NoviItalian Derived from Italian novello and ultimately derived from Latin novellus meaning "new". "Novi" also means "new" in several Slavic languages.
ObamaJapanese From Japanese 小 (o) meaning "small" and 浜 (hama) meaning "beach, seashore".
ObolenskyRussian Indicates familial origin within the village of Obolensk in the Kaluga Oblast, Russia. This was the name of a Russian aristocrat family of the Rurik Dynasty.
OcampoSpanish, Galician From the Galician toponym O Campo meaning "the field", also used as a habitational name from a town of the same name in Lugo, Galicia.
OcasioSpanish (Caribbean) Meaning uncertain, possibly from Spanish ocasión meaning "occasion" or ocaso meaning "dusk, sunset". This surname is primarily used in Puerto Rico.
OcchipintiSicilian Derived from Italian occhi "eyes" and pinti "painted", denoting someone with dark eyelashes or with flecked or blood-shot eyes.
ŌtsuboJapanese From Japanese 大 (o) meaning "big, great" and 坪 (tsubo), a traditional unit of measurement equivalent to approximately 3.306 square metres.
OuChinese From Chinese 欧 (ōu) referring to Mount Sheng in present-day Huzhou, China. According to legend, this name (along with the compound name Ouyang containing this character) was adopted by the descendants of a prince from the Yue state who settled in the area around the mountain.
OuahmedBerber, Northern African Kabyle name meaning "son of Ahmed", from the Berber prefix ou- meaning "son (of)" combined with the Arabic name Ahmed (chiefly Algerian).
OueslatiArabic (Maghrebi) Habitational name for someone from the village of Oueslatia in northern Tunisia.
OuyahiaBerber, Northern African Means "son of Yahia", from the Berber prefix ou- meaning "son (of)" combined with the Arabic given name Yahia (chiefly Algerian).
OuyangChinese From Chinese 歐 (ōu) referring to Mount Sheng in present-day Huzhou, China, combined with 陽 (yáng) meaning "southern face (of a mountain)". The name supposedly originated with a prince of the Yue state that settled in the area surrounding the mountain... [more]
ÖzçelikTurkish From Turkish öz meaning "core, essence" and çelik meaning "steel".
ÖzdemirTurkish Means "pure iron" from Turkish öz meaning "pure" and demir meaning "iron".
OzdoevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush family name, which is derived the old Ingush personal name Ozda used by members of the Ozda teip (clan). The name itself is of disputed origin and meaning, though it is thought to be of non-Nakh, Perso-Arabic origin... [more]
ÖzerTurkish From Turkish öz meaning "core, essence" and er meaning "man, male, warrior".
OzerovRussian From Russian озеро (ozero) meaning "lake".
ÖzkanTurkish Means "pure blood" from Turkish öz meaning "pure" and kan meaning "blood".
PacquiaoFilipino, Cebuano From Cebuano pakyaw meaning "wholesale, to buy in bulk", ultimately from Hokkien 跋繳 (poa̍h-kiáu). A famous bearer is Filipino politician and former boxer Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao (1978-).
PadukoneIndian, Kannada (Rare), Konkani (Rare) From the name of ಕುಂದಾಪುರ (Kundapur), a coastal town in the state of Karnataka in India. This is the surname of Deepika Padukone (1986–), an Indian actress.
PahlevanyanArmenian Means "son of the wrestler" or "son of the champion", ultimately from Persian پهلوان (pahlevân) meaning "strong man, champion, wrestler".
PakCircassian Circassian name derived from Adyghe пакъ (pāq) meaning "snub-nosed, bluntnose".
PamireddyIndian, Telugu From the name of the village of Pamidi in Andhra Pradesh, India, combined with Telugu రెడ్డి (reddi) meaning "village headman". The village's name means "snake killer" from Telugu పాము (pamu) meaning "snake, serpent".
PanahiPersian From Persian پناه (panâh) meaning "shelter, refuge, protection".
PangilinanFilipino, Tagalog Means "place of abstinence" from Tagalog pangilin meaning "abstinence, to abstain" and the suffix -an meaning "place of, time of". It was used to denote abstinence from certain foods for religious purposes.
PankiewiczPolish From the nickname Panek, a diminutive of Panas, itself a form of the given name Atanazy.
PapazoglouGreek Means "son of the priest", derived from the Greek παπάς (papás) meaning "priest" combined with the Turkish oğlu or oğul meaning "son, descendant".
PappalardoItalian Means "glutton, hypocrite" in Italian, originally a nickname for a gluttonous person or someone who pretended to observe religious fasts while eating meat in secret.
ParamarIndian, Gujarati Means "one who strikes the enemy" from Sanskrit पर (para) meaning "other, alien, foreigner, enemy" and मार (mā́ra) meaning "killing, slaying, destroying".
ParsiPersian, Indian (Parsi) Derived from Persian پارسی (pârsi) literally meaning "Persian", though it also refers to the Parsi (or Parsee), a Zoroastrian community in India.
PathanIndian (Muslim), Bengali, Urdu, Pashto Derived from Hindustani पठान (paṭhān) meaning "a Pashtun (person)", referring to the Pashtun ethnic group inhabiting present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is sometimes used by Pashtuns who ancestrally migrated to India.
PaudelNepali From Nepali पौडी (paudi) possibly referring to the town of Pauri in Uttarakhand, India, combined with आलय (alaya) meaning "house, dwelling".
PaveseItalian Means "one from Pavia". Pavia is an Italian town located in Lombardy, northern Italy. It can also derive from pavese, a kind of big, Medieval shield.... [more]
PehlivanTurkish Means "wrestler, strongman" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian پهلوان (pahlavân).
PeledJewish Derived from Hebrew פלדה (plada) meaning "steel".
PembrokeWelsh Habitual surname for someone from Pembroke, a town in Wales.
PengellyCornish Habitational name for someone from any of various locations in Cornwall named Pengelly, from Cornish penn meaning "head, top, end" and gelli or gilly meaning "copse, grove".
PenningEnglish, Dutch, Low German From early Middle English penning, Low German penning, and Middle Dutch penninc, all meaning "penny". It was used as a topographic surname or a nickname referring to tax dues of a penny.
PenningtonEnglish Habitational surname denoting someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Pennington, derived from Old English penning meaning "penny" (used as a byname or from a tribute due on the land) and tun meaning "town".
PépinFrench From the Old French name Pepis, itself a form of the given name Pépin. Alternatively, it may be derived from French pépin meaning "(fruit) seed", thus making it an occupational name for a gardener or someone who grew fruit-bearing trees.
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").
PeregrineEnglish, Popular Culture Derived from the given name Peregrine. A fictional bearer is Alma LeFay Peregrine, a character from the novel "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" (2011) by Ransom Riggs.
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.
PinkertonScottish, Northern Irish Habitational name for a person originally from a location in Scotland named Pinkerton, which is of uncertain meaning.
PlevnelievBulgarian From the Bulgarian name for the Greek village of Petroussa (called Plevnya in Bulgarian), itself derived from Bulgarian плевня (plevnya) meaning "barn". A notable bearer is Bulgarian president Rosen Plevneliev (1964-).
PlievIngush (Russified), Ossetian (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush and Ossetian name, which is derived from the name of an Ingush teip (clan). The name itself comes from Plievo, the name of a village in Ingushetia, which means "village of the sons of Pkhile", referring to a given name possibly derived from Ossetian пыл (pyl) meaning "elephant".
PlotnikovRussian Means "son of the carpenter" from Russian плотник (plotnik) "carpenter".
PoItalian Derived from Po the longest river in Italy (651,8 km). It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps across the regions: Piemonte, Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto... [more]
PopalzaiPashto Meaning unknown, possibly derived from Persian پوپل (pupal) meaning "betel nut". The Popalzai are a Pashtun sub-tribe of the Durrani in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.
PopoviciRomanian Means "son of the priest" from Romanian popă meaning "priest".
PoroshenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian порох (porokh) meaning "(gun)powder, dust", used as an occupational name for someone who made or sold gunpowder. A notable bearer is current Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (1965-).
ProustFrench From a nickname derived from French preux meaning "valiant, brave". A famous bearer was Marcel Proust (1871-1922), a French writer.
ProvostEnglish, French Derived from the Middle English provost; referring to the person who heads a religious chapter in a cathedral or educational establishment. It was also used as a nickname for a self-important person and is a French variant of Prevost.
PsailaMaltese Derived from Maltese basla meaning "onion", ultimately from Arabic بَصَل (baṣal).
PuChinese From Chinese 蒲 (pú) meaning "calamus, cattail".
PugachevRussian From the nickname Pugach which is probably derived from Ukrainian пугач (pugach) meaning "owl". Following this etymology, the nickname was most likely given to someone who was wise or sensible (attributing to the owl as a symbol of wisdom).
PunayFilipino, Cebuano Means "yellow-breasted fruit dove" or "pink-necked green pigeon" (both species of bird) in Cebuano.
PurbaBatak Means "east" in Batak, ultimately from Sanskrit पूर्व (purva).
PushkinRussian Derived from Russian пушка (pushka) meaning "gun, cannon". A notable bearer was Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), a Russian poet and writer.
QianChinese From Chinese 錢 (qián) meaning "money".
QinChinese From Chinese 秦 (qín) referring to the ancient state of Qin, which existed from 221 BC to 206 BC in what is now the Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
QiuChinese From Chinese 邱 or 丘 (qiū) referring to a place called Yingqiu that existed in the state of Qi in what is now Shandong province. The name was originally written with the character 丘 until its usage was prohibited during the Qing dynasty in order to avoid a taboo caused by using the character of Confucius's given name, 丘... [more]
QuezonFilipino Meaning uncertain, possibly a variant of Quizon or from Hokkien 郭孫 (keh-sun) derived from 郭 (keh) meaning "outer city" and 孫 (sun) meaning "grandchild"... [more]
QuiambaoFilipino Possibly from Hokkien 欠賺 (khiàm-báu) meaning "owed money, lacking money" or 鹹賺 (kiâm-báu) meaning "stingy with money".
QuiapoFilipino, Cebuano From Cebuano kiyapo meaning "water cabbage" (a type of plant), ultimately from Tamil கயப்பு (kayappu).