This is a list of submitted surnames in which the description contains the keywords ruler or of or water.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
SheptitskiyUkrainian This indicates familial origin with the village of Sheptychi in Ukraine, which, as of February 2017, is located within Sambir Raion in the Lviv Oblast.
ShereshevskyRussian, Jewish Name for someone originally from the city of Sharashova in Belarus, probably derived Russian шерешь (sheresh) meaning "frozen mud, ice (on a river)".
SheriffEnglish, Scottish Occupational name for a sheriff, derived from Middle English schiref, shreeve, shryve literally meaning "sheriff", or from Old English scir meaning "shire, administrative district" and (ge)refa meaning "reeve"... [more]
SherkhanzaiAfghan Meaning "son of Sherkhan" in Pashto. Sherkhan itself means "lion king" in Persian. This surname is found among Afghans belonging to the Barech, one of the Durrani Pashto tribes.
SherlockEnglish, Irish Nickname for someone with "fair hair" or "a lock of fair hair."
SherpaNepali From the name of the Sherpa people of Nepal, India and Bhutan, itself derived from Tibetan ཤར (shar) meaning "east" and the nominalising particle པ (pa).
SherrellEnglish This surname is of English locational origin, from the place in Devonshire called Shirwell. The placename is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sirewelle, and by 1242 as Shirewill... [more]
ShevardnadzeGeorgian Means "son of the falcon", from Georgian შავარდენი (shavardeni) meaning "falcon, hawk". A famous bearer was Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze (1928-2014).
ShevelevRussian 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.
ShimekakeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 七 (shichi) from 楠木七郎 (Kusunoki Shichirō), 五 (go) from 和田五郎 (Wada Gorō), 三 (san) from 三百騎 (sambyakuki) meaning "300 horses" and 掛 (kake), phonetically assigned to write 駆ける (kakeru) meaning "to run"... [more]
ShimoenooJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 下酔尾 (Shimoenoo) meaning "Shimoenoo", a former division in the area of Terushima in the city of Ichikikushikino in the prefecture of Kagoshima in Japan, or a name of a group of several households in the Kadowari System that took place in the Edo Period in the former Japanese province of Satsuma in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan.
ShimojiOkinawan (Rare) Comes from the island in Okinawa, Japan, called Shimoji. The combination of Kanji characters are 下 meaning "down, below", and 地 meaning "place, territory".
ShinglerEnglish An occupational name for someone who laid wooden tiles, or shingles on roofs, from an agent derivative of Middle English schingle ‘shingle’. ... [more]
ShinmarAncient Hebrew (Hellenized, Archaic, ?) 'Shin'; literally translated as 'god', 'crown'. 'Mar'; Hebrew translation for 'master'. Used by Ancient Hebrew descendants/Jews still existing in Middle East & India. Also a city that exists in West Punjab with majority Hebrew/Jews & synagogues.... [more]
ShinwariPashto Perhaps from Shinwar, the name of a Pashtun-inhabited district in Afghanistan. The Shinwari are a Pashtun tribe found in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
ShipEnglish This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is an occupational surname for "a mariner", or perhaps, occasionally a "ship or boat-builder". The derivation of the name is from the Olde English pre 7th Century scip, ship, in Middle English schip
ShipleyEnglish (Rare) English: habitational name from any of the various places, for example in Derbyshire, County Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire, Sussex, and West Yorkshire, so called from Old English sceap, scip ‘sheep’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
ShippEnglish nickname for a mariner or perhaps a boatbuilder from Middle English schip "ship". Compare Shipman . in addition the name may occasionally also have been topographic or habitational referring to a house or inn distinguished by the sign of a ship.
ShipperGerman, Jewish, English German and Jewish Cognate and English variant of Schipper. occupational name from Middle English shippere "shipman sailor seaman" (Old English scipere) perhaps also with the sense "skipper" (Middle Low German schipper).
ShippōJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 七宝 (Shippō) meaning "Shippō", a former village in the district of Toyota in the former Japanese province of Aki in parts of present-day Hiroshima, Japan.
ShiromaOkinawan (Japanized) Japanese form of the Okinawan surname 城間 (Gushikuma), derived from Okinawan 城 (gushiku) meaning "castle" and 間 (ma) meaning "among, between".
ShockleyEnglish (i) perhaps "person from Shocklach", Cheshire ("boggy stream infested with evil spirits"); (ii) perhaps an anglicization of Swiss German Schoechli, literally "person who lives by the little barn"
ShoesmithEnglish occupational name for a blacksmith who either specialized in shoeing horses (a farrier) or in making and fitting iron blades known as shoes such as the tips of spades and the plowshares on plow moldboards from Middle English sho "shoe" (Old English scoh) and smith "smith" (Old English smiþ).
ShootmanGermanic Uncertain origin, probably occupational, from German, Dutch, or English. If German, possible occupational surname for a cobbler, from Old German Schuchmann, lit. "shoe man". Similar origin if Dutch... [more]
ShoreEnglish From the Old English word scora meaning "the land along the edge of an ocean, sea, lake, or river; a coast."
ShrapnelEnglish A different form of Carbonell. Shrapnel (i.e. metal balls or fragments that are scattered when a bomb, shell or bullet explodes) is named after General Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), a British artillery officer who during the Peninsular War invented a shell that produced that effect.
ShrewsburyEnglish From Shrewsbury, a market town and the county town of Shropshire, England, derived from Old English scrobb meaning "scrub, brushwood" and burg meaning "fortified place".
ShrimptonEnglish Probably referring to the unknown "Estate of Shrimp"
ShrivastavIndian, Hindi Short form of Sanskrit श्रीवास्तव्य (shrivastavya) meaning "abode of wealth", itself from श्री (shri) meaning "diffusing light, radiance, splendour, beauty, wealth, prosperity" and वास्तव्य (vastavya) meaning "residence, abode, dwelling, inhabiting".
ShultsJewish (Anglicized, Rare) The name Shults comes from one of those ancient dukedoms, territories and states that would eventually form a part of present day Germany. At its birth in the Middle Ages, it was used to indicate someone who worked as a town-mayor derived from the medieval name "Schultheis" which has the same meaning.... [more]
ShultzGerman (Americanized) Americanized spelling of German Schultz , or a variant spelling of the Jewish name.
SibeliusFinland Swedish Latinization of Swedish Sibbe, the name of an estate in Eastern Uusimaa, Finland. A notable bearer was Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).
SibleyEnglish (British) From the Anglo-Saxons influence in England. Said to be derived from the ancient Sibbelee, a woman’s Christian name, and has been traced through Sibilla, Sybbly, and finally Sibley. Sibilla was the name of a Greek princess who uttered the ancient oracles, and is represented on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel... [more]
SidduItalian From Sardinian siddu "seal, brand", or the related siddai/re "to seal, to tighten", from which come the phrases 'siddai is dentis' "to grit one's teeth" and 'siddàu siast ingùnis' "may you be sealed there", the latter of which would have been affectionately said to a child that wouldn't stay still.
SiderisGreek Greek reduced and altered form of the personal name Isidoros (see Isadore), altered by folk etymology as if derived from sidero ‘iron’ (classical Greek sideron), and hence regarded as an omen name: ‘may the child grow up to be as strong as iron’.
SidiqiPashto, Persian, Afghan Means "the veracious" from Arabic صَدَقَ (ṣadaqa) meaning "to be truthful, to be sincere". It is also a variant of Persian Sadeghi.
SidwellEnglish From an English surname of uncertain origin, possibly originally a habitational name from an unidentified place with a second element from Old English well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’, but on the other hand early forms are found without prepositions... [more]
SiebeLow German from a pet form of the personal name Siebert
SieberGerman The roots of the German surname Sieber can be traced to the Old Germanic word "Siebmacher," meaning "sieve maker." The surname is occupational in origin, and was most likely originally borne by someone who held this position
SieckGerman The name is originally spelled "Siecke". Eric Siecke came from Norway and settled in Holstein, Germany in the year 1307. The final "e" was dropped by most of the family, though one branch still retains it... [more]
SiegfriedGerman From a Germanic personal name composed of the elements sigi "victory" and fridu "peace". The German surname has also occasionally been adopted by Ashkenazic Jews.
SievertLow German, Dutch, Swedish Derived from the given name Sievert. A Sievert (Sv) is a unit measuring the effect of ionizing radiation on the human body (called equivalent absorbed radiation dose)... [more]
SiglerMiddle High German (Americanized) Occupational name, derived from the Middle High German sigel, meaning "seal." It refers to a maker of seals and signet rings or an official keeper of a seal.... [more]
SignoreItalian from the medieval personal name Signore (from Latin senior "senior elder" genitive senioris). from signore ‘lord’ hence a derisive nickname for a peasant who gave himself airs and graces or an occupational name for someone in the service of a great lord... [more]
SiimEstonian Siim is an Estonian surname (and given name); from the masculine given name "Siim", a variant of "Simon".
SiimarEstonian Siimar is an Estonian surname, possibly from a variant of the masculine given name "Siim".
SiimsooEstonian Siimsoo is an Estonian surname meaning "Siim's swamp" in Estonian. "Siim" is a masculine given name. However, it most likely derived from a corruption of the surname "Simson" that has been Estonianized.
SiirusEstonian Siirus is an Estonian surname meaning "candor" and "sincerity"; a cognate of the English language Cyrus and the French language Cyrille.
SikanderPersian Sikander ultimately comes from Persian literature by the Shahnameh. It is a variant of Alexander along with the word “Eskander”. Both words are used in Persian literature to refer to Alexander the Great... [more]
SikderBengali From a historical title used to denote a person who owned one quarter of land, derived from Bengali সিকি (siki) meaning "quarter, fourth".
SikkemaWest Frisian, Dutch Patronymic form of Sikke, a short form of names containing the element sigu "victory", using the Frisian suffix -ma "man of".
SikouChinese (Rare, Archaic) From Chinese 司寇 (sīkòu) meaning "minister of bandits", a minister who oversaw most of the judicial system.
SikumbangMinangkabau Allegedly from the phrase si kumbang meaning "black tiger", probably derived from Minangkabau kumbang which can mean "beetle" or "tiger, leopard". The name may have been used to refer to Tamil settlers from southern India who had darker skin and practised a tiger-like form of martial arts... [more]
SilberGerman, Jewish From Middle High German silber, German Silber "silver"; a metonymic occupational name for a silversmith, or often, in the case of the Jewish surname, an ornamental name.
SilberbergJewish The meaning of the name is "silver mountain" and comes from Germany
SilbermanGerman, Jewish Variant of Silber, with the addition of Middle High German man meaning "man" or Yiddish man meaning "man".
SilbermannGerman, Jewish Variant of Silber. from Middle High German silber German silber "silver" and Middle High German Yiddish man "man" an occupation for a man who worked with silver.
SilcockEnglish From the Middle English given name Silcoc, a diminutive of Sil.
SilhouetteFrench (Rare) Famous bearers include Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician. He was a French Ancien Régime Controller-General of Finances under Louis XV.
SilkEnglish, Irish English: metonymic occupational name for a silk merchant, from Middle English selk(e), silk(e) ‘silk’. ... [more]
SillanpääFinnish Means "bridgehead" in Finnish, an area around the end of a bridge. Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888-1964) was a Finnish author and the first Finnish writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.