NeffGerman, German (Swiss) From Middle High German neve 'nephew', hence probably a distinguishing name for a close relation or familiar of a prominent personage.
NehoJapanese Japanese surname meaning "raised foundation".
NeinGerman Unexplained. Perhaps from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed with an element cognate with Old High German niuwi meaning "new".
NejiJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 子師, combining 子 (shi, su, tsu, ko, -ko, ne) meaning "child, sign of the rat (1st sign of Chinese zodiac)" with 師 (shi, su, nara.u, moromoro) meaning "army, exemplar, expert, master, model, teacher, war."
NeksEstonian Neks is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "nekrut" meaning "recruit" and "conscript".
NemoEnglish A different form of Nimmo (a Scottish name of unknown origin).
NiedUpper German South German: habitational name from Nied in Hesse.
NiehChinese Alternate transcription of Chinese 聂 (see Nie).
NiesGerman German: from a reduced form of the personal name Dionys (see Dennis), which was stressed on the last syllable; this was a popular personal name as a result of the influence of the French Saint Denis... [more]
NiibEstonian Niib is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "nii" meaning "so", "thus", and "like that".
NiinEstonian Niin is an Estonian surname meaning "bast" and "phloem" (the fibrous material from the phloem of a plant, used as fiber in matting, cord, etc.)
NiitEstonian Niit is an Estonian surname meaning "meadow".
NingChinese From Chinese 宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, tranquil", also referring to the ancient county of Ningyi, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
NoarEnglish This surname is thought to be derived from nore which could mean "shore, cliff." This could denote that someone might have lived in a shore or cliff. It may also be used as a surname for someone who lived in the now 'diminished' village of Nore in Surrey.
NoceItalian Topographic name for someone who lived where nut trees grew, from noce "nut" (Latin nux, genitive nucis).
NockCeltic, English Dweller at the oak tree; originally spelt as "Noake" evolved into "Nock".
NōdaJapanese Variant of Osame but adding Japanese 田 (da), the joining form of 田 (ta) meaning "rice paddy, cultivated field", possibly referring to a place with rice paddies or cultivated fields.
NodaJapanese Combination of the kanji 野 (no, "area, field, hidden part of a structure; wild, rustic") and 田 (ta, "rice paddy, field"). A famous bearer of this surname is Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (野田 佳彦; b. 1957).
NodaJapanese Variant reading or transcription of Japanese Kanji 納田 (see Nōda).
NoirFrench Means "black" in French, originally used in Northern France as an ethnic nickname for someone from Southern France, Spain, Italy or North Africa. It also may have been used for someone who wore dark clothing or for someone who had an occupation during the night or was associated with the night.
NojiJapanese From Japanese 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness" and 地 (ji) meaning "earth, land, dirt".
NolfGerman, Dutch From a short form of the personal name Arnolf, composed of the Germanic elements arn 'eagle' + wulf 'wolf'. Dutch: from a reduced form of Nodolf, derived from the personal name Odolf by transfer of the final -n in a preceding personal name such as Jan, Simoen
NollGerman From a short form of any of various medieval personal names derived from Germanic personal names ending in -n + wald 'rule', for example Arnold and Reinwald.
NomiJapanese From the Japanese possessive particle 乃 (no) and 美 (mi) "beauty."
NõmmEstonian Nõmm is an Estonian surname meaning "heath".
NongChinese From Chinese 农 (nóng) meaning "farming, agriculture, cultivation", also referring to the ancient official position Nong Zheng (農正) meaning "agriculture officer".
NoolEstonian Nool is an Estonian surname meaning "arrow".
NoonEnglish Either (i) from a medieval nickname for someone of a sunny disposition (noon being the sunniest part of the day); or (ii) from Irish Gaelic Ó Nuadháin "descendant of Nuadhán", a personal name based on Nuadha, the name of various Celtic gods (cf... [more]
NööpEstonian Nööp is an Estonian surname meaning "button".
NoopEstonian Noop is an Estonian surname meaning "block".
NöörEstonian Nöör is an Estonian surname meaning "twine" or "cord".
NovaSpanish From the Spanish word 'nueva' meaning "new".
NoviItalian Derived from Italian novello and ultimately derived from Latin novellus meaning "new". "Novi" also means "new" in several Slavic languages.
NovoGalician, Portuguese Nickname from Portuguese and Galician novo ‘new’, ‘young’ (Latin novus). The word was also occasionally used in the Middle Ages as a personal name, particularly for a child born after the death of a sibling, and this may also be a source of the surname.
NuppEstonian Nupp is an Estonian surname meaning "knob", "button" and "bud".
NurkEstonian Nurk is an Estonian surname meaning "corner".
NurmEstonian Nurm is an Estonian surname meaning "lea" and "meadow" and "pasture".
NussGerman from Middle High German nuz ‘nut’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a gatherer and seller of nuts, or a nickname for a man thought to resemble a nut in some way
NuteAnglo-Saxon, English Derived from the given name Cnute. Alternatively, it may be of nickname origin, from the Old English word hnutu, which meant brown, and would have been given to someone with a brown complexion.
NuttEstonian Nutt is an Estonian surname meaning "nut" and also "crying" or "weeping".
NuttRomansh Derived from Janutt, a medieval diminutive of the given name Johannes.
OcónSpanish This indicates familial origin within either the eponymous Riojan municipality or the Ocón de Villafranca neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Villafranca Montes de Oca.
O'dayIrish Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Deaghaidh (see O’Dea).
OddaIndian, Tamil It is a Tamil name, denoting agriculture, such as workers and laborers.
OddyMedieval English Was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as the lords of the manor of Storkhouse, Gisbern and Withernsea in that shire. Believed to be descended from Count Odo.
OdomEnglish Medieval nickname for someone who had climbed the social ladder by marrying the daughter of a prominent figure in the local community, from Middle English odam ‘son-in-law’ (Old English aðum).
OgleScottish, English, Northern Irish Habitational name from a place in Northumbria, named with the Old English personal name Ocga + Old English hyll 'hill'.
OlahHungarian Oláh (Olah) is a Hungarian surname that means Vlach/Romanian. A similar word is Olasz, meaning "Italian".Hungarian (Oláh): ethnic name from Hungarian oláh ‘Romanian’, old form volách, from vlach ‘Italian’, ‘speaker of a Romance language’.
OleyEnglish Was my mother's fathers name. Also my mother's brother.
OlinEnglish, Dutch English or Dutch name meaning either "from a low lying area" or from the word Hollander meaning "one from the Netherlands" a country well known for a low lying landscape.
OlinSwedish Combination of the unexplained element o-/oh- and the common surname suffix -lin. A notable bearer is Swedish actress Lena Olin (b. 1955).
ŌmaeJapanese From Japanese 大 (ō) meaning "big, great" and 前 (mae) meaning "front, forward".
OrroEstonian Orro is an Estonian surname, probably derived from the prefix "oro-", relating to "hill" ("mäe") and "mountain" ("mägi"); "mountainous" or "hilly".
OrruItalian From Sardinian orrù "bramble", itself from Latin rubus "bramble, blackberry bush".
OrsiItalian Patronymic or plural form of Orso. It may also be an Italianized form of Slovenian Uršic, metronymic from the female personal name Urša, short form of Uršula (Latin Ursula), or a patronymic from the male personal name Urh, Slovenian vernacular form of Ulrik, German Udalrich
OtsuJapanese O means "big, great" and tsu means "harbor, seaport".
OtteGerman Otte was given to someone who lived in Bavaria, where the name came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging medieval society. The name Otte evolved from the Old German personal name Ott, a name of Emperors, made famous by Otto the Great (912-973), Holy Roman emperor.
PaalEstonian Paal is an Estonian surname meaning both "mooring post" and "dolphin".
PäärEstonian Päär is an Estonian surname derived from "päärima" meaning "chirp" and "twitter".
PaasEstonian Paas is an Estonian surname meaning "slate".
PaatEstonian Paat is an Estonian surname meaning "boat".
PachGerman Pach is an occupational hereditary surname for a baker in Old German. Pach is also a German local name for someone who lived by a stream, which was originally derived from the German word "bach" which means stream... [more]