RaffenspergerGerman Altered spelling of Ravensburger or Ravensberger, a habitational name for someone from Ravensburg in Württemberg, but there are a number of similar surnames, for example Raffenberg, a farm name near Hamm, and Raffsberger.
RafterIrish, Scottish The original Gaelic form of Rafter was O Raithbheartaigh, which was modified to O Raifeartaigh. The surname is derived from the words rath bheartach meaning prosperity wielder.
RagettliRomansh Derived from a truncated form of Anrig in combination with the diminutive suffix -ett and the diminutive suffix -li.
RaghavanIndian (Kerala, Tamil Nadu): Hindu name from Sanskrit raghava ‘derived from Raghu’, ‘descendant of Raghu’ (an epithet of the god Rama, incarnation of Vishnu) + the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -n... [more]
RagostaItalian from aragosta "lobster" used for a shell-fisherman or otherwise as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a lobster in some way.
RagsdaleEnglish Apparently an English habitational name from Ragdale in Leicestershire, which is probably named from Old English hraca "gully", "narrow pass" + dæl "valley", "dale".
RaiaItalian, Sicilian Either a topographic name from Sicilian raia ‘smilax’ (a climbing shrub), or else derived from Sicilian raja meaning ‘ray’, or ‘skate’ (the fish), presumably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish or a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or fish seller.
RaiaArabic Derived from Arabic رياح (rayah) meaning ‘flag’.
RainbirdEnglish From the Old French male personal name Rainbert, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "counsel-bright" (cf. Raginbert). The modern form of the name has been influenced by English rainbird "plover".
RaineyIrish, Scottish An Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Raighne, Ó Ráighne meaning "descendent of Raonull", the given name Raonull being derived from Old Norse Rögnvaldr, Røgnvaldr, Rǫgnvaldr (compare Ronald).
RainwaterEnglish (American) Americanized form of the German family name Reinwasser, possibly a topographic name for someone who lived by a source of fresh water, from Middle High German reine ‘pure’ + wazzer ‘water’.
RäisänenFinnish From an unexplained personal name (possibly of Russian Orthodox origin) + the common surname suffix -nen. It occurs chiefly in central and eastern Finland.
RaisbeckEnglish Raisbeck is a hamlet in the civil parish of Orton, in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. The surname Raisbeck originates from the hamlet. The name of the hamlet derives from Hrridarr, a personal name and beck, a stream or river.
RaischGerman, German (Swiss) From Middle High German rīsch, rūsch ‘reed’, ‘rush’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived near a reed bed, or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for someone who used or harvested reeds... [more]
RajalaEstonian Rajala is an Estonian surname meaning "boundary area/field".
RajalaaneEstonian Rajalaane is an Estonian surname derived from "raja" ("boundary", "border") and "lääne" ("occidental", "western"): "western border/boundary".
RajaniemiFinnish Rajaniemi: The last name of a group of people who live in Finland. Some live in the United States when their ancestors immigrated to the US in the early 1900's.
RakPolish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Jewish Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Hungarian (Rák), and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Slavic rak ‘crab’, ‘lobster’, or ‘crayfish’. This was applied as an occupational name for someone who caught and sold crayfish, crabs, or lobsters, or as a nickname to someone thought to resemble such a creature... [more]
RakhmaninovRussian From a nickname derived from Russian рахманный (rakhmannyy) meaning "lazy". A notable bearer was Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Rakhmaninov (1873-1943).
RallisGreek A surname held by the descendants of a Frankish-Byzantine noble named Raoul. The Rallis family (also spelled Ralli, Ralles or Rallet in Romanian) is the name of an old Greek Phanariote family, whose members played important political role in the history of modern Greece, Danubian Principalities and later in the United Kingdom... [more]
RalphEnglish From a Middle English personal name composed of Germanic rad "counsel, advice" and wolf "wolf". This was first introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers in the Old Norse form Ráðulfr, and was reinforced after the Conquest by the Norman form Ra(d)ulf... [more]
RamageFrench, Scottish From a medieval Scottish nickname for a hot-tempered or unpredictable person (from Old French ramage "wild, uncontrollable" (applied to birds of prey)).
RamagiAncient Roman In Caesar's Gallic Wars, the Ramagi built catapults and other mechanical weapons.... [more]
RamalhoPortuguese Means "cut branch, brushwood" in Portuguese, used as a habitational name from any of various places called Ramalho.
RamamurthyIndian, Tamil Derived from Sanskrit राम (rāma) meaning "pleasing, pleasant, charming" or "dark, black" (see Rama 1) combined with मूर्ति (mūrti) meaning "idol, icon".
RamasamyTamil From the name of the Hindu god Rama 1 combined with Tamil சாமி (sami) meaning "chief, master, lord" (ultimately from Sanskrit स्वामिन् (svamin)).
RambeauFrench (Rare), Frankish Altered spelling of the southern French family name Rambaut, from an Old French personal name, Rainbaut, composed of the Germanic elements ragin "counsel" + bald "bold", "brave", or alternatively from the Germanic personal name Hrambehrt or Hrambald, composed of the elements hramn "crow" & berht "bright" or bald "bold", "brave".
RambertEnglish From the Old French male personal name Rainbert (see Rainbird). It was borne by Dame Marie Rambert (original name Cyvia Rabbam, later Miriam Rambach; 1888-1982), a Polish-born British ballet dancer and choreographer.
RamboSwedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare) Combination of Norwegian and (dialectal) Swedish ramn "raven" and bo meaning either "dweller, inhabitant" or "home, nest". Peter Gunnarsson Rambo (1611-1698) was one of the first Swedish immigrants to the United States in the 17th century and considered to be the father of the settlement New Sweden in Pennsylvania... [more]
RammEstonian Ramm is an Estonian surname meaning both "beetle" and "(to) ram".
RammoEstonian Rammo is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "rammus", meaning "fat" and "fertile"; or from "ramm", meaning both "beetle" and "strength".
RammusEstonian Rammus is an Estonian surname meaning "fat", "nourishing" and "fertile".
RampGerman (Swiss) German and Swiss German: variant of Rampf, from Middle High German ramft, ranft ‘edge’, ‘wall’, ‘crust (of bread)’; applied as a topographic name for someone who lived at the limit or outer edge of some feature, for example a field, or possibly, in the sense ‘crust’, a nickname for a poor person.
RampersadIndian, Trinidadian Creole, Mauritian Creole From Sanskrit राम (rāma) meaning "pleasing, pleasant, charming" combined with प्रसाद (prasāda) meaning "clearness, brightness, purity". It is primarily used by the Indian community in Trinidad and Tobago as well as Mauritius.