AltmeyerGerman Status name for an older steward, headman, or tenant farmer, as distinguished from a younger one, from Middle High German alt ‘old’ + meier ‘steward’, ‘headman’, ‘tenant farmer’
AltnurmeEstonian Altnurme is an Estonian surname meaning "(from) below pasture/meadow".
AltosaarEstonian Altosaar is an Estonian surname, possibly derived from the masculine given name "Alto" and "saar", meaning "island"; "Alto's island".
AmatsuboJapanese (Rare) Means "rainy atrium, rainy courtyards". From Japanese 雨 meaning "rain", and "坪" meaning "(inner)garden, atrium, courtyard". A famous bearer is Mitsumasa Amatsubo.
AmatuzioItalian The surname *Amatuzio* is of Italian origin and is likely derived from personal names or characteristics. It could be connected to the root Amato, which means "beloved" or "loved" in Italian, suggesting that it might have originally been used as a nickname or descriptor for someone who was cherished or valued within their community... [more]
AmbedkarIndian, Hindi, Marathi Derived from the name of the village of Ambadawe (also called Ambavade) in Maharashtra, India. A notable bearer was B. R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), one of the authors of the Indian constitution.
AmendolaItalian Southern Italian: habitational name from any of several places in southern Italy named Amendola or Mendola, named with the dialect word amendola 'almond', 'almond tree' (from Greek amygdalea), or a topographic name for someone who lived by an almond tree or trees.
AmetzagaBasque (Rare) Habitational name derived from Basque ametz "oak tree, Pyrenean oak" and the locative suffix -aga "place of, abundance of".
AndersonScottish, Irish Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Ghille Andrais meaning 'Son of the devotee of St. Andrew'. ... [more]
AndertonEnglish Habitational name for a person from the villages called Anderton in Cheshire, Lancashire and Devon, of different origins. the one in Cheshire is derived from Old English given name Eanred while the one in Lancashire is derived from Old Norse given name Eindriði, both of them have the second element of tun "enclosure, town"... [more]
AndrássyHungarian man, warrior... a surname that derives from the personal name "Andreas", meaning manly, and was held by the first of Christ's disciples.
AngeloniItalian Means "great angels" in Italian. It derives from Biblical Latin angelus meaning "angel", ultimately from Ancient Greek angelos, originally meaning "messenger", changing meaning in the Bible.
AngielloItalian Uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from a variant of the given name Angelo.
AngilleyEnglish (Australian, Modern) Supposedly from a long history of Tin and Terracotta miners in Wales under the name Gilley in the 15-60's. the 'An' is theorised to be a result of the Anglo-Saxon faith being a prominent belief within the area, and has become a prominent name ever since with few more variations.... [more]
AngilloyCornish From an-kelli, "the grove"; or an-gilly, "the wood or grove of hazels".
ÅngströmSwedish Combination of Swedish ånga "steam" and ström "river, current, stream". A notable bearer was Swedish physicist Anders Ångström (1814-1874), one of the founders of the science of spectroscopy... [more]
AñonuevoSpanish (Philippines) Derived from Spanish año nuevo meaning "New Year". A famous bearer of the name is Filipino poet Roberto T. Añonuevo (1968-).
AntillónAragonese This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
AntoliniItalian The family originated from Sarnano (Macerata) and at the end of the century XVII transplanted to Montealbodo today Ostra (Ancona) where it was aggregated to that nobility.
AntrobusEnglish This very unusual name is of Old Norse origin and is a locational surname from the place in Cheshire called "Antrobus". The placename is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Entrebus", and in the Pipe Rolls of Cheshire of 1282 as "Anterbus"... [more]
ApacibleSpanish (Philippines) Means "peaceful" in Spanish. Galicano Apacible was a Filipino physician and politician who was the co-founder of La Solidaridad and the Nacionalista Party.
AparicioSpanish Derived from the Latin word “aparitio” meaning “appearance” or “arrival”. It may also be a habitational name, indicating a person who lived near or at a place with the same name.
ApellidoSpanish (Philippines) This likely originated as a surname taken by people who didn't have a surname and wrote "Apellido" (the Spanish for surname) when filling in an official form.
ApicellaItalian Possibly derived from a diminutive of Italian ape "bee", an occupational name for a beekeeper, or perhaps a nickname for an industrious person. Alternatively, it could derive from the Latin cognomen Apicius.
ArboledaSpanish From arboleda meaning "grove of trees". This is the name of a prominent Colombian family, in which case it is derived from their region of origin in Arboleya, Spain.
ArbuckleEnglish, Scottish Habitational name for a person from the minor place of Arbuckle in North Lanarkshire, derived from Scottish Gaelic earrann "part, section" and buachaill "herdsman".
ArellanoBasque, Spanish From the name of a town in Nevarre, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from either of the Latin personal names Valerius or Aurelius, indicating land owned by someone of the name, or from Basque aritz "oak (tree)" (see haritz).
ArenaldiItalian (Rare) Originally found in the Campania, Foggia area. Derived from the medieval name of Germanic origin Arenaldus or Arinaldus
ArenzanaSpanish It indicates familial origin within either of 2 La Riojan municipalities: Arenzana de Abajo or Arenzana de Arriba.
AretxagaBasque It indicates familial origin within the eponymous ghost town within the council of Murgia in the municipality of Zuia.
ArgentisGreek Means "silver" in Italian, originally used as an occupational name for a silversmith or a nickname for a person with gray hair. Greek version of the Italian surname Argenti.
ArguelloSpanish It had its cradle in the so-called Brotherhood of Argüello, formed by the councils of Val de Lugueros, Mediana de Argüello and La Tercia del Camino (León), from where its branches spread throughout Spain.
ArmitageEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived on or near a hermitage or a habitational for places so called, derived from Middle English ermitage. A famous bearer of the name is English actor Richard Crispin Armitage (1971-).
AroztegiBasque From the name of a town in Navarre, Spain, meaning "carpenter’s workshop, blacksmith’s shop" in Basque, ultimately derived from arotz "carpenter, blacksmith" and -tegi "house, workshop; place of".
ArquetteFrench From arquet meaning "little bow" or "little arch" (diminutive of arche, from Latin arcus). It was originally an occupational name for an archer, but the French word arquet(te) is also found in the sense 'market trader' (originally, perhaps, one with a stall underneath an arch)... [more]
AscencioSpanish, Italian From the personal name (Latin Ascensius), favored by the early Christians, by whom it was bestowed with reference to the ascension of Christ (Late Latin ascensio).
AshbrookEnglish Derived from Ampney St Mary, a small village and civil parish locally known as "Ashbrook", in Gloucestershire, England (recorded in the Domesday Book as Estbroce). It is named with Old English est meaning "east, eastern" and broc meaning "brook, stream".
AshcroftEnglish English (chiefly Lancashire) topographic name from Middle English æsc ‘ash tree’ + croft ‘enclosure’, or a habitational name from a minor place named with these elements.
AshikagaJapanese Ashikaga is a surname that originated with samurai families. Kaga means "Flower Bud,Reed" and Ashi means "Place",but it is most commonly, ( if not always ) written with characters meaning ,"foot" and "advantage".
AsikkalaFinnish Indicates familial origin from Asikkala, a municipality in southern Finland.
AskeladdFolklore The main character in Asbjornsen and Moe's Norwegian Folktales, Askeladd is usually the youngest and smallest of three brothers who is left to sit by the fire in the ashes, hence his name (similar to Cinderella)... [more]
AspergerGerman Denoting a person who lived in Asperg, a town in Southwest Germany, derived from a cadet named Asperg who lived in the ruling house... [more]
AspergesItalian A kind of device used to sprinkle holy water, or the ceremony in which it is used, derived from Latin asperges "you will sprinkle", a conjugation of aspergo "to scatter, to strew (something); to sprinkle (liquid)", taken from the first word of the 9th verse of Psalm 51 (or Psalm 50) in its Latin translation... [more]
AspinallEnglish A locational name of Anglo-Saxon origin, it means “aspen well”.
AstridgeEnglish Perhaps a habitational surname from one or more places called Ashridge.
AsunciónSpanish Means "assumption" in Spanish, referring to the bodily taking up of Mary, the mother of Jesus, into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. The unaccented form, Asuncion, is much more common.
AthertonEnglish From the name of a town in Manchester, derived from the Old English given name Æðelhere and tun "enclosure, town." American writer Gertrude Atherton (1857-1948) and British journalist Terence Atherton (1902-1942) were famous bearers of the name.
AtreidesLiterature Used by Frank Herbert for the main character of first two novels of Dune, Paul Atreides, the heir of house Atreides. He probably based it on Ancient Greek Ἀτρείδης (Atreídēs), meaning "child of Atreus".
AtsusakaJapanese From 阿 (a) meaning "nook, corner", 津 (tsu) meaning "port, harbor" and 坂 (saka) meaning "slope, hill".