FaneEnglish From a medieval nickname for a well-disposed person (from Old English fægen "glad, willing"), or from a medieval Welsh nickname for a slim person (Welsh fain). This is the family name of the earls of Westmorland.
ThoreauEnglish Last name of famous American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, sage writer and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau.
YoshimuraJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "lucky, good" or 佳 (yoshi) meaning "beautiful, good, excellent" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
HandokoChinese (Indonesian) Indonesianized form of Chinese surnames such as Fan (范), Han (韓) or Yao (姚). Surnames like these were instituted during the New Order era (1966–1998) in Indonesia due to social and political pressure toward Chinese Indonesians.
MohaleSouthern African A Sesotho given and surname using the prefix: "mo-", a common noun class prefix in Bantu languages, typically denoting a person or agent, and "-hale" which together translates to "hero" or "brave one".
DoleEnglish, Irish (Anglicized) English: from Middle English dole ‘portion of land’ (Old English dal ‘share’, ‘portion’). The term could denote land within the common field, a boundary mark, or a unit of area; so the name may be of topographic origin or a status name... [more]
TerpstraWest Frisian, Dutch Derived from terp, a kind of artificial hill used as shelter during floods or high tide, and the Frisian habitational suffix -stra.
FaloticoItalian From southern Italian falotico ‘eccentric’, ‘strange’, Greek kephalōtikos, a derivative of Greek kephalē ‘head’.
GrillGerman From a nickname for a cheerful person, from Middle High German grille "cricket" (Old High German grillo, from Late Latin grillus, Greek gryllos). The insect is widely supposed to be of a cheerful disposition, no doubt because of its habit of infesting hearths and warm places... [more]
SakurazakaJapanese (Rare) Sakura means "cherry blossom" and zaka is a form of saka that means means "peninsula, cape". ... [more]
SoomeEstonian Soome is an Estonian surname meaning "Finland".
De HeerDutch Means "the lord" or "the gentleman" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch hêre "feudal lord, master, leader, gentleman". Could be a nickname for a person who acted as a leader, or an occupational name for someone who worked for a lord... [more]
BrauItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from the dialectical term brau, meaning "wild, untamed" in Sardinian and "brave, fierce" or "bull" in Catalan, or from blau "blue, turquoise".
KhalifeLebanese (Gallicized) French version of the Arabic name Khalifa which means “successor of Mohammed” used by Lebanese Christians ever since the French occupation of Lebanon.
Espinosa De Los MonterosSpanish Originating in northern Spain in the Espinosa de los Monteros municipality, it has various meanings. One meaning is that it was the surname of hidalgos who lived in Espinosa and helped the nobles get on their horses... [more]
BrancatellaItalian (Rare) Derived from the feminine given name Brancatella, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information about this, please see the entry for the patronymic surname of Brancazio... [more]
GfellerGerman Topographical name for someone who lived by a gorge, Middle High German gevelle, or a habitational name for someone from any of various places in Bavaria and Austria named from this word.
NavonHebrew Means "wise, intelligent" in Hebrew. A notable bearer of this surname was Israeli president Yitzhak Navon (1921-2015).
WoolstonEnglish From the name of multiple towns in England or similar. The town names are derived from Old English names starting with the element wulf meaning "wolf" (i.e., Wulfric or Wulfsige) and tun "enclosure, town".
HayworthEnglish English: habitational name from Haywards Heath in Sussex, which was named in Old English as ‘enclosure with a hedge’, from hege ‘hedge’ + worð ‘enclosure’. The modern form, with its affix, arose much later on (Mills gives an example from 1544).
MafuneJapanese From 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" and 船 or 舟 (fune) meaning "ship, boat".
AsaharaJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 浅 (asai) meaning "shallow", or 麻 (asa) meaning "hemp" combined with 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
AßmanGerman Derived from Middle Low German asse "axle", this name used to denote an axle maker. In some cases, however, it can also be a variant of Asmussen.
SekewaelIndonesian The last name Sekewael is an original name from one of the island in Maluku. That one island name is "Negeri Oma." The meaning of Sekewael is "The Guardian of the River" because in "Negeri Oma" any body want to use the river of the water they have to ask for permission by Sekewael family... [more]
PesadoSpanish From Spanish meaning "heavy, weighty". It was likely given to individuals who were physically large or strong or as a reference to a heavy burden or responsibility.
ŌyaJapanese From Japanese 大 (ō) meaning "big, great" and 屋 (ya) meaning "roof, house, shop".
AlmazánSpanish Habitational name demoting someone originally from the municipality of Almazán in Castile and León, Spain. The name itself is derived from Arabic المكان المحصن (al-makān al-ḥiṣn) meaning "the fortified place" or "the stronghold".
SugdenEnglish (British) This surname denotes a person who may have lived in a place near a swamp or marsh in a valley or on a hill. It derives from Old English suċġa "kind of small bird" and denu “valley”... [more]
FlaugherGerman (Anglicized) Americanized spelling of German Flacher, itself a variant of Flach, or of Flaucher, a nickname derived from an agent derivative of Middle High German vluochen meaning "to swear".
MalaladTagalog Means "to be swept away (by a flood), to be washed away".
NairIndian, Malayalam From Nair, the name of a group of Hindu castes concentrated in the Indian state of Kerala. The origin of the word itself is somewhat disputed. Some believe it is derived from nayaka, an honorific meaning "leader of the people", while another theory suggests that is is derived from the Sanskrit नाग (nāgá) "snake, serpent" (a reference to the practice of snake worship)... [more]
SomersetEnglish Regional name from the county of this name, so called from Old English sumer(tun)saete meaning "dwellers at the summer settlement".
IngsEnglish This surname of Norse origin referring to water meadows and marshes, including those that were part of the Humber flood plain.
DemuraJapanese The Japanese surname "Demura" (出村) consists of two kanji characters: "出" meaning "to go out" or "to leave" and "村" meaning "village" or "town." So, "Demura" could be interpreted as "from the village" or "originating from the village." However, as with many Japanese surnames, there may be variations in meaning and interpretation depending on the family's history and region.
Van UdenDutch Means "from Uden" in Dutch, a town in North Brabant, Netherlands.
SiirusEstonian Siirus is an Estonian surname meaning "candor" and "sincerity"; a cognate of the English language Cyrus and the French language Cyrille.
FaradayIrish From Irish Gaelic Ó Fearadaigh "descendant of Fearadach", a personal name probably based on fear "man", perhaps meaning literally "man of the wood". A famous bearer was British chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867).
FerrignoItalian Derived from the Italian adjective ferrigno meaning "made of or resembling iron" (a derivative of Latin ferrum meaning "iron"), applied as a nickname to someone who was very strong or thought to resemble the metal in some other way... [more]
ParduhnGerman Variant Of Pardon From Middle English Pardun, Pardon "Pardon" A Metonymic occupational name for a pardoner, a person licensed to sell papal pardons or indulgences. German: either a cognate of 1 (also for a sexton), from Old French pardon ‘pardon’, or perhaps a nickname from Middle Low German bardun, Middle High German purdune ‘pipe’ (instrument), ‘tenor’ (voice).
AsquithEnglish Habitational name from a village in North Yorkshire named Askwith, from Old Norse askr ‘ash tree’ + vi{dh}r ‘wood’
AntillónAragonese This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
MidoriyaJapanese (Rare), Popular Culture Combination of 緑 (midori) meaning "green" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley," used on the main character Izuku Midoriya (緑谷 出久) in 'My Hero Academia'.... [more]
BrophyIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Bróithe ‘descendant of Bróth’, a personal name or byname of unknown origin. Also Anglicized as Broy.
GongChinese From Chinese 龚 (gōng) referring to the ancient state of Gong (written as 共), which existed during the Shang dynasty possibly in what is now Henan province. This name was adopted in place of 共 by future descendants to flee persecution.
DheerasingheSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit धीर (dhira) meaning "steady, firm, courageous" and सिंह (sinha) meaning "lion".
KuntTurkish Means "Solid", also the old Turkish name of a mountain range in Asia where Turks supposedly originated from.
SaineiKorean (Japanized, Rare) From Japanese 載寧 (Sainei), the Japanese reading of Korean Hanja 載寧 (Chaeryŏng/Jaeyeong) meaning "Chaeryŏng", a clan or a county in province of South Hwanghae in North Korea where the clan originated.
AvellanedaSpanish It literally means "hazelnut grove", denoting someone who either lived near one or worked in one.
CocuzzaItalian, Sicilian Means "gourd, pumpkin", possibly a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of gourds, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a large head or rotund figure.
RossoItalian Derived from the Italian word rosso meaning "red". It was used as a nickname for people with red hair or that used to wear in red.
PinkusJewish Derived from the given name Pinkus, which in turn comes from the Biblical Hebrew name Phinehas.
LeidigGerman From a short form of any of several Germanic personal names composed with the first element liut ‘people’, ‘tribe’. Also a nickname for a disagreeable, cantankerous person, from Middle High German leidic ‘disagreeable’, ‘tiresome’.
GenaroSpanish From the given name Gennaro, but without the 2nd n
ManiscalcoItalian It means 'blacksmith' in Italian. The variant Maniscalchi is the plural.
BarrenetxeBasque (Rare) From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Larrabetzu, Spain, derived from Basque barren "inside, interior; deep; lower part" and etxe "house, building".
ToussaintFrench Derived from the given name Toussaint, which in turn is derived from Toussaint, the French name for the Christian feast day All Saints' Day (celebrated on November 1st every year)... [more]
VenierisGreek The Greek version of the Venetian surname Venier attested in Kythera, where the Venier family ruled on behalf of the Republic of Venice. Originally is thought that the surname derives from Venus.
AlekhineRussian (Gallicized) French transliteration of Alekhin, most prominently borne by Russian-French chess player Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946).
LennukEstonian Lennuk is an Estonian surname derived from "lennukas", meaning "high-spirited" and "energetic". "Lennuk" is also the current Estonian word for "airplane", but the original surname predates this meaning... [more]
OrdorikaBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Muxika, Spain, possibly derived from Basque ordo "plain, field, meadow" and ori "yellow" combined with the toponymic suffix -ika meaning "slope" or "place of".