CawasIndian (Parsi), Persian, Indian, Arabic Cawas is an Indian (Parsi) surname which means “Arch” in Persian and ultimately Arabic. John Cawas of Toofani Tarzan fame was a notable person with that surname.
CerdaSpanish, Portuguese Nickname for a person with a prominent tuft of hair, derived from Spanish and Portuguese cerda meaning "bristle, stiff, coarse, short, thick hair", ultimately from Late Latin cirra.
CerdàCatalan Denoted someone from Cerdanya (also called La Cerdanya), a natural and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain.
ChaitJewish Jewish occupational name derived from the Hebrew word חייט meaning "tailor".
ChalkEnglish English: from Old English cealc 'chalk', applied as a topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of chalk soil, or as a habitational name from any of the various places named with this word, as for example Chalk in Kent or Chalke in Wiltshire.
ChapaSpanish An occupational name for a metalworker meaning "metal sheet", amongst other things. It may also come from the name of a place in Galicia, Spain, or the Basque word and oak bush, "chaparro".
ChaseFrench Topographic name for someone who lived in or by a house, probably the occupier of the most distinguished house in the village, from a southern derivative of Latin casa "hut, cottage, cabin".
ChellFrench Probably a respelling of the French habitational name Challe, from any of the various places so named from Late Latin cala ‘rock shelter’.
ChêneFrench from Old French chesne "oak" (from Late Latin caxinus), hence a topographic name denoting someone who lived near a conspicuous oak tree or in an oak wood, or a habitational name from (Le) Chêne, the name of several places in various parts of France... [more]
CheneFrench Means "oak" in French. Perhaps it's named for someone who lived by an oak tree.
ChengHmong From the clan name Tsheej associated with the Chinese character 陳 (chén) (see Chen).
CheonKorean From Sino-Korean 天 (cheon) meaning "sky, heavens" or 千 (cheon) meaning "thousand, many".
CheryFrench The name Chery is derived from the Anglo Norman French word, cherise, which means cherry, and was probably used to indicate a landmark, such as a cherry tree, which distinguished the location bearing the name.
ChicaSpanish Apparently from chica, feminine form of chico ‘small’, ‘young’ (see Chico), but a variant of the habitational name Checa, from a place so named in Jaén province is also a possibility.
ChidoSpanish Likely given to someone who lived in a cold environment
ChubbEnglish English (mainly West Country): nickname from Middle English chubbe ‘chub’ a common freshwater fish Leuciscus cephalus. The fish is notable for its short fat shape and sluggish habits and the word was used in early Modern English for a lazy spiritless person a rustic or a simpleton... [more]
ClercFrench Occupational or status name for a member of a minor religious order or for a scholar Old French clerc from Late Latin clericus from Greek klerikos a derivative of kleros "inheritance legacy" with reference to the priestly tribe of Levites (see Levy ) "whose inheritance was the Lord"... [more]
CliffEnglish habitational name from any of numerous places called Cliff(e), Cle(e)ve, or Clive, from Old English clif "slope, bank, cliff", or a topographic name from the same word... [more]
CliftEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a crevice in rock, derived from Middle English clift meaning "cleft". The American actor Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) was a famous bearer of this name.
CloreEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of German Klor (from a short form of the medieval personal name Hilarius (see Hillary) or Klar).
ClossGerman The surname Closs is of Germanic origin, likely derived from the Low German word kloss or kloß, meaning “dumpling” or “ball”, possibly used as a nickname for someone with a round shape or associated with food preparation... [more]
CloudEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived near an outcrop or hill, from Old English clud "rock" (only later used to denote vapor formations in the sky).
CloudFrench From the Germanic personal name Hlodald, composed of the elements hlod "famous, clear" and wald "rule", which was borne by a saint and bishop of the 6th century.
ClwydWelsh This indicates familial origin near the River Clwyd.
ClydeScottish A river in the south-west of Scotland, running through Inverclyde, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire, and the city of Glasgow. The second longest in Scotland; and the eighth longest in the United Kingdom... [more]
CmielPolish From the Polish noun 'trzmiel', which means "bumblebee."
CoachIrish Origin uncertain. Most probably a reduced form of Irish McCoach, which is of uncertain derivation, perhaps a variant of McCaig.
CoachFrench Possibly an altered spelling of French Coache, from the Norman and Picard term for a damson, probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of plums.
CoadyIrish Coady or Cody originated in the Southern Counties of Ireland. The Norman family Odo le Ercedekne acquired land in Kilkenny, Ireland in early 1300's. In medieval records it was spelled Lerceddkne and then Archdeken and then Archdeacon... [more]
CoardEnglish, Northern Irish Derived from Old French corde "string", a metonymic occupational name for a maker of cord or string, or a nickname for an habitual wearer of decorative ties and ribbons.
CoathEnglish Derived from the Cornish word for smith, goff.
CockeEnglish nickname from Middle English cok ‘cock’, ‘male bird or fowl’ (Old English cocc), given for a variety of possible reasons. Applied to a young lad who strutted proudly like a cock, it soon became a generic term for a youth and was attached with hypocoristic force to the short forms of many medieval personal names (e.g. Alcock, Hancock, Hiscock, Mycock)... [more]
CombeFrench Either a topographic name for someone living in or near a ravine from combe "narrow valley ravine" (from Latin cumba a word of Gaulish origin); or a habitational name from Combe the name of several places in the southern part of France of the same etymology.
ComerEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of combs, or to someone who used them to prepare wool or flax for spinning, derived from Middle English combere, an agent derivative of Old English camb meaning "comb"... [more]
ČomorBosnian (Rare), Bosnian Čomor is a rare surname in the world and has (mostly) Herzegovenian origins. You can find most Čomors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only 400 people bare the surname. Čomor has two meanings; First meaning is 'buttercup' and the second one is 'a disease that comes from eating fatty (oily) foods, fever with a constant feeling of nausea and disgust'
ComteFrench Nickname for someone who worked for a count or for someone acting haughty from Old French contecunte "count"... [more]
ConeyEnglish Means "seller of rabbits", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a rabbit (in either case from Middle English cony "rabbit").
CorteSpanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese From corte "court", applied as an occupational name for someone who worked at a manorial court or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by one.
CourtEnglish, French, Irish A topographic name from Middle English, Old French court(e) and curt, meaning ‘court’. This word was used primarily with reference to the residence of the lord of a manor, and the surname is usually an occupational name for someone employed at a manorial court.... [more]
CowieScottish habitational name from any of several places, especially one near Stirling, named Cowie, probably from Gaelic colldha, an adjective from coll ‘hazel’
CrabbEnglish, Scottish From Old English crabba "crab (crustacean)", a nickname for someone with a peculiar gait. Could also be from the sense of "crabapple (tree)", from Middle English crabbe "crabapple, wild apple", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a crabapple tree, or a nickname for a cantankerous person, with reference to the sourness of the fruit.