DesmoinesFrench (Archaic), French (American) An archaic French surname that begins in the US. It denotes a person who lived in places named Des Moines. From French meaning "from the monks" or "of the monks".
HijikataJapanese From 泥 (hiji) meaning "mud, mire," more often written as 土, from tsuchi meaning "earth, soil, dirt, mud," and 方 (kata) meaning "direction, way" or, more rarely, 片 (kata) meaning "one (of a pair); incomplete, fragmentary" (cognate with 方).... [more]
CagianutRomansh Derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and a diminutive of the given name Gian.
KaunisvesiFinnish Means "beautiful water", deriving from the Finnish elements kaunis ("possessing charm and attractiveness") and vesi ("water").
LacombeFrench French (western and southwestern): topographic name for someone living in or near a ravine, from la combe ‘the ravine’ (a word of Gaulish origin, related to English Combe).... [more]
PennaItalian Possibly from Italian penna "feather, pen", a nickname for a scribe.
AubutFrench The surname "Aubut" is Old French and was first found in the Burgundy region of France. It is derived from the Germanic name "Alberic" which is from the Latin name "Albericus."
CossuItalian Probably from Sardinian cossu "tub, trough, basin".
CoardEnglish, Northern Irish Derived from Old French corde "string", a metonymic occupational name for a maker of cord or string, or a nickname for an habitual wearer of decorative ties and ribbons.
VilaysackLao From Lao ວິໄລ (vilay) meaning "splendid, beautiful" and ສັກ (sack) meaning "rank, power, authority".
ButPolish, Ukrainian, Russian Means "shoe, boot" in Polish. Possibly an occupational name for a shoemaker.
YuiJapanese From 由 (yu) meaning "purpose, reason, cause" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mineshaft, pit" or 比 (i) meaning "compare". Lastly, it could be spelled with 油 (yu) meaning "oil" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mineshaft, pit".... [more]
OuattaraWestern African, Manding From the name of the Wattara or Watara clan of the Dyula people, believed to be derived from a word meaning "prince".
NingChinese From Chinese 宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, tranquil", also referring to the ancient county of Ningyi, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
Van De KerkhofDutch Means "from the churchyard", derived from Middle Dutch kerke meaning "church" and hof meaning "court, garden, yard". Famous bearers of this surname include twin brothers René and Willy Van De Kerkhof (1951-), both retired Dutch soccer players.
TaitingfongChamorro Means "without counting" from Chamorro tai meaning "without, not having" and tufong meaning "count".
ArtabiaBasque (Rare) From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Allin, Navarre, possibly derived from Basque arte "oak (tree), evergreen oak, holm oak" or arto "millet; corn, maize" combined with the suffix -be "lower part".
MelisSardinian Derived from Sardinian mele or meli meaning "honey".
ChaimongkhonThai Means "auspicious victory" from Thai ชัย (chai) meaning "victory" and มงคล (mongkhon) meaning "auspicious, favourable".
LesterEnglish Habitational name from Leicester which is recorded as Ligeraceastre in the 10th century. The placename derives from an Old English folk name Legore "the dwellers by the river Legor (a lost river name)" and Old English ceaster "city Roman fortification" (from Latin castrum) "camp fortress".
IeiriJapanese (Rare) 家 (Ie) means "building, residency, family, dwelling, home, habitation", and 入 (iri) means "enter, input". ... [more]
IshanagyiOkinawan (Archaic) From Okinawan 石垣 (Ishanagyi) meaning "Ishigaki", an area in the city of Ishigaki in the prefecture of Okinawa in Japan.
AlhadeffJudeo-Spanish Possibly an occupational name for a weaver from Arabic الهداف (al-̣haddāf) meaning "the weaver's shuttle". Alternately, it may be from Arabic الهدى (al-hadā) meaning "the guided one".
MirabellaItalian, Sicilian Italian (Campania and Sicily): habitational name from Mirabella Eclano in Avellino or Mirabella Imbaccari in Catania, or from various places with the name Mirabello, all named from medieval Latin mira, "viewpoint", and bella, "beautiful"... [more]
MerriottEnglish Either a habitational name from Merriott in Somerset. The placename may derive from Old English meremiere "mare" mere "pool" or gemære "boundary" and gæt "gate gap"... [more]
ÇolakTurkish Means "one-armed, crippled" in Turkish.
ForsytheScottish, Northern Irish This surname has two possible origins. The more accepted explanation is that it comes from the Gaelic given name Fearsithe, which means "man of peace" from the elements fear "man" and sithe "peace"... [more]
ProwzeAnglo-Norman An Anglo-Norman occupational surname used for soldiers or a nickname for someone bold that is derived from the pre-10th-century Old French proz or prouz, meaning "proud" or "brave". It could also be a variant of the surname Prue... [more]
VallinSwedish Derived from either Latin vallis "valley" or Swedish vall "wall, pasture, field of grass".
YusonFilipino From Hokkien 楊孫 (iûⁿ-sun), derived from 楊 (iûⁿ) meaning "willow, poplar, aspen" and 孫 (sun) meaning "grandchild". It could also be from 余孫 (û-sun), derived from 余 (û) meaning "surplus" and 孫 (sun) meaning "grandchild".
KarabuğaTurkish Means "black bull" from Turkish kara meaning "black, dark" and boğa meaning "bull".
BalfeIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Balbh meaning 'stammering dumb' itself probably a translation of a Norman surname of similar meaning ultimately derived from Latin balbus 'stammering'.
HartungGerman German, Dutch, and Danish: from a Germanic personal name, a derivative (originally a patronymic) of compound names beginning with hart ‘hardy’, ‘strong’.
KinkleGerman Derived from the Middle High German word "kunkel," which meant "spindle." It is thus supposed that the first bearers of this surname were spindle makers in occupation.
CanoyFilipino Possibly derived from Hokkien 橄欖孫 (ka-núi-sun) meaning "great-grandchild".
OrcuttEnglish Perhaps a much altered spelling of Scottish Urquhart used predominantly in Staffordshire, England.
KolberGerman From an agent derived from Middle High German kolbe "club, cudgel" an occupational name for someone who made wooden clubs later for an armorer, or a habitational name for someone from Kolben in Württemberg or Cölbe in Hesse.
DaneseItalian Ethnic name for a Dane, or from the personal name Danese, which was introduced to and popularized in medieval Italy through French Carolingian literature, notably the epics Chanson de Roland and Ogier de Denemarche.
OdakaJapanese From Japanese 小 (o) meaning "small" and 高 (taka) meaning "tall, high".
OstwaldGerman from the ancient Germanic personal name Ostold composed of the elements ōst "east" (see Oest ) and Old High German walt(an) "to rule". Variant of Oswald.
BaylisEnglish Derived from the Middle English 'bail(l)i', a development of the Old French 'baillis'. In Scotland the word survives as 'bailie', the title of a chief magistrate for a part of a county or barony. The word survives in England as 'bailiff', an officer who serves writs and summonses for the court.
HäggkvistSwedish Combination of Swedish hägg "bird cherry" (a type of tree native to Sweden) and kvist "twig".
BermejoSpanish Originally a nickname for a man with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from Spanish bermejo "reddish, ruddy" (itself from Latin vermiculus "little worm", from vermis "worm", since a crimson dye was obtained from the bodies of worms).
NagavekarIndian Of Indian origin, specifically from the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The name is derived from the words "nagav" which means cobra and "kar" meaning owner, thus Nagavekar means "owner of cobras" in English... [more]
CastellanosSpanish Habitational name from any of various places called Castellanos, derived from Spanish castellano meaning "Castilian".
TregarthenCornish From Tregarthen in Ludgvan; from treg-ar-den the dwelling upon the hill, or treg-arth-en, the dwelling upon the high place.... [more]
FantauzziItalian Tuscanized form of a surname named for the eponymous settlement at the coordinates 42°28'9N, 12°52'36E.
IvesEnglish Means "son of Ive", a medieval male personal name, brought into England by the Normans but ultimately of Germanic origin, a shortened form of any of a range of compound names beginning with īv "yew" (cf... [more]
CravenIrish, English Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Crabháin (County Galway) or Mac Crabháin (Louth, Monaghan) ‘descendant (or ‘son’) of Crabhán’... [more]
JoonEstonian Joon is an Estonian surname meaning "line" and "stripe".
İbrahimliAzerbaijani From the given name İbrahim and the Turkic suffix -li which forms adjectives from nouns.
BlazerDutch From Middle Dutch blaser "blower", from blâsen "to blow, to sound (a wind instrument); to brag", hence an occupational name for a player of the trumpet or other wind instrument, or a nickname for a braggart or boaster.
AgarwalHindi, Marathi, Punjabi Habitational name for someone originally from the town of Agroha in the Indian state of Haryana.
TärnEstonian Tärn is an Estonian surname meaning "star".
GartenGerman, Jewish metonymic occupational name for a gardener or overseer of a garden or enclosure. Originally the term denoted the keeper of an enclosure for deer later of a vineyard or smallholding from Middle High German garte "garden enclosure"... [more]
HosmerEnglish From the Old English name Osmaer, a combination of the Old English elements oss, meaning "god", and maer, meaning "fame".
MontisciItalian, Sardinian Probably derived from a descendant of Latin monticulus "small mountain".
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.
MarpleEnglish Means "boundary stream" from Old English maere (boundary), and pyll (stream).
AretxagaBasque It indicates familial origin within the eponymous ghost town within the council of Murgia in the municipality of Zuia.
AlametsEstonian Alamets is an Estonian surname meaning "area/region forest".
LindeGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Derived from Middle Hugh German, Dutch linde or Scandinavian lind "lime tree". Almost exclusively ornamental in Swedish, otherwise probably habitational. There are also a number of feminine names containing the element lind, for example Linda, Dietlinde and Gerlinde, and it's possible that the surname is derived from any of those names.
HeerkensDutch Derived from a diminutive form of a given name containing the element heri "army". Alternatively, a variant form of Eerkens.