BerastegiBasque From the name of a town in Basque Country, Spain, derived from the Basque suffix -(t)egi "house, workshop; place of" and an uncertain first element. Possibly from the given name Beraxa (also written Beratza, Berasa, or Beraza), itself possibly from beratz "soft", or from the element beratz which means "meadow, grassy place"... [more]
RothackerGerman Either a topographic name based on a field name derived from Middle High German riutenroten "to clear land (for cultivation)" and acker "field"... [more]
PrudeEnglish (American) This surname comes from the English word prude. The definition for the word prude is a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.
KoelzerGerman From a noun derived from kolzen "ankle boots" (from Latin calceus "half-boot walking shoe") hence an occupational name for a boot maker or a cobbler. Or a habitational name for someone from Kölzen near Merseburg.
CorletoItalian Habitational name derived from the town Corleto Perticara, the first element derived from Latin coryletum "hazel tree grove, copse of hazel trees".
ValeraSpanish Habitational name from either of two places in Spain named Valera.
BouhiredArabic (Maghrebi) Meaning unknown. A notable bearer is Djamila Bouhired (1935-), an Algerian militant and nationalist who opposed the French rule over Algeria.
OkaiJapanese Oka means "mound, hill" and i means "well, mineshaft, pit".
GalassoItalian In northern Italy it could derive from Piedmontese galàs "rooster" (see Gallo), while in southern Italy it might derive from Greek γάλα (gala) "milk", as a nickname for someone with pale skin.
JocelynEnglish Another of the names brought to England in the eleventh century by the Normans, and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a masculine name only.
MumbyEnglish Habitational name from a place in Lincolnshire so named from the Old Norse personal name Mundi (see Monday ) + Old Norse bȳ 'farmstead village'.
NeedleEnglish, Jewish (Americanized) English: from Middle English nedle nadle ‘needle’ (Old English nǣdle) hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of needles or in some cases perhaps for a tailor. See also Nadler.... [more]
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'.
MiaoChinese From Chinese 苗 (miáo) meaning "seedling, shoot, sprout", also referring to the ancient fief of Miao, which existed in the state of Chu during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
KawatoJapanese From 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 戸 (do) meaning "door".
HeadleeEnglish (Rare) The Anglo-Saxon name Headlee comes from when the family resided in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Headley in Hampshire is the oldest. The surname Headlee belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
SaldañaSpanish Habitual surname for a person from any of the locations in Spain named Saldaña. The name itself comes from the older name Gili-Zalan, which is of uncertain meaning.
PiroćanacSerbian Habitational name for someone from Pirot, Serbia.
KawaseJapanese From Japanese 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream" and 瀬 (se) meaning "ripple, rapids, current".
HaverlandDutch Means "oat field" in Dutch, from Dutch haver "oat" and land.
MarquisEnglish, French From the title of nobility, which originally denoted an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. A march was originally denoted as a border region at a frontier. The word marquis was derived from Late Latin marchensis, from Frankish *marku "boundary, border"... [more]
CoggillEnglish Recorded in several forms as shown below, this is a surname of two possible nationalities and origins. Firstly it may be of Scottish locational origins, from the lands of Cogle in the parish of Watten, in Caithness, or secondly English and also locational from a place called Cogges Hill in the county of Oxfordshire... [more]
BennounaArabic (Maghrebi) Most likely from Arabic بن (bin) meaning "son" and the given name Nouna, which may have been derived from an Arabic word meaning "whale, big fish" or "sabre, sword". Alternately, it may be from an Arabic name for a variety of melon... [more]
RempeGerman (Americanized, Modern) The roots of the German surname Rempe lie in the former duchy of Silesia, now part of Poland. The name means, simply, "son of Rempel," and was a popular first name in Silesia during the Middle Ages.
OyaskiEnglish (American) A surname created by Michael Oyaski (formally Michael O'Yaski). The surname is currently known to only be used by one particular branch of the O'Yaski family tree. The surname means "Dragon Rider of the West" according to members of the Oyaski family.
BurnleyEnglish English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from Burnley in Lancashire, so named with the Old English river name Brun (from brun ‘brown’ or burna ‘stream’) + leah ‘woodland clearing’... [more]
FoucaultFrench Derived from the Germanic given name Folcwald, which was composed of the elements folk "people" and walt "power, leader, ruler"... [more]
GoodbarGerman (Anglicized), English Possibly an altered spelling of English Godber, derived from the medieval given name Godebert, or an occupational name for a beer brewer and a nickname for a toper... [more]
MuliEastern African Muli is chiefly found among the Kamba ethnic group in Kenya which is largely located in the Eastern Province. The Kamba people are part of the larger Bantu-speaking group. It derives from the given name and when used as a surname is patronymic... [more]
SanjurjoSpanish Spanish: Habitational Name From Any Of Numerous Places In Galicia (Spain) Named Sanjurjo For A Local Church Or Shrine Dedicated To Saint George
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.
MetteGerman Matronymic surname derived from the given name Mette, a Low German short form of Mechthild.
WijepalaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit विजय (vijaya) meaning "victory" and पाल (pala) meaning "guard, protector".
KirwanIrish From Gaelic Ó Ciardhubháin meaning "descendant of Ciardhubhán", a given name composed of the elements ciar "dark" and dubh "black" combined with a diminutive suffix.
OrmerodEnglish Habitational name for a person from a minor place named Ormerod in Lancashire, from Old Norse given name Ormr and Old English rod "cleared land".
PashaAlbanian, Ottoman Turkish (Anglicized), Turkish (Anglicized) Pasha or pascha (Ottoman Turkish: پاشا, Turkish: paşa), formerly anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries and others... [more]
PentaItalian From the name of a hamlet in Salerno, Italy, possibly derived from a southern Italian word meaning "large rock" or "steep slope" (penta, pente, or pendë).
Den UijlDutch Means "the owl" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch ule. A notable bearer was the Dutch prime minister Johannes den Uijl (1919-1987), also known as Joop den Uyl.
SoulsbyEnglish Habitational name from either of two places called Soulby in Cumbria
PareliusNorwegian Latinization of a learned Hellenized translation of either Solvorn, a placename in Luster (Sogn og Fjordane), or of Solnør, a placename in Skodje/Ørskog (Møre og Romsdal), Norway. The surname itself is then derived from Greek para heliou "near (or close by) the sun".
SeepEstonian Seep is an Estonian surname meaning "soap".
MignognaItalian Probably derived from Italian mignone "small, cute, pretty, graceful; favourite", or perhaps from a river of the same name in Lazio, Italy.
PuschGerman Name for someone who lived near bushes or a thicket. The distinguished name Pusch is derived from the Old German word busc, which means thicket or brush.
LickertGerman (East Prussian) Derived from the German feminine name Luitgard, and thus ultimately from Old High German liut "people" and garto "garden; enclosure".
DarmonJudeo-Spanish From the name of the Dharmon branch of the Berber tribe of Haouara, which historically roamed parts of Libya and Tunisia.
LemassFrench, Irish Meaning uncertain. It may be derived from Old French maistre meaning "master", ultimately from Latin magister (see Masterson). Another theory holds that it comes from Irish Gaelic Laighmheasa, a given name meaning "dispatch"... [more]
WeiseGerman Means "wise, prudent" in German. Notable bearers include Christian Weise (1642-1708), a German writer.
RushIrish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ruis "descendant of Ros", a personal name perhaps derived from ros "wood". In Connacht it has also been used as a translation of Ó Luachra (see Loughrey).
ŌhiraJapanese From Japanese 大 (ō) meaning "big, great" and 平 (hira 2) meaning "level, even, peaceful".
GraudiņšLatvian Derived from the word grauds meaning "grain".
CasellaItalian From casa "house" (Latin casa "hut, cottage, cabin"), perhaps originally denoting the occupier of the most distinguished house in a village. Italian chef Cesare Casella (1960 - ) is one such bearer of this name.
AsensioBasque It signifies "dweller at the place where the blackberry bushes grew."
WakehamEnglish, Cornish A locational surname for someone who lived in one of three places called Wakeham in various parts of England, including Cornwall and/or Devon.