OverholserGerman (Swiss) The Oberholtzer family originated in the Swiss village of Oberholtz, south of Zurich, before the 15th century. However, in 1661, one family left Switzerland for the Palatinate in Germany.
ÖzpirinçciTurkish Possibly means "pure brass", derived from Turkish öz "pure, core, essence" and pirinç "brass, bronze", or possibly an occupation name from öz "kernel" and pirinç "rice"... [more]
PampinellaItalian Uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Italian pampino "vine leaf" and the diminutive suffix -ella, or perhaps related to pimpinella "pimpernel (plant)" (genus Lysimachia), which derives from Latin bipennella via Catalan pampinella
PanebiancoItalian Means "white bread", from Italian pane "bread" and bianco "white", an occupational name for a baker who worked with high quality breads, or in some cases perhaps a nickname for someone of good character.
PangilinanFilipino, Tagalog Means "place of abstinence" from Tagalog pangilin meaning "abstinence, to abstain" and the suffix -an meaning "place of, time of". It was used to denote abstinence from certain foods for religious purposes.
PankiewiczPolish From the nickname Panek, a diminutive of Panas, itself a form of the given name Atanazy.
PapazoglouGreek Means "son of the priest", derived from the Greek παπάς (papás) meaning "priest" combined with the Turkish oğlu or oğul meaning "son, descendant".
PappalardoItalian Means "glutton, hypocrite" in Italian, originally a nickname for a gluttonous person or someone who pretended to observe religious fasts while eating meat in secret.
ParkingtonEnglish Habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Partington, from Old English Peartingtun 'settlement (tun) associated with Pearta', a personal name not independently recorded.
PärtelpoegEstonian Pärtelpoeg is an Estonian surname meaning "son of Pärtel (a masculine given name)".
PartingtonEnglish Habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Partington, from Old English Peartingtun "Pearta's town".
PendleburyEnglish Habitational name from the town called Pendlebury in Greater Manchester, derived from Pendle Hill (see Pendle) and Old English burg "fortress, fortification, citadel".
PenhaligonCornish Originally meant "person from Penhaligon", Cornwall ("willow-tree hill"). It is borne by Susan Penhaligon (1950-), a British actress.
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".
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.
PezzimentiItalian From pezzimento "military baggage", a word from a Greek dialect in southern Italy. Probably an occupational name for a soldier, or someone who worked in the military in some way.
PhanomkwanNorthern Thai, Thai Of uncertain meaning. A famous bearer is a former mayor of Phrae in northern Thailand.
PhanouvongLao From Lao ພານຸ (phanou) meaning "light, sun" and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family".
PhilippartBelgian In the Medieval period, of Ancient Greek origin, derives from philippos, a compound made of philein meaning "to love", and hippos, a horse, hence "lover of horses".
PhimmasoneLao From Lao ພິມ (phim) meaning "law, custom, form" and ສອນ (sone) meaning "arrow, weapon".
PhommasoneLao From Lao ພົມມະ (phomma) referring to the Hindu god Brahma and ສອນ (sone) meaning "arrow, weapon".
PhommavongLao From Lao ພົມມະ (phomma) referring to the Hindu god Brahma and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family".
PhomphakdyLao From Lao ພົມ (phom) referring to the Hindu god Brahma and ພັກດີ (phakdy) meaning "loyalty, devotion".
PhomvihaneLao From Lao ພົມ (phom) referring to the Hindu god Brahma and ວິຫານ (vihane) meaning "temple, sanctuary". A notable bearer was Kaysone Phomvihane (1920-1992), the second president of Laos.
PhonevilayLao From Lao ພອນ (phone) meaning "blessing" and ວິໄລ (vilay) meaning "splendid, beautiful".
PietrafesaItalian From the former name of a town in Potenza, Italy (changed to Satriano di Lucania in 1887), an Italianized form of Medieval Latin Petrafixa, composed of petra "rock, stone" and fixa "fixed, fastened, immovable; constant"... [more]
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".
PilgaonkarKonkani, Indian Pilgaonkar is a Konkani surname used mostly in Goa by Konkani Hindus. Sachin Pilgaonkar of Bollywood fame is a famous person with that surname... [more]
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".
PiórkowskiPolish Habitational name from places called Piórkowo in Toruń voivodeship or Piórków in Tarnobrzeg voivodeship.
PletikosićCroatian Derived from pletiti, meaning "to knit", and kosa, meaning "hair".
PlevnelievBulgarian From the Bulgarian name for the Greek village of Petroussa (called Plevnya in Bulgarian), itself derived from Bulgarian плевня (plevnya) meaning "barn". A notable bearer is Bulgarian president Rosen Plevneliev (1964-).
PoortvlietDutch From the name of the village and former municipality called Poortvliet in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, derived from Middle Dutch port meaning "port, harbour, storage yard, city" and vliet meaning "brook, stream, river, creek, inlet"... [more]
PoroshenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian порох (porokh) meaning "(gun)powder, dust", used as an occupational name for someone who made or sold gunpowder. A notable bearer is the former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (1965-).
PortnyaginRussian Derived from Russian портняга (portnyaga), a colloquial nickname derived from портной (portnoy) meaning "tailor, clothier".
PortokalosGreek From the Greek word πορτοκάλι (portokáli), which means "orange." The name could refer either to farmers who maintained an orange orchard / grove or someone who had an orange aspect to their appearance or demeanor.
PresbiteroFilipino Borrowed from Spanish presbítero meaning "presbyter", an elder or priest in various Christian Churches. A notable bearer of this name is Filipino singer Thaddeus Presbitero Durano Jr... [more]
PrevedorosGreek From the Italian rank of provveditore "he who sees to things" (overseer) was the style of various local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire of the Republic of Venice.
ProvencherFrench From the French word for the flower periwinkle. (pervenche) Brought to Canada from France in 1660 by Sebastien Provencher.
ProvidenceEnglish From the name of the capital city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, derived from Middle English providence meaning "divine guidance, care", ultimately from Latin providentia.
PsychogiosGreek From the Greek words for soul (ψυχή) and son (γιός), usually means godson.
PuddephattEnglish Probably from the unattested Old English *pudi "fat, swollen; round in the belly" combined with fæt "vat, cask, barrel", a nickname for someone with a large paunch, or perhaps who was known for drinking.
PuigdemontCatalan Means "top of the hill" or "peak of the mountain". It is derived from Catalan puig meaning "hill, peak" combined with either damunt meaning "on top, above", or munt (a diminutive of muntanya) meaning "mountain", using the preposition d'... [more]
RamamurthyIndian, Tamil Derived from Sanskrit राम (rāma) meaning "pleasing, pleasant, charming" or "dark, black" (see Rama 1) combined with मूर्ति (mūrti) meaning "idol, icon".
RamsbottomEnglish Habitational name from a market town called Ramsbottom in Greater Manchester, England (historically in Lancashire), derived from Old English hramsa meaning "wild garlic" or ramm "ram", and bothm meaning "bottom, bottom valley".