QuarryEnglish From Middle English quarey "quarry", a topographic name for someone who lived near a stone quarry, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in one. ... [more]
QuartermainEnglish From a medieval nickname for a very dextrous person, or for someone who habitually wore gloves (from Old French quatremains, literally "four hands"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Allan Quartermain, the hero of 'King Solomon's Mines' (1886) and other adventure novels by H. Rider Haggard... [more]
QuasimodoItalian (Rare) From the name of the Sunday that follows Easter, called Quasimodo Sunday, which gets its name from the opening words of the Latin chant quasi modo meaning "like the way" (see Quasimodo as a first name), possibly denoted somebody who was born or baptized in the first Sunday after Easter... [more]
QuastGerman habitational name from any of several places so named in northern Germany. metonymic occupational name for a barber or nickname for someone who wore a conspicuous tassel or feather, from Middle Low German, Middle High German quast(e) "tuft", "tassel", "brush", also "fool".
QuelchEnglish (British) Mid 16th Century variant of the name Wels(c)he, Welsh or Welch, itself deriving from the Middle English "walsche", Celtic, foreign, (Olde English "woelisc", a derivative of "wealh", foreign), and originally given as a distinguishing nickname to a Celt... [more]
QuenbyEnglish English: of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Quarmby, a habitational name from a place so called in West Yorkshire.
QuestedEnglish (British) English surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the lost village of Questers.
QuetzGerman German family name originating from the town of Quetz (today Quetzdölsdorf).... [more]
QuevedoCantabrian (Hispanicized) Castilianized form of a surname that indicates familial origin within the eponymous settlement at the geographic coordinates 43.128481, -4.039367.
QuezonFilipino Meaning uncertain, possibly a variant of Quizon or from Hokkien 郭孫 (keh-sun) derived from 郭 (keh) meaning "outer city" and 孫 (sun) meaning "grandchild"... [more]
QuillenIrish The surname Quillen is derived from the personal name Hugelin, which is a diminutive of Hugh. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Uighilin.
QuinlivanIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Caoindealbháin meaning "descendant of Caoindealbhán", a personal name composed of caoin "comely, fair" and dealbh "form" with the diminutive suffix -án (compare Quinlan).
QuinneyEnglish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coinne “descendant of Coinne”
QuintelaPortuguese Has its roots in Latin, deriving from "quintus," meaning "fifth." It likely originated from describing a person as the fifth child in a family or from the division of land among heirs, where a fifth part was given to one heir.
QuinteroSpanish Habitational name from a location in Galicia named Quintero, from Galician quinteiro meaning "farmstead, square, plaza". Alternately, it may be derived from Spanish quinto meaning "fifth", possibly used as a name for a renter of quintas (a type of wine-growing estate).
QuintoAragonese, Spanish, Catalan, Italian Habitational surname for a person from a place called Quinto, for example in Zaragoza province. However, the high concentration of the surname in Alacant province suggests that, in some cases at least, it may derive from the personal name Quinto (from Latin Quintus denoting the fifth-born child or Catalan quinto "young soldier").... [more]
QuinzelPopular Culture The actual surname of the fictional character Harley Quinn. The character first appeared in the "Batman: The Animated Series" episode "Joker's Favor" in September 1992, but her full name (Harleen Quinzel) was not revealed until the February 1994 one-shot comic "The Batman Adventures: Mad Love"... [more]
QuislingNorwegian A treacherous person who sides with opposing forces, this meaning comes from Vidkun Quisling of Norway. He helped the Germans during the German rule of Norway in the 1940's. Original meaning "One from" (-ling) "Quislemark", (quis) A romanization of the place name of Kvislemark.
QureshiArabic, Urdu Denotes a member of the Quraysh, a mercantile Arab tribe that the Prophet Muhammad belonged to, itself is derived from Arabic قرش (qarasha) meaning "to gnash, to grind, to chew".
RaadDutch Metonymic occupational name for an adviser, counselor, or member of a town council, from raad "advice, counsel", or derived from a given name containing the element (see rēdaz).
RäästEstonian Rääst is an Estonian surname meaning "baldachin" (a canopy of typically placed over an altar or throne).
RaatDutch From Middle Dutch raet "advice, counsel". Could be an occupational name for a member of a council, or a short form of names containing rēdaz, such as Radulf... [more]
RabbitteIrish Adopted for Ó Coinín which is a variant of Ó Conáin or Ó Cuineáin (Queenan) as if it is were from coinín ‘rabbit’ but is actually from a diminutive of cano ‘hound wolf’. It has also been adopted for Mac Coinín (Canning and Rabbitt).
RachlynJewish (Rare), Polish (Rare), Brazilian (Rare) Rachlyn is a Jewish surname derived directly from polish "Rachman". This surname is very rare and apparently only few members in Brazil, descendants of Polish survivors of Holocaust.... [more]
RachmaninoffRussian Surname used as a nickname for someone of swarthy appearance.
RacineFrench Means "(tree) root" in French, used as an occupational name for a grower or seller of root vegetables or as a nickname for a stubborn person.
RacioppiItalian, Sicilian Derived from Sicilian racioppu meaning "cluster of grapes", hence presumably a metonymic occupational name for someone who sold or produced grapes.
RackersGerman German (Räckers): in the Lower Rhine-Westphalia area, from a reduced form of Rädeker, itself a reduced form of Rademaker.
RaderGerman Variation of Rademacher, meaning "maker of wheels" in German ("rat" meaning wheel), later shortened to Rader and other variations such as Redder, Raeder, Redler, etc.
RadfordEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places so named, for example in Devon, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Hereford and Worcester. Most are named from Old English read "red" + ford "ford", but it is possible that in some cases the first element may be a derivative of Old English ridan "to ride", with the meaning "ford that can be crossed on horseback".
RadiabFilipino, Maranao From Radiyab, the Maranao name for the seventh month of the Islamic calendar, which is ultimately derived from Arabic رَجَب (Rajab).
RadlerGerman Occupational name, which was derived from the kind of work done by the original bearer. It is a name for a wheelmaker or wheelwright. The name stems from the German noun rat, meaning wheel. The origin is more clear in the variant Rademacher
RaffenspergerGerman Altered spelling of Ravensburger or Ravensberger, a habitational name for someone from Ravensburg in Württemberg, but there are a number of similar surnames, for example Raffenberg, a farm name near Hamm, and Raffsberger.
RafterIrish, Scottish The original Gaelic form of Rafter was O Raithbheartaigh, which was modified to O Raifeartaigh. The surname is derived from the words rath bheartach meaning prosperity wielder.
RagettliRomansh Derived from a truncated form of Anrig in combination with the diminutive suffix -ett and the diminutive suffix -li.
RaghavanIndian (Kerala, Tamil Nadu): Hindu name from Sanskrit raghava ‘derived from Raghu’, ‘descendant of Raghu’ (an epithet of the god Rama, incarnation of Vishnu) + the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -n... [more]
RagusaItalian Habitational name from Ragusa in Sicily, or from the ancient city of Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia (Italian name Ragusa).
RaguseaItalian (Americanized) Possibly an Americanized form of Ragusa. Adam Ragusea (1982-) is an American internet personality who makes videos about food recipes, food science, and culinary culture.
RainbirdEnglish From the Old French male personal name Rainbert, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "counsel-bright" (cf. Raginbert). The modern form of the name has been influenced by English rainbird "plover".
RaineyIrish, Scottish An Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Raighne, Ó Ráighne meaning "descendent of Raonull", the given name Raonull being derived from Old Norse Rögnvaldr, Røgnvaldr, Rǫgnvaldr (compare Ronald).
RainwaterEnglish (American) Americanized form of the German family name Reinwasser, possibly a topographic name for someone who lived by a source of fresh water, from Middle High German reine ‘pure’ + wazzer ‘water’.
RäisänenFinnish From an unexplained personal name (possibly of Russian Orthodox origin) + the common surname suffix -nen. It occurs chiefly in central and eastern Finland.
RaisbeckEnglish Raisbeck is a hamlet in the civil parish of Orton, in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. The surname Raisbeck originates from the hamlet. The name of the hamlet derives from Hrridarr, a personal name and beck, a stream or river.
RajaniemiFinnish Rajaniemi: The last name of a group of people who live in Finland. Some live in the United States when their ancestors immigrated to the US in the early 1900's.
RallisGreek A surname held by the descendants of a Frankish-Byzantine noble named Raoul. The Rallis family (also spelled Ralli, Ralles or Rallet in Romanian) is the name of an old Greek Phanariote family, whose members played important political role in the history of modern Greece, Danubian Principalities and later in the United Kingdom... [more]
RalphEnglish From a Middle English personal name composed of Germanic rad "counsel, advice" and wolf "wolf". This was first introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers in the Old Norse form Ráðulfr, and was reinforced after the Conquest by the Norman form Ra(d)ulf... [more]
RamageFrench, Scottish From a medieval Scottish nickname for a hot-tempered or unpredictable person (from Old French ramage "wild, uncontrollable" (applied to birds of prey)).
RamalhoPortuguese Means "cut branch, brushwood" in Portuguese, used as a habitational name from any of various places called Ramalho.
RamasamyTamil From the name of the Hindu god Rama 1 combined with Tamil சாமி (sami) meaning "chief, master, lord" (ultimately from Sanskrit स्वामिन् (svamin)).
RambeauFrench (Rare), Frankish Altered spelling of the southern French family name Rambaut, from an Old French personal name, Rainbaut, composed of the Germanic elements ragin "counsel" + bald "bold", "brave", or alternatively from the Germanic personal name Hrambehrt or Hrambald, composed of the elements hramn "crow" & berht "bright" or bald "bold", "brave".
RamboSwedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare) Combination of Norwegian and (dialectal) Swedish ramn "raven" and bo meaning either "dweller, inhabitant" or "home, nest". Peter Gunnarsson Rambo (1611-1698) was one of the first Swedish immigrants to the United States in the 17th century and considered to be the father of the settlement New Sweden in Pennsylvania... [more]
RampGerman (Swiss) German and Swiss German: variant of Rampf, from Middle High German ramft, ranft ‘edge’, ‘wall’, ‘crust (of bread)’; applied as a topographic name for someone who lived at the limit or outer edge of some feature, for example a field, or possibly, in the sense ‘crust’, a nickname for a poor person.
RamserGerman, German (Austrian) Habitational name derived from either any of several places called Ramsen in Germany and Switzerland, or from places in Austria and upper Bavaria called Ramsau... [more]
RandelFrench, German French: from a pet form of the Germanic personal name Rando, a short form of various compound names formed with rand ‘(shield) rim’ as the first element... [more]
RangerEnglish, German, French English: occupational name for a gamekeeper or warden, from Middle English ranger, an agent derivative of range(n) ‘to arrange or dispose’.... [more]
RangkutiBatak From a rapid pronunciation of the nickname Orang Yang Ditakuti meaning "The Feared One".
RannellsEnglish Patronymic from the Middle English personal name Rannulf, Ranel, of continental Germanic origin.
RanzGerman The surname that can have one of two origins. In some cases, it is derived from the ancient German given name, Rando, whose origins lie in the word rand, meaning "rim of shield"... [more]
RaoChinese From Chinese 饒 (ráo) referring to any of several ancient places called Rao.
RapaceSwedish (Modern, Rare) From French and Italian rapace meaning "predatory, bird of prey, raptor". A notable bearer is Swedish actress Noomi Rapace.
RapierDutch Dutch: perhaps from Middle Dutch rapiere ‘foil, sword’, for someone carrying such a weapon, or form a topographic name Raepier ‘land on which rapes are grown’.... [more]
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".
RapuRapa Nui People with this surname have a connection to the Rapa Nui Ngaure clan. Rapu is the surname of Rapanui insurrection leader and mayor of Rapa Nui aka Easter Island Alfonso Rapu (1942) who led a revolt against the Chilean government in 1965... [more]
RasbandAmerican (Americanized, Rare) This name is not a very common family name found in the United States. The first Rasband (Thomas) coming to the U.S. arrived in New Orleans on the ship North Atlantic on 1 November 1850 and arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah on 13 August 1856... [more]
RasilaFinnish A variant of the finnish word (rasi) for a forest that has been cleared for slash and burn but has not yet been burnt for agricultural means. The suffix "-la" is usually added to the stem of the word to indicate a location... [more]
RaskinJewish Derived from the given name Raske which is a pet form of Rachel.
RaskolnikovLiterature The surname of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It derives from the Russian word raskolnik, meaning "schismatic" or a member of the Old Believer sect.
RatchfordEnglish habitational name from Rochford (Worcestershire) from Old English ræcc ‘hunting dog’ (genitive ræcces) and ford "ford"... [more]
RatcliffEnglish Habitational name from any of the places, in various parts of England, called Ratcliff(e), Radcliffe, Redcliff, or Radclive, all of which derive their names from Old English rēad meaning "red" + clif meaning "cliff", "slope", "riverbank".
RathGerman 1 German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): descriptive epithet for a wise person or counselor, from Middle High German rāt ‘counsel’, ‘advice’, German Rat ‘counsel’, ‘advice’, also ‘stock’, ‘supply’.... [more]
RathboneEnglish Of unknown origin, but might denote a person with short legs. From Olde English rhath, meaning "short, and bon, "legs".
RatherGerman, Jewish 1. Occupational name for a counsellor or nickname for a wise person, from Middle High German rater ‘adviser’. ... [more]
RathgeberGerman From Middle High German ratgebe or Middle Low German ratgever "giver of advice, counselor", an occupational name for an adviser or wise man.
RatnasiriSinhalese, Thai Derived from Sanskrit रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure" and श्री (shri) meaning "diffusing light, radiance, splendour, beauty"... [more]
RatzingerGerman Ratzinger means that someone has origins in the town of Ratzing. There are several German towns with this name. RATZ means ‘Serb’. Serbs were indigenous people in Germany, and many German cities originally had Serbian names (Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, Brandenburg)... [more]