SheldrakeEnglish From a medieval nickname for a dandyish (showy) or vain man, from Middle English scheldrake, the male of a type of duck with brightly-coloured plumage (itself from the East Anglian dialect term scheld "variegated" combined with drake "male duck").
ShimekakeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 七 (shichi) from 楠木七郎 (Kusunoki Shichirō), 五 (go) from 和田五郎 (Wada Gorō), 三 (san) from 三百騎 (sambyakuki) meaning "300 horses" and 掛 (kake), phonetically assigned to write 駆ける (kakeru) meaning "to run"... [more]
ShimoenooJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 下酔尾 (Shimoenoo) meaning "Shimoenoo", a former division in the area of Terushima in the city of Ichikikushikino in the prefecture of Kagoshima in Japan, or 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.
ShimokataJapanese Shimo can mean "under, below" and kata can mean "shape" or "single".
ShimokawaJapanese From Japanese 下 (shimo) meaning "below, down, under" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
ShimomuraJapanese From Japanese 下 (shimo) meaning "below, down, under" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
ShimonariJapanese From 下 (shimo) meaning "below," "under" and 成 (naru) meaning "to become."
ShimosawaJapanese Shimo means "below, under" and sawa means "swamp, marsh".
ShimoyamaJapanese From Japanese 下 (shimo) meaning "lower portion, end" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain".
ShiranitaJapanese From 白 (shira) meaning "white" and 仁 (ni) meaning "compassion, benevolence", that is then combined with 田 (ta) meaning "rice paddy, field".
ShirasakaJapanese From Japanese 白 (shira) meaning "white" and 坂 (saka) meaning "slope, hill".
ShiromoriJapanese From Japanese 白 (shiro) combined with 森 (mori) meaning forest. Other kanji combinations are possible.
ShironitaJapanese (Rare) From 城 (shiro) meaning "fortress, castle" or 白 (shiro) meaning "white" and 仁 (ni) meaning "compassion, benevolence", that is then combined with 田 (ta) meaning "rice paddy, field"... [more]
ShoesmithEnglish occupational name for a blacksmith who either specialized in shoeing horses (a farrier) or in making and fitting iron blades known as shoes such as the tips of spades and the plowshares on plow moldboards from Middle English sho "shoe" (Old English scoh) and smith "smith" (Old English smiþ).
SholokhovmRussian Derived from Russian шорох (šórox) "rustle, soft crackling sound", denoting a quiet person, or шерохий (šeróxij) "rough, rugged", denoting a person with a rough face.
SiamwallaThai From Thai สยาม (Sayam) meaning "Siam" and วาลา (wala), a transcription of Pali वाला (vālā) meaning "malicious".
SibounhomLao From Lao ສີ (si) meaning "majesty, glory, splendour" or "color", ບຸນ (boun) meaning "happiness, prosperity, goodness" and ຫອມ (hom) meaning "fragrant, aromatic".
SiegfriedGerman From a Germanic personal name composed of the elements sigi "victory" and fridu "peace". The German surname has also occasionally been adopted by Ashkenazic Jews.
SikumbangMinangkabau Allegedly from the phrase si kumbang meaning "black tiger", probably derived from Minangkabau kumbang which can mean "beetle" or "tiger, leopard". The name may have been used to refer to Tamil settlers from southern India who had darker skin and practised a tiger-like form of martial arts... [more]
SillanpääFinnish Means "bridgehead" in Finnish, an area around the end of a bridge. Frans Eemil Sillanpää (1888-1964) was a Finnish author and the first Finnish writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
SingletonEnglish Habitational name from either of two villages, one in Lancashire, derived from Old English scingol "shingle, roof tile" and tun "enclosure, yard, town", the other in Sussex, derived from Old English sengel meaning "brushwood" or "burnt clearing".
SingthongThai From Thai สิงห์ (sing) meaning "lion" and ทอง (thong) meaning "gold".
SjoerdsmaFrisian, Dutch Derived from the Frisian given name Sjoerd combined with the Frisian surname suffix -(s)ma, which is most likely derived from Old Frisian monna meaning "men".
SjölanderSwedish Combination of Swedish sjö "lake, sea" and the common surname suffix -ander (a combination of land and the habitational suffix -er). The second element is sometimes said to be derived from Greek aner "man".
SjöstrandSwedish Combination of Swedish sjö "lake, sea" and strand "beach, shore".
SkameykinmRussian From Russian скамейка (skameyka), meaning "bench".
SkarlatosGreek Occupational name for a dyer, or as a nickname for someone who habitually wore scarlet or who had bright red hair, cognate to the Italian surname Scarlato.
SkarsgårdSwedish (Rare) Allegedly a habitational name derived from Skärlöv, a village located on the island of Öland, Kalmar County, Sweden. The name of the village is said to mean "Skare's farm" (Skares gård in Swedish)... [more]
SkipworthEnglish From the name of Skipwith in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The place name was recorded as Schipewic in the Domesday Book of 1086; as Scipewiz in the 1166 Pipe Rolls of the county; and as Skipwith in the 1291 Pipe Rolls, and derives from the Old English sceap, scip "sheep", and wic "outlying settlement"; hence, "settlement outside the village where sheep were kept".
SladoljevCroatian Derived from slad, meaning "malt", and the -ljev suffix referring to "pouring".
SlaughterEnglish occupational name from Middle English slaughter "butcher" a derivative of Middle English slaught "butchery" and the suffix er or from a shortened form of the synonymous Middle English slaughterer a derivative of slaughter "butchery" and the suffix er.
SlobodyanUkrainian Means "person who live in a sloboda". A sloboda (слобода) is type of settlement in old Slavic countries that usually was used by cossacks for colonisation. It comes from the word свобода (svoboda) "freedom".
SłomińskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Masovian villages named Słomin.
SlovenskyCzech Ethnic name for someone from Slovakia or who had connections with Slovakia.
SlowinskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Slowin in Gorzów voivodeship. From the adjective slowinski, denoting a member of the Slowincy, a Slavic people living in Pomerania.
SmithwickEnglish habitational name from Smethwick in Staffordshire Smethwick Green near Brereton Heath (Cheshire) or a lost place called Smithwick in Southover (Sussex). The place name means "the farm of the smiths" from Old English smiþ "smith" and wic "dwelling specialized farm"... [more]
SorhapuruBasque (Rare) From the name of a village in south-west France Basque Country, possibly derived from sorho "field, cultivated land" and buru "head, top, summit; leader, chief".
SorimachiJapanese From Japanese 反 (sori) referring to a unit of areal measure (equivalent to about 991.7 metres squared) and 町 (machi) meaning "town, city".
SouthwickEnglish An English/Scottish locational name from a variety of places, including, Southwick in Northamptonshire, England, and Southwick in Gloucestershire, Sussex, Durham, Hampshire. ... [more]
SovereignFrench Translation of the French surname Souverain which is derived from Old French souverain meaning "high place".
SovereignEnglish Occupational surname for a leader or supervisor, derived from the English word sovereign meaning "possessing supreme or ultimate power".
SpadaforaItalian Variant form of Spatafora. Spadafora is the younger out of the two surnames and yet the most common of the two, which might partly be because it is a little bit more italianized... [more]
SpångbergSwedish Ornamental name derived from Swedish spång (Old Norse spǫng) meaning "footbridge" and berg meaning "mountain".
SpataforaItalian This surname originates from the Italian island of Sicily, where it was first borne by a noble family of Byzantine origin, which had settled on the island in the 11th century AD. Their surname was derived from the Greek noun σπάθη (spathe) "blade, sword" (akin to Latin spatha "broad sword with a double edge") combined with Greek φορεω (phoreo) "to carry, to bear", which gives the surname the meaning of "he who carries the sword" or "sword-bearer"... [more]
SpellbodyLiterature Used in Jill Murphy's books, The Worst Witch, as well as the 2017 television adaptation for the surname of Maud Spellbody. It is a combination of "spell" and "body".
SpendloveEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone who spread their amorous affections around freely. A different form of the surname was borne by Dora Spenlow, the eponymous hero's "child-wife" in Charles Dickens's 'David Copperfield' (1849-50).... [more]
SpielbergJewish, German From Old High German spiegel "lookout point" or German Spiel "game, play" and berg "mountain". Locational surname after a town in Austria. A famous bearer is American director Steven Spielberg (1946-present).
SpringallEnglish Means (i) "operator of a springald (a type of medieval siege engine)" (from Anglo-Norman springalde); or (ii) from a medieval nickname for a youthful person (from Middle English springal "youth").
StancliffEnglish Habitational name from Scout in Northowram (Yorkshire) recorded as Staynclif in 1309 and Stancliff Skoute (the home of Edward Stankliff) in 1536. The placename derives from Old English stan 1 "stone rock" with influence from Old Norse steinn "stone rock" and Old English clif "cliff bank" later with Middle English scoute "projecting cliff overhanging rock" (Old Norse skúti).
StanislawPolish, German Polish from the personal name Stanisław, composed of the Slavic elements stani ‘become’ + slav ‘glory’, ‘fame’, ‘praise’... [more]
StapletonEnglish Habitational surname from any of various places in England.
StarobratPolish (Rare) Possibly comprised of the Polish elements stary "old" deriving from Proto-Slavic *starъ and brat "brother" deriving from Proto-Slavic *bràtrъ or *bràtъ.
StefańskiPolish Name for someone from any of various places named Stefanów or Stefanowo, derived from the given name Stefan.
StefkovicSlovak Possibly means 'son of Stefko', judging by the fact that Slavic suffixes such as '-ovich' and '-ovic' mean '(name)'s son'.
SteinauerMedieval German Dweller at or near a stone or rock, often a boundary mark; one who came from Stein, in Germany and Switzerland; descendant of Staino or Stein ("stone").... [more]
SteinbachGerman, Jewish German habitational name from any of the many places named Steinbach, named with Middle High German stein ‘stone’ + bach ‘stream’, ‘creek’. ... [more]