BowkerEnglish A surname of French origin, from the occupational term for 'butcher' (boucher). Some theories have it that it derives from OE 'bocer', meaning a scribe, but the former is more likely and is more widely affirmed.
BowlandEnglish From any variety of places in England with this name. These places are likely from with Old English boga ‘bow’ (in the sense of a bend in a river) and land ‘land’.
BowserEnglish Nickname from the Norman term of address beu sire ‘fine sir’, given either to a fine gentleman or to someone who made frequent use of this term of address.
BoycottEnglish It indicates familial origin from any location called Boycott, ultimately derived from either from an Old English name, or from an occupation, both derived from the Old English word boia meaning "boy, servant" and cot meaning "cottage, small house".
BoykinsEnglish (American) Americanized form of Dutch Boeijkens: patronymic from the personal name Boye with the diminutive element -ken and genitive -s. Compare the English cognate Boykin and North German Boyken.... [more]
BraafheidDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Means "braveness" in Dutch, derived from braaf meaning "brave, well-behaved, obedient" and the suffix -heid denoting a condition or state of being. This was originally a nickname for a strong or brave person... [more]
BraaksmaFrisian (Dutchified, Modern, Rare) Topographic name for someone who lived by a piece of wasteland or newly cultivated land, from Frisian, Dutch braak ‘fallow’, ‘waste’ + Frisian ma ‘man’. The suffix -ma indicating that it is of Frisian origin.
BradfieldEnglish habitational name from any of the places in Berkshire Devon Essex Suffolk South Yorkshire and elsewhere named Bradfield from Old English brad "broad" and feld "open country" meaning "wide field".
BradstreetEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a Roman road, derived from Old English brad "broad" and strǣt "paved highway, street" (ultimately derived from Latin strata)... [more]
BrägerGerman Habitational name for someone from Bräg in Bavaria.
BraggEnglish, Welsh From a nickname for a cheerful or lively person, derived from Middle English bragge meaning "lively, cheerful, active", also "brave, proud, arrogant".
BrahamEnglish From the name of a town called Braham, probably derived from Old English brom meaning "broom (a type of plant)" and ham meaning "home, settlement" or hamm meaning "river meadow".
BraileyEnglish Habitational name for a person from Brayley Barton in Devon, which is derived from the name of the Bray river (a back formation from High Bray which is from Celtic bre meaning "hill" or Old English brǣg "brow") combined with Old English leah "woodland, clearing".
BraithwaiteEnglish Northern English habitational name from any of the places in Cumbria and Yorkshire named Braithwaite, from Old Norse breiðr "broad" + þveit "clearing".
BrakhageGerman Possibly from the Old German word 'brak' meaning 'uncultivated field,' or from the Middle German word 'brachen' meaning 'to till the soil.' ... [more]
BraleyEnglish (American) A New England variant spelling of Brailey. French: from a diminutive of Brael, from Old French braiel, a belt knotted at the waist to hold up breeches; presumably an occupational name for a maker of such belts... [more]
BramahEnglish From a place called either Bramall, or Bramhall formerly Bromale. From old english brom "broom" and halh, "nook, recess"
BrambleEnglish This surname is taken from the word which refers to a common blackberry (British) or any of several closely related thorny plants in the Rubus genus (US). It also refers to any thorny shrub. The word is derived from Old English bræmbel with a euphonic -b- inserted from the earlier bræmel or brémel, which is then derived from Proto-Germanic *bræmaz meaning "thorny bush."
BrandenburgGerman (East Prussian, Rare) From a state in eastern Germany, formerly known as Prussia, containing the capital city of Berlin. Ancient. Associated with the Margravate (Dukedom) of Brandenburg, the seat of power in the Holy Roman Empire... [more]
BrandenburgGerman habitational name from Brandenburg the name of a province its principal city and numerous other places.
BrandhorstGerman, Dutch Possibly derived from brant "fire, torch, sword" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
BrandisGerman, Jewish, Swiss German & Swiss: Habitational name from a former Brandis castle in Emmental near Bern, Switzerland, or from any of the places so named in Saxony, Germany. A famous bearer of the name is Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003).... [more]
BransbyEnglish (British) English locational name from the village of Bransby in Lincolnshire. The place name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Branzbi' and later (1115) as 'Brandesby'. These recordings showing that the derivation is from the Old Norse personal name Brandr meaning "sword" and byr, the whole meaning being "Brand's village" or "homestead"... [more]
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.
BrasseEnglish Likely derived from the name of the village of Brace in Shropshire, England. The name of the village likely came from the Old English word braec, which was used for small forests and thickets, or the later Old English word braec, which was used for ground broken up for cultivation.
BräunlichGerman Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin, meaning "brownish" in German.
BraunschweigGerman, Jewish Denoted a person from the city of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "Bruno's settlement".
BraunsteinGerman, Jewish Ornamental name composed of German braun "brown" and stein "stone".
BraunsteinerGerman (Austrian) This surname means brown stone in German and it may be an ornamental surname or an occupational surname for someone who may have been a miner.
BraybrookeEnglish From the name of the Northamptonshire village of Braybrooke, meaning "the broad brook."
BraytonEnglish Derived from the Old Norse name breithr meaning "broad", or the Old Norse personal name Breithi, combined with the Old English suffix tun meaning "town, farmstead".
BreakspearEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone who had achieved notable success in jousts or in battle. Nicholas Breakspear (?1100-1159) was the original name of Pope Hadrian IV, the only English pope.
BreedEnglish Habitational name from any of various minor places, for example Brede in Sussex, named with Old English brǣdu "breadth, broad place" (a derivative of brād "broad").
BreedingGerman Likely from an ancient Germanic given name, now lost.
BreedingGerman From the Low German brēde "open field". Denotes a person from such a place.
BreedloveEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a likable or popular person (from Middle English breden "to produce" + love). This surname is borne by Craig Breedlove (1937-), US land-speed record holder.
BreithauptGerman Nickname for someone with a broad head, from Middle High German breit "broad" and houbet or houpt "head".
BreitkreutzGerman probably a nickname for a person with a broad butt. Breitkreutz replaced an earlier more transparent form of the surname Breitarsch the use of kreuz (literally "cross") as a euphemism for "buttocks" first occurring in the 17th century... [more]
BreitnerGerman Derived from Middle High German breit meaning "broad, fat, wide". This was either a nickname for a stout or fat person, a topographic name for someone who lived on fertile and flat land, or an occupational name for a farmer who owned such land... [more]
BreitsameterGerman Breitsameter was a person who originated from Breitsamet manor in southern Bavaria.
BreitwieserGerman Derived from German breit "broad" and wisa "meadow".
BreitzmannGerman Eastern German topographic name for someone who lived by a birch wood, ultimately derived from the Slavic stem bres "birch".
BrennerGerman, German (Austrian), Jewish Derived from Middle High German brennen "to burn". Both as a German and a Jewish name, this was an occupational name for a distiller of spirits. As a German surname, however, it also occasionally referred to a charcoal or lime burner or to someone who cleared forests by burning.
BrentonEnglish habitational name primarily from Brenton near Exminster possibly named in Old English as Bryningtun "settlement (Old English tun) associated with Bryni" (a personal name from Old English bryne "fire flame") or "Bryni's town".
BreretonEnglish From the name of locations in Cheshire and Staffordshire, England. The name is derived from Old English brér "briar" + tún "enclosure, farmstead".
BresserEnglish The surname is derived from the old English word brasian, meaning to make out of brass. This would indicate that the original bearer of the name was a brass founder by trade. The name is also derived from the old English Broesian which means to cast in brass and is the occupational name for a worker in brass.
BretonFrench, English French and English: ethnic name for a Breton, from Old French bret (oblique case breton) (see Brett).
BrettonEnglish, French habitational name from any of the places called from Bretton in Derbyshire and Yorkshire, both of which mean "settlement of the Britons", from Old English brettas "Briton" and tun "enclosure, settlement"... [more]
BrewtonEnglish Variant spelling of the habitational name Bruton, from a place in Somerset, so named with a Celtic river name meaning 'brisk' + Old English tun 'farmstead'.
BreyetteEnglish (American) Of uncertain origin and meaning. First found in the United States around 1880. Self-taught artist Michael Breyette is a bearer of this surname
BricknerGerman Derived from "brückenbauer," which means "bridge builder" in English. It was originally an occupational name for someone who built bridges. Over time, the name Brickner was likely shortened from Brückenbauer to its current form.
BrierEnglish Derived from Old English brer "briar, bramble", a topographic name for someone who lived near a briar patch, or a nickname for a prickly, irritable person.
BrightwenEnglish From either of the two Old English given names Beohrtwine (a masculine name which meant "bright friend") or Beohrtwynn (a feminine name which meant "bright joy").
BrinkLow German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish Means "village green" or "hill, slope, edge of a field or steep place". As a Swedish name, it’s ornamental.
BrinkerGerman, Dutch Derived from brink "edge, slope" or "village green", indicating that the bearer of the surname lived near a prominent slope of land or next to the centre of a village.
BrinkleyEnglish "From Brinca's Field" or "Field in the forest"
BrintonEnglish English locational surname, taken from the town of the same name in Norfolk. The name means "settlement belonging to Brun" - the personal name coming from the Old English word for "fire, flame".
BriscoeEnglish From any of the various places of this name or similar, derived from Old Norse bretar "Briton, Welsh" or birki "birch" and skógr "forest, wood".
BrissendenEnglish Derived from either of two places in Kent, England called Brissenden (one near Frittenden and the other near Tenterden), both named with the Old English given name Breosa (a byname derived from bresa meaning "gadfly") and Old English denn meaning "woodland pasture (for swine)".
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.
BrochtrupGerman Possibly indicated someone who was from a farm called Brochtrup in the town of Lüdinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A famous bearer is American actor Bill Brochtrup (1963-).
BrockerGerman North German topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp, from Middle Low German brook bog + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
BrockettEnglish From the Old French words broque and brocke.
BrockhausGerman Occupational hereditary surname for a person who was physically powerful, derived from Old German brock which may refer to persons with a stocky or strong build. Or derived from Old German "Brook" or "Brauk," for people near a marshy landscape, common in northern regions.
BrockmanGerman German in origin, in heraldry a "brock" is represented by a badger. It could mean wet/water and man. It also has been said to mean broker.
BrockmannLow German Denoted someone who lived in or by a marsh, from Middle Low German brok "swamp, marsh" (see brōkaz) and man "person, man".
BroderickIrish, Welsh, English Surname which comes from two distinct sources. As a Welsh surname it is derived from ap Rhydderch meaning "son of Rhydderch". As an Irish surname it is an Anglicized form of Ó Bruadair meaning "descendent of Bruadar"... [more]
BrokerEnglish Name given to someone who worked as a broker, an agent for the sale and purchase of goods and services. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Anglo-French word brocour, which has the same meaning as the English word broker