AnzaiJapanese From Japanese 安 (an) meaning "peace" and 西 (sai) meaning "west", 斎 (sai) meaning "purification, worship", or 済 (sai) meaning "settle, finish".
ArakiJapanese From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, sparse, wild" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
AranetaFilipino From a Basque name derived from haran meaning "valley" combined with the toponymic suffix -eta.
ArataJapanese From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, sparse, wild" or 新 (ara) meaning "new, natural" and 田 (ta) meaning "field".
ArataniJapanese From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, wild" and 谷 (tani) meaning "valley".
ArayaJapanese From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, wild" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".
ArchilaSpanish Either a variant of Arcila or derived from Arabic الشَّلَّال (aš-šallāl) meaning "the waterfall".
ArdzinbaAbkhaz Means "son of silver" from Abkhaz араʒны (aradzny) meaning "silver" and аҧа (apa) meaning "son".
ArfaouiArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly derived from Arabic عَرَفَ (ʿarafa) meaning "to know" or أَرْفَع (ʾarfaʿ) meaning "high, lofty, elevated" (chiefly Tunisian).
ArgentoItalian Means "silver" in Italian, originally used as an occupational name for a silversmith or a nickname for a person with gray hair.
AroraIndian, 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".
ArshbaAbkhaz Most likely from a contracted form of Arabic أَرْشَد (ʾaršad) meaning "most sensible, most reasonable" or Persian ارشد (arshad) "senior, superior, eldest" combined with Abkhaz аԥа (āpā) "son".
AsaharaJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 浅 (asai) meaning "shallow", or 麻 (asa) meaning "hemp" combined with 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
AsahinaJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 比 (hi) meaning "comparison, match, equal" or 日 (hi) meaning "sun, day", and 奈 (na), a phonetic character.
AsakawaJapanese From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 川 or 河 (kawa) meaning "river".
AsakuraJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow", or 麻 (asa) meaning "hemp" and 倉 (kura) meaning "warehouse, storehouse".
AsamuraJapanese From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
AsanteWestern African, Akan From the ethnic name of the Ashanti, a sub-ethnic group of the Akan from southern Ghana. The name possibly means "warlike" in the Twi language.
AsherEnglish Name for someone who dwelled by an ash tree, from Middle English asche or asshe meaning "ash tree".
AshiqPunjabi, Urdu Derived from Arabic عَاشِق (ʿāšiq) meaning "enamored, infatuated" or "admirer, lover", ultimately from عِشْق (ʿišq) "being in love".
AshkatsaoAbazin Possibly from an Abkhaz word meaning "lazy", used as a nickname for a lazy person.
AshkenaziJewish From a nickname given by Jews in Slavic countries to Jews from Germany. It was also used to denote a Yiddish-speaking Jew who had settled in an area where non-Ashkenazic Jews were the majority. The name ultimately comes from Hebrew אַשְׁכְּנַז (ashk'náz), a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, which is likely from Assyrian Aškūza.
AushevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush surname derived from Nakh ауш (aush) or аус (aus) literally meaning "rock, slope", figuratively meaning "strong, solid, confident".
AvanceñaFilipino Hispanicised form of Arabic اِبْن سِينَا (ibn sīnā) meaning "son of Sina". This was the Arabic name for Avicenna (980-1037), a Persian polymath.
AvidzbaAbkhaz Derived from Georgian ავი (avi) meaning "currish, severe, sullen" combined with ძე (dze) "son" and Abkhaz аԥа (āpā) "son". The name was most likely borne by Georgians under the spelling Avidze, which was modified with the Abkhaz suffix -ba after migration to Abkhazia.
AzoulayJudeo-Spanish Meaning uncertain. It may derived from Spanish azul or French azur meaning "blue" (both ultimately derived from Persian via Arabic), possibly used as a nickname for someone with blue eyes or an occupational name for a maker of blue ceramic ware... [more]
AzzopardiMaltese Possibly derived from the Hebrew term סְפָרַדִּי (s'faradí) used to refer to Jews originating from Iberia (called Sephardim or Sephardic Jews). It may also be of Greek origin from a word meaning "black, Mauritanian" or "soldier" with a connection to Middle Persian spʿh "army" used to refer to a person of African descent or someone who worked as a mercenary... [more]
BạchVietnamese Vietnamese form of Bai, from Sino-Vietnamese 白 (bạch).
BacolodFilipino, 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.
BacunawaFilipino, Cebuano Derived from Cebuano bakunawa referring to a type of serpent or dragon in Visayan mythology.
BagaoisanFilipino, Tagalog From Tagalog bagwisan meaning "to grow wings" or "to pull out the wing feathers (of a bird)".
BagatsingFilipino Filipinized form of Bhagat Singh, a combination of Sanskrit भगत (bhagat) meaning "devotee, follower" combined with सिंह (siṃhá) meaning "lion". A notable bearer was Ramon Bagatsing (1916-2006), the 19th Mayor of Manila who was of Indian descent.
BagrationiGeorgian Means "son of Bagrat" in Georgian. This was the name of a royal dynasty that ruled Georgia from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
BagsicFilipino, Tagalog From Tagalog bagsik meaning "fierceness, severity, strength, power".
BaguindaFilipino, Maguindanao, Maranao From the Minangkabau title bagindo denoting a prince or member of royalty. It was probably adopted in honour of Rajah Baguinda Ali (Raja Bagindo Ali in Indonesian sources), a Minangkabau prince who became a ruler of the Sulu Archipelago.
BaguioFilipino, Cebuano Hispanicized form of Cebuano bagyo meaning "typhoon, storm".
BakhtiariPersian From the given name Bakhtiar, also used to refer to a member of the Bakhtiari tribe from southwestern Iran.
BąkowskimPolish Habitational name for someone from any of various places called Bąkowa, Bąkowice, Bąkowiec or Bąkowo, all derived from Polish bąk meaning "horsefly", "bumblebee" or "bittern" (a type of bird).
BakshiIndian, Bengali, Punjabi Derived from Persian بخشی (baxši) meaning "paymaster, scribe, secretary", used as a title for officials who distributed wages in Muslim armies.
BalcıTurkish Means "beekeeper" in Turkish, ultimately from bal meaning "honey".
BaldacchinoMaltese Derived from Italian baldacchino meaning "baldachin (or baldaquin)", referring to a type of canopy placed over a throne. It was originally used as an occupational name for a maker of baldachins.
BandaraSinhalese From a title meaning "chief's son, prince" in Sinhala.
BanglaBengali 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".
BarchoCircassian Possibly derived from an Adyghe word meaning "band, lace", referring to someone who made ropes or binding tapes, or from a Chechen word referring to a tailor.
BarinovRussian Means "son of the boyar" from Russian барин (barin) meaning "boyar, nobleman".
BaronJewish From German or Polish baron or Russian барон (baron) meaning "baron". In Israel the name is often interpreted to mean "son of strength" from Hebrew בר און (bar on).
BasumataryIndian, Bodo From Sanskrit वसुमती (Vasumati), another name for the Hindu goddess Bhumi. She is believed to be the mythical mother of the Bodo people.
BataborFilipino, Maranao Means "coffeepot, teapot" or "green malong (tube skirt)" in Maranao.
BatawiArabic Means "Betawi" in Arabic, referring to someone originally from the city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in Indonesia.
Baz-oolTuvan (Rare) Means "another boy" from Tuvan база (baza) meaning "also, too, another" combined with оол (ool) "son, boy".
BazzatyOssetian Derived from Georgian ბაზი (bazi) meaning "falcon" or from a given name derived from Tatar базу (bazu) meaning "to dare" (given in hopes that a son would become a warrior).
BazziArabic Perhaps derived from an Arabic word meaning "foster brother(s)".
BeifongPopular Culture Surname of Toph from the American TV show "Avatar: The Last Airbender". Could be derived from the Chinese word "北方 (Běifāng)" meaning "north".
BenArabic (Maghrebi) Maghrebi variant of Arabic بْن (bn), a form of اِبْن (ibn) meaning "son (of), offspring". It is often used as a prefix for other Maghrebi patronymic names (such as Benali "son of Ali 1" or Ben Amor "son of Amor").
Ben AliArabic (Maghrebi), Comorian Maghrebi transcription of Arabic بن علي (bin Ali) meaning "son of Ali 1". A notable bearer was Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1936-2019), who served as the president of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011.
BenallyNavajo From Navajo binálí meaning "his grandchild", derived from análí meaning "(paternal) grandchild". It was commonly adopted when Native Americans were required to take surnames for record purposes.