SchönenbergerGerman Habitational name for someone from any of several places in Germany and Switzerland named Schönenberg.
SchonewilleDutch Perhaps a nickname for an attractive person, derived from Middle Dutch schône meaning "beautiful, clean, pure" and wille meaning "to want, to desire".
SchönrockGerman Either a metonymic occupational name for a baker from Middle High German schœn "fine" (see Schoen ) and rogge "rye"... [more]
SchopenhauerGerman Derived from German schöpfen meaning "to scoop, ladle" and hauen meaning "to chop", referring to a maker of wooden and metal scoops and buckets. This name was borne by the German pessimist philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), the author of the 1818 book The World as Will and Representation among other works.
SchottlanderGerman, Jewish From German Schottland "Scotland" and, in some cases, denoted an immigrant from Scotland or Ireland. As a Jewish surname, it is most often an ornamental name.
SchottlerGerman Occupational name for a wood turner, Middle Low German scoteler (an agent derivative of scotel ‘wooden bowl’).
SchouDanish Topographic name for someone who lived by a small wood, from a Germanized form of Danish skov 'wood', 'forest', 'copse'.
SchramGerman, English, Yiddish Derived from German Schramme (Middle High German schram(me)) and Yiddish shram, all of which mean "scar".
SchrammGerman German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic nickname for a person with a scar, from Middle High German schram(me), German Schramme, Yiddish shram ‘scar’.
SchreinerGerman Occupational surname for a joiner (maker of wooden furniture), ultimately from Middle High German schrīnære.
SchrepferGerman (Swiss), German Derived from from Middle High German schrepfer "barber-surgeon's assistant", ultimately from the verb schrepfen "to bleed someone".
SchrijversDutch Dutch cognate of Scriven. A famous bearer was the Dutch soccer goalkeeper Piet Schrijvers (1946-2022).
SchrockGerman Some think that the last name Schrock comes from the German word which meant something along the lines of "Jump" or "Leaps" and was probably a nickname to someone who was a great jumper, or someone who was easily startled.
SchrootDutch Possibly an altered form of des Groot via Sgroot, meaning "son of the Groot", itself a byname meaning "great, large". Alternatively, it could be related to schroot "scrap (metal)" or the older scrode "to cut", an occupational name for someone who worked with metal, or perhaps a tailor.
SchuelerGerman The surname Schueler was first found in southern Germany, where the name was closely identified in early mediaeval times with the feudal society which would become prominent throughout European history.
SchuhGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a maker or repairer of shoes, derived from Middle High German schuoch meaning "shoe". In some cases, it may have denoted a person to a house distinguished by the sign of a shoe.
SchuknechtGerman Occupational name for a shoemaker’s assistant, from Middle High German schuoch meaning "shoe" + knecht meaning "journeyman", "assistant".
SchumerJewish, German (Rare) Possibly taken from Middle Low German schumer meaning "good for nothing, vagabond". Notable bearers are American comedian Amy Schumer (b. 1981) and American politician Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer (b... [more]
SchutzGerman Occupational surname for an archer or a watchman, from Middle High German schützen "to guard, protect". Also a habitational name from Schutz, a place near Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
SchuurmanDutch Derived from Dutch schuur "barn, shed" and man "person, man".
SchwaabGerman The surname of German VfB Stuttgart footballer Daniel Schwaab, born in Waldkirch, Germany.
SchwabGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone from Swabia (German Schwaben), from Middle High German Swap, German Schwabe ‘Swabian’. The region takes its name from a Germanic tribe recorded from the 1st century BC in the Latin form Suebi or Suevi, of uncertain origin; it was an independent duchy from the 10th century until 1313, when the territory was broken up.
SchwabeGerman 1. The name given to those who lived in Swabia
SchwanbeckGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named, for example near Lübeck and near Anklam.
SchwandtGerman Topographic name for someone who lived in a forest clearing, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
SchwandtGerman Habitational name from any of the various places called Schwand or Schwanden, all in southern Germany, named with this element, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
SchwankGerman Either a nickname for a thin person, (derived from Middle High German swanc meaning "little, slender, thin"), a pretty person (from Middle Low German swank "fine, dainty") or a fun, loving person (from Middle High German swanc and Middle Low German swank "funny idea, joke, jest, foolery").
SchwankeGerman From a short form of the German given name Swaneke, a pet form of Swane, ultimately derived from a Germanic compound name formed with swan meaning "swan" as the first element (see Schwenke 2).
SchweigertGerman Derives from an agent derivative of the German "schweigen", to be silent, and the nickname would have been given to a silent, quiet, taciturn person.
SchweinsteigerGerman Occupational name for a pig farmer, an overseer of pigs or a nickname for someone who rode a pig, derived from Middle High German swīn meaning "hog, swine" and stīger meaning "foreman, mine inspector"... [more]
SchweitzGerman Ethnic name for a Swiss, from German Schweitz meaning "Swiss".
SchwenkGerman Variant spelling of Schwanke, or apparently a nickname referring to a person's gait, derived from Middle High German swenken meaning "to swing back and forth, to sling" (see Schwenke 1).
SchwerdtfegerGerman occupational name for an armorer or specifically for a servant whose job was to polish swords Middle High German Middle Low German swertfeger (from swert "sword" and an agent derivative of fegen "to polish or clean").
SchwingGerman Occupational name for someone whose job was to swingle flax, i.e. to beat the flax with a swingle in order to remove the woody parts of the plant prior to spinning, from Middle German swingen meaning "to swing" or swing meaning "swingle".
ScimiaItalian From an archaic form of Italian scimmia "monkey", from Ancient Greek σιμός (simos) "snub-nosed". Has figurative meanings of "drunk" and "imitator, mimic, aper".
ScobieScottish Means "person from Scobie", an unidentified place in Perth and Kinross ("thorny place"). A fictional bearer is Henry Scobie, the conscience-wracked and ultimately suicidal deputy commissioner of police in Graham Greene's West Africa-set novel 'The Heart of the Matter' (1948).
ScogginsEnglish Possibly derived from Old Norse skegg meaning "beard".
ScogingsEnglish, Old Danish A surname of Scandinavian origin from the old Norse and old Danish by-name "Skeggi" or "skoggi", meaning 'the bearded one'. Common in areas invaded and settled by Scandinavians in the 8th and 9th Centuries.
ScognamiglioItalian Literally "millet thresher", probably from the Neapolitan verb scugnà ("to thresh") and miglio ("millet"), denoting cereal threshers.
ScorfanoItalian Was in the Disney + Original Movie, Luca. "Alberto Scorfano"
ScornavaccheItalian Possibly deriving from Italian words scorno meaning shame, and vacca meaning cow. Sicilian variant of Scornavacca.
ScorranoItalian Denotes someone from Scorrano, Italy. Coincides with scorrano "to run, to flow".
ScorseseItalian From a nickname that indicated a person who came from Scotland, derived from Italian scozzese literally meaning "Scotsman, Scottish". This spelling arose from a transcription error of the surname Scozzese... [more]
ScotfordEnglish Derived from Scotforth, the name of a village near Lancaster (in Lancashire) in England. The village's name means "ford of the Scot(s)" and is derived from Old English Scott "Scot" combined with Old English ford "ford".
ScotlandEnglish (i) "person from Scotland"; (ii) "person from Scotland or Scotlandwell", Perth and Kinross; (iii) from the Norman personal name Escotland, literally "territory of the Scots"
ScottoItalian Either an ethnic name for someone from Scotland or Ireland from medieval Italian scotto or scoto meaning "Scot", making it a cognate of Scott, or from a diminutive of given names ending in sco such as Francesco (via its diminutive Francescotto) or Maresco (via Marescotto).
ScreetonEnglish Locational surname originating from the village of Screveton in Nottinghamshire. Derived of Old English elements scīr-rēfa "sheriff" and tun "settlement".
ScriblerusLiterature The Scriblerus Club was an informal association of authors, based in London, that came together in the early 18th century. The nucleus of the club included the satirists Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope... [more]
ScrimshawMedieval English Referring to one who was a fencing-master, coming from the old French "eskermisseour", meaning "fencer" and which came in turn from the old high German word "skirmen", which meant "to defend".
ScrogginsEnglish Derived from Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood", given to someone who lived near a bushy area, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a prickly personality.
ScroggsEnglish From Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood".
ScroggsScottish Derived from a place in Scotland named Scrogges.
ScudamoreAnglo-Norman A locational surname that was first recorded in England in 1264. Derived from one of the ancient villages of Fifield Scudamore or Upton Scudamore, with Scudamore coming from the Old English scitemor, which means "one who lived at the moor."
ScuderiSicilian Patronymic form of Scudero, a status name equivalent to English Squire, from scudero "shield-bearer", Latin scutarius, an agent derivative of scutum "shield"... [more]
ScullinOld Irish The surname Scullin originates from the pre 10th century O' Sceallain, which itself derives from the word 'sceall' meaning the stone of a fruit or the kernel.
ScurlockWelsh, Irish Obscure, probably derived from 'ystog', a Welsh word meaning 'fortress'
SeaborgEnglish, Swedish (Americanized) English cognate of Sjöberg, as well as the Americanized form. Glenn T. Seaborg (1912-1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements.
SeabornEnglish From an Old English personal name derived from the elements sǣ "sea, lake" and beorn "warrior".
SeabraPortuguese Habitational name from the town of Puebla de Sanabria in northwestern Spain of uncertain meaning, possibly of Arabic, Celtic or Latin origin.
SeaforthEnglish The name of a projection of the sea on the east coast of Lewis, on the Long Island, Scotland. Means "the forth of the sea".
SeagerEnglish, German (Modern) English: from the Middle English personal name Segar, Old English S?gar, composed of the elements s? ‘sea’ + gar ‘spear’.... [more]
SeagraveEnglish Habitational name from a place in Leicestershire, recorded in Domesday Book as Satgrave and Setgrave; probably named from Old English (ge)set meaning "fold", "pen" (or sēað meaning "pit", "pool") + grāf meaning "grove" or græf meaning "ditch".
SealyEnglish Derived from Old English sælig "blessed, fortunate, prosperous, happy" and was used as a term to describe someone with a cheerful, happy disposition.
SearsEnglish Version of Sayer. Used in the United States. Famous bearer of the name is Richard Warren Sears, one of the founders of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
SeatterScottish From an ancient barony called "The lands of Setter", Stromness, Orkney. Derives from the Ancient Norse word "saetr" meaning a hut or shelter for animals.
SebaldLiterature In 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events', Gustav Sebald was a film director who hid secret codes in his movies, a member of V.F.D., and the likely creator of the Sebald Code.
SecchiItalian Probably related to Italian secco "thin, dry". May alternately derive from secare "to cut", Sardinian seghi "sixteen", segete "harvest, harvest fodder", or a shortened form of seneche "old, aged".
SedarisGreek David Sedaris, author of Calypso and others, and Amy Sedaris, actress and comedienne, are two well-known siblings with the surname.
SeddaItalian From a place name in Sardinia, meaning "top of a mountain". May alternately derive from Sardinian sedda "saddle", indicating the bearer's occupation.
SedgwickEnglish Habitational name from Sedgwick in Cumbria, so named from the Middle English personal name Sigg(e) (from Old Norse Siggi or Old English Sicg, short forms of the various compound names with the first element "victory") + Old English wic "outlying settlement", "dairy farm"; or from Sedgewick in Sussex, named with Old English secg (sedge) + wic.
SeditaItalian From Italian sei "six" + dita, plural of dito "finger", hence a nickname either for someone having six fingers or metaphorically for someone who was very dextrous.
SeeEnglish, German Topographic name for someone who lived by the sea-shore or beside a lake, from Middle English see meaning "sea", "lake" (Old English sǣ), Middle High German sē. Alternatively, the English name may denote someone who lived by a watercourse, from an Old English sēoh meaning "watercourse", "drain".