PepysEnglish From the medieval personal name Pepis, a form of Old French Pepin, brought into England by the Normans. It may have been based on an earlier nickname meaning "awesome"... [more]
PeralesSpanish Habitational name for someone from any of various locations named Perales, from Spanish perales meaning "pear trees" (the plural of peral meaning "pear tree").
PeraltaCatalan, Spanish, Aragonese Habitational name from any of the places in Aragon, Catalonia, and Navarre called Peralta, from Latin petra alta "high rock". This name is also established in Italy.
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]
PercheFrench Derived from a former province of the south of Normandy, and extending into Orleanois.
PercherEnglish In textile mills, woven fabric coming off the mill / loom would pass over a frame, or rod, called a 'perch'. It was the job of the 'Percher' to examine the cloth for defects, and repair them when they were found... [more]
PercyEnglish Either a nickname from Old French percehaie "pierce hedge" (Old French percer "to pierce, penetrate" and haie "hedge, fence"), perhaps with the sense of someone breaking into an enclosure... [more]
PerdueEnglish, Irish, French English and Irish from Old French par Dieu ‘by God’, which was adopted in Middle English in a variety of more or less heavily altered forms. The surname represents a nickname from a favorite oath... [more]
PereaBasque It indicates familial origin within the municipality of Aiara.
PeredoGalician, Portuguese For Galicians, it indicates familial origin near the eponymous hill in the municipality of Castroverde and for Portuguese people, it indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the municipality of Macedo de Cavaleiros.
PereireBreton (Latinized, Archaic) This surname is the Gallic (Gaulish) origin and it means wild pear tree. There are also similar spellig in the Iberian Peninsula such as Pereiro, Pereyro, Pereiros, Perero and Pereros. These surnames (last names) correspond to families of the Celtiberian culture.
PereiriCeltic (Latinized, Archaic) Pereiri or Pereiro is a Galician surname in the north of Spain. It's a last name belonging to ancient Celtic tribes.
PereiruMedieval Portuguese (Latinized, Rare, Archaic) This is a Military Order (Knights Templar or the Order of Solomon's Temple) and it was founded by the Henrique de Borgonha, conde de Portucale (Henry, Count of Portugal) in the year 1090. It was then confirmed by Pope Alexandre III in the year 1177... [more]
PereseGascon Meaning the pear tree. It have a second meaning that is Son of Peter and it's a surname of the Christian inspiration. In Catalonia there is a derivative that is Parés (Variations: Pares, Parès, Parè and Pare).
PerhamEnglish A variation of the English name Parham, based on the village of Parham (one in county Suffolk, another in county Sussex). From the Old English peru, meaning "pear" (the fruit), and ham, meaning "homestead".
PerizGascon Periz is a Gascon surname. It's a native of the region of Gascony (Guyenne). Its signification is Descendant of Peter (Also is The family of Peter). In the French languaje is Pierre. It's a surname of the Christian inspiration and alludes to St... [more]
PerlmutterJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Perlmutter ‘mother-of-pearl'.
PerlsteinJewish Ornamental name composed of German Perle ‘pearl’ + Stein ‘stone’.
PerminovRussian Indicated a person from the Russian city of Perm, of Uralic origin meaning "faraway land".
PernaItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from the dialectic word perna "leg", denoting someone with a deformed or missing leg, or a variant of Perla.
PernierItalian A famous bearer is the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier (1874 - 1937), who discovered the mysterious Phaistos disc on the Greek island of Crete.
PerpichEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of Croatian and Serbian Prpić. Prporuše was a term denoting young girls who, in the dry season, would visit houses in the village and pray for rain.
PersiaItalian, Spanish Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Persia (modern-day Iran) or some other country with Persian-speaking peoples or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with one of these countries (see the given name Persis)... [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.
PeskaCzech From a pet form of the personal name Pešek
PeskettMedieval Welsh The surname Peskett is derived from the word "peascod" or "peapod," a sack in which peas were kept. This word was originally derived from the Old English words "peose" and "pise," which mean "pea," and "codd," which means "bag." The Peskett name was occupational for a seller of peas... [more]
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]
PetraliphasGreek The surname is composed of the name Petros and the city Alifa in Campania, Italy. The surname was held by a Byzantine-Italian family in Epirus.
PetrasVarious Possibly from the name Petros. Famous bearer of this surname is the German singer Kim Petras (born 1992)
PettEnglish The name Pett has a history dating as far back as the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person who was referred to as Peat. The surname Pett was originally derived from the Old English word which meant a spoiled or pampered child.
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".
PettisEnglish From the possessive or plural form of Middle English pytte, pitte ‘pit’, ‘hollow’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a pit, or a habitational name from a place named with this word, as for example Pett in East Sussex.
PettyEnglish, Scottish Derived from Norman French petit, 'small', thus a nickname for a small or insignificant individual.... [more]
PettyferEnglish Variant spelling of Pettifer. The British actor and model Alex Pettyfer (1990-) is a famous bearer of this surname.
PetzoldGerman German. Derives from a pet form of a Slavic version of the given name Peter.
PevensieLiterature Rarely used as a female given name, Pevensie is possibly an invented surname by C.S. Lewis for the Narnia series. It's most famous bearers are- of course- Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie from said series.
PevtsovmRussian Means "son of the singer", from Russian певец (pevets) "singer".
PewWelsh From Welsh ap Hew or ap Hugh "son of Hugh" (see Pugh). A fictional bearer is Blind Pew, the blind pirate in Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' (1883).
PewterschmidtPopular Culture Comprised of the English word pewter, which is a metal alloy made mostly of tin, and the German element schmidt 'smith' (see Schmidt). This surname is obviously intended to be of Germanic origin... [more]
PeyronFrench Unknown meaning. French surname. Famous bearer of this name is Bruno Peyron and the German princess Louise Peyron (1918-1989).... [more]
PezaAlbanian Myslim Peza, leader of the anti-fascist movement.
PflaumGerman, Jewish metonymic occupational name or possibly a nickname from Middle High German pflūme, German pflaume "plum", as a Jewish name it is artificial... [more]
PfuhlGerman a topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp or pond, Middle High German phuol.... [more]
PfundGerman metonymic occupational name for a sealer of weights, or for a wholesale merchant, from Middle High German pfunt ‘pound’ (as a measure of weight and a unit of currency).
PhenixFrench (Quebec, Anglicized) Either (i) an anglicization of French Canadian Phénix, literally "phoenix", probably originally a nickname of now lost import; or (ii) a different form of Fenwick.
PheonixEnglish, Scottish Variant of Fenwick re-spelled after the legendary bird Phoenix. A famous bearer of the name is American actor Joaquín Rafael Phoenix (1974-), although their family renamed themselves after the Phoenix after leaving the religious cult Children of God, symbolizing a new beginning.
PhíVietnamese Vietnamese form of Fei, from Sino-Vietnamese 費 (phí).
PhilbertEnglish From the medieval French male personal name Filibert, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "very bright, very famous".
PhilbrickEnglish (British) English (southeastern): probably a habitational name from Felbrigg in Norfolk named with Old Norse fjǫl “board plank” + Old English brycg “bridge”.... [more]
PhilippartBelgian In the Medieval period, of Ancient Greek origin, derives from philippos, a compound made of philein meaning "to love", and hippos, a horse, hence "lover of horses".
PhilliskirkEnglish (Rare) From a 'lost' medieval parish in England or Scotland, named with the Old Norse element kirk meaning 'church' or 'place of worship'.... [more]
PhóVietnamese Vietnamese form of Fu, from Sino-Vietnamese 傅 (phó).
PhoenixEnglish From the name of a beautiful immortal bird which appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years... [more]
PhomvihaneLao From Lao ພົມ (phom) referring to the Hindu god Brahma and ວິຫານ (vihane) meaning "temple, sanctuary". A notable bearer was Kaysone Phomvihane (1920-1992), the second president of Laos.
PiagetFrench (Swiss) Of uncertain origin and meaning. This name was borne by Jean Piaget (1896-1980), a Swiss child psychologist noted for his studies of intellectual and cognitive development in children.
PianaItalian Topographic name from piana ‘plain’, ‘level ground’, from Latin planus, or a habitational name from any of the places named with this word.
PicaItalian, Catalan Nickname for a gossipy or garrulous person, from the central-southern Italian word pica ‘magpie’. Compare Picazo.Catalan: habitational name from any of the numerous places called Pica.Catalan: from either pica ‘pointed object’ (weapon, etc.) or a derivative of picar ‘to prick’.
PickenpaughGerman The surname Pickenpaugh is an Americanized version of the German name Beckenbach, meaning "from the river basin"... [more]
PickersgillEnglish This famous Yorkshire name is of early medieval English origin, and is a locational surname deriving from the place in West Yorkshire called Pickersgill, or "Robber's Ravine". The placename is derived from the Middle English "pyker", thief, robber, and "gill", gully, ravine, deep glen.
PickettEnglish Of Norman origin, from the personal name Pic, here with the diminutive suffixes et or ot, and recorded as Picot, Pigot and Piket. The name is ultimately of Germanic derivation, from pic meaning "sharp" or "pointed", which was a common element in names meaning for instance, residence near a "pointed hill", use of a particular sharp or pointed tool or weapon, or a nickname for a tall, thin person.
PickfordEnglish This surnames origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived in the parish of Pitchford in Shropshire. ... [more]
PickleGerman Pickle is an Anglicized form of the North German word “pokel” and or the Dutch word “pekel”.
PicklerEnglish Derived from the occupation of "pickler," which referred to someone who worked in the pickling industry, preserving foods such as vegetables or meats in brine or vinegar.
PicoSpanish meaning beak of a bird, or peak of a mountain in spanish... [more]
PicquetFrench A variant of Piquet of which it's meaning is of a military terminology of one soldier/small group of soldiers on a line forward of a postion to provide a warning of an enemy advance... [more]
PiénoelFrench (Rare) French surname that possibly refers to the buckled shoes that the original bearer was wearing, in which case it is derived from Old French pié meaning "foot" combined with Old French noiel meaning "buckle"... [more]
PierpontEnglish English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places, for example in Aisne and Calvados, so called from Old French pierre ‘stone’ + pont ‘bridge’.
PietrafesaItalian From the former name of a town in Potenza, Italy (changed to Satriano di Lucania in 1887), an Italianized form of Medieval Latin Petrafixa, composed of petra "rock, stone" and fixa "fixed, fastened, immovable; constant"... [more]
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".
PikeEnglish, Irish English: topographic name for someone who lived by a hill with a sharp point, from Old English pic ‘point’, ‘hill’, which was a relatively common place name element.... [more]
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]
PilarskiPolish Occupational name for a sawyer, Polish pilarz + -ski, common ending of surnames.
PilchEnglish From Middle English pilch, a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of pilches or a nickname for a habitual wearer of these. A pilch (from Late Latin pellicia, a derivative of pellis "skin, hide") was a kind of coarse leather garment with the hair or fur still on it.
PilcherEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of pilches, from an agent derivative of Pilch. In early 17th-century English, pilcher was a popular term of abuse, being confused or punningly associated with the unrelated verb pilch "to steal" and with the unrelated noun pilchard, a kind of fish.
PilengisLatvian (Rare) This was my mother's maiden name. She and the rest of my family were born in Latvia. I am the first American born. I do not know what Pilengis means.
PilgaonkarKonkani, Indian Pilgaonkar is a Konkani surname used mostly in Goa by Konkani Hindus. Sachin Pilgaonkar of Bollywood fame is a famous person with that surname... [more]
PiliItalian Sardinian form of Italian pelo "hair, hairy".
PiliangMinangkabau Probably derived from Indonesian pili meaning "a lot, many" and hyang meaning "god, deity" or the phrase pili hyang meaning "the god, the deity" (most likely referring to the Hindu-influenced gods that were worshiped before the arrival of Islam in the Indonesian archipelago)... [more]
PillotFrench Meaning unknown, possibly derived from Middle French pilot or pillot both meaning "stake, pole". This is the name of a wealthy merchant family from Besançon, France.
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".
PilotEnglish Means a person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft.
PinchesEnglish (British, Rare) This is one of the very earliest of surnames. This is an English name. First recorded in the 12th century it was a nickname of endearment for a bright, chirpy, person, thought by his peer group to be active like a finch... [more]
PinchotAmerican Of unknown origin. Historically, borne most famously by Gifford Pinchot (1865 - 1946) first Chief of the United States Forest Service.
PinckneyEnglish The surname Pinckney originally denoted someone from Picquigny, France, which derives from a Germanic personal name, Pincino (of obscure derivation) and the Latin locative suffix -acum... [more]
PincockEnglish It is believed to be a variant of the surname Pink, which itself can have several origins, including being a nickname for someone with pink cheeks or a rosy complexion, or an occupational name for a dyer or someone who worked with pigment dyes.
PineauFrench Either a diminutive of Pin from Old French pin "pine" or a habitational name from (Le) Pineau the name of several places in the western part of France of the same origin.
PininfarinaItalian A combination of "pinin", Piedmontese for youngest/smallest brother, and Farina, the Italian variant of Miller. This is the name of the Italian coachbuilder, founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina, later Battista Pininfarina.
PinkEnglish, German Nickname, possibly for a small person, from Middle English pink penkg ‘minnow’ (Old English pinc).English (southeastern): variant of Pinch .Variant spelling of German Pinck, an indirect occupational name for a blacksmith, an onomatopoeic word imitating the sound of hammering which was perceived as pink(e)pank... [more]
PinkertonScottish, Northern Irish Habitational name for a person originally from a location in Scotland named Pinkerton, which is of uncertain meaning.
PinnEnglish, German Derived from Middle English pin and Middle Low German pinne, both meaning "peg" or "pin". This was an occupational name from a maker of these things. The German name can in some cases be an occupational name for a shoemaker.
PinoSpanish, Galician, Italian Spanish and Galician habitational name from any of the places in Galicia (Spain) named Pino from pino "pine" or a topographic name for someone who lived by a remarkable pine tree. Italian habitational name from Pino d'Asti in Asti province Pino Torinese in Torino or Pino Solitario in Taranto all named with pino "pine’... [more]
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]
PiovascoItalian, Literature Means "shower, brief fall of rain" in Italian, from Italian piovere or piova, both meaning "rain" with an added suffix. Cosimo Piovasco di Rondò is the protagonist in the Italian novel The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino, who inherited this surname from his father, Arminio Piovasco.
PipoloItalian Possibly derived from a Latin word meaning "nothing, insignificant; a thing without value", perhaps a nickname for an unimportant or disliked person. Alternatively, it could be from a pet form of the given name Pippo, a diminutive of Filippo.
PiquéCatalan A famous bearer of this surname is Spanish/Catalan footballer Gerard Piqué.
PiquetFrench Occupational name for someone who dealt with picks from a diminutive of pic ''pick, pickax''.
PirzadehPersian Means "born of the pir", from the Persian title پیر (pir) denoting a Sufi spiritual guide (literally meaning "elder, old"). This name was traditionally used by owners or custodians of Sufi mausoleums and shrines.
PisaItalian Habitational name from the city of Pisa in Tuscany. The city was probably founded by Greek colonists, but before coming under Roman control it was in the hands of the Etruscans, who probably gave it its name... [more]
PiscopoItalian, Neapolitan Means "bishop" in Neapolitan, ultimately derived from Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos) "overseer, supervisor, bishop" or "watcher, guardian"... [more]
PisoniItalian patronymic "from Pisone", from a derivative of Piso, from Latin pisum "pea"
PistarioEnglish (American, Rare) Uncertain etymology, possibly an altered spelling of an Italian or Spanish surname derived from Latin pisto "to pound, to beat", perhaps as an occupational name for a baker.
PisulaPolish, Lithuanian Informal nickname for a scribe or clerk, from a derivative of Polish pisać ‘to write’.
PitcherEnglish, German From an agent derivative of Middle English pich ‘pitch’, hence an occupational name for a caulker, one who sealed the seams of ships or barrels with pitch. English variant of Pickard... [more]
PitogoFilipino, Cebuano Means "queen sago" (a type of plant in the genus Cycas) in Cebuano.