SnällSwedish Possibly taken from English Snell or its German cognate Schnell, meaning "quick, fast", and having its spelling influenced by Swedish snäll "nice, kind"... [more]
SnapeEnglish (British), Scottish An old, now rare surname, with various origins in Suffolk and Yorkshire in England and Lanarkshire in Scotland, derived from Middle English snaipen, “to injure; to nip (of sleet or snow); to criticize, rebuke, revile”, from Old Norse sneypa, “to disgrace, to dishonor, to outrage”... [more]
SnarkEnglish History largely unknown. The word's original meaning, in the mid-nineteenth century, was to snort / snore, or to find fault. ... [more]
SneydEnglish Derived from multiple locations named 'Sneyd'.
SnipeEnglish Derived from a given name; from Old English snip or Old Norse snípr. It is habitational surname from a place so called in the historic county of Northumberland, North East England.
SokićCroatian Derived from Turksh sokak, meaning "street". The word is still used in Croatian meaning "little street, alley". Most people with this surname live in Cernik, Croatia.
SolakPolish Surname; meaning seller of salt or salt
SolarSpanish (Rare), Catalan, Aragonese, Asturian Spanish, Catalan, Aragonese, and Asturian-Leonese: topographic name from Latin solarius ‘ancestral home’ (a derivative of solum ‘ground’, ‘floor’), perhaps denoting someone who lived near or at the house of an important family.
SoldoItalian, Croatian Nickname from soldo "penny cent" also "military pay wage" (from Latin solidus "solid" the name of a gold Roman coin). From a short form of a compound personal name ending with -soldo such as Ansoldo... [more]
SolerMaltese Not to be confused with the Catalan and Occitan surname of the same spelling.
SoliéFrench Notable bearers include French cellist Jean-Pierre Solié, who was originally named Jean-Pierre Soulier, possibly making it a variant of Soulier.
SolihDhivehi From the given name Salih. A notable bearer is IbrahimMohamed Solih (1962-), the current president of the Maldives.
SomaiJapanese A notable bearer is Shinji Somai (1948-2001). He was a film director.
SomanIndian Indian (Kerala, Tamil Nadu): Hindu name from Sanskrit soma ‘moon’ + the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -n. This is only a given name in India, but has come to be used as a family name in the U.S.
SombySami Derived from the name of the village Sompio in Finland.
SõmerEstonian Sõmer is an Estonian surname meaning "grainy" or "mealy".
SomovRussian Derived from Russian сом (som) meaning "catfish".
SorboItalian, Norwegian the surname of Kevin Sorbo (from Hercules, from God's Not Dead movie or two) comes from the word for the "sorb apple" the fruit of the true service tree Sorbus domestica, or from the location-name made up of saurr "mire mud" + bœ´r ‘farm settlement’.
SotakSlovak Habitational name from Soták, an eastern Slovak region near Humenné.
SottoSpanish (Philippines) Variant of Soto. This spelling variation arose during the American occupation of the Philippines, possibly by the influence of Italian American surnames.
SoumaJapanese (Rare) Sou (相) means "appearance, nature", ma (馬) means "horse". Souma is also a city name in Fukishima prefecture. Mitsuko Souma (相馬光子) from Battle Royale bears this surname
SournKhmer Alternate transcription of Khmer សួន (see Soun).
SoutaJapanese From Japanese 颯 (sō) meaning "sudden, sound of the wind" and 太 (ta) meaning "thick, big, great". This name can also be formed of other kanji combinations. Also used as a given name.
SouthEnglish From Middle English south, hence a topographic name for someone who lived to the south of a settlement or a regional name for someone who had migrated from the south.
SparkEnglish, German Northern English: from the Old Norse byname or personal name Sparkr ‘sprightly’, ‘vivacious’.... [more]
SpäthGerman Derived from Middle High German spæte "late".
SpecaItalian From a variant of spiga "spike, ear (of grain)"
SpeckGerman Variant of Specker as well as a locational surname from one of various places called Speck, Specke and Specken in northern Germany and Spöck in southern Germany, as well as an occupational surname derived from German Speck "bacon" denoting a butcher who sepcialized in the production of bacon, as well as a derisive nickname for a corpulent person.
SpeedEnglish A nickname for a fortunate person, from Middle English sped, "success".
SpeerGerman, Dutch, English German and Dutch cognate of Spear, as well as an English variant of the same surname.
SpierEnglish An English surname, meaning "the one who watches".
SpiesGerman While it translates to the plural of "spy" in English, Spies is a semi-common name found throughout Germany and the surrounding nations. This surname is also popular throughout states with a high German population.
SpijkDutch Possibly a habitational name from any of several locations called Spijk, derived from Old Dutch spich "headland, spit".
SpinaItalian Means "thorn" in Italian, originally a topographic name for someone who lived by a thorn bush or a habitational name from any of various locations called Spina.
SpjutSwedish Taken directly from Swedish spjut "spear".
SpohrGerman Occupational name for a maker of spurs, from Middle High German spor ‘spur’, or a topographic name, from Middle High German spor ‘spoor’, ‘animal tracks’.... [more]
SpoonEnglish Apparently a metonymic occupational name either for a maker of roofing shingles or spoons, from Old English spon "chip, splinter" (see also Spooner).
SpoorEnglish, Dutch From Middle Dutch and Middle English spoor "spur", an occupational name for a maker or seller of spurs.
SrokaPolish From the Polish word sroka, meaning "magpie".
StaafSwedish Derived from various place names beginning with stav- or staf-, often meaning "boundary marker" when used in place names. Other meanings are possible. Also found occasionally as a soldier's name pre-20th century... [more]
StaalDutch From Old Dutch stal meaning "steel", a metonymic occupational name for a steelworker or blacksmith.
StangGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) from Middle High German stang, German Stange ‘pole’, ‘shaft’, hence a nickname for a tall, thin person, a metonymic occupational name for a maker of wooden shafts for spears and the like, or a metonymic occupational name for a soldier.
StateGerman Nickname from Middle High German stæt(e) meaning "firm", "steadfast", "constant".
StaubGerman (Swiss), German, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational nickname for a miller, from Middle High German stoup, German Staub ‘dust’. The Jewish surname may also be ornamental.
StehrGerman From Middle High German ster ‘ram’, hence probably a nickname for a lusty person, or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a shepherd.
StellEnglish Unknown origin, possibly a variant of Steel, from the English word "steel", originating in Yorkshire, UK. Alternatively, it may be derived from North German dialect word stel meaning "bog", denoting someone who lived near a marsh; or from Latin stella meaning "star", eg for a person who lived at an inn with a star on its sign.
StentEnglish (Archaic) Derived from the Old Norse name Steinn meaning "stone". Recorded in several forms including Stein, Steen, Stone and Ston, this surname is english. It is perhaps not surprisingly one of the first recorded surnames anywhere in the world.... [more]
SteynAfrikaans Derived from Old Dutch stēn "stone" referring ot a (bowl) stone or a weapon made of stone or rock.
StichGerman, Jewish metonymic occupational name for a tailor or cobbler from Middle High German stich German stich "stitch".
StiffEnglish (American) Used sometimes as a derogatory term, stiff means uptight. It is used in a surname in American culture as well as in the media, such as novels, movies or tv shows.
StockMedieval English English: A topographic name for someone who lived near the trunk or stump of a large tree, Middle English Stocke (Old English Stocc)... [more]
StolkDutch Contracted form of Stolwijk, a town in South Holland, Netherlands, probably derived from Middle Dutch stolle "lump, chunk" and wijc "farmstead, village".
StoutScottish, English Probably a nickname for a brave or powerfully built man, from Middle English stout ‘steadfast’. A contrary origin derives from the Old Norse byname Stútr ‘gnat’, denoting a small and insignificant person.
StumpGerman From Middle Low German stump ‘tree stump’ (borrowed into Middle English), hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a prominent tree stump, or else a nickname for a short, stocky person.... [more]
StureOld Swedish, Swedish (Rare) Derived from Old Norse stura "to be contrary". This was the surname of two important families in the 15th and 16th century Sweden. Members of these families served as regents of Sweden during this time... [more]
SudanArabic, Italian, Spanish Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Sudan or who had traded with Sudan. The name of the country is ultimately derived from Arabic سُود (sud) meaning "black", referring to the darker skin of the inhabitants.
SudanChinese From Chinese 苏丹 (sūdān) meaning "sultan". This is a common surname among Hui Muslims.
SuenoJapanese This surname is used as either 末延 or 末野 with 末 (batsu, matsu, sue) meaning "close, end, posterity, powder, tip", 延 (en, no.basu, no.biru, no.be, no.beru) meaning "prolong, stretching" and 野 (sho, ya, no, no-) meaning "civilian life, field, plains, rustic."... [more]
SulitFilipino, Tagalog From a nickname derived from Tagalog sulit which can mean "test, gain" or "return of something borrowed, remittance".
SüllaEstonian Sülla is an Estonian surname meaning "fathom".
SullyEnglish Sully, Varient of the last name Sullivan. Notable people include Alfred Sully, American Civil war officer famous for his paintings.
SullyFrench, Haitian Creole from any of the various places called Sully for example in Calvados Loiret Saone-et-Loire and Oise. The first of these is recorded in 1180 as Silleium from the Gallo-Roman personal name Silius or Cilius and the Latin locative element acum... [more]
SuñgaFilipino, Pampangan Old spelling of Sunga. Despite other names like Pañganiban or Pañgilinan falling out of use in favor of their untilded forms, Suñga is still used, with Sunga being much more common.
SuomiFinnish Ethnic name from Finnish Suomi meaning "Finland". At one time this term denoted only southwestern Finland, but nowadays it is the national name for the whole of Finland. As a surname it is mostly an adopted name during the names conversion movement at the beginning of the 20th century.
SusanEnglish, Dutch, Jewish (Sephardic) As an English (London) and Dutch surname, it comes from the feminine personal name Susanna, from Hebrew שושן (shushan) meaning "lily, lily of the valley".... [more]
SwainScottish, Irish, English Northern English occupational name for a servant or attendant, from Middle English swein "young man attendant upon a knight", which was derived from Old Norse sveinn "boy, servant, attendant"... [more]
SwettEnglish Derived from the old English words "swete" and "swot".
SwingEnglish Probably an Americanized spelling of German Schwing or from Middle High German zwinc meaning "legal district", hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a district administrator.
SydowLow German Habitational name from any of several places so named in Germany.
SyezdRussian (Rare), Kazakh (Rare) The last name is a Russian last name derived from съезд (s"yezd) meaning "conference, congress, convention", but it is mostly used in Kazakhstan.
SykesEnglish English Surname (mainly Yorkshire): topographic name for someone who lived by a stream in a marsh or in a hollow, from Middle English syke ‘marshy stream’, ‘damp gully’, or a habitational name from one of the places named with this word, in Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
SyngeEnglish (British) First found in Shropshire where they had been anciently seated as Lords of the Manor of Bridgenorth, from the time of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 A.D.
SyrénSwedish Meaning uncertain. Perhaps a combination of an unknown first element and the common surname suffix -én, or taken directly from Swedish syren "lilac".
SzászHungarian From Szász meaning "Saxon" in Hungarian. Ethnic or regional name for a German speaker from Transylvania or Szepes, etymologically a derivative of German Sachs.
TabakJewish Metonymic occupational name for a seller of tobacco, from German Tabak, Yiddish and Ukrainian tabik (all ultimately from Spanish tabaco, a word of Caribbean origin). Tobacco was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
TabakDutch Occupational name for a butcher or hog breeder, from Middle Dutch tucbake composed of tucken "to pull, push, strike" and bake "hog, pig; meat from the back of a pig".
TafajAlbanian Means "descendant of Tafa", from a short form of the given name Mustafa.
TaffeEnglish Of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname "Ó Táth," meaning "descendant of Táth." It's believed to have originated as a personal name, possibly meaning "poet" or "philosopher."