CrytesGerman (Americanized), Dutch It may be an Americanized or altered spelling of a German surname, such as Kreutz, Kreitz, or Kritz, all of which are based on the root kreuz meaning "cross" in German... [more]
HerraduraSpanish (Philippines) Means "horseshoe" in Spanish, possibly an occupational name for someone who worked with horseshoes.
Van TienhovenDutch Means "from Tienhoven", the name of several villages in the Netherlands. Their names mean "ten parcels of land" in Dutch. A famous bearer was the Dutch politician Gijsbert van Tienhoven (1841-1914), a Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
BostockEnglish From the name of a village in Cheshire, England, meaning "Bota’s place", derived from the Old English given name Bota combined with stoc "place, dwelling".
TakikawaJapanese Taki means "waterfall" and kawa means "river, stream".
PietrafesaItalian From the former name of a town in Potenza, Italy (changed to Satriano di Lucania in 1887), an Italianized form of Medieval Latin Petrafixa, composed of petra "rock, stone" and fixa "fixed, fastened, immovable; constant"... [more]
KukinoJapanese It could be from 柊 (ku, kuki) meaning "holly, ilex" combined with 野 (no) meaning "field, plain". The ki portion could also be spelled with 木 (ki, gi) meaning "tree, wood"... [more]
IsawaJapanese I means "well, pit, mineshaft" and sawa means "swamp, marsh".
ValenzuelaSpanish Habitational name from places named Valenzuela in Córdoba and Ciudad Real. The place name is a diminutive of Valencia, literally "little Valencia".
UmiastowskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Umiastów.
FumetsugawaJapanese (Rare) From japanese kanji 不滅 (fumetsu) meaning "immortal, indestructible, undying" and 河 or 川 (gawa/kawa) both meaning "river".
KünnisEstonian Künnis is an Estonian surname meaning "threshold" and "doorstep" and "crest".
GándaraGalician It refers to a type of unproductive wetland, of alluvial origin, rich in gravel and sand.
MimanaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 任那 (Mimana) meaning "Mimana", an ancient hypothesized region in parts of present-day South Korea, mentioned in the Nihon Shoki.
OikonomosGreek Means "housekeeper, steward" from the Greek word οἰκόνομος (ikonomos), derived from οἶκος (oikos) "house, household" and νόμος (nomos) "law, custom"... [more]
NiedermeierGerman, German (Austrian) Occupational name for a farmer who had a farm lower than the neighboring one(s). This surname and its variant spellings are common to Austria and the state of Bavaria in Germany.
RadfordEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places so named, for example in Devon, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Hereford and Worcester. Most are named from Old English read "red" + ford "ford", but it is possible that in some cases the first element may be a derivative of Old English ridan "to ride", with the meaning "ford that can be crossed on horseback".
GabaldonSpanish Habitational Name From Gabaldón In The Province Of Cuenca.
VollbrechtGerman From a German personal name composed of the elements folk ‘people’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. In the U.S. this name is often Americanized as Fulbright and Fullbright.
ErmanGerman (Modern), French (Modern) Erman is a shortened French adaption of the Swiss-German surname Ermendinger, itself derived from the older surname Ermatinger, a name connected to the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance, and came into existence during the early or middle 18th century when Jean-Georges Ermendinger (1710-1767), a Swiss fur trader from Geneva, married into a French speaking Huguenotte family... [more]
SterleyEnglish This is an English locational surname. Recorded as Starley, Stearley, Sterley, Sturley, and others, it originates from a place called 'ster-leah', meaning "steer" or "cattle farm". However no such place in any of the known surname spellings is to be found in England, although there is place called Starleyburn in Fifeshire in Scotland... [more]
GiápVietnamese Vietnamese form of Jia, from Sino-Vietnamese 甲 (giáp).
LambergFinnish, Swedish Perhaps combination of an unexplained first element (maybe taken from a place name) and Swedish berg "mountain". It could also be of German origin (see other submission).
HoffaGerman Altered form of Hofer. This surname was borne by American labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa (1913-1975?).
ValiSpanish, Italian (Swiss), Arabic This Spanish and Italian surname of VALI was a locational name for someone OR A family who lived in a valley. In valle quiescit ( In the valley of our home, we find peace.)... [more]
BorsheimNorwegian (Rare) Habitational name from either of two farmsteads in Norway: Borsheim in Rogaland and Børsheim in Hordaland. Borsheim is a combination of an unknown first element and Norwegian heim "home", while Børsheim is a combination of Old Norse byrgi "fence, enclosure" and heim.
BanksyEnglish, Popular Culture This is pseudonyms Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. Banksy's real name might be Robin Gunningham. How Banksy got his pseudonym is unknown... [more]
ConeyEnglish Means "seller of rabbits", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a rabbit (in either case from Middle English cony "rabbit").
BillingsEnglish It comes from the old English bil, meaning "sword or halberd", though the word later came to refer to a pruning hook used to harvest fruit. It's also possible that the name comes from a location in ancient England called Billing, which would've gotten its name from the same source.
SchinkerGerman Unknown, though I would very much like to know. Possible Hungarian influence as well as German.
KapelDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Means "chapel" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived near a chapel (or in a place named after one), or an occupational name for a chaplain.
KitzmillerEnglish (American) Americanized form of German Kitzmüller, literally ‘kid miller’ ( see Kitz + Muller ), a nickname for a miller who kept goats; alternatively, the first element may be from a personal name formed with the Germanic element Gid-, cognate with Old English gidd ‘song’.
SmalleyEnglish, Cornish (?) Locational surname from places in Derbyshire and Lancashire, so called from Old English smæl ‘narrow’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’. This may also be a Cornish name with an entirely separate meaning.
HuguenotFrench Meaning uncertain. It could be denoted as a French Protestant who held the Reformed tradition of Protestantism, possibly derived from Middle French eiguenot "Swiss confederate", from Swiss republican Besançon Hugues, or a diminutive form of Hugues, from the same person... [more]
MännisteEstonian Männiste is an Estonian surname relating to "pine".
BulgariaItalian, Spanish Originally an ethnic name or regional name for someone from Bulgaria or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with Bulgaria, which is named after the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, itself possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed".
SpringbornGerman Derived from Middle Low German sprinkborn meaning "spring, well", hence either a nickname for someone who lived by a spring or a water well, or from various place names in Germany.
PhomvihaneLao From Lao ພົມ (phom) referring to the Hindu god Brahma and ວິຫານ (vihane) meaning "temple, sanctuary". A notable bearer was Kaysone Phomvihane (1920-1992), the second president of Laos.
DundovićCroatian Patronymic of the Ragusan word dundo meaning "uncle" or "gentleman" and originating from the Latin word dominus (meaning "master" or "sir").
PasquaFrench Derived from Pasqua, a nickname for a person born during Easter (which itself is derived from Latin pascua). Famous beaters include Charles Victor Pasqua (1927-2015), a French businessman and a Gaullist politician.
LaaspereEstonian Laaspere is an Estonian surname meaning "forest/woodland folk".
PiquéCatalan A famous bearer of this surname is Spanish/Catalan footballer Gerard Piqué.