AxelDutch (Rare), Flemish (Rare) Habitational name for someone from either of two places, Aksel in East Flanders or Axel in Zeeland, both possibly derived from a relative of Old High German ahsala "shoulder", referring to an elevated piece of land.
BechtleGerman The surname Bechtle was first found in Hessen, where the family contributed greatly to the development of an emerging nation. The earliest bearers of this name to be mentioned in ancient chronicles were Bechtold of Fulda in 1387, BechtoldSuleffel of Frankfurt in 1442, and TibertiusBechtolf of Frankfurt in 1568... [more]
DufauFrench The name DUFAU come from two French words DU which means « of the » and FAU which is old French for a beech tree. Surnames in France were given later so the person with this name meant he/she had a beech tree in his property... [more]
KhomeiniPersian Originally indicated a person who came from the city of Khomeyn in the Markazi province of Iran. A notable bearer of this surname was the Islamic revolutionary, politician and religious leader Ruhollah Khomeini (1900 or 1902-1989), who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran following the Iranian Revolution in 1979... [more]
VahemaaEstonian Vahemaa is an Estonian surname meaning "middle land".
DumaraosTagalog Means "to celebrate" from Tagalog daos meaning "celebration".
OcchibelliItalian Probably from Italian occhio "eye" and bello "beautiful, good", as a nickname for someone with keen eyesight or attractive eyes. May also originate from a place of the same name.
KhamlichiMoroccan Meaning unknown. A famous bearer is actress Asmaa Khamlichi.
PacquiaoFilipino, Cebuano From Cebuano pakyaw meaning "wholesale, to buy in bulk", ultimately from Hokkien 跋繳 (poa̍h-kiáu). A famous bearer is Filipino politician and former boxer Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao (1978-).
HelferGerman Metonymic occupational name for an assistant of some kind, or nickname for a helpful person, from Middle High German hëlfære, German Helfer 'helper', 'assistant'.
CorteSpanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese From corte "court", applied as an occupational name for someone who worked at a manorial court or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by one.
BarónSpanish nickname from the title barón "baron" applied as a nickname or as an occupational name for a member of the household of a baron; or from an old personal name of the same origin in the sense "free man"... [more]
WoganIrish From the Old Welsh personal name Gwgan or Gwgon, originally probably a nickname meaning literally "little scowler". (Cf. the second element in Cadogan.) This surname is borne by Irish radio and television presenter Terry Wogan (1938-).
HaltzBasque Derived from Basque haltz "alder (tree)".
AmmazzalorsoItalian Means "slaughter the bear" from Italian ammazzare "to kill, to murder" and orso "bear", given as an occupational name to someone who hunted bears, or as a nickname to someone considered to be courageous or bold.
KuchiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth". It is a reference to an event in the Northern and Southern Courts Period, of 3 sons of Takase who became heroes for the south. The emperor of Japan awarded each of the sons a new surname; Oku for the eldest son, Naka for the middle son, and Kuchi for the youngest son.
SugaEstonian Means "brush, comb" in Estonian, referring to either a comb used for brushing hair, or a comb used in looms to separate threads while weaving (also called a reed).
ArakawaJapanese From 荒 (ara) meaning "rough, wild, violent" or 新 (ara) meaning "new" combined with 川/河 (kawa) meaning "river, stream."
McclungScottish (Anglicized) Scottish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Luinge ‘son of Lunge’, a personal name probably meaning ‘seafarer’, although the literal meaning is ‘ship’, from Latin navis longa.
BrasseEnglish Likely derived from the name of the village of Brace in Shropshire, England. The name of the village likely came from the Old English word braec, which was used for small forests and thickets, or the later Old English word braec, which was used for ground broken up for cultivation.
HeskethEnglish Combination of Old Norse hestr "horse" and skeið "racecourse". This is the name of several paces in England.
HasteEnglish, French Derived from Old French haste meaning "(roasting) spit" (ultimately from Latin hasta "spear, lance, pike"), an occupational name for a seller of roast meat or a servant who turned the spit to cook meat.
SauerweinGerman Occupational nickname for someone who sold sour wine, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a sour disposition, from Middle High German sur "sour" + win "wine", i.e. vinegar.
SchwerdtfegerGerman occupational name for an armorer or specifically for a servant whose job was to polish swords Middle High German Middle Low German swertfeger (from swert "sword" and an agent derivative of fegen "to polish or clean").
FarissolJudeo-Provençal Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol was a Jewish-Italian geographer, cosmographer, scribe, and polemicist. He was the first Hebrew writer to deal in detail with the newly-discovered Americas, born in Avignon in 1451.
EssenDutch, German From any of several places called Essen, probably derived from asc "ash tree".
VorstDutch, Low German topographic name for someone who lived in a vorst "forest" or habitational name for someone from any of numerous places called Vorst or Voorst... [more]
AhlschlägerGerman The Ahlschlager family name was found in the USA, the UK, and Canada between 1880 and 1920. The most Ahlschlager families were found in the USA in 1920. In 1880 there were 6 Ahlschlager families living in Iowa... [more]
KushigeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 櫛 (kushi) meaning "comb" and 下 (ge) meaning "bottom; low", possibly referring to a comb case.
AkameJapanese This surname can derive from a location: Akame Forty-eight Waterfalls (near Nabari, Mie prefecture, Kansai region). Asides from being a popular hiking spot, the waterfalls are rumored to be the training location for ninja hundreds of years ago... [more]
BrockerGerman North German topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp, from Middle Low German brook bog + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
AubinetFrench (Rare) Derived from the medieval French masculine given name Aubinet, which was a diminutive (as the -et suffix indicates) of the given name Aubin.... [more]
OhkaJapanese A transcription of Oka meaning "Ridge, Hill". It's likely an americanized spelling.
LickertGerman (East Prussian) Derived from the German feminine name Luitgard, and thus ultimately from Old High German liut "people" and garto "garden; enclosure".
HirvesooEstonian Hirvesoo is an Estonian surname meaning "deer swamp".