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".
EtxagueBasque Habitational name derived from Basque etxe "house, home, building" and an altered form of the suffix -gune "place, area".
EtxalarBasque From the name of a town and municipality in Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque etxe "house, home, building" and larre "pasture, meadow, prairie".
EtxauriBasque From the name of a town in Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque etxe "house, building" and uri "town, city".
EzkerraBasque Derived from Basque ezker "left-handed, left".
FaberGerman, Dutch, French, Danish An occupational name for a blacksmith or ironworker, ultimately derived from Latin faber "artisan, creator, craftsman, smith".
FaddaItalian Possibly from fada "fairy, fate", or from Sardinian fadda "error", itself from Latin falla "mistake, failure, trick".
FairweatherEnglish, Scottish From Middle English fayr "fair, beautiful, pleasant" and weder "weather", a nickname for a person with a sunny temperament, or who only worked in good weather. ... [more]
FalaguerraItalian Possibly means "make war" in Italian, from fare "to make, to provoke" and guerra "war". Alternately, from a given name of the same origin. ... [more]
FalangaItalian From Sicilian falanga "plank, temporary bridge; fence".
FalascaItalian Possibly from a dialectical word falasca meaning "straw", referring to someone's build or hair, or possibly an occupation of making things out of straw.
FaloneItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from a dialectical word for a row of grapes or tomatoes.
FanaraItalian A Sicilian occupational name from Greek φαναράς (fanarás) "lampmaker", ultimately from φανός (fanós) "torch, lamp".
FanciulacciItalian Probably means "bad child", from Italian fanciullo "child" and the pejorative suffix -accio.
FasanoItalian Probably from Italian fasani "pheasant", a nickname for someone who resembled the bird in appearance or (lack of) intelligence, who hunted them, or who lived in an area populated by them. ... [more]
FaticaItalian From Italian fatica "hard work, effort, labour; fatigue".
FawcettEnglish Habitational name from Fawcett, Westmorland, or Facit, Lancashire, both derived from Old English fāh "multicoloured, variegated, colourful" and sīde "side, hill slope"... [more]
FegatilliItalian From Italian fegato "liver", figuratively used to denote courage. May be occupational, for someone who cooked liver, or a nickname for someone considered to be courageous.
FelderhofDutch Derived from Old Dutch felt "field" and hof "court, yard, farmstead".
FelliItalian Possibly derived from a nickname based on fello "criminal; evil, wretched; angry; sad, gloomy".
FentonEnglish Originated from several place names in England, meaning “marsh town” from Old English fenn “marsh, fen” + tun “enclosure; settlement, town”.
FenuItalian From Sardinian fenu "hay, marsh grass". A relation to Latin faenus "interest, profit" has been suggested, but seems unlikely.
FeraItalian Probably related to modern Italian fiero "fierce, savage, raging; bold, daring; proud", by way of Latin ferus "wild, fierce; untamed" or fera "wild beast".
FincoVenetian From Venetian finco "finch", possibly a nickname for someone considered shrewd or cunning.
FinocchioItalian From Italian finocchio "fennel", a nickname for someone who grew or sold the plant. In modern Italian, the word is a derogatory slang term for a gay man. The meaning "fine eye, keen eyesight" has also been suggested.
FischioneItalian Means "widgeon" (a kind of dabbling duck) in Italian, or literally "whistler", derived from fischio "whistle".
FiscusGerman From Latin fiscus "basket", a humanistic Latinization of the German surname Korb. This is a metonymic occupational name for a basketmaker or a peddler, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a basket.
FlorisItalian Cognate to Flores, or a toponym from Sardinian floris "flowers". Possibly from the Latin cognomen Florens meaning "prosperous, flourishing".
FluckGerman Derived from Middle High German vlücke "feathered, fully fledged", a nickname for a lively or cheerful person.
FoeEnglish (Rare) From Middle English fo "foe, enemy; hostile", possibly a nickname for someone who played the Devil in a pageant play. Can also be a variant form of Fow.
ForteItalian Means "strong" in Italian, either given as a nickname, or taken from the medieval given name Forte, derived from Latin fortis "strong, steadfast, brave"... [more]
FoschiItalian From Italian fosco "dark, murky (colour); gloomy", a nickname referring to the bearer's hair colour or mood. May also stem from the given name Fuscus, of the same meaning.
FowEnglish Derived from Middle English fou "spotted, stippled, multicoloured".
FoweatherEnglish Derived from the place name Fawether, Bingley, itself a combination of Middle English fah "multicoloured, stippled" and hather "heather"... [more]
FoxworthEnglish Variant of Foxworthy, a habitational name derived from the unattested Old English given name Færoc and worþig "estate, enclosure, homestead".
FracassoItalian Means "din, uproar, fracas; crash, ruin" in Italian, a nickname for a rowdy, destructive person, or for a noisy braggart. Alternatively, it could derive from the Roman cognomen Fraucus.
FumagalliItalian Means "smoke the rooster" in Italian, from fuma "to smoke" and gallo "rooster". Refers to filling a henhouse with smoke to keep the chickens quiet when stealing them, thus making this a name probably given to chicken thieves.
FusilloItalian From Italian fuso "spindle", referring to their occupation, or a nickname based on the bearer's build. Also the name of a type of pasta.
GabiriaBasque From the name of a town and municipality in Basque Country, Spain, derived from Basque gabi "blacksmith’s hammer, mallet" and hiri "village, town, city".
GaglianoItalian Habitational name from any of several places in Italy, most of which derive from the Latin personal name Gallius (see Gallus). Alternatively, it could derive directly from the given name Gallius, or from a similar name such as Galianus or Galenus.
GaintzaBasque (Rare) Habitational name derived from Basque gain "above, upper part; top, summit, peak" and the abundance suffix -tza.
GalanoItalian A Campanian name from Greek γαλανός (galanós) "light blue, pale blue", denoting someone with blue eyes.
GalanteItalian, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Jewish Means "gallant, courteous, chivalrous; romantic" in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, both derived from French galant "gentlemanly" or "flirtatious, amorous". In the case of Mordecai Galante, a Spanish exile in 16th century Rome, his courteous manners won for him from the Roman nobles the surname Galantuomo, meaning "gentleman" in Italian, from which Galante was eventually derived.... [more]
GalartzaBasque Habitational name derived from Basque galar "dry wood, dead wood, kindling" and the abundance suffix -tza.
GalassoItalian In northern Italy it could derive from Piedmontese galàs "rooster" (see Gallo), while in southern Italy it might derive from Greek γάλα (gala) "milk", as a nickname for someone with pale skin.
GalbuseraItalian From Latin gallicusalbusagger, "white Gallic Field".
GallipoliItalian Possibly from the town of Gallipoli in Apulia, Italy, derived from Greek Καλλίπολις (Kallípolis) meaning "beautiful city", or perhaps denoted someone from Gallipoli (also Gelibolu) in Turkey, of the same etymology.
GamberiniItalian Possibly from the given name Gambrinus or Gambarus. The Italian word gambero "prawn, shrimp" has also been suggested as an origin.
GamboaSpanish, Filipino Castilianized form of Basque Ganboa. It is also a name for the quince tree (Cydonia oblonga).
GamizBasque The name of two settlements in Basque Country, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque gain "above, upper part; top, summit, peak" and the toponymic suffix -iz.
GanboaBasque Habitational name of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque gain "height, summit, peak; over, above", or from the hypothetical archaic word *ganbo "hot spring, sulphurous water".
GansGerman, Dutch Means "goose" in German and Dutch, either an occupational name for someone who worked with geese, a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a goose, or a nickname for someone walked oddly or was considered silly or foolish... [more]
GansGerman, Dutch From Old High German ganz "whole, intact, healthy", a nickname for a particularly strong or healthy person.
GaraiBasque Means "height, summit, peak" and "high, tall; prominent, outstanding" in Basque.
GarateBasque Habitational name from a town called Garate in Basque Country, or a topographic name, possibly from a derivative of Basque gara "height, peak" (garhaite in some dialects).
GarauItalian Possibly from a Sardinian modification of the given name Gherardo. Alternately, it may be from a Spanish surname derived from Basque garau "grain, wheat".
GardeaBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Laudio in Álava, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque gari "wheat" and -di "place of, forest of", or from garagardi "barley field" and arte "in between"... [more]
GaribaiBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Oñati, Spain, probably derived from Basque gari "wheat" and ibai "river". Alternatively, the first element could be garo "fern" or garai "high, tall, prominent".
GarroBasque From the name of a place in the Basque province of Behenavarra, France. Possibly derived from gar "flame", or from harri "rock, stone".
GarufiItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly related to the Germanic given name Garulf, or to Arabic qaruf "hard, cruel".
GarvinIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gairbhín "descendant of Garbhán", a given name derived from a diminutive form of Old Irish garb "rough, coarse, rugged, cruel".
GarvinEnglish Derived from the Old English given name Garwine meaning "spear friend".
GayEnglish, French Nickname for a lighthearted or cheerful person, from Middle English and Old French gai "happy, cheerful, joyous".
GayEnglish Habitational name from a settlement in Normandy called Gaye, possibly derived from a Germanic person name cognate with Wade 2, or perhaps related to Old French gayere "wet ground" or goille "puddle, quagmire".
GayCatalan Probably from the Catalan personal name Gai, a variant of Gaius.
GazteluBasque From Basque gaztelu "castle", denoting someone from the town of Gaztelu in Basque country, Spain.
GebbiaItalian From Sicilian gebbia "irrigation cistern", itself from Arabic جُبّ (jubb) "cistern, well".
GeerDutch From Dutch geer "tapering piece of land" (compare Garland). Can also be a shortened form of Van Den Geer.
GeersDutch Patronymic from the short form of any of various personal names formed with the Germanic element ger "spear". Compare Geerts.
GemistosGreek, Late Greek Means "full, laden" in Greek, supposedly referring to a head full of knowledge. One of the earliest recorded bearers was Georgios Gemistos Plethon, a Greek scholar of the late Byzantine era. He chose the pseudonym Plethon (from πλῆθος (plethos) "multitude, great number", from πλήθω (pletho) "to fill") partly in reference to the meaning of his surname.
GemitoItalian From a misspelling of genito "to be born", given to sculptor Vincenzo Gemito upon being abandoned at an orphanage as an infant.
GereñaBasque Habitational name of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from the archaic Basque element ger meaning "stone, crag" or "mill" (compare Gernika).
GermanottaItalian Possibly derived from a diminutive form of the feminine given name Germana. A famous bearer of the surname is singer Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta).
GernikaBasque (Rare) From the name of a town and municipality (called Guernica in Spanish and English) in Biscay, Basque Country, of uncertain etymology... [more]
GerosaItalian Denoted someone from the town of Gerosa in Lombardy, or perhaps a nickname from geros (modern ghiaioso) "gravelly".
GielMedieval English From a medieval personal name of which the original form was Latin Aegidius, from Greek aigidion "kid, young goat". Compare English Giles.... [more]
GilardiItalian Means "son of Gilardo", a rare Italian form of the Germanic given name Gerard.
GilioItalian Derived from a variant of the given name Giglio, which can be from an Italian form of Latin Aegidius, or else taken directly from the Italian word giglio meaning "lily".
GioiItalian Possibly from Sardinian angioi "lamb", a nickname for a shepherd, or from gioi "Thursday".
GioiaItalian Means "joy, delight" in Italian. Can derive from the given name Gioia, from a nickname, or from any of several toponyms in southern Italy.
GipsGerman, Dutch Patronymic derived from a short form of names containing the Old Germanic element gebō "gift", or a Dutch cognate of Gibbs.
GoldenEnglish From the English word golden, likely a nickname for someone with blonde hair.
GonellaItalian From Italian gonnella "skirt", derived from Latin gunna "leather garment", in Old Italian referring to a unisex garment similar to a long tunic that probably originated as military garb... [more]
GongoraBasque From the name of a town in Navarre, Spain, derived from Basque goien "highest, supreme; apex, peak" and gora "up, upwards, above, high".
GoñiBasque, Spanish From the name of a town and municipality in Navarre, Spain, probably derived from Basque goien "highest point, apex, peak".
GoodchildEnglish Nickname derived from Middle English god "good" and cild "child". In some cases, it might have instead derived from godchild and been a nickname for someone who was the godchild of a prominent member of the community.
GoodingEnglish Derived from a pet form of names containing the Old English element god "god" or god "good", such as Godwin or Goding.
GoosGerman, Flemish, Dutch Either a metonymic occupational name for a breeder or keeper of geese, from Middle Low German gōs and Middle Dutch goes "goose", or a short form of an Old German personal name containing Gote "Goth" or got "god", particularly Goswin or Gozewijn (a compound name with the second element wini "friend").
GorritiBasque From the name of a town in Navarre, Spain, probably derived from Basque gorri meaning "red" or "bare, stripped".
GorterDutch Occupational name for someone who brewed beer or supplied ingredients for doing so, derived from either Dutch gruit, an herbal mixture used to flavour beer, or from the related word gort (also grut) "groat, grit, husked barley, pearl barley".
GoudDutch, Afrikaans Means "gold" in Dutch, an occupational name for a goldsmith, or possibly a nickname for a person with blonde hair. It could also be a variant form of Gott.
GouweleeuwDutch Means "golden lion", from an inflected form of goud "gold" and leeuw "lion". Probably given to someone who worked by or lived near a sign depicting a lion.
GowScottish Occupational name from Gaelic gobha meaning "smith".
GranaroloItalian (Rare) Possibly a habitational name related to Italian granaio "granary, barn; region that produces grain", ultimately from Latin granum "grain, seed".
GrangeEnglish, French Topographic name for someone who lived by a granary, from Middle English, Old French grange (Latin granica "granary, barn", from granum "grain"). In some cases, the surname has arisen from places named with this word, for example in Dorset and West Yorkshire in England, and in Ardèche and Jura in France... [more]
GroveGerman Habitational name from any of several places named Grove or Groven in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, derived from Middle Low Germany grove "hole, pit, ditch, channel"... [more]
GrullonDominican, Mexican, French Possibly from a derivative of Spanish grulla "crane (bird)" presumably applied as a nickname for tall thin person; in Mexico however grulla denotes a crafty person
GuastiItalian Meaning uncertain, may denote someone from the town of Guasto. Alternately, it may be an occupational name from gastaldo "chamberlain", from Latin gastaldus "manager, bailiff, steward", or be a nickname from guasto "broken, crippled".
GuercioItalian Probably a variant of Guerzoni, though it may derive from a Germanic given name.
GuéroultFrench Old French form of an uncertain Ancient Germanic given name, possibly composed of Old Germanic warōną "to watch, protect, guard", gredaz "desire, hunger" or gernaz "eager, willing", or Old High German ger "spear" combined with either wolf "wolf" or walt "power, authority".
GuerzoniItalian From guercio "cross-eyed, one-eyed; blind in one eye".
GüldenGerman Variant of Gulden, a metonymic occupational name for a craftsman who gilded objects, or a habitational name referring to a house name such as In den silvren Gulden ("In the Silver Guilder"), De Gulden Hoeve ("The Gilded Farmhouse") or De Gulden Zwaan ("The Gilded Swan").
GuldenDutch, German Means "golden, gilded" or "guilder, florin (coin)", possibly an occupational name for a goldsmith, or a habitational name derived from a house.
HagemannGerman, Danish Derived from Middle Low German hage "enclosure, hedge" and mann "person, man".
HagerDutch, North Frisian From a Germanic personal name, either Hager, composed of hag "hedge, enclosure" and heri "army", or Hadegar, from hadu "battle, combat" and gar "spear" or garu "ready, prepared".
HagmanSwedish Combination of Swedish hage "enclosure, pasture" and man "man", thus making it a cognate of German Hagemann.
HakKorean From Sino-Korean 鶴 (hag) meaning "crane" or 斈 (hag) meaning "learn".
HałasPolish Means "noise, racket, din" in Polish, a nickname for a noisy or disruptive person.
HalåsNorwegian Habitational name, probably derived from Norwegian hard "hard, tough" (referring to hard or stony soil) and ås "hill, ridge".
HallasGreek Possibly derived from Albanian hala "yet, still", a nickname for a slow or lazy person. Alternatively, it could be related to Greek χαλάω (chaláo) "to break, spoil, ruin", descended from Ancient Greek χαλάω (khaláo) "to become loose, slack; to open, be open".
HanfordEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Hanford, Handforth, or Hannaford, derived from either Old Welsh hen "old" and ford "road, way", or from Old English ford "ford, river crossing" combined with the given name Hanna.
HansardEnglish Possibly from Middle English hansard "merchant or citizen of a Hanseatic town". Alternatively, from the given name Ansard, derived from ansu "god" and ward "guard" or hard "strong".
HarmaFinnish, Estonian Anglicized form of either Härma or Haarma. The former is a toponymic surname referring to several places in Estonia and Finland, probably derived from the given name Herman... [more]
HasteEnglish, French Derived from Old French haste meaning "(roasting) spit" (ultimately from Latin hasta "spear, lance, pike"), an occupational name for a seller of roast meat or a servant who turned the spit to cook meat.