ReiszHungarian, German (Archaic), Jewish Variant form of Reis, or else a patronymic from a pet form of one of the Germanic compound names formed with raginą "counsel, advice" as the first element.
PontiffFrench Means "bridge builder". Comes from the French word pont, which means bridge. ... [more]
KatDutch, Frisian, South African, Jewish Means "cat", a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a cat, or a nickname for someone who somehow resembled a cat, perhaps in agility or an independent nature.
KnobelGerman, German (Swiss), Yiddish Derived from the Middle High German knübel probably a nickname for a fat person or in the sense "ankle". However the term also denotes a rounded elevation and may therefore also be a topographic name for someone who lived by a knoll... [more]
DominieScottish Occupational name for a church schoolmaster, from Latin domine, a vocative form of dominus, "lord" "master".
FrödingSwedish Meaning uncertain. Possibly from a place name element derived from Swedish frodig meaning "lush, thriving, flourishing" or from the name of the Norse god Frö (see Freyr)... [more]
AiChinese From Chinese 艾 (ài) referring to the ancient state of Ai, which existed during the Shang dynasty in what is now Jiangxi province. Alternately it may be derived from the name of Xia dynasty official Ru Ai (汝艾) or Ai Kong (艾孔), a minister from the state of Qi.
SackhoffGerman Occupational name for a farmer who cultivated land to grow plants, particularly crops, derived from Middle High German sack meaning "sack, end of a valley, area of cultivation" and hof meaning "farmstead, manor, farm"... [more]
MarvelEnglish Either (i) from a medieval nickname (often ironic) for someone regarded as a prodigy; or (ii) "person from Merville", the name of two places in northern France ("smaller settlement" and "settlement belonging to a man with a Germanic name beginning with Meri-, literally 'famous'")... [more]
RedenbachGerman Toponymic name possibly derived from Middle High German reden "to speak, to talk" and bach "stream". It could also be a variant of Wittenbach.
KariFinnish, German (Austrian), Slovene (?), Hungarian, Indian, Marathi As a Finnish name, it is a topographic and ornamental name from kari "small island", "stony rapids", "sandbar", or "rocky place in a field". This name is found throughout Finland.... [more]
CordEnglish Either a nickname or metonymic occupational name from Middle English (Old French) corde "rope cord string" possibly given to someone who wore a cord (round the waist) or who made ropes, bowstrings, etc.
KuttelwascherGerman Surname given to those who had the occupation of cleaning tripe. Combines the words kuttel meaning "tripe" and washer meaning "washer". Bearers of the surname typically live in Austria.
TocquevilleFrench From the names of various French communes in Normandy meaning "Tóki's town". As a title it was borne by the French political philosopher, aristocrat and historian Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, Count of Tocqueville (1805-1859), the author of Democracy in America.
JaukGerman (Austrian) The meaning of the name Jauk is similar to the word "acre" in English. It is a measure word for how much land an ox can plough in one day. People with the surname Jauk are likely to have descended from farmers... [more]
KinderknechtGerman Occupational name for a servant in charge of the children at a manor, derived from kinder (plural of kind) meaning "child" and knecht meaning "servant".
ChekovRussian This is the surname of the fictional Star Trek Character, Pavel Andreievich Chekov.
InvernizziItalian Probably denoted someone from Inverno e Monteleone, a municipality in Lombardy. Inverno itself is Italian for "winter".
FoggGermanic This surname appeared in Denmark during the time of the Vikings. It is believed to have Jute origin. It spread to Italy during the Roman Empire and to England as early as the 1080s, being listed in the Doomsday Book compiled by William the Conqueror... [more]
TarantoItalian Habitational name from the southern Italian city and provincial capital of this name (from Latin Tarentum from Greek Taras). Variant of Tarantino and Di Taranto.
FassbinderGerman Occupational name for a cooper, derived from German Fass "barrel, keg, cask" and Binder "girder, tie". Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) was a German filmmaker considered as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement.
OtteGerman Otte was given to someone who lived in Bavaria, where the name came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging medieval society. The name Otte evolved from the Old German personal name Ott, a name of Emperors, made famous by Otto the Great (912-973), Holy Roman emperor.
FukhimoriJapanese (Russified) Alternate transcription of Fujimori more commonly used by ethnic Japanese living in parts of the former Soviet Union and Sakhalin Japanese residing on Sakhalin Island in Russia.
FechtmeisterGerman Means "fencing master" in German, this is a nickname for a show fighter or organizer who are a begging and thieving journeyman at fairs in 17th century Germany, from German fechten "to fence" and meister "master".
CottrellEnglish, French First found in Derbyshire where the family "Cottrell" held a family seat and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege lord for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings, 1066CE... [more]
PinkEnglish, German Nickname, possibly for a small person, from Middle English pink penkg ‘minnow’ (Old English pinc).English (southeastern): variant of Pinch .Variant spelling of German Pinck, an indirect occupational name for a blacksmith, an onomatopoeic word imitating the sound of hammering which was perceived as pink(e)pank... [more]
ArrotinoItalian Occupational name meaning "knife-sharpener, knife-grinder" in Italian.
ShimmyoJapanese From 新 (shim) meaning "new, fresh" and 明 (myo) meaning "bright, enlighten".
De BonoItalian Derives from the Latin word bonus, meaning "good".
IpateRomanian Origin not certain, possibly derived from "Ipatele", a commune in Romania.
SvedbergSwedish Combination of Swedish svedja "to burn off, to swidden" (referring to slash-and-burn agriculture (in Swedish: svedjebruk)) and berg "mountain". This name can be both locational (surname derived from a place named with Sved-... [more]
MarableFrench, English From the feminine personal name Mirabel, equated in medieval records with Latin mirabilis "marvelous", "wonderful" (in the sense "extraordinary").
CarpenitoItalian This surname derives from a person who had worked as a "carpenter".
PuertoSpanish Habitational name from any of the numerous places named Puerto, in most cases from puerto ‘harbor’ (from Latin portus ‘harbor’, ‘haven’).
ReilleFrench, Occitan Topographic name derived from Old Occitan relha meaning "plowshare", or a habitational name from any of several places named Reille or La Reille in southern France. A notable bearer was Honoré Charles Reille (1775-1860), a Marshal of France during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
SchulmanYiddish Refers to a person, typically a Rabbi, who works at a Shul (Synagogue in Yiddish.)... [more]
NapperEnglish 1 English: occupational name for a naperer, the servant in charge of the linen in use in a great house, Middle English, Old French nap(p)ier. Compare Scottish Napier .... [more]
CiuraruRomanian Derived from the Romanian word cioară meaning "crow".
BarrowmanEnglish A man employed in wheeling a barrow; specifically, in coal-mining, one who conveys the coal in a wheelbarrow from the point where it is mined to the trolleyway or tramway on which it is carried to the place where it is raised to the surface.
IsurietaBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the town of Aretxabaleta, Basque Country, derived from Basque izai "fir tree" and uri "town, settlement" combined with the toponymic suffix -eta "place of, abundance of"... [more]
RonSpanish, Galician Habitational name from a town called Ron in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.
GaglianoItalian Habitational name from any of several places in Italy, most of which derive from the Latin personal name Gallius (see Gallus). Alternatively, it could derive directly from the given name Gallius, or from a similar name such as Galianus or Galenus.
ShippEnglish nickname for a mariner or perhaps a boatbuilder from Middle English schip "ship". Compare Shipman . in addition the name may occasionally also have been topographic or habitational referring to a house or inn distinguished by the sign of a ship.
PewWelsh From Welsh ap Hew or ap Hugh "son of Hugh" (see Pugh). A fictional bearer is Blind Pew, the blind pirate in Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' (1883).
FeitoAsturian Asturian surname of Vaquieru origin, from the West of Asturias
SpeckGerman Variant of Specker as well as a locational surname from one of various places called Speck, Specke and Specken in northern Germany and Spöck in southern Germany, as well as an occupational surname derived from German Speck "bacon" denoting a butcher who sepcialized in the production of bacon, as well as a derisive nickname for a corpulent person.