FoleyIrish As a northern Irish surname it is derived from the Gaelic personal name Searrach, which was based on searrach "foal, colt" and anglicized as Foley because of its phonetic similarity to English foal.
FoltzGerman It is from Germany and it is based on the personal name Volz, which was popular in former times. It means son or descendant of a Volz or Folz
FooteEnglish Nickname for someone with a peculiarity or deformity of the foot, from Middle English fot (Old English fot), or in some cases from the cognate Old Norse byname Fótr.
ForceEnglish From the word "force" meaning waterfall in the North of England.
FørdeNorwegian From Old Norse fyrði dative form of fjórðr "fjord". This was the name of several farmsteads in Norway.
ForetFrench, French Creole From Old French forest ‘forest’, a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a royal forest, or an occupational name for a keeper or worker in one. See also Forrest... [more]
FragaPortuguese Fraga, also derived from the Spanish variation of the word frescas meaning "strawberries", in the Portugal it translates to "from the cliffs or cliffside"
FrainFrench Topographic name for someone who lived near a prominent ash tree from Old French fraisnefresne "ash" from Latin fraxinus "ash".
FrameEnglish, Scottish From the Old English word fram, meaning "vigorous, strong, brave".
FrettEnglish English from Middle English frette, Old French frete ‘interlaced work (in metal and precious stones)’ such as was used for hair ornaments and the like, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such pieces.
FriarEnglish Denoted a member of any of certain religious orders of men, especially the four mendicant orders. (Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans)
FríasSpanish Taken from the city of Frías, in Spain. The name of the city is taken from the Spanish phrase aguas frías, meaning "cold waters".
FrithEnglish, Scottish From Old English friþ "peace, refuge, sanctuary", probably denoting a person who lives in a sanctuary or at peace. It also be a variant of English surname Firth.
FrostWelsh Originally spelled Ffrost (the double ff is a Welsh letter). The Welsh word ffrost refered to someone who is excessively bold or a brag, especially with regard to warrior feats. Edmund Ffrost signed his name this way on the ship's register of the boat which brought him to the Massachussett's Bay Colony in 1631... [more]
FroudEnglish From the Old English personal name Frōda or Old Norse Fróði, both meaning literally "wise" or "prudent". A variant spelling was borne by British historian James Anthony Froude (1818-1894).
FucciItalian From the plural of Fuccio, a short form of any of various personal names with a root ending in -f (as for example Rodolfo, Gandolfo) to which has been attached the hypocoristic suffix -uccio, or alternatively from a reduced form of a personal name such as Fantuccio, Feduccio.
GableEnglish Northern English: of uncertain origin, perhaps a habitational name from a minor place named with Old Norse gafl ‘gable’, which was applied to a triangular-shaped hill. The mountain called Great Gable in Cumbria is named in this way.... [more]
GadžoBosnian It is assumed that Gadžo derives from the old-Indian gārhya ("domestic") and means farmer, villager, head of the house or husband.
GaetaItalian Derived from the town of Gaeta, in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. It can also derive from the given name Gaetano which shares its origin.
GajdaSerbian, Croatian, Czech A slavicized variant of the German surname, Geidl. This was most notably used by Radola Gajda, a Czech military commander and politician who slaviczed his name from Rudolf Geidl.
GakpoWestern African, Ewe Means "iron, metal" in Ewe, possibly derived from a nickname or an occupation. It is usually found in Ghana and Togo. Dutch soccer player Cody Gakpo (1999-) bears this name.
GaleaBiblical Latin Galea in Latin is HELMET. The Galea was a Roman helmet in excess of 1000 BC. Another basis for the name was for a type of boat with oars and sails. The first Greek boats called galea, appeared around the second half of the 2nd millennium BC... [more]
GaleaSpanish, Italian, Maltese From Spanish galea "galleon, warship" presumably a metonymic occupational name for a shipwright or a sailor. Italian habitational name from Galea in Calabria.
GamizBasque The name of two settlements in Basque Country, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque gain "above, upper part; top, summit, peak" and the toponymic suffix -iz.
GanjiIndian Derived from the Sanskrit word “ganja”, which means “cotton”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
GilliItalian Patronymic form of the personal name Gillio, a vernacular derivative of Aegilius, which itself is a later form of the given name Aegidius.
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]
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.
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.
GogoiIndian, Ahom Means "younger brother" or "king" in Ahom.
GogolUkrainian, Polish, Jewish Means "Common goldeneye (a type of duck)" in Ukrainian. Possibly a name for a fowler. A famous bearer was Nikolai Gogol.
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]