MoskalenkoUkrainian Means "child of a moskal" in Ukrainian. A moskal originally denoted somebody who was an inhabitant of the Grand Duchy of Moscow from the 12th to the 15th centuries. However, nowadays it is used as a pejorative term for a Muscovite or, by extension, a Russian... [more]
EdamuraJapanese The kanji 枝 (Eda) means "Branch", while 村 (Mura) means "Town, Village". Combine the two and the surname means "Branching Town/Village".
BennaniArabic (Maghrebi) Means "my son" in Hebrew, from בן (ben) meaning "son" and אני (ani) meaning "I, me". This is the name of a Moroccan family of Jewish origin that converted to Islam.
BandoJapanese It means "east of the slope", referring to eastern provinces of Osaka. The surname originates from there, and that is where it is most common.
HattendorfGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from places called Hattendorf, near Alsfeld and near Hannover. The element hatt, had means ‘bog’
RaineyIrish, Scottish An Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Raighne, Ó Ráighne meaning "descendent of Raonull", the given name Raonull being derived from Old Norse Rögnvaldr, Røgnvaldr, Rǫgnvaldr (compare Ronald).
ParleyEnglish A place name meaning "pear field" from Old English 'per' with 'lee' or 'lea' meaning a field or clearing, perhaps where land was cleared to cultivate pear trees. Therefore this name denotes someone who lived near or worked at such a location or came from a habitation associated with the name... [more]
CapangyarihanTagalog From Tagalog kapangyarihan meaning "power, authority, command".
RenfrewScottish Anglicized form of the Gaelic Rinn Friù, meaning "cradle of the Royal Stewards." It is derived from either the historical county of Renfrewshire in the west central lowlands of Scotland, or the town of Renfrew within both the historical and present-day boundaries of the county.
MabbettEnglish From a pet-form of the medieval female personal name Mabbe, a shortened form of Amabel (ultimately from Latin amābilis "lovable")... [more]
TamagawaJapanese From Japanese 玉 (tama) meaning "gem, jewel, ball" and 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
TownleyEnglish Habitational name for a person from Towneley near Burnley in Lancashire, itself from the Old English elements tun "enclosure, settlement" and leah "wood, clearing"... [more]
ErrenteriaBasque Non-Castilianized form of the toponymic surname Rentería. Means "customs house, exchange" in Basque, itself in turn from Spanish rentaría.
LocheFrench From the Old French word loche meaning "freshwater fish."
OgilvieScottish, English From the ancient Barony of Ogilvie in Angus, Northeast Scotland. The placename itself is derived from Pictish ocel, 'high' and fa, 'plain'.
FalboItalian Means "dark yellow, tawny; reddish-brown, sorrel" in archaic Italian, from medieval Latin falvus "dun (colour)", ultimately from Proto-Germanic falwaz "pale, grey, fallow".
KnausGerman Comes from Middle High German knuz ‘proud’, ‘arrogant’, ‘daring’, hence a nickname for a haughty person. In Württemberg knaus (and in Switzerland knus) also meant ‘gnarl’, hence a nickname for a short, fat, gnarled person; topographic name for someone living on a hillock, from knaus ‘hillock’ in the Swabian and Alemannic dialects of German
WelfordEnglish From any of the various places in England, all derived from Old English wille "well, spring, stream" or welig "willow" and ford "ford".
SzászHungarian From Szász meaning "Saxon" in Hungarian. Ethnic or regional name for a German speaker from Transylvania or Szepes, etymologically a derivative of German Sachs.
SchwertnerGerman Either a habitational name for someone from Schwerta in Silesia or an occupational name for a sword maker.
MughalUrdu Means "Mughal, Moghul" in Urdu, derived from Persian مغول (moghul) meaning "Mongol". This was the name of the dynasty (of Mongol origin) that ruled much of South Asia from the 16th to 19th centuries.
FahrGerman, German (Swiss) A topographic name for someone who lived near a crossing point on a river, from Middle High German vare, meaning ferry.
SwinburneEnglish habitational name primarily from Great and Little Swinburne (Northumberland) but perhaps also occasionally from one or other places similarly named from Old English swin "pig" and burna "stream" meaning "pig stream".
KremicBosnian (Rare) Surname Kremić was used in early middle-ages, in Bosnia. It was used by royal and ordinary people. That surname is very rare today and it's almost extinct, but in the past it had very big influence.
PolnareffFrench Most known by famous French singer Michel Polnareff, and fictional Jojo's Bizarre Adventure character Jean-Pierre Polnareff (who is named after the singer).
SpiteriMaltese The surname Spiteri is derived from the Latin word "hospitalieri" meaning hospitaliers. It was initially given to babies born to mothers who worked as nurses at the Knights' hospital during the 16th century where the babies' fathers were usually knights who had been treated at said hospital.
TynerIrish An Anglicized version of the Gaelic name O Teimhneain, which is derived from the word teimhean, meaning "dark."
BuonopaneItalian Nickname for a person who is "as good as bread", or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a baker, derived from buono meaning "good" and pane meaning "bread".
PlievIngush (Russified), Ossetian (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush and Ossetian name, which is derived from the name of an Ingush teip (clan). The name itself comes from Plievo, the name of a village in Ingushetia, which means "village of the sons of Pkhile", referring to a given name possibly derived from Ossetian пыл (pyl) meaning "elephant".
PabalatTagalog (Filipinized, Archaic) A Filipino surname meaning "cover, saddle" or "saddle maker". This surname was probably created when a Spanish surveyor conducts a census sometime in the 19th century in Cavinti, Laguna, Philippines... [more]
ElgezabalBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Zornotza, Spain, derived from Basque elge "field, cultivated land" and zabal "wide, broad, open".
IshiiJapanese From Japanese 石 (ishi) meaning "stone" and 井 (i) meaning "well".
RenshawEnglish, Scottish A habitational surname from any of the so-called or like-sounding places in the United Kingdom. These include Renishaw in Derbyshire, Ramshaw in Durham, the lost Renshaw in Cheshire and Radshaw in Yorkshire... [more]
GrewalPunjabi, Indian (Sikh) Referred to a person belonging to a Jat clan that descended from the Gaharwar subcaste of the larger Rajput caste. The subcaste originated from the prominent Gahadavala dynasty that ruled northern parts of the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India.
RuddEnglish The surname Rudd is derived from the Old English root "rud-," a component in the words "rudig," which means "ruddy," and "ruddoc," which means "red-breast." The surname was originally a nickname for a ruddy complexioned or red-haired person, or perhaps for someone who habitually wore the color red.
GiercEnglish, Polish Pronounciation: Rhymes with "pierce." Hard "g" (as in "goat"). ... [more]
HanzaikeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 繁在家 (Hanzaike), sound- and script-changed from 半在池 (Hanzaiike) meaning "Hanzaiike", a division in the area of Kirida in the city of Towada in the prefecture of Aomori in Japan... [more]
FillionFrench, French (Quebec) Probably a diminutive of fils or fille, respectively "son" and "daughter". May have alluded to the bearer being the youngest amongst siblings.
KharchenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian харчування (kharchuvannya), meaning "food, sustenance".
EzakiJapanese A variant of Esaki. From Japanese 江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".
WidegrenSwedish Combination of Swedish vide "willow" and gren "branch".
DobyEnglish From a diminutive of the given name Dob or Dobbe, itself a medieval diminutive of Robert (one of several rhyming nicknames of Robert in which the initial letter was altered; compare Hobbs).
YabashiJapanese From 矢 (ya) meaning "arrow" and 橋 (hashi) meaning "bridge".
ShinnEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a Skinner, from Old English scinn, Middle English shin ‘hide’, ‘pelt’. In Middle English this word was replaced by the Norse equivalent, skinn.
WillertGerman German cognate and variant of Willard. From a personal name composed of the ancient Germanic elements willo "will, desire" and hard "hardy, brave, strong".
HabsburgGerman This surname may have been used by someone whose descendants originated from the House of Habsburg, which was one of the most important royal houses in Europe. It is assumed that the surname is derived from High German Habichtsburg meaning "hawk castle," but some historians and linguists believe that it may actually be derived from Middle High German hab/hap meaning "ford", as there is a river with a ford nearby.
PiagetFrench (Swiss) Of uncertain origin and meaning. This name was borne by Jean Piaget (1896-1980), a Swiss child psychologist noted for his studies of intellectual and cognitive development in children.
TeasdaleEnglish From Teesdale, the name of a valley of the River Tees in northern England, derived from the river's name (meaning "warmth" in Old English) combined with dæl meaning "valley".
ArshavinRussian Derives from the Russian word arshav, which is related to the term for "a measure" or "a yard," indicating a possible connection to trade or craftsmanship.
SferrazzaItalian Possibly derived from sferra meaning "old horseshoe, rusty knife or sword, piece of junk" or figuratively "good-for-nothing, worthless man", an occupational name for a scrap-metal merchant, or a nickname based on the latter sense... [more]
IchikiJapanese Ichi means "one" or "market" and ki means "wood, tree".
CowdellEnglish (British) Cowdell is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Coldwell' (v. Caldwell), a township in the union of Bellingham, Northumberland Also of Colwell, a township in the union of Hexham, same county.
BuelnaAsturian Asturian-Leonese and Spanish: habitational name from any of the places called Buelna in Asturies and Cantabria.
HippyIndonesian (Rare) This surname was born in Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. However as time passes and people move on, this family can now be found on Java Island.
WalcottEnglish habitational name from any of several places called Walcott Walcot or Walcote for example in Lincolnshire Leicestershire Norfolk Oxfordshire and Wiltshire all named in Old English wealh "foreigner Briton serf" (genitive plural wala) and cot "cottage hut shelter" (plural cotu) meaning "the cottage where the (Welsh-speaking) Britons lived".