CaminoSpanish Derived from the Spanish word for "path", or "walkway". This could have been used to denote a person who lived near a path, or one who built paths for a living.
CamoysEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with a snub nose (from Old French camus "snub nose").
CamperEnglish Respelling of German Kamper or Kämpfer (see Kampfer). The surname Camper is recorded in England, in the London and Essex area, in the 19th century; its origin is uncertain, but it may have been taken there from continental Europe.
CampusSpanish Derived from the Latin word campus, meaning "field". It denoted someone who either lived in a field or worked in one.
CanadaFrench, English It derives from the Middle English "cane", a development of the Old French "cane", meaning cane, reed.
CanchéMayan From Yucatec Maya ka'anche' referring to the button mangrove (Conocarpus erectus), a type of shrub. Alternately it may be derived from che' meaning "wood, stick, board", referring to a raised seedbed or floorboards used to beat and cut cobs.
CancioSpanish A name for a person who first held the position of Chancellor.
CancroItalian Derived from Italian cancro "cancer". Probably an occupational name for a person who catches, cooks, sells crabs.
CandanTurkish Means "sincere, wholehearted" in Turkish.
CannerJewish (Anglicized, Modern, Rare) Anglicized (American) version of one of many Eastern European Ashkenazi surnames including Cahana, Cahane, Kahana, Kahane, etc. Cahana et al is a version of the common surname Cohen.
CañosaFilipino It is derived from the word 'Caña' meaning 'reed'. Born as a surname in before World War I, it is a newly formed family name built by Angelo Cañosa and his 2 siblings, formerly his birth surname is Caña when he and his siblings migrated to Agusan when they are wanted by the Spanish Authorities as they were berdugos(Killing Spanish allies)in their native place, Minglanilla and by rowing boats, they landed in Mindanao and he, Angelo Caña and his two siblings changed their family name into Cañosa... [more]
CanosaItalian It derives from the toponym Canosa di puglia.
CañusaFilipino (Hispanicized, Modern, Archaic) Cañusa is the only variant of the family name of Cañusa. Used by the descendants of Ortillo Cañosa and Eulalia Cañosa in Agusan del Sur, Philippines.
CaprioItalian from Latin caprae ‘goats’ or possibly from Greek kapros "(wild) boar" and so a metonymic occupational name for a goatherd or swineherd or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a goat or boar.
CaputoItalian Derived from Latin caput meaning "head", used as a nickname for a big-headed or stubborn person.
CarafaItalian It could derive from toponyms such as Caraffa del Bianco in the province of Reggio Calabria or Caraffa in the province of Catanzaro.... [more]
CardenEnglish From the name of a village in Cheshire, England, derived from Old English carr "stone, rock" and worþign "enclosure, estate".
CardenEnglish Derived from Middle English cardoon "wild thistle, artichoke thistle". Could be a nickname for someone who carded wool (which was originally done with thistles), for a person who lived near a thistle patch, or for a prickly and unapproachable person... [more]
CardonFrench from the name of several places in southern France called (Le) Cardon. Or from Old Norman French cardon "thistle" (a diminutive of carde from Latin carduus) hence a topographic name for someone who lived on land overgrown with thistles an occupational name for someone who carded wool (originally a process carried out with thistles and teasels) or perhaps a nickname for a prickly and unapproachable person... [more]
CarlanIrish Anglicized form of Irish O'Carlain or O'Caireallain, from the Irish carla meaning a "wool-comb" and an meaning "one who" which roughly translates as "one who combs wool"... [more]
CarlinSwedish (Rare) Combination of the given name Karl, which is also a common place name prefix, and the common surname suffix -in (originally from Latin -inus "descendant of").
CarrelFrench French: from Old French quar(r)el ‘bolt (for a crossbow)’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of crossbow bolts or a nickname for a short, stout man. The word also meant ‘paving slab’, and so it could also have been a metonymic occupational name for a street layer... [more]
CarrowEnglish English: habitational name from either of two places: Carrow in Norfolk or Carraw in Northumberland. The first is thought to be named from Old English carr ‘rock’ (a Celtic loan word) + hoh ‘spur of a hill’, while the last may be named either from an Old British plural of carr, or from carr + Old English raw ‘row’... [more]
CassarMaltese Of debated origin and meaning. Theories include a derivation from the Italian given name Cesare (via the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) and a Maltese adoption of the Sicilian surname Cassarà... [more]
CasselEnglish, French, German A surname derived from the Latin military term castellum "watchtower, fort". A variant spelling of the word castle. Denoted someone hailing from the commune of Cassel in the Nord départment in northern France or the city of Kassel (spelled Cassel until 1928) in Germany... [more]
CasseyScottish, Irish This surname originated around ancient Scotland and Ireland. In its Gaelic form it is called, 'O Cathasaigh', which means 'the watchful one'.... [more]
CastelFrench, English Topographic name from a derivative of Late Latin castellum "castle" (a diminutive of Latin castrum "fort Roman walled city") or a habitational name from any of several places called Le Castel... [more]
CastonEnglish A habitational name from a place named Caston, which is from the unattested Old English personal name Catt or the Old Norse personal name Káti + Old English tūn meaning ‘farmstead, settlement’.
CavillEnglish Derived from Cavil, a place located in the East Riding of Yorkshire in northern England, named from Old English ca meaning "jackdaw" and feld meaning "open country". It is borne by the British actor Henry Cavill (1983-).
CawoodEnglish Traditional English habitational surname meaning "jackdaw wood" from the Old English ca referring to 'jackdaw' (a member of the crow family), and wudu 'wood'.
CaxaroMaltese One bearer is Maltese philosopher Pietru Caxaro.
ÇaylakTurkish Means "kite (the bird)" or "inexperienced" in Turkish.
CaylusFrench Of debated origin and meaning; theories include a Southern French corruption of Latin castellum "castle, fort, citadel, fortress, stronghold".
CazacuRomanian From the name of the Cazacu River which flows through Romania.
CazalyEnglish (Australian) The meaning of this surname is unknown. This is a very important name in Australian Football culture, as it was the surname of a very prestigious Australian rules football player, Roy Cazaly. Mike Brady, from The Two Man Band, published a song called "Up There Cazaly", which is played every year at the AFL grand finals, thus making this surname is well-known by Australian Football fans.
CeesayWestern African, Manding Gambian surname of Mandinka origin, which originally indicated a descendant of a marabout, i.e. a West African Muslim teacher and religious leader.... [more]
CerezoSpanish (European) Surname, in general, of toponymic origin, frequent and distributed throughout Spain, from the noun -cerezo-, "fruit tree whose fruit is the cherry". The surname was derived from nicknames or through the many toponyms in Cerezo existing in Spain, names of populations such as Cerezo (Cáceres), Cerezo de Mohernando (Guadalajara), etc., whose name was taken by some individuals for be native from one of them, as was the custom in the Middle Ages.There were, therefore, different houses of the surname Cerezo unrelated to each other, the Castilian and Extremaduran being very old, whose branches passed to La Rioja, Andalusia, Valencia and Murcia.
CeriseFrench, Italian Italian habitational name from La Cerise or Torrent-La Cerise placenames in Valle d'Aosta from French cerise "cherry"; and French occupational name from cerise "cherry" (from Latin cerasus) applied as a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or sold cherries.
ÇerkezTurkish Means "Circassian" or "Adyghe" in Turkish, referring to an ethnic group native to the Caucasus.
CerticHungarian (Modern) this is my father's family name. I did not grow up with him but have been told his family came here from Hungary. He was born in Marianna Pennsylvania.
ChakmaBengali From the name of the Chakma people of Bangladesh, India and Myanmar, derived from Sanskrit शक्तिमान (shaktimana) meaning "powerful" (composed of शक्ति (shakti) meaning "power" and the suffix मत् (mana) meaning "as, like, having the qualities of").
ChapelFrench Occupational name for a maker of cloaks or a nickname for a person who wore a distinctive cloak, from a diminutive of Old French chape meaning "cape, cloak".
ChapinFrench, Spanish From a reduced form of French eschapin or Spanish chapín, a term for a light (woman's) shoe; perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore this type of footwear or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a shoemaker.
ChavisLumbee The earliest possibly record of this is from 1728. The spelling at the time was possibly different. It was the surname of freed servant mulatto servant named Will Chaviss. In 1900 census of Robeson County, North Carolina the word was self-identified as a Lumbee last name.
ChawlaIndian, Hindi, Punjabi, Indian (Sikh) Derived from the name of a clan in the Arora community, which is apparently named with Sanskrit तांडुल (cawal) meaning "rice". Originating from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, the name is also derived from Aror (now Rohri) a city in the Sukkur District, Sindh, Pakistan, and the community comprises both Hindus and Sikhs.
CheeksPopular Culture This is the surname of Sandy a Cheeks from SpongeBob SquarePants.
CheemaPunjabi Meaning unknown. This is the name of a Punjabi-speaking subclan of the Jat people found in India and Pakistan, with most members being either Muslim or Sikh.
ChemlaJewish (Sephardic) Derived from Arabic ﺷﻤﻠﺔ (shamlah) meaning "cloak, mantle", probably used as a name for someone who wore, made or sold cloaks.
ChemsoAdyghe (Russified) From Adyghe чэмы (čămə) meaning "cow" and шъо (ŝo) meaning "skin, colour".
ChenaiShona Chenai means "Be clean, be hygienic or come out clean"
CherroMedieval Spanish (Latinized) Meaning villager or farmer of Salamanca, especially of the region which includes Alba, Vitigudino, Ciudad Rodrigo And Ledesma. Concerning the villager from Salamanca called Charro and its equivalent demonym or gentilic is salmantino, salmanticense, salamanqués, salamanquino.
CherryEnglish From Middle English chirie, cherye "cherry", hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of cherries, or possibly a nickname for someone with rosy cheeks.... [more]
CheyneEnglish Locational or topographical surname derived from Old French chesne, chesnai "oak tree, oak grove", ultimately derived from medieval Latin casnetum.
ChiakiJapanese (Rare) Depending on the kanji used can mean different things. Chi means "thousand" or "wisdom" and aki means "bright", "autumn", "sparkle", "crystal ball" or "shining". This is the last name of Naomi Chiaki, a Japanese singer... [more]
ChiereFrench (Rare) Possibly derived from the Old French chiere, from chier, meaning "dear, dearest".
ChiesaItalian Means "church" in Italian, originally a topographic name for someone who lived near a church, a habitational name from any of various places named Chiesa or perhaps an occupational name for someone who worked in a church.
ChinjiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 鎮寺 (Chinji), from 鎮寺門 (Chinjimon), a name of a group of several households in the Kadowari System that took place in the Edo Period in the former Japanese province of Satsuma in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan, as well as surrounding areas.
ChiodiItalian From Italian chiodo "nail", probably given to someone who made or sold nails.
ChiuraJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 千浦, 地浦 or 知浦 with 千 (sen, chi) meaning "thousand," 地 (ji, chi) meaning "earth, ground", 知 (chi, shi.raseru, shi.ru) meaning "know, wisdom" and 浦 (ho, ura) meaning "bay, beach, creek, gulf, inlet, seacoast."... [more]
ChmaraPolish Derived from proto-slavic *xmara meaning "dusky"
ChoateEnglish Probably derived from the place name Chute in Wiltshire, England, or from the parish Shute in Devon. Alternatively, it could be from the Dutch surname Van Choate, itself derived from a location in France.
ChodakPolish Chodak is a Polish surname, likely derived from "chodak", meaning a wooden shoe or clog
ChoiceEnglish Derived from the personal names Josse or Goce, which are derived from the Latin word "gaudere" and is a cognate in origin with the word "joy."
ChopinFrench French and English: nickname for a heavy drinker, from Old French chopine, a large liquid measure (from Middle Low German schopen "ladle"). The derived Old French verb chopiner has the sense 'to tipple’, ‘to drink to excess’... [more]
ChristGerman, Dutch Either from a short form of the personal name Christian, or from a nickname meaning "the Christian", both from Latin Christ (see Christos 1).