RodhamEnglish From Roddam in Northumberland. The name is thought to have derived from Germanic *rodum, meaning 'forest clearing'.
RodinaRussian Means motherland or homeland in Russian.
RodinoItalian Possibly from the medieval Latin name Rodinus, or Germanic Hrodhari, from hroþi "fame, glory" and Hari "battle".
RodmanEnglish The surname Rodman is an ancient English surname, derived from a trade name, "men who were by the tenure or customs of their lands to ride with or for the lord of the manor about his business". The most famous bearer of this name is the basketball player Dennis Rodman.
RoeberLow German Habitational name from a place named Roben, for example in Thuringia or Schleswig. From a Germanic personal name based on hrod ‘renown’, ‘victory’. Low German variant of Räuber and Rauber.
RoemerGerman Refers to a pilgrim or merchant visiting Rome.
RoffeyEnglish There are two small villages named "Roffey". One in England, near Horsham, and one in France, Burgundy. The name is of Norman orgin. First mentioned in (surviving English documents) in 1307 when a George Roffey buys a house... [more]
RolandFrench, German, Scottish French, German, English, and Scottish: from a Germanic personal name composed hrod ‘renown’ + -nand ‘bold’, assimilated to -lant ‘land’. (Compare Rowland).... [more]
RommelUpper German, Dutch Nickname for a noisy and disruptive person, from Middle Dutch rommel "noise, disorder, disturbance". Alternatively, a variant of Rummel.
RomneyEnglish English: habitational name from a place in Kent, so called from an obscure first element, rumen, + Old English ea ‘river’ (see Rye).
RomseyEnglish From the town of Romsey in Hampshire, England. The surname itself is derived from Old English rum meaning "broad", and ey meaning "area of dry land in a marsh."
RosierFrench French for "rose tree" or "rose bush". A common surname in Francophone areas. It is also the name of a fallen angel who was considered the patron demon of tainted love and seduction.
RosingGerman 1 German and Dutch: patronymic from a derivative of the medieval personal name Rozinus.... [more]
RostovRussian, Literature Either derived from Rostov Oblast, a Russian federal subject, the town of Rostov in Yaroslavl Oblast, or Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city in the Rostov Oblast. This is also the surname of multiple characters from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel "War and Peace".
RottenPopular Culture From the English word rotten, meaning "In a state of decay/cruel, mean, immoral/bad, horrible". In the Icelandic children's television program LazyTown, Robbie Rotten is the main antagonist of the show who desires silence and peace, continuously formulates reckless schemes that often feature him masquerading in various disguises as a means of hoodwinking or tempting residents away from an active lifestyle... [more]
RotterGerman Variant spelling of Rother, an occupational name for the foreman or leader of a group or association of men, or a work gang, from an agent derivative of Middle High German rotte ‘team’, ‘gang’... [more]
RowettEnglish English from a medieval personal name composed of the Germanic elements hrod ‘renown’ + wald ‘rule’, which was introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers in the form Róaldr, and again later by the Normans in the form Rohald or Roald... [more]
RowleyEnglish Anglo Saxon Name- locational, comes from several places in England such as in Devonshire, Yorkshire, County Durham and Staffordshire. It means ' rough wood or clearing', from the Old English 'run' meaning rough and 'leah', meaning clearing in a wood.
RowsonEnglish (British, Anglicized) The ancestors of the Rowson family first reached the shores of England in the wave of migration after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Their name is derived from the Norman given name Ralph. This name, which also occurs as Ralf, Rolf, and Raoul, is adapted from the Old French given name Raol.... [more]
RozmanJewish Variant of Rosman. Slovenian (also Rožman): occupational name for a carter or a horse breeder or dealer, from Middle High German ros 'horse' + man 'man'. Compare German Rossmann.
RubinoItalian The surname Rubino derives from the name Rubino, in turn originated from the Latin term "Rubeus" (red) with evident reference to the well-known precious stone. It is thought that originally the surname was attributed to the physical characteristics of having red hair, however, the origin of the surname Rubino from the Hebrew term "Ruben" which meant "son of providence", or even from the apheresis of the name "Cherubino".
RuckerGerman Middle High German: nickname rucken "to move or draw". North German: nickname from Middle Low German rucker "thief", "greedy or acquisitive person". German: from a reduced form of the Germanic personal name Rudiger... [more]
RudeenSwedish (Archaic) Variant or possibly an anglicized form of Rudén. Rudeen is currently not used in Sweden. One known bearer, bishop Torsten Rudeen (1661-1729), got his name from his father's surname Rudenius (also related to Rudén).
RudolfGerman From a personal name composed of Old High German hrōd "renown" and wolf "wolf", equivalent to English Ralph. This name is also found in Slovenia.
RuegerGerman The name was likely first bestowed on someone thought to have the characteristics of a heron as a nickname, eventually becoming a hereditary surname.
RuelasFrench A last name common in Mexico which is believed to have derived from the French word ruelle (or Portuguese word ruela) meaning lane or alley.
RumbleEnglish Descended from the personal name Rumbald/Rombold, which is composed of the Germanic elements hrom "fame, glory" and bald "bold, brave".
RummelGerman Derived from a short form of names containing the element hruom "fame, glory". Alternatively, could be a nickname for a noisemaker, from Middle High German rummeln "to make noise, to move impetuously"... [more]
RumpleGerman It is derived from Rumbald, an Old German personal name.
RuncieEnglish, Scottish Derived from Latin runcinus, and related to the Old French "roncin", for a horse of little value. Middle English, Rouncy, as in Chaucer's Cantebury Tales.... [more]
RunnerEnglish (American) Probably an altered spelling of German Ronner, annoccupational name for a runner or messenger, a lightly armed mounted soldier. Compare Renner. UK The surname Runner was first found in Lancashire. One of the first records of the family was found in the year 1246 when Alan de Runacres held estates in that shire... [more]
RushenEnglish Originally denoted a person who lived near a marsh, noted for its rushes (see Rush). A famous bearer of this surname is the American singer Patrice Rushen (b. 1954).
RusherGerman (Americanized) Americanized version of the German surname Rüscher or Roshcer. Either a topographic name for someone who lived among rushes or an occupational name for someone who created things out of rushes.
RüsterGerman Means "elm (tree)" in German. Could alternatively derive from rüsten to "to equip, to arm", an occupational name for someone who provided weapons to an army.
RutterEnglish Either (i) "player of the rote (a medieval stringed instrument played by plucking)"; or (ii) from a medieval nickname for a dishonest or untrustworthy person (from Old French routier "robber, mugger")... [more]
RyšavýCzech, Slovak Czech and Slovak last name meaning "red-haired".
RyūjinJapanese It means "Dragon God" or "Dragon King". Using the kanjis 龍 (ryuu, ryou, tatsu) meaning "dragon", and 神 (kami, jin or shin) meaning "god". It can be read as Tatsugami as well.
SafeyaMuslim • Safeya is derived from the SAD-F-A root which is used in many places in the Quran, This name derives from the Arabic “Ṣafi”, meaning “pure, confidante, best friend”. Safiyya bint Huyayy was a Jewish woman captured from the Banu Nadir tribe at age 17, who became Muhammad's wife... [more]
SagaraJapanese From Japanese 相 (saga) meaning "nature, custom, fate, destiny" and 良 (ra) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable" or 楽 (ra) meaning "comfort, ease".
SagawaJapanese From Japanese 佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
SağlamTurkish Means "firm, hard, strong" in Turkish.
SaguidTagalog From Tagalog sagid meaning "slight touch in passing".
SahabiIranian Possibly from Arabic صَحَابِيّ (ṣaḥābiyy) meaning "companion", from the verb صَحِبَ (ṣaḥiba) "to accompany, to be one's companion".
SaharaJapanese From Japanese 佐 (sa) meaning "aid, assist, help" and 原 (hara) meaning "meadow, plain, field". This is the name of areas in the city of Yokosuka and the city of Katori in Japan.
SaharaJapanese From Japanese 左 (sa), a clipping of 左衛門尉 (saemon-no-jō) meaning "judge of senior gate guards" and 原 (hara) meaning "meadow; plain; field".
SaikiaIndian, Assamese From a military title used during the Ahom Kingdom that indicated an official who commanded 100 soldiers. The title itself is derived from Assamese শ (xo) meaning "hundred".
SäinasEstonian Säinas is an Estonian surname meaning "ide/orfe" (a freshwater species of fish; genus Leuciscus).
SaineiKorean (Japanized, Rare) From Japanese 載寧 (Sainei), the Japanese reading of Korean Hanja 載寧 (Chaeryŏng/Jaeyeong) meaning "Chaeryŏng", a clan or a county in province of South Hwanghae in North Korea where the clan originated.
SaipovUzbek, Kyrgyz From a given name derived from Arabic صائب (sayib) meaning "just, true, right".