EllMedieval This name derives from the Medieval given name Elis first recorded in the 1220 Pipe Rolls of Middlesex "Elis de Adham". The ultimate origin of the name is the Hebrew, Elisha or Elijah (meaning "Jehovah is God")... [more]
EssLow German, German (Swiss) North German: topographic name for someone living on or owning land that was waterlogged or partly surrounded by water, from Middle Low German es ‘swamp’, ‘water’. ... [more]
FeiChinese From Chinese 费 (fèi) referring to the ancient state of Fei, which existed during the Xia and Zhou dynasties in what is now Shandong province. Alternately it may come from Feiyi (費邑), the name of a fief that existed in the state of Lu (during the Zhou dynasty) in what is now Shandong province.
FloNorwegian Famous bearers include Norwegian footballers and relatives Tore Andre, Håvard, and Jostein Flo of the Norwegian national team that upset Brazil twice in both a friendly in 1997 and a 1998 World Cup group match.
FoeEnglish (Rare) From Middle English fo "foe, enemy; hostile", possibly a nickname for someone who played the Devil in a pageant play. Can also be a variant form of Fow.
FowEnglish Derived from Middle English fou "spotted, stippled, multicoloured".
FoyFrench From a medieval nickname based on Old French foi "faith", applied either to a notably pious person or to one who frequently used the word as an oath; also, from the medieval French female personal name Foy, from Old French foi "faith".
FoyIrish (Anglicized) A different form of Fahy (from Irish Gaelic Ó Fathaigh "descendant of Fathach", a personal name probably based on Gaelic fothadh "foundation").
GamKorean South Korean, from Sino-Korean "甘" (Gam) meaning "Sweet".
GanChinese From Chinese 甘 (gān) of uncertain origin, possibly from the name of Shang dynasty minister Gan Pan or from the name of an ancient territory called Gan that existed in what is now Shaanxi province.
GauGerman Habitational name from any of various places named with Middle High German gau, göu ‘area of fertile agricultural land’.
GayEnglish, French Nickname for a lighthearted or cheerful person, from Middle English, Old French gai.
GayEnglish, Norman Habitational name from places in Normandy called Gaye, from an early proprietor bearing a Germanic personal name cognate with Wade.
GayCatalan Probably from the Catalan personal name Gai. (Catalan form of the name Gaius).
GeeIrish, Scottish, English, French Irish and Scottish: reduced form of McGee, Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Aodha ‘son of Aodh’ (see McCoy). ... [more]
GuyEnglish Occupational name for a guide, Old French gui (a derivative of gui(d)er "to guide", of Germanic origin).
GuyEnglish, French From a French form of the Germanic personal name Wido, which is of uncertain origin. This name was popular among the Normans in the forms Wi, Why as well as in the rest of France in the form Guy.
GyeKorean Etymology uncertain, possibly deriving from the Hanja element 季 (gye) ("season") or 桂 (gye) ("cassia, cinnamon").
HajArabic Refers to a person who has participated in the حج (hajj), the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that Muslims must undertake at least once in their lifetimes.
HakKorean From Sino-Korean 鶴 (hag) meaning "crane" or 斈 (hag) meaning "learn".
HeaEstonian Hea is an Estonian surname meaning "good".
HeeDanish, Norwegian, Dutch A Danish habitational name from any of several places named from a word meaning ‘shining’ or ‘clear’, referencing a river.... [more]
HewEnglish English: variant of the name Hugh. This was at one time the usual form of the personal name in Scotland. English: occupational name from Middle English hewe ‘domestic servant’
HopDutch Variant form of Hopp. Alternatively, an occupational name derived from Dutch hop referring to the common hop (Humulus lupus), a kind of plant traditionally used to preserve and flavour beer.
HoqBengali Alternate transcription of Bengali হক (see Haq).
HunKhmer Means "capital, investment" in Khmer, also referring to a unit of weight for precious metals.
HuoChinese From Chinese 霍 (huò) referring to the ancient state of Huo, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now the city of Huozhou in Shanxi province.
HuqBengali Alternate transcription of Bengali হক (see Haq).
HuxGerman Probably from a topographic name Huck or Hucks, of uncertain origin. It occurs in many place and field names.
HuxEnglish Means "insult, scorn" in Old English. This is used in Popular Culture by First Order General Armitage Hux, played by Domhnall Gleeson in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
HwaKorean (Rare) From Sino-Korean 化 (hwa) meaning "to be; to become", making it the Korean form of Hua 2.
IdoJapanese From Japanese 井門 (Ido) meaning "Ido", a former township in the former district of Ukena in the former Japanese province of Iyo in present-day Ehime, Japan.
IgeJapanese From Japanese 伊 (i) meaning "this" and 藝 or 芸 (ge) meaning "technique".
IkeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 生 (Ike), a clipping of 生勝 (Ikegachi) meaning "Ikegachi", an area in the village of Uken in the district of Ōshima in the prefecture of Kagoshima in Japan.
IlmEstonian Ilm is an Estonian surname meaning "weather".
IlpEstonian Ilp is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "hilp" meaning "rag" and "piece of cloth".
IndEnglish (?) Meaning deweller at the end of a villiage (Gypsy)
IngEnglish From the name of a former district in Essex, possibly derived from Old English ing "meadow, water meadow", or from ge "district, region" combined with the suffix -ing. Alternatively, it could derive from the given name Inge.
InnEstonian Inn is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "innas", meaning "amorous".
JayEnglish, French Nickname from Middle English, Old French jay(e), gai "jay (the bird)", probably referring to an idle chatterer or a showy person, although the jay was also noted for its thieving habits.
JiaChinese From Chinese 甲 (jiǎ) meaning "one, first", also referring to an ancient fief or small state named Jia located in what is now either Henan or Hebei province.
JiaChinese From Chinese 贾 (jiǎ) referring to an ancient state and fief named Jia, both located in what is now Shanxi province.
JinJapanese From Japanese 神 (jin) meaning "deity; god". This may have been used by shrine masters, people who came from shrines, or people who were granted by the emperor of Japan.
JoaEstonian Joa is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "jõe" meaning "watrer/fluvial" or "joana" meaning "torrents/cascades".
JobEnglish, French, German, Hungarian English, French, German, and Hungarian from the personal name Iyov or Job, borne by a Biblical character, the central figure in the Book of Job, who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him... [more]
JõeEstonian Jõe is an Estonian surname meaning "fluvial".
KadGerman 1 German: habitational name for someone from a place called Kade near Magdeburg, Kaaden (German name of Kadeň in North Bohemia), or Kaden in Westerwald.... [more]
KamKorean North Korean, from Sino-Korean "甘" (Kam) meaning "Sweet".
KanKorean (Russified) Russified form of Kang used by ethnic Koreans living in parts of the former Soviet Union.
KanDutch Means "jug, teapot, can" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch kanne "pitcher, tankard, flagon", a metonymic occupational name for a potter, pewterer, or tinsmith.
KatDutch, Frisian, South African, Jewish Means "cat", a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a cat, or a nickname for someone who somehow resembled a cat, perhaps in agility or an independent nature.
KauGerman From Middle High German gehau "(mountain) clearing" hence a topographic name for a mountain dweller or possibly an occupational name for a logger.
KauGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a mineshaft, from Middle High German kouw(e) "mining hut".
KayChinese From Chinese 凯 (kǎi) meaning "triumphant, victorious, triumphal".
KilJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) of uncertain origin; perhaps a nickname from Yiddish kil ‘cool’.
KilKorean There is one Chinese character for the Kil surname. In the 1930 census, there was a significantly larger number of Kils living in Korea; it was the 62nd most common name in Korea. In a census taken after the Korean War, however, it had dropped to 72nd... [more]
KimKhmer Khmer variation of the chinese name "Jin"
LạiVietnamese Vietnamese form of Lai, from Sino-Vietnamese 賴 (lại).
LaiEstonian Lai is an Estonian surname meaning "wide", "vast" and "spacious".
LaiChinese From Chinese 赖 (lài) meaning "rely", also referring to the ancient state of Lai that existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.