PeeveyNorman, English Means "a place with a fine view". Composed of the Old French roots beu, which means "fair" and "lovely", and voir, which means "to see".
PeikGerman From Middle Low German pek ‘sharp, pointed tool or weapon’.
PeikertGerman Probably an occupational name for a drummer.
PeiperGerman (Austrian) Occupational name for a piper, from Middle High German piper. In some cases it may be derived from Sorbian pipar "pepper", thus being an occupational name for a spicer or a nickname for one with a fiery temper.
PeirceEnglish From the given name Piers. A notable bearer was the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who is considered to be one of the founders of pragmatism, along with William James and John Dewey.
PelleGerman From Middle Low German pelle "precious purple silk cloth", presumably an occupational name for a maker or seller of such cloth or for a maker of official and church vestments.
PelterEnglish Derived from Middle English pellet "skin (of an animal, sheep)", an occupational name for someone who tanned or sold hides and pelts for a living. Compare French Pelletier.
PeltonEnglish Habitational name from Pelton, a place in County Durham, named from an unattested Old English personal name Peola + tun 'farmstead', 'settlement'.
PeltzGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a furrier, from Middle High German bellez, (modern German pelz) "fur", "animal skin".
PendarvisEnglish (American) The American English spelling of the Cornish surname Pendarves. Ultimately, the surname is traced back to Pendarves Island, Cornwall.
PendleEnglish Habitational name from a borough called Pendle in Lancashire, derived from Proto-Brythonic *penn "head, top" and hyll "hill".
PendleburyEnglish Habitational name from the town called Pendlebury in Greater Manchester, derived from Pendle Hill (see Pendle) and Old English burg "fortress, fortification, citadel".
PendletonEnglish Habitational name from any of the two villages in Lancashire called Pendleton, both derived from Pendle Hill (see Pendle) and Old English tun "enclosure, town".
PenkethEnglish (British) The surname Penketh was first found in Lancashire at Penketh, a township, in the chapelry of Great Sankey, parish of Prescot, union of Warrington, hundred of West Derby.
PenleyEnglish habitational name from Penleigh in Dilton Wiltshire. The place name probably derives from Old English penn "fold enclosure" or perhaps Celtic penn "head" and Old English leah "wood woodland clearing"... [more]
PenningEnglish, Dutch, Low German From early Middle English penning, Low German penning, and Middle Dutch penninc, all meaning "penny". It was used as a topographic surname from the name of a field, or a nickname referring to tax dues of one penny.
PenningtonEnglish Habitational surname denoting someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Pennington, derived from Old English penning meaning "penny" (used as a byname or from a tribute due on the land) and tun meaning "town".
PennywellEnglish English habitational name from Pennywell in Tyne and Wear or from a similarly named lost place elsewhere.
PennyworthEnglish From Old English pening, penig meaning "penny (the coin)" and worþ meaning "enclosure". A notable fictional bearer is Alfred Pennyworth, a DC Comics character notable for being the butler of the superhero Batman.
PenroseEnglish, Cornish, Welsh From the names of various towns in Cornwall and Wales, all derived from Cornish penn "head" and ros "moor, heathland".
PenryWelsh, Cornish, English Derived from Welsh ap Henry meaning "son of Henry". It is also a variant of Pendray, which is derived from a place name in Cornwall meaning "top of the village" in Middle Cornish... [more]
PepysEnglish From the medieval personal name Pepis, a form of Old French Pepin, brought into England by the Normans. It may have been based on an earlier nickname meaning "awesome"... [more]
PercevalEnglish, Norman Derived from either the Old French given name Perceval, or from one of two places called Perceval in the department of Calvados in Normandy, France... [more]
PercherEnglish In textile mills, woven fabric coming off the mill / loom would pass over a frame, or rod, called a 'perch'. It was the job of the 'Percher' to examine the cloth for defects, and repair them when they were found... [more]
PercyEnglish Either a nickname from Old French percehaie "pierce hedge" (Old French percer "to pierce, penetrate" and haie "hedge, fence"), perhaps with the sense of someone breaking into an enclosure... [more]
PerdueEnglish, Irish, French English and Irish from Old French par Dieu ‘by God’, which was adopted in Middle English in a variety of more or less heavily altered forms. The surname represents a nickname from a favorite oath... [more]
PeregrineEnglish, Popular Culture Derived from the given name Peregrine. A fictional bearer is Alma LeFay Peregrine, a character from the novel "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" (2011) by Ransom Riggs.
PerhamEnglish A variation of the English name Parham, based on the village of Parham (one in county Suffolk, another in county Sussex). From the Old English peru, meaning "pear" (the fruit), and ham, meaning "homestead".
PerlmanGerman Occupational name for a person who makes or sells pearls.
PerpichEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of Croatian and Serbian Prpić. Prporuše was a term denoting young girls who, in the dry season, would visit houses in the village and pray for rain.
PettEnglish The name Pett has a history dating as far back as the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person who was referred to as Peat. The surname Pett was originally derived from the Old English word which meant a spoiled or pampered child.
PettiferEnglish Nickname for a good infantryman, an old soldier who had lost a foot, or a person who was never tired of walking, derived from Old French pedefer, pied de fer meaning "iron foot".
PettisEnglish From the possessive or plural form of Middle English pytte, pitte ‘pit’, ‘hollow’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a pit, or a habitational name from a place named with this word, as for example Pett in East Sussex.
PfautzGerman It was originally given as a nickname for a chubby person.
PfefferGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a spicer, or a nickname for a person with a fiery temper, for a small man, or for a dark-haired person. Derived from German Pfeffer "pepper".
PfefferleGerman South German diminutive of Pfeffer, and a nickname for a person who sells spices.
PfeilGerman From Middle High German pfil ‘arrow’ (from Latin pilum ‘spike’, ‘javelin’), either a metonymic occupational name for an arrowsmith or possibly a nickname for a tall thin man.
PflaumGerman, Jewish metonymic occupational name or possibly a nickname from Middle High German pflūme, German pflaume "plum", as a Jewish name it is artificial... [more]
PfotenhauerGerman High German, carpenter's and woodworker's main occupation. Actual old German translation is "paw slapper" or "large paw" as in an animal (bear).
PfuhlGerman a topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp or pond, Middle High German phuol.... [more]
PfundGerman metonymic occupational name for a sealer of weights, or for a wholesale merchant, from Middle High German pfunt ‘pound’ (as a measure of weight and a unit of currency).
PheonixEnglish, Scottish Variant of Fenwick re-spelled after the legendary bird Phoenix. A famous bearer of the name is American actor Joaquín Rafael Phoenix (1974-), although their family renamed themselves after the Phoenix after leaving the religious cult Children of God, symbolizing a new beginning.
PhilbertEnglish From the medieval French male personal name Filibert, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "very bright, very famous".
PhilbrickEnglish (British) English (southeastern): probably a habitational name from Felbrigg in Norfolk named with Old Norse fjǫl “board plank” + Old English brycg “bridge”.... [more]
PhilliskirkEnglish (Rare) From a 'lost' medieval parish in England or Scotland, named with the Old Norse element kirk meaning 'church' or 'place of worship'.... [more]
PhoenixEnglish From the name of a beautiful immortal bird which appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years... [more]
PickenpaughGerman The surname Pickenpaugh is an Americanized version of the German name Beckenbach, meaning "from the river basin"... [more]
PickersgillEnglish This famous Yorkshire name is of early medieval English origin, and is a locational surname deriving from the place in West Yorkshire called Pickersgill, or "Robber's Ravine". The placename is derived from the Middle English "pyker", thief, robber, and "gill", gully, ravine, deep glen.
PickettEnglish Of Norman origin, from the personal name Pic, here with the diminutive suffixes et or ot, and recorded as Picot, Pigot and Piket. The name is ultimately of Germanic derivation, from pic meaning "sharp" or "pointed", which was a common element in names meaning for instance, residence near a "pointed hill", use of a particular sharp or pointed tool or weapon, or a nickname for a tall, thin person.
PickfordEnglish This surnames origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived in the parish of Pitchford in Shropshire. ... [more]
PickleGerman Pickle is an Anglicized form of the North German word “pokel” and or the Dutch word “pekel”.
PickleDutch Pickle is an Anglicized surname that came from the Dutch word “pekel” or the North German world “pokel”.
PicklerEnglish Derived from the occupation of "pickler," which referred to someone who worked in the pickling industry, preserving foods such as vegetables or meats in brine or vinegar.
PickupEnglish The name is derived from when the family resided in Pickup or Pickup Bank in Lancashire. This place-name was originally derived from the Old English word Pic-copp which referred to those individuals who "lived on a hill with a sharp peak."
PierpontEnglish English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places, for example in Aisne and Calvados, so called from Old French pierre ‘stone’ + pont ‘bridge’.
PiggEnglish Derived from Middle English pigge meaning "young hog".
PiggottEnglish, Irish, Norman From the Old French and Old English given names Picot and Pigot, or derived from Old English pic meaning "point, hill", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a hill with a sharp point (see Pike).
PijlDutch Means "arrow, projectile" in Dutch, an occupational name for an archer or fletcher.
PijnenburgDutch From the name of an estate or hamlet called Pijnenburg in the town of Soest in Utrecht, Holland, composed of Middle Dutch pijn meaning "pine tree" and burg meaning "fortress, manor, mansion".
PikeEnglish, Irish English: topographic name for someone who lived by a hill with a sharp point, from Old English pic ‘point’, ‘hill’, which was a relatively common place name element.... [more]
PilchEnglish From Middle English pilch, a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of pilches or a nickname for a habitual wearer of these. A pilch (from Late Latin pellicia, a derivative of pellis "skin, hide") was a kind of coarse leather garment with the hair or fur still on it.
PilcherEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of pilches, from an agent derivative of Pilch. In early 17th-century English, pilcher was a popular term of abuse, being confused or punningly associated with the unrelated verb pilch "to steal" and with the unrelated noun pilchard, a kind of fish.
PilkingtonEnglish Habitational name for a person from a minor place named Pilkington in Lancashire, from Old English given name Pileca or Piloc and tun "enclosure, town".
PillsburyEnglish Derived from a place in Derbyshire, England, so named from the genitive of the Old English given name Pil and burh meaning "fortified place".
PilotEnglish Means a person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft.
PinDutch From Middle Dutch pinne meaning "peg, pin", probably an occupational name for a craftsman who used them in his work.
PinchEnglish Nickname for a chirpy person, from Middle English pinch, pink ‘(chaf)finch’. Compare Finch. possibly a metonymic occupational name from Middle English pinche ‘pleated fabric’, from Middle English pinche(n) ‘to pinch (pastry)’, ‘to pleat (fabric)’, ‘to crimp (hair, etc.)’, also ‘to cavil’, ‘to be niggardly’.
PinchesEnglish (British, Rare) This is one of the very earliest of surnames. This is an English name. First recorded in the 12th century it was a nickname of endearment for a bright, chirpy, person, thought by his peer group to be active like a finch... [more]
PinckneyEnglish The surname Pinckney originally denoted someone from Picquigny, France, which derives from a Germanic personal name, Pincino (of obscure derivation) and the Latin locative suffix -acum... [more]
PincockEnglish It is believed to be a variant of the surname Pink, which itself can have several origins, including being a nickname for someone with pink cheeks or a rosy complexion, or an occupational name for a dyer or someone who worked with pigment dyes.
PinderEnglish (African) Pinder originated in England as a surname used in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
PineEnglish Originally denoted a person who lived near a pine forest or who sold pine firs for a living.
PinesEnglish (American) Surname of the characters, Dipper, Mabel and Stan from Gravity Falls.
PinesEnglish Plural form of Pine. Possibly given to someone who lives in a pine forest or a pine grove.
PinkEnglish, German Nickname, possibly for a small person, from Middle English pink penkg ‘minnow’ (Old English pinc).English (southeastern): variant of Pinch .Variant spelling of German Pinck, an indirect occupational name for a blacksmith, an onomatopoeic word imitating the sound of hammering which was perceived as pink(e)pank... [more]
PinnEnglish, German Derived from Middle English pin and Middle Low German pinne, both meaning "peg" or "pin". This was an occupational name from a maker of these things. The German name can in some cases be an occupational name for a shoemaker.
PinnEnglish (British) A topographic or habitational name from a place named with Middle English pinne, meaning "hill" (Old English penn).
PistarioEnglish (American, Rare) Uncertain etymology, possibly an altered spelling of an Italian or Spanish surname derived from Latin pisto "to pound, to beat", perhaps as an occupational name for a baker.
PitcherEnglish, German From an agent derivative of Middle English pich ‘pitch’, hence an occupational name for a caulker, one who sealed the seams of ships or barrels with pitch. English variant of Pickard... [more]
PitsenbargerGerman Probably an altered spelling of Bezzenberger, which is derived from Boizenburg, a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
PlantEnglish An occupational surname for a gardener.
PlantagenetMedieval English, Medieval French Borne by the House of Plantagenet, a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. It also originated as a nickname for Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou (1113-1151), father of King Henry II of England (1133-1189), who ascended the English throne in 1154... [more]
PlantzEnglish (American) Deriving from England. "Men known as a Planter was an English term for people who were "planted" abroad in order to promote a political, religious cause or for colonization purposes." ... [more]
PlayfairEnglish From a medieval nickname for an enthusiastic competitor in sports and games (from Middle English pleyfere "companion in play, playmate"), or else a different form of Playford (from a Suffolk place-name meaning "ford where sports are held")... [more]
PleasanceEnglish Either (i) from the medieval female personal name Plaisance, literally "pleasantness"; or (ii) "person from Piacenza", Italy (from Latin Placentia, literally "pleasing things").
PlumEnglish, German From Old Germanic *plūmā "plum", used as a topographic name for someone who lived by a plum tree, a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or sold plums, or perhaps a nickname referring to a plum-coloured birthmark.
PlumEnglish From Old French plomb "lead (metal)", a metonymic occupational name for a plumber, or someone who dealt in lead.
PlumerGerman, English, Dutch North German (Plümer) and English: variant of Plum, the suffix -er denoting habitation or occupation. Altered form of South German Pflümer, an occupational name for a grower or seller of plums, from an agent derivative of Middle High German pflume ‘plum’... [more]
PlumleyEnglish Meaning "plum-tree wood or clearing" from the Old English words plume and leah.
PlummerEnglish 1. Occupational name for a worker in lead, especially a maker of lead pipes and conduits, from Anglo-Norman French plom(m)er, plum(m)er ‘plumber’, from plom(b), plum(b) ‘lead’ (Latin plumbum)... [more]
PlumtreeEnglish From any of the locations called Plumtree for anyone who lived near a plum tree derived from Old English plume "plum" and treow "tree".
PlunketEnglish Either an occupational name for someone who sold plunket, a "coarse white woollen cloth", or a location in France with the name Planquette or Planquenet.