NieChinese From Chinese 聂 (niè) referring to either of two ancient fiefs named Nie. One existed in the state of Wei (Wey) in what is now Henan province, while the other was part of the state of Qi in what is now Shandong province.
NieboerDutch Dutch cognate for Neubauer. epithet for a farmer who was new to an area from nie "new" and bur "farmer".
NiederhäuserGerman, Swiss Habitational name from any of numerous places named Niederhaus or Niederhausen, denoting the lower of two dwellings or settlements or one in a low-lying position.
NiedermeierGerman, German (Austrian) Occupational name for a farmer who had a farm lower than the neighboring one(s). This surname and its variant spellings are common to Austria and the state of Bavaria in Germany.
NiedermeyerGerman Means "lower farmer", a distinguishing name for a farmer who worked further south or in a low-lying location.
NiedfeldtGerman Topographic name for a person who lived by a lower area of open land, derived from Middle Low German nider meaning "lower" and feld meaning "open country".
NiehChinese Alternate transcription of Chinese 聂 (see Nie).
NiehausGerman North German: topographic name from Middle Low German nie ‘new’ + hus ‘house’; or a habitational name from a common North German and Westphalian farm name with the same meaning.
NiemanDutch Means "new man", a cognate of German Neumann. Can also derive from Middle Dutch nieman "no one, nobody", a byname for an unknown or otherwise nameless person... [more]
NiesGerman German: from a reduced form of the personal name Dionys (see Dennis), which was stressed on the last syllable; this was a popular personal name as a result of the influence of the French Saint Denis... [more]
NietzscheGerman, German (Silesian) Derived from a Silesian diminutive of the given name Nikolaus. A notable bearer was Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), a German philosopher.
NieuwenhuisDutch Means "new house" in Dutch. Indicated that the bearer lived in a new house or lived in a village of the same name
NightingaleEnglish Nickname for someone with a good voice from Middle English nightegale "nightingale" (Old English nihtegale, ultimately from niht "night" and galan "to sing").
NightshadeLiterature Meaning unknown. Possibly derived from the English word night or just a combination of night and shade. A notable fictional bearer is Enid Nightshade from Jill Murphy's books, The Worst Witch, as well as the television adaptations.
NihonJapanese (Rare) Means "Japan" in Japanese, though originally from 日本 (nihon), a clipping of 日本晴れ (nihombare) meaning "no clouds in the sky". It is a reference to an event in the Edo Period, of a weather forecaster who was asked for the weather and answered 日本晴れ... [more]
Nihon'yanagiJapanese Means "2 salix trees", from Japanese 二本 (nihon) meaning "2 (cylindrical objects)" and 柳 (yanagi) meaning "salix". This is the name of a few places in Japan (in the city of Goshogawara and the city of Gonohe).
NiikuraJapanese From the Japanese 新 (nii) "new" and 倉 or 蔵 (kura) "storehouse" or 鞍 (kura) "saddle."
NiimiJapanese Nii means "new" and mi means "see, outlook, viewpoint".
NiinEstonian Niin is an Estonian surname meaning "bast" and "phloem" (the fibrous material from the phloem of a plant, used as fiber in matting, cord, etc.)
NiineEstonian Niine is an Estonian surname meaning "linden" and "bast".
NiinelaidEstonian Niinelaid is an Estonian surname meaning "linden islet".
NiinemäeEstonian Niinemäe is an Estonian surname meaning "linden hill/mountain".
NiinemetsEstonian Niinemets is an Estonian surname meaning "linden forest".
NiinepuuEstonian Niinepuu is an Estonian surname meaning "bast tree/wood".
NiinesaluEstonian Niinesalu is an Estonian surname meaning linden/lime grove".
NiinistöFinnish Combination of Finnish niini "bast fibre" and the suffix -stö.
NijhofDutch From a place name derived from nij "new" and hof "court, yard, farmstead".
NijhuisDutch Topographic name meaning "new house".
NijibayashiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 虹 (Niji) meaning "Rainbow" and 林 (Bayashi) meaning "Forest". A notable bearer of this surname was academic author Kei Nijibayashi.
NikaidoJapanese (Rare, ?) From japanese kanji 二 (ni) meaning "two", 階 (kai) meaning "floor, storey" combined with 堂 (dō) meaning "temple". The last name is a name of a clan of Japanese samurai that ruled the Iwase District of Mutsu Province during the Sengoku period during the Kamakura era... [more]
NimitzGerman Derived from Russian немчин (nemchin) meaning "German", of Slavic origin. This surname was borne by Chester W. Nimitz (1885-1966), a fleet admiral of the United States Navy during World War II.
NingChinese From Chinese 宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, tranquil", also referring to the ancient county of Ningyi, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
NinkaAlbanian (Modern) First recognized in the early 1800s as a surname in and around Albania and the Balkans, and due to migration it has spread to a few different places across the world. Very little is known about this surname as there are very few records of it.
NireharaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 楡原 (Nirehara), an variant reading of 楡原 (Nirebara) meaning "Nirebara", a former large village in the district of Koshi in the former Japanese province of Echigo in parts of present-day Niigata, Japan or an area in the same place, in the city of Nagaoka in the prefecture of Niigata in Japan.
NirkEstonian Nirk is an Estonian surname meaning "stoat".
NishantIndian Derived from the Sanskrit name for dawn or the end of night. In Sanskrit Nisha (निशा) means 'Night' and Ant (अन्त) means 'End', which can be alliterated as the end of night or the first ray of the morning sun.
NishiyasuJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and 安 (yasu) meaning "peaceful, tranquil, safe, simple, ammonium". The fact that it is homographic as Japanese 西安 (Shīan) meaning "Xi'an", a city in Shaanxi, China, is coincidental.
NiuChinese 1 Chinese 牛: this name probably arose during the Zhou dynasty ( 1122–221 bc ) in the area of Gansu province; the details are unclear. It was borne by a person named Niu Wen, who was a descendant of the eldest brother of the last king of the Shang dynasty, Zhou Xin ( 1154–1123 bc ).... [more]
NiuChinese From Chinese 牛 (niú) meaning "cow, ox, bull".
NivaSami, Finnish From Finnish niva "small rapid in a river", ultimately derived from Northern Sami njavvi "small river, small rapid".