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.
SchrijversDutch Dutch cognate of Scriven. A famous bearer was the Dutch soccer goalkeeper Piet Schrijvers (1946-2022).
SchrockGerman Some think that the last name Schrock comes from the German word which meant something along the lines of "Jump" or "Leaps" and was probably a nickname to someone who was a great jumper, or someone who was easily startled.
SchrootDutch Possibly an altered form of des Groot via Sgroot, meaning "son of the Groot", itself a byname meaning "great, large". Alternatively, it could be related to schroot "scrap (metal)" or the older scrode "to cut", an occupational name for someone who worked with metal, or perhaps a tailor.
SchruijerDutch Possibly a variant form of Schreier, from Dutch schreien or schreeuwen, meaning "to scream, shout, yell".
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.
SchwaabGerman The surname of German VfB Stuttgart footballer Daniel Schwaab, born in Waldkirch, Germany.
SchwabGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone from Swabia (German Schwaben), from Middle High German Swap, German Schwabe ‘Swabian’. The region takes its name from a Germanic tribe recorded from the 1st century BC in the Latin form Suebi or Suevi, of uncertain origin; it was an independent duchy from the 10th century until 1313, when the territory was broken up.
SchwanbeckGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named, for example near Lübeck and near Anklam.
SchwandtGerman Habitational name from any of the various places called Schwand or Schwanden, all in southern Germany, named with this element, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
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).
SchwanzGerman Form of Schwan. Also means tail in German.
SchwarzbachGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named literally "dark stream", derived from the elements swarz "black" and bah "stream".
SchwarzschildGerman Derives from Old High German swarz meaning "black" and Middle Dutch schilt meaning "shield". A famous bearer of this surname is physicist and astronomer Karl Schwarzschild. (1873-1916)
SchweigertGerman Derives from an agent derivative of the German "schweigen", to be silent, and the nickname would have been given to a silent, quiet, taciturn person.
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).
SchwerdtfegerGerman occupational name for an armorer or specifically for a servant whose job was to polish swords Middle High German Middle Low German swertfeger (from swert "sword" and an agent derivative of fegen "to polish or clean").
SchwerinGerman, Jewish habitational name from any of the places called Schwerin in Mecklenburg Brandenburg and Pomerania.
SchwingGerman Occupational name for someone whose job was to swingle flax, i.e. to beat the flax with a swingle in order to remove the woody parts of the plant prior to spinning, from Middle German swingen meaning "to swing" or swing meaning "swingle".
ScillatoItalian, Sicilian Comes from the commune of Scillato in Sicily, Italy, southeast of Palermo.
ScimiaItalian From an archaic form of Italian scimmia "monkey", from Ancient Greek σιμός (simos) "snub-nosed". Has figurative meanings of "drunk" and "imitator, mimic, aper".
ScioliItalian Possibly derived from Scio, a shortened form of the medieval given name Desio (from Latin Desigus or Desijo, associated with literary Italian desio "desire"), or perhaps from medieval Tuscan Ciolo... [more]
SciortinoItalian Occupational name from a diminutive of sciorta, sciurta "city guard, watchman, policeman" (Arabic ̣shuṛtī).
ScobieScottish Means "person from Scobie", an unidentified place in Perth and Kinross ("thorny place"). A fictional bearer is Henry Scobie, the conscience-wracked and ultimately suicidal deputy commissioner of police in Graham Greene's West Africa-set novel 'The Heart of the Matter' (1948).
ScogingsEnglish, Old Danish A surname of Scandinavian origin from the old Norse and old Danish by-name "Skeggi" or "skoggi", meaning 'the bearded one'. Common in areas invaded and settled by Scandinavians in the 8th and 9th Centuries.
ScornavaccheItalian Possibly deriving from Italian words scorno meaning shame, and vacca meaning cow. Sicilian variant of Scornavacca.
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]
ScotfordEnglish Derived from Scotforth, the name of a village near Lancaster (in Lancashire) in England. The village's name means "ford of the Scot(s)" and is derived from Old English Scott "Scot" combined with Old English ford "ford".
ScotlandEnglish (i) "person from Scotland"; (ii) "person from Scotland or Scotlandwell", Perth and Kinross; (iii) from the Norman personal name Escotland, literally "territory of the Scots"
ScottoItalian Either an ethnic name for someone from Scotland or Ireland from medieval Italian scotto or scoto meaning "Scot", making it a cognate of Scott, or from a diminutive of given names ending in sco such as Francesco (via its diminutive Francescotto) or Maresco (via Marescotto).
ScreetonEnglish Locational surname originating from the village of Screveton in Nottinghamshire. Derived of Old English elements scīr-rēfa "sheriff" and tun "settlement".
ScriblerusLiterature The Scriblerus Club was an informal association of authors, based in London, that came together in the early 18th century. The nucleus of the club included the satirists Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope... [more]
ScudamoreAnglo-Norman A locational surname that was first recorded in England in 1264. Derived from one of the ancient villages of Fifield Scudamore or Upton Scudamore, with Scudamore coming from the Old English scitemor, which means "one who lived at the moor."
ScuderiSicilian Patronymic form of Scudero, a status name equivalent to English Squire, from scudero "shield-bearer", Latin scutarius, an agent derivative of scutum "shield"... [more]
ScullinOld Irish The surname Scullin originates from the pre 10th century O' Sceallain, which itself derives from the word 'sceall' meaning the stone of a fruit or the kernel.
ScurryIrish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Scoireadh, meaning ‘descendant of Scoireadh’.
SeaborgEnglish, Swedish (Americanized) English cognate of Sjöberg, as well as the Americanized form. Glenn T. Seaborg (1912-1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements.
SeabraPortuguese Habitational name from the town of Puebla de Sanabria in northwestern Spain of uncertain meaning, possibly of Arabic, Celtic or Latin origin.
SeaforthEnglish The name of a projection of the sea on the east coast of Lewis, on the Long Island, Scotland. Means "the forth of the sea".
SeagerEnglish, German (Modern) English: from the Middle English personal name Segar, Old English S?gar, composed of the elements s? ‘sea’ + gar ‘spear’.... [more]
SealEnglish Variant of Seals, perhaps an occupational name for a person who makes saddles.
SeamarkEnglish Derived from any of several places in France called Saint-Marc.
SeanEnglish The stage Surname of English singer Jay Sean (born Kamaljit Singh Jhooti)
SearsEnglish Version of Sayer. Used in the United States. Famous bearer of the name is Richard Warren Sears, one of the founders of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
SeatterScottish From an ancient barony called "The lands of Setter", Stromness, Orkney. Derives from the Ancient Norse word "saetr" meaning a hut or shelter for animals.
SebaldLiterature In 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events', Gustav Sebald was a film director who hid secret codes in his movies, a member of V.F.D., and the likely creator of the Sebald Code.
SebertGerman, French From a German personal name composed of the elements sigi meaning "victory" + berht meaning "bright", "famous".
SebronEnglish Exact origins unknown. It could possibly be from "Seabourne", from a patronymic name ("the son of Sebern"), from William Sebrin, Normandy 1180, or possibly even from Norman or Scandinavian origin.
SecchiItalian Probably related to Italian secco "thin, dry". May alternately derive from secare "to cut", Sardinian seghi "sixteen", segete "harvest, harvest fodder", or a shortened form of seneche "old, aged".
SedarisGreek David Sedaris, author of Calypso and others, and Amy Sedaris, actress and comedienne, are two well-known siblings with the surname.
SeddaItalian From a place name in Sardinia, meaning "top of a mountain". May alternately derive from Sardinian sedda "saddle", indicating the bearer's occupation.
SedgwickEnglish Habitational name from Sedgwick in Cumbria, so named from the Middle English personal name Sigg(e) (from Old Norse Siggi or Old English Sicg, short forms of the various compound names with the first element "victory") + Old English wic "outlying settlement", "dairy farm"; or from Sedgewick in Sussex, named with Old English secg (sedge) + wic.
SeelyMedieval English Means "Blessed", "Happy", and/or "Lucky." By adding an Un- to Seely makes it "Unblessed", "Unhappy", and/or "Unholy." Used primarily in Northern England and Southern Scotland during the Middle English period but is derived from the Old English sǣl and gesǣlig... [more]
SéeraLiterature Coming from an old Rowénan word to mean "king" or "leader", SÉERA is nowan uncomon surname. Used by the ruling family of eastern Erikówna (see Tyran).
SegaleEnglish, Italian Respelling of SEGAL. A famous bearer is Mario A. Segale, the inspiration for Nintendo's video game character Mario
SegarraCatalan Regional name from the district of La Segarra, or habitational name from any of the places named with Segarra or La Segarra in Catalonia and Valencia.
SegerSwedish, English, Dutch Means "victory" in Swedish. It is also a variant of the English surname Seager or derived from the Germanic given name Sigiheri "victory army".
SeibGerman Short form of SEIBOLD. Ultimately derived from names composed of the Germanic name element sigi "victory".
SeidGerman From the Germanic given name Sito, a short form of a compound name formed with sigi "victory".
SeideGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German side, German Seide ‘silk’ (from Late Latin seta, originally denoting animal hair), hence a metonymic occupational name for a manufacturer or seller of silk.
SeiderGerman Originating in the region of Saxony. Name of a silk merchant, from the German word for silk: seide
SeifertGerman (East Prussian) German/Russian/Ashkenazi Jewish this surname derived from the very popular personal name siegfried, introduced for the first time inglaterra in the Anglo-Saxon period, and again as a surname thousand years later... [more]
SeinfeldGerman, Jewish From the German word sein "to be" and the word of German Jewish origin feld which means "field". It was a name given to areas of land that had been cleared of forest.
SeixasPortuguese Habitational name from any of various places called Seixas in Galicia, Spain, most likely derived from Galician seixo meaning "pebble, stone" (ultimately from Latin saxum).
SekewaelIndonesian The last name Sekewael is an original name from one of the island in Maluku. That one island name is "Negeri Oma." The meaning of Sekewael is "The Guardian of the River" because in "Negeri Oma" any body want to use the river of the water they have to ask for permission by Sekewael family... [more]
SekulicSerbian There is possibility that name come from latin word secolo, means century. Usual Serb end of surname is IC. All Serbs-Montenegrians, also small number of Croats who has that surname has origion from heart of Montenegro... [more]
SelaHebrew Means "rock" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a city, the capital of Edom. Famous bearer is the Israeli model, actress and television presenter Rotem Sela (born 1983)
SelanderSwedish Combination of Swedish sel "stretch of calm water in a river or stream" and the common surname suffix -ander (originally from Greek aner "man"). The first element, sel, is also a common place name element in Northern Sweden and it's possible that this name is both ornamental and locational in origin.
SelassieEthiopian, Amharic, Western African Possibly means "trinity" in Amharic. A notable bearer was Haile Selassie (1892-1975), the regent and emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974.
SellmeyerGerman Occupational name for the steward of a hall or manor house from Middle High German sal "hall residence" and meier "steward" (see Meyer 1).
SelouaniMoroccan Habitational name from the Rifian town of Selouane.
SelterEstonian Selter is an Estonian surname derived from either "selts" meaning "society", "union", "association", or "selters" (of German origin) meaning "seltzer".
SelvaCatalan, Italian From any of various places in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, or northern Italy named Selva, as for instance the Catalan district La Selva, from selva "wood", Latin silva.
SelvikNorwegian From any of the farms in Norway named with Old Norse selja "willow" or selr "seal" combined with vík "bay, inlet".
SelwynEnglish from the Middle English personal name Selewin (Old English Selewine perhaps from sele "manor" or sǣl "happiness prosperity" and wine "friend")... [more]
SelyaninovichRussian Mikula Selyaninovich is a character from Russian folk tales. It is an actual surname outside of folktales.
SelzGerman The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and a left hand tributary of the Rhine. It flows through the largest German wine region, Rheinhessen or Rhenish Hesse. Also, Seltz (German: Selz) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region in north-eastern France.... [more]
SemNorwegian Norwegian: habitational name from any of about fifteen farms so named, a variant of Seim.
SemerEnglish From the village of Semer in Suffolk.
SeminarioSpanish (Latin American) Means "seminar" in Spanish, likely denoting an academic person. Miguel Grau Seminario (1834-1879) was the most renowned Peruvian naval officer and hero of the naval battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific
SendullaMedieval French the name was originally from a town in the champagne valley that does not exist any more because of World War I the town's name is forgotten and all we have about it is the name sendulla a young girl whom live there as a child
SénécalFrench status name for a seneschal an official in a large household who was responsible for overseeing day-to-day domestic arrangements from Old French seneschal (of ancient Germanic origin composed of the elements sini "old" and scalc "servant")... [more]
SénéchalFrench Variant of Sénécal, a status name for a seneschal an official in a large household who was responsible for overseeing day-to-day domestic arrangements from Old French seneschal (of ancient Germanic origin composed of the elements sini "old" and scalc "servant").
SenooJapanese From 妹 meaning "younger sister" combined with 尾 meaning "tail, end, foot of a mountain".
SenriJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 千里 with 千 (sen, chi) meaning "thousand" and 里 (ri, sato) meaning "league, parent's home, ri (type of measurement), village."... [more]
SensabaughAmerican Americanized form of German Sensenbach, a topographic name formed with an unexplained first element + Middle High German bach ‘creek’.
SensiItalian Derived from Italian "senso" meaning "sense, feeling". Historically, the surname could have been given to someone who was known for their wisdom or intelligence, or to someone who had a keen sense of perception or intuition... [more]
SeoaneGalician This indicates familial origin within any of multiple localities that bear this syncopated form of the name San Xoán.
SerbiaSpanish Unknown.. researching history of the spanish name that was first identify being used in Utado Puerto, Rico in 1790s by Fransico Serbia and Paula Serbia Filare
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.
SerdarTurkish, Croatian Turkish form of Persian sardar, meaning "chief", "leader", "field marshal".
SetonScottish It has been claimed in the past that the name Seton is Norman in origin, however evidence points to it being Flemish. Various suggestions have been put forward regarding the derivation of the name but nothing proved conclusively; it probably means "town by the sea" and possibly derives from the "sea town" of Staithes in modern day North Yorkshire... [more]
SettaiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 摂待 (Settai) meaning "Settai", a former village in the former district of Hei in the former Japanese province of Rikuchū in parts of present-day Iwate and Akita in Japan or a division in the same place, in the area of Tarō in the city of Miyako in the prefecture of Iwate in Japan.... [more]
SetteItalian Means "seven". Probably a nickname for the seventh child of a family, though it could derive from a place name containing the element.
SettleEnglish From the town of Settle in Yorkshire, England.
SeufaleSamoan seufale is a name which is used in the islands of samoa but is also usedin other countries by the samoan people. seufale is a name passed down by a family member.
SevelevRussian Derived by means of suffix "-ev" from Old Slavic verb sheveliti (se) meaning to make noise, to whirr, to rustle, to whistle, to wander. Initially it designated someone bold, daring, hardy, spirited... [more]
SevernEnglish From the name of the River Severn, which is of unknown meaning. The Severn is Great Britain's longest river, flowing from Wales through much of western England to the Bristol Channel. It is one of Britain’s most ancient river names, recorded as early as the 2nd century AD in the form Sabrina; its original meaning may have been "slow-moving" or "boundary".
SevernyymRussian Means "northern". Likely denoted to someone who lived in the northern part of a village.