SalterEnglish Occupational name for an extractor or seller of salt (a precious commodity in medieval times), from Middle English salt 'salt' + the agent suffix -er.
SammalEstonian Sammal is an Estonian surname meaning "moss".
SammelEstonian Sammel is an Estonian surname meaning "moss".
SammulEstonian Sammul is an Estonian surname meaning "pace" and "step".
SamperCatalan Habitational name from any of the places in Catalonia called Sant Pere, generally as the result of the dedication of a local church or shrine to St. Peter (Sant Pere).
SamuneJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 実 (sane) meaning "fruit seed" and 宗 (mune) meaning "principle; aim; purpose; meaning; gist", referring to a land with many fruits or with rich fertility.... [more]
SamuraJapanese Sa means "support, assist" and mura "village, hamlet" or "town".
SancakTurkish Means "flag, banner, emblem" in Turkish.
SanctiCeltic (Latinized, Archaic) Sancti or Santi is a Italian surname in the north of Italy, Cisalpine Gaul or Galia Citerior also known as Galia Togata. It's a last name belonging to ancient Celtic tribes.
SanjouJapanese From Japanese 三 (san) meaning "three" and 條 or 条 (jou) meaning "paragraph".
SankeyEnglish, Irish Habitational name from a place in Lancashire, which derived from the name of an ancient British river, perhaps meaning "sacred, holy." ... [more]
SantisMedieval Italian (Latinized, Archaic) It means holliness, hallowed, saintly, sainted, sanctity. It is a surname that corresponds with Italian Celts families (Italo-Celtic family groups), more precisely in Piemonte or Piedmont (north of Italy).
SaradaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 皿 (sara), an assigned character to 更 (sara) meaning "new; unused" and 田 (da), the joining form of 田 (ta) meaning "rice paddy, cultivated field", referring to unused farmland.
SardarIndian, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu From a title meaning "chief, leader", derived from Persian سر (sar) meaning "head, authority" and the suffix دار (dar) meaning "possessor".
SarnowPolabian (Germanized), German From the village of Sarnow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Surname of the mayor of Stralsund Karsten Sarnow.
SarōdoJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 佐良土 (Sarōdo) meaning "Sarōdo", a former village in the district of Nasu in the former Japanese province of Shimotsuke.
SarriàCatalan Catalan habitational name from any of the places named Sarrià or Sàrria, in Catalonia.
SarrisGreek Derived from Turkish sari meaning "blond, fair-haired".
SarutaJapanese From Japanese 猿 (saru) meaning "monkey" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
SarverEnglish, Jewish English and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) occupational name from Old French serveur (an agent derivative of server ‘to serve’), Yiddish sarver ‘servant’.
SarwarUrdu, Bengali From the Persian title سرور (sarvar) meaning "lord, master".
SasameJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 左 (sa) meaning "left", -s-, used to represent epenthesis between 2 vowels or a possession marker, and 雨 (ame) meaning "rain; rainfall".
SasanoJapanese From 笹 (sasa) meaning "bamboo grass" and 野 (no) meaning "field, plains, wilderness".
SasoriJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 佐曽利 with 佐 (sa) meaning "assistant, help," 曽 (so, sou, zou, katsu, katsute, sunawachi) meaning "before, ever, formerly, never, once" and 利 (ri, ki.ku) meaning "advantage, benefit, profit."
SawabeJapanese From Japanese 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh, wetlands, swamp" and 部 (be) meaning "part, section" or 辺 (be) meaning "area, place, vicinity".
SawadaJapanese From Japanese 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
SaxenaIndian, Hindi Traditionally believed to be derived from Sanskrit सखिसेना (sakhisena) meaning "friend of the army", from सखा (sakha) meaning "friend, companion" and सेना (sena) meaning "army"... [more]
SaxtonEnglish Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, possibly also one in Cambridgeshire, both so named from Old English Seaxe "Saxons" and tūn "enclosure, settlement".
SaysonFilipino From Hokkien 世孫 (sì sun) meaning "direct lineal descendant" or 西孫 (sai sun) meaning "western grandchild".
SaytouJapanese (Russified) Alternate transcription of Saitou more commonly used by ethnic Japanese living in parts of the former Soviet Union and Sakhalin Japanese residing on Sakhalin Island in Russia.
ScaggsEnglish Variant of Skaggs both of English origin and unknown meaning. Famous bearer is singer Boz Scaggs (1944-) of the SteveMiller Band and the band Toto.
ScerriMaltese Meaning disputed; it could be derived from Sicilian sciarra meaning "fight, brawl", Arabic شَرّ (šarr) meaning "evil, cruel", or a word meaning "anger".
SchaafGerman Metonymic occupational name for a shepherd, from Middle High German schāf ‘sheep’. In some cases it may have been a nickname for someone thought to resemble a sheep, or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a sheep... [more]
SchaalGerman, Dutch, French, Jewish Either a nickname for a braggart or a market crier, (derived from Middle High German schal meaning "noise, bragging"), an occupational name for someone who made dishes for scales and vessels for drinking, (from Middle Low German and Dutch schale "dish"), a habitational name from Schaala in Thuringia or the Schaalsee lake near Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, or a topographic name for someone living on marshy land, (from Dutch schald "shallow")... [more]
SchaapDutch Means "sheep" in Dutch, an occupational name for a shepherd. Alternatively, it could be a nickname for someone who looked or behaved like a sheep in some way, or who lived by a sign depicting a sheep.
SchadeGerman, Dutch From schade "damage, injury", a derivative of schaden "to do damage, harm, hurt", generally a nickname for a thug or clumsy person, or, more particularly, a robber knight, who raided others’ lands.
SchaffGerman Name given to sheepherders, accounding to personal family history.
SchalkGerman, Dutch From Old High German scalc "servant, retainer, jester", which eventually evolved to mean "joker, rogue, knave". Could be an occupational name for an attendant or jester, a nickname for someone mischievous, or derived from a given name containing scalc as an element, such as Godschalk.
SchallGerman Nickname for a braggart or for a market crier from Middle High German schal "noise" "bragging".
SchatzGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) metonymic occupational name for a treasurer, from German Schatz ‘treasure’, Middle High German scha(t)z. It may also have been a nickname for a rich man (or ironically for a miser), or else for a well-liked person or a ladies’ favorite, from the use of the vocabulary word as a term of endearment... [more]
SchausGerman, Luxembourgish A nickname for a simpleton, from schaus, a word in Rhenish Franconian and Lower Rhine dialects of German.
ScheidGerman, Jewish Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary (between two valleys etc.) or crossroads Middle High German scheide, a habitational name from any of various places called ScheidtScheiden... [more]
ScheinGerman, Jewish from Middle High German schīn German schein "shining brightness" hence a nickname for someone with either a radiant personality or possibly for someone living in a sunny location or a Jewish artificial name.
SchellGerman Means "noisy" or "loud" from the German word "schel"
SchenaItalian Derived from a regional variant of Italian schiena "back (of the body)", perhaps a nickname for someone with a straight, rigid posture, or a topographic name denoting a rise or bump in the ground.
ScherfGerman from Middle High German and Middle Low German scherf a coin worth half a penny possibly applied as a nickname for a poor person.
ScherlGerman Derived from the Middle Low German word “scherl” or “scherle,” which means “small shield.” It may have been from a person known for carrying a small shield, a person who lived near a small shield-shaped sign or symbol, or a person who lived in a place named after the small shield.
SchickGerman A nickname given to a person who's smart, stylish, and well-dressed.
SchiffGerman, Jewish From Middle High German Schif "ship", indicating the bearer was either a sailor, or lived in a house distinguished by a ship sign.
SchildGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a maker or painter of shields, from Middle High German, Middle Dutch schilt "shield".
SchildJewish From German Schild "shield" or "(house) sign", applied either as an ornamental name or as a habitational name for someone who lived in a house distinguished by a sign.
SchinkUpper German Nickname for someone with long or otherwise remarkable legs, from Middle High German schinke "thigh, leg". Compare Schenkel.
SchlepGerman Probably a nickname or occupational name for a laborer or carrier, especially in a mine, from Middle Low German slepen, Middle High German slepen 'to drag or carry (a load)' (modern German schleppen, schleifen).
SchleyGerman Name for someone living by the Schlei river.
SchmalGerman Derived from the Middle High German and Middle Low German word smal meaning "small, slight, thin". It was originally used as a nickname.
SchneeGerman, Popular Culture A German surname meaning "snow". One fictional bearer of this surname is Weiss Schnee, a main character from the popular web series RWBY.
SchockGerman German origin. Means "shock" in German, as in surprise.
SchoenGerman, Jewish From German schön, Middle High German schoene "fine, beautiful; refined, friendly, nice", a nickname for a handsome or pleasant man. As a Jewish name, it’s usually ornamental.
SchoenDutch Means "shoe" in Dutch, an occupational name for a shoemaker.
SchurrGerman From a nickname meaning "quarrel" in German, given to a hot-tempered person.
SchutzGerman Occupational surname for an archer or a watchman, from Middle High German schützen "to guard, protect". Also a habitational name from Schutz, a place near Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
SchwabGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone from Swabia (German Schwaben), from Middle High German Swap, German Schwabe ‘Swabian’. The region takes its name from a Germanic tribe recorded from the 1st century BC in the Latin form Suebi or Suevi, of uncertain origin; it was an independent duchy from the 10th century until 1313, when the territory was broken up.
ScimiaItalian From an archaic form of Italian scimmia "monkey", from Ancient Greek σιμός (simos) "snub-nosed". Has figurative meanings of "drunk" and "imitator, mimic, aper".
ScobieScottish Means "person from Scobie", an unidentified place in Perth and Kinross ("thorny place"). A fictional bearer is Henry Scobie, the conscience-wracked and ultimately suicidal deputy commissioner of police in Graham Greene's West Africa-set novel 'The Heart of the Matter' (1948).
ScottoItalian Either an ethnic name for someone from Scotland or Ireland from medieval Italian scotto or scoto meaning "Scot", making it a cognate of Scott, or from a diminutive of given names ending in sco such as Francesco (via its diminutive Francescotto) or Maresco (via Marescotto).
SeabraPortuguese Habitational name from the town of Puebla de Sanabria in northwestern Spain of uncertain meaning, possibly of Arabic, Celtic or Latin origin.
SeagerEnglish, German (Modern) English: from the Middle English personal name Segar, Old English S?gar, composed of the elements s? ‘sea’ + gar ‘spear’.... [more]
SebaldLiterature In 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events', Gustav Sebald was a film director who hid secret codes in his movies, a member of V.F.D., and the likely creator of the Sebald Code.
SebertGerman, French From a German personal name composed of the elements sigi meaning "victory" + berht meaning "bright", "famous".
SebronEnglish Exact origins unknown. It could possibly be from "Seabourne", from a patronymic name ("the son of Sebern"), from William Sebrin, Normandy 1180, or possibly even from Norman or Scandinavian origin.
SecchiItalian Probably related to Italian secco "thin, dry". May alternately derive from secare "to cut", Sardinian seghi "sixteen", segete "harvest, harvest fodder", or a shortened form of seneche "old, aged".
SeditaItalian From Italian sei "six" + dita, plural of dito "finger", hence a nickname either for someone having six fingers or metaphorically for someone who was very dextrous.
SeixasPortuguese Habitational name from any of various places called Seixas in Galicia, Spain, most likely derived from Galician seixo meaning "pebble, stone" (ultimately from Latin saxum).