RenfrewScottish Anglicized form of the Gaelic Rinn Friù, meaning "cradle of the Royal Stewards." It is derived from either the historical county of Renfrewshire in the west central lowlands of Scotland, or the town of Renfrew within both the historical and present-day boundaries of the county.
RengelGerman (Swiss) From a pet form of a Germanic personal name formed with rang "curved", "bending"; "slender".
RengelSpanish Habitational name from a place called Rengel in Málaga province.
RengelMedieval Croatian Used by several houses of Croatia few centuries ago, now, those of this name are but a shadows of once proud and prestigious house
RenleyJewish (Rare), English (Rare) Possibly derived from the Old English rinc "man, warrior" or rim 'edge, circular edge' or possibly wraenna 'wren', and leah "field, clearing".
RennEnglish (British) The surname Renn was first found in Durham where they held a family seat from early times, and were originally descended from Ralph de Raines who was granted lands by William, Duke of Albany in that shire... [more]
RennisonEnglish Patronymic surname meaning "son of Renard". Derived as a shortened form of Reynoldson from the Old French personal name Renart with the -son suffix... [more]
RensDutch From the personal name Rens, a reduced form of Laurens. Could also derive from a given name containing the element regin "advice, counsel", such as Reinoud.
RenshawEnglish, Scottish A habitational surname from any of the so-called or like-sounding places in the United Kingdom. These include Renishaw in Derbyshire, Ramshaw in Durham, the lost Renshaw in Cheshire and Radshaw in Yorkshire... [more]
RenteríaSpanish Spanish Castilianized variant of Basque Errenteria, habitational name from either of the two Basque towns called Errenteria in Gipuzkoa and Biscay provinces, Basque Country.
RenwickScottish (Rare) A habitational name from a place in Cumbria, so called from the Old English byname Hræfn meaning "raven" + wic "outlying settlement".
RequaGerman Variant of Ricward, from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ric ‘power(ful)’ + ward ‘guardian’.
RequenaSpanish, Catalan habitational name from Requena in Valencia or Requena de Campos in Palencia apparently so called from a short form of the various Visigothic compound personal names with the first element rīc "powerful" with the addition of the locative suffix -ena.
RequesensCatalan This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of La Jonquera.
RequiãoPortuguese Derived from the name of a village in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, ultimately from the name of Rechila, a 5th-century Suevic king of Gallaecia.
RequirosoFilipino Denoted a person from one of the various places of this name in Spain. Quirós, the place name, may derive from Galician queiroa meaning "heather".
ReschkeGerman Derived from the Middle High German word "rasch" meaning "quick," or "hot-headed". As such, it may have originated as a nickname for a quick or rash person.
ReubensJewish, English Derived from the given name Reuben. This surname was borne by American comedian and actor Paul Reubens (1952-2023; birth name Paul Rubenfeld), who created and played the comic fictional character Pee-wee Herman.
ReussGerman Occupational name for a cobbler, from Middle High German riuze.
ReusserSwiss, German, Upper German In Switzerland, an occupational name for a fisherman or maker of fish traps, from an agent derivative of Middle High German riuse "fish trap, weir basket". A nickname from an agent noun based on Middle High German riusen "to moan or complain"... [more]
RevereEnglish, French, Judeo-Italian French: variant of Rivière, Rivoire, or Rivier, topographic name for someone living on the banks of a river, French rivier ‘bank’, or habitational name from any of the many places in France named with this word.... [more]
RevordFrench (Quebec) Comes from the French surname of Rivard, a geographical name for someone who lived on a river bank. The -ard ending is changed to -ord in Canadian and American French.
ReyWelsh, Scottish, Irish Either a variant of McRae, or else directly derived from Irish rí, Scottish Rìgh, or Welsh ri, rhi, or rhiau, all meaning "king"... [more]
ReznikovRussian, Jewish Occupational name for a Jewish ritual slaughterer, from Yiddish reznik meaning "butcher".
ReznorGerman May be a variant of the German surname Reisner, a habitational name for someone from a place called Reisen (for example in Bavaria), Reissen in Thuringia, or Reussen on the Saale river.
RheimsFrench From the city of Reims in France, also known as Rheims in English.
RheinGerman From the German name for the River Rhine, denoting somebody whom lived within close proximity to the river. The river name itself comes from a Celtic word meaning 'to flow' (Welsh redan, 'run, flow').
RhettDutch Anglicized form of Dutch de Raedt, derived from raet "advice, counsel". Compare Raad.
RhineGerman, French, English, Irish A habitational name for an individual whom lived within close proximity of the River Rhine (see Rhein). The river name is derived from a Celtic word meaning 'to flow' (Welsh redan, 'flow').... [more]
RhotonGerman, French Rhoton is a German and French surname from the 1800s. Some people believe that it is derived from the French word for red, but the origin is overall unknown. The name represents strength and power.
RhysWelsh In addition to being used as a given name, it occurs as a surname both alone and in combination with other surnames. Related patronymic forms of the surname are Price, Prys, Pris and Preece. A notable bearer is John Rhys-Davies.
RiKorean Alternate romanization of Lee 2 chiefly used in North Korea.
RiJapanese Japanese form of Li 1, from Japanese 李 (ri) meaning "plum, prune".
RianIrish (Anglicized, Rare, ?) An alternate spelling and pronunciation of Ó Riain, due to French influences after the progenitors of the family moved to France from Ireland.
RibchesterEnglish This name originates from the small village in Lancashire that shares the same name. Interestingly, most people with the name 'Ribchester' are in Lancashire, but a lot are also found in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
RiberaCatalan, Spanish Habitational name from any of various locations in Spain named Ribera, derived from Catalan and Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore".
RichEnglish From a nickname of a wealthy person, ultimately derived from Germanic ric "powerful". A notable fictional bearer is Richie Rich who first appeared as a comic book character in 1953.
RichEnglish Derived from the name of a (former) village in Lincolnshire, England named with the Old English element ric "stream, drainage channel".
RichersEnglish, German From a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ric ‘power(ful)’ + hari, heri ‘army’. The name was introduced into England by the Normans in the form Richier, but was largely absorbed by the much more common Richard... [more]
RichmondEnglish Habitational name from any of the numerous places so named, in northern France as well as in England. These are named with the Old French elements riche "rich, splendid" and mont "hill"... [more]
RickelsGerman Patronymic form of Rickel or possibly Richel. May have been derived from any of a number of Old German personal names including Richild (or the feminine form Richeldis) or Richold.
RickenGerman From a short form of any of the Germanic personal names composed with rīc "power(ful)".
RicketsonEnglish It was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Old German name Ricard, meaning "powerful" and "brave."
RiddickScottish A different form of Reddick ("person from Rerwick or Rerrick", Dumfries and Galloway (perhaps "robbers' outlying settlement")). A fictional bearer of the surname is Richard B. Riddick, (anti)hero of the 'Chronicles of Riddick' movies.
RideoutEnglish Means "outrider (a municipal or monastic official in the Middle Ages whose job was to ride around the country collecting dues and supervising manors)".
RidgewayEnglish Comes from Middle English 'riggewey', hence a topographic name for someone who lived by such a route or a habitational name from any of various places so named, for example in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, and Staffordshire.
RidingEnglish From Old English rydding "cleared land, assart".
RidingerGerman A habitational name for someone from a place named Riding or Rieding. It is also possibly an altered spelling of Reitinger, a topographic name from Reit(e), which means ‘clearing’ (Old High German riuti).
RiegelGerman From Middle High German rigel "bar, crossbeam, mountain incline", hence a topographic name or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word in Baden, Brandenburg, and Silesia; in some instances it may have been a metonymic occupational name for a maker of crossbars, locks, etc.
RiesenbergGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a big mountain, from Middle High German rise meaning "giant" and berg meaning "mountain".
RiesenbergGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a big mountain, derived from Middle High German rise meaning "giant" and berg meaning "mountain".