HardleyEnglish The name comes from when a family lived in the village of Hartley which was in several English counties including Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Kent, Lancashire, York and Northumberland. This place-name was originally derived from the Old English words hart which means a stag and lea which means a wood or clearing.
HarlessEnglish, German English: probably a variant spelling of Arliss, a nickname from Middle English earles ‘earless’, probably denoting someone who was deaf rather than one literally without ears.
HarndenEnglish From an English village Harrowden in Bedfordshire. This place name literally means "hill of the heathen shrines or temples," from the Old English words hearg and dun.
HarsonoChinese (Indonesian) Indonesianized form of Chinese surnames such as Hu (胡) or Zhuo (卓). Surnames like these were instituted during the New Order era (1966–1998) in Indonesia due to social and political pressure toward Chinese Indonesians.
HartungGerman German, Dutch, and Danish: from a Germanic personal name, a derivative (originally a patronymic) of compound names beginning with hart ‘hardy’, ‘strong’.
HaruojaEstonian Haruoja is an Estonian surname meaning "branch creek".
HarvardEnglish From the Old English given name Hereweard, composed of the elements here "army" and weard "guard", which was borne by an 11th-century thane of Lincolnshire, leader of resistance to the advancing Normans... [more]
HarwoodEnglish, Scots Habitation name found especially along the border areas of England and Scotland, from the Old English elements har meaning "gray" or hara referring to the animals called "hares" plus wudu for "wood"... [more]
HaswellEnglish habitational name from Haswell (Durham) or less probably from Haswell (Somerset) or Haswell in North Huish (Devon). The placenames probably derive from Old English hæsel "hazel" and wille "well spring stream".
HatcherEnglish Southern English: topographic name for someone who lived by a gate, from Middle English hacche (Old English hæcc) + the agent suffix -er. This normally denoted a gate marking the entrance to a forest or other enclosed piece of land, sometimes a floodgate or sluice-gate.
HatsunePopular Culture A fictional bearer is the Yamaha engineered Vocaloid and fictional character, Hatsune Miku. It combines the kanji 初 (hatsu) meaning "first time" and 音 (ne) meaning "sound".
HaukebøNorwegian A combination of Norwegian hauk, derived from Old Norse haukr, "hawk" and bø, derived from Old Norse bœr, "farm". The meaning refers to hawks sitting abode; as on the roof of a barn.
HaycockEnglish English (West Midlands): from a medieval personal name, a pet form of Hay, formed with the Middle English hypocoristic suffix -cok (see Cocke).
HayfordEnglish English habitational name from several places called Heyford in Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, or Hayford in Buckfastleigh, Devon, all named with Old English heg ‘hay’ + ford ‘ford’.
HaylingEnglish Either (i) "person from Hayling", Hampshire ("settlement of Hægel's people"); or (ii) from the Old Welsh personal name Heilyn, literally "cup-bearer" (see also Palin).
HaylockEnglish English surname of uncertain origin, possibly from the Old English given name Hægluc, a diminutive of the unrecorded name *Hægel, found in various place names... [more]
HazbounArabic From the name of the ancient Biblical town of Heshbon located in present-day Jordan.
HazlettEnglish (British) Topographic name for someone who lived by a hazel copse, Old English hæslett (a derivative of hæsel ‘hazel’). habitational name from Hazelhead or Hazlehead in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, derived from Old English hæsel ‘hazel’ + heafod ‘head’, here in the sense of ‘hill’; also a topographic name of similar etymological origin.
HeadleeEnglish (Rare) The Anglo-Saxon name Headlee comes from when the family resided in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Headley in Hampshire is the oldest. The surname Headlee belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
HeatherEnglish Topographic name, a variant of Heath with the addition of the habitational suffix -er. This surname is widespread in southern England, and also well established in Ireland.
HedrickGerman (Americanized) This name has a very obscure origin. With the name being of German origin but with notably more people living in England. It means, "Combatant ruler/Ruler of the heathland
HeilandGerman South German: from Middle High German heilant ‘savior’, ‘Christ’, presumably either a name given to someone who had played the part of Christ in a mystery play or an occupational name for a healer, from Middle High German heilen ‘to heal’, ‘save’.
HeinmäeEstonian Heinmäe is an Estonian surname meaning "hay hill".
HeinsooEstonian Heinsoo is an Estonian surname meaning "hay swamp".
HeinveeEstonian Heinvee is an Estonian surname meaning "hay water".
HellandNorwegian The Old Norse name element -land meaning "country, land" combined with either Old Norse hella "flat rock" or hellir "cave". ... [more]
HellbomSwedish From Swedish häll, a type of flat rock, and bom "barrier, boom".
HemsleyEnglish English: habitational name from either of two places in North Yorkshire called Helmsley. The names are of different etymologies: the one near Rievaulx Abbey is from the Old English personal name Helm + Old English leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’, whereas Upper Helmsley, near York, is from the Old English personal name Hemele + Old English eg ‘island’, and had the form Hemelsey till at least the 14th century
HenaresSpanish Derived from the Celtic form of "brave". Also is the name of many towns (Alcala de Henares, Espinosa de Henares, Tortola de Henares...) and a river
HendaiaBasque (Rare) From the name of a commune (Hendaye in French) in southwestern France, of uncertain etymology. Possibly from Basque handi "big, large, great" and ibi "ford" or ibai "river", though this structure would not be grammatically correct... [more]
HensleyEnglish Probably a habitational name from either of two places in Devon: Hensley in East Worlington, which is named with the Old English personal name Heahmund and Old English leah "(woodland) clearing", or Hensleigh in Tiverton, which is named from Old English hengest "stallion" (or the Old English personal name Hengest) and leah... [more]
HenwoodEnglish Habitational name from any of various places so named, as for example Henwood in Cornwall, in Linkinhorne parish, which is named from Old English henn 'hen', 'wild bird' + wudu 'wood', or Hen Wood in Wootton, Oxfordshire
HerediaSpanish Habitational name from any of various places in Basque Country called Heredia, probably derived from Latin heredium meaning "hereditary estate".
HeringhSlovak Heringh, no history known, people having these surnames in Slovakia belong to the same family, very untypical for this region - Slovakia in the middle of Europe.
HerndonEnglish Habitational name from a lost or unidentified place, possibly derived from Old English hyrne "corner, angle, nook" and dun "hill, mountain". Alternatively, it could derive from an older form of the toponym Harrowden, composed of hearg "temple, altar, pile of stones" and dun "hill".
HerrickIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó hEirc "descendant of Erc", a byname meaning "speckled, spotted".
HerringGerman, English, Dutch, Scottish Occupational name for a fisherman, someone who caught or sold herring, or perhaps someone known for eating herring. It could have also been a nickname from the medieval phrase "to like neither herring nor barrel", meaning something of little value.
HerrmanGerman Herrman is of ancient German origin. It is derived from a Germanic personal name made up of the elements heri meaning "army," and man meaning "man." Herrman was first found in Prussia, where the name emerged in medieval times as one of the notable families of the region.
HertzelGerman The ancestral home of the Hertzel family is in the German province of Bavaria. Hertzel is a German nickname surname. Such names came from eke-names, or added names, that described their initial bearer through reference to a physical characteristic or other attribute... [more]
HesslerGerman Topographic surname derived from Middle High German place name Hasel or Hesel (Meaning "Hazel)
HettigeSinhalese From Sinhala හෙට්ටි (hetti) referring to the Chetty caste (primarily composed of merchants and traders) combined with the suffix -ගේ (-ge) meaning "of, home, house".
HeumannGerman Occupational name from German heu meaning "hay".
HiguchiJapanese From Japanese 樋 (hi) meaning "gutter, trough" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".
HigueraSpanish Higuera is a local surname; that is, the name was derived from the village or estate where the original bearer of the name once lived or held land. The Higuera family originally lived in the area of Figueroa.
HiguitaSpanish Derives from spanish higuera meaning "fig tree".
HillaryEnglish From the given name Hillary. A famous bearer is explorer Edmund Hillary (1919-2008)
HilleryEnglish, Irish Variant of Hillary. This surname has long been established in the county of Clare in Ireland. It was borne by the Irish president Patrick Hillery (1923-2008).
HillierEnglish Occupational name for a roof tiler or thatcher from Middle English helier "roofer, slater, tiler", ultimately derived from Old English helan "to hide, conceal, cover".
HillockEnglish Name for someone who lived near or on a hillock, derived from Middle English hillok. Essentially a variant of Hill with a diminutive suffix.
HindleyEnglish English (Lancashire): habitational name from a place near Manchester, so named from Old English hind ‘female deer’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
HisaedaJapanese From Japanese 久枝 (Hisaeda) meaning "Hisaeda", a former area in the former district of Wake in the former Japanese province of Iyo in parts of present-day Ehime, Japan.
HoadleyEnglish Habitational name from East or West Hoathly in Sussex, so named from Old English hað / Middle English hoath "heath" + leah "wood, clearing".
HoapiliHawaiian "Attached to the bosom", i.e very, very close. Name given by Kamehameha to his brother and closest high chief.
HoferleGerman (Austrian) Means "Yard Clearing" from a Combination of the Austrian word Höfer meaning "yard" or "court" with the ancient suffix "le" meaning woodland or clearing.