DheerasingheSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit धीर (dhira) meaning "steady, firm, courageous" and सिंह (sinha) meaning "lion".
AsakuraJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow", or 麻 (asa) meaning "hemp" and 倉 (kura) meaning "warehouse, storehouse".
FaberGerman, Dutch, French, Danish An occupational name for a blacksmith or ironworker, ultimately derived from Latin faber "artisan, creator, craftsman, smith".
NightingaleEnglish Nickname for someone with a good voice from Middle English nightegale "nightingale" (Old English nihtegale, ultimately from niht "night" and galan "to sing").
PyeonKorean (Rare) Meaning unknown. Approximately 15 000 koreans have this surname
BelmontEnglish English surname of Norman origin, a variant of the surname Beaumont, which was derived from place names meaning "lovely hill" in Old French (from beu, bel "fair, lovely" and mont "hill").
GulianArmenian From Armenian word gul meaning "rose", as well as "laughter", combined with the common suffix of ian meaning "son of".
UdomEnglish English: nickname for someone who had done well for himself by marrying the daughter of a prominent figure in the local community, from Middle English odam ‘son-in-law’ (Old English āðum).
BrookGerman From Low German brook meaning "marsh, swamp".
MakaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "true" and 賀 (ka) meaning "congratulation".
MeauxFrench Habitational name from a place in Seine-et-Marne, so named from the Gaulish tribal name Meldi, or from Meaux-la-Montagne in Rhône.
ReinmaaEstonian Reinmaa is an Estonian surname meaning "Rein's land". From the masculine give name "Rein" and "maa" ("land").
FrostWelsh Originally spelled Ffrost (the double ff is a Welsh letter). The Welsh word ffrost refered to someone who is excessively bold or a brag, especially with regard to warrior feats. Edmund Ffrost signed his name this way on the ship's register of the boat which brought him to the Massachussett's Bay Colony in 1631... [more]
SomphoneLao From Lao ສົມ (som) meaning "worthy, suitable, proper" and ພອນ (phone) meaning "blessing".
Van SchaikDutch Derived from any of several places called Schaik, Schaijk, or Schadijk, derived from the original form Schadewijk possibly meaning "shaded place" or "inhospitable place" from Middle Dutch scade meaning either "shadow, shade" or "damage" combined with wijk "village, settlement".
ŠegrtSerbian Derived from šegrt (шегрт), meaning "apprentice".
KochaviHebrew From Hebrew כוכב (kokhav) meaning "star", commonly used as a replacement for Ashkenazi surnames containing the old German element stern "star". For example, it was adopted as a surname by the Romanian-born Israeli archaeologist and university professor Moshe Kochavi (1928-2008), whose birth surname was Stern.
SillanpääFinnish Means "bridgehead" in Finnish, an area around the end of a bridge. Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888-1964) was a Finnish author and the first Finnish writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
HendaiaBasque (Rare) From the name of a commune (Hendaye in French) in southwestern France, of uncertain etymology. Possibly from Basque handi "big, large, great" and ibi "ford" or ibai "river", though this structure would not be grammatically correct... [more]
JääratsEstonian Jäärats is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "jää" (ice)" and "ratas (wheel)".
KemperGerman, Dutch From Kamp "field, piece of land", an occupational name denoting a peasant farmer. It could also indicate someone from a place named using the element. Alternatively, a variant of Kempf meaning "fighter".
RiseboroughEnglish Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Risborough, Riseborough or Risbury in England, derived from Old English hrīs meaning "brushwood" and beorg meaning "hill, mound", or from hrīs and burh meaning "fortification"... [more]
AdleibaAbkhaz Most likely from the given name Adlei, itself derived from Arabic عَادِل (ʿādil) meaning "fair, just", combined with Abkhaz аҧа (āpā) meaning "son"... [more]
Ter-grigoryanArmenian The surname Grigoryan derives from the name Grigor, which is Armenian pronunciation of the name Gregory (it derives from Greek word, γρηγορος, and means 'watchful', 'alert'). Adding to the name the prefix Ter- is the way people call the priests in Armenia (in English often the word "Father" is used instead)... [more]
AmbarHebrew Combination of the word am, means "people, nation" and the name Bar. This surname means "son of the nation" in Hebrew and its variant is Baram which is the same elements but in reverse order.
KantersDutch An occupational name for a singer, such as a precentor (someone who leads songs or prayers in a church, monastery, or synagogue) or choir member. Ultimately derived from Latin cantor "singer, leader of song at a ceremony; prayer leader in a Jewish ceremony".
PininfarinaItalian A combination of "pinin", Piedmontese for youngest/smallest brother, and Farina, the Italian variant of Miller. This is the name of the Italian coachbuilder, founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina, later Battista Pininfarina.
PolitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Habitational name derived from any one of several places called Police (known as Pölitz in German) in the Czech Republic. Hugh David Politzer (1949-) is an American theoretical physicist who, along with David Gross and Frank Wilczek, discovered asymptotic freedom.
EstleEnglish From the name of the town of Astley, Warwickshire, which translates to "east wood".
HiiemaaEstonian Hiiemaa is an Estonia surname, derived from the pre-Christian "hiie", a sacred location, and "maa" meaning land.
FujitaniJapanese From 藤 (fuji) meaning "wisteria" and 谷 (tani) meaning "valley."
SykesEnglish English Surname (mainly Yorkshire): topographic name for someone who lived by a stream in a marsh or in a hollow, from Middle English syke ‘marshy stream’, ‘damp gully’, or a habitational name from one of the places named with this word, in Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
RöverGerman This surname was originally used as a derogative nickname for an unscrupulous individual, from Middle Low German rover meaning "pirate, robber."
OvechkinRussian Patronymic derived from Russian овечка (ovechka) meaning "lamb". A famous bearer is the Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin (1985-).
RikimaruJapanese This surname is used as 力丸 with 力 (rii, riki, ryoku, chikara) meaning "bear up, exert, power, strain, strength, strong" and 丸 (gan, maru, maru.i, maru.meru) meaning "curl up, explain away, full, make round, month, perfection, pills, roll up, round, seduce."... [more]
KoelewijnDutch Derived from Dutch koel "cool, cold" and wei "whey", a metonymic occupational name for a dairy farmer. Altered by folk etymology to mean "cool wine". Can also derive from a place name.
YanagimotoJapanese Yanagi means "Willow" and Moto means "Source, Root, Origin."
BohachukUkrainian From Ukrainian багаті (bahasty) meaning "the rich one".
StaltonEnglish Etymology uncertain. Possibly derived from a place name, as the last element resembles the suffix -ton "town".
KimpōJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 金 (kin) meaning "gold, metal" and 宝 (pō), the joining form of 宝 (hō) meaning "treasure", possibly referring to someone who manufactured precious metals.
SaviñónSpanish Probably of French origin, an altered form of Savignon which is from a pet form of the personal name Savin or a habitational name from place called Savignon in Ardèche.
SiniveeEstonian Sinivee is an Estonian surname meaning "blue water".
SchmelzerGerman occupational name for a smelter from an agent derivative of Middle High German smelzen German schmelzen "to smelt metal" or "make glass".
GillardEnglish, French, Swiss English and French from an assimilated form of the personal name Gislehard, a compound of Old High German gisel ‘hostage’, ‘pledge’, ‘noble youth’ (see Giesel) + hard ‘hardy’... [more]
McGinleyIrish Anglicized form of Mag Fhionnghaill, a patronymic from the personal name Fionnghal
NakasatoJapanese From Japanese 仲 (naka) meaning "relationship" and 里 (sato) meaning "village".
KangChinese, Korean From Chinese 康 (kāng), derived from Kangju (康居), the Chinese name for an ancient kingdom in Central Asia (now known as Sogdiana). It may also refer to the city of Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, which was called 康 in Chinese.
ChaemsaiThai Means "clear, without clouds" in Thai.
LeranArmesian (Dutchified, Rare) The surname Leran originates in the small dutch island called Armesa. It was the name of the Armesian ruling house from 1504-1884.
BrentonEnglish habitational name primarily from Brenton near Exminster possibly named in Old English as Bryningtun "settlement (Old English tun) associated with Bryni" (a personal name from Old English bryne "fire flame") or "Bryni's town".
DunmoreEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from Dunmore Farm in Oxfordshire or from any of many places in Scotland named in Gaelic as Dún Môr 'great hill'.
MinagroSicilian Minagro: A Sicilian surname, with Latin & Greek etymological origins. Min: from Latin minusculus/little or small — Agro: from both Latin agro/field & Greek αγρό agro/field
StockholmDanish (Rare), English (American) Danish variant of Stokholm. English usage could be a habitational name for someone from Stockholm, Sweden (see Stockholm), but this etymology does not apply to Scandinavian usage of the name.
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").
MccambridgeScottish Anglicized from Gaelic Mac Ambróis, "son of Ambrose". This name, influenced in its spelling by the English city name Cambridge, is well-established in Northern Ireland.
RoestDutch Habitational name derived from Old Dutch roest "reed bed, rush forest". Alternatively, from Dutch roest "rust", a nickname for a red-haired person.