Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ProcopioItalian Italian (Calabria) and Greek (Prokopios): from the personal name Procopio, Greek Prokopios, from pro ‘before’, ‘in front’ + kopē ‘cut’, actually an omen name meaning ‘success’, ‘prosperity’ but as a Church name taken to mean ‘pioneer’ as it was the name of the first victim of Diocletian's persecutions in Palestine in AD 303... [more]
ProctorEnglish Occupational name from Middle English prok(e)tour "steward" (reduced from Old French procurateour, Latin procurator "agent", from procurare "to manage"). The term was used most commonly of an attorney in a spiritual court, but also of other officials such as collectors of taxes and agents licensed to collect alms on behalf of lepers and enclosed orders of monks.
ProiaItalian From the name of a place in Italy. The meaning is uncertain, but it might be derived from Greek πρωία (proía) "morning".
ProiettiItalian From Latin proiecto "abandoned, thrown away", given to foundlings and children abandoned at orphanages. The name may have been taken from la ruota dei proietti, or "foundling wheel", that some orphanages and religious institutes in Italy installed for infants to be anonymously abandoned in.
ProodeEstonian Proode is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "pruudi", meaning "bridal".
PröömEstonian Prööm is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "krööm" meaning "grain".
ProosaEstonian Proosa is an Estonian surname meaning "prose".
ProphetEnglish, Scottish, French, German Scottish, English, French, and German: nickname from Middle English and Old French prophete, Middle High German prophet ‘prophet’, ‘seer’, ultimately from Greek prophetes ‘predictor’, from pro ‘before’ + a derivative of phemi ‘to speak’... [more]
ProrokPolish The meaning of prorok is prophet. It was the maiden name of my maternal grandmother. It is not a common name. Her family was from the southeastern part of Poland.
ProtopopescuRomanian Derived from Romanian protopop meaning "archpriest", from Old Church Slavonic протопопъ (protopopŭ), from Koine Greek πρωτοπαπάς (prōtopapás). A famous bearer of this surname is Dragoș Protopopescu, a Romanian writer, poet, critic, philosopher, and far-right politician.
ProtzmanGerman A habitational name for someone from any of various places in Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, and Luxembourg called Protz.
ProvencherFrench From the French word for the flower periwinkle. (pervenche) Brought to Canada from France in 1660 by Sebastien Provencher.
ProvidenceEnglish From the name of the capital city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, derived from Middle English providence meaning "divine guidance, care", ultimately from Latin providentia.
ProvodnikovRussian From Russian проводник (provodnik) meaning "conductor". Means "son of a conductor".
ProvostEnglish, French Derived from the Middle English provost; referring to the person who heads a religious chapter in a cathedral or educational establishment. It was also used as a nickname for a self-important person and is a French variant of Prevost.
ProwseEnglish Nickname for a person who was proud, haughty, brave or valiant, derived from Old French prous, prou, preux, proz and prouz meaning "proud, brave, valiant". A famous bearer was David Prowse (1935-2020), an English bodybuilder, weightlifter and character actor who portrayed the villain Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies.
ProwzeAnglo-Norman An Anglo-Norman occupational surname used for soldiers or a nickname for someone bold that is derived from the pre-10th-century Old French proz or prouz, meaning "proud" or "brave". It could also be a variant of the surname Prue... [more]
PrudeEnglish (American) This surname comes from the English word prude. The definition for the word prude is a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.
PrudeAfrican American This surname came from the English word prude. The definition of the word prude is a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.
PrudhommeFrench, English, Norman, Medieval French French (Prud’homme) and English (of Norman origin): nickname from Old French prud’homme ‘wise’, ‘sensible man’, a cliché term of approbation from the chivalric romances. It is a compound of Old French proz, prod ‘good’, with the vowel influenced by crossing with prudent ‘wise’ + homme ‘man’... [more]
PrueEnglish, French English: nickname for a redoubtable warrior, from Middle English prou(s) ‘brave’, ‘valiant’ (Old French proux, preux).... [more]
PruettEnglish Derived from the Middle English word "prou," meaning "brave," or "valiant," with the addition of either of two common diminutive suffixes: "-et" or "-ot." As such, this name is thought to have originally been a nickname for someone small, but brave.
PruittEnglish, French French and English: nickname from a pet form of Old French proux ‘valiant’, ‘brave’, or ‘wise’ (see Proulx, Prue).
PrunaSpanish (Rare) Possibly a habitational name from a place so named in Spain. It could also be derived from Catalan pruna "plum".
PrymakBelarusian Derived from Belarusian прымак (prymak) meaning "live-in son-in-law (man who marries and lives with his wife's family)".
PrynneEnglish Derived from an Anglo-Norman form of the Late Latin name Primus. A fictional bearer is Hester Prynne, the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel 'The Scarlet Letter' (1850).
PrysWelsh From the Welsh personal name Rhys, which also took the forms Rice and Rees. This name was originally derived from the Old Welsh forename Ris, which means ardour.
PrzespolewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Greater Polish villages in Gmina Ceków-Kolonia: Przespolew Pański or Przespolew Kościelny.
PrzybylskiPolish A derivative of 'Przybyla', ‘new arrival’, ‘foundling’, with the addition of the surname suffix -ski.
PuckettEnglish Of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Pocket(t), from a diminutive of Anglo-Norman French poque "small pouch", hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of purses and pouches or a nickname... [more]
PudiwitrCzech Originally Pudivitr, or Pudivitrova(female only). V was switched to W when the family came to the U.S., though there are both names in the U.S.
PudwillGerman Of Slavic origin, habitational name from Podewils in Pomerania.
PuenteSpanish Habitational name from any of the numerous places named Puente, from puente ‘bridge’.
PuentesSpanish Means "bridges" in Spanish. Originated from "puente". The surname was first found in the valley of the Trucios in the Basque region of Spain.However, families with this surname have been present in Catalonia for hundreds of years... [more]
PuertoSpanish Habitational name from any of the numerous places named Puerto, in most cases from puerto ‘harbor’ (from Latin portus ‘harbor’, ‘haven’).
PuértolasAragonese It indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
PuffPopular Culture This is the surname of Mrs. Puff from SpongeBob SquarePants.
PugachevRussian From the nickname Pugach which is probably derived from Ukrainian пугач (pugach) meaning "owl". Following this etymology, the nickname was most likely given to someone who was wise or sensible (attributing to the owl as a symbol of wisdom).
PugnoItalian The Italian family name Pugno is considered by scholars to be of nickname origin. While the majority of surnames that are derived from a sobriquet or nickname reveal to us some aspect of the physical appearance of the initial bearer of the name or may allude to a characteristic of this person, other nickname family names make reference to a particular piece of clothing or favorite article or indeed a favorite color of the bearer of the name... [more]
PuharSerbian (Modern, Rare) The last name of the contestant Mirjana Puhar from America's Next Top Model, who originally was born in Serbia. She died on February 24, 2015, aged 19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
PuhasmägiEstonian Puhasmägi is an Estonian surname meaning "pure mountain".
PuhmEstonian Puhm is an Estonian surname meaning "shrub".
PühvelEstonian Pühvel is an Estonian surname meaning "buffalo (wisent)" and "bull".
PuigdemontCatalan Means "top of the hill" or "peak of the mountain". It is derived from Catalan puig meaning "hill, peak" combined with either damunt meaning "on top, above", or munt (a diminutive of muntanya) meaning "mountain", using the preposition d'... [more]
PulidoSpanish, Spanish (Latin American) Thought to have come through Cuba and Puerto Rico from Burgos, the capital of Castile in northern Spain in the 16th century. The name likely originated there in the 11th century. It means neat, polished, and clean.
PulitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Variant form of Politzer. A famous bearer was the Hungarian-American businessman, newspaper publisher and politician Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911). His family came from Hungary, but they were of Czech origin.
PulkEstonian Pulk is an Estonian surname meaning "peg".
PulsipherItalian (Anglicized) from the nickname meaning "handsome man" of a member of the Italian Pulci family who settled in England around the time of the Norman conquest
PulsoniItalian Probably from Latin pulso "to beat, to strike".
PulverLow German, French, English I comes from the Latin verb meaning "to make powder." This name was given to either an alchemist or one who made gunpowder.
PungEstonian Pung is an Estonian surname meaning "bud".
PungKorean From Sino-Korean 馮 (pung) meaning "fast running horse".
PungaMaori The name means "reason, cause, origin". Punga is the name of the daughter of Ra (Sun) and his spouse Tame. This was the name of Ngati Mutunga chief Apitea Punga (1827?-1885) who had Moriori slaves and was a big land owner... [more]
PunkeGerman Unexplained; possibly an altered form of Bunke, from a Middle Low German personal name.
PuntarSlovene, Croatian Derived from a 19th century phrase that denoted someone who supported the unification of the Kingdoms of Croatia and Dalmatia within Austria-Hungary.
PuntilaFinnish Borne by the title character in Bertolt Brecht's play 'Mr. Puntila and his Man Matti' (1948), set in Finland in the 1920s.
PunzalanFilipino, Tagalog, Pampangan Possibly an occupational name for a maker of fences or a nickname derived from Spanish punzar meaning "to punch, to sting".
PurdomEnglish English: metathesized variants of Prudhomme; the -ru- reversal is a fairly common occurrence in words where -r- is preceded or followed by a vowel.
PürgEstonian Pürg is an Estonian surname derived from "pürg" meaning both "avidity (eagerness or enthusiasm") and a colloquial name for the European bison ("Bison bonasus").
PurgeEstonian Purge is an Estonian surname derived "purk" meaning "can" and "purgis" meaning "canned".
PuriEstonian Puri is an Estonian surname meaning "sail".
PurificacionSpanish (Philippines) Derived from Spanish purificación, meaning "purification," referring to the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary after her childbirth.
PurvianceScottish Materials collector for the Crown. Materials that may be used as tax or in war. Similar to the system of purveyance. Approximately 1100's , southwest Scotland.
PurvisScottish Probably means "person in charge of buying supplies for a large household" (from Middle English purveys "provisions").
PurzyckiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 3 Masovian villages: Purzyce, Purzyce-Rozwory, or Purzyce-Trojany.
PuschGerman Name for someone who lived near bushes or a thicket. The distinguished name Pusch is derived from the Old German word busc, which means thicket or brush.
PuschatGerman (East Prussian) East Prussian German (and thus heavily Lithuanian influenced) surname derived from Lithuanian pušaite "(young) pine tree", which - allegedly - used to be a term of endearment for a young girl.
PuseyEnglish Habitational name from Pusey in Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire), so called from Old English peose, piosu ‘pea(s)’ + ēg ‘island’, ‘low-lying land’, or from Pewsey in Wiltshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Pevesie, apparently from the genitive case of an Old English personal name Pefe, not independently attested + Old English ēg ‘island’.
PuseyFrench Habitational name form Pusey in Haute-Saône, so named from a Gallo-Roman personal name, Pusius, + the locative suffix -acum.
PushkinRussian Derived from Russian пушка (pushka) meaning "gun, cannon". A notable bearer was Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), a Russian poet and writer.
PutneyEnglish habitational name from Putney in Surrey (now Greater London) named in Old English from the personal name Putta (genitive Puttan) and hyth "landing place quay".
PutnikSerbian Derived from putnik (путник), meaning "traveller".
PutnikEstonian The surname definition is unknown. It is from the name of a farm Putniku Talu, meaning "Putnik farm". It was located in Vana-Kariste, Viljandimaa, Estonia.
PüttGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named in Rhineland, Westphalia, and Pomerania, but in most cases a topographic name from Middle Low German putte ‘pit’, ‘well’, ‘puddle’, ‘pond’.
PüttEstonian Pütt is an Estonian surname meaning "tub" and "cask".
PuttickEnglish (British) A variant spelling of the Sussex surname Puttock from the Village of Puttock, which itself derives from the Old English "Puttocke" a bird of prey, the kite. ... [more]
PyburnEnglish (?) Apparently from some lost or minor place so named. 1881 British census has 109; KH.
PyeonKorean (Rare) Meaning unknown. Approximately 15 000 koreans have this surname
PygallEnglish (Hellenized, Rare) From ancient Greek for rump, associations with prostitution across Europe, commonly given to illegitimate children of prostitutes, found especially in North East England and Nottinghamshire.
PykeEnglish Most likely originates from the words pike (the weapon or the fish), having to do with fishermen or soldiers, or pick, having to do with miners or somebody who tills the ground.
PyleEnglish From the Middle English word pile, meaning "stake" or "post", which is derived via Old English from Latin pilum, meaning "spike" or "javelin". This was a topographic name for someone who lived near a stake or post serving as a landmark, a metonymic occupational name for a stake maker, or a nickname for a tall, strong man.