Browse Submitted Surnames

Abbruzzese Italian
Habitational name for someone originally from Abruzzo, a region in southern Italy.

Abegg German, German (Swiss)
Topographic name for someone who lived near the corner of a mountain, from German ab meaning "off" and Egg, dialect form of Eck(e) meaning "promontory", "corner".

Abes Filipino
Possibly of Hispanic origin. Common in the Taytay region of Palawan.

Abourouphael Arabic
Means "father of rouphael" in Arabic, used especially in Lebanon and the Maghreb region (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia).

Abplanalp German, German (Swiss)
Topographic name for someone living high on a mountainside, from German ab- "below", "off" + Planalp "high, flat mountain-meadow".

Abruzzese Italian
Regional name for someone from the Abruzzi, a mountainous region of Italy east of Rome (cf. Abruzzo).

Abruzzo Italian
Name for a person originally from the region of Abruzzo in northern Italy.

Aburatani Japanese
Abura means "oil" and tani means "valley".

Acuna Spanish (Latin American)
Related tho the Acuna Indians of Mexico, there is also a city by the name. Popular in border areas of Mexico and Texas.

Ådahl Swedish, Finland Swedish
Combination of Swedish å "river, creek" and dal "valley".

Adney English
Habitational name from Adeney in Shropshire, named in Old English as Eadwynna ey "island of a woman called Eadwynn". English: from a Middle English pet form of Adam... [more]

Aesoo Estonian
Aesoo is an Estonian surname possibly taken from the location of the village of the same name in Pärnu County.

Aflalo Judeo-Spanish
Possibly from the name of the village of Afelilou in the Tafilalt region of Morocco.

Agadiri Moroccan
Habitational name from the city of Agadir.

Agate English (British)
From Middle English gate, meaning a "gate" or "street", denoting a person who lived near a major city gate or street.

Ahluwalia Indian, Punjabi
From a village named Ahlu that existed as a misl (state) of the Sikh Confederacy during the 18th century.

Aimura Japanese
Ai can mean "together, join" and mura means "hamlet, village".

Ainscough English
Habitational name for a person from Aiskew, a village in the civil parish of Aiskew and Leeming Bar, in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England.

Ainumäe Estonian
Ainumäe is an Estonian surname meaning "single mountain".

Aiyama Japanese
Ai can mean "together, join", "love, affection" or "indigo" and yama means "mountain".

Aizlewood English (Rare)
Believed to be a South Yorkshire variant of the popular Hazelwood, of which there are several villages in the region. Also known as a development of Olde English 'Ashlac' found in the Yorkshire village of Aislaby, which translates as The farm (bi) of Ashlac... [more]

Akame Japanese
This surname can derive from a location: Akame Forty-eight Waterfalls (near Nabari, Mie prefecture, Kansai region). Asides from being a popular hiking spot, the waterfalls are rumored to be the training location for ninja hundreds of years ago... [more]

Akamine Japanese
From Japanese 赤 (aka) meaning "red" and 嶺 (mine) meaning "mountain peak, mountain ridge".

Akamura Japanese
Aka means "red" and mura means "hamlet, village".

Akdağ Turkish
Habitational name for someone who lived near any of the various mountains named Akdağ in Turkey, from Turkish ak meaning "white" and dağ meaning "mountain".

Akimura Japanese
From Japanese 秋 (aki) meaning "autumn" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Akisato Japanese
秋 (Aki) means "autumn" and 里 (sato) means "village, ri: unit of measurement, league, parent's home". ... [more]

Akishima Japanese
Aki can mean "autumn" or "bright" and shima means "island".... [more]

Akitani Japanese
Aki can means "bright" or "autumn" and tani means "valley".

Akkineni Telugu
The surname Akkineni (అక్కినేని) is derived from the Telugu and Kannada word "akki (అక్కి)" which means rice and the suffix "neni (నేని)" which means country or region... [more]

Akovantsev Russian (Rare)
Means "from Akova", the name of a few Greek cities and villages.

Akuzawa Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 愛久沢 (Akuzawa) meaning "Akuzawa", a former large village in the former Japanese province of Kaga in parts of present-day Ishikawa, Japan.... [more]

Akuzawa Japanese
From Japanese 阿久沢 (Akuzawa), a variant spelling of 悪沢 (Akuzawa) meaning "Akuzawa", a division in the area of Azuma in the city of Midori in the prefecture of Gumma in Japan.... [more]

Alajõe Estonian
Alajõe is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region water".

Alakivi Estonian
Alakivi is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region stone".

Alaküla Estonian
Alaküla is an Estonian surname meaning "village area".

Alamäe Estonian
Alamäe is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region hill/mountain".

Alamets Estonian
Alamets is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region forest".

Alan Crom Scottish Gaelic
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous village.

Alaoja Estonian
Alaoja is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region creek".

Alardyce Scottish
Scottish regional surname meaning "southern cliff". From the Gaelic all 'cliff' and deas 'southern'.

Alas Estonian
Alas is an Estonian surname, derived from either "ala-" meaning "area" and "region"; or "alasti", meaning "bald" and "nude"; "alastus" means "bareness".

Alasalu Estonian
Alasalu is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region grove".

Alasoo Estonian
Alasoo is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region swamp".

Alaväli Estonian
Alaväli is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region field".

Alavee Estonian
Alavee is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region water".

al-Baghdadi Arabic
Originally denoted a person who came from Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq.

Albany Scottish, English (American)
From the title of the Dukes of Albany (House of Stuart), hence a name borne by their retainers. It is an infrequent surname in England and Scotland. The city of Albany, NY (formerly the Dutch settlement of Beverwijck or Fort Orange) was named for James Stuart, Duke of York and Albany; he was the brother of King Charles II and later king in his own right as James II... [more]

Alborty Ossetian
Derived from Loir, the name of a village in present-day North Ossetia-Alania.

Alcaide Spanish, Portuguese
Ancient occupational or status name from alcaide from Arabic al-qāʾid "the leader, the commander" (see Kaid)... [more]

Alcalá Spanish
Derived from numerous towns with this name (fortified villages during the Moorish occupation of Spain), derived from Arabic القلعة (al-qalʿah) meaning "fortress, fortification, citadel".

Aldea Spanish
Topographic name meaning "village, hamlet" in Spanish, ultimately from Arabic الضيعة‎ (ad-day'a).

Alderman English
Status name from Middle English alderman, Old English ealdorman, "elder". In medieval England an alderman was a member of the governing body of a city or borough; also the head of a guild.

Alfes Jewish
Official website of the the City of Alfés (in the Province Lleida, Catalonia, Spain) says:... [more]

Alfstad Norwegian (Rare)
Possibly a combination of the given name Alf 1 and stad "city, town".

al-Kashgari Uyghur, Arabic
Alternate transcription of Uyghur كاشغەرىي and Arabic كاشغري (see Kashgari). A famous bearer was Mahmud al-Kashgari (1005-1102), an 11th-century Kara-Khanid scholar and lexicographer of the Turkic languages from the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, China.

Al-khwārizmī Medieval Arabic
This is the name of 9th century mathematician and astronomer Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmi, derived from the region of Khwarazm

Alleman French (Cajun), Spanish (Canarian), German
From the French and Spanish word for "German". Believed to have originated in the Alsace-Lorraine region. Some holders of the name migrated to the Canary Islands and are part of the larger Isleños population that settled throughout the Americas... [more]

Allgeier German
The harried officials at Ellis Island began to assign surnames based upon the pronunciation of the name by the immigrant, rather than attempting to ferret out the actual spelling. ... [more]

Allikmaa Estonian
Allikmaa is an Estonian surname meaning "spring (water source) island".

Alliksaar Estonian
Alliksaar is an Estonian surname meaning "spring (water source) island".

Allmägi Estonian
Allmägi is an Estonian surname meaning "under/below mountain".

Allsaar Estonian
Allsaar is an Estonian surname meaning "below/under island".

Almada Portuguese
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous city.

Almanza Spanish
Originally indicated a person from Almanza, a city in northern Spain. The city's name itself is derived from Arabic المنزل (al-manzil) meaning "the house".

Almatyev Kazakh (Rare)
Derived from Almaty, the name of a city in Kazakhstan.

Almonte Spanish
From a place between Huelva and Sevilla. Means "the mountain".

Almoroto Filipino
Possibly derived from almus, which means "nurturing", and toto, which means "all over", from Latin during Spanish colonization and rule in the Philippines. Almoroto could mean "nurturing all over."... [more]

al-Musrati Arabic (Maghrebi)
Denoted a person from Misrata (also called Misurata or Misratah), a city in the Misrata district in northwestern Libya.

Alomar Catalan
From the given name Alomar, used especially in the Balearic Islands, itself derived from the Old German name Aldemar. This is borne by the Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Alomar (1968-).

Al Qatrani Arabic
A tarrer, from 'qatrani' (tar). Most common in Yemen and Libya.... [more]

al-Rumaithi Arabic
Originally indicated a person who came from the city of Al-Rumaitha in Iraq, or the Rumaithiya area in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The place names are derived from either the Arabic words الرمث (al-ramth) or حافة (rimth), both the names of a type of flowering plant (genus Haloxylon), called saxaul in English... [more]

Alšėniškis Lithuanian
This indicates familial origin within the Belarusian village of Hal’šány, which was originally Lithuanian & named Alšėnai.

Al-shaykh Arabic
From the Arabic honorific شيخ (shaykh) meaning "sir, master", used for tribal or village chiefs as well as Muslim religious scholars.

Alsop English
Habitational name, now chiefly found in the Midlands, for a person from Alsop-en-le-Dale, a chapelry in the parish of Ashborne, Derbyshire. The place name itself meant "Ælle's valley" from the genitive of the Old English personal name Ælle and Old English hōp meaning "enclosed valley" (compare Hope).

Altdorfer German
Denoted a person who lived in the capital of Uri canton in Switzerland or the municipality in Landshut, Bavaria, both derived from German alt "old" and Dorf "village" or Yiddish דאָרף (dorf) "village, countryside"... [more]

Althoff German
A surname predominantly found in Westphalia and the Rhineland region of Germany which is derived from German alt "old" and Hof (Hoff in the local dialects) "farmstead; farm; manor".

al-Tikriti Arabic
Originally indicated a person who came from the city of Tikrit in Iraq. This was the birth surname of the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein (1937-2006).

Altosaar Estonian
Altosaar is an Estonian surname, possibly derived from the masculine given name "Alto" and "saar", meaning "island"; "Alto's island".

Alumäe Estonian
Alumäe is an Estonian surname meaning "base/foundation hill/mountain".

Alusaar Estonian
Alusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "base/foundation island".

Alvalle Spanish (Latin American)
A beautiful valley in Ortona

al-Warfalli Arabic (Maghrebi)
Means "the Warfalli" in Arabic, referring to a person from the Warfalla (ورفلة) tribal confederation of western Libya. The tribe is of mixed Arab and Arabized Berber origin, and they mainly reside in the city of Bani Walid in the Misrata district.

Amagai Japanese
This is a variation of Japanese surname Amaya. Ama means "Heaven(ly)" and Gai means "Valley".

Amatani Japanese
天 (Ama) means "heaven" and 谷 (tani) meaning "valley". This is the pronunciation of it in western Japan.

Amaya Basque
Spanish: habitational name, from the name of a mountain and an ancient city in the province of Burgos, probably derived from Basque amai ‘end’ + the article suffix -a.

Amaya Japanese
From Japanese 天 (ama) meaning "heaven" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".

Ambedkar Indian, Hindi, Marathi
Derived from the name of the village of Ambadawe (also called Ambavade) in Maharashtra, India. A notable bearer was B. R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), one of the authors of the Indian constitution.

Amberg German, Jewish
German and possibly Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name from any of several settlements called Amberg (literally ‘by the mountain’), including a city in Bavaria. It could also be a topographic name of identical etymology... [more]

Ambrìz Spanish
" Probably a variant of Asturian-Leonese Ambres, a habitational name from a village in Asturies. Also a habitational name of Ámbriz a city in Angola, Africa, mainly of Portuguese descendants. "

Amenomiya Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 雨宮 (Amenomiya) meaning "Amenomiya", a former area in the district of Hanishina in the former Japanese province of Shinano in parts of present-day Nagano in Japan or an area in the same location in the city of Chikuma in the prefecture of Nagano in Japan.... [more]

Amsterdam Dutch (Expatriate), Afrikaans
From the name of the capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, meaning "dam of the Amstel".

Amstutz German (Swiss), German (Austrian)
Topographic name for someone living near or at the foot of a steep mountainside, German am Stutz ‘at the escarpment’.

Andaluz Spanish
Means "from Andalusia" or "from Spain", derived from the region of Spain called Andalucía, once called Al-Ándalus (a classical Arab name for the Iberian Peninsula)... [more]

Aoshima Japanese
Ao means "green, blue" and shima means "island".

Apeltia English (Rare)
Comes from the word "appellation" referring to the Appellation Mountains.

Appenzell German
Habitational name for someone from Appenzell (village or canton) in northeastern Switzerland. The placename derives from Latin abbatis cella, "cell (i.e., estate) of the abbot".

Arabeya Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "uncultivated, desolate", 部 (be) meaning "department, division; part", and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".

Arabuli Georgian
Means "Arabic, Arab" in Georgian, referring to Arabs who historically resided in the region of Khevsureti in Georgia.

Arachchi Sinhalese
From a title used during the British colonial era of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to denote a native village headman or leader.

Arachchige Sinhalese
From the colonial-era Sinhala title ආරච්චි (arachchi) used to denote a native village headman combined with the suffix -ගේ (-ge) meaning "of, home, house".

Aragón Spanish
Habitational name from Aragon Spain which was an independent kingdom from 1035 to 1479. It took its name from the river Aragón which arises in its northwestern corner... [more]

Arahira Japanese
From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough; harsh; intense" and 平 (hira) meaning "flat; flattened" or, in a dialect, "cliff", referring to a rough flatland or a rough cliff.... [more]

Aramberri Basque
From Basque aran "valley" and berri "new".... [more]

Aranburu Basque
Proper, non-Castilianized form of Aramburú, literally meaning the peak of a valley.

Araneta Filipino
From a Basque name derived from haran meaning "valley" combined with the toponymic suffix -eta.

Aratani Japanese
From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, wild" and 谷 (tani) meaning "valley".

Araya Japanese
From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, wild" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".

Arboleda Spanish
From arboleda meaning "grove of trees". This is the name of a prominent Colombian family, in which case it is derived from their region of origin in Arboleya, Spain.

Arciszewski m Polish
Habitational name for a person from the Polish village Arciszewo

Ardehi Persian, Kurdish, Old Persian
House Ardehis of Zagors or Ardahvans (Persian: اردهیان) were one of the Persian Sassanid royal families, who occupied the Mounts of Zagros before the Islamic conquest of Persia in 650 CE. Ardahvans in Shahnameh and Persian mythology are mentioned to be the first settlers of Zagros mountains, and the constructors of Forts Of Zagros.

Ardern English
Means "eagle valley" or "gravel valley". From Old English ear "gravel" or eran "eagle" and denu "valley". Also a variant of Arden.

Arensberg German
From Old High German arn 'eagle' and berg, 'mountain'.

Argyle Scottish, Scottish Gaelic
From the regional name Argyll, a county of southwestern Scotland, named in Gaelic as Earre Ghàidheal ‘coast of the Gaels’. Argyll was the earliest part of Scotland to be settled by Gaelic speakers from Ireland from the 6th century onwards... [more]

Argyll Scottish, Scottish Gaelic
From the regional name Argyll, a county of southwestern Scotland, named in Gaelic as Earre Ghàidheal ‘coast of the Gaels’. Argyll was the earliest part of Scotland to be settled by Gaelic speakers from Ireland from the 6th century onwards... [more]

Ariganello Italian
This surname is concentrated in the southern Italian region Calabria.

Arimura Japanese
Ari means "exist" and mura means "village, hamlet".

Ariyama Japanese
Ari means "exist, have, possess" and yama means "mountain".

Armand Pilon French
Armand is the original surname, and it is a French modification from a German surname. The original being Hartmann, that spelled by a francophone becomes Armand.... [more]

Armendariz Spanish, Basque
from the Basque personal name Armendari or Armentari, from Latin Armentarius 'herdsman'. Spanish and French variant of Armendaritze, a habitational name from a village in Low Navarre named Armendaritze.

Armenia Italian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese
Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Armenia or who had connections with Armenia. This surname is derived from the feminine form of Armenio, which is ultimately from Greek Αρμένιος (Armenios) meaning "Armenian"... [more]

Armijo Spanish
Derived from the Spanish adjetive "armigero", meaning "one who bears arms". First found in the Northern Region of Spain in Cantabria. Alternate spellings include: Armijos, Armigo, and Armija.

Armona Portuguese
It indicates familial origin on the eponymous island in the municipality of Olhão.

Arora Indian, Hindi, Punjabi
From the name of the ancient city of Aror in what is now the Sindh province, Pakistan. The city's name may have been derived from Hindi और (aur) meaning "more, also".

Arrhenius Swedish (Rare)
The name of two separate family linages with no relation between each other. One family originates from Linköping, Östergötland and probably got its name from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́ρρην (árrhēn) "male" (taken from the last syllable of ancestor's last name, Kapfelman)... [more]

Artigas Aragonese, Catalan, Spanish
Plural form of artiga, referring to land cleared for agriculture.... [more]

Artino Greek
Habitational name for someone from the city of Arta in Epirus.

Artis English
English: regional name for someone from the French province of Artois, from Anglo-Norman French Arteis (from Latin Atrebates, the name of the local Gaulish tribe). This surname is popular in North Carolina and Virginia, of the US.

Aruküla Estonian
Aruküla is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland village".

Arumäe Estonian
Arumäe is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland hill/mountain".

Arundel English
English surname which comes from two distinct sources. Either it was derived from a place name meaning "horehound valley" in Old English (from harhune "horehound (a plant)" and dell "valley"), or it was from Old French arondel, diminutive of arond "swallow", which was originally a Norman nickname given to someone resembling a swallow.

Aruorg Estonian
Aruorg is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland/meadow valley".

Arusaar Estonian
Arusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "meadow/grassland island".

Arzamendia Basque
"mountain bear"

Asa Japanese
Variously written, sometimes with characters used phonetically. It can mean ‘morning’, but the most likely meaning is ‘hemp’, making it a topographic or occupational name. Both forms are found mostly in Amami, one of the Ryūkyū Islands.

Asamura Japanese
From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Asamushi Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 浅虫 (Asamushi) meaning "Asamushi", an area in the city of Aomori in the prefecture of Aomori in Japan.... [more]

Asato Japanese (Rare)
There are several readings for the name but 2 are Asa:"Morning",and To:"Door,Asa:"Safe" and To:"Village". There are multiple places in the Ryukyu's (where the name originates and mostly stays) that have that name;that could've been the influence... [more]

Aschan Swedish
Shortened form of Aschanius (now obsolete) taken from the name of a village whose name was derived from Swedish ask "ash tree".

Ascot English
Surname originating from the village of Arscott in Devon, meaning "eastern cottage" in Saxon. It can also be used to refer to Ascot in Berkshire, where the Royal Ascot race meeting is held each year.

Ashbrook English
Derived from Ampney St Mary, a small village and civil parish locally known as "Ashbrook", in Gloucestershire, England (recorded in the Domesday Book as Estbroce). It is named with Old English est meaning "east, eastern" and broc meaning "brook, stream".

Ashitanihara Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 芦谷原 (Ashitanihara), a variant reading of 芦谷原 (Ashitaniharu) meaning "Ashitaniharu", a division in the division of Shukukubota in the area of Makizono in the city of Kirishima in the prefecture of Kagoshima in Japan or it being a name of a group of several households in the same location, for the Kadowari System that took place in the Edo Period in the former Japanese province of Satsuma in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan.

Ashtiani Persian
Possibly related to the Iranian city or county of Ashtian.

Asquith English
Habitational name from a village in North Yorkshire named Askwith, from Old Norse askr ‘ash tree’ + vi{dh}r ‘wood’

Asuküla Estonian
Asuküla is an Estonian surname meaning "populated village".

Asusaar Estonian
Asusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "resident (of) island" ("island dweller/resident").

Ataídes Portuguese
For people descending from inhabitants of Freguesia do Ataíde, in Portugal; currently part of Vila Meã, or related to the noble family who owned those lands. The place was probably named after Athanagild, 6th-century king of Visigothic Hispania and probable founder of the village.

Atake Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 阿竹 (Atake) meaning "Atake", a division in the area of Tajiri in the city of Ise in the prefecture of Mie in Japan.

Atsugi Japanese (Rare)
Atsugi (厚木) means "thick tree", notable bearer of this surname is Nanami Atsugi (厚木 那奈美), a Japanese Voice actress. It is also a city name in Kanagawa perfecture.

Attenborough English
Habitational name for a person from the village of Attenborough in Nottinghamshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Adda and burh meaning "fortified place". A famous bearer of this name was the English actor and filmmaker Richard Attenborough (1923-2014)... [more]

Atwal Punjabi
From the name of the village of Athwal in Punjab state, India.

Atxabal Basque
It indicates familial origin within the vicinity of the eponymous mountain in the municipality of Zuia.

Aubut French
The surname "Aubut" is Old French and was first found in the Burgundy region of France. It is derived from the Germanic name "Alberic" which is from the Latin name "Albericus."

Auestad Norwegian
A surname most commonly found in the Rogaland region of Norway. The most common theory for the meaning is that it originated from øde sted (or in older spellings, øde stad) meaning "abandoned/barren/solitary place"... [more]

Aufdemberge American (Rare)
The surname Aufdemberge originated in America, but in German it means "on the mountains".... [more]

Aulakh Indian, Punjabi
From the name of a village in Punjab, India, meaning uncertain.

Austerlitz German (Austrian), Jewish
Derived from Slavkov u Brna (historically known as Austerlitz in German), a town located in Vyškov District, in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. This was real surname of the American actor and dancer Fred Astaire (1899-1987), as well as his sister Adele Astaire (1896-1981), an actress, singer and dancer.

Avallone Italian
Topographic name for someone who lived in a deep valley.

Avalon English
Means "island of apples".

Aveiro Portuguese, Spanish
Demonymic surname refering to Aveiro a city in middle north-eastern Portugal. A famous bearer of this surname is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Awa Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 阿波 (Awa), a clipping of 上阿波 (Kamiawa) or 下阿波 (Shimoawa), both areas in the city of Iga in the prefecture of Mie in Japan.

Awamura Japanese
Awa means "millet" and mura means "hamlet, village".

Awatani Japanese
Awa means "millet" and tani means "valley".

Awaya Japanese
From Japanese 粟 (Awa) meaning "Mllet" and 谷 (Tani) meaning "valley".

Awayama Japanese
Away means "millet" and yama means "mountain".

Axford English
Derived from Axford, which is the name of two villages in England (one is located in the county of Hampshire, the other in Wiltshire). Both villages derive their name from Old English æsc(e) "ash tree(s)" and Old English ford "ford", which gives their name the meaning of "ford by the ash trees" or "a ford with ash trees"... [more]

Aybar Basque (Hispanicized, Rare)
Aybar Name Meaning. Spanish (of Basque origin): habitational name, in most cases probably from Aibar in Navarre, but in some cases perhaps a variant of Eibar, the name of a place in Gipuzkoa. The place names are from Basque ai 'side', 'slope' + ibar 'flood plain', 'valley'.

Aylesworth English
It was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Kineton.... [more]

Azabu Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 麻布 (Azabu), a clipping of 元麻布 (Motoazabu) meaning "Motoazabu", an area in the ward of Minato in the city of Tokyo in Japan.

Azabu Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 麻布 (Azabu) meaning "Azabu", a division in the area of Nakauri in the city of Shinshiro in the prefecture of Aichi in Japan.

Azahara Japanese
From Japanese 字 (aza) meaning "a section of a village" and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".

Azuaje-fidalgo Portuguese (Rare), Spanish, Italian
Fidalgo from Galician and Portuguese filho de algo — equivalent to "nobleman", but sometimes literally translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some (important family)"—is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility that refers to a member of the titled or untitled nobility... [more]

Bachynsky Ukrainian
Habitational name for someone from the village of Bachyna.

Bacolod Filipino, Hiligaynon, Cebuano
Derived from Hiligaynon bakolod meaning "hill, mound, rise". This is also the name of a city in the Negros Occidental province in the Philippines.

Bączalski Polish
This indicates familial origin within either of a cluster of 3 Lesser Polish villages: Bączal Dolny, Bączal Górny, or Bączałka.

Bagchi Bengali
Habitational name from the village of Bagcha in present-day West Bengal, India.

Bagshaw English
Derived from the village in Derbyshire called Bagshaw

Bakkedahl Norwegian
From Norwegian bakke "slope, hillside" and dal "valley". Dan Bakkedahl (1969-) is an American actor and improvisational comedian.

Bakkum Dutch
Bakkum is a habitational name from the village so named near Castricum in North Holland province. Its meaning may be 'the homestead of someone with the personal name Bak', or refer to the location on a back of a hillside.

Bal Punjabi
Bal is an sikh and muslim jat family. they will few found in Pakistan and India Punjab. Basically they will found from bal kalan tehsil verka 5 District Sri Amritsar Punjab India. In the 2011 Census Bal Kalan Local Language is Punjabi... [more]

Bala Indian
1 Indian (Gujarat and Bombay city): Parsi name, probably from Persian bālā ‘high’, ‘exalted’.... [more]

Balaguer Catalan, Spanish, Filipino
Habitational name for someone originally from the city of Balaguer in Catalonia, Spain.

Balboa Galician
Habitational name from the city of Balboa, named with Latin vallis bona 'pleasant valley'.

Balcom English
Altered spelling of English Balcombe, a habitational name from Balcombe in West Sussex, which is named with Old English bealu "evil, calamity" (or the Old English personal name Bealda) combined with cumb "valley".

Ballon Spanish
Theoretically it could be a variant of vallón, from valle ‘valley’, but neither form is attested as a vocabulary word or as a place name element. Alternatively, it could be a Castilian spelling of Catalan Batlló, Balló, nicknames from diminutives of batlle ‘dancing’.English: variant spelling of Balon.

Balmaceda Spanish, Basque
From Balmaseda, the name of a town and municipality in the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country of Spain. It is derived from Spanish val meaning "valley" and Basque mahatseta meaning "vineyard"... [more]

Balston English
From the name of a place meaning "Beald's valley" from Old English denu meaning valley.

Baltimore English (American)
From the name of the American city of Baltimore, and an anglicisation of Irish Gaelic Baile an Tí Mhóir meaning "town of the big house".

Bangla Bengali
From বাংলা (Bangla), the endonym of the Bengali people, the region of Bengal (including Bangladesh), and the Bengali language. The word itself is derived either from Vanga, the name of an ancient kingdom on the Indian subcontinent, or from an Austric word meaning "sun god".

Bankoku Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 万国 meaning "all nations; the whole world; universal". The fact that it is homophonous as Japanese バンコク (Bankoku) meaning "Bangkok", the city in Thailand, is coincidental.

Bantan Arabic
From the name of the Indonesian province of Banten, originally indicating a person originally from that region.

Banville French, English, Irish
From a place in france derived from the Germanic name Bada and French ville "village, town".

Baraga Slovene
A Slovene surname of unknown origin. A notable bearer was Slovene-American Roman Catholic bishop Frederic Baraga (1797-1868), who was the bishop of Marquette, a town in Upper Michigan, USA. There is also a village in Upper Michigan named Baraga, which was named after the bishop.

Barceló Catalan
Apparently from a personal name Barcelonus (feminine Barcelona), originally denoting someone from the city of Barcelona.

Barcelona Catalan, Spanish
Habitational name from Barcelona, the principal city of Catalonia. The place name is of uncertain, certainly pre-Roman, origin. The settlement was established by the Carthaginians, and according to tradition it was named for the Carthaginian ruling house of Barca; the Latin form was Barcino or Barcilo.

Barden English
English: habitational name from places in North and West Yorkshire named Barden, from Old English bere ‘barley’ (or the derived adjective beren) + denu ‘valley’.

Bareilles French, Occitan
Derived from the place name Bareilles, a village in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitania region of France. A famous bearer is the American musician and actress Sara Bareilles (1979-).

Barrineau French
The history of the Barrineau family goes back to the Medieval landscape of northern France, to that coastal region known as Normandy. Barrineau is a habitation name, derived from the place name Barrault, in Normandy.... [more]

Barrios Spanish
Habitational name from any of the numerous places named with Spanish barrio "outlying suburb (especially an impoverished one), slum", from Arabic barr "suburb, dependent village". It may also be a topographic name for someone originating from a barrio.

Barrow English
Habitational name from any of the numerous places named with Old English bearo, bearu "grove" or from Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, which is named with an unattested Celtic word, barr, here meaning "promontory", and Old Norse ey "island"... [more]

Barsi Hungarian
Name for someone living in a village named Bars. This was the surname of American child actress Judith Barsi (June 6, 1978 - July 25, 1988).

Barskiy Ukrainian
Means "of Bar", referring to the city of Bar in the Vínnitsya Oblast.

Barthorpe English
This surname originates from the village of the same name in the East Riding of Yorkshire, likely combining the Old Norse personal name Bǫrkr with Old Norse þorp meaning "village."

Bartochowski Polish
This indicates familial origin with the village of Bartochów.

Barwick English, German
English: habitational name from any of various places called Barwick, for example in Norfolk, Somerset, and West Yorkshire, from Old English bere ‘barley’ + wic ‘outlying farm’, i.e. a granary lying some distance away from the main village.... [more]

Barzanî Kurdish
Denoted a person from the village of Barzan in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Basarrate Basque
It indicates familial origin within the eponymous area of the district of Santutxu in the city of Bilbao.

Basel German
Habitational name denoting someone from the city of Basel, Switzerland.

Basler German
Habitational name denoting someone from the city of Basel, Switzerland.

Basra Indian, Punjabi
From the name of a city in present-day Iraq, Basra (البصرة‎).

Baszowski Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Baszowice.

Batawi Arabic
Means "Betawi" in Arabic, referring to someone originally from the city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in Indonesia.

Baucom English
Variant spelling of BALCOMBE, a habitational name from West Sussex derived from Old English bealu "evil" and cumb "valley".

Bauerdick German
A surname originating from the Rhineland region of Germany. It is derived from German Bauer (Bur in the locals dialects) "farmer" and Deich (Diek and Dick in the local dialects) "levee" or Teich "pond"... [more]

Baumkötter German (Modern)
From the German words 'Baum' meaning 'tree' and 'Kötter' a type of villager who dwelt in a cottage, similar to the Scottish Cotter. "Presumably a 'Baumkötter' earned money from a small orchard on their property."

Baxendale English
Habitational name, probably an altered form of Baxenden, a place near Accrington, which is named with an unattested Old English word bæcstān meaning "bakestone" (a flat stone on which bread was baked) + denu meaning "valley"... [more]

Bayabao Filipino, Maranao
From Maranao Bayabaw, the term used to refer to traditional subdivisions of the eastern regions of Lanao.

Baygents Anglo-Saxon
The earliest recorded spelling of the surname was "Besant", "Bezant", or "Beasant", which comes from an old French word "besant", which, in turn, was derived from the Latin term "byzantius aureus". The "byzantius" or "bezant" was a gold coin named after the city of Byzantium (ancient name in BC, later named 'Constantinople' in 330 AD)... [more]

Beaufay French (Rare)
In most cases, this surname is a locational surname that most likely took its name from the village of Beaufay, which is nowadays located in the Sarthe department of France. The village was called Bello Faeto, Bellofaido and Belfaidus during the Early Middle Ages, ultimately deriving its name from Latin bellus fagus (or bellum fagetum) meaning "beautiful beech tree(s)" or "beautiful beech woodland"... [more]

Beausoleil French (Quebec)
Surname of French origin. A topographic name from beau ‘lovely fair’ + soleil ‘sun’ probably denoting a place that was exposed to the sun or a habitational name from any of various minor places called so.... [more]

Bechtle German
The surname Bechtle was first found in Hessen, where the family contributed greatly to the development of an emerging nation. The earliest bearers of this name to be mentioned in ancient chronicles were Bechtold of Fulda in 1387, Bechtold Suleffel of Frankfurt in 1442, and Tibertius Bechtolf of Frankfurt in 1568... [more]

Beckingham English
From the name of two villages in England, one in Lincolnshire and one in Nottinghamshire.

Bedford English
From the English county Bedfordshire and its principal city or from a small community in Lancashire with the same name. The name comes from the Old English personal name Beda, a form of the name Bede and the location element -ford meaning "a crossing at a waterway." Therefore the name indicates a water crossing once associated with a bearer of the medieval name.

Beeden English (British)
Probably means "from Beeden", a village near Newbury in Berkshire. Ultimately coming from either Old English byden, meaning "shallow valley", or from the pre 7th century personal name Bucge with the suffix dun, meaning "hill of Bucge".

Beers Dutch
Name for someone from the village named "Beers".

Beilen Dutch
Habitational name from a village in Drenthe, Netherlands, possibly related to Old Germanic *bagil- "swamp, marsh".

Bekanowski Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish village of Bekanówka.

Bekker Afrikaans
bekker is a regional form of Dutch bakker which means Baker

Belfiore Italian
Means "beautiful (as a) flower", derived from Italian bel "beautiful" combined with Italian fiore "flower". Two Italian sources claim that this surname was derived from the medieval masculine given name Belfiore (which has of course the same meaning), but I can find no evidence that this was an actual given name in medieval Italy... [more]

Béliveau French (Rare), French (Quebec)
Derived from Old French besliver meaning "to stagger along", originally a nickname referring to a drunkard. It could also denote a person who lived in a beautiful, lovely valley, derived from French beau "beautiful" or Old French beu, bel "fair, lovely", combined with val meaning "valley"... [more]

Belleisle French
Name for someone from an island named Belle Isle, French for "beautiful island".

Bełzowski Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Bełzów.

Bender German, German (East Prussian)
As a German surname, Bender is a regional occupational surname from the Rhineland area denoting a "barrel-maker" (the Standard German Fassbinder became "Fassbender" in the local dialects and ultimately was shortened to Bender).... [more]

Benelli Italian
The distinguished surname Benelli originated in an area of Italy, known as the Papal States. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent... [more]

Bergamo Italian
From a Celtic word meaning "mountain".

Bergdahl Swedish
Combination of Swedish berg "mountain, hill" and dal "valley".

Bergholtz Swedish, German (Rare)
Possibly a variant of German Bergholz which is either a derivative of Berchtold or from a topographic name meaning "birch wood"... [more]

Berghorst German
Topographical name for someone who lived by a wilderness area on a mountain, from Berg 'mountain', 'hill' + Horst 'wilderness' (see Horst).

Bergin Swedish
Derived from Swedish berg "mountain" and the common surname suffix -in.

Bergkamp Dutch, German
From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, derived from Old Dutch and Old High German berg meaning "mountain" and kamp meaning "field". This name is borne by Dutch former soccer player Dennis Bergkamp (1969-).

Berglin Swedish
Combination of Swedish berg "mountain" and the surname suffix -in.

Berglind Swedish
Combination of Swedish berg "mountain, hill" and lind "linden tree".

Bergling Swedish
Combination of Swedish berg "mountain" and the common surname suffix -ing "belonging to, coming from". It has also been found as a spelling variant of similarly spelled names, such as Berlin... [more]

Bergmark Swedish
Combination of Swedish berg "mountain, hill" and mark "land, ground, field".

Bergoglio Italian
From the name of a village in Piedmont, Italy. A notable bearer is Jorge Mario Bergoglio (1936-), better known as Pope Francis, the current head of the Catholic Church.

Bergschneider German
topographic name for someone living by a mountain trail (as in cut into the hillside) from Berg "mountain hill" and Schneit "trail path running on a border" (Old High German sneita).

Bergsma Dutch, West Frisian
From berg "mountain, hill".

Berisha Albanian
From the name of a tribe and historical region in northern Albania, meaning uncertain.

Berlanga Spanish
From the village or castle named "Berlanga de Duero" from Soria, Spain. Berlanga itself was derived from "berlain" which comes from the name of a precious stone derived from the Greek. So it could be related to stones.

Berlin Swedish
Of uncertain origin. The name could be a shortened form of Berglin. It could also be a habitational name from the city in Germany or from a place in Sweden named with ber or berg "mountain"... [more]

Berlin German, English
Habitational name from the city in Germany, the name of which is of uncertain meaning. It is possibly derived from an Old Slavic stem berl- meaning swamp or from a West Slavic word meaning "river lake".

Berliński Polish, Jewish
Habitational name for someone from the city of Berlin in Germany.

Bernasconi Italian
The surname of BERNASCONI is of Italian origin, a locational name meaning the dweller on or near a small hill. The names of habitation are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages, farmsteads or other named habitations... [more]

Berner German, Low German
German habitational name, in Silesia denoting someone from a place called Berna (of which there are two examples); in southern Germany and Switzerland denoting someone from the Swiss city of Berne. ... [more]

Bernfield German
An Americanized variant of the German surname, "Bergfeld", meaning "mountain field".

Bernthal Jewish
Ornamental name derived from the Yiddish given name Ber meaning "bear" and German thal meaning "valley". A famous bearer is American actor Jon Bernthal (1976-).

Berryann Medieval English (Rare)
The name is pre 7th century Olde English and later Olde French. It derives from the word burri or berri, translating as a fortress or castle and means 'one who dwelt at the castle'. The suffix 'man' also indicates that it was job descriptive for a guard or keeper of the castle... [more]

Bersford English (Canadian)
Named after the city 'Bersford'... [more]

Berzelius Swedish
Derived from the name of an estate named Bergsätter located near Motala, Östergötland, Sweden. Bergsätter is composed of Swedish berg "mountain" and säter "outlying meadow"... [more]

Besançon French
Habitational name for a person from the capital city of Doubs in France, ultimately from Latin Vesontiō, derived from Proto-Celtic *ves "mountain". Folk etymology states that it is associated with the place name with Old French bison "wisent".

Beskow Swedish
Derived from the name of the city Beeskow in Germany. A notable bearer was Swedish author and illustrator Elsa Beskow (1874-1953).

Bestauty Ossetian
Derived from Ossetian бистэ (biste) meaning "village, suburb" or from Persian به (beh) meaning "good, excellent, better". In the case of the former, it would have been used to indicate the place of residence of an ancestor.

Beyoğlu Turkish
Means son of a bey. “Bey” (Ottoman Turkish: بك‎ “Beik”, Albanian: bej, Bosnian: beg, Arabic: بيه‎ “Beyeh”, Persian: بیگ‎ “Beyg” or بگ “Beg”) is a Turkish title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders or rulers of various sized areas in the Ottoman Empire... [more]

Bhaduri Bengali
Habitational name from the village of Bhadur in present-day West Bengal, India.

Bharucha Indian (Parsi)
Refers to the city of Bharuch in Gujarat, India, which is thought to be derived from the name of a figure in Hindu mythology.

Bhatnagar Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Odia
Derived from the name of a subgroup of the Kayasth community, denoting association with Hanumangarh (formerly named Bhatner), a city in Rajasthan, India.

Bhullar Indian, Punjabi
Probably from the name of a village in Punjab, India, which is of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a Jat clan found in India and Pakistan.

Białaczowski Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Białaczów.

Bickham English
Habitational name from places so named in Devon and Somerset, most of which are most probably named with an Old English personal name Bicca and Old English cumb "valley". The first element could alternatively be from bica "pointed ridge".

Biddle English, Irish
Variant of English BEADLE or German BITTEL. The name is now popular in the north east region of America, where it was brought by English and Irish immigrants.

Bielawski Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Bielawa.

Bieniak Polish
Polish family name with Germanic origins. The Bieniak family lived in the Polish villages of Grębków and nearby Kózki for nearly 500 years.

Biesheuvel Dutch
From Biesheuvel, the name of a small village in the north of the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch bies meaning "bulrush, club rush" (a grasslike plant that grows in wetlands and damp locations) and heuvel meaning "hill"... [more]

Bikuña Basque
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous village in Araba.

Bilbao Spanish
Spanish: Habitational Name From The City Of Bilbao In Biscay Basque Country.

Bilczewski Polish
This indicates familial origin within either of 2 distinct Greater Polish villages by the name of Bilczew.

Billinghurst English
It indicates familial origin within the eponymous village in West Sussex.

Birčanin Serbian
Possibly derived from the village of Birač, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Birindelli Italian
It is a regional surname of Tuscany common in provinces like Pisa, Lucca or Livorno.... [more]

Birket English
It's a locational surname taken from the village of Birket Houses in Lancashire.

Birkin English
The surname "Birkin" comes from a village in Yorkshire of the same name, first recorded as "Byrcene" in the Yorkshire charters of 1030, and as "Berchine" and "Berchinge" in the Domesday Book. The first known person with the surname "Birkin" was Jon de Birkin, a baron who lived in the late-11th century.

Bisbee English
Named after the city of Bisbee which is in Arizona.... [more]

Bisby Medieval Scottish, Medieval English, English (British), Scottish, English (Australian), Anglo-Norman
Either originating from the village Busby in historic county East Renfrewshire in Scotland, or Great Busby in Yorkshire. The place name is likely derived from the Norman buki, "shrub". See also Busby.

Bisley English (British)
Bisley is a locational surname from the village of Bisley in Surrey. It comes from the words biss meaning “water” and leah meaning “farm”.

Bismarck German
Noble family from the Altmark Region.

Bizkarrondo Basque
It literally means "near the shoulder of a mountain".

Björnberg Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish björn meaning "bear" and berg meaning "mountain".

Blagden Anglo-Saxon
Blagden is a locational surname deriving from any one of the places called Blackden or Blagdon, or Blagden farm in Hempstead, Essex. Blackden in Cheshire, Blagden in Essex and Blagdon in Northumberland share the same meaning and derivation, which is "the dark or black valley", derived from the Old English pre 7th Century "blaec", black, with "denu", valley, while the places called Blagdon in Devon, Dorset and Somerset, recorded as Blakedone in 1242, Blakeson in 1234, and Blachedone in the Domesday Book of 1086 respectively mean "the black hill", derived from the Old English "blaec", black, and "dun", down, hill, mountain... [more]

Blagoveshchensky Russian
Named after the City of Blagoveshchensk

Blaney Irish
Topographic name from Welsh blaenau, plural of blaen "point, tip, end", i.e. uplands, or remote region, or upper reaches of a river.

Blankenship English
Variant of Blenkinsop, a surname derived from a place in Northumberland called Blenkinsopp. The place name possibly derives from Cumbric blaen "top" and kein "back, ridge", i.e. "top of the ridge", combined with Old English hōp "valley" (compare Hope).

Blatt German, Jewish
Ornamental name derived from German blatt and Yiddish blat meaning "leaf", or a topographic name for someone who lived at a farm on a ledge on a mountainside, derived from Middle High German blate meaning "flat surface, ledge, plateau".

Blaxton English
There are two possible origins for this surname; one- from the name of the village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster (part of South Yorkshire, England) on the border of Lincolnshire, or two- from the Old English personal name Blaecstan, meaning "black stone"

Bleibaum German
"Lead tree" possibly changed at Ellis Island from Blumenbaum meaning "flowering tree"

Błeński Polish
This indicates familial origin anywhere within a cluster of 3 Kuyavian villages in Gmina Izbica Kujawska: Błenna, Błenna A, or Błenna B.

Blin Welsh
The same as Blaen, a point, the inland extremity of a valley. Blin also signifies weary, troublesome.

Bliss Medieval English, Medieval English (Anglicized)
Originally a nickname for a cheerful person, derived from the Old English blisse, meaning "gladness" or "joy." Another origin of the surname is habitional, coming from from the village of Blay in Calvados (modern-day Normandy), spelled as Bleis in 1077, or from the village of Stoke Bliss in Worcestershire, first known as Stoke de Blez, named after the Norman family de Blez.... [more]

Bloch Jewish, German, French
Regional name for someone in Central Europe originating from Italy or France, from Polish "Włoch" meaning "Italian" (originally "stranger / of foreign stock"), ultimately derived – like many names and words in various European languages – from the Germanic Walhaz.

Bloemendaal Dutch
Means "valley of flowers", the name of several places in the Netherlands, derived from bloem "flower" and dal "valley, dale". Cognate to German Blumenthal.

Blumenberg Jewish
Ornamental name composed of German Blume "flower" and Berg "mountain, hill".