GantaFrisian Probably a habitational name for someone from Bant, in the 17th century an island in Friesland, now the village north of Emmeloord in the Noordoostpolder.
GantenbeinRomansh Derived from Romansh canta bein "he or she sings well".
GanusRussian Possibly derived from Russian анис (anis) referring to the anise (Pimpinella anisum) plant or from the Turkish given name Gainislam itself from Arabic عَيْن (ʿayn) meaning "spring, source" combined with the name of the religion Islam.
GarabedianArmenian Means "son of Garabed", an Armenian personal name meaning literally "leader, precursor" and traditionally used as an epithet of John the Baptist in the Armenian church.
GaraiBasque Means "height, summit, peak" and "high, tall; prominent, outstanding" in Basque.
GarauItalian Possibly from a Sardinian modification of the given name Gherardo. Alternately, it may be from a Spanish surname derived from Basque garau "grain, wheat".
GarayHungarian Habitational name for someone from a place called Gara.
GarczyńskiPolish habitational name for someone from a place called Garczyn, in Gdańsk and Siedlce voivodeships.
GardeIndian Found among the Konkanasth Brahmins, probably from Marathi gəṛda ‘belch’.
GardeFrench from Old French garde "watch", "protection"; an occupational name for someone who kept watch or guard, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a vantage point or watchtower.
GarroBasque From the name of a place in the Basque province of Behenavarra, France. Possibly derived from gar "flame", or from harri "rock, stone".
GarthEnglish Means "garden" from northern Middle English garth (Old Norse garþr, garðr) "piece of enclosed ground; garden, paddock" originally denoting one who lived near or worked in a garden.
GasparrinoItalian (Tuscan) Gasparinus de Bergamo was a Italian Teacher who tutored The Future Popes of Italy and was a Secertary for Pope Martin V in the late 1400.
GatchalianFilipino, Tagalog From a Hispanicised spelling of Gat Sa Li-Han, a Chinese title meaning "lord of Li-Han". It was used by the rulers of Li-Han, an ancient Philippine state that was located in the present-day city of Malolos.
GattoItalian Derived from Old Italian gatto meaning "cat", ultimately from Late Latin cattus. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a cat in some way.
GatusFilipino, Tagalog From Old Tagalog gatos meaning "million" or Cebuano gatos meaning "hundred".
GauciMaltese Derived from Maltese Għawdex through Arabic غودش (ġawdeš) which refers to the island of Gozo in the Maltese archipelago. The name itself is of Phoenician origin (through a Greek borrowing) possibly meaning "turn around"... [more]
GeidlGerman Derived from a Middle High German nickname giudel meaning “braggart” or “squanderer.”
GeisbergerGerman Regional name for someone who lives in Geisburg, Geisa or near any mountain called Geisberg.
GeiselhartGerman (Silesian, Rare), Lombardic (Rare), Old High German (Rare) Possibly after the Geisel, a river in Saxony-Anhalt, which likely received its name from either the Lombardic patronym Giso, meaning "noble, precious promise" or from the Old High German gewi, from the Gothic gavi, or gaujis, a which is a medieval term for a "region within a country", often a former or actual province combined with the suffix Hart, which means "stag", and comes from the Middle English hert and the Old English heort.... [more]
GeistGerman Habitational name for someone who lived in a house marked by the sign of the Holy Spirit (normally depicted as a dove), from Middle High German geist 'spirit'.
GelinFrench Most often an alternate form of Ghislain. Could also be the Old French gelin (dim. of Latin gallus), "chicken", which would then refers to a cowardly person or a poultry farmer.
GelsoItalian Means "mulberry tree" in Italian, a topographic name, or perhaps an occupational name for someone who cultivated mulberry trees.
GencoItalian From Sicilian jencu "calf, young heifer or bullock", figuratively referring to a large or strong boy, derived from Latin iuvencus meaning "young" or "bullock; young man".
GendaJapanese From Japanese 源 (gen) meaning "source, origin" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
GennarelliItalian Ancient and illustrious Piedmontese family, originally from Polonghera but residing in Cherasco, which is decorated with the titles of: Counts of Cocconato, Lords of Cocconito and Consignori of Marcorengo.
GennimatasGreek Possibly from the Greek verb γεννιέμαι (genniemai) meaning "to be born".
GensmantelGerman Derived from the German words gens meaning "people, race, stock" and mantle meaning "forest, woods".
GermanottaItalian Possibly derived from a diminutive form of the feminine given name Germana. A famous bearer of the surname is singer Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta).
GerryEnglish Diminutive of names containing ger, meaning "spear".
GezerTurkish Means "itinerant, traveller" in Turkish.
GhahramaniPersian Derived from Persian قهرمان (qahraman) meaning "hero, champion".
GhakaBengali From the historical "Ghataks" who were professional matchmakers in Bengali society, who played a crucial role in arranging marriages and maintaining family lineages.
GilioItalian Derived from a variant of the given name Giglio, which can be from an Italian form of Latin Aegidius, or else taken directly from the Italian word giglio meaning "lily".
GilliItalian Patronymic form of the personal name Gillio, a vernacular derivative of Aegilius, which itself is a later form of the given name Aegidius.
GillibrandEnglish From the Norman personal name Gillebrand, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "hostage-sword".
GioiaItalian Means "joy, delight" in Italian. Can derive from the given name Gioia, from a nickname, or from any of several toponyms in southern Italy.
GioveItalian From Giove ("Jupiter") the name of the chief Roman deity perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually swore per Giove "by Jove". From Sicilian ggiòve iòvi "Thursday" applied as a personal name for someone born or baptized on that day of the week... [more]
GiovinazziItalian Giovinazzi is an Italian surname derived from "giovane", meaning "young," possibly referring to a youthful person.
GlockGerman Meant "person who lives by a church bell-tower or in a house with the sign of a bell", "bell-ringer" or "town crier" (German Glocke "bell"). It was borne by Sir William Glock (1908-2000), a British music administrator.
GloffGerman German and Swiss German: from the Germanic personal name Egilolf, composed of the elements agi(l) ‘edge’, ‘point’ (of a sword) + wolf ‘wolf’, cognate with Old English Ecgwulf. This was the name of several Lombard kings (ancestors of the Bavarian ducal line of the Agilolfinger), who introduced the name to Italy.
GloopLiterature, Popular Culture Augustus Gloop is an obese and gluttonous character in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, published in 1964.
GloucesterEnglish habitational name from the city of Gloucester. The place originally bore the British name Glevum (apparently from a cognate of Welsh gloyw "bright") to which was added the Old English element ceaster "Roman fort or walled city" (from Latin castrum "legionary camp")... [more]
GlückGerman, Jewish Originally denoted a fortunate person, derived from Middle High German gelücke "luck, success". As a Jewish name, it is ornamental, from Yiddish גליק (glik).
GoberEnglish, French The surname Gober was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Norman influence of English history dominated after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed.
GödelGerman From an Old German personal name, Godilo, Godila.German (Gödel): from a pet form of a compound personal name beginning with the element god ‘good’ or god, got ‘god’.Variant of Godl or Gödl, South German variants of Gote, from Middle High German got(t)e, gö(t)te ‘godfather’.
GodetFrench From Old French godet, meaning "glass, tumbler", used as a nickname for a maker or seller.
GodilEnglish English: habitational name for someone from Gadshill in Kent, either of two places called Godshill in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, or Godsell Farm in Wiltshire, which were all originally named Godeshyll ‘God's hill’.
GodinEnglish Comes from the Germanic personal name Godin-, a pet form of any of various compound names beginning with god, got ‘god’. Compare Godbold, Goddard, and Godfrey.
GoldenbergJewish Ornamental name from a compound of German golden literally meaning "golden" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
GoldfingerJewish Ornamental name composed of Old High German gold literally "gold" and finger "finger". It may perhaps also be a nickname for someone who wore a prominent gold ring on their finger.
GonzeFrench My family surname originated in southern French-speaking Belgium. There is a tiny village called Gonzeville in northern France near the Belgian border which you can find on Wikipedia. Many surnames from French speaking Belgium have 5 or 6 letters and end in -ze, such as Gonze and Meeze... [more]
GoodenoughEnglish From a medieval nickname probably applied either to someone of average abilities or to an easily satisfied person, from Middle English good "good" (from Old English god) and ynogh "enough"... [more]
GoodfellowEnglish Generally explained as a nickname meaning 'good fellow' or 'good companion'.
GoodfriendEnglish Nickname for a reliable friend or neighbor, from Middle English gode meaning "good", and frend meaning "friend". It is an English translation and cognate of German Gutfreund, from Middle High German guot meaning "good" and vriunt meaning "friend".
GooseEnglish, Norman Occupational name for a goose-herd (a person who tends to geese) or a medieval nickname for a person who resembled a goose in some way. It could also be a English (of Norman French origins) cognate of Gosse.
GörenTurkish Means "seer, one who sees" in Turkish.
GorenJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) altered form of Horn (5), under Russian influence; since Russian has no h and alters h in borrowed words to g. In Israel the name has been reinterpreted by folk etymology as being from Hebrew goren 'threshing floor', which is in fact etymologically and semantically unrelated.