CogottiItalian From Sardinian cogotto "cockerel, rooster".
CoisItalian Possibly from the name of a lost town, Coni. Alternately, may be from dialectical words meaning "to cook" or "finch", referring to an occupation or nickname.
CoishEnglish Variant of Cosh, derived from Middle English cosche "small cottage, hut, hovel".
ColiaItalian Possibly derived from a diminutive form of the given name Nicola 1.
CollierEnglish From the English word for someone who works with coal, originally referring to a charcoal burner or seller. Derived from Old English col "coal, charcoal" combined with the agent suffix -ier.
ColluItalian From a dialectical form of Italian collo, meaning "neck" or "parcel, package".
CommanderEnglish From Middle English comander "commander, leader, director", derived from Old French comandeor "military commander". This may have been either an occupational name or a nickname.
ConinxBelgian, Dutch Variant form of Koning, from a genitive form of Middle Dutch coninc "king, leader, important person".
ConklinEnglish Origin unidentified. Possibly of Dutch origin, deriving from konkelen "to plot, intrigue, deceive" or from a given name containing the element kuoni meaning "brave, bold"... [more]
ContestabileItalian Means "debatable, questionable" in Italian, perhaps a nickname for an argumentative person, or for someone of dubious respectability.
CoppEnglish Derived from Old English copp "top, summit; crown (of the head)", a topographic name for someone who lived at the top of a hill, or perhaps a nickname for someone with an oddly-shaped head.
CorbieFrench From the name of a town in northern France, possibly derived from a given name originating with the Latin word corvus meaning "raven, crow". Alternatively, it could be a variant form of Corbeau.
CorbyEnglish From the name of a town in Northamptonshire, England, derived from the Old Norse byname Kóri combined with býr "farm, settlement".
CordiscoItalian Possibly from Italian cordesco "second-born lamb, butchered calf".
CornacchiaItalian Means "crow, carrion crow, jackdaw" in Italian, a nickname for someone who was talkative, or thought to resemble a crow or jackdaw in some other way.
CorneyEnglish A habitational surname from places in Cumbria and Hertfordshire named Corney, derived from either Old English corn "grain, seed" or a metathesized form of cran "crane (bird)" combined with eg "island, dry land in a marsh"... [more]
CorongiuItalian Possibly from Sardinian corongiu "rocky hill, boulder, large mass", denoting someone who lived near such a landmark, or perhaps a nickname based on the bearer's physical appearance.
CorpusEnglish Possibly derived from Old Norse Korpr "raven", a nickname for a person with dark hair.
CorriasItalian Probably from Sardinian corria "leather strap, lace, belt; narrow strip of land".
CorteSpanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese From corte "court", applied as an occupational name for someone who worked at a manorial court or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by one.
CossuItalian Probably from Sardinian cossu "tub, trough, basin".
CostabileItalian Occupational name for a chamberlain, cognate to Constable. In some cases, it’s instead taken from the Italian given name derived from Late Latin Constabilis.
CotoniItalian (Rare, ?) Uncertain etymology, possibly derived from Italian cotone meaning "cotton".
CotterIrish Anglicized form of Irish Mac Oitir meaning "son of Oitir", a given name borrowed from Old Norse Óttarr, composed of the elements ótti "fear, dread" and herr "army, warrior".
CoyacNahuatl Meaning uncertain, possibly derived from Nahuatl coyahuac "broad, wide" or coyoctic "a hole, something with a hole in it".
CrabbEnglish, Scottish From Old English crabba "crab (crustacean)", a nickname for someone with a peculiar gait. Could also be from the sense of "crabapple (tree)", from Middle English crabbe "crabapple, wild apple", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a crabapple tree, or a nickname for a cantankerous person, with reference to the sourness of the fruit.
CraigieScottish Habitational name from any of several places in Scotland called Craigie, or simply a topographic name derived from Scottish Gaelic creag.
CraneEnglish From Middle English crane "crane (bird)", a nickname for a tall, thin man with long legs. The term included the heron until the introduction of a separate word for the latter in the 14th century... [more]
CremaItalian From the name of a city in Lombardy, Italy, derived from Lombardic (an Old Germanic language) krem "small hill".
CrisafulliItalian Derived from a Greek name, perhaps from χρυσός (khrysos) "gold" and φύλλον (phyllon) "leaf, foliage".
CristEnglish From Old English Crīst meaning "Christ, the Messiah" (see Christos 1). May have been a nickname for someone who played the part of Christ in a pageant, or a short form of a given name containing it as an element, such as Christian or Christopher.
CrobuItalian From Sardinian crobu "crow", or a place of the same name.
CrockEnglish Means "stone or earthenware jar, pot, vessel", possibly an occupational name for a potter. Compare Crocker.
CrockerEnglish Occupational name for a potter, from Middle English crockere "potter". Compare Crock.
CrombruggeBelgian, Flemish Possibly means "crooked bridge", from Middle Dutch crom "bent, not straight" and brugge "bridge".
CronjeAfrikaans Altered form of the French surname Cronier, derived from Old French crones, a term denoting a sheltered area by a river bank where fish retreat to. This could be used as an occupational name for someone who fished in such an area, or derived from a place named with the element, such as the French village Crosne.
CronkhiteDutch (Americanized) Americanized form of the obsolete Dutch surname Krankheyt, derived from krankheid meaning "illness, weakness", most likely a nickname for a sickly individual.
CucuzzaItalian From Sicilian cucuzza "marrow, pumpkin", perhaps a nickname for someone who resembled a pumpkin.
CugnascaItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Italian cugnata "hatchet" (from Sicilian cugna "wedge"), or cugnata "related, similar; sister-in-law" (from Latin cognata "related by blood"), or cugino "cousin", combined with nascere "to be born, to sprout".
CugnoItalian From Sicilian cugnu "wedge", indicating someone who lived on a hill or other topographical "wedge", someone whose occupation involved using an axe, or a person who was considered to be hard or angular in personality or appearance.
CulbertEnglish, Scottish, Irish Meaning and origin are uncertain. Possibly derived from an unattested given name composed of beorht "bright" and an uncertain first element, or an altered form of Cuthbert... [more]
DaceyEnglish, Irish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Déiseach meaning "of the Déisi", the name of an archaic Irish social class derived from Old Irish déis "vassal, tenant, subject".
DaintonEnglish Habitational name possibly derived from an older form of Doynton, a village in Gloucestershire, England, meaning "Dydda’s settlement", or perhaps from the hamlet Dainton in Devon meaning "Dodda’s settlement".
DanzaItalian Probably a habitational name from a place in Salerno, Italy. In the case of American actor Tony Danza, it’s a shortened form of Iadanza, used as a stage name.
DanzaItalian Means "dance" in Italian, a nickname for a dancer. Alternatively, it could derive from an Italian form of the given name Abundantius.
DavenportEnglish Habitational name from a town in Cheshire named Davenport, from the Dane river (apparently named with a Celtic cognate of Middle Welsh dafnu "drop, trickle") and Old English port "port, haven, harbour town".
DaveyEnglish, Welsh Derived from the given name David. Alternately, it may be a variant spelling of Welsh Davies or Davis, which could be patronymic forms of David, or corrupted forms of Dyfed, an older Welsh surname and the name of a county in Wales.
DawlingEnglish Derived from the Old English given name Dealing, or possibly from Middle English Daulin, a rhyming pet form of Rawlin which is a medieval diminutive of Roul.
De BeerDutch, Afrikaans, South African Means "the bear" or "the boar" in Dutch and Afrikaans, a nickname for a person who resembled the animal in some way, such as being very large, strong, or aggressive, or a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting one... [more]
De BieDutch Means "the bee" in Dutch, a nickname for a beekeeper or a for a busy person, or perhaps a habitational name for someone who lived near a sign depicting a bee.
De BonoItalian Derives from the Latin word bonus, meaning "good".
De BonteDutch Means "the colourful", from Dutch bont meaning "motley, multi-coloured; varied, mixed". Probably a nickname for someone known for wearing bright clothing, or perhaps figuratively referring to someone who behaves oddly or unpredictably.
De BreeDutch Means "the broad", from Dutch breed "broad, wide, large", a nickname for someone strong or with a broad build.
DefoorFlemish Derived from Dutch voort "ford". Alternatively, can be a variant of the French surnames Dufour or Deford.
DefraiaItalian From an archaic Sardinian term, possibly meaning "factory", or from an alteration of frai "brother". Alternately, may mean "from Fraia", a settlement in Italy.
De GeerDutch, Swedish Derived from the town of Geer near Liège, Belgium. The town lies along the course of the river Jeker, which is called Geer in French. Alternatively, it could derive from Dutch geer "wedge-shaped piece of land".
DegenGerman, Swiss Means "rapier, small sword, dagger" in German, an occupational name for someone who made rapiers. Alternately, it could be derived from a given name containing Old High German degan "soldier, warrior", such as Degenhard or Herdegen.
De GeusDutch Means "the beggar" in Dutch, derived from French geaux "beggar, poor", itself from Middle Dutch guyte "rascal, rogue, vagabond, freeloader". In many instances, this surname would derive from an association with the Geuzen ("The Beggars"), a group of Dutch rebels opposing Spanish rule in the Netherlands.
De GoedeDutch Means "the good (person)" in Dutch, a nickname for someone considered especially kind or gentle, or perhaps for someone gullible.
De GraaffDutch Variant spelling of De Graaf "the count", an occupational name for someone who worked for a count, or perhaps a nickname for someone who behaved like one.
De GroeveFlemish Etymology uncertain. Possibly a habitational name from any of several places called De Groeve, derived from groeve "quarry, pit; excavated watercourse"... [more]
De HartDutch Can mean "the hart", "the heart", or "the hard", derived from Middle Dutch hart "male deer, stag" (see Hart), harte "heart" (see Hertz), or hart "hard, solid, sturdy; harsh, cruel"... [more]
De HeerDutch Means "the lord" or "the gentleman" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch hêre "feudal lord, master, leader, gentleman". Could be a nickname for a person who acted as a leader, or an occupational name for someone who worked for a lord... [more]
De HoogDutch Means "the high" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch hooch "high, tall; important, noble". Either a nickname for a tall person, or for someone who is high in rank or behaves as though they are, or a habitational name from a settlement built on relatively high ground.
DeianaItalian From Sardinian de "of, from" and jana "fairy, spirit of the woods, sorceress" (from Latin Diana).
DeiddaSardinian Sardinian cognate of Villani, from de "of, from" and bidda "town, hamlet".
De LeeuwDutch, Flemish Means "the lion" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived at a house or tavern with a sign depicting a lion. In some cases, it may have been a nickname denoting a wild or courageous individual.
Dell'elceItalian From Italian elce "holm oak", literally "of the holm oak".
Dell'oroItalian Means "of the gold" in Italian. Might indicate someone with blond hair, someone who worked as a goldsmith, or might be descended from the Latin name Aurius.
DeloguItalian Means "from/of the place", from Sardinian de "of, from" and logu "place".
Del PopoloItalian Means "of the people", given to foundlings at a time when a small stipend was allotted to their maintenance by the king.
De ManDutch Means "the man" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch man "person, man; husband, vassal". Could be a nickname, perhaps to differentiate an older individual (compare Mann), or a habitational name derived from a house name such as De Geleerde Man ("The Learned Man") or De Zwarte Man ("The Black Man").
DemmaItalian Matronymic derived from a contracted form of Italian d(e) Emma meaning "of Emma".
DemuroItalian Probably denoting someone from Muro, Basilicata. Alternately, may be a nickname from Sardinian muru "wall" or "donkey".
Den HartogDutch Derived from Dutch hertog "duke", a nickname for someone behaved in a haughty manner, or an occupational name for someone who worked for a duke’s household.
Den OudenDutch Means "the elder, the senior", from Middle Dutch out "old".
DeplanoItalian From Latin de plano, "of the plain, from the flat land".
De PoorterFlemish, Dutch Means "the burgher, the citizen (of a city)", ultimately derived from poort "gate".
DepooterFlemish Variant of De Poorter, or alternatively, an occupational name for a farmer or gardener derived from poten "to plant, to sow seeds". Compare Potter.
De PraetereFlemish Means "the prattler", from or related to Middle Dutch praten "to chatter" (c. 1400), from a Proto-Germanic imitative root.
DeremerDutch Occupational name for a belt maker or cutter of leather straps, from Dutch riem "belt, strap". It could also be a name for a peat digger, someone who "riems" peat.
De RuiterDutch Means "the rider" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch ruter "freebooter, vagrant, robber", later meaning "cavalryman, soldier, armed horseman". It could also be a nickname based on an event, in one case deriving from an incident involving a ride on a runaway pig.
DesogusItalian Denotes someone from the town of Sogus, which may have taken its name from Sa bia de is Ogus, "the road of the eyes".
DessiItalian Denoting someone from Sini, Sardinia, formerly called Sinu or Sii.
De WaardDutch From Dutch waard "innkeeper, host, landlord, protector", derived from Middle Dutch weert. Alternatively, from Middle Dutch waert "floodplain, riverine island".
De WildeDutch Means "the wild", from Middle Dutch wilt "wild, savage, untamed".
De WinterDutch Means "the winter" in Dutch, a nickname for a cold or gloomy man, or perhaps for someone born in the winter. It could also be a habitational name referring to a house or tavern named for the season.
De WolfDutch, Flemish Means "the wolf", a nickname given to someone associated with wolves in some way, or a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a wolf. Could also be a patronymic form of Wolf.
DillonIrish, English Could be an Irish form of the Breton surname de Léon, meaning "of Léon", an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Duilleáen, from the given name Dallán "little blind one", or be from a Norman French personal name derived from Ancient Germanic Dillo, possibly a byname from dil- "destroy".
DiotalleviItalian Means "god raise you", from Italian dio "god, deity" and allevi "to raise (children)". Often given to abandoned or orphaned children.
DistelGerman, Low German, Dutch Means "thistle" in German and Dutch, a topographic name for someone who lived by a patch of ground overgrown with thistles, or perhaps a nickname for a "prickly" person.
DonkDutch Means "sandy hill" in Dutch, specifically referring to a hill above a marsh or silty area. Element found in several place names.
DonkerDutch Means "dark, dim, somber" in Dutch, a nickname for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion, or perhaps for someone with a gloomy demeanour.
DonnaItalian Probably a matronymic, from the given name Donna meaning "lady, mistress" in classical Italian and "woman" in modern Italian. May alternately derive from a place name.
DonnanIrish Anglicized form of Ó Donnáin meaning "descendant of Donnán", a diminutive of the given name Donn, derived from Irish donn "brown, brown-haired" or donn "prince, chieftain".
DonnarummaItalian Composed of Italian donna "lady" (from Latin domina "lady, mistress") and a short form of Rummeneca, a Neapolitan variant of the feminine given name Domenica, meaning "Sunday" and also deriving from Latin dominus "lord"... [more]
DornGerman, Jewish, Flemish Means "thorn" in German. Given as a habitational name to someone who lived near thorn bushes, or as an ornamental name.
DornEnglish Either a place name from Dorn, Worcestershire, possibly derived from a root word meaning "fort, stronghold", or a variant of Thorn from Middle High German dorn "thorn" (from ancient Germanic þurnaz).
DuckEnglish, Irish English from Middle English doke "duck", hence a nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a duck, or an occupational name for someone who kept or hunted ducks. Alternatively, a variant form of Duke... [more]
DurwardEnglish, Scottish Occupational name meaning "doorkeeper, porter", derived from Old English duru "door" and weard "guard, guardian". In Medieval Scotland, this was a hereditary title for the warden of the king’s door.
D'uvaItalian From Italian uva "grape", meaning "of the grapes". An occupational name for someone who produced grapes, or possibly a nickname.
DuyckFlemish Nickname from Middle Dutch duuc "duck"; in some cases the name may be a derivative of Middle Dutch duken "to dive" and cognate with Ducker... [more]
DuysterDutch Derived from Middle Dutch duuster meaning "dark, gloomy, obscure" or "stupid, terrible".
DyckDutch Topographic name for someone who lived by a dike, from Dutch dijk. Compare Dyke.
EcclesEnglish From the name of a town in Greater Manchester, England or another town or village named Eccles, derived from Latin ecclesia via Romano-British ecles meaning "church".
EgiaBasque Habitational name derived from Basque (h)egi "border, edge; hill, slope, bank".
EgiarretaBasque (Rare) From the name of a neighbourhood in Arakil, Navarre, possibly derived from Basque (h)egi "side, slope, bank; edge, border" combined with (h)arri "stone, rock" and -eta "place of, abundance of".
EgilatzBasque (Rare, Archaic) From the name of a town in Álava, Basque Country, derived from (h)egi "border, edge; hill, slope, bank" and lats "brook, small stream", or possibly latz "rough, crude".
EichenlaubGerman, Jewish Derived from Eichenlau, a topographic name from Middle High German eichen "oaks" and loh "forest clearing", reinterpreted through folk etymology as Eichenlaub, meaning "oak leaf".
ElenbaasDutch Reinterpretation of Elenbos or Elebaers (see Elbert), or from another Germanic personal name composed of the elements aljaz "other" or agil "point or edge (of a sword)" combined with berht "bright"... [more]
ElexaldeBasque The name of several locations in Biscay, Spain, derived from Basque elexa "church" (variant of eliza) and -alde "near, by; side". Compare Elizalde.
ElgetaBasque (Rare) From the name of a town in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, derived from Basque elge "cultivated land, field" and the suffix -eta "place of, abundance of".
ElgezabalBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Zornotza, Spain, derived from Basque elge "field, cultivated land" and zabal "wide, broad, open".
ElizabelarBasque Habitational name derived from Basque eliza "church" and belar "grass".
ElizaldeBasque, Spanish From Basque eleiza meaning "church" combined with the suffix -alde "by". This could be either a habitational name for a person who was from the town of Elizalde in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, or a topographic name for someone living near a church.
ElkanoBasque Habitational name derived from Basque elke "field, garden, cultivated land" and the toponymic suffix -ano.
EllerbyEnglish Denoted a person from a town called Ellerby, meaning "Ælfweard’s farm", or perhaps "alder tree town" from Middle English aller "alder tree" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement".
ElortzaBasque Derived from Basque elorri "hawthorn, thorn" and the abundance suffix -tza.
ElsevierDutch The name of a prominent Dutch publishing house of the 17th and 18th century, possibly derived from Old Hebrew הל ספר (hal safir) meaning "the book". Another suggested origin is Dutch hellevuur "hellfire" or helsche vier "four from hell", supposedly derived from a sign by the family’s house.
EmerJewish Metonymic occupational name from Yiddish emer "pail, bucket".
ErasoBasque Habitational name of uncertain etymology, possibly derived from Basque iratze "fern" and the abundance suffix -so. Coincides with the Basque word meaning "attack, charge, assault".
ErratzurizBasque (Rare, Archaic) From the name of a farmhouse in Baztan, Navarre, derived from Basque erratz "broom (plant), Spanish broom" and zuri "white" with the toponymic suffix -iz.
ErrenteriaBasque Non-Castilianized form of the toponymic surname Rentería. Means "customs house, exchange" in Basque, itself in turn from Spanish rentaría.
EscherGerman Derived from German Esche meaning "ash (tree)", a habitational name for someone who lived near an ash tree, or came from a place named after it. This name was borne by the Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher, known for making works inspired by mathematics.
EspaItalian From Sardinian espa "wasp", making this a cognate of Vespa.
EspotzBasque (Rare) From the name of a location in Navarre, Spain, of uncertain etymology.
EsprontzedaBasque From the name of a town and municipality in Navarre, Spain, possibly derived from Basque (h)aitz "rock, stone", bera "place below, river bank", on "good" and etxe "house, building".
EssenDutch, German From any of several places called Essen, probably derived from asc "ash tree".