KriesGerman From Middle High German kriese "cherry" hence an occupation for someone who sold soft fruits or a locational surname for some who lived by a cherry tree.
ChisholmScottish The name of a location in Roxburghshire, Scotland, which itself comes from cisil "gravel" and holm "islet".
NigulEstonian Nigul is an Estonian surname (and masculine given name); from the given name "Nigul/Nigulas", a variant of "Nicholas".
SrisuwanThai From Thai ศรี (si) meaning "glory, honour, splendour" combined with สุวรรณ (suwan) meaning "gold".
LivingstoneScottish, Irish, Jewish Scottish: Habitational name from a place in Lothian, originally named in Middle English as Levingston, from an owner called Levin (Lewin), who appears in charters of David I in the early 12th century.... [more]
LardinoisFrench Originally denoted a person from the Ardennes, a forest-covered region situated in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. A notable bearer of this name was the Dutch politician and diplomat Pierre Lardinois (1924-1987).
SelanderSwedish Combination of Swedish sel "stretch of calm water in a river or stream" and the common surname suffix -ander (originally from Greek aner "man"). The first element, sel, is also a common place name element in Northern Sweden and it's possible that this name is both ornamental and locational in origin.
ClevengerEnglish Occupational name for a keyholder derived from the word claviger, itself from Latin claviger meaning "key-bearer".
NazeriPersian From Persian ناظر (nâzer) meaning "watcher, observer".
ForsythScottish Variant of Forsythe. Known bearers include the Scottish botanist William Forsyth (1737-1804), after whom the genus Forsythia is named, and Scottish inventor Alexander John Forsyth (1769-1843).
KuytDutch Variant of Kuijt, notably borne by the Dutch former soccer player Dirk Kuyt (1980-).
CourtEnglish, French, Irish A topographic name from Middle English, Old French court(e) and curt, meaning ‘court’. This word was used primarily with reference to the residence of the lord of a manor, and the surname is usually an occupational name for someone employed at a manorial court.... [more]
TaffeEnglish Of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname "Ó Táth," meaning "descendant of Táth." It's believed to have originated as a personal name, possibly meaning "poet" or "philosopher."
CoadyIrish Coady or Cody originated in the Southern Counties of Ireland. The Norman family Odo le Ercedekne acquired land in Kilkenny, Ireland in early 1300's. In medieval records it was spelled Lerceddkne and then Archdeken and then Archdeacon... [more]
PiquetFrench Occupational name for someone who dealt with picks from a diminutive of pic ''pick, pickax''.
FustGerman Variant of Faust or a nickname for a person who was strong and pugnacious, derived from Old German fust "fist".
JanewayEnglish Derived from Middle English Janaways, the name for someone from the city of Genoa, Italy. A notable fictional bearer is Kathryn Janeway, the captain of starship USS Voyager on the TV-series 'Star Trek: Voyager' (1995-2001).
ThrestonMedieval English (Rare) The surname of Threston is English in origin, and, means "to twist"** and, can be traced as far back as the 11th century where the name is found in the "Domesday Book." The name Threston is a variation of the name of the town of Threxton, Norfolk, UK, and, there are several variations of the name Threxton including:... [more]
TamenariJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 為成 (Tamenari) meaning "Tamenari", a former area in the city of Bungotakada in the prefecture of Ōita in Japan.... [more]
StarGerman, Jewish Means "starling (bird)" in German, probably denoting a talkative or perhaps a voracious person. Alternatively, an Anglicized form of Stern 2.
NascimentoPortuguese (Brazilian) Means "birth, nativity" in Portuguese, from Late Latin nascimentum, a derivative of Latin nasci "to be born". This was originally a religious byname. It was also an epithet of the Virgin Mary (Maria do Nascimento), and was used as a given name for children born on Christmas.
OktyabrskyRussian Meaning "October" in Russian, it often refers to the October Revolution of November 1917, a coup led by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) and the Bolshevik Party.
SneedlyPopular Culture, Literature A seemingly invented last name, though it bears resemblance to the last name Sneed. It is used for the main antagonist of the popular Captain Underpants graphic novels and it's film and show adaptation, Melvin Sneedly.
VorwaldGerman Topographic name for someone who lived "in front of (Middle High German vor) a forest (Middle High German wald)".
MeghnagiJewish, Northern African Sephardic Jewish, originating from the Libyan Jewish community. Most were from Tripoli, with a much smaller contingent from Benghazi.
DriggersAmerican Corruption of the Spanish surname Rodriguez. Originated in 17th century Virginia as a former slave by that surname was integrated into free society.
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]
AmusanJapanese (Rare) The Amusan Clan (秋道一族, Amusan Ichizoku) is a prominent clan in Kanazawa. Since its disbandment, most of its known members reside in Neuilly-sur-Seine ,Britain and Washington D.C.
BiesheuvelDutch From Biesheuvel, the name of a small village in the north of the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch bies meaning "bulrush, club rush" (a grasslike plant that grows in wetlands and damp locations) and heuvel meaning "hill"... [more]
NeffGerman, German (Swiss) From Middle High German neve 'nephew', hence probably a distinguishing name for a close relation or familiar of a prominent personage.
MalfeytDutch, Flemish Generally a Dutch form (or "dutchization", if you will) of Malfait, with the spelling reflecting the surname's origin from older times (as -eyt is an exclusively archaic spelling that has not survived into modern times like its counterparts -eit and -ijt did)... [more]
BalsanoGerman (Austrian), Italian The roots of the distinguished surname Balzano lie in Austria. The name derives itself from "Balthasar," the name of one of the three Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem, and was popular as both a first name and a family name during the 18th century.... [more]
BoldGerman, English English: nickname from Middle English bold ‘courageous’, ‘daring’ (Old English b(e)ald, cognate with Old High German bald). In some cases it may derive from an Old English personal name (see Bald)... [more]
RamamurthyIndian, Tamil Derived from Sanskrit राम (rāma) meaning "pleasing, pleasant, charming" or "dark, black" (see Rama 1) combined with मूर्ति (mūrti) meaning "idol, icon".
SetzerGerman, Jewish Derived from either Middle High German "setzen", used to refer to market inspectors and tax officials, or Yiddish "setser", a typesetter.
DülgerTurkish Means "carpenter" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian درگر (dorgar).
HazlehurstEnglish Habitational name for a person from the places in Lancashire, Surrey, or Sussex, or somebody who lives in a hazel grove, all derived from Old English hæsl "hazel" (Archaic form hazle) and hyrst "wood, grove".
RajalaEstonian Rajala is an Estonian surname meaning "boundary area/field".
BallutFrench Derived from Old Occitan baluter, cognate of French bluter (via Middle French beluter), meaning "to sift, to sieve, especially the flour from the bran", this name used to denote a miller.
AndoJapanese From the Japanese 安 (an or yasu) "relax," "inexpensive," "low," and 藤 (to or fuji) "wisteria." The second character may indicate historical or familial links to the formerly powerful Fujiwara (藤原) clan.
IekamiJapanese Ie means "family, household, residence" and kami means "below, under".
ZianiItalian (Rare, Archaic) Habitual surname denoting someone from Ziano, a locality in Italy. Unrelated to the Maghrebi surname of the same spelling.
PilliroogEstonian Pilliroog is an Estonian surname meaning "thatch".
FassGerman From Middle High German faz, German Fass 'cask', 'keg', hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of casks and kegs, or a nickname for someone as rotund as a barrel. German: variant of Fasse, Faas.
AasmetsEstonian Aasmets is an Estonian surname meaning "meadow forest".
VecchioItalian Means "old, aged" in Italian, originally used as a nickname for an older or oldest son or for someone who was prematurely grey or wrinkled.