AppenzellGerman Habitational name for someone from Appenzell (village or canton) in northeastern Switzerland. The placename derives from Latin abbatis cella, "cell (i.e., estate) of the abbot".
ApplegarthEnglish, Scottish Topographic name from northern Middle English applegarth meaning "apple orchard" (Old Norse apaldr meaning "apple tree" + gar{dh}r meaning "enclosure"), or a habitational name from a place so named, of which there are examples in Cumbria and North and East Yorkshire, as well as in the county of Dumfries.
ApplegateEnglish Extremely common variant of Applegarth, in which the less familiar final element has been assimilated to the northern Middle English word gate meaning "road" or to modern English gate.
ApplewhiteEnglish Habitational name from a place named Applethwaite, from Old Norse apaldr ‘apple tree’ and þveit ‘meadow’. There are two or three such places in Cumbria; Applethwaite is also recorded as a surname from the 13th century in Suffolk, England, pointing to a possible lost place name there... [more]
AquinasItalian Aquinas indicates ancestral origins from the Italian county "Aquino." Aquino comes from the latin word "Aquinum" which itself probably comes from the latin word aqua. Aqua means water in English.
ArabeyaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "uncultivated, desolate", 部 (be) meaning "department, division; part", and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".
AràbiaItalian, Spanish Ethnic name for someone from Arabia or some other Arabic-speaking country or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with one of these countries.
ArabianArmenian Patronymic from the ethnic term arab ‘Arab’.
ArabieFrench Ethnic name denoting someone from Arabia or an Arabic-speaking person.
ArabikiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough; harsh; intense", referring to rough land, and 引 (biki), from 引き (biki), the joining continuative form of 引く (hiku) meaning "to pull".
ArablePopular Culture An occupational surname for people who are capable of being farmed productively. Also used in the novel Charlotte's Web (1952).
ArabuliGeorgian Means "Arabic, Arab" in Georgian, referring to Arabs who historically resided in the region of Khevsureti in Georgia.
ArachchiSinhalese From a title used during the British colonial era of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to denote a native village headman or leader.
ArachchigeSinhalese From the colonial-era Sinhala title ආරච්චි (arachchi) used to denote a native village headman combined with the suffix -ගේ (-ge) meaning "of, home, house".
AradhyaIndian, Sanskrit Means "one who worships god". Commonly seen in India, Karnataka and other parts of India like kashi. They wear holy thread (yagnopaveetha).
AragónSpanish Habitational name from Aragon Spain which was an independent kingdom from 1035 to 1479. It took its name from the river Aragón which arises in its northwestern corner... [more]
ArahiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough; harsh; intense", referring to rough land, and 樋 (hi) meaning "gutter".
ArahiraJapanese From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "rough; harsh; intense" and 平 (hira) meaning "flat; flattened" or, in a dialect, "cliff", referring to a rough flatland or a rough cliff.... [more]
AraiJapanese From Japanese 新 (ara) meaning "new, natural" or 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, sparse, wild" and 井 (i) meaning "well".
AraldiItalian Means “heralds” in Italian. Famous bearers include Italian painters Alessandro Araldi (c. 1460 – c. 1529) and Paolo Araldi (18th century – after 1820).
AranJapanese From 亜 (a), a phonetic character, and 蘭 (ran) meaning "orchid."
AranaBasque, Central American This indicates familial origin within either of 3 eponymous localities: the hamlet in the County of Trebiñu, the neighborhood in Gasteiz, or the neighborhood in Bermeo.
AranamiJapanese Ara (荒) means rough, wild. Nami (波) means wave(s).
ArandaSpanish Habitational name from any of various places for example Aranda de Duero in Burgos province which bears a name of pre-Roman probably Celtic origin.
ArboledaSpanish From arboleda meaning "grove of trees". This is the name of a prominent Colombian family, in which case it is derived from their region of origin in Arboleya, Spain.
ArcheambeauFrench The name Archambeau is derived from the Latin personal name 'Arcambaldus'. In turn the name 'Arcambaldus', is derived from the Germanic word 'Ercan', which means precious in Germanic, and 'bald', meaning bold and daring.... [more]
ArchibongEfik, Ibibio of Efik Origin, originally pronounced asibong but changed by the british to Archibong, meaning Kings Father, Kings Friend, (amasi Obong)
ArchilaSpanish Either a variant of Arcila or derived from Arabic الشَّلَّال (aš-šallāl) meaning "the waterfall".
ArcillaSpanish (Philippines) From Spanish arcilla meaning "clay," derived via Latin from Greek ἄργιλλος (árgillos), ultimately from ἀργός (argós) meaning "white."
ArciniegaBasque Castilianized form. Name for someone from the Spanish town of Artziniega. The town's name likely comes from the Basque artzain meaning "shepherd" and -aga, a suffix for place names.
ArczyńskiPolish Patronymic from a name beginning with Jaro- (meaning "strong; robust") such as Jarosław, Jaromir or Jarogniew, suffixed with -yński based on habitational surnames.
ArdScottish Habitational name from any of several places called Aird, including one near Hurlford in Ayrshire, another near Stranraer in Galloway, and the Aird, the higher part of the Vale of Beauly, near Inverness... [more]
ArdaghIrish A rare Irish surname named after Ardagh, in County Longford.
ArdehiPersian, Kurdish, Old Persian House Ardehis of Zagors or Ardahvans (Persian: اردهیان) were one of the Persian Sassanid royal families, who occupied the Mounts of Zagros before the Islamic conquest of Persia in 650 CE. Ardahvans in Shahnameh and Persian mythology are mentioned to be the first settlers of Zagros mountains, and the constructors of Forts Of Zagros.
ArdellaAfrican American Derivative of Arden, popularized by the poem of the same name by Langston Hughes, the most well-known Black poet of the Harlem Renaissance. Meaning is "garden dweller."... [more]
ArdenEnglish From various English place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".... [more]
ArditiItalian The heraldic tradition has it that this illustrious family, called Ardito or Arditi, is the same one that flourished in Lombardy with the name of Conti, and that, transplanted in the Neapolitan with the Lombard hostages taken by the emperor Federico II, left that name, changing it.
ArellanoBasque, Spanish From the name of a town in Nevarre, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from either of the Latin personal names Valerius or Aurelius, indicating land owned by someone of the name, or from Basque aritz "oak (tree)" (see haritz).
ArenEstonian Aren is an Estonan surname meaning "developing" and "growth".
ArenaldiItalian (Rare) Originally found in the Campania, Foggia area. Derived from the medieval name of Germanic origin Arenaldus or Arinaldus
AretxabaletaBasque Original Basque form of Arechavaleta, composed of aritx (a variant of haritz) meaning "oak tree" or "tree" combined with zabal "wide, ample" and the suffix -eta meaning "abundance of" or "place of".
AretxagaBasque It indicates familial origin within the eponymous ghost town within the council of Murgia in the municipality of Zuia.
AretxederraBasque Habitational name from a neighborhood in the municipality of Gordexola, Spain, derived from Basque aretx "oak tree" (a variant of haritz) and eder "beautiful, good; abundant".
AretzEnglish (American) The Aretz family name was found in the USA, and Canada between 1880 and 1920. The most Aretz families were found in USA in 1920. In 1880 there were 14 Aretz families living in Minnesota. This was 100% of all the recorded Aretz's in USA.
ArévaloSpanish Habitational name from any of the places called Arévalo in the provinces of Ávila and Soria of pre-Roman origin.
ArfaouiArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly derived from Arabic عَرَفَ (ʿarafa) meaning "to know" or أَرْفَع (ʾarfaʿ) meaning "high, lofty, elevated" (chiefly Tunisian).
ArgandoñaBasque From the name of a hamlet in Álava, Spain, derived from Basque (h)argan "stony place" and the toponymic suffix -oña.
ArgaoVisayan Named after Argao, a municipality in southern Cebu. Argao, in turn is said to have derived from "sali-argaw", a tree that flourished in the coastal areas of the town.
ArgentisGreek Means "silver" in Italian, originally used as an occupational name for a silversmith or a nickname for a person with gray hair. Greek version of the Italian surname Argenti.
ArgentoItalian Means "silver" in Italian, originally used as an occupational name for a silversmith or a nickname for a person with gray hair.
ArgenzianoItalian Derived from a diminutive of the given name Argenzio, ultimately from Latin argenteus meaning "silver". A famous bearer was American actor Carmen Argenziano (1943-2019).
ArgimonCatalan It indicates familial origin within the eponymous castle in the municipality of Riudarenes.
ArgindegiBasque (Rare) Means "stonecutter’s workshop" in Basque, derived from (h)argin "stonecutter, mason" and -tegi "house, workshop; place of".
ArguelloSpanish It had its cradle in the so-called Brotherhood of Argüello, formed by the councils of Val de Lugueros, Mediana de Argüello and La Tercia del Camino (León), from where its branches spread throughout Spain.
ArguetaSpanish This surname was most likely originally used to identify a person who lived in a characteristically bright or luminous area.
ArguijoSpanish Spanish: Habitational Name From A Place Called Arguijo In Zamora Province.
ArgyleScottish, Scottish Gaelic From the regional name Argyll, a county of southwestern Scotland, named in Gaelic as Earre Ghàidheal ‘coast of the Gaels’. Argyll was the earliest part of Scotland to be settled by Gaelic speakers from Ireland from the 6th century onwards... [more]
ArgyllScottish, Scottish Gaelic From the regional name Argyll, a county of southwestern Scotland, named in Gaelic as Earre Ghàidheal ‘coast of the Gaels’. Argyll was the earliest part of Scotland to be settled by Gaelic speakers from Ireland from the 6th century onwards... [more]