WoosencraftWelsh though this surname has an exotic look & attracts legends, it has it's origins in the Lancashire place name Wolstencraft, from elements Wulfstan (personal name) + croft ("enclosure")
SchelinSwedish Combination of an unknown element (probably derived from a place name) and the common surname suffix -in.
WarizayaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 割 (wari), from 割り (wari) meaning "breakage into separate pieces" and 鞘 (zaya), the joining form of 鞘 (saya) meaning "sheath", referring to a broken sheath.
CloreEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of German Klor (from a short form of the medieval personal name Hilarius (see Hillary) or Klar).
JaggardEnglish The name Jaggard is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It was originally a name for someone who worked as a person who tends draughthorses.
DuqueSpanish, Portuguese Spanish and Portuguese cognate of Duke. from duque "duke" (from Latin dux genitive ducis "leader") an occupational name for someone who worked in the household of a duke or as a nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces.
HanmerWelsh A Welsh topographical surname, deviring from 'Hand', a cock, and 'Mere', a lake. A parish in Flintshire, now Wrexham.
IchinomiyaJapanese This surname is used as 一宮, 一の宮, 一ノ宮, 一之宮 or 市之宮 with 一 (ichi, itsu, hito, hito.tsu) meaning "one," 市 (shi, ichi) meaning "city, market, town," 之 (shi, oite, kono, kore, no, yuku) meaning "of, this" or 宮 (kyuu, ku, kuu, guu, miya) meaning "constellations, palace, princess."... [more]
LokhandeIndian, Marathi Derived from Marathi लोखंड (lokhanda) meaning "iron", either a nickname for a person who was strong and well-built or an occupational name for a blacksmith.
WenigGerman From the German word “wenig”, meaning little.
CaswellEnglish Habitational name from places in Dorset, Northamptonshire, and Somerset named Caswell, from Old English cærse '(water)cress' + well(a) 'spring', 'stream'.
BetetaSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
ValgemäeEstonian Valgemäe is an Estonian surname meaning "white hill".
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.
HajianPersian From Persian حاجی (haji) meaning "hajji" (of Arabic origin), referring to a person who has participated in the حج (hajj), the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that Muslims must undertake at least once in their lifetimes.
GallScottish, Irish, English Nickname, of Celtic origin, meaning "foreigner" or "stranger". In the Scottish Highlands the Gaelic term gall was applied to people from the English-speaking lowlands and to Scandinavians; in Ireland the same term was applied to settlers who arrived from Wales and England in the wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion of the 12th century... [more]
PennilopeSpanish (Latin American) Pennilope is a type of surname. It is a type of bike aswell it is almost like a tricycle with 2 sets of stabilisers.
QuackenboschDutch Topographic name meaning "night heron woodlands" in Dutch, from Dutch kwak "night heron" and bosch "woodland wilderness". This surname is now extinct in the Netherlands.
HosodakiJapanese (Rare) Hoso (細) means "fine/thin", Daki (滝) means "waterfall". Daki is a variant of Taki and it changed the T to D due to rendaku. See also Hosotaki
NakagameJapanese 仲 (Naka) means "relation" and game is a variation of 亀 (kame), which means "turtle, tortoise".
KlugGerman (Austrian) First recorded in the early 14th century in present-day Austria (southeastern region of the Holy Roman Empire at that time). The surname was derived from the ancient Germanic word kluoc meaning "noble" or "refined".... [more]
LeopardiItalian From the medieval given name Leopardus. A famous bearer of this surname is Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837), one of the most influential Italian poets.
MiskinisLithuanian Topographic name from miškinis ‘forest’, ‘forest spirit’. This name is also established in Poland.
HasebeJapanese From the Japanese place name 長谷 (Hase) and 部 (be) meaning "part, section".
CernivaniItalian Probably an Italianized form of the Slovenian surname Černivan.
ÅslundSwedish Combination of Swedish ås "ridge, esker" and lund "grove".
LillywhiteEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with very fair hair or complexion. It was borne by English cricketers James Lillywhite (1842-1929), first captain of England, and William Lillywhite (1792-1854), pioneer of overarm bowling, uncle of James... [more]
DierkingLow German, Dutch Habitational name from a farm so named which once belonged to a certain Dierk and his kin, for instance Dircking (nowadays Derkink) in Enschede.
ShockleyEnglish (i) perhaps "person from Shocklach", Cheshire ("boggy stream infested with evil spirits"); (ii) perhaps an anglicization of Swiss German Schoechli, literally "person who lives by the little barn"
PungEstonian Pung is an Estonian surname meaning "bud".
EstrelaPortuguese The surname Estrela, of Portuguese origin, means "star," symbolizing guidance, hope, and celestial beauty, and is commonly found in Portugal.
DonScottish Don derives from the Old Gaelic "donn", brown, or the Old English pre 7th Century "dunn", brown, or the Old English pre 7th Century "dunn", dull brown or dark, and was originally given as a distinguishing nickname to someone with dark hair or a swarthy complexion.
LitherlandEnglish From a place name: either Litherland in Merseyside or Uplitherland in Lancashire. The place names themselves derive from Old Norse hlið "hillside, slope" (genitive form hliðar) and Old English land "land".
WentworthEnglish Habitational name from places in Cambridgeshire and South Yorkshire called Wentworth, both from the Old English byname Wintra or winter, both meaning "winter", and Old English worþ "enclosure".
Mac Con CharraigeIrish Means "son of the hound of the rock" in Irish, from Irish cú "hound" and carraig "rock".
Van RijsbergenDutch Means "from Rijsbergen", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch rise meaning "twig, branch, brushwood" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
SuzumuraJapanese From Japanese 錫 (suzu) meaning "copper, tin" or 鈴 (suzu) meaning "bell" combined with 村 (mura) meaning "village, town". Other kanji combinations are possible. ... [more]
PreshawEnglish (British, Rare) This surname is a habitational name from a locality near Upham on the slopes of the South Downs. It is entirely within a private estate and has its own chapel.
GermanottaItalian Possibly derived from a diminutive form of the feminine given name Germana. A famous bearer of the surname is singer Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta).
MontaltoItalian, Portuguese Habitational name from any of various places called Montalto or Montaldo especially Montalto Uffugo in Cosenza province in Italy or from a place in Portugal called Montalto from monte "hill" and alto "high" (from Latin altus).
CenChinese From Chinese 岑 (cén) referring to the ancient fief of Cen, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shaanxi province.
GereEnglish Variant of Geer, Gehr or Geary, all related to the Old High German element gēr (Old English gār, Old Norse geirr) meaning "spear, arrow". A famous bearer is American actor Richard Gere (b... [more]
CasillasSpanish From any of various places called Casillas or Las Casillas, from the plural of casilla, a diminutive of Casa. ... [more]
KannerGerman Jewish Occupational name for a person who makes jugs. It was borne by Leo Kanner who first recorded the neurological disorder, Autism
FellowsEnglish English: patronymic from Fellow, from Middle English felagh, felaw late Old English feolaga ‘partner’, ‘shareholder’ (Old Norse félagi, from fé ‘fee’, ‘money’ + legja to lay down)... [more]
PrideauxCornish Means "person from Prideaux, earlier Pridias", Cornwall (perhaps based on Cornish prȳ "clay"). The modern Frenchified spelling is based on the idea that the name comes from French près d'eaux "near waters" or pré d'eaux "meadow of waters".
TandaJapanese From Japanese 反 (tan) referring to a unit of areal measure (equivalent to about 991.7 metres squared) and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
ZacharJewish, Hungarian, Russian, Slovak, Belarusian Derived from the Hebrew word זָכַר (zakhar) meaning "to remember". As a surname it can also derive from the given name Zakhar (Zechariah) that shares this etymology.
MalewskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of the places called Malewo in Masovian, Łódź, Pomeranian and Greater Poland voivodeships, or Malewice in Podlaskie Voivodeship. Both place names are named with the personal name Mal, a short form of Old Polish Małomir, based on Old Slavic malъ ‘small, little’.
HeldGerman, Jewish, Dutch Means "hero" in German, ultimately derived from Middle High German helt. This name was bestowed upon a person either in its literal meaning or else in an ironic sense.
OkusawaJapanese From Japanese 奥 (oku) meaning "inside" and 沢 (sawa) meaning "marsh".
FalsoItalian Not much history is known for Falso however, it was common surrounding Napoli, Lazio, Latin, and Roma. It means False, phony, fake. Because of this, the surname has spread globally especially to United States of America and Brazil... [more]
KuromiyaJapanese From Japanese 黒 (kuro) "black" and 宮 (miya) "shrine, palace". Notable bearers are Kiyoshi Kuromiya (1943-2000), an author and human rights activist and Hiroaki Kuromiya (1953-), a Japanese-American historian on the Soviet Union and modern Eastern Europe.
TripoliItalian Habitational name from Tripoli in Libya, a place name of Greek origin meaning "triple city", from the elements τρι- (tri-) "three, thrice" and πόλις (polis) "city".
KerbelEnglish, German, Russian (Rare) Means "chervil" in German, a parsley-related herb. The surname probably came into England via Germanic relations between the two languages, hence it being most common in German & English countries.
DollinsEnglish (British) Variant of Dollin, with post-medieval excrescent -s, itself a variant of Dolling, a nickname from an unrecorded Middle English word dolling douling dulling meaning “dull or stupid one” (compare Doll)... [more]
CowdellEnglish (British) Cowdell is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Coldwell' (v. Caldwell), a township in the union of Bellingham, Northumberland Also of Colwell, a township in the union of Hexham, same county.
ZwingliSwiss Possibly derived from a place name in Toggenburg, Switzerland. A notable bearer was Huldrych Zwingli (1484 – 1531), leader of the protestant reformation in Switzerland, who was born in Wildhaus, Toggenburg... [more]
OlivasCatalan Variant spelling of Olives, habitational name from Olives in Girona province, or a topographic name from the plural of Oliva.
MacduffScottish Gaelic From the ancient Scottish Gaelic Mac duib meaning "son of the black/dark man." This name may have originated as a ethnic term about the native Scots used by Viking conquestors during the later half of the First Millenium... [more]
HoltzmannUpper German, German Derived from the Upper German word "holz," which means "forest." Thus many of the names that evolved from this root work have to do with living in the woods
QuantDutch, German From Middle Dutch quant meaning "companion, comrade" or "trickster, prankster, rogue", ultimately from an older term meaning "journeyman, tradesman, small merchant". Compare Quandt.
StockeEnglish English: A topographic name for someone who lived near the trunk or stump of a large tree, Middle English Stocke (Old English Stocc)... [more]
DiopWestern African, Wolof From Joob, the name of a Wolof clan, derived from a totemic word meaning "black craned swan" or "peacock".
UmKorean Transliteration of the Korean reading of hanja 嚴 from Chinese meaning “stern”
AllemannGerman (Swiss) Derived from German Alemanne, originally "member of the Alemanni tribe", this word came to denote "of Germanic descent". It was used to refer to members of the German-speaking population of Switzerland (as opposed to those who spoke one of the Romance languages; compare Welsch).
LavecchiaItalian Means "the old (one)" or "the old lady" in Italian, a nickname for a man who fussed like an old woman, or for someone from an old family. It can also denote someone from a toponym containing the element vecchia.
IwakiJapanese From Japanese 岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks" and 城 (ki) meaning "castle, fortress".
CugnoItalian From Sicilian cugnu "wedge", indicating someone who lived on a hill or other topographical "wedge", someone whose occupation involved using an axe, or a person who was considered to be hard or angular in personality or appearance.