Browse Submitted Surnames

Heigl German
Derived from the given name Hugo.

Paal Estonian
Paal is an Estonian surname meaning both "mooring post" and "dolphin".

Liebowitz Jewish
Variant of Liebowitz.

Bongiovanni Italian
Comes from the personal name Giovanni composed of the elements bon ‘good’ + Giovanni, Italian equivalent of John

Wirtanen Finnish (Archaic)
Variant of Virtanen.

Protasiewicz Polish (Rare)

Gaitan Romanian
Variant of Gaita.

Wedding English

Feuerbacher German
Habitational name for someone from any of the places called Feuerbach.

Miroshchenko Ukrainian

Dandas Telugu

Farmer Irish
Anglicized (part translated) form of Gaelic Mac an Scolóige "son of the husbandman", a rare surname of northern and western Ireland.

Wilburn English
A habitation name of uncertain origin found in the East Midlands. Speculation includes the possibility of the meaning "well" and "burn, borne" therefore meaning one who lived near a well or spring by a waterway crossing.

Rodionova Russian
Feminine form of Rodionov.

Schirokauer German, Yiddish
Derived from the town of Sieraków in the Silesian Voivodeship in Poland.

Alamets Estonian
Alamets is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region forest".

Laughlin Irish
Variant of Loughlin

Redcliffe English
Variant of Radcliff.

Den Besten Dutch
Means "the best" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch beste.

Inderrieden Dutch (Americanized)
Variant of Dutch in der Rieden, possibly derived from German ried "reed", or from a cognate of Old English rith "stream".

Lineker English
From a place name composed of Old English lin meaning "flax" and æcer meaning "field". A famous bearer is retired English soccer player Gary Lineker (1960-).

Abrines Spanish

Takesawa Japanese
From Japanese 武 (take) meaning "military, martial" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "swamp, wetland, marsh".

Otsla Estonian
Otsla is an Estonian surname meaning "cusp/tip area".

Yamba Kongo

Rumfelt German, Dutch
Altered spelling of German Romfeld, derived from Middle Low German rüm- meaning "to clear (land)" and feld meaning "open country, field", hence a topographic name or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a person engaged in clearing woodland, or in some cases a habitational name for someone from Romfelt in the Ardennes... [more]

Lira Galician
Habitational name for someone who lives in a parish called Lira, in Salvatierra, division of Puenteareas.

Schenitzki Polish (Germanized)

Benthall English
From Old English beonet meaning "bent-grass" and halh meaning nook.

Grumiaux French

Minnow English
Possibly derived from the English word "minnow", a small fish.

Naganawa Japanese
From 長 (naga) meaning "long, chief", 名 (na) meaning "name, reputation" and 和 (wa) meaning "peace, harmony".

Bear English
From the Middle English nickname Bere meaning "bear" (Old English bera, which is also found as a byname), or possibly from a personal name derived from a short form of the various Germanic compound names with this first element... [more]

Alliku Estonian
Alliku is an Estonian surname, derived from "Allikas", meaning "wellspring".

Anzaldo Italian
Variation of Ansaldo.

Jayasena Sinhalese
Derived from Sanskrit जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest" and सेना (sena) meaning "army".

Capucci Italian

Belisle French
Variant of Belleisle.

Dhanapala Sinhalese
Derived from Sanskrit धन (dhana) meaning "wealth, riches, prize" and पाल (pala) meaning "guard, protector".

Hadžimuhamedović Bosnian
Possibly from Bosnian hadž meaning "hajj, pilgrimage", combined with the Bosnian given name Muhamed and the patronymic element -ić.

Julep English (Rare)

Nishigawa Japanese
Variant of Nishikawa.

Hata Japanese
Variant reading of Japanese Kanji 八田 or 八多 (see Hatta).

Cabibbo Italian
Ultimately from the Arabic given name Habib, meaning "beloved, darling".

Gerhardsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Gerhard".

Donchak Russian, Ukrainian (?)
Probably a form of Donchankov.

Puusepp Estonian
Means "carpenter", literally "wood smith", from Estonian puu "tree, wood" and sepp "smith"

Filan Irish

Abdelkader Arabic (Maghrebi)
From the given name Abd al-Qadir.

Beleskey English

Launder English
From English launder, itself from French lavandier both meaning "washerman".

Stoneman English
Combination of Stone and English man. Sometimes used an English form of German Steinmann.

Kawabata Japanese
From Japanese 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream" and 端 (hata) meaning "edge, end, tip".

Vaughen Welsh
Variant of Vaughan.

Armisen Spanish

Kröwerath German

Sandra Central African

Pütt German
Habitational name from any of several places so named in Rhineland, Westphalia, and Pomerania, but in most cases a topographic name from Middle Low German putte ‘pit’, ‘well’, ‘puddle’, ‘pond’.

Oihartzabal Basque (Rare)
Derived from Basque oihan "forest, woods" and zabal "wide, broad, open".

Wara Finnish (Rare, Expatriate)
Variant of Vaara, mostly used outside of Finland.

Muthusamy Tamil
Pearl god; Lord Murugan

Alas Estonian
Alas is an Estonian surname, derived from either "ala-" meaning "area" and "region"; or "alasti", meaning "bald" and "nude"; "alastus" means "bareness".

Flipp English (New Zealand)

Fesyuk Ukrainian
Maybe a variant of Fedosyuk.

Brzeczyszczykiewicz Polish

Togatorop Batak
One of the Toba Batak clans originating from Muara, North Tapanuli.

Yakovchuk Ukrainian
Variant of Yakovenko.

Hipp German
From the middle high German word hippe meaning "waffle". Perhaps an occupational name for someone who cooks waffles.

Blackham English (Rare)

Rou French
Variant of Roux.

Agpaoa Ilocano
From the archaic Ilocano word agpaoa meaning "to cook", used as an occupational name.

Sørloth Norwegian

Huizinga West Frisian, Dutch
Habitational name from Huizinge, a town in Groningen, Netherlands, possibly derived from Old Frisian hūs "house" and dinge "newly cultivated lands"... [more]

Čekavičius Lithuanian
From Čekas or Čiukas.

Sajin French
1 French: metonymic occupational name for a satin merchant or specialist satin weaver, from Middle French satin ‘satin’, a word of Arabic and (ultimately) Chinese origin, a derivative of the Chinese place name Tsinkiang, whence satin silk was brought to the Middle East and Europe in the Middle Ages.... [more]

Calvete Spanish
It means bald. It's a surname of the Galician origin.

Argiolas Italian
From Sardinian argiolas "July".

Bénichou Judeo-Spanish
French variant of Benichou.

Dixit Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Odia
Alternate transcription of Dikshit.

Nordio Italian
Probably derived from a given name containing the element nord "north", of Frankish or Germanic origin.

Skënderbeu Albanian

Oyaneder Basque (Hispanicized)
Castilianized form of Oihaneder.

Hayakawa Japanese
From Japanese 早 (haya) meaning "early, fast" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Bron English
Variant of Brown (See also Bronson).

Armour Scottish, Northern Irish
From Middle English, Old French armure, blended with the agent noun armer (see Armer), hence an occupational name for a maker of arms and armor. The collective noun armure denoted offensive weapons as well as the more recently specialized sense of protective gear.

Kokkinaki Greek (Russified)

Tanigawa Japanese
From Japanese 谷 (tani) meaning "valley" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Fedenko Ukrainian
Probably a form of Fedorenko.

Strada Italian
Italian form of Street.

Shayesta Indian

Ganbold Mongolian
From the given name Ganbold.

Lakeland English (Rare)
Taken from the Place name Lakeland.... [more]

Jonsen Norwegian
Means "son of Jon 1".

Händén Swedish (Rare)

Chappell English
Name for someone who lived near a chapel, derived from Old French chapele meaning "chapel".

Halas Czech, Slovak
Czech and Slovak form of Hałas "racket, noise".

Wigmore English
habitational name from Wigmore in Herefordshire so named from Old English wicga in the sense "something moving quaking unstable ground" and mor "marsh".

Renolds English
Variant of Reynolds.

McCrea Scottish, Irish
Variant of McRae and McCrae.

Hurzhy Ukrainian

Bäcklund Swedish
Combination of Swedish bäck "brook, stream" and Lund "grove".

Damm German
From a short form of a personal name containing the Old High German element thank "thanks", "reward".

Shinozuka Japanese

Pobjoy English
From a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a parrot, from Middle English papejai, popinjay "parrot". This probably denoted someone who was talkative or who dressed in bright colours, although it may have described a person who excelled at the medieval sport of pole archery, i.e. shooting at a wooden parrot on a pole.

Lööw Swedish
Variant of Löf.

Hamidzadeh Persian
Means "born of Hamid 1".

Yrungaray Basque

Sakuma Japanese
From Japanese 佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" combined with 久 (ku) meaning "long time ago" and 間 (ma) meaning "among, between".

Pablos Spanish

Huacaya South American

Sakhno Ukrainian
From any Ukrainian village called Sakhno (Сахно), the name itself of unknown origin.

Leonotti Italian

Cima Italian
Means "mountain top, peak, summit" in Italian. Alternatively, it could derive from the medieval given name Cima.

Aşık Turkish
Means "lover, devotee, suitor" in Turkish.

Kalay Turkish
Means "tin (the metal)" in Turkish.

Turbefield English

Almodôvar Portuguese
Portuguese form of Almodovar.

Rossie English
Possibly a variant of Rossi.

Mehamedov Lezgin
Lezgin form of Magomedov.

Buddhadasa Sinhalese
From the title Buddha combined with Sanskrit दास (dasa) meaning "servant, slave".

Gilscarbo Spanish

Goncharov Russian
Derived from Russian гончар (gonchar) meaning "potter".

Niin Estonian
Niin is an Estonian surname meaning "bast" and "phloem" (the fibrous material from the phloem of a plant, used as fiber in matting, cord, etc.)

Goedeke Low German
Low German surname composed of the element gode and the diminutive suffix -ke. Gode can mean either "good", "God" or "a Goth".

Tatebe Japanese
From 立 (tate) meaning "stand, set up, establish" and 部 (be) meaning "section, department, category".

Sjurset Old Norwegian
Very powerful the strongest people use it.

Bramlett English (American)

Bouchemlal Kabyle, Berber
Kabyle surname of unknown meaning.

Mattice English

Winningham English

Oba Japanese
Alternate transcription of Japanese 大場 (see Ōba).

Okutani Japanese
Oku means inside, interior" and tani means "valley".

Ivančir Serbian (Rare), Croatian (Rare)
Derived from the forename Ivan.

Iaconetti Italian (Tuscan)

Gerosa Italian
Denoted someone from the town of Gerosa in Lombardy, or perhaps a nickname from geros (modern ghiaioso) "gravelly".

Matsubayashi Japanese
Matsu means "Pine Tree" and Bayashi is a variant pronunciation of "Hayashi" meaning "Forest". This surname means "Pine Tree Forest". Matsubayashi-ryu is a kind of martial arts.

Tomassi Italian

Reusser Swiss, German, Upper German
In Switzerland, an occupational name for a fisherman or maker of fish traps, from an agent derivative of Middle High German riuse "fish trap, weir basket". A nickname from an agent noun based on Middle High German riusen "to moan or complain"... [more]

Paumier Belgian

Sto. Tomas Spanish (Philippines)
Means "Saint Thomas" in Spanish.

Costello Irish
Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Oisdealbhaigh meaning "son of Oisdealbhach". The given name Oisdealbhach is derived from Irish os meaning "deer, fawn" and dealbhach meaning "resembling, shapely".

d'Estaing French
Derived from Estaing, a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. A famous bearer was the French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1926-2020).

Vuk Croatian, Serbian
Derived from vuk meaning ''wolf''.

Adegoke Yoruba
From the given name Adegoke

Cuenca Spanish
Cuenca is an ancient Spanish last name which originated from Cuenca, a city in the Kingdom of Castilla.... [more]

Genco Italian
From Sicilian jencu "calf, young heifer or bullock", figuratively referring to a large or strong boy, derived from Latin iuvencus meaning "young" or "bullock; young man".

Lavrov Russian
Lavrova is feminine for Lavrov.

Yaldız Turkish
Means "gilding" in Turkish.

Arquint Romansh
Derived from the given name Ortwin.

Foltz German
It is from Germany and it is based on the personal name Volz, which was popular in former times. It means son or descendant of a Volz or Folz

Ku Japanese (Rare)
Variant reading of Japanese Kanji 九 (see Ichijiku).

Maharaja Batak

Espoz Basque (Hispanicized)
Castilianized form of Espotz.

Stoter English (Modern)
Of Dutch origin and still in use there in a restricted region. Herder of large animals such as cattle or horses. May share a root with Ostler (unverified). Note: Stot in Scottish dialect still means a young bull.... [more]

Rial English
Variant of Royle.

Ca Vietnamese
Originating from the Vietnamese word "ca" meaning descant, or a melody.

Frühling German (Rare)
Nickname from Middle High German vrüelinc German frühling "spring" in some cases for an early-born child from früh "early" and the suffix -ling denoting affiliation.

Ferns English

Barretto Portuguese, Spanish
Variant of Barreto.

Quirico Galician
From the given name Quirico.

Brohman German

Haux French

Tsuda Japanese
From Japanese 津 (tsu) meaning "port, harbour" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Genishan Turkish

Avendaño Basque (Hispanicized)
Castilianized form of Abendaño.

Voytek Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian
Americanized spelling of the given names VOJTEK, Vojtech, Wojtek, all pet forms of the Polish given name Wojciech, or other Slavic cognates.

Ta Vietnamese
Simplified variant of Tạ.

Kinugawa Japanese
From 絹 (kinu) meaning "silk" combined with 川 or 河 (gawa) meaning "stream, river".

Adly Arabic
Derived from the given name Adli.

Shemla Judeo-Spanish
Variant of Chemla.

Kröll German
From Middle High German krellen "to claw", a nickname for a snappish or cruel person. Compare Kreul.

Santiesteban Spanish
Variant of Santisteban

Kozaka Japanese
Variant of Kosaka.

Anastassakis Greek
Crete born John Anthony Aniston, (birth name Yiannis Anitios Anastassakis) is an American actor and the father of actress Jennifer Aniston.

Stamatopoulou Greek

Namisato Japanese (Rare)
Variant reading of Japanese Kanji 波里 (see Hari).

Mier Dutch
Derived from Dutch mier "ant", perhaps denoting an industrious person.

Takemura Japanese
From Japanese 竹 (take) meaning "bamboo" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Hadjadj Arabic (Maghrebi)
From Arabic حجاج (hajjaj) meaning "arguer, one who argues" or "pilgrim".

Teather English

Chikomborero Shona
CHIKOMBORERO means "a blessing".

Van Reenan Dutch (Anglicized)
Variant of Van Reenen.

Le Borgne French
Means "the one-eyed" in French.

Woodfork English
"fork in the road in woodland"

Pennant Celtic
Meaning, "Belonging to Pennant" (a common Welsh place-name).

Simão Portuguese, Central African

Dianich Romanian
From Istrian Romanian.

Zelený Czech
Zelený means "green" in Czech.

Kousar Urdu
Derived from the given name Kausar.

Smiljanić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Smiljan".

Friedberg German, Jewish
Combination of either German vride "security, protection" or Friede "peace", with berg "hill, mountain". The name is most often locational, but may in some cases be ornamental.

Cucaracha South American

Karen Czech
From a diminutive of the given name Karel.

Chaker Arabic (Maghrebi)
From the given name Shakir.

Kumarov Kazakh
From Kazakh кұмар (kumar) meaning "passion, nosey".

Lorien French

Lanciego Basque (Hispanicized)
Castilianized form of Lantziego.

Mitrakis Greek

Amagaya Japanese
Variant of Amaya.

Uzdenov Abazin (Russified)

Hioki Japanese

Amarasooriya Sinhalese
Alternate transcription of Sinhala අමරසූරිය (see Amarasuriya).

Dzyameshchanka Ukrainian (Belarusianized)
Belarusianised form of Demeshchenko.

Keklik Turkish
Means "partridge" in Turkish.

Yamaka Japanese (Rare)
Variant reading of Japanese Kanji 山火 (see Yamabi).

Solovyov Russian
Derived from Russian соловей (solovey) meaning "nightingale".

Pasillas Spanish (Mexican)

Lank English

Théato Luxembourgish

Hazan Hebrew

Caulfield Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Cathmhaoil.

Parveen Urdu, Hindi, Bengali
Derived from the given name Parvin.

Beccari Italian
Variant of Beccaria, "butcher".

Dellino English
A made up name used for roleplay.

Wadley English
From a place in England named with Old English wad "woad" or the given name Wada combined with Old English leah "woodland clearing".

Nogo Mossi
Not available.

Kanisthaphut Thai
It is a surname bestowed upon the reign of King Rama VI of the Thai Chakri Dynasty.

Swanwick English
Habitational name from Swanwick in Derbyshire, possibly also Swanwick in Hampshire. Both are named from Old English swan, "herdsman," and wic, "outlying dairy farm."

Dorn English
Either a place name from Dorn, Worcestershire, possibly derived from a root word meaning "fort, stronghold", or a variant of Thorn from Middle High German dorn "thorn" (from ancient Germanic þurnaz).

Johannisson Swedish
Variant of Johannesson.

Kenelly English

Sudborough English (American)

Sutherly English
Variant of Southerly.

Nájera Spanish
This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Riojan municipality.

Seeley English
Variant of Sealy.

Laffey Irish
Reduced anglicisation of Gaelic Ó Laithimh, itself derived from the earlier form Ó Flaithimh, ultimately from flaitheamh meaning "ruler". It could also be a variant of Leahy.

Deau French

Nordenskiöld Swedish, Finland Swedish (Archaic)
Combination of Swedish nord "north" and sköld "shield". Norden is also the Swedish name for the Nordic countries, but it is not the element used in this surname. Nordenskiöld is a Swedish and Fennoswedish noble family, the first known members are brothers Anders Johan Nordenskiöld (1696-1763) and Carl Fredric Nordenskiöld the elder (1702-1779)... [more]

Khalokov Uzbek

Pilipović Bosnian, Croatian
means "son of Pilip"... [more]

Hassanpour Persian
Means "son of Hassan" in Persian.

Jallane Anglo-Norman

Khare Indian, Marathi, Hindi
Means "pure, true" in Hindi and Marathi.

Pattanayak Indian

Mehdioui Arabic (Maghrebi)
From the given name Mehdi.

Carulli Italian
It should derive from the late Latin cognomen Carullus, a hypochoristic form of the more widespread cognomen Carus.... [more]

Dube Ndebele, Zulu
It means Zebra. It is usually a surname instead of a person's name used by Zimbabwean Ndebele people and South African Zulu people.... [more]

Ichiyama Japanese
From Japanese 一 (ichi) meaning "one" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".

Sharpton English
Habitational name from Sharperton in Northumberland, possibly so named from Old English scearp "steep" and beorg "hill", "mound" and tun "settlement".

Phuangkitcha Thai

Bhatta Sanskrit, Bengali, Hindi, Nepali, Kashmiri
Derives from Sanskrit word भट्ट (bhaṭṭa) meaning "scholar, lord".

Pambo Western African

Shade English, Scottish
Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary, from Old English scead "boundary".

Dazzi Italian

Pflanz German

Demmerle German, French

Calonder Romansh
Either derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and the given name Leonhard or from the name of the mountain Calanda.

Nyirambarushimana Rwandan

Guzman Spanish (Americanized), Filipino, South American
Unaccented form of Guzmán used mainly in America and the Philippines.

Venable French

Grape Low German
Metonymic occupational name for a maker of metal or earthenware vessels, from Middle Low German grope "pot".

Sagorsky Polish, Russian
It means literally "of the city/town Sagorsk". Sagorsk is a city near the Russian capital of Moskva. The ending of "sky" means "of". The "Sagor" part of the surname sounds to me like "za gor" which is "za gorod"... [more]

Naiman Ukrainian, Jewish
Before Genghis Khan conquered the world, he conquered his neighbors, and his last great victory, in 1204, was over a tribe of Turkic Christians called the Naiman. (Some Naimans today are Christian but most are Jewish.)... [more]

Bedwani Arabic (Egyptian)
Possibly derived from bedouin, the term for a wandering tribe of arabs.

Alibekov Kazakh, Kumyk, Lezgin
Means "son of Alibek".

Sautreau French

Begay Navajo
Derived from the Navajo word biyeʼ meaning "his son". This was frequently adopted as a surname among the Navajo when Native Americans were required by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to formally adopt surnames for the purpose of official records.

Ikei Japanese
Ike means "pool, pond" and i means "well, mineshaft, pit".

Fairman German (Americanized)
Americanized form of Fuhrmann.

Bizkarra Basque
Derived from Basque bizkar "back (of a mountain), hill, slope".

Panyanouvong Lao
From Lao ປັນຍາ (panya) meaning "wisdom, intelligence, reason" and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family".

Shchetnik Ukrainian (Germanized)

Ledoux French, Belgian
Means "the amiable" from French doux meaning "sweet, soft, gentle".

Yarasavych English (American, Rare)

Pijnenburg Dutch
From the name of an estate or hamlet called Pijnenburg in the town of Soest in Utrecht, Holland, composed of Middle Dutch pijn meaning "pine tree" and burg meaning "fortress, manor, mansion".

Dharmawardana Sinhalese
Derived from Sanskrit धर्म (dharma) meaning "that which is established, law, duty, virtue" and वर्धन (vardhana) meaning "increasing, strengthening, growing".

Senapati Odia, Bengali, Assamese
Means "commander" in Sanskrit, from सेना (sena) meaning "army" and पति (pati) meaning "lord".

Tammeorg Estonian
Tammeorg is an Estonian surname meaning "oak valley".

Ostapenko Ukrainian
From the given name Ostap.

Sihala Batak

Islamović Bosnian

Long Chinese
From Chinese 龍 (lóng) meaning "dragon".

Ikhlaq Urdu
From the given name Ikhlaq.

Theofilakis Greek

Lund Indian
Lund is also a Punjabi last name (i.e. from Punjab state of India/Pakistan)

Chabot French
From chabot ‘bull-head’, a species of fish with a large head, hence a nickname for someone with a big head and a small body.

Venegas Spanish
From the hybridization of Ben, meaning "son" in Arabic or Jewish, and Ega(s), a medieval given name of Visigothic origin.

Colomb French
from Old French colomb "pigeon" (from Latin columbus) applied as a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of pigeons or doves... [more]

Kirbey English (American)
Variant of Kirby.

Saville English
A habitational name from an uncertain place in Northern France. This is most likely Sainville, named from Old French saisne, 'Saxon' and ville, indicating a settlement.

Pryshlyak Ukrainian, Rusyn (?)
Means "one who walks", from Ukrainian прийшли (pryyshly), meaning "walked".

Schiffmann German
Occupational derived from the elements schiff "ship" and mann "man" meaning "shipman, German cognate of Shipman.

Bazley English (American)

Hasebe Japanese
From the Japanese place name 長谷 (Hase) and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".

Woode English

Volkmar German
Derived from the given name Volkmar and variant of Vollmer.

Iváñez Spanish
Variant of Ibáñez.

Spartalis Greek

Kamolnawin Thai
It is a surname bestowed upon the reign of King Rama VI of the Thai Chakri Dynasty.

Romeka Lithuanian (Latinized)
From the Latin for "of Rome"

Armenopoulos Greek
Descendant, son of the Armenian.

Bylinka Polish (Rare)

Yasui Japanese
From Japanese 安 (yasu) meaning "calm, peaceful, tranquil" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".

N’diaye Western African

Hanasawa Japanese
Haha means "flower, blossom" and sawa means "swamp, marsh".

Luscombe English

Zobnin Russian

Dalgliesh Scottish
Scottish habitational name from a place near Selkirk, first recorded in 1383 in the form Dalglas, from Celtic dol- ‘field’ + glas ‘green.’

Mecic Croatian

Proietti Italian
From Latin proiecto "abandoned, thrown away", given to foundlings and children abandoned at orphanages. The name may have been taken from la ruota dei proietti, or "foundling wheel", that some orphanages and religious institutes in Italy installed for infants to be anonymously abandoned in.