ArisugawaJapanese Notable bearers are members of the Arisugawa clan, such as Princess Arisugawa no Miya Oriko and her father Prince Arisugawa no Miya Orihito.
ArlinghausGerman Perhaps a habitational name from Oerlinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia.
ArlingtonEnglish Location name that refers to a settlement associated with a personal name reduced to Arl- plus the Anglo-Saxon patronymic element -ing- then the element -ton denoting a "settlement"... [more]
ArlottEnglish From a medieval nickname for a ne'er-do-well (from Middle English harlot or arlot "vagabond, base fellow"; "prostitute" is a 15th-century development). This surname was borne by Jack Arlott (1914-1991), a British journalist, poet and cricket commentator.
ArlottaSicilian From the French personal name Arlot, recorded in the Latinized form Arolottus from the 13th century.
Armand PilonFrench Armand is the original surname, and it is a French modification from a German surname. The original being Hartmann, that spelled by a francophone becomes Armand.... [more]
ArmasSpanish Occupational name for an arms maker or soldier, from Spanish armas meaning "arms, weapons".
ArmellinoItalian Italian: of uncertain origin; possibly from a masculinized form of Armellina, an old female personal name derived from Latin animula, a diminutive of anima ‘spirit’, ‘soul’.
ArmendarizSpanish, Basque from the Basque personal name Armendari or Armentari, from Latin Armentarius 'herdsman'. Spanish and French variant of Armendaritze, a habitational name from a village in Low Navarre named Armendaritze.
ArmeniaItalian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Armenia or who had connections with Armenia. This surname is derived from the feminine form of Armenio, which is ultimately from Greek Αρμένιος (Armenios) meaning "Armenian"... [more]
ArmenterosSpanish Habitational name from either of two places called Armenteros, in the provinces of Ávila and Salamanca, from the plural of armenatero meaning ‘cowherd’, from Latin armenta ‘herd(s)’.
ArmijoSpanish Derived from the Spanish adjetive "armigero", meaning "one who bears arms". First found in the Northern Region of Spain in Cantabria. Alternate spellings include: Armijos, Armigo, and Armija.
ArmourScottish, Northern Irish From Middle English, Old French armure, blended with the agent noun armer (see Armer), hence an occupational name for a maker of arms and armor. The collective noun armure denoted offensive weapons as well as the more recently specialized sense of protective gear.
ÄrmpaluEstonian Ärmpalu is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "härmas" ("frosty") and "palu" ("sandy heath/heathy woodland").
AroraIndian, Hindi, Punjabi From the name of the ancient city of Aror in what is now the Sindh province, Pakistan. The city's name may have been derived from Hindi और (aur) meaning "more, also".
ArousiJewish, Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Arabic Yemenite Jewish and Arabic name possibly deriving from Arabic words aroosi, "bridal, relating to a wedding", rousi, "groom". El Aroussi, a variant, is found densely in Morocco and Francophone populations (France, Canada).
AroztegiBasque This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Atetz.
ArquetteFrench From arquet meaning "little bow" or "little arch" (diminutive of arche, from Latin arcus). It was originally an occupational name for an archer, but the French word arquet(te) is also found in the sense 'market trader' (originally, perhaps, one with a stall underneath an arch)... [more]
ArredondoSpanish habitational name from a place in Cantabria named Arredondo possibly from redondo 'round' because of the roundish shape of the hill on which it stands.
ArretxeaBasque This indicates familial origin within the eponymous hamlet in the French canton of Uztaritze.
ArrheniusSwedish (Rare) The name of two separate family linages with no relation between each other. One family originates from Linköping, Östergötland and probably got its name from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́ρρην (árrhēn) "male" (taken from the last syllable of ancestor's last name, Kapfelman)... [more]
ArshbaAbkhaz Most likely from a contracted form of Arabic أَرْشَد (ʾaršad) meaning "most sensible, most reasonable" or Persian ارشد (arshad) "senior, superior, eldest" combined with Abkhaz аԥа (āpā) "son".
ArtellEnglish (American) Artell is a name that was brought to England by the ancestors of the Artell family when they emigrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Artell comes from the Dutch surname Van Arkel. The name Van Arkel may spring from the Anglo-Saxon form of Hercules, which is Ercol.
ArtertonEnglish Variant of Atherton. A famous bearer is the English actress Gemma Arterton (1986-).
ArtetaBasque This indicates familial origin within either of 3 eponymous localities: the neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Ollaran, the neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Ezporogi, or the neighborhood of the municipality of Galdakao.
ArtinoGreek Habitational name for someone from the city of Arta in Epirus.
ArtisEnglish English: regional name for someone from the French province of Artois, from Anglo-Norman French Arteis (from Latin Atrebates, the name of the local Gaulish tribe). This surname is popular in North Carolina and Virginia, of the US.
ArtziniegaBasque This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
AruEstonian Aru is an Estonian surname meaning both "dry upland grassy meadow" and "wit" and "intelligence".
AruItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Sardinian aru, a forked branch used to close hedges (possibly related to Latin varus "bent outwards, bow-legged"), or from arru "ring".
ArundelEnglish English surname which comes from two distinct sources. Either it was derived from a place name meaning "horehound valley" in Old English (from harhune "horehound (a plant)" and dell "valley"), or it was from Old French arondel, diminutive of arond "swallow", which was originally a Norman nickname given to someone resembling a swallow.
ArunurmEstonian Arunurm is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland meadow".
AruorgEstonian Aruorg is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland/meadow valley".
ArupõldEstonian Arupõld is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland field".
ArusaarEstonian Arusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "meadow/grassland island".
AsaJapanese Variously written, sometimes with characters used phonetically. It can mean ‘morning’, but the most likely meaning is ‘hemp’, making it a topographic or occupational name. Both forms are found mostly in Amami, one of the Ryūkyū Islands.
AsaharaJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 浅 (asai) meaning "shallow", or 麻 (asa) meaning "hemp" combined with 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
AsahinaJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 比 (hi) meaning "comparison, match, equal" or 日 (hi) meaning "sun, day", and 奈 (na), a phonetic character.
AsaiJapanese Japanese surname meaning "shallow well".
AsaiJapanese From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
AsaidoriJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 浅井取 (asaidori), assigned letters to Iwami dialect アサイドリ (asaidori) meaning "elaeagnus".
AsakaJapanese From the Japanese 淺 or 浅 (asa) "superficial" and 香 (ka) "odour," "smell," 加 (ka) "increase," "step-up" or 賀 (ka) "congratulation."
AsakawaJapanese From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 川 or 河 (kawa) meaning "river".
AsakiJapanese From Japanese 杏 (anzu, a) meaning "apricot" or 亜 (a) meaning "second, Asia" combined with 咲 (saki) meaning "blossom".
AsakuraJapanese From Japanese 朝 (asa) meaning "morning", 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow", or 麻 (asa) meaning "hemp" and 倉 (kura) meaning "warehouse, storehouse".
AsamenJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 浅面 (Asamen), a clipping of 浅面門 (Asamemmon) meaning "Asamen Gate", 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.
AsamizuJapanese made with kanji 朝(asa) meaning "morning" or 浅(asa) meaning "shallow" with 水(mizu) neaning "water".
AsamoahWestern African, Akan From the given name Asamoah. A famous bearer is the retired Ghanaian soccer player Kwadwo Asamoah (1988-).
AsamuraJapanese From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
AsamushiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 浅虫 (Asamushi) meaning "Asamushi", an area in the city of Aomori in the prefecture of Aomori in Japan.... [more]
AsanteWestern African, Akan From the ethnic name of the Ashanti, a sub-ethnic group of the Akan from southern Ghana. The name possibly means "warlike" in the Twi language.
AsaoJapanese Asa can mean "morning", "shallow" or "hemp" and o means "tail".
AsatoJapanese (Rare) There are several readings for the name but 2 are Asa:"Morning",and To:"Door,Asa:"Safe" and To:"Village". There are multiple places in the Ryukyu's (where the name originates and mostly stays) that have that name;that could've been the influence... [more]
AscencioSpanish, Italian From the personal name (Latin Ascensius), favored by the early Christians, by whom it was bestowed with reference to the ascension of Christ (Late Latin ascensio).
AschanSwedish Shortened form of Aschanius (now obsolete) taken from the name of a village whose name was derived from Swedish ask "ash tree".
AscherGerman Derived from German asche meaning "ash" (tanners worked with ash)