BrzozowskimPolish Habitational name for someone from a place named Brzozowa, Brzozowice, or Brzozowo, all derived from Polish brzoza, meaning "birch tree".
BrzumińskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Brzumin.
BuckinghamEnglish Habitational name from the former county seat of the county of Buckinghamshire, Old English Buccingahamm "water meadow (Old English hamm) of the people of (-inga-) Bucc(a)".
BucurRomanian A ancient Romanian name of Dacian origin. It means "happy". A legendary Romanian shepherd named Bucur it is said to have founded Bucharest, the present capital or Romania, giving his name to it (The Romanian city name is Bucureşti).
BudakTurkish Means "branch, shoot, knot" in Turkish.
BudakUkrainian From Ukrainian будь, буде (bud', bude) "to be, is being".
BudgeEnglish Nickname from Norman French buge "mouth" (Late Latin bucca), applied either to someone with a large or misshapen mouth or to someone who made excessive use of his mouth, i.e. a garrulous, indiscreet, or gluttonous person... [more]
BudkoUkrainian From Ukrainian будь (bud'), meaning "to be".
BudouJapanese From Japanese 武 (bu) meaning "military, martial" combined with 堂 (dou) meaning "temple, shrine" or from 武道 (budou) meaning "Japanese martial arts".
BuehlGerman Topographic name for someone who lived on a hillside, from Middle High German bühel meaning "hill", or a habitational name from a place called Bühl, for example in Baden... [more]
BuensucesoSpanish (Philippines) From a Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso, meaning "Our Lady of the Good Event," referring to the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus.
BugenhagenPomeranian Haven on the Bugen river. Hagen coming from the German word haven, and there was once a river or small body of water in Pomerania near the border of modern day Poland and Germany called Bugen. The word Bugen, in German, means to bend or to yield... [more]
BugiardiniItalian Means "little liar" in Italian, from bugiardo "lying, false, deceitful; liar" and the diminutive suffix -ino.
BugisIndonesian, Arabic From the name of the Bugis people, itself derived from the endonym Ugi' of uncertain meaning. This surname is common among people of Indonesian ancestry in Saudi Arabia.
BuijsDutch Patronymic form of Boso. Alternatively, could derive from Dutch buis "gambeson, jacket" as a nickname for someone who made or wore jackets, or from buis "herring buss, fishing boat" as a nickname for a fisherman.
BuitenhuisDutch Means "country house, building outside of the city" in Dutch, derived from buiten "outside, out of; in the country" and huis "house, home, residence".
BulićCroatian Derived from Ottoman Turkish bula meaning "a married woman or a Muslim woman in harem pants or covered with a headscarf" or from the forename Bule a hypocoristic of Budislav, Budimir, Budivoj, Budimil.
BunceNorman Meaning "good" person in old french. Also means "bain"(exeptionaly tall) in old english
BunchEnglish English: nickname for a hunchback, from Middle English bunche ‘hump’, ‘swelling’ (of unknown origin).
BundiRomansh Derived from Romansh bun "good" and di "day" (compare Bongiorno and Bonasera). Another theory, however, derives this name from the given name Abundius.
BurchfieldEnglish From the name of various places in England called Birchfield, all derived from Old English bierce "birch tree" and feld "field". Essentially an English cognate of German Birkenfeld.
BurelFrench metonymic occupational name for a worker in the wool trade or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in brown from Old French burelborel a diminutive of boure "frieze" a type of coarse reddish brown woolen cloth with long hairs (from Late Latin burra "coarse untreated wool").
BurlingtonEnglish Habitational name from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, from Old English Bretlintun meaning Berhtel's town.
BurmeisterGerman North German: status name for the mayor or chief magistrate of a town, from Middle Low German bur ‘inhabitant, dweller’, ‘neighbor’, ‘peasant’, ‘citizen’ + mester ‘master’.
BurruchagaSpanish, Basque (Hispanicized) Altered form of Basque Burutxaga, a habitational name from a location in Navarre, Spain, possibly derived from buru "head; top, summit; leader, chief" or burutza "office of chief" combined with -aga "place of".
BusalacchiItalian Means "father of Zallaq", from Arabic أَبُو (abu) "father of" and الزلاق (zallaq) of unknown meaning, possibly related to the given name Salah 1 meaning "righteousness".
BusbyEnglish Habitational name from a place in North Yorkshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Buschebi, from Old Norse buskr "bush, shrub" or an Old Norse personal name Buski and býr "homestead, village", or from some other place so called.
BuschiazzoItalian It's a surname in northern Italy (Piedmont). It emerges from the German spelling Bosch or Busch and this means "forest" or "wooded area".
BustamanteSpanish Habitational name for someone originally from the town of Bustamante in Cantabria, Spain, derived from Latin bustum Amantii meaning "pasture of Amantius".
ButragueñoSpanish Originally denoted someone from either the town of Buitrago del Lozoya in Madrid, or from the village of Buitrago in Soria, Castile and León in Spain, both derived Spanish buitre meaning "vulture" (see Buitrago)... [more]
ButtaItalian Italian: from a short form of a compound name formed with butta- ‘throw’, as for example Buttacavoli.Italian: from an old German feminine personal name Butta.Italian: variant of Botta.
ButtafuocoItalian Means "linstock (staff for lighting a cannon)" in Italian, composed of butta "to throw, toss" and fuoco "fire", perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a gunner, or a figurative nickname for someone with a hot temper... [more]
ByeonKorean (Modern) Variant romanization of Sino-Korean 邉 (Byun) meaning "Border".
ByersScottish, English Scottish and northern English topographic name for someone who lived by a cattleshed, Middle English byre, or a habitational name with the same meaning, from any of several places named with Old English b¯re, for example Byers Green in County Durham or Byres near Edinburgh.
ByresScottish Byres was first used as a surname by the descendants of the ancient Boernician clans of Scotland. The first Byres family lived in or near the place named Byers in Scotland. The place-name, Byers, derives from the Old English word byre, which means cattle shed... [more]
ByronEnglish An English place name, earlier Byram, from byre, meaning "farm" and the suffix -ham meaning "homestead". Famously borne by the aristocratic poet, Lord Byron.
CableEnglish English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of rope, especially the type of stout rope used in maritime applications, from Anglo-Norman French cable ‘cable’ (Late Latin capulum ‘halter’, of Arabic origin, but associated by folk etymology with Latin capere ‘to seize’).... [more]
CaderousseFrench, Literature A character in the classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. In the novel, Caderousse is a tailor and inkeeper who aids in the arrest of Dantès.
CalcaterraItalian Nickname from calcare meaning "to tread", "to stamp" + terra meaning "land", "earth", "ground", probably denoting a short person, someone who walked close to the ground, or an energetic walker.
CaliforniaSpanish (Latin American) It is thought that it might've been derived from Latin calida fornax meaning "hot furnace", or from Native American, kali forno meaning "high hill, native land". It is also thought to have derived from the given name Khalif or Khalifa.
CalmaFilipino, Pampangan From Pampangan kalma meaning "fate, fortune", ultimately from Sanskrit कर्मन् (karman).
CalneWelsh Calne is derived from the Welsh word "karn," which means "a pile of stones," such as was often used to mark a burial site. The forebears that initially bore the name Calne likely lived by a notable heap of stones.
CalviItalian Patronymic or plural form of Calvo. Habitational name from Calvi in Benevento province.
CalzadillaSpanish habitational name from any of the places called (La) Calzadilla, named with a diminutive of calzada 'paved road'
CamiuRomansh Derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and a short form of the given name Barclamiu.
CamoranesiItalian Originally indicated a person from Camerano, a small town near the city of Ancona in central Italy. A famous bearer of this name is the Argentine-born Italian former soccer player Mauro Camoranesi (1976-).
CandyEnglish perhaps from Middle English candi "crystallized cane sugar" (via French from Persian qand "sugar") and used as a metonymic occupational name for a sugar merchant... [more]
CannizzaroItalian Derived from Sicilian cannizzu "wattle", denoting a maker of reed matting. Stanislao Cannizzaro (1826-1910) was an Italian chemist. He is famous for the Cannizzaro reaction and his influential role in the atomic-weight deliberations of the Karlsruhe Congress in 1860.
CanomanuelSpanish The first part of this surname is possibly derived from Spanish cano "hoary, white-haired, grey-haired". The second part is derived from the given name Manuel... [more]
CanoyFilipino Possibly derived from Hokkien 橄欖孫 (ka-núi-sun) meaning "great-grandchild".
CanterburyEnglish Habitational name from Canterbury in Kent, named in Old English as Cantwaraburg "fortified town (burgh) of the people (wara) of Kent".
ČapekCzech Derived from a diminutive of Czech cáp meaning "stork", applied as a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a stork. In some cases the family name may have derived from a heraldic symbol.
CapelEnglish From the Domesday Book of 1086, from the old French word 'capele' meaning chapel.
CapraItalian From the Latin word capra meaning "nanny goat." This was a name originally borne by shepherds / goat herders.
CapriItalian habitational name for someone from Capri the island in the Bay of Naples.
CapricorneFrench Derived from the Latin word (Capricornus) meaning "horned like a goat". Probably a nickname for an ambitious person.
CapuaItalian From the name of a city in Campania, Italy, possibly derived from Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌐𐌄𐌅𐌀 (capeva) meaning "city of marshes", though this etymology is disputed.
CardelliniItalian From a diminutive of Cardelli. A famous bearer of this surname is the American actress Linda Cardellini (1975-).
CardoSpanish, Italian From cardo "thistle, cardoon" (from Latin carduus) either a topographic or occupational name for using wool carder thistles, or from the given name Cardo a short form of given names Accardo, Biancardo, or Riccardo.
CarisbrookEnglish Carisbrooke is a village on the Isle of Wight; the name is thought to mean "Carey's brook". When in 1917 the British royal family changed its name from the "House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" to the "House of Windsor" and renounced all German titles, the title of Marquess of Carisbrooke was created for the erstwhile German Prince Alexander of Battenberg.
CarmichaelScottish, English From the name of a village in Scotland meaning "fort of Michael", from Welsh caer meaning "fortress" and the given name Michael.
CarmiggeltDutch Dutch cognate of Carmichael. This was the surname of the Dutch writer, journalist and poet Simon Carmiggelt (1913-1987).
CarmignaniItalian Denoted a person from Carmignano, a municipality in Tuscany, Italy. In some cases, it could instead derive from the Latin nomen Carminianus (see Carminius).
CarringtonEnglish, Scottish English: habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Carrington, probably named with an unattested Old English personal name Cara + -ing- denoting association + tun ‘settlement’.... [more]
CarruthersScottish This old Scottish surname was first used by Strathclyde-Briton people. The Carruthers family in the land of Carruthers in the parish of Middlebie, Dumfriesshire. In that are it is pronounced 'Cridders'.... [more]
CasagrandeItalian Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations called Casagrande or Casa Grande, derived from Italian casa meaning "house" and grande meaning "big, large".
CasamonicaItalian (Rare) Derived from Italian casa meaning "house" with the suffix -monica which is taken from the name of Saint Monica. Casamonica is a relatively rare surname associated with a notorious Italian clan involved in organized crime and criminal activities... [more]
CasapietraItalian From Italian casa meaning "house" and pietra meaning "stone".
CasavantesFrench, Spanish, Basque Topographic name composed of casa "house" + avant "ahead of forward" + the suffix -es, denoting one who lived in the house located at the beginning of a village. This surname has died out in France.