WeishauptGerman Nickname for someone with white hair from Middle High German wiz "white" and houbit "head". German cognate of Whitehead.
SchwenkGerman Variant spelling of Schwanke, or apparently a nickname referring to a person's gait, derived from Middle High German swenken meaning "to swing back and forth, to sling" (see Schwenke 1).
TarafdarBengali From a title which denoted a holder of a taraf (a type of administrative division formerly used in South Asia), itself derived from Arabic طرف (taraf) meaning "area, section, side" and the Persian suffix دار (dar) indicating ownership.
WeideGerman Either a topographic name for someone who lived by a conspicuous willow or by a group of willow trees from Middle High German wide "willow"... [more]
AllalaBasque, Spanish Variant spelling of Ayala, in at least one case altered to avoid confusion with an unrelated person of the same name, and apparently to distance the bearer from prejudice against hispanics.
TullyIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Taithligh "descendant of Taithleach", a byname meaning "quiet", "peaceable".
RunaiJapanese Japanese: written 船井 'boat' and 'well'
PijlDutch Means "arrow, projectile" in Dutch, an occupational name for an archer or fletcher.
ShindōJapanese From Japanese 新 (shin) meaning "new", 進 (shin) meaning "advance, progress", 信 (shin) meaning "trust, faith", or 真 (shin) meaning "truth, reality" combined with 藤 (dō) meaning "wisteria" or 堂 (dō) meaning "temple, shrine".
SpearmanEnglish Occupational name for a soldier armed with a spear, from Middle English spere "spear, lance" and man. It could also be from Old English given name Spereman, of the same origin.
ZetterlundSwedish Combination of Swedish säter "outlying meadow" and lund "grove".
FinniganIrish This interesting surname is of Irish origin, and is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Ó Fionnagáin, meaning the descendant(s) of Fionnagan, an Old Irish personal name derived from the word "fionn", white, fairheaded.
MowatScottish From medieval female given name, Mohaut, a variant of Maud.
LehtpuuEstonian Lehtpuu is an Estonian surname meaning "leaf tree".
BarnumEnglish (American, Americanized, Modern) Barnum originated as an altered form of the English surname Barnham, a habitational name from places called Barnham in Suffolk and West Sussex, or Barnham Broom in Norfolk, meaning "homestead of the family or followers of a man named Beorn".
GuChinese From Chinese 古 (gǔ) possibly derived from Kucheng (古成 or 苦城), the name of an ancient fief that may have existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province... [more]
StradlingEnglish (British) Researchers found the origin of this surname Stradling by referring to such documents as the Viking Sagas, the Orkneyinga Sagas, the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, the Inquisitio and the translations of local manuscripts, parish records, baptismal & tax records, found in the north of Dingwall, and in the Orkneys and Shetlands.... [more]
PianaItalian Topographic name from piana ‘plain’, ‘level ground’, from Latin planus, or a habitational name from any of the places named with this word.
GenovaItalian habitational name from Genoa (Italian Genova) in Liguria which during the Middle Ages was one of the great seaports of the Mediterranean and a flourishing mercantile and financial center... [more]
WithamEnglish habitational name from any of various places so called particularly those in Essex Lincolnshire and Somerset though most often from Essex. The Essex placename may derive from Old English wiht "curve bend" and ham "village homestead"... [more]
AldermanEnglish Occupational name for a person who is a member of the governing body of a city or borough, from Middle English alderman, a compound of Old English ealdor "elder" and man.
BarreauFrench Possibly a variant of Barreur, an agent derivative of barrer ‘to bar’, ‘to close or block off’, hence possibly an occupational name for a jailer or doorkeeper.
EvermoreEnglish From ever + more, meaning "at all times; all the time; forever, eternally;" Replacing evermo from Old English æfre ma.
HurryEnglish From a Norman form of the Middle English personal name Wol(f)rich (with the addition of an inorganic initial H-).
KlassGerman The name is patronymic and it comes from the German first name "Clausen" which is a variant of the name "Nicholas".
FragolaItalian apparently from fragola "strawberry" probably applied as either a topographic name for someone who lived by a patch of wild strawberries a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of soft fruits or a nickname for someone with a conspicuous strawberry mark.
BurnellEnglish Derived from an Anglo-Norman personal name composed of a diminutive form of brun "brown", likely originating as a nickname for someone with a brown complexion or brown hair... [more]
AnjoJapanese An means "peace, relax, cheap" and jo means "castle".
LustigSwedish, German, Jewish, Dutch A nickname for a cheerful person, derived from Swedish and German lustig "humorous, funny, enjoyable" or Middle High German lustig "merry, carefree". Usually ornamental as a Jewish surname.
AquilinaMaltese Nickname for a person with eagle-like features or a person who owned an eagle, from Latin aquila meaning "eagle".
ViscardiItalian patronymic or plural form of Viscardo a variant of the personal name Guiscardo itself from a personal name composed of the ancient Germanic elements wisa "wise" and hard "hardy strong"... [more]
LattanzioItalian From the given name derived from Latin Lactantius, which could derive from the minor Roman agricultural deity Lactans, or directly from the Latin word lactans "suckling, milking".
KoiduEstonian Koidu is an Estonian feminine given name and surname derived from "Koit" (also, a masculine given name) meaning "dawn". In Estonian mythology, Koit was a handsome young man who was the personification of dawn.
MonteithScottish From the name of the district of Menteith in south Perthshire, Scotland, derived from Gaelic monadh meaning "hill pasture" combined with the Scottish river name Teith. A famous bearer was the Canadian actor and musician Cory Monteith (1982-2013), who played Finn Hudson on the American television series Glee (2009-2015).
ChinjiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 鎮寺 (Chinji), from 鎮寺門 (Chinjimon), a name of a group of several households in the Kadowari System that took place in the Edo Period in the former Japanese province of Satsuma in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan, as well as surrounding areas.
ThamrongsombutsakulEnglish (American) Panat Thamrongsombutsakul is an animator at Walt Disney Studios, known for his work on Ralph Breaks the Internet, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Megamind, among other animated films.
Al-YafaiArabic From the name of the tribe Yafa of south Yemen, one of the biggest tribes that descended from the ancient Himyarite tribe.
BatzMayan From Mayan b'atz' meaning "monkey", specifically referring to the black howler (Alouatta caraya).
LindellEnglish Derived from various places in England named with Old Norse lind "lime tree" and dalr "valley".
CardonFrench from the name of several places in southern France called (Le) Cardon. Or from Old Norman French cardon "thistle" (a diminutive of carde from Latin carduus) hence a topographic name for someone who lived on land overgrown with thistles an occupational name for someone who carded wool (originally a process carried out with thistles and teasels) or perhaps a nickname for a prickly and unapproachable person... [more]
RosenboomDutch From Dutch rozeboom meaning "rose tree", a habitational name for someone who lived near such a tree or a sign depicting one, or who come from the neighbourhood Rozenboom.
FawcettEnglish Habitational name from Fawcett, Westmorland, or Facit, Lancashire, both derived from Old English fāh "multicoloured, variegated, colourful" and sīde "side, hill slope"... [more]
OldshieldEnglish Probably came from the occupation of being a shielder
OdelinFrench Not to be confused with the similarly spelled Odelín, which is Spanish rather than French, though they could have similar origins in name.
MoskowitzJewish Germanized form of a patronymic surname formed by adding the Slavic suffix "-ovic" meaning "son of" to a Yiddish transformation (Moshke) of the biblical Hebrew personal Moses ("Mosko" was a Polish pet form of the personal name Moses).
HampshireEnglish Originally indicated a person from the county of Hampshire in England (recorded in the Domesday Book as Hantescire), derived from Old English ham meaning "water meadow, enclosure" and scir meaning "shire, district"... [more]
LagemaaEstonian Lagemaa is an Estonian surname meaning "plain/flat land".
ArjasEstonian Arjas is an Estonian surname, a corruption of the Estonian word "harjas" meaning "bristle" and "quill".
AzariPersian Means "Azeri, Azerbaijani" in Persian.
TzviadHebrew (Modern) Combination of the name Tzvi and the word עַד (ʿaḏ) "an eternity". The illustration of the gazelle, along with the value of eternity, creates a meaning that represents the beauty and existence of the Land of Israel.
KaifuJapanese Combination of the kanji 海 (kai, "sea, ocean") and 部 (bu, "division, section"). A famous bearer of this surname is Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu (海部 俊樹; b. 1931).
MattaItalian Probably derived from a feminine form of Matto, though other theories include Logudorese Sardinian matta "belly, paunch, entrails" and southern Sardinian matta "plant, tree" (compare Mata).
EdgeEnglish Topographic name, especially in Lancashire and the West Midlands, for someone who lived on or by a hillside or ridge, from Old English ecg "edge".
TauberGerman Occupational name for a pigeon breeder, from German Taube "pigeon, dove".
RecchiaItalian Reduced or regional form of Italian orecchia "ear", a nickname for someone with notable ears or uncommonly good hearing.
StlouisFrench Habitational name from any of several places named with a religious dedication to a St. Louis.
BreakspearEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone who had achieved notable success in jousts or in battle. Nicholas Breakspear (?1100-1159) was the original name of Pope Hadrian IV, the only English pope.
DerryIrish, English English variant of Deary, or alternatively a nickname for a merchant or tradesman, from Anglo-French darree ‘pennyworth’, from Old French denree... [more]