PrusinowskiPolish (Rare) Habitational name for someone from any of various Polish places called Prusinow, Prusinowo, or Prusinowice, named with the ethnic name Prus, meaning 'village of the Prussians'.
QuartermainEnglish From a medieval nickname for a very dextrous person, or for someone who habitually wore gloves (from Old French quatremains, literally "four hands"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Allan Quartermain, the hero of 'King Solomon's Mines' (1886) and other adventure novels by H. Rider Haggard... [more]
RaatikainenFinnish A family name first registered in the form Radikain in the 16th or 17th century. Derives from the German man's name Konrad which in Finland was shortened to Radi.
RabenschlagGerman Means "wing beat of a raven" in German, from German Rabe meaning "raven" and Schlag meaning "flap" or "wing beat" in this context.
RakhmaninovRussian From a nickname derived from Russian рахманный (rakhmannyy) meaning "lazy". A notable bearer was Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Rakhmaninov (1873-1943).
RanganathanHinduism Means ‘lord of mirth’. It is an epithet of Lord Krishna.
RaskolnikovLiterature The surname of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It derives from the Russian word raskolnik, meaning "schismatic" or a member of the Old Believer sect.
RavenscroftEnglish, English (British) Habitational name from a minor place in Cheshire, England. The place name means "Hræfn's croft", from an Old English personal name Hræfn (itself from Old English hræfn meaning "raven", possibly a byname) and Old English croft meaning "enclosed field".
RavenswaaijDutch From the name of a village in Gelderland, Netherlands, meaning "Raven’s ford", derived from the personal name Raven combined with Old Dutch wade "ford, shallows", later reinterpreted as Middle Dutch way "pool, kolk lake".
RecktenwaldGerman habitational name from Recktenwald, near Saarbrücken.
RedenbacherEnglish (American) The name "Redenbacher" appears to be a combination of two parts: "Reden" and "Bacher". Here's what I found about the meanings of these parts:... [more]
ReichenbergGerman, Jewish Habitational name from various places named Reichenberg in several different areas of Germany. As an ornamental name, it is composed of German reich(en) meaning "rich" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
ReshetnikovRussian Occupational name for a maker of sieves or gratings, derived from Russian решетник (reshetnik) meaning "sheathing, grate, sieve".
RickardssonSwedish Means "son of Rickard". A notable bearer of the surname is the Swedish cross country skier, Daniel Rickardsson.
RijlaarsdamDutch Derived from Reguliersdam, a dam named for a nearby monastery from Old French reguler "ecclesiastical, subject to religious or monastic rule".
RiseboroughEnglish Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Risborough, Riseborough or Risbury in England, derived from Old English hrīs meaning "brushwood" and beorg meaning "hill, mound", or from hrīs and burh meaning "fortification"... [more]
Ritta-apinanThai From Thai ฤทธิ์ (rit) meaning "power", ธา (tha), a transcription of Sanskrit धा (dhā) meaning "bearer, maintainer", อภิ (api) of unknown meaning, and นันท์ (nan) of unknown meaning.
RivadeneiraSpanish habitational name from a parish named Riba de Neira in Lugo province meaning 'bank of the river Neira' Neira being a tributary of the Miño.
RockefellerGerman Means "from Rockenfeld." Some famous bearers include founder of the Standard Oil Company and philanthropist John Davison Rockefeller (1839-1937), and 41st Vice President of the U.S.A. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979).
RuutikainenFinnish A rare Finnish surname combining the word for gunpowder, "ruuti", and the common surname ending -nen. The 2017 Finnish population register indicates there are 106 Ruutikainens alive in Finland, and some sites estimate there are another ten abroad... [more]
SakagashiraJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 坂 (saka) meaning "slope; hill" and 頭 (gashira), the joining form of 頭 (kashira) meaning "head", referring to the top of a hill.... [more]
SaładajczykPolish A Polish surname consisting of 3 elements: sała or сала a word of East Slavic origin meaning "salo" or "slanina", daj meaning "give" and czyk meaning "son of". The name means "the son of the one who gives the salo".
SalvatierraSpanish Spanish: habitational name from any of the places called Salvatierra (literally ‘save land’ denoting a place of strategic importance).... [more]
SamarajeewaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit समर (samara) meaning "coming together, meeting" or "conflict, struggle" and जीव (jiva) meaning "alive, living, life, existence".
SamarakkodySinhalese Derived from Sanskrit समर (samara) meaning "conflict, struggle" combined with Sinhala කොඩිය (kodiya) meaning "flag, banner" (of Tamil origin).
SamararatneSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit समर (samara) meaning "coming together, meeting" or "conflict, struggle" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
SamaraweeraSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit समर (samara) meaning "coming together, meeting" or "conflict, struggle" and वीर (vira) meaning "hero, man, brave".
SamuraiganeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 侍 (samurai) meaning "warrior" and 金 (gane), the joining form of 金 (kane) meaning "money, metal", referring to possibly a wealthy warrior or a warrior described strong as metal.
SantistebanSpanish Habitational name from any of numerous places called Santisteban or Santesteban (from the Latin genitive form Sancti Stephani) for a local church or shrine dedicated to Saint Stephen.
ScannabissiItalian Possibly from scannare "to slaughter, to cut the throat of" and biscio "snake". Alternately, the first element may be from an archaic form of zanna, "tooth (of an animal)".
ScannapiecoItalian Occupational name for a butcher, from scannare "to slaughter, to cut the throat of" and piecuro "sheep, lamb".
ScarboroughEnglish Habitational name from Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, so named from the Old Norse byname Skarði + Old Norse borg "fortress", "fortified town".
SchauweckerGerman habitational name for someone from Schaubeck near Marbach (Württemberg).
ScheideggerGerman, German (Swiss) Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary or watershed. The name was derived from the Old German word SCHEIDE, meaning 'to part, to divide'. It may also have been a habitation name from any of the numerous places named with this word.
ScheidemannGerman Denoted a person who is divorced or who lives in a valley, from Middle High German scheiden "to separate, to divorce (a couple)" and mann "man".
ScheunemannGerman It literally means someone who either lives near (or in, if poor &/or homeless) a barn or works within its general vicinity.
SchildhauerGerman First appeared during the Middle Ages in Central Europe/Germany. The name means "Shield-Maker" and suggests correlation to Blacksmiths or or other forms of metalwork in the time period.
SchirmacherGerman occupational name for someone who makes harnesses and bridles for horses from Middle High German geschirre "harness" and macher "maker".
SchirokauerGerman, Yiddish Derived from the town of Sieraków in the Silesian Voivodeship in Poland.
SchonewilleDutch Perhaps a nickname for an attractive person, derived from Middle Dutch schône meaning "beautiful, clean, pure" and wille meaning "to want, to desire".
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]
SheepshanksScottish From a medieval Scottish and northern English nickname for someone with a strange or awkward way of walking (literally "sheeplegs").
SheptitskiyUkrainian This indicates familial origin with the village of Sheptychi in Ukraine, which, as of February 2017, is located within Sambir Raion in the Lviv Oblast.
SherkhanzaiAfghan Meaning "son of Sherkhan" in Pashto. Sherkhan itself means "lion king" in Persian. This surname is found among Afghans belonging to the Barech, one of the Durrani Pashto tribes.
SibunrueangThai From Thai ศรี (si) meaning "glory, honour, fame" combined with บุญ (bun) meaning "merit" and เรือง (rueang) meaning "bright, glowing, brilliant".
SievewrightEnglish Denoted a person who makes sieves, from Middle English sive "sieve" and wyrhta "maker, craftsman".
SilbersteinGerman, Jewish From Middle High German silber "silver" and stein "stone"; a habitational name from a place so named in Bavaria, or a topographic name.... [more]
SilvergrassEnglish From English "Silver" and "Grass". Probably given from the plant called "Silvergrass", a Miscanthus type growing in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Islands, or a field shining with the sun.
SiriwardanaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit श्री (shri) meaning "diffusing light, radiance, splendour, beauty" and वर्धन (vardhana) meaning "increasing, growing".
SteingräberGerman occupational name for a quarry worker from Middle High German stein "stone" and agent derivative of Middle High German graben "to dig".