GreshamEnglish From a place name meaning "grazing homestead" in Old English.
BuchcickiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Buchcice.
ArmväärtEstonian Armväärt is an Estonian surname meaning "blessing/grace worth".
LaanojaEstonian Laanoja is Estonian surname derived from "laanelill", meaning "starflower" and "wintergreen" (Trientalis europaea) and "oja" meaning "stream/creek".
CarrickScottish The possible roots of the Carrick family name may be from the ancient Strathclyde people of the the Scottish/English Borderlands. Carrick may also be of local origin, referring to those who lived in or near the place called Carrick in Ayrshire... [more]
KangasFinnish Derived from Finnish kangas, denoting a type of soil and the type of forest (known as boreal forest or taiga) that grows in such soil.
MonroySpanish A habitational surname meaning "red mountain".
TempleEnglish, French Occupational name or habitational name for someone who was employed at or lived near one of the houses ("temples") maintained by the Knights Templar, a crusading order so named because they claimed to occupy in Jerusalem the site of the old temple (Middle English, Old French temple, Latin templum)... [more]
WanChinese From Chinese 万 (wàn) referring to a city that existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shaanxi province.
HegdeKannada Hegde means the Headman of the village. Hegde or Heggade Pergade is a surname from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kasargod district of Kerala and Karnataka in India. It is found amongst Hindus of the Bunt community, Jain bunt community, Havyaka Brahmins, Vokkaligas in Karnataka.... [more]
GardeFrench from Old French garde "watch", "protection"; an occupational name for someone who kept watch or guard, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a vantage point or watchtower.
ComishManx Manx: from Gaelic Mac Thómais ‘son of Thomas’. The main seat of the family in the Isle of Man was Ballacomish ‘Comish's (or Thomas's) farm’ (Arbory, IoM).
HolmstenSwedish Combination of Swedish holm "islet" and sten "stone".
KesselGerman Occupational name for a maker of cooking vessels from Middle High German kezzel meaning "kettle, cauldron, boiler".
GandaloevIngush (Russified) Russified form of the Ingush clan name Гӏоандалой (Ghoandaloy), derived from the name of the ancient village of Gandaloy in present-day Ingushetia.
ThreepwoodEnglish The last name of the main pirate character in Lucaart's Monkey Island.
KumbhakarIndian, Bengali, Hindi From Sanskrit कुम्भकार (kumbhakara) meaning "potter", derived from कुम्भ (kumbha) meaning "jar, urn, pot" and कार (kara) meaning "maker, doer".
MccorsleyIrish My guess is that my surname was changed sometime in the early 1800's but have never learned how my family name derived from or from where it originated.
PrudhommeFrench, English, Norman, Medieval French French (Prud’homme) and English (of Norman origin): nickname from Old French prud’homme ‘wise’, ‘sensible man’, a cliché term of approbation from the chivalric romances. It is a compound of Old French proz, prod ‘good’, with the vowel influenced by crossing with prudent ‘wise’ + homme ‘man’... [more]
LaithwaiteEnglish Habitational name for a person from the places named Laithwaite in Pemberton or Cockerham, derived from Old Norse hlaða "storehouse, barn" and þveit "clearing".
LothropEnglish Habitational name from Lowthorpe in East Yorkshire named with the Old Norse personal name Logi and þrop "outlying farmstead".
AbbruzzeseItalian Habitational name for someone originally from Abruzzo, a region in southern Italy.
QuiambaoFilipino Possibly from Hokkien 欠賺 (khiàm-báu) meaning "owed money, lacking money" or 鹹賺 (kiâm-báu) meaning "stingy with money".
DanielskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Daniel or Daniele.
AlkışTurkish Means "applause, acclamation" in Turkish.
MaccaroneItalian from maccaroni "macaroni" (or in northern Italy "gnocco") perhaps applied as a metonymic occupational name for a maker of pasta or in the North as a nickname for a silly or foolish person.
WedmoreEnglish (British) Habitational name from Wedmore in Somerset, recorded in the 9th century as Wethmor, possibly meaning ‘marsh (Old English mor) used for hunting (w?the)’.
HedénSwedish Combination of Swedish hed "heath, moor" and the common surname suffix -én.
AlamedaSpanish Topographic name from alameda meaning ‘poplar grove’, a collective form of álamo meaning ‘poplar’, or a habitational name from any of the many places named with this word.
McStockerIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Irish Mac An Stocaire meaning "son of the trumpeter", from stocaire "trumpeter".
ComberbachEnglish Habitational name for a person from the village of Comberbach in Cheshire, from the Old English byname or given name Cumbra "Cumbrian" and bæc "stream, brook".
MollicaItalian Means "crumb, breadcrumb; soft inner part of bread" in Italian, a nickname for a physically small or unintelligent person, or perhaps someone considered kind and soft-hearted.
TortoraItalian From a given name derived from Italian tortora meaning "turtle dove", ultimately from Latin turtur (genitive turturis). It could also derive from a town and comune with the same name, located in the province of Cosenza in Calabria, Italy.
ÂuVietnamese Vietnamese form of Ou, from Sino-Vietnamese 區 (âu).
PlayfairEnglish From a medieval nickname for an enthusiastic competitor in sports and games (from Middle English pleyfere "companion in play, playmate"), or else a different form of Playford (from a Suffolk place-name meaning "ford where sports are held")... [more]
PikamäeEstonian Pikamäe is an Estonian surname meaning "long hill/mountain".
NaiJapanese From Japanese 名 (na) meaning "name, famous; reputation" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
CongdonIrish, English A variant of Irish "Condon". In English usage: a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place; probably Devon or Cornwall, where the modern surname is most frequent.
NeisserGerman German demonym of the town of Neisse (nowadays Nysa, in Poland), itself from the name of the river Neisse (Nysa) which runs through the city.
HartungGerman German, Dutch, and Danish: from a Germanic personal name, a derivative (originally a patronymic) of compound names beginning with hart ‘hardy’, ‘strong’.
KimmelGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German kumin and German kümmel meaning "caraway" (related to Latin cuminum, a word of Oriental origin, like the plant itself), hence a metonymic occupational name for a spicer, literally a supplier of caraway seeds... [more]
CasavantesFrench, Spanish, Basque Topographic name composed of casa "house" + avant "ahead of forward" + the suffix -es, denoting one who lived in the house located at the beginning of a village. This surname has died out in France.
GilliardFrench, Swiss French and Swiss French from a derivative of Gillier, from the Germanic personal name Giselher, composed of gisil ‘hostage’, ‘pledge’, ‘noble offspring’ (see Giesel) + heri ‘army’.
KongoKongo From Kongo meaning "hunter". This surname could also be from places named "Kongo".
WhitbyEnglish English surname which was from either of two place names, that of a port in North Yorkshire (which comes from the Old Norse elements hvítr "white" (or Hvíti, a byname derived from it) combined with býr "farm") or a place in Cheshire (from Old English hwit "white" (i.e., "stone-built") and burh "fortress").
RobardsEnglish Altered form of Roberts. A famous bearer was American actor Jason Robards (1922-2000), as well as his father Jason Robards Sr. (1892-1963) and son Sam Robards (1961-), also noted actors.
KannoJapanese From the Japanese 菅 (kan or suga) "sedge" and 野 (no) "field," "area." This name can also be read as Sugano.
SoyerFrench French surname (Alexis Benoist Soyer is a famous bearer).
LosadaSpanish, Portuguese topographic name for someone who lived by an area paved with flagstones Spanish losada (from losar "to pave" a derivative of losa a word of pre-Roman origin meaning a "flat stone slab").
TestaburgerPopular Culture Wendy Testaburger is one of the reoccurring characters on the animated TV series South Park
SchilderDutch Means "painter" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch schildere "shield painter" (from schilt "shield"), originally denoting someone who painted coats of arms on shields. An occupational name for someone who painted houses, shields, or anything else.
TsuihijiJapanese Tsuihiji (対比地) is translated as (vis-a-vis; opposite; even; equal; versus; anti-; compare | compare; race; ratio; Philippines | ground; earth) and could be directly translated as "Contrasting Ground"
KraanDutch Means "crane" in Dutch, referring to both the bird and the machine. Usually a nickname for a tall or long-legged person, but can also be an occupational name for someone who worked a mechanical crane, or a habitational name from a place containing the element kraan.
NeherGerman An occupational name for a tailor from a deritive of Middle Low German, 'nehen' which means 'to sew' or 'to embroider'
FeckGerman, Frisian From a short form of the Frisian personal name Feddeke, a pet form of Fre(de)rik (see Friederich).
PeoplesIrish An attempted English translation of Ó Duibhne, based on the Irish word daoine meaning "people".
PastoriusGerman (Latinized) Derived from Latin pastor "shepherd", a Latinized form of German surname Schäfer. This surname is no longer found in Germany. Jaco Pastorius (1951-1987), full name John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, was the most influential American jazz bassist, composer, and producer... [more]
SamararatneSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit समर (samara) meaning "coming together, meeting" or "conflict, struggle" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
AlusaarEstonian Alusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "base/foundation island".
HayakawaJapanese From Japanese 早 (haya) meaning "early, fast" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
PaisEstonian Pais is an Estonian surname meaning "dam" and "dike".
ButterfieldEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a pasture for cattle or at a dairy farm, or a habitational name from a place named Butterfield (for example in West Yorkshire), from Old English butere ‘butter’ + feld ‘open country’.
CaesarAncient Roman, English An Ancient Roman political title that indicated a military leader. A famous bearer was Julius Caesar, Roman general, dictator, and politician. In modern times, the surname is used to refer to an individual with a tyrannical attitude, which references the connotative meaning of the word "caesar", meaning "a dictator".
EzzoMedieval Italian Derived from a Germanic name Azzo, based on the element z , which originates debated; between the various hypotheses are: ... [more]