CaliforniaSpanish (Latin American) It is thought that it might've been derived from Latin calida fornax meaning "hot furnace", or from Native American, kali forno meaning "high hill, native land". It is also thought to have derived from the given name Khalif or Khalifa.
SchmelzerGerman occupational name for a smelter from an agent derivative of Middle High German smelzen German schmelzen "to smelt metal" or "make glass".
ArmväärtEstonian Armväärt is an Estonian surname meaning "blessing/grace worth".
BeswickEnglish habitational name from any of the places in Lancashire and East Yorkshire named Beswick. The second element is Old English wic "outlying (dairy) farm"... [more]
ChuChinese From Chinese 褚 (chǔ) referring to the ancient fief of Chu, which existed in the state of Song in what is now Henan province.
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".
IsoyamaJapanese From Japanese 磯 (iso) meaning "seashore" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
IencaItalian (Rare) Derived from a regional variant of Italian giovenca "heifer (young cow that has not had a calf)", derived from Latin iuvenca "heifer; young woman". Could be a nickname, an occupational name for a cowherd or milker, or a toponymic surname from any of several locations named with the element ienca or jenca... [more]
WijegunaratneSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit विजय (vijaya) meaning "victory" combined with गुण (guna) meaning "quality, attribute, merit" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
KubitschekGerman Germanized form of Kubíček. This name was borne by Juscelino Kubitschek (1902-1976), the Brazilian president who founded the city of Brasília in 1960, replacing Rio de Janeiro as the capital city of Brazil... [more]
BergkampDutch, German From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, derived from Old Dutch and Old High German berg meaning "mountain" and kamp meaning "field". This name is borne by Dutch former soccer player Dennis Bergkamp (1969-).
BaumkötterGerman (Modern) From the German words 'Baum' meaning 'tree' and 'Kötter' a type of villager who dwelt in a cottage, similar to the Scottish Cotter. "Presumably a 'Baumkötter' earned money from a small orchard on their property."
MoyesEnglish From the medieval personal name Moise, a vernacular variant of Moses (the biblical name of the Hebrew prophet who led the Children of Israel out of captivity).
SieckGerman The name is originally spelled "Siecke". Eric Siecke came from Norway and settled in Holstein, Germany in the year 1307. The final "e" was dropped by most of the family, though one branch still retains it... [more]
VaidyaIndian, Marathi Derived from Sanskrit वैद्य (vaidya) meaning "physician, doctor", ultimately from the word विद् (vid) meaning "to know".
LeafEnglish Derived from Old English lēof "dear, beloved".
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]
RevelleFrench Variant of Revell, derived from the Old French word revel meaning pride, rebellion, etc.
FahrenheitGerman Derived from German fahren, meaning, "to ride", and Heit, which is the equivalent to the suffix "-ness". A famous bearer was Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686- 1736), a Polish physicist who invented the Fahrenheit temperature measuring system.
PhoenixEnglish From the name of a beautiful immortal bird which appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years... [more]
KushnerJewish This surname is a German Jewish given name. A notable bearer is Jared Kushner the son in law of President Donald J. Trump who became president in the year 2016.
OdoğluTurkish Means "fire son", from Turkish od meaning "fire" and oğul meaning "son".
ChryslerGerman, Jewish From a German name referring to spinning or related to a Yiddish word, krayzl meaning "spinning top." The name can refer to a potter who spun a wheel to make utensils or to a person with curly hair or someone known for being continually active... [more]
HeierGerman The Heier surname is an occupational name from the Middle High German word "heie", which means "ranger guard".
GorhamEnglish A name originating from Kent, England believed to come from the elements gara and ham meaning "from a triangular shaped homestead." Compare Gore.
TakeokaJapanese Take means "bamboo" and oka means "ridge, hill".
PhilippartBelgian In the Medieval period, of Ancient Greek origin, derives from philippos, a compound made of philein meaning "to love", and hippos, a horse, hence "lover of horses".
ScorranoItalian Denotes someone from Scorrano, Italy. Coincides with scorrano "to run, to flow".
JäägerEstonian Jääger is an Estonian surname meaning "game warden". Ultimately, from the German-language "jäger" meaning "hunter".
FitzEmpressHistory, Anglo-Norman Means "son of the empress" in Anglo-Norman French. The three sons of Empress Matilda (1102-1167) were known as Henry FitzEmpress (King Henry II of England), Geoffrey FitzEmpress, Count of Nantes, and William FitzEmpress, Count of Poitou.
GultekinTurkish It comes from "Kül Tigin" (? - 575 AD) who was a general of the Second Turkic Kaganate (Göktürks' khaganate). He was a second son of Ilterish Shad and the younger brother of Bilge Kagan.
LehnerGerman Status name for a feudal tenant or vassal, from an agent derivative of Middle High German lehen 'to hold land as a feudal tenant'. variant of Leonhardt.
HartfordEnglish Habitational name from Hertford, or from either of two places called Hartford, in Cheshire and Cumbria; all are named with Old English heorot ‘hart’ + ford ‘ford’.
MuzychenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian музика (muzyka), meaning "music". Denoted to someone who in some way made music.
OjalooEstonian Ojaloo is an Estonian surname meaning "stream/creek swathe".
MuranakaJapanese From Japanese 村 (mura) meaning "village" combined with 中 (naka) meaning "inside, middle".
AbregoSpanish As a Spanish surname, it was from Spanish ábrego, which originally meant "African", from Latin africus. The vocabulary word in modern Spanish has lost this general sense and now means "south wind" (literally, "African (wind)").
BhatnagarIndian, Hindi, Marathi, Odia Derived from the name of a subgroup of the Kayasth community, denoting association with Hanumangarh (formerly named Bhatner), a city in Rajasthan, India.
CalafioreItalian, Sicilian altered form of Calaciura from the Greek name Kalokiourēs a variant of KalokyrēsKalokyrios meaning "good man".
MatsudaiJapanese From 松 (matsu) meaning "pine" and 大 (dai) meaning "big, large, great".
AryalNepali Nepali Hindu surname of unknown meaning.
SullenEnglish Means "gloomy, ill-tempered, moody" in English, with the archaic meanings "lonely, desolate" and "mischievous, malignant, obstinate", derived from Anglo-Norman soleyn "solitary, alone".
ŠuškovCroatian Derived from šuškati, meaning "to rustle".
BarbosaPortuguese denoting a person who lived by land that contained overgrown leafy vegetation from the portuguese word barba "leaf" + oso/osa (adjective suffix); variant of Barboza
XavierEnglish, French Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries.