ImperatoItalian From the personal name Imperato from the past participle of imperare "to rule to command".
ImperialeItalian Derived from Latin imperialis meaning "imperial", either denoting someone of aristocratic lineage or a nickname for a haughty person.
ImperioliItalian Variant spelling of Imperiale. A famous bearer is American actor Michael Imperioli (1966-).
ImpeyEnglish From Impey, the name of various places in England, derived from Old English *imphaga, *imphæg "sapling enclosure". Alternatively it could have indicated a person who lived near an enclosure of young trees.
IñárrituBasque Means "between the valleys" or "in the valley", derived from Basque iñar meaning "valley" and ritu meaning "between". The Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu (1963-) is a famous bearer of this name.
InazumaJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 稲妻 which means "(flash of) lightning" (from 稲 (te, tou, ina-, ine) meaning "rice plant" and 妻 (sai, tsuma) meaning "spouse, wife").... [more]
InchbaldEnglish From the medieval male personal name Ingebald, brought into England by the Normans but ultimately of Germanic origin and meaning literally "brave Ingel" (Ingel was a different form of Engel - a shortened form of various Germanic compound personal names (e.g. Engelbert and Engelhard) that begin with Engel-; the two main sources of that were Angel "Angle" (the name of the Germanic people) and Ingal, an extended form of Ing (the name of a Germanic god)).
IndEnglish (?) Meaning deweller at the end of a villiage (Gypsy)
InfanteSpanish From infante literally "child", but in Spain also a title borne by the eldest sons of noblemen before they inherited, and in particular by the son of the king of Castile; thus the surname probably originated either as a nickname for one of a lordly disposition or as an occupational name for a member of the household of an infante.
IngEnglish From the name of a former district in Essex, possibly derived from Old English ing "meadow, water meadow", or from ge "district, region" combined with the suffix -ing. Alternatively, it could derive from the given name Inge.
IngersollEnglish Habitational name derived from Inkersall in Derbyshire, probably composed of a given name such as Ingvarr or the byname Hynkere (meaning "limper") combined with Old English hyll "hill" or Old Norse salr "hall, room"... [more]
InglebyEnglish From the names of either of two hamlets in England, derived from Old Norse Englar "Englishman" and býr "farmstead, village".
InglesSpanish Spanish (Inglés): ethnic term denoting someone of English origin, from Spanish Inglés ‘English’.
InglestonEnglish (British) Ingleston is an exceptionally rare surname and seems to be posessed by a single family who much grew larger in the 19th century. ... [more]
InglisEnglish (British), Scottish Originates from the Scots word for English as in a person of English origin. Around 1395 after a dual, the family name became connected to the Scottish clan Douglas as a sept, or a follower, of the clan... [more]
IngogliaItalian Means "belonging to the family of Goglia" in Italian, derived from the prefix in- meaning "belonging to the family of" combined with the name Goglia... [more]
IniestaSpanish Habitational name from places called Iniesta in the province of Cuenca, in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. The Spanish former soccer player Andrés Iniesta (1984-) is a well-known bearer of this surname.
InokoJapanese Ino means "boar" and ko means "child, first of the Chinese zodiac: the rat".
İnönüTurkish From the name of a town and district in northwestern Turkey. This was the surname of the Turkish army commander, president and prime minister İsmet İnönü (1884-1973). The surname was bestowed upon him by the country's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in honour of his services during the First and Second Battles of İnönü near the town in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 (part of the Turkish War of Independence).
InverarityScottish Means "person from Inverarity", Angus ("mouth of the Arity", perhaps a Celtic river-name meaning literally "slow").
In'yakuJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 印鑰 (in'yaku) meaning "seal of head government office and keys to various buildings", referring to someone who would make seals or keys for such purposes.
InzaghiItalian Probably from the town of Inzago, near Milan. This surname is most famously borne by brothers Filippo (1973–) and Simone Inzaghi (1976–).
IppolitoItalian Italian: from the personal name Ippolito (classical Greek Hippolytos, composed of the elements hippos ‘horse’ + lyein ‘loose’, ‘release’). This was the name of various minor early Christian saints... [more]
IraetaBasque From the name of a settlement in Basque Country, Spain, derived from Basque ira "fern" and the toponymic suffix -eta.
IragorriBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Zaratamo, Spain, derived from Basque ira "fern" and gorri "red" or "bare, peeled".
IrelandEnglish, Scottish Ethnic name for someone from Ireland, Old English Iraland. The country gets its name from the genitive case of Old English Iras "Irishmen" and land "land". The stem Ir- is taken from the Celtic name for Ireland, Èriu, earlier Everiu... [more]
IretonEnglish Habitational name from either of two places in Derbyshire called Ireton, or one in North Yorkshire called Irton. All of these are named from the genitive case of Old Norse Íri ‘Irishmen’ (see Ireland) + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.... [more]
Irgen GioroManchu From the combination of the branch name Irgen meaning "regular citizen" and the clan name Gioro.
IrisarriBasque From the name of a commune in the French arrondissement of Bayonne, derived from Basque (h)iri "town, city" and sarri "frequent, thickset; thicket, brushwood".
IronsEnglish English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Airaines in Somme, so named from Latin harenas (accusative case) ‘sands’. The form of the name has been altered as a result of folk etymology, an association of the name with the metal... [more]
IrribarraBasque (Hispanicized) This surname born as a bad translation of Irribarren surname in Quirihue, Chile at the time of registration.
IshamEnglish The name of a village in Northamptonshire, England from the Celtic name of a local river Ise and the Anglo-Saxon term for a small settlement or homestead -ham.
IshanagyiOkinawan (Archaic) From Okinawan 石垣 (Ishanagyi) meaning "Ishigaki", an area in the city of Ishigaki in the prefecture of Okinawa in Japan.
IslandNorwegian Habitational name from any of four farmsteads so named. The origin of their name is not certain; it may be a compound of is "ice" and land "land" or from Island "Iceland" (the name of the country).
IsurietaBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the town of Aretxabaleta, Basque Country, derived from Basque izai "fir tree" and uri "town, settlement" combined with the toponymic suffix -eta "place of, abundance of"... [more]
ItamiyaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 伊丹屋 (Itamiya) meaning "Itami Store", a name of a store that was in the city of Itami in the prefecture of Hyōgo in Japan.... [more]
IturraldeBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Lizartza, Spain, derived from Basque iturri "spring, fountain" and alde "near, by; side, area".
ItxasmendiBasque (Rare) From the name of a neighborhood in Zarautz, Gipuzkoa, probably derived from Basque itxaso "sea" and mendi "mountain". Alternatively, the first element could be isats "gorse, broom (plant)".
ItzsteinGerman Topographic surname that originated from broad regions around the river Itz in Thuringia, Germany. The word "Stein" (German word for stone) historically was also used to describe castles on a hill or at a river, thus a possible meaning of the name is "castle at the river Itz".
IvesEnglish Means "son of Ive", a medieval male personal name, brought into England by the Normans but ultimately of Germanic origin, a shortened form of any of a range of compound names beginning with īv "yew" (cf... [more]
IwaizumiJapanese (Rare) Iwa (岩) means "rock, boulder", izumi (泉) means "spring, water source", it is also a town in Iwate prefecture. Hajime Iwaizumi (岩泉 一) from Haikyuu!! manga and anime is a notable bearer of this surname.
IwashimizuJapanese From 岩 (iwa) meaning "rock, cliff", 清 (shi) meaning "pure, purify, exorcise, clean", and 水 (mizu) meaning "water".
IwatateJapanese From Japanese 岩館 (Iwatate) meaning "Iwatate", a former village in the former district of Tsugaru in parts of present-day Aomori, Japan, in the former Japanese province of Mutsu.
IzabaBasque From the name of a municipality in Navarre, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Proposed origins include Basque iz "water" combined with aba, which could mean "river, mouth, confluence" and/or be a variant of -aga "place of, abundance of".
IzarraBasque Derived from either the village Izarra in Álava, or the town Lizarra in Navarre. The etymology of the former is uncertain, but it coincides with a form of the Basque word izar "star"; the latter derives from lizar "ash tree", but is called Estella ("star") in Spanish due to confusion with the aforementioned word izar.
IzokovmRussian Derived from изок (izok), the Russian term for June used before the Christianisation of the Rus'.
IzturitzagaBasque It indicate familial origin in the vicinity of the eponymous tower house in the municipality of Andoain.
IzturitzeBasque From the name of a commune in south-western France, possibly derived from Basque estura "strait, scrape; narrowing, tightening" and the abundance suffix -tza.
JaadlaEstonian Jaadla is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "jaataja" meaning "yea-sayer". Also, possibly a futher Estoniazation of surnames with foreign language suffixes or roots, such as "Jaakson" and "Jaanson".
JaagoEstonian Jaago is an Estonian surname; a diminutive of the masculine given name "Jaagup".
JaaksonEstonian Jaakson is an Estonian surname meaning "son of Jaak". From the Estonian masculine given name "Jaak" and the Germanic suffix "son".
JaaksooEstonian Jaaksoo is an Estonian surname meaning "Jaak's swamp" in Estonian. However, it most likely derived from a corruption of the surname "Jackson" or "Jaakson" that has been Estonianized.
JaanaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 蛇穴 (Jaana) meaning "Jaana", a former village in the former district of Katsujō in the former Japanese province of Yamato in present-day Nara, Japan, or it being a variant reading of 蛇穴 (Saragi) meaning "Saragi", an area in the same place, in the city of Gose in the prefecture of Nara in Japan.
JaanimaaEstonian Jaanimaa is an Estonian surname meaning "Jaan's land"; Jaan is a masculine given name, an Estonian variant of "John".
JaansonEstonian Jaanson is an Estonian surname derived from the Estonian masculine given name "Jaan" and the Germanic suffix "-son"; "son of Jaan".
JaansooEstonian Jaansoo is an Estonian surname meaning "Jaan's swamp" in Estonian. However, it most likely derived from a corruption of the surname "Jansen" or "Janson" that has been Estonianized.
JacarusoItalian An Italian surname from a compound of Ia- (from the personal name Ianni) and the southern Italian word caruso, which means ‘lad’ or ‘boy’.
JachimiOkinawan (Rare, Archaic) From Okinawan 座喜味 (Jachimi) meaning "Jachimi", a former area in the former district of Yuntanja in the former Ryūkyū kingdom of Chūzan in parts of present-day Okinawa, Japan, or it being the Okinawan form of Japanese 座喜味 (Zakimi) meaning "Zakimi", an area in the same place, in the village of Yomitan in the district of Nakagami in the prefecture of Okinawa in Japan.
JackowskimPolish Habitational surname for someone from a village called Jacków, derived from a diminutive of Jacenty.
JacksEnglish Possibly derived as a diminutive of the given name Jack. A famous bearer is Canadian singer-songwriter Terry Jacks, best known for his 1974 single 'Seasons in the Sun.'
JaćmierskimPolish Derived from the name of the village Jaćmierz in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland. The first known bearer of the surname was Fryderyk Jaćmierski, who lived in the end of XIV century.
JägermeisterssenGerman Means son of the "Master-Hunter". Originally given to the son of the master-hunter in hunting camps.
JagiełłoPolish Originally from Old Lithuanian jotis and gaili, meaning "strong rider". This was the last name of the Polish King Władysław Jagiełło, who, along with his wife, started the Jagiellonian dynasty in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
JagoCornish A patronym, Jago is the Cornish for James/Jacob but is most commonly found as a surname. It’s use as a surname dates back to the early 13th Century.... [more]
JaimoukhaCircassian Means "cow herd, cowman", from Kabardian жэм (žăm) meaning "cow" and хъу (χ°) "male, man". It traditionally indicated someone who was wealthy because they possessed a large herd of bovine.