BarcelonaCatalan, 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.
BartolottaItalian Bartolotta was the name taken by the followers of Saint Bartholomew. Bartholomew was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. He is credited as bringing Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century.
BaruaIndian, Assamese From a military title historically used in Assam, derived from an Ahom word meaning "ten thousand" (referring to the number of soldiers under the command of such an officer).
BaruaBengali From the name of the Barua people of Bangladesh and Myanmar, perhaps meaning "great noble rulers" or of Assamese origin.
BatistutaItalian Possibly from a diminutive of the given name Battista. A famous bearer is the former Argentinian soccer player Gabriel Batistuta (1969-).
BatlokwaTswana, Southern African a branch of the Bakgatla section of the Bantu speaking communities which originated from the Great Lakes and Northern Central Africa. Batlokwa are said to have been a breakaway branch of the Bakgatla which is another Bahurutse section of the Tswana people.
BavieraSpanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan Means "Bavaria" in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Catalan. Indicating for someone from Bavaria a state in Germany.
BawaPunjabi Sikh name based on the name of a Jat clan. It is also a title given to the male descendants of the first three Sikh gurus.
BecerraSpanish, Galician Nickname probably for a high-spirited person from becerra "young cow, heifer". It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a cowherd.
BedoyaSpanish Castilianized form of Bedoia. Name for someone from Bedoña, in the Spanish province Gipuzkoa. Bedoña likely comes from Basque bedi "pasture grazing" and -oña, suffix for a place name.
BeffaItalian Means "joke, prank, trick; mockery" in Italian, a nickname for a practical joker, or perhaps an unlucky person.
BelladonnaEnglish (Rare), Popular Culture Named after an extremely poisonous plant (Atropa belladonna; also known as the deadly nightshade). One fictional bearer of this surname is Blake Belladonna, a main character from the popular web series RWBY.
BennounaArabic (Maghrebi) Most likely from Arabic بن (bin) meaning "son" and the given name Nouna, which may have been derived from an Arabic word meaning "whale, big fish" or "sabre, sword". Alternately, it may be from an Arabic name for a variety of melon... [more]
BergaraBasque From the name of a town and municipality in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, of uncertain etymology. Possibly contains the Basque element garai "high, tall; top" or kala "cove; place for fishing".
BerishaAlbanian From the name of a tribe and historical region in northern Albania, meaning uncertain.
BeriyaGeorgian (Russified) Russified form of Beria. This is the way the last name of Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the NKVD from 1938-1946, last name was spelled in the official Soviet language (Russian).
BerlangaSpanish 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.
BerradaMoroccan Meaning unknown. A famous bearer is novelist/literary critic/translator Mohammed Berrada.
BerrettaItalian From berretta, originally meaning ‘hooded cloak’ (Latin birrus), later ‘headdress’, ‘bonnet’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such headgear or a nickname for an habitual wearer.
BerroaBasque Means "a scrubland, a thicket" in Basque.
BetschlaRomansh (Archaic) Derived from the Germanic name element beraht "bright". The name was replaced by the Italianized form Bezzola in the 18th century.
BevilacquaItalian From Italian bevi l'acqua "drinks water", a nickname likely applied ironically to an alcoholic.
BhallaIndian This surname is derived from Sanskrit bhalla meaning (among other things) ‘auspicious’, ‘missile’, and ‘bear’.
BhargavaIndian From Sanskrit bhārgava ‘(descendant) of Bhrigu’. Bhrigu is the name of one of the great sages of Hindu legend.
BharuchaIndian (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.
BhatejaPunjabi, Jatt, Sikhism Bhateja is a clan name found among Jatt Sikhs and khatris primarily concentrated in Punjab, India. The clan holds a deep historical, cultural, and social presence within Sikh society. Over time, many Bhateja families have migrated to different parts of the world, particularly to Canada, the UK, the USA, and Australia, where Sikh communities have flourished... [more]
BhuiyaBengali Bangladeshi: from Bengali bhuyyan ‘landlord’, ‘chieftain’. Bearers of this surname claim descent from one of the twelve chieftains (nine Muslims and three Hindus), who ruled the Sultanate of Bengal (1336–1576)... [more]
BiaNavajo The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs ("BIA") required all Indians to choose a family name. The Navajo family name Bia is derived from BIA ("Bureau of Indian Affairs")
BiarujiaTaneraic This is the only existing surname derived from Javant Biarujia’s constructed personal language, Taneraic, which he created over several decades. The meaning is unknown.
BijlsmaWest Frisian Occupational name from Dutch bijl "axe" (see Bijl) combined with the Frisian suffix -ma. Could also be a patronym.
BikuñaBasque From the name of a village in Álava, Basque Country, possibly derived from Latin vicus "street, neighbourhood; village, hamlet" and Basque on "good". Alternatively, the first element could be related to bike "steep slope".
BobolaPolish From a derivative of bób meaning 'bean'.
BocachicaSpanish (Latin American) Literally means "little mouth" in Spanish. It could have been given to someone who had a small mouth or a small jaw, or to someone who was known for having a quiet and reserved speaking style. It could also have been a nickname given to someone who had a small but sweet smile.
BocanegraSpanish Spanish: nickname from boca ‘mouth’ + negra ‘black’, denoting a foul-mouthed or abusive person. In the form Boccanegra, this surname has also been long established in Italy.
BoccafuscaItalian Possibly means "dark mouth", from bocco "mouth" and fosco "dark, gloomy", a nickname for someone who often spoke ill of others, or perhaps given to foundlings.
BombaPortuguese, Spanish, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak From bomba "bomb", (Latin bombus), hence probably a nickname for someone with an explosive temperament, or a metonymic occupational name for an artilleryman.
BonaCatalan, Spanish Catalan and Spanish surname derived from the Catalan word bona meaning good
BonaseraSicilian Derived from the expression bona sera "good evening". This name was applied as a nickname either for someone who made frequent use of this salutation or as a personal name bestowed on a child as an expression of gratitude in the sense "it was a good evening when you were born".
BonbaBasque, Spanish From Basque bonba meaning "bomb", (Latin bombus), hence probably a nickname for someone with an explosive temperament, or a metonymic occupational name for an artilleryman.
BondiaCatalan Bondia is a Catalan surname. It means 'good day' or 'good morning'.
BoneraItalian Derived from the medieval Italian given name Bonora or Buonora meaning "good hour" or "finally", often given to children whose birth was long-awaited or celebrated, or who were born early in the morning... [more]
BonkobaraJapanese From 盆 (bon) meaning "tray, bowl, basin, lantern festival", combined with 子 (ko, shi) meaning "child, sign of the rat", and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
BoodaDutch (Rare) Possibly derived from a French surname or place name.
BoonmaThai Alternate transcription of Thai บุญมา (see Bunma).
BoonstraWest Frisian, Dutch Denoted someone who cam from the town of Oldeboorn, named for the nearby De Boarn river, related to Middle Dutch borne "well, spring, source".
BorondaAmerican (Hispanic), Basque Boronda is a Californio surname that is also of Basque origin. Boronda is the name of a place in Salinas California named after Jose Eusebio Boronda where he made his house out of Adobe. Today, It is a California national Historic landmark in Boronda road in Salinas.
BoukharoubaArabic (Maghrebi) Meaning unknown, possibly of Kabyle origin. A notable bearer was Algerian revolutionary and President HouariBoumediene (1932-1978), who was born as Mohamed ben Brahim Boukharouba.
BoumaWest Frisian Shortened form of the now-extinct Frisian surname Bouwema, a patronymic form of the given name Bouwe (see Boudewijn)... [more]
BouphaLao Means "flower" in Lao, ultimately from Sanskrit पुष्प (pushpa).
BourassaIndian Seems to be an Indian name. I am in touch with a relative whose family were Pottawatomi Indians in Oklahoma. This name comes from that reservation.
BouteflikaArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly means "one who makes things explode" in Algerian Arabic. A famous bearer is Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1937-), who served as president of Algeria from 1999 to 2019.
BoutellaArabic (Maghrebi, Rare) Means "father of the mountain" or "father of the hill", from Arabic أَبُو (ʾabū) meaning "father (of)" and تَلّ (tall) meaning "hill, foothill". Two notable bearers include father and daughter Safy (1950-) and Sofia (1982-) Boutella, an Algerian singer and an Algerian-French actress, respectively.
BråNorwegian Means "sudden, short-tempered" in Norwegian.
BraaksmaFrisian (Dutchified, Modern, Rare) Topographic name for someone who lived by a piece of wasteland or newly cultivated land, from Frisian, Dutch braak ‘fallow’, ‘waste’ + Frisian ma ‘man’. The suffix -ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.
BragaPortuguese The first man to own this name was a feudal lord on Portugal, near to the region of Coimbra. Could also come from the other surname "Bragança".
BragançaPortuguese From the city of Bragança in Portugal. It's also the name of the Royal House that ruled Portugal from 1640 to 1910.
BrancacciaItalian (Rare) Derived from the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, which is the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information, please see the entry for the patronymic surname Brancazio... [more]
BrancatellaItalian (Rare) Derived from the feminine given name Brancatella, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information about this, please see the entry for the patronymic surname of Brancazio... [more]
BrennaNorwegian Variant of Brenden, a Norwegian surname derived from brenna "land cleared for cultivation by burning" (also known as svedjebruk "slash-and-burn agriculture").
BuffaItalian From Sicilian buffa, "toad". May alternately derive from Rebuffo.
BuġejaMaltese Possibly derived from Maltese abjad meaning "white", ultimately from Arabic أَبْيَض (ʾabyaḍ).
BujandaBasque It indicates familial origin within the eponymous council of the municipality of Kanpezu.
BulaPolish Nickname for a fat man, from buła "bread roll".... [more]
BulaCzech Nickname for a fat man, from buła "bread roll".... [more]
BulgariaItalian, Spanish Originally an ethnic name or regional name for someone from Bulgaria or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with Bulgaria, which is named after the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, itself possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed".
BulsaraIndian (Parsi) From the name of the city of Valsad (historically known as Bulsar) in Gujarat, India. A famous bearer was British singer Farrokh Bulsara (1946-1991), better known as Freddie Mercury.
BurruchagaSpanish, Basque (Hispanicized) Altered form of Basque Burutxaga, a habitational name from a location in Navarre, Spain, possibly derived from buru "head; top, summit; leader, chief" or burutza "office of chief" combined with -aga "place of".
BuruagaBasque It indicates familial origin within the eponymous council of the municipality of Zigoitia.
BushidaJapanese Bushi means "warrior, samurai" and da is a form of ta meaning "rice paddy, wilderness, field".
ButalaSlovene Nickname from Slovenian meaning "foolish person".
ButeraItalian Means “vineyard” or “grapevine” in Italian.
ButtaItalian Italian: from a short form of a compound name formed with butta- ‘throw’, as for example Buttacavoli.Italian: from an old German feminine personal name Butta.Italian: variant of Botta.