SchottlanderGerman, Jewish From German Schottland "Scotland" and, in some cases, denoted an immigrant from Scotland or Ireland. As a Jewish surname, it is most often an ornamental name.
SchottlerGerman Occupational name for a wood turner, Middle Low German scoteler (an agent derivative of scotel ‘wooden bowl’).
SchramGerman, English, Yiddish Derived from German Schramme (Middle High German schram(me)) and Yiddish shram, all of which mean "scar".
SchrammGerman German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic nickname for a person with a scar, from Middle High German schram(me), German Schramme, Yiddish shram ‘scar’.
SchreinerGerman Occupational surname for a joiner (maker of wooden furniture), ultimately from Middle High German schrīnære.
SchrepferGerman (Swiss), German Derived from from Middle High German schrepfer "barber-surgeon's assistant", ultimately from the verb schrepfen "to bleed someone".
SchrijversDutch Dutch cognate of Scriven. A famous bearer was the Dutch soccer goalkeeper Piet Schrijvers (1946-2022).
SchrockGerman Some think that the last name Schrock comes from the German word which meant something along the lines of "Jump" or "Leaps" and was probably a nickname to someone who was a great jumper, or someone who was easily startled.
SchrödingerGerman Denoted a person from Schröding, a old placename in Bavaria.
SchrootDutch Possibly an altered form of des Groot via Sgroot, meaning "son of the Groot", itself a byname meaning "great, large". Alternatively, it could be related to schroot "scrap (metal)" or the older scrode "to cut", an occupational name for someone who worked with metal, or perhaps a tailor.
SchuelerGerman The surname Schueler was first found in southern Germany, where the name was closely identified in early mediaeval times with the feudal society which would become prominent throughout European history.
SchuhGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a maker or repairer of shoes, derived from Middle High German schuoch meaning "shoe". In some cases, it may have denoted a person to a house distinguished by the sign of a shoe.
SchuknechtGerman Occupational name for a shoemaker’s assistant, from Middle High German schuoch meaning "shoe" + knecht meaning "journeyman", "assistant".
SchumannGerman, Jewish An occupational name for a shoemaker, cobbler. From Middle High German scuoh "shoe" and man "man".
SchumerJewish, German (Rare) Possibly taken from Middle Low German schumer meaning "good for nothing, vagabond". Notable bearers are American comedian Amy Schumer (b. 1981) and American politician Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer (b... [more]
SchutzGerman Occupational surname for an archer or a watchman, from Middle High German schützen "to guard, protect". Also a habitational name from Schutz, a place near Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
SchuurmanDutch Derived from Dutch schuur "barn, shed" and man "person, man".
SchwaabGerman The surname of German VfB Stuttgart footballer Daniel Schwaab, born in Waldkirch, Germany.
SchwabGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone from Swabia (German Schwaben), from Middle High German Swap, German Schwabe ‘Swabian’. The region takes its name from a Germanic tribe recorded from the 1st century BC in the Latin form Suebi or Suevi, of uncertain origin; it was an independent duchy from the 10th century until 1313, when the territory was broken up.
SchwabeGerman 1. The name given to those who lived in Swabia
SchwanbeckGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named, for example near Lübeck and near Anklam.
SchwandtGerman Topographic name for someone who lived in a forest clearing, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
SchwandtGerman Habitational name from any of the various places called Schwand or Schwanden, all in southern Germany, named with this element, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
SchwankGerman Either a nickname for a thin person, (derived from Middle High German swanc meaning "little, slender, thin"), a pretty person (from Middle Low German swank "fine, dainty") or a fun, loving person (from Middle High German swanc and Middle Low German swank "funny idea, joke, jest, foolery").
SchwankeGerman From a short form of the German given name Swaneke, a pet form of Swane, ultimately derived from a Germanic compound name formed with swan meaning "swan" as the first element (see Schwenke 2).
SchwarzbachGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named literally "dark stream", derived from the elements swarz "black" and bah "stream".
SchwarzschildGerman Derives from Old High German swarz meaning "black" and Middle Dutch schilt meaning "shield". A famous bearer of this surname is physicist and astronomer Karl Schwarzschild. (1873-1916)
SchweigertGerman Derives from an agent derivative of the German "schweigen", to be silent, and the nickname would have been given to a silent, quiet, taciturn person.
SchweinsteigerGerman Occupational name for a pig farmer, an overseer of pigs or a nickname for someone who rode a pig, derived from Middle High German swīn meaning "hog, swine" and stīger meaning "foreman, mine inspector"... [more]
SchweitzGerman Ethnic name for a Swiss, from German Schweitz meaning "Swiss".
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).
SchwerdtfegerGerman occupational name for an armorer or specifically for a servant whose job was to polish swords Middle High German Middle Low German swertfeger (from swert "sword" and an agent derivative of fegen "to polish or clean").
SchwerinGerman, Jewish habitational name from any of the places called Schwerin in Mecklenburg Brandenburg and Pomerania.
SchwingGerman Occupational name for someone whose job was to swingle flax, i.e. to beat the flax with a swingle in order to remove the woody parts of the plant prior to spinning, from Middle German swingen meaning "to swing" or swing meaning "swingle".
ScogginsEnglish Possibly derived from Old Norse skegg meaning "beard".
ScogingsEnglish, Old Danish A surname of Scandinavian origin from the old Norse and old Danish by-name "Skeggi" or "skoggi", meaning 'the bearded one'. Common in areas invaded and settled by Scandinavians in the 8th and 9th Centuries.
ScotfordEnglish Derived from Scotforth, the name of a village near Lancaster (in Lancashire) in England. The village's name means "ford of the Scot(s)" and is derived from Old English Scott "Scot" combined with Old English ford "ford".
ScotlandEnglish (i) "person from Scotland"; (ii) "person from Scotland or Scotlandwell", Perth and Kinross; (iii) from the Norman personal name Escotland, literally "territory of the Scots"
ScreetonEnglish Locational surname originating from the village of Screveton in Nottinghamshire. Derived of Old English elements scīr-rēfa "sheriff" and tun "settlement".
ScrimshawMedieval English Referring to one who was a fencing-master, coming from the old French "eskermisseour", meaning "fencer" and which came in turn from the old high German word "skirmen", which meant "to defend".
ScrogginsEnglish Derived from Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood", given to someone who lived near a bushy area, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a prickly personality.
ScroggsEnglish From Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood".
SeaborgEnglish, Swedish (Americanized) English cognate of Sjöberg, as well as the Americanized form. Glenn T. Seaborg (1912-1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements.
SeabornEnglish From an Old English personal name derived from the elements sǣ "sea, lake" and beorn "warrior".
SeaforthEnglish The name of a projection of the sea on the east coast of Lewis, on the Long Island, Scotland. Means "the forth of the sea".
SeagerEnglish, German (Modern) English: from the Middle English personal name Segar, Old English S?gar, composed of the elements s? ‘sea’ + gar ‘spear’.... [more]
SeagraveEnglish Habitational name from a place in Leicestershire, recorded in Domesday Book as Satgrave and Setgrave; probably named from Old English (ge)set meaning "fold", "pen" (or sēað meaning "pit", "pool") + grāf meaning "grove" or græf meaning "ditch".
SealyEnglish Derived from Old English sælig "blessed, fortunate, prosperous, happy" and was used as a term to describe someone with a cheerful, happy disposition.
SearsEnglish Version of Sayer. Used in the United States. Famous bearer of the name is Richard Warren Sears, one of the founders of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
SebertGerman, French From a German personal name composed of the elements sigi meaning "victory" + berht meaning "bright", "famous".
SebronEnglish Exact origins unknown. It could possibly be from "Seabourne", from a patronymic name ("the son of Sebern"), from William Sebrin, Normandy 1180, or possibly even from Norman or Scandinavian origin.
SedgwickEnglish Habitational name from Sedgwick in Cumbria, so named from the Middle English personal name Sigg(e) (from Old Norse Siggi or Old English Sicg, short forms of the various compound names with the first element "victory") + Old English wic "outlying settlement", "dairy farm"; or from Sedgewick in Sussex, named with Old English secg (sedge) + wic.
SeeEnglish, German Topographic name for someone who lived by the sea-shore or beside a lake, from Middle English see meaning "sea", "lake" (Old English sǣ), Middle High German sē. Alternatively, the English name may denote someone who lived by a watercourse, from an Old English sēoh meaning "watercourse", "drain".
SeedorfGerman habitational name from any of the numerous places so named from See "lake" and Dorf "village".
SeelyMedieval English Means "Blessed", "Happy", and/or "Lucky." By adding an Un- to Seely makes it "Unblessed", "Unhappy", and/or "Unholy." Used primarily in Northern England and Southern Scotland during the Middle English period but is derived from the Old English sǣl and gesǣlig... [more]
SegaleEnglish, Italian Respelling of SEGAL. A famous bearer is Mario A. Segale, the inspiration for Nintendo's video game character Mario
SegerSwedish, English, Dutch Means "victory" in Swedish. It is also a variant of the English surname Seager or derived from the Germanic given name Sigiheri "victory army".
SeidGerman From the Germanic given name Sito, a short form of a compound name formed with sigi "victory".
SeideGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German side, German Seide ‘silk’ (from Late Latin seta, originally denoting animal hair), hence a metonymic occupational name for a manufacturer or seller of silk.
SeidenbergGerman, Jewish Derived from several places with the same name. As an ornamental name, it is derived from German seide meaning "silk" and berg meaning "mountain".
SeiderGerman Originating in the region of Saxony. Name of a silk merchant, from the German word for silk: seide
SeifGerman, Jewish Metonymic occupational name for a soap maker, from Middle High German seife, German Seife 'soap'.
SeifertGerman (East Prussian) German/Russian/Ashkenazi Jewish this surname derived from the very popular personal name siegfried, introduced for the first time inglaterra in the Anglo-Saxon period, and again as a surname thousand years later... [more]
SeilerGerman German and Jewish occupational surname for a rope maker.
SeimUpper German German: metonymic occupational name for a beekeeper, from Middle High German seim ‘honey’.
SeinfeldGerman, Jewish From the German word sein "to be" and the word of German Jewish origin feld which means "field". It was a name given to areas of land that had been cleared of forest.
SeldenEnglish Habitational name derived from Seldon in Hatherleigh, Devon, and possibly also Selden Farm in Patching, Sussex. The former likely derives from Old English sele "great hall, dwelling, house" (see saliz) and dun "hill, mountain".
SelfEnglish East Anglian surname, from the medieval English masculine name Saulf which was derived from the Old English elements sǣ "sea" and wulf "wolf".
SelfridgeEnglish habitational name from an unidentified minor place called with Old English scelf "shelf" and hrycg "ridge".
SeligmanGerman, Jewish Derived from the given name Selig with the German suffix -man meaning "man" and it's originally a patronymic. The surname Seligman is originated in the Rhineland.
SellmeyerGerman Occupational name for the steward of a hall or manor house from Middle High German sal "hall residence" and meier "steward" (see Meyer 1).
SelmerGerman Teutonic name meaning "hall master" for a steward or keeper of a large home or settlement.
SelwynEnglish from the Middle English personal name Selewin (Old English Selewine perhaps from sele "manor" or sǣl "happiness prosperity" and wine "friend")... [more]
SelzGerman The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and a left hand tributary of the Rhine. It flows through the largest German wine region, Rheinhessen or Rhenish Hesse. Also, Seltz (German: Selz) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region in north-eastern France.... [more]
SemerEnglish From the village of Semer in Suffolk.
SensenbachGerman A topographic name formed with an unexplained first element + Middle High German bach ‘creek’. Pretty common in Iowa and Pennsylvania.
SercombeEnglish Derived from Sharracombe, a former settlement in Devon, England, derived from Old English cumb "valley, hollow" and an uncertain first element – possibly scir "shire, district" or the related scīrgerēfa "sheriff".
SettleEnglish From the town of Settle in Yorkshire, England.
SetzerGerman, Jewish Derived from either Middle High German "setzen", used to refer to market inspectors and tax officials, or Yiddish "setser", a typesetter.
SevernEnglish From the name of the River Severn, which is of unknown meaning. The Severn is Great Britain's longest river, flowing from Wales through much of western England to the Bristol Channel. It is one of Britain’s most ancient river names, recorded as early as the 2nd century AD in the form Sabrina; its original meaning may have been "slow-moving" or "boundary".
SevierEnglish Occupational name for a sieve-maker, Middle English siviere (from an agent derivative of Old English sife "sieve").
SevilleSpanish, English a city in southwestern Spain; a major port and cultural center; the capital of bullfighting in Spain. Synonyms: Sevilla Example of: city, metropolis, urban center. a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts... [more]
SewallEnglish Derived from the Middle English given names Sewal(d) or Sawal(d), variants of Old English Sæweald from sæ "sea" and weald "power, authority, rule".
SewellEnglish Derived from the Middle English given names Sewal(d) and Siwal(d), variants of Old English Sigeweald, composed of sige "victory" and weald "power, authority, rule".
SewinaGerman, Polish The first available record of the Sewina family name is around 1620 in the province of Silesia, a mixed cultural region between Germany and Poland. Once part of the Prussian Empire and Germany. After World War Two, the area is now part of Poland... [more]
SeyfriedGerman Derived from the given name Siegfried. The American actress Amanda Seyfried (1985-) is a well-known bearer of this name.
ShackladyEnglish Perhaps from a medieval nickname for a man who had had sexual relations with a woman of higher social class (from shag "to copulate with" (not recorded before the late 17th century) and lady).... [more]
ShacklefordEnglish, Medieval English Locational surname deriving from the place called Shackleford in Surrey, near the town of Farnham. The origin of "shackle" is uncertain. It could be derived from Old English sceacan "to shake"... [more]
ShackletonEnglish The place name probably means "valley by a point of land," from the Old English scacol + denu. Another source claims the word scacol, describes a "tongue of land."
ShadeEnglish From Old English sceadu "shadow, wraith", possibly a nickname for a very thin man.
ShadeEnglish, Scottish Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary, from Old English scead "boundary".
ShadowEnglish Origin unidentified. The name Shadue, Schadewe is recorded in England in the 12th and 13th centuries, from Middle English shadwe ‘shadow’, Old English sceadu (see Shade)... [more]