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.
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.
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]
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]
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.
GraafDutch Means "count, earl", a Dutch cognate of Graf.
GrabeGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a dike or ditch, or habitational name from either of two places in Thuringia named with this word: Grabe and Graba.
GraffEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a clerk or scribe, from Anglo-Norman French grafe "quill, pen" (a derivative of grafer "to write", Late Latin grafare, from Greek graphein).
GranoItalian, Spanish from grano "grain" (from Latin granum) probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a farmer or grain merchant.
GrantEnglish, Scottish From a medieval personal name, probably a survival into Middle English of the Old English byname Granta (see Grantham).
GrapeLow German Metonymic occupational name for a maker of metal or earthenware vessels, from Middle Low German grope "pot".
GrassEnglish, German Topographic name for someone who owned or lived by a meadow, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or sold hay, from Middle English gras, Middle High German gras "grass, pasture, grazing".
GrassScottish Occupational name, reduced from Gaelic greusaiche "shoemaker". A certain John Grasse alias Cordonar (Middle English cordewaner "shoemaker") is recorded in Scotland in 1539.
GraveFrench Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of gravelly soil, from Old French grave "gravel" (of Celtic origin).
GraveGerman Either from the northern form of Graf, but more commonly a topographic name from Middle Low German grave "ditch", "moat", "channel", or a habitational name from any of several places in northern Germany named with this word.
GreayEnglish (Rare) The name Greay originated when a family matriarch changed the name to differentiate between the two families with the same name Grey. There was a wedding between the two families and it was easier if the name was changed.
GriesUpper German Topographic name for someone who lived in a sandy place from Middle High German griez meaning “sand pebble” or a shortened form of German Griese.
GrillGerman From a nickname for a cheerful person, from Middle High German grille "cricket" (Old High German grillo, from Late Latin grillus, Greek gryllos). The insect is widely supposed to be of a cheerful disposition, no doubt because of its habit of infesting hearths and warm places... [more]
GroveGerman Habitational name from any of several places named Grove or Groven in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, derived from Middle Low Germany grove "hole, pit, ditch, channel"... [more]
GrzybPolish Meaning "mushroom", a nickname for an old man or simpleton, or signifying someone whose profession involved mushrooms.
GucciItalian Patronymic or plural form of the given name Guccio, a late medieval Italian diminutive of various names ending in go, such as Arrigo (via Arriguccio) or Ugo (via Uguccio)... [more]
GuestEnglish Nickname for a stranger or newcomer to a community, from Middle English g(h)est meaning "guest", "visitor" (from Old Norse gestr, absorbing the cognate Old English giest).
GummaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 群馬 (Gumma) meaning "Gumma", a former district in the former Japanese province of Kōzuke in present-day Gumma, Japan.... [more]
GuppyEnglish English habitational name from a place in Wootton Fitzpaine, Dorset, Gupehegh in Middle English. This is named with the Old English personal name Guppa (a short form of Guðbeorht "battle bright") + (ge)hæg "enclosure"... [more]
HaferGerman, Jewish Metonymic occupational name for a grower of or dealer in oats, from German Hafer "oats". Compare Haber. As a Jewish surname, it is in many cases ornamental.
HaganJewish Hebrew, shortened from haganah which means soldier
HaganIrish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÁgáin "descendant of Ógán", a personal name from a diminutive of óg "young".
HaganIrish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAodhagáin "descendant of Aodhagán", a personal name formed from a double diminutive of Aodh meaning "fire".
HagenGerman, Dutch, Danish from the ancient Germanic personal name Hagen a short form of various compound names formed with hag "enclosure protected place" as the first element... [more]
HagerDutch, North Frisian From a Germanic personal name, either Hager, composed of hag "hedge, enclosure" and heri "army", or Hadegar, from hadu "battle, combat" and gar "spear" or garu "ready, prepared".