HaswellEnglish habitational name from Haswell (Durham) or less probably from Haswell (Somerset) or Haswell in North Huish (Devon). The placenames probably derive from Old English hæsel "hazel" and wille "well spring stream".
HatchEnglish English (mainly Hampshire and Berkshire): topographic name from Middle English hacche ‘gate’, Old English hæcc (see Hatcher). In some cases the surname is habitational, from one of the many places named with this word... [more]
HatcherEnglish Southern English: topographic name for someone who lived by a gate, from Middle English hacche (Old English hæcc) + the agent suffix -er. This normally denoted a gate marking the entrance to a forest or other enclosed piece of land, sometimes a floodgate or sluice-gate.
HattendorfGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from places called Hattendorf, near Alsfeld and near Hannover. The element hatt, had means ‘bog’
HatterEnglish This name derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "haet" meaning a hat and was originally given either as an occupational name to a maker or seller of hats
HattlerGerman Occupational name for someone who raises goats.
HattonEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places named Hatton.
HauptmannGerman Derived from German hauptmann, a word used for a German military rank meaning "Captain".
HausGerman Topographic and occupational name for someone who lived and worked in a great house, from Middle High German, Middle Low German hus "house" (see House).
HauschGerman From the Germanic personal name Huso, a short form of a compound name composed with hus ‘house’, ‘dwelling’ as the first element.
HauschildGerman Possibly from German haus "house" or hauen "to chop, to hack" combined with schild "shield".
HavelockEnglish From the Middle English male personal name Havelok, from Old Norse Hafleikr, literally "sea sport". It was borne by the British general Sir Henry Havelock (1795-1857).
HaverbusYiddish, Dutch Means "blessed friend", from Hebrew חבר (haver) and ברוך (baruch) "blessed".
HaverfordWelsh, English Haverford's name is derived from the name of the town of Haverfordwest in Wales, UK
HaverkampGerman, Dutch Topographic name for someone who lived on an oat field from Middle Low German haver "oats" and kamp "field".
HaverlandDutch Means "oat field" in Dutch, from Dutch haver "oat" and land.
HaversEnglish Possible variant of Haver, a German, Dutch and English surname. In Germany or England it refers to oats and is used as an occupational surname for a grower or seller of oats... [more]
HawleyEnglish From the place name Hawley, specifically from the former settlement in Yorkshire from Old Norse haugr meaning "hill" and Old English leah meaning "woodland".
HaworthEnglish Literally means "enclosure with a hedge," from the Old English words haga + worth.
HawtreyEnglish (British) It is the surname of Mr. Hawtrey from the book The Boy In The Dress, by David Walliams. Hawtrey means "To succeed".
HaycockEnglish English (West Midlands): from a medieval personal name, a pet form of Hay, formed with the Middle English hypocoristic suffix -cok (see Cocke).
HayfordEnglish English habitational name from several places called Heyford in Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, or Hayford in Buckfastleigh, Devon, all named with Old English heg ‘hay’ + ford ‘ford’.
HayhurstEnglish Topographic name for a dweller ‘(by the) high wood or grove’, from Middle English heigh, high(e) + hirst(e).
HaylingEnglish Either (i) "person from Hayling", Hampshire ("settlement of Hægel's people"); or (ii) from the Old Welsh personal name Heilyn, literally "cup-bearer" (see also Palin).
HaylockEnglish English surname of uncertain origin, possibly from the Old English given name Hægluc, a diminutive of the unrecorded name *Hægel, found in various place names... [more]
HaythornthwaiteEnglish (British) From a place name that was derived from Old English haguthorn meaning "hawthorn (tree)" and Old Norse þveit meaning "clearing, meadow".
HaytonEnglish habitational name from any of various places called Hayton such as those in Cumberland East Yorkshire Nottinghamshire and Shropshire named with Old English heg "hay" and tun "farmstead estate".
HayworthEnglish English: habitational name from Haywards Heath in Sussex, which was named in Old English as ‘enclosure with a hedge’, from hege ‘hedge’ + worð ‘enclosure’. The modern form, with its affix, arose much later on (Mills gives an example from 1544).
HazardEnglish, French Nickname for an inveterate gambler, a crafty person, or a brave or foolhardy man prepared to run risks, from Middle English hasard via Old French hasart "dice game, game of chance", later used metaphorically of other uncertain enterprises... [more]
HazeltineEnglish This unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname from any of the various places that get their name from the Olde English pre 7th century “hoesel”, hazel and “-denut”, a valley, for example Heselden in Durham and, Hasselden in Sussex.
HazeltonEnglish Hazel is referring to hazel trees, while ton is from old english tun meaning enclosure, so an enclosure of hazel trees, or an orchard of hazel trees.
HazelwoodEnglish Habitational name from any of various places, for example in Devon, Derbyshire, Suffolk, Surrey, and West Yorkshire, so called from Old English hæsel (or Old Norse hesli) ‘hazel (tree)’ + wudu ‘wood’; or a topographic name from this term.
HazlehurstEnglish Habitational name for a person from the places in Lancashire, Surrey, or Sussex, or somebody who lives in a hazel grove, all derived from Old English hæsl "hazel" (Archaic form hazle) and hyrst "wood, grove".
HazlettEnglish (British) Topographic name for someone who lived by a hazel copse, Old English hæslett (a derivative of hæsel ‘hazel’). habitational name from Hazelhead or Hazlehead in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, derived from Old English hæsel ‘hazel’ + heafod ‘head’, here in the sense of ‘hill’; also a topographic name of similar etymological origin.
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.
HealeyEnglish Habitational surname for a person from Healey near Manchester, derived from Old English heah "high" + leah "wood", "clearing". There are various other places in northern England, such as Northumberland and Yorkshire, with the same name and etymology, and they may also have contributed to the surname.
HeardEnglish Occupational name for a tender of animals, normally a cowherd or shepherd, from Middle English herde (Old English hi(e)rde).
HeathcoteEnglish English habitational name from any of various places called Heathcote, for example in Derbyshire and Warwickshire, from Old English h?ð ‘heathland’, ‘heather’ + cot ‘cottage’, ‘dwelling’.
HeatherEnglish Topographic name, a variant of Heath with the addition of the habitational suffix -er. This surname is widespread in southern England, and also well established in Ireland.
HebronEnglish (British) Habitational name from Hebron in Northumberland, which possibly derives from Old English hēah meaning “high” + byrgen meaning “burial place, tumulus.” See also Hepburn.
HechtGerman Means "pike (fish)" in German, generally a nickname for a rapacious and greedy person. In some instances it may have been a metonymic occupational name for a fisher, and in others it may be a habitational name from a house distinguished by a sign depicting this fish.
HeckenlaibleGerman (Rare) Probably derived from Middle High German hecke "hedge" and a diminutive form of loube "arbour, bower".
HedgeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a hedge, Middle English hegg(e). In the early Middle Ages, hedges were not merely dividers between fields, but had an important defensive function when planted around a settlement or enclosure.
HedrickGerman (Americanized) This name has a very obscure origin. With the name being of German origin but with notably more people living in England. It means, "Combatant ruler/Ruler of the heathland
HeeDanish, Norwegian, Dutch A Danish habitational name from any of several places named from a word meaning ‘shining’ or ‘clear’, referencing a river.... [more]
HeemskerkDutch From the name of a small town in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands, possibly derived from the personal name Hemezen (itself possibly a diminutive form of the element heim) combined with kirke "church".
HeidenreichGerman From the medieval personal name Heidenrich, ostensibly composed of the elements heiden 'heathen', 'infidel' (see Heiden 2) + ric 'power', 'rule', but probably in fact a variant by folk etymology of Heidrich.
HeiderGerman Combination of German Heide "heath, headland" and the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant. The surname can be either topographic for someone living on or near a heath, or habitational for someone from any place named with the element Heide.
HeilandGerman South German: from Middle High German heilant ‘savior’, ‘Christ’, presumably either a name given to someone who had played the part of Christ in a mystery play or an occupational name for a healer, from Middle High German heilen ‘to heal’, ‘save’.
HeimburgGerman German for "home". Originates in the German village of Heimburg (not to be confused with Hamburg) and the nearby castle of the same name.
HeimburgerGerman, Jewish Status name for a village head, derived from Middle High German heim meaning "homestead, settlement" and bürge meaning "guardian". It could also be a habitational name for someone from numerous places called Heimburg or Heimberg in Germany.
HeinbokelGerman (Hein) is a short form of the name Heinrich, (the German form of the name Henry) & Bokel is a place name in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein & North Rhine-Westphalia.
HeisenbergGerman Made up of German words heis and berg, ultimately meaning “hot mountain.” This was the name of theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg and the alias of Walter White in Breaking Bad.
HeitmeyerGerman German: distinguishing nickname for a farmer whose land included heathland, from Middle Low German heide ‘heath’, ‘wasteland’ + Meyer 1.
HekelLow German Derives from the Middle Low German word "ha-ke," Dutch "haak," which means "a hook."
HelberGerman Occupational name for a thresher, from Middle High German helwe 'chaff' + the agent suffix -er; alternatively, it could be a habitational name from a place called Helba near Meiningen.
HelblingGerman (Swiss) Meaning "half penny" or a cheap /stingy man Know surname in Germany andSwitzerland. Helblings were French Huguenot
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.
HelderDutch, German, Upper German, English 1. Dutch and German: from a Germanic personal name Halidher, composed of the elements haliò “hero” + hari, heri “army”, or from another personal name, Hildher, composed of the elements hild “strife”, “battle” + the same second element... [more]
HelferGerman Metonymic occupational name for an assistant of some kind, or nickname for a helpful person, from Middle High German hëlfære, German Helfer 'helper', 'assistant'.
HellenbrandGerman Derived from germanic: hildtja = battle, brandt = sword, or prandt = burning wood/torch. Other view: Hilda is the Nordic Queen of the Underworld, Goddes of Death, so Sword/Torch of Hilda.... [more]
HellerGerman Nickname from the small medieval coin known as the häller or heller, named for the city it was first minted (in 1208) at, Hall am Kocher (currently called Schwäbisch Hall).
HelmEnglish, Dutch, German from Old English helm "protection covering" (in later northern English dialects "cattle shelter barn"). The name may be topographic for someone who lived by or worked at a barn or habitational from a place so named such as Helme in Meltham (Yorkshire)... [more]
HelmsleyEnglish This English habitational name originates with the North Yorkshire village of Helmsley, named with the Old English personal name Helm and leah, meaning 'clearing'.
HeltonEnglish (American) Habitational name from Helton in Cumbria, named in Old English probably with helde "slope" and tun "farmstead, settlement", or possibly a variant of Hilton... [more]
HemingwayEnglish Probably from the name of an unidentified minor place near the village of Southowram in West Yorkshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Hemma combined with weg meaning "way, road, path"... [more]
HemsleyEnglish English: habitational name from either of two places in North Yorkshire called Helmsley. The names are of different etymologies: the one near Rievaulx Abbey is from the Old English personal name Helm + Old English leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’, whereas Upper Helmsley, near York, is from the Old English personal name Hemele + Old English eg ‘island’, and had the form Hemelsey till at least the 14th century
HemsworthEnglish Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, England, meaning "Hymel's enclosure".
HenceGerman, English, Welsh An American spelling variant of Hentz derived from a German nickname for Hans or Heinrich or from an English habitation name found in Staffordshire or Shropshire and meaning "road or path" in Welsh.
HengstGerman, Dutch metonymic occupational name for someone who worked with or bred horses or a nickname for a brave strong man from Middle High German and Middle Dutch hengest "stallion" also "gelding" derived from Old Germanic hangist "stallion"... [more]
HenleyEnglish, Irish, German (Anglicized) English: habitational name from any of the various places so called. Most, for example those in Oxfordshire, Suffolk, and Warwickshire, are named with Old English héan (the weak dative case of heah ‘high’, originally used after a preposition and article) + Old English leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’... [more]