BaumfreeDutch, American, African American This name is clearly derived from Sojourner Truth, a former African-American slave who was born as Isabella Bomefree (but at some point the surname was changed to the more German-looking Baumfree). Although Sojourner's original owners - James and Elizabeth Bomefree/Baumfree - were apparently of Dutch descent, it is questionable whether the surname is really of Dutch origin... [more]
KitagakiJapanese From 北 (kita) meaning "north" and 垣 (gaki) meaning "hedge, fence".
TweedScottish Of debated origin and meaning; theories include a variant of Tweddle.
HettigeSinhalese From Sinhala හෙට්ටි (hetti) referring to the Chetty caste (primarily composed of merchants and traders) combined with the suffix -ගේ (-ge) meaning "of, home, house".
SafeyaMuslim • Safeya is derived from the SAD-F-A root which is used in many places in the Quran, This name derives from the Arabic “Ṣafi”, meaning “pure, confidante, best friend”. Safiyya bint Huyayy was a Jewish woman captured from the Banu Nadir tribe at age 17, who became Muhammad's wife... [more]
GellerYiddish, German, Russian The name may derive from the German word "gellen" (to yell) and mean "one who yells." It may derive from the Yiddish word "gel" (yellow) and mean the "yellow man" or from the Yiddish word "geler," an expression for a redheaded man... [more]
BrizendineFrench, English, Jewish Derived from a personal name, probably of Celtic origin (Latinized as Britus), which was borne by a 5th century saint, who succeeded St. Martin as bishop of Tours.
YoshiyamaJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "fortune, good luck" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
EmsleyEnglish A name that came from a family that lived in Yorkshire, where they derived the family name from Helmsley. Probably of Old English origin Helm and ley or leah, which means "a clearing in the woods."
ValdovinosSpanish Spanish: from a personal name of ancient Germanic origin composed of the elements bald 'bold brave' + win 'friend'.
KirschnerGerman (Silesian) From the German word "kirchenære." The other occupation is that of a furrier and, in this case, the name is derived from the word "kuerschner."
KanzeJapanese (Rare) Derived from Japanese 観世 (Kanze), a clipping of the given name 観世丸 (see Kanzemaru) or a variant reading of 観世 (Miyo), a clipping of the given name 観世丸 (see Miyomaru).
IllangakoonSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit लङ्का (lanka) referring to the mythical island of Lanka combined with Sinhala කෝන් (kon) meaning "king" (of Tamil origin).
ÖstmanSwedish Combination of Swedish öst "east" and man "man".
GeisingerGerman Denoted a person from the town of Geising in Germany, which in turn got it's name from the Geisingberg mountain. The Geisingberg most likely got it's name from the Germanic geut or the Early New High German geußen, both meaning "to pour", and the German word Berg meaning "mountain"... [more]
HarmaFinnish, Estonian Anglicized form of either Härma or Haarma. The former is a toponymic surname referring to several places in Estonia and Finland, probably derived from the given name Herman... [more]
MotokuraJapanese Moto means "origin" and kura means "storehouse".
LukkEstonian Lukk is an Estonian surname meaning "lock".
SueharaJapanese From 末 (sue) meaning "tip, top, end" and 原 (hara) meaning "plain, field".
KhrueachanThai From Thai เครือ (khruea) meaning "family" and จันทร์ (chan) meaning "moon".
HanlonIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAnluain "descendant of Anluan", a personal name from the intensive prefix an- and luan "light", "radiance" or "warrior". Occasionally it has been used to represent Hallinan.
SandlerJewish Occupational name for a sandalmaker, from Hebrew סנדל (sandal) "sandal", ultimately of Latin origin. A famous bearer of the name is American actor Adam Sandler (1966-).
KalhorhUrdu, Sindhi Originally a nickname for a person who belonged to the Kalhora clan in Sindh, Pakistan. The clan's name is derived from Sindhi ڪلهوڙو (kalhoro), ultimately from ڪَلھو (kalho) meaning "alone".
RealeItalian Means "royal" in Italian, either an occupational name for someone in the service of a king or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal manner.
TsuyukiJapanese From Japanese 露 (tsuyu) meaning "dewdrop" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
SpoonapplePopular Culture Edwina Spoonapple is a fictional character and the titular character from the Off-Broadway musical "Dear Edwina" (2008). She is a 13-year-old girl who wants proof of her accomplishments, just like her siblings... [more]
GadolinFinnish (Rare) Derived from the name of the homestead Magnula in Kalanti (formerly Nykyrko) parish in southwest Finland. Magnula is thought to be associated with Latin magnus "large, big, great" and the name Gadolin is derived from Hebrew gadol with the same meaning... [more]
SasakawaJapanese From Japanese 笹 (sasa) meaning "bamboo grass" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
GrableGerman Means "digger of ditches or graves" (from a derivative of Middle High German graben "ditch"). A famous bearer was US actress, dancer and singer Betty Grable (1916-1973).
BrasFrench, Dutch From Old French and Middle Dutch bras "arm". This was probably a descriptive nickname for someone with some peculiarity of the arm, but the word was also used as a measure of length, and may also have denoted a surveyor.
ViikiläFinnish From Swedish vik "bay, gulf" with the suffix -lä indicating a place.
CagadasFilipino The name Cagadas is most likely made or given to the Filipinos during the baptism of native Filipinos to Christianity in the 19th Century during the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan. Most Filipinos had no surnames prior to their baptism and these names are given by the Spanish colonizers.
MunchDanish, French, Norwegian (Rare) Either a variant of Münch or Munk, both meaning "monk". A notable bearer was Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944), whose best known work is 'The Scream'.
GoldwaterGerman (Anglicized), Jewish (Anglicized) This name is an Anglicized form of the German or Ashkenazic ornamental surname 'Goldwasser', or 'Goldvasser'. The name derives from the German or Yiddish gold', gold, with 'wasser', water, and is one of the very many such compound ornamental names formed with 'gold', such as 'Goldbaum', golden tree, 'Goldbert', golden hill, 'Goldkind', golden child, 'Goldrosen', golden roses, and 'Goldstern', golden star.
DebeauFrench, English (British), History Some characteristic forenames: French Armand, Normand, Andre, Pierre, Fernand, Gaston, Solange, Adelard, Baptiste, Cecile, Chantel, Donat.... [more]
Di PietrantonioItalian The surname Di Pietrantonio literally means "son of Pietro" and indicates in a reinforcing way the descent from the progenitor named Pietro.
BøeNorwegian Derived from Old Norse býr "farm, village, settlement" or búa "to reside".
KukavaGeorgian (Rare), Mingrelian (Rare) Not much is known about the meaning of the Mingrelian last name "Kukava" (Mingrelia being a province in Georgia), but it is recorded that the surname was possibly Apsuafied somewhere in 17th century, being turned into "Kukaa" (-aa is usually an Apsuan surname suffix) and then re-Mingrelifying some decades later back to its current form - "Kukava." The earliest known person with the last name dates back to 17th century, his name being Ivana Kuka, a Mingrelian male who lived in the Abkhazia province of Georgia.
Van EtterDutch A habitational name for someone from Etten in North Brabant
SaarsaluEstonian Saarsalu is an Estonian surname meaning "island grove".
DobyEnglish From a diminutive of the given name Dob or Dobbe, itself a medieval diminutive of Robert (one of several rhyming nicknames of Robert in which the initial letter was altered; compare Hobbs).
ErreyEnglish This uncommon and intriguing name is of Old Norse origin, and is found chiefly in the north western counties of England, reflecting the dense settlement of Scandinavian peoples in those areas. The surname is locational, from places such as Aira Beck or Aira Force near Ullswater in Cumberland, or some other minor or unrecorded place also named with the Old Norse term "eyrara", meaning "gravel-bank stream river”.
TorkingtonEnglish From the name of a place in Greater Manchester, originally meaning "Tork's settlement" (Tork being a name or nickname combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town").
KaygisizTurkish Derived from the Turkish word for “carefree, relaxed”.
LaroseFrench Topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew; or a habitational name from a town house bearing the sign of a rose. It may also have been a nickname for a man with a ‘rosy’ complexion, as well as a nickname of a soldier... [more]
EomäeEstonian Eomäe is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "eose-" meaning "spore" or "eospea" meaning "cone" and "mäe" meaning "hill/mountain"; "cone hill".
PallaviciniItalian Near the pales; and they carry a palisade in their Arms.
GrünfeldGerman, Jewish Habitational name from any of several places in northern and central Germany named Grünfeld named with elements meaning "green open country" derived from the elements gruoni "green" and feld "field"... [more]
BoonmaThai Alternate transcription of Thai บุญมา (see Bunma).
ScurlockWelsh, Irish Obscure, probably derived from 'ystog', a Welsh word meaning 'fortress'
FilosaItalian Southern Italian: Probably an occupational nickname for a fisherman, from Sicilian filuòsa ‘fishing net’. Also from the subphylum: Filosa. These are known as euglyphids, filose (which means stringy or thread-like), amoebae with shells of siliceous scales or plates, which are commonly found in soils, nutrient-rich waters, and on aquatic plants.
SalgadoGalician, Portuguese Nickname for a witty person, from Galician or Portuguese salgado meaning "salty" (figuratively "witty, sharp").
GourkuñvBreton Breton combination of gour and kuñv meaning "a charming, affable, gentle or conciliatory man". The digraph -ff was introduced by Middle Ages' authors to indicate a nasalized vowel.
PejovićSerbian (Russified, Modern) Pejović is a Serbian surname. Mainly used in serbia. But also used in Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia
MoclinSpanish A town positioned outside of Granada and Toledo Spain, its current occupants number in the thousands. But, 700’s this town was positioned in a mist of sprawling Moorish control. And, for the next 800 years, it was the epic center of Europe’s culture and medicine... [more]
ReixachCatalan Habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Reixac in Catalonia, Spain, for example the town of Montcada i Reixac in the province of Barcelona.
AscarezCebuano (Filipinized, Rare) The username "Ascarez" does not appear to have a direct meaning in Cebuano. It may be a unique or personalized name chosen by the individual.
TammeoksEstonian Tammeoks is an Estonian surname meaning "oak branch".
MöbiusGerman Patronymic surname derived from the given name Bartholomäus, the German form of Bartholomew.
NaputiChamorro Chamorro name for "giving" (na') "pain" (puti).
BureOld Swedish, Swedish This was the name of an influential family in 16th century Sweden. The name originated from the village Bure (now known as Bureå) in Skellefteå parish in Northern Sweden. The village got its name from the nearby Bure River (Swedish: Bure älv, Bureälven) whose name was derived from the Swedish dialectal word burra "buzz, rumble".
RuChinese From Chinese 汝 (rǔ) referring to the ancient fief of Ru Chuan (汝川) or the Ru river, both located in what is now Henan province.
RiesenbergGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a big mountain, derived from Middle High German rise meaning "giant" and berg meaning "mountain".
PalmeroItalian The Palmero family lived in the territory of Palma, which is in Campania, in the province of Naples. The surname Palma was also a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name Palma, which was common in medieval times... [more]
CawthorneEnglish From a place name: either Cawthorn in North Yorkshire or Cawthorne in West Yorkshire, both are derived from Old English ceald "cold" and þorn "thorn, thornbush".
BeerEnglish Habitational name from any of the forty or so places in southwestern England called Beer(e) or Bear(e). Most of these derive their names from the West Saxon dative case, beara, of Old English bearu "grove, wood"... [more]