BoykinsEnglish (American) Americanized form of Dutch Boeijkens: patronymic from the personal name Boye with the diminutive element -ken and genitive -s. Compare the English cognate Boykin and North German Boyken.... [more]
BraafheidDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Means "braveness" in Dutch, derived from braaf meaning "brave, well-behaved, obedient" and the suffix -heid denoting a condition or state of being. This was originally a nickname for a strong or brave person... [more]
BraaksmaFrisian (Dutchified, Modern, Rare) Topographic name for someone who lived by a piece of wasteland or newly cultivated land, from Frisian, Dutch braak ‘fallow’, ‘waste’ + Frisian ma ‘man’. The suffix -ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.
BracamontesSpanish Probably a habitational name from the French town of Bracquemont near Dieppe.
BraccoItalian Either a nickname derived from Calabrian braccu meaning "small, chubby", or probably for someone thought to resemble a hunting dog, from Italian bracco literally meaning "hunting dog, bloodhound"... [more]
BrackenIrish From Irish Ó Breacáin meaning "descendant of Breacán", a personal name from a diminutive of breac 'speckled', 'spotted', which was borne by a 6th-century saint who lived at Ballyconnel, County Cavan, and was famous as a healer; St... [more]
BradfieldEnglish habitational name from any of the places in Berkshire Devon Essex Suffolk South Yorkshire and elsewhere named Bradfield from Old English brad "broad" and feld "open country" meaning "wide field".
BraffAmerican Jewish (from Poland): probably an ornamental name from German brav 'good', 'upright'. Swedish: an old spelling of Brav, possibly a soldier's name.
BragaPortuguese The first man to own this name was a feudal lord on Portugal, near to the region of Coimbra. Could also come from the other surname "Bragança".
BragançaPortuguese From the city of Bragança in Portugal. It's also the name of the Royal House that ruled Portugal from 1640 to 1910.
BragasonIcelandic Patronymic used exclusively by men, derived from the Old Norse name Bragi.
BrägerGerman Habitational name for someone from Bräg in Bavaria.
BragerNorwegian (Rare) From the name of any of the various farmsteads in eastern Norway, which may have derived their name from a river name meaning "roaring", "thundering".
BraggEnglish, Welsh From a nickname for a cheerful or lively person, derived from Middle English bragge meaning "lively, cheerful, active", also "brave, proud, arrogant".
BrahamEnglish From the name of a town called Braham, probably derived from Old English brom meaning "broom (a type of plant)" and ham meaning "home, settlement" or hamm meaning "river meadow".
BraheDanish (Rare), Swedish (Rare) Danish and Swedish noble family with roots in Scania and Halland, southern Sweden (both provinces belonged to Denmark when the family was founded). A notable bearer was Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601).
BraileyEnglish Habitational name for a person from Brayley Barton in Devon, which is derived from the name of the Bray river (a back formation from High Bray which is from Celtic bre meaning "hill" or Old English brǣg "brow") combined with Old English leah "woodland, clearing".
BrailleFrench Braille is a writing system used by people with vision impairment. It was named after its inventor Louis Braille (1809-1852).
BraithwaiteEnglish Northern English habitational name from any of the places in Cumbria and Yorkshire named Braithwaite, from Old Norse breiðr "broad" + þveit "clearing".
BrakhageGerman Possibly from the Old German word 'brak' meaning 'uncultivated field,' or from the Middle German word 'brachen' meaning 'to till the soil.' ... [more]
BraleyEnglish (American) A New England variant spelling of Brailey. French: from a diminutive of Brael, from Old French braiel, a belt knotted at the waist to hold up breeches; presumably an occupational name for a maker of such belts... [more]
BramahEnglish From a place called either Bramall, or Bramhall formerly Bromale. From old english brom "broom" and halh, "nook, recess"
BrambleEnglish This surname is taken from the word which refers to a common blackberry (British) or any of several closely related thorny plants in the Rubus genus (US). It also refers to any thorny shrub. The word is derived from Old English bræmbel with a euphonic -b- inserted from the earlier bræmel or brémel, which is then derived from Proto-Germanic *bræmaz meaning "thorny bush."
BranaghIrish Anglicisation of Irish Ó Branduibh meaning "descendant of Breathnach", a given name meaning "Welshman". A famous bearer is British actor and filmmaker Sir Kenneth Branagh (1960-).
BrancacciaItalian (Rare) Derived from the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, which is the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information, please see the entry for the patronymic surname Brancazio... [more]
BrancaccioItalian Variant form of Brancazio. There are a few sources that claim that the surname is derived from a place name (which would make it a locational surname), but that claim is incorrect, as all Italian geographical places carrying the name Brancaccio were either established long after the Middle Ages (by which time virtually all Italians already had a hereditary surname) or were named after a person who had Brancaccio for a surname... [more]
BrancaleoneItalian Derived from the medieval Italian masculine given name Brancaleone, which means either "a lion's paw" or "he who captures the lion". In the case of the former meaning, the name is derived from Italian branca meaning "paw, claw" combined with Italian leone meaning "lion"... [more]
BrancatellaItalian (Rare) Derived from the feminine given name Brancatella, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information about this, please see the entry for the patronymic surname of Brancazio... [more]
BrancatelloItalian (Rare) Derived from the masculine given name Brancatello, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Brancazio, itself ultimately derived from the late Latin given name Brancatius... [more]
BrancatoItalian This surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a place name (thus making it a locational surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval Italian given name Brancato, which is a variant form of the given name Brancazio, itself ultimately derived from the late Latin given name Brancatius... [more]
BrancazioItalian (Rare) Derived from the medieval Italian masculine given name Brancazio, which itself is derived from Brancatius (also found spelled as Brancaccius and Brancatus), a late Latin corruption of the given name Pancratius... [more]
BrancheFrench From Old French branche meaning ‘branch’ (which is from Late Latin branca meaning ‘foot’, ‘paw’), the application of which as a surname is not clear. Compare Branch.
BrandeisJewish Derived from Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (known as Brandeis-Altbunzlau or Brandeis an der Elbe in German), a town located in the Prague-East District, in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic... [more]
BrandenburgGerman (East Prussian, Rare) From a state in eastern Germany, formerly known as Prussia, containing the capital city of Berlin. Ancient. Associated with the Margravate (Dukedom) of Brandenburg, the seat of power in the Holy Roman Empire... [more]
BrandenburgGerman habitational name from Brandenburg the name of a province its principal city and numerous other places.
BrandhorstGerman, Dutch Possibly derived from brant "fire, torch, sword" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
BrandisGerman, Jewish, Swiss German & Swiss: Habitational name from a former Brandis castle in Emmental near Bern, Switzerland, or from any of the places so named in Saxony, Germany. A famous bearer of the name is Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003).... [more]
BrandybuckLiterature Brandybuck is the surname of Meriadoc, a young Hobbit in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." Possibly derived from the Brandywine River, which in turn is derived from Sindarin Baranduin, "Brown River"... [more]
BransbyEnglish (British) English locational name from the village of Bransby in Lincolnshire. The place name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Branzbi' and later (1115) as 'Brandesby'. These recordings showing that the derivation is from the Old Norse personal name Brandr meaning "sword" and byr, the whole meaning being "Brand's village" or "homestead"... [more]
BrantingSwedish A combination of Swedish brant "steep hill" and the suffix -ing. A famous bearer was Hjalmar Branting (1860–1925), Prime Minister of Sweden in the 1920s.
BrasFrench, Dutch From Old French and Middle Dutch bras "arm". This was probably a descriptive nickname for someone with some peculiarity of the arm, but the word was also used as a measure of length, and may also have denoted a surveyor.
BrassardFrench Derivative of bras "arm" most likely applied as a nickname denoting a person with strong arms or perhaps a pugilist.
BrasseEnglish Likely derived from the name of the village of Brace in Shropshire, England. The name of the village likely came from the Old English word braec, which was used for small forests and thickets, or the later Old English word braec, which was used for ground broken up for cultivation.
BrasseurFrench French and English (of both Norman and Huguenot origin): occupational name for a brewer, from Old French brasser ‘to brew’. See also Brasher.
BratovRussian Derived either from Russian брат (brat) meaning "brother" or from a short form Brat of various Old Russian given names.
BratténSwedish (Rare) Composed of the personal name Bratt and the common surname suffix -én (ultimately from Latin -enius "descendant of").
BrattenScottish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Mac an Bhreatnaich ‘son of the Briton’, originally denoting a Strathclyde Welsh-speaking Briton. It was applied in Ireland also to people from Brittany.
BrauItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from the dialectical term brau, meaning "wild, untamed" in Sardinian and "brave, fierce" or "bull" in Catalan, or from blau "blue, turquoise".
BrauchGerman From Middle High German bruchen "to enjoy".
BräunlichGerman Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin, meaning "brownish" in German.
BraunschweigGerman, Jewish Denoted a person from the city of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "Bruno's settlement".
BraunsteinGerman, Jewish Ornamental name composed of German braun "brown" and stein "stone".
BraunsteinerGerman (Austrian) This surname means brown stone in German and it may be an ornamental surname or an occupational surname for someone who may have been a miner.
BraxiatelPopular Culture Irving Braxiatel or Cardinal Braxiatel is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures—spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He subsequently became a regular character in novels and audio dramas in the Bernice Summerfield series... [more]
BrayboyLumbee This name origin has roots in a court case in 1716 involving a slave named John. He was charged as "Jack Braveboy, a negro". The spelling Brayboy is scene in 1801 with Stephen Brayboy. It was identified as Native American in 1900 Indian Census Schedule of Robeson County, North Carolina.
BraybrookeEnglish From the name of the Northamptonshire village of Braybrooke, meaning "the broad brook."
BraytonEnglish Derived from the Old Norse name breithr meaning "broad", or the Old Norse personal name Breithi, combined with the Old English suffix tun meaning "town, farmstead".
BreakspearEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone who had achieved notable success in jousts or in battle. Nicholas Breakspear (?1100-1159) was the original name of Pope Hadrian IV, the only English pope.
BreedEnglish Habitational name from any of various minor places, for example Brede in Sussex, named with Old English brǣdu "breadth, broad place" (a derivative of brād "broad").
BreedingGerman Likely from an ancient Germanic given name, now lost.
BreedingGerman From the Low German brēde "open field". Denotes a person from such a place.
BreedloveEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a likable or popular person (from Middle English breden "to produce" + love). This surname is borne by Craig Breedlove (1937-), US land-speed record holder.
BreithauptGerman Nickname for someone with a broad head, from Middle High German breit "broad" and houbet or houpt "head".
BreitkreutzGerman probably a nickname for a person with a broad butt. Breitkreutz replaced an earlier more transparent form of the surname Breitarsch the use of kreuz (literally "cross") as a euphemism for "buttocks" first occurring in the 17th century... [more]
BreitwieserGerman Derived from German breit "broad" and wisa "meadow".
BreitzmannGerman Eastern German topographic name for someone who lived by a birch wood, ultimately derived from the Slavic stem bres "birch".
BremerGerman Indicated a person from Bremen in the State of Bremen, Germany.
BremnerScottish Derived from the Scottish Gaelic name MacGillebhàin which means "son of the fair-haired one." It is associated with the Clan Bremner, which has roots in the northern parts of Scotland.
BrennaNorwegian Variant of Brenden, a Norwegian surname derived from brenna "land cleared for cultivation by burning" (also known as svedjebruk "slash-and-burn agriculture").