BondeSwedish, Old Swedish, Danish From Old Norse bóndi "farmer". Used as both a last name and a (rare) given name in Sweden (see Bonde for the given name and Bondesson as an example of a patronymic derived from this name)... [more]
BongiornoItalian Italian from the medieval personal name Bongiorno (composed of bono ‘good’ + giorno ‘day’), bestowed on a child as an expression of the parents’ satisfaction at the birth (‘it was a good day when you were born’).
BongiovanniItalian Comes from the personal name Giovanni composed of the elements bon ‘good’ + Giovanni, Italian equivalent of John
BongioviItalian Comes from the given name Giovi, combination of bon 'good' + Giovi.
BonhocFilipino, Cebuano From Cebuano bunhok meaning "bird louse" (a type of small biting insect).
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-).
BonkobaraJapanese From 盆 (bon) meaning "tray, bowl, basin, lantern festival", combined with 子 (ko, shi) meaning "child, sign of the rat", and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
BonnemaisonFrench Literally means "good house", derived from French bonne "good" and French maison "house". As such, this surname is most likely a locational surname, in that it originally either referred to someone who lived in a good house (probably more like a mansion) or to someone who was born in (or lived in) the place Bonnemaison, which is nowadays located in the Calvados department of France... [more]
BonsallEnglish (British) This is a locational name which originally derived from the village of Bonsall, near Matlock in Derbyshire. The name is Norse-Viking, pre 10th Century and translates as 'Beorns-Halh' - with 'Beorn' being a personal name meaning 'Hero' and 'Halh' a piece of cultivated land - a farm.
BontempsFrench Derived from Old French bon temps meaning "good time". One popular bearer of the name is the American poet and novelist Arna Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973).
BookeAmerican American variant of the German name Buche meaning "beech" in reference to the beech tree. Notable bearer is the actor Sorrell Booke (1930-1994).
BookmanGerman (East Prussian) Bookman, as a surname, derives from East Purssian origin. It is the American version of “Buchmann” with “Buch” meaning book in German, and “Mann” meaning man, creating the Americanized German surname Bookman.
BookwalterEnglish (American) German: variant of Buchwalder, a habitational name for someone from any of various places called Buchwald or Buchwalde in Saxony and Pomerania, meaning 'beech forest'. The surname Buchwalter is very rare in Germany.... [more]
BoonstraWest Frisian, Dutch Denoted someone who cam from the town of Oldeboorn, named for the nearby De Boarn river, related to Middle Dutch borne "well, spring, source".
BoonyaratglinThai From Thai บุญ (bun) meaning "delight; happiness", รัต (rat) of unknown meaning, and กลิน (klin) of unknown meaning.
BoormanEnglish This surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may be either a topographical name for someone who lived in a particularly noteworthy or conspicuous cottage, from the Old English bur "bower, cottage, inner room" with mann "man", or a locational name from any of the various places called Bower(s) in Somerset and Essex, which appear variously as Bur, Bure and Bura in the Domesday Book of 1086.
BorákCzech Habitational name for someone from one of many places named with bor meaning "pine forest"; alternatively from a short form of the personal names Dalibor or Bořivoj, containing the element -bor meaning "battle".
BorénSwedish Combination of an unknown first element and the common surname suffix -én (originally from Latin -enius "descendant of"). Also possible habitational name derived from places named with Bor-, such as Borås, Borensberg, and Borlänge... [more]
BorenGerman Of unclear origin, most likely a variant of the German surname Born.
BorgesPortuguese, Spanish Possibly from Old French burgeis meaning "town-dweller" (see Burgess). Alternately, it may have denoted someone originally from the city of Bourges in France.
BorjiginMongolian This is the name of a Mongol sub-clan, of which Genghis Khan was part of. A suggested origin is a Turkic-language term borčïqïn meaning "man with dark blue eyes", though this is somewhat dubious... [more]
BorkowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of various locations called Borki, Borkowice or Borek, all derived from Polish bór meaning "conifer forest, pine forest".
BormannGerman This surname is presumed to be a variant of Bornemann, which is made up of Middle Low German born meaning "spring" and man meaning "man," denoting someone who lived by a spring or a well.
BorneDutch Shortened form of the Dutch surname van den Borne, derived from Middle Dutch borne "well, spring, source". A habitational name for someone from Born in the province of Limburg (Netherlands) or from a place associated with the watercourse of the Borre river in French Flanders.
BornemanDutch Variant of Borne "well, spring, source", with the addition of man "man, person".
BoroIndian, Bodo From the name of the Boro (or Bodo) people, itself either meaning "great people" or derived from the name of the Hindu god Varaha.
BorondaAmerican (Hispanic), Basque Boronda is a Californio surname that is also of Basque origin. Boronda is the name of a place in Salinas California named after Jose Eusebio Boronda where he made his house out of Adobe. Today, It is a California national Historic landmark in Boronda road in Salinas.
BorowiczPolish Patronymic from a pet form of Borowy, or from Borzyslaw, Bolebor, or some other personal name formed with the element bor ‘to fight’.
BorrelliItalian There are three possible origins of this surname. It could derive from some place names located in Catania and Campania -two Italian southern regions. Another hypothesis is that it derives from the Celtic word borro, meaning "proud" or maybe "ditch"... [more]
BorresenDanish The Danish surname Borresen has two origins. Boerresen is composed of -sen 'son' + the given name Boerre, the modern equivalent of Old Norse Byrgir 'the helper' (from proto-Indo-European root BHER- 'to carry, bear')... [more]
BorsheimNorwegian (Rare) Habitational name from either of two farmsteads in Norway: Borsheim in Rogaland and Børsheim in Hordaland. Borsheim is a combination of an unknown first element and Norwegian heim "home", while Børsheim is a combination of Old Norse byrgi "fence, enclosure" and heim.
BorzaniItalian Family of ancient and noble tradition, originally from Romagna. The commendator GB of Crollalanza reports the blazon of this family in the volumes of his historical blazon dictionary of the noble and notable Italian families... [more]
BosinneyCornish Denotes the original bearer came from Bossiney, Cornwall. Bossiney comes from Cornish Bod and Cini, meaning "Cini's dwelling," with Cini being a Cornish name of unknown meaning.... [more]
BosleyEnglish English habitation surname derived from the Old English personal name Bosa and the Old English leah "clearing, field". It's also possibly a variant of the French surname Beausoleil meaning "beautiful sun" from the French beau 'beautiful, fair' and soleil 'sun'... [more]
BosmaWest Frisian, Dutch Means "man of the forest", from Dutch bos "forest, woods" and the Frisian suffix -ma.
BoşnakTurkish Means "Bosniak" in Turkish. One of the only major ethnic groups that adopted Islam during the Ottoman Empire. A huge diaspora of Bosniaks live in Turkey and many Turks have Bosniak heritage.
BosneagRomanian means "Bosnian" or a descendant of Bosnia in Romanian
BostockEnglish From the name of a village in Cheshire, England, meaning "Bota’s place", derived from the Old English given name Bota combined with stoc "place, dwelling".
BostonEnglish Habitational name from the town Boston in Lincolnshire, England. The name means "Botwulf’s stone".... [more]
BoströmSwedish Combination of Swedish bo "dwelling, home" and ström "stream, river".
BostwickEnglish Altered form of Bostock, the second element probably influenced by Old English wic "village, town".
BosustowCornish bos Ustoc, dwelling of Ustoc, poss: bos-ysow, corn abode
BoswellFrench (Anglicized) The name Boswell is an Anglicization of the name of a French village: Boseville (Beuzeville). This was a village of 1400 inhabitants near Yvetot, in Normandy. (from 'A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames', by Charles W. Bardsley, New York, 1901)... [more]
BotelhoPortuguese, Portuguese (Brazilian) From the Portuguese word botelho, which can denote a measure of grain, a grain sack, or seaweed, and was probably applied as an occupational name for a grain dealer or a gatherer of kelp or seaweed.
BotkinRussian This was the surname of Evgeniy Botkin ( 1865 - 1918) who was the Russian court physician. He remained loyal to the family of Tsar Nicholas II Romanov when the revolution occurred and followed them into exile in Siberia... [more]
BotticelliItalian Etymology uncertain. It can derive from the Italian word botte meaning "barrel" and from the occupation bottaio meaning "cooper". In the case of Sandro Botticelli it has probably another origin... [more]
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".
BoudreauxFrench Variant of Beaudreau. Originated in ancient area known as Languedoc, where the family was established. Comes from having lived in Languedoc, where the name was found since the early Middle Ages.
BoujettifNorthern African (Archaic) Meaning, "The family of the son of the Clever Head" or "One Whom Possess a Clever Head." Bou (normally used in the North African Regions of the Maghrib Countries) has 2 possible derivative meanings both originating from the Arabic language, "Son of..." or an Arabic word Tho meaning, "One Who Possess A Quality." Jettif is a variance of Jettef, Jeif or Ji'f which is derived from the ancient Tamazight or Imazighen (popularly known as Berber) and is pronounced "j-ixf" which means Clever, head, or brain."
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.
BoukourasGreek Name of Dacian/Illyrian or Thracian origin. It means "happy". Also, see the Romanian surname Bukur
BoulahrouzArabic (Maghrebi), Berber Means "father of Lahrouz", possibly an Arabic given name of unknown meaning. It is chiefly used in Algeria and Morocco. The retired Dutch soccer player Khalid Boulahrouz (1981-) is a famous bearer of this name.
BoulierFrench Occupational name for a maker of balls or the organizer of a game of boules, from French boule meaning "ball".
BoumaWest Frisian Shortened form of the now-extinct Frisian surname Bouwema, a patronymic form of the given name Bouwe (see Boudewijn)... [more]
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.
BourasArabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of the head" from Arabic أبو (abu) meaning "father" and رأس (ras) meaning "head, leader, chief".
BourbonFrench Habitational name for a person mainly from the lordship of Bourbon-l'Archambault in Allier, now a spa town, derived from the Celtic god Borvo, from Proto-Celtic *borvo "froth, foam". It could be from other places containing Bourbon of the same origin.
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.
BouteillerFrench occupational name for a wine steward or butler usually the chief servant of a medieval household or for a maker of bottles from bouteiller an agent derivative of bouteille "bottle"... [more]
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.
BoutetFrench from a pet form of the ancient Germanic personal name Boto a short form of any of various names composed with the element bod "messenger"... [more]
BowdenEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Bowden or Bowdon, most of them in England. From Old English boga "bow" and dun "hill", or from Old English personal names Buga or Bucge combined with dun.... [more]
BowdlerEnglish From Dutch de Boelare meaning "from Boelare", the name of a town in the Netherlands. Alternatively, it could derive from English buddler, an occupational name for someone who washes crushed ore.
BowdoinFrench (Huguenot) Americanized form of French Baudouin or Baudoin. Both the French form of Baldwin. A famous bearer of this surname was James Bowdoin II (1726-1790) Who was the second governor of Massachusetts and political rival of John Hancock.
BoweMedieval English, English, Irish (Anglicized) There are three possible sources of this surname, the first being that it is a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of bows, a vital trade in medieval times before the invention of gunpowder, and a derivative of the Old English boga "bow", from bugan "to bend"... [more]
BowellEnglish Of Norman origin; habitational name from Bouelles, Seine-Maritime, France, which is from Old Norman French "boelle" meaning "enclosure, dwelling".
BowerEnglish, Scottish Scottish: occupational name for a bow maker, Older Scots bowar, equivalent to English Bowyer. ... [more]
BowkerEnglish A surname of French origin, from the occupational term for 'butcher' (boucher). Some theories have it that it derives from OE 'bocer', meaning a scribe, but the former is more likely and is more widely affirmed.
BowlandEnglish From any variety of places in England with this name. These places are likely from with Old English boga ‘bow’ (in the sense of a bend in a river) and land ‘land’.
BowneWelsh The Welsh name Bowne is a patronymic surname created from the Welsh personal name Owen 1 or Owain... [more]
BowserEnglish Nickname from the Norman term of address beu sire ‘fine sir’, given either to a fine gentleman or to someone who made frequent use of this term of address.
BowyerEnglish English: occupational name for a maker or seller of bows (see Bow), as opposed to an archer. Compare Bowman.
BoykinsEnglish (American) Americanized form of Dutch Boeijkens: patronymic from the personal name Boye with the diminutive element -ken and genitive -s. Compare the English cognate Boykin and North German Boyken.... [more]
BoykivUkrainian Either variant of Boyko or from Ukrainian бій (biy) "battle, fight, war".
BraafheidDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Means "braveness" in Dutch, derived from braaf meaning "brave, well-behaved, obedient" and the suffix -heid denoting a condition or state of being. This was originally a nickname for a strong or brave person... [more]
BraaksmaFrisian (Dutchified, Modern, Rare) Topographic name for someone who lived by a piece of wasteland or newly cultivated land, from Frisian, Dutch braak ‘fallow’, ‘waste’ + Frisian ma ‘man’. The suffix -ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.
BracamontesSpanish Probably a habitational name from the French town of Bracquemont near Dieppe.
BraccoItalian Either a nickname derived from Calabrian braccu meaning "small, chubby", or probably for someone thought to resemble a hunting dog, from Italian bracco literally meaning "hunting dog, bloodhound"... [more]
BrackenIrish From Irish Ó Breacáin meaning "descendant of Breacán", a personal name from a diminutive of breac 'speckled', 'spotted', which was borne by a 6th-century saint who lived at Ballyconnel, County Cavan, and was famous as a healer; St... [more]
BradfieldEnglish habitational name from any of the places in Berkshire Devon Essex Suffolk South Yorkshire and elsewhere named Bradfield from Old English brad "broad" and feld "open country" meaning "wide field".
BradstreetEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a Roman road, derived from Old English brad "broad" and strǣt "paved highway, street" (ultimately derived from Latin strata)... [more]
BraffAmerican Jewish (from Poland): probably an ornamental name from German brav 'good', 'upright'. Swedish: an old spelling of Brav, possibly a soldier's name.
BragaPortuguese The first man to own this name was a feudal lord on Portugal, near to the region of Coimbra. Could also come from the other surname "Bragança".
BragançaPortuguese From the city of Bragança in Portugal. It's also the name of the Royal House that ruled Portugal from 1640 to 1910.
BragerNorwegian (Rare) From the name of any of the various farmsteads in eastern Norway, which may have derived their name from a river name meaning "roaring", "thundering".
BrahamEnglish From the name of a town called Braham, probably derived from Old English brom meaning "broom (a type of plant)" and ham meaning "home, settlement" or hamm meaning "river meadow".
BraileyEnglish Habitational name for a person from Brayley Barton in Devon, which is derived from the name of the Bray river (a back formation from High Bray which is from Celtic bre meaning "hill" or Old English brǣg "brow") combined with Old English leah "woodland, clearing".
BraithwaiteEnglish Habitational name for a person from any of the various places named Braithwaite in Cumbria and Yorkshire, from Old Norse breiðr "broad" + þveit "clearing, pasture".
BrakhageGerman Possibly from the Old German word 'brak' meaning 'uncultivated field,' or from the Middle German word 'brachen' meaning 'to till the soil.' ... [more]
BraleyEnglish (American) A New England variant spelling of Brailey. French: from a diminutive of Brael, from Old French braiel, a belt knotted at the waist to hold up breeches; presumably an occupational name for a maker of such belts... [more]
BrambleEnglish This surname is taken from the word which refers to a common blackberry (British) or any of several closely related thorny plants in the Rubus genus (US). It also refers to any thorny shrub. The word is derived from Old English bræmbel with a euphonic -b- inserted from the earlier bræmel or brémel, which is then derived from Proto-Germanic *bræmaz meaning "thorny bush."
BranaghIrish Anglicisation of Irish Ó Branduibh meaning "descendant of Breathnach", a given name meaning "Welshman". A famous bearer is British actor and filmmaker Sir Kenneth Branagh (1960-).
BrancacciaItalian (Rare) Derived from the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, which is the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information, please see the entry for the patronymic surname Brancazio... [more]
BrancaccioItalian Variant form of Brancazio. There are a few sources that claim that the surname is derived from a place name (which would make it a locational surname), but that claim is incorrect, as all Italian geographical places carrying the name Brancaccio were either established long after the Middle Ages (by which time virtually all Italians already had a hereditary surname) or were named after a person who had Brancaccio for a surname... [more]
BrancaleoneItalian Derived from the medieval Italian masculine given name Brancaleone, which means either "a lion's paw" or "he who captures the lion". In the case of the former meaning, the name is derived from Italian branca meaning "paw, claw" combined with Italian leone meaning "lion"... [more]
BrancatellaItalian (Rare) Derived from the feminine given name Brancatella, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information about this, please see the entry for the patronymic surname of Brancazio... [more]
BrancatelloItalian (Rare) Derived from the masculine given name Brancatello, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Brancazio, itself ultimately derived from the late Latin given name Brancatius... [more]
BrancatoItalian This surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a place name (thus making it a locational surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval Italian given name Brancato, which is a variant form of the given name Brancazio, itself ultimately derived from the late Latin given name Brancatius... [more]
BrancazioItalian (Rare) Derived from the medieval Italian masculine given name Brancazio, which itself is derived from Brancatius (also found spelled as Brancaccius and Brancatus), a late Latin corruption of the given name Pancratius... [more]
BranchEnglish topographic name or nickname from Middle English braunch "branch" (Old French branchebraunche) of uncertain application (compare German Zweig)... [more]
BrancheFrench From Old French branche meaning ‘branch’ (which is from Late Latin branca meaning ‘foot’, ‘paw’), the application of which as a surname is not clear. Compare Branch.
BrancoPortuguese, Central African from the the portuguese word Branco meaning "white", referring to someone with light skin and/or hair
BrandeisJewish Derived from Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (known as Brandeis-Altbunzlau or Brandeis an der Elbe in German), a town located in the Prague-East District, in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic... [more]
BrandenburgGerman (East Prussian, Rare) From a state in eastern Germany, formerly known as Prussia, containing the capital city of Berlin. Ancient. Associated with the Margravate (Dukedom) of Brandenburg, the seat of power in the Holy Roman Empire... [more]
BrandenburgGerman habitational name from Brandenburg the name of a province its principal city and numerous other places.
BrandhorstGerman, Dutch Possibly derived from brant "fire, torch, sword" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
BrandisGerman, Jewish, Swiss German & Swiss: Habitational name from a former Brandis castle in Emmental near Bern, Switzerland, or from any of the places so named in Saxony, Germany. A famous bearer of the name is Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003).... [more]
BrandybuckLiterature Brandybuck is the surname of Meriadoc, a young Hobbit in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." Possibly derived from the Brandywine River, which in turn is derived from Sindarin Baranduin, "Brown River"... [more]
BrännströmSwedish Combination of Swedish bränna "to burn" and ström "stream".
BransbyEnglish (British) English locational name from the village of Bransby in Lincolnshire. The place name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Branzbi' and later (1115) as 'Brandesby'. These recordings showing that the derivation is from the Old Norse personal name Brandr meaning "sword" and byr, the whole meaning being "Brand's village" or "homestead"... [more]
BrantingSwedish A combination of Swedish brant "steep hill" and the suffix -ing. A famous bearer was Hjalmar Branting (1860–1925), Prime Minister of Sweden in the 1920s.
BraqueFrench Surname of cubist artist Georges Braque.
BrarIndian (Sikh), Punjabi, Hindi Based on the name of a tribe in the Jat community. From Punjabi meaning "brave and strong warriors".
BrasFrench, Dutch From Old French and Middle Dutch bras "arm". This was probably a descriptive nickname for someone with some peculiarity of the arm, but the word was also used as a measure of length, and may also have denoted a surveyor.
BrassardFrench Derivative of bras "arm" most likely applied as a nickname denoting a person with strong arms or perhaps a pugilist.
BrasseEnglish Likely derived from the name of the village of Brace in Shropshire, England. The name of the village likely came from the Old English word braec, which was used for small forests and thickets, or the later Old English word braec, which was used for ground broken up for cultivation.