TsuchidaJapanese From the Japanese 土 (tsuchi) "earth," "soil," 槌 (tsuchi) "mallet" or 津 (tsu) "harbour" and 知 (chi) "wisdom," "intellect" and 田 (da or ta) "rice paddy" or 多 (da or ta) "many."
De LimaSpanish "de Lima" is the surname given to the people who lived near the Limia River (Lima in portuguese) on the Province of Ourense, an autonomous community of Galicia, located at the northwest of Spain. The root of the name is Don Juan Fernandez de Lima, maternal grandson to the King Alfonso VI de León (1040-1109).
AbazaArabic From the name of the Abazin (or Abaza) people native to the Northwest Caucasus. This name was adopted by Abazins, Circassians, and Abkhaz who were expelled from the Caucasus in the 19th century.
HerHmong From the clan name Hawj associated with the Chinese character 侯 (hóu) (see Hou).
ZescoiEnglish derived from the word zesty when used to describe someone
EssienWestern African, Akan, Ibibio, Efik Means "sixth born child" in Akan, possibly deriving from the given name Nsia. As a Nigerian name it is derived from a given name (found among the Ibibio and Efik people) denoting the son the family lineage depends on, possibly meaning either "a child who belongs to everyone" or "the child who takes charge of outside matters"... [more]
VolkmannGerman Probably denoted for a speaker or a people's person, derived from German volk "people" and mann "man". Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann (1801-1877) was a German physiologist, anatomist, and philosopher... [more]
BellmanEnglish Occupational name for someone who worked as a bell-ringer.
FangChinese From Chinese 方 (fāng) referring to Fang Shu, a minister and adviser to King Xuan of the Western Zhou dynasty. Alternately it may have come from a place called Fang Shan (方山), which existed in what is now Henan province.
MurdveeEstonian Murdvee is an Estonian surname meaning "break water".
NethertonEnglish The Netherton surname is derived from the Old English "neothera," meaning "lower," and "tun," meaning "enclosure," or "settlement." It is a habitational name derived from any of several places so named, such as one in Northumberland, and one in Worcestershire.
AppadooMauritian Creole Derived from Telugu అప్ప (appa) meaning "father" combined with the suffix -డు (-du) added to nouns.
PelekanosGreek Means woodpecker" from Greek pelekanos "green woodpecker" (cognate with pelekan "pelican"; both come from pelekys "axe" the pelican because its beak is shaped like an axe the woodpecker because it uses its beak like an axe).
KirwanIrish From Gaelic Ó Ciardhubháin meaning "descendant of Ciardhubhán", a given name composed of the elements ciar "dark" and dubh "black" combined with a diminutive suffix.
DoiJapanese Do ("Earth") + I ("Habitation") or ("Well, Mineshaft") in a different region. "Earth Well" is used mainly in the west and in Shikoku, the "Earth Habitation" kanji is used in eastern Japan. This name isn't rare and considered out of the ordinary, but it's uncommon to the ears.
NarukamiJapanese From Japanese 鳴 (naru) meaning "cry" and 上 (kami) meaning "above".
SajiJapanese From 佐 (sa) meaning "help, assist" and 治 (ji) meaning "govern, administer, rule, cure".
FitzhughEnglish English (Northamptonshire): Anglo-Norman French patronymic (see Fitzgerald) from the personal name Hugh.
van MaarschalkerweerdDutch Habitational name denoting someone from Maarschalkerweerd, a place near Utrecht in the Netherlands. Derived from Dutch maarschalk "marshal" and weerd "land next to water, riverine island".
ItzsteinGerman Topographic surname that originated from broad regions around the river Itz in Thuringia, Germany. The word "Stein" (German word for stone) historically was also used to describe castles on a hill or at a river, thus a possible meaning of the name is "castle at the river Itz".
De BrazzaItalian Denoted someone who lived in Brač, an island off the coast in Dalmatia, from Italian Brazza "Brač". The famous bearer of this surname was an Italian-French explorer Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza (1852-1905).
KeelEnglish English habitational name from Keele in Staffordshire, named from Old English cy ‘cows’ + hyll ‘hill’, or from East and West Keal in Lincolnshire, which are named from Old Norse kjolr ‘ridge’... [more]
ShastriHindi, Marathi From a title meaning "scholar", itself derived from Sanskrit शास्त्रिन् (shastrin) denoting a person who was well-versed in the shastras.
EsplinScottish Scottish variant of Asplin. This was borne by the English stained glass artist and muralist Mabel Esplin (1874-1921).
CapriItalian habitational name for someone from Capri the island in the Bay of Naples.
AraiJapanese From Japanese 新 (ara) meaning "new, natural" or 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, sparse, wild" and 井 (i) meaning "well".
TamrakarNewar, Indian Means "copper maker; craftsman" in Sanskrit. This is used by the Tamrakar caste of Nepal and India, and mainly of Newar ethnicity in Nepal.
GuestEnglish Nickname for a stranger or newcomer to a community, from Middle English g(h)est meaning "guest", "visitor" (from Old Norse gestr, absorbing the cognate Old English giest).
KapilakanjanaThai It is a surname bestowed upon the reign of King Rama VI of the Thai Chakri Dynasty.
MoberleyEnglish English habitational name from Mobberley in Cheshire, named in Old English as ‘clearing with a fortified site where assemblies are held’, from (ge)mot ‘meeting’, ‘assembly’ + burh ‘enclosure’, ‘fortification’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
GoodenoughEnglish From a medieval nickname probably applied either to someone of average abilities or to an easily satisfied person; also, perhaps from a medieval nickname meaning "good servant".
HayhurstEnglish Topographic name for a dweller ‘(by the) high wood or grove’, from Middle English heigh, high(e) + hirst(e).
AsaharaJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 浅 (asai) meaning "shallow", or 麻 (asa) meaning "hemp" combined with 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
FlodqvistSwedish Combination of Swedish flod "river" and kvist "twig, branch".
PinchesEnglish (British, Rare) This is one of the very earliest of surnames. This is an English name. First recorded in the 12th century it was a nickname of endearment for a bright, chirpy, person, thought by his peer group to be active like a finch... [more]
YanChinese From Chinese 颜 (yán) meaning "face, countenance", also referring to the ancient fief of Yan that existed during the Western Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
AllmägiEstonian Allmägi is an Estonian surname meaning "under/below mountain".
AmanteItalian, Spanish, Portuguese The name "Amante" means "lover" or "beloved". It can also be used as a nickname for someone who is a lover or enthusiast.
FirthEnglish, Scottish, Welsh English and Scottish: topographic name from Old English (ge)fyrhþe ‘woodland’ or ‘scrubland on the edge of a forest’.... [more]
DharmapalaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit धर्म (dharma) meaning "that which is established, law, duty, virtue" and पाल (pala) meaning "guard, protector".
KutschGerman Topographic name of Slavic origin, from Sorbian kut ‘corner’, ‘nook’. Variant of Kutsche, metonymic occupational name for a coachman or coachbuilder, from the Hungarian loanword kocsi (see Kocsis).
MišićSerbian, Croatian Patronymic, meaning "son of Mišo". Also, mišić (мишић) can be translated as "muscle".
HoaVietnamese Vietnamese form of Hua, from Sino-Vietnamese 花 (hoa).
VasilakosGreek Patronymic from the Greek given name Vasilios and the suffix άκος (-akos) which is particularly associated with the Mani Peninsula in southwestern Peloponnese.
NevalaFinnish From Finnish word 'neva', which is a marsh type and '-la', a suffix used for places.
BriscoeEnglish From any of the various places of this name or similar, derived from Old Norse bretar "Briton, Welsh" or birki "birch" and skógr "forest, wood".
KutzerGerman Occupational name for a coachman or coach builder from old high German kutsche from Hungarian kocsi "coach". Variant of Kutscher.
MockfordEnglish Mockford comes from "Mocca's ford", with Mocca being an Old English name of uncertain origin. An alternative theory is that it comes from "Motholfr's ford" from the Old Norse meaning "renown-wolf". Either way, Mockford was once a place in Sussex, near Rottingdean, and it is from there that most branches of the name originate.
BestautyOssetian Derived from Ossetian бистэ (biste) meaning "village, suburb" or from Persian به (beh) meaning "good, excellent, better". In the case of the former, it would have been used to indicate the place of residence of an ancestor.
PrudeAfrican American This surname came from the English word prude. The definition of the word prude is a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.
MejiaSpanish Spanish (Mejía): probably from a religious byname (possibly under Jewish influence), from a vernacular form of Latin, Greek Messias ‘Messiah’, from Hebrew māšīaḥ ‘anointed’.
BerglindSwedish Combination of Swedish berg "mountain, hill" and lind "linden tree".
NolteGerman From a short form of various medieval given names derived from Germanic given names ending with -n and wald meaning "rule", for example Arnold and Reinwald... [more]
DemskyPolish, Jewish Derived from Polish dab and demb meaning "oak", which is either a habitational name from a place with the same name or an ornamental name with reference to the tree and its qualities of strength and durability.
VonmoosRomansh Derived from German von "of" and Moos "moss". The name itself is a calque of Romansh da Palü which was Germanized after the Reformation.
RabbitteIrish Adopted for Ó Coinín which is a variant of Ó Conáin or Ó Cuineáin (Queenan) as if it is were from coinín ‘rabbit’ but is actually from a diminutive of cano ‘hound wolf’. It has also been adopted for Mac Coinín (Canning and Rabbitt).
MortazPersian Mortaz is a family with Persian roots that means suffered or has suffered
TilkEstonian Tilk is an Estonian surname meaning "drop" or "droplet".
PõldveeEstonian Põldvee is an Estonian surname meaning "field water".
ViljevacCroatian Habitational name for someone from Viljevo, Croatia.
PenningtonEnglish Habitational surname denoting someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Pennington, derived from Old English penning meaning "penny" (used as a byname or from a tribute due on the land) and tun meaning "town".
HortaCatalan, Portuguese Means "garden" (Latin hortus), hence a topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosed garden or an occupational name for one who was a gardener.