PorteFrench, German, English from Old French porte "gateway entrance" (from Latin porta) hence a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town (typically the man in charge of them)... [more]
PoseyEnglish, French Derived from the Greek word "desposyni." The Desposyni is a term referring to a group of people that are allegedly direct blood relatives to Jesus. They are mentioned in Mark 3:21 and Mark 3:31. American actress Parker Posey is a famous bearer.
PressEnglish, Jewish A nickname for a pious individual from the Middle English form of "priest" or possibly someone employed by a priest. In the Jewish sense, one whose occupation was to iron clothes.
PretoPortuguese comes from the Portuguese word preto meaning "black" or "dark". referring to someone with dark skin and/or hair. possibly a cognate of the spanish surname Prieto
PreusGerman/Norwegian Unknown, but may have come from Prussia or be Jewish. It could mean to jabber. Maybe the same as Preuss, but eliminated the S when immigrating to America.
PreveItalian Derives from the Latin "presbyter" with the meaning of "Older". Abundant in the Piedmont region.
PreveItalian From Greek "πρεσβύτερος" (presbyteros), via Latin "presbyter" with the meaning of "The Old One".... [more]
PrimeEnglish, French From latin primus or from Old French prime, both meaning "first".
PrinsDutch, Jewish Means "prince" in Dutch, a doublet of Prince. Often a habitational name for someone who lived or worked near a location named Prins, such as an inn or windmill, or sign depicting the Prince of Orange... [more]
PrudeEnglish (American) This surname comes from the English word prude. The definition for the word prude is a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.
PrudeAfrican American This surname came from the English word prude. The definition of the word prude is a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.
PrunaSpanish (Rare) Possibly a habitational name from a place so named in Spain. It could also be derived from Catalan pruna "plum".
PrůšamCzech from a pet form of the personal name Prokop
PrussEstonian Pruss is an Estonian surname meaning "beam" and "rafter".
PruulEstonian Pruul is an Estonian surname meaning "brew".
PruunEstonian Pruun is an Estonian surname meaning "brown".
PruusEstonian Pruus is an Estonian surname, possibly a corruption of "pruss" meaning "beam" and "timber".
PugnoItalian The Italian family name Pugno is considered by scholars to be of nickname origin. While the majority of surnames that are derived from a sobriquet or nickname reveal to us some aspect of the physical appearance of the initial bearer of the name or may allude to a characteristic of this person, other nickname family names make reference to a particular piece of clothing or favorite article or indeed a favorite color of the bearer of the name... [more]
PuharSerbian (Modern, Rare) The last name of the contestant Mirjana Puhar from America's Next Top Model, who originally was born in Serbia. She died on February 24, 2015, aged 19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
PujolCatalan, French Catalan and French variant of Puig. Spanish tennis player Marcel Granollers (1986-) bears this name.
PuleoSicilian Derived from Sicilian pule(i)o (from Latin pulegium) "pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)", an herb in the mint family historically used in medicine and as a flea repellent. Possibly a metonymic occupational name for an herbalist.
PunayFilipino, Cebuano Means "yellow-breasted fruit dove" or "pink-necked green pigeon" (both species of bird) in Cebuano.
PungaMaori The name means "reason, cause, origin". Punga is the name of the daughter of Ra (Sun) and his spouse Tame. This was the name of Ngati Mutunga chief Apitea Punga (1827?-1885) who had Moriori slaves and was a big land owner... [more]
PunkeGerman Unexplained; possibly an altered form of Bunke, from a Middle Low German personal name.
PurjeEstonian Purje is an Estonian surname derived from "purjetama", meaning "sail".
PuschGerman Name for someone who lived near bushes or a thicket. The distinguished name Pusch is derived from the Old German word busc, which means thicket or brush.
PuseyEnglish Habitational name from Pusey in Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire), so called from Old English peose, piosu ‘pea(s)’ + ēg ‘island’, ‘low-lying land’, or from Pewsey in Wiltshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Pevesie, apparently from the genitive case of an Old English personal name Pefe, not independently attested + Old English ēg ‘island’.
PuseyFrench Habitational name form Pusey in Haute-Saône, so named from a Gallo-Roman personal name, Pusius, + the locative suffix -acum.
QuailEnglish, Manx A variant of Quayle, derived from various patronymics meaning "son of Paul". Alternately, an English nickname derived from the bird, perhaps given to a person who was timid, or known for being promiscuous.
QuantDutch, German From Middle Dutch quant meaning "companion, comrade" or "trickster, prankster, rogue", ultimately from an older term meaning "journeyman, tradesman, small merchant". Compare Quandt.
QuantEnglish Nickname for a clever person from Middle English cwointe/queynte meaning "intelligent, skilled" or "cunning, deceptive", as well as "wonderful, strange, unknown". Ultimately derived from Latin cognitus "known, recognised".
QuastGerman habitational name from any of several places so named in northern Germany. metonymic occupational name for a barber or nickname for someone who wore a conspicuous tassel or feather, from Middle Low German, Middle High German quast(e) "tuft", "tassel", "brush", also "fool".
RaderGerman Variation of Rademacher, meaning "maker of wheels" in German ("rat" meaning wheel), later shortened to Rader and other variations such as Redder, Raeder, Redler, etc.
RalphEnglish From a Middle English personal name composed of Germanic rad "counsel, advice" and wolf "wolf". This was first introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers in the Old Norse form Ráðulfr, and was reinforced after the Conquest by the Norman form Ra(d)ulf... [more]
RamboSwedish (Rare), Norwegian (Rare) Combination of Norwegian and (dialectal) Swedish ramn "raven" and bo meaning either "dweller, inhabitant" or "home, nest". Peter Gunnarsson Rambo (1611-1698) was one of the first Swedish immigrants to the United States in the 17th century and considered to be the father of the settlement New Sweden in Pennsylvania... [more]
RammoEstonian Rammo is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "rammus", meaning "fat" and "fertile"; or from "ramm", meaning both "beetle" and "strength".
RappaItalian, Sicilian from Sicilian rappa meaning ‘bunch, cluster’ or Italian rappa meaning ‘lock, quiff’, which was presumably applied as a nickname with reference to someone’s hair.
RasvaEstonian Rasva is an Estonian surname meaning "tallow", "fat" and "grease".
RatasEstonian Ratas is an Estonian surname meaning "wheel".
RätteEstonian Rätte is an Estonian surname meaning "shawl".
RauchGerman Perhaps an occupational nickname for a blacksmith or charcoal burner, from Middle High German rouch, German Rauch ‘smoke’, or, in the case of the German name, a status name or nickname relating to a hearth tax (i.e. a tax that was calculated according to the number of fireplaces in each individual home).
RavalIndian, Gujarati From Gujarati રાવ (rava) meaning "king", ultimately from Sanskrit राजन् (rajan).
RavelFrench, French (African) Derived from either a place called Ravel in the district of Drome or Provence, or from the word 'rave' meaning a root vegetable, and hence a grower or seller of such items.
RavenEnglish, Dutch From a variety of sources all ultimately derived from the name of the bird. Could be a patronymic form of a given name such as Raven, Hraban, or Walraven; from a nickname referring to dark hair or thieving tendencies; or from a toponym derived from a given name.
RawlsEnglish From the Olde German and Anglo-Saxon personal name Rolf. Originally derived from the Norse-Viking pre 7th Century 'Hrolfr' meaning "Fame-Wolf".
ReachScottish, English Scottish: Nickname For Someone With Streaks Of Gray Or White Hair From Gaelic Riabhach ‘Brindled Grayish’. English And Scottish: Habitational Name From Either Of Two Places Called Reach In Bedfordshire And Cambridgeshire Recorded As Reche In Medieval Documents From Old English Rǣc ‘Raised Strip Of Land Or Other Linear Feature’ (In The Case Of The Cambridgeshire Name Specifically Referring To Devil's Dyke A Post-Roman Earthwork)... [more]
RealeItalian Means "royal" in Italian, either an occupational name for someone in the service of a king or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal manner.
RealiItalian Variant of the surname Reale, which stems from reale "royal", either a name for someone in the service of a royal or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal, aristocratic manner.
ReamsPolish The last name Reams comes from Normandy, France.
RechtGerman Probably a habitational name from a place so named in the Rhineland.
RechtGerman, Jewish Nickname for an upright person, from Middle High German reht, German recht "straight". As a Jewish name it is mainly of ornamental origin.
ReddiTelugu Alternate transcription of Telugu రెడ్డి (see Reddy).
ReeseLow German, Dutch, German Variant of Riese or Reus, from risi meaning "giant". Alternatively, could be a patronymic form of the Germanic given name Razo, derived from rēdaz "counsel, advise", or a habitational name from places called Rees or Reese in Rhineland and Lower Saxony.
RegelGerman from Middle High German regel "(monastic) rule" (from Latin regula), perhaps a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in a monastery.
ReinaSpanish, Portuguese Either a habitational name from any of the places called Reina. Or most likely from the female personal name Reina 1 (from Latin Regina) otherwise a nickname from reina "queen".
ReinoEstonian Reino is an Estonian surname, a variant of the masculine given name "Rein".
ReiseGerman, Jewish German (Westphalia) topographic name, from Middle Low German ris, res ‘swamp’. ... [more]
ReissGerman, Jewish, French (Huguenot) German: variant of Reis or from any of several Germanic personal names composed with ric ‘power(ful)’. Also from the French Huguenot forename Ris, rendered as Reis and Reiss.... [more]
ReiszHungarian, German (Archaic), Jewish Variant form of Reis, or else a patronymic from a pet form of one of the Germanic compound names formed with raginą "counsel, advice" as the first element.