roomy, spacious" and dæl meaning "valley".
RutteDutch Derived from the given name Rutger. This surname is borne by the former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte (1967-).
SackhoffGerman Occupational name for a farmer who cultivated land to grow plants, particularly crops, derived from Middle High German sack meaning "sack, end of a valley, area of cultivation" and hof meaning "farmstead, manor, farm"... [more]
SaeidzadehPersian From the given name Saeid combined with the Persian suffix -زاده (-zâde) meaning "offspring".
ScaglioneItalian Derived from scaglione meaning "stallion’s canine tooth" (an augmentative form of scaglie meaning "canine tooth", from Old French escaillon meaning "horse’s tooth"), presumably a nickname for someone with exceptionally large teeth.
SchaalGerman, Dutch, French, Jewish Either a nickname for a braggart or a market crier, (derived from Middle High German schal meaning "noise, bragging"), an occupational name for someone who made dishes for scales and vessels for drinking, (from Middle Low German and Dutch schale "dish"), a habitational name from Schaala in Thuringia or the Schaalsee lake near Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, or a topographic name for someone living on marshy land, (from Dutch schald "shallow")... [more]
SchermerhornDutch From Schermerhorn, the name of a village in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands, derived from Dutch schermer meaning "fencer" and hoorn meaning "horn". It was borne by the Dutch politician Willem "Wim" Schermerhorn (1894-1977), a Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
SchillingGerman, Dutch, Jewish Means "shilling (coin)", possibly a nickname for a serf who had paid his rent or fee to his lord for his freedom. It could also be a habitational name derived from Schillingen, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany... [more]
SchirokauerGerman, Yiddish Derived from the town of Sieraków in the Silesian Voivodeship in Poland.
SchmeichelGerman Nickname for a flatterer, derived from Middle High German smeichen literally meaning "to flatter". Famous bearers of this surname include Peter Schmeichel (1963-) and his son Kasper Schmeichel (1986-), both of whom are Danish soccer goalkeepers.
SchmidlappGerman Derived from Middle High German smit "smith, metalworker" and lap(pe) meaning "cloth, patch, rag".
SchmidlkoferGerman, German (Austrian) Occupational name for a farmer who was also a blacksmith, derived from a diminutive of Middle High German smit meaning "smith" and the suffix -kofer (a variant of -hofer).
SchnappGerman Derived from Middle High German snappen meaning "to chatter", or Middle Low German snappen meaning "to grab". This was originally a nickname for a chatterer or a greedy person.
SchonewilleDutch Perhaps a nickname for an attractive person, derived from Middle Dutch schône meaning "beautiful, clean, pure" and wille meaning "to want, to desire".
SchopenhauerGerman Derived from German schöpfen meaning "to scoop, ladle" and hauen meaning "to chop", referring to a maker of wooden and metal scoops and buckets. This name was borne by the German pessimist philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), the author of the 1818 book The World as Will and Representation among other works.
SchuhGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a maker or repairer of shoes, derived from Middle High German schuoch meaning "shoe". In some cases, it may have denoted a person to a house distinguished by the sign of a shoe.
SchumerJewish, German (Rare) Possibly taken from Middle Low German schumer meaning "good for nothing, vagabond". Notable bearers are American comedian Amy Schumer (b. 1981) and American politician Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer (b... [more]
SchurrGerman From a nickname meaning "quarrel" in German, given to a hot-tempered person.
SchürrleGerman Variant of Schurr. A famous bearer is the retired German soccer player André Schürrle (1990-).
SchwankGerman Either a nickname for a thin person, (derived from Middle High German swanc meaning "little, slender, thin"), a pretty person (from Middle Low German swank "fine, dainty") or a fun, loving person (from Middle High German swanc and Middle Low German swank "funny idea, joke, jest, foolery").
SchwankeGerman From a short form of the German given name Swaneke, a pet form of Swane, ultimately derived from a Germanic compound name formed with swan meaning "swan" as the first element (see Schwenke 2).
SchweinsteigerGerman Occupational name for a pig farmer, an overseer of pigs or a nickname for someone who rode a pig, derived from Middle High German swīn meaning "hog, swine" and stīger meaning "foreman, mine inspector"... [more]
SchwenkGerman Variant spelling of Schwanke, or apparently a nickname referring to a person's gait, derived from Middle High German swenken meaning "to swing back and forth, to sling" (see Schwenke 1).
ScorseseItalian From a nickname that indicated a person who came from Scotland, derived from Italian scozzese literally meaning "Scotsman, Scottish". This spelling arose from a transcription error of the surname Scozzese... [more]
SeidenbergGerman, Jewish Derived from several places with the same name. As an ornamental name, it is derived from German seide meaning "silk" and berg meaning "mountain".
SerdàCatalan (Valencian) Variant of Cerdà, or from the name of the village of Cerdà (also called La Serda) in the province of Valencia in Spain.
SeydouxFrench, French (Swiss), Occitan Derived from the Germanic names Sedulius, Sedulfus or Segedolfus. Another theory suggests Occitan roots; it might be an occupational name for someone who worked with silk, derived from Occitan sedós meaning "silky, soft"... [more]
SeyfriedGerman Derived from the given name Siegfried. The American actress Amanda Seyfried (1985-) is a well-known bearer of this name.
ShamirHebrew Derived from Hebrew שָׁמִיר (shamiyr) meaning "thorn, briar, thistle" or "flint, diamond, emery, adamant". It was borne by the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir (1915-2012), whose birth name was either Yitzhak Yezernitsky or Icchak Jaziernicki.
ShamounArabic, Assyrian, Jewish Derived from the given name شامون (Shamʿūn), itself an Arabic form of Simon 1, used mainly among Christians and Jews... [more]
SharafkandiKurdish Denoted a person from Sharafkand, a village in the Central District of Bukan County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran.
SharettHebrew Means "minister, servant", from Hebrew שָׁרַת (sharath) literally meaning "to minister, to serve". This surname was adopted by Moshe Sharett (1894-1965), born Moshe Chertok, who was the first foreign minister and later the second Prime Minister of Israel.
ShazarHebrew Referred to someone living near acacia trees that tend to be twisted, derived from Hebrew שָׁזַר (shazar) literally meaning "to twist, to be twisted, to intertwine". A famous bearer was the Israeli president, author and poet Zalman Shazar (1889-1974), who was born Shneur Zalman Rubashov.
ShcheglovRussian From Russian щегол (shchegol) meaning "goldfinch".
SheriffEnglish, Scottish Occupational name for a sheriff, derived from Middle English schiref, shreeve, shryve literally meaning "sheriff", or from Old English scir meaning "shire, administrative district" and (ge)refa meaning "reeve"... [more]
ShevardnadzeGeorgian Means "son of the falcon", from Georgian შავარდენი (shavardeni) meaning "falcon, hawk". A famous bearer was Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze (1928-2014).
ShrewsburyEnglish From Shrewsbury, a market town and the county town of Shropshire, England, derived from Old English scrobb meaning "scrub, brushwood" and burg meaning "fortified place".
ShroffIndian, Hindi, Gujarati, Arabic, Urdu, Indian (Parsi) Originally an occupational name for a cashier, money changer or banker, derived from Gujarati સરાફ (saraf) meaning "bullion merchant", itself ultimately derived from Arabic صراف (sarraf) meaning "teller".
SkorupaPolish, Jewish Derived from Polish skorupa meaning "shell", hence a nickname for a secretive individual.
SmuldersDutch Occupational name derived from Dutch des mulders meaning "son of the miller". A famous bearer is Canadian-American actress Cobie Smulders (1982-).
SnelliusDutch (Latinized) Latinized form of Snel. A notable bearer was the Dutch astronomer and mathematician Willebrord Snellius (1580-1626; real name Willebrord Snel van Royen), commonly called Snell, for whom the formula Snell's law is named.
SnipeEnglish Derived from a given name; from Old English snip or Old Norse snípr. It is habitational surname from a place so called in the historic county of Northumberland, North East England.
SnipesEnglish Variant spelling of or a patronymic from Snipe. A famous bearer is American actor Wesley Snipes (1962-).
SonnenbergGerman, Jewish From various place names derived from Middle High German sunne meaning "sun" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
SounessScottish (Rare) Perhaps derived from the place name Soonhouse in the town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders area (which is of uncertain meaning), or from the place names Sun-hlaw or Sunilaw near the town of Coldstream, also in the Scottish Borders in Scotland, meaning "south hill" or "sunny hill" in Old English... [more]
SpellingEnglish, Irish, Jewish Occupational name for a scholar, speaker or a story teller, derived from Middle English spellan meaning "to tell or relate". It could also be a variant of Irish Spillane or Jewish Spellman... [more]
SpringbornGerman Derived from Middle Low German sprinkborn meaning "spring, well", hence either a nickname for someone who lived by a spring or a water well, or from various place names in Germany.
SpruytDutch Variant of Spruijt. This surname is especially common in Belgium.
SquibbEnglish Nickname for an irascible, unpredictable or petty person, derived from Middle English squibbe meaning "firework, firecracker". A famous bearer is the American actress June Squibb (1929-).
StanwyckEnglish Variant spelling of Stanwick. This name was borne by the American actress, model and dancer Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990).
StarkeyEnglish, German From a diminutive of Stark. This surname is borne by the English musician Sir Richard Starkey (1940-), also known as Ringo Starr.
SteinkampGerman North German topographic name for someone living by a field with a prominent rocky outcrop or boulder in it, and derived from Middle Low German sten meaning "rock, stone" and kamp meaning "enclosed field".
StekelenburgDutch Derived from Middle Dutch stekel meaning "prickle, stickle, spine, spike" and burg meaning "fortress". A famous bearer is the retired Dutch soccer goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (1982-).
StrathairnScottish From Strathearn, the name of a large valley of the River Earn in Scotland, derived from Gaelic srath meaning "river valley, grassland" combined with the river's name. A famous bearer is American actor David Strathairn (1949-).
StreisandGerman, Jewish Possibly an ornamental name, literally meaning "scattersand" in German. This surname is borne by the American singer and actress Barbra Streisand (1942-).
StruijkDutch Topographic name derived from Middle Dutch struuc meaning "bush, shrub".
StrzałkowskiPolish Denoted a person from various places in Poland named Strzałki, Strzałkowo, Strzałków, all derived from Polish strzalka meaning "arrow".
SturdivantEnglish Perhaps a nickname for messenger, a pursuivant or a hasty person, derived from Middle English stirten, sterten meaning "to start, leap" (ultimately from Old English styrtan) and avaunt meaning "forward" (itself from Old French).
SugarbakerEnglish Occupational name for an owner of a sugar-house, a factory where raw sugar was made or refined, derived from Middle English sugre, suker meaning "sugar" and bakere meaning "baker".
SüleymanoğluTurkish Means "son of Süleyman", from the given name Süleyman combined with the Turkish patronymic suffix -oğlu.
SullenbergerGerman (Swiss) Derived from an unknown place called Sullenberg or from Schallenberg in Baden, Switzerland. A famous bearer is Sully Sullenberger (1951-), an American retired Air Force fighter pilot and airline captain who is best known for saving all 155 people aboard in the 2009 ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan, after both engines were disabled by a bird strike.
SuurbierDutch Dutch cognate of Sauerbier. A famous bearer was the Dutch soccer player Wim Suurbier (1945-2020).
SvedbergSwedish Combination of Swedish svedja "to burn off, to swidden" (referring to slash-and-burn agriculture (in Swedish: svedjebruk)) and berg "mountain". This name can be both locational (surname derived from a place named with Sved-... [more]
SweetingEnglish Derived from Old English swete and Middle English sweting meaning "darling, sweetheart", hence a nickname for a popular and attractive person, or for somebody who habitually addressed people with the term (see Sweet).
SychyovRussian From Russian сыч (sych) meaning "small owl".
SyracuseItalian (Anglicized) Americanized spelling of Siracusa. This is also the name of a city in the U.S. state of New York, though the etymology is unrelated.
TappEnglish, German Derived from an Old English given name Tæppa, of uncertain origin and meaning. In German, it is a nickname for a clumsy person or a simpleton, derived from Middle Low German tappe meaning "oaf".
TautouFrench, Occitan Derived from French tatou meaning "armadillo". It may have originally been given to a person who resembled an armadillo in some way. A famous bearer is the French actress and model Audrey Tautou (1976-).
TeasdaleEnglish From Teesdale, the name of a valley of the River Tees in northern England, derived from the river's name (meaning "warmth" in Old English) combined with dæl meaning "valley".
TewksburyEnglish Derived from Tewkesbury, a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is named with the Old English given name Teodec and burg meaning "fortification".