Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ARD ScottishHabitational name from any of several places called Aird, including one near Hurlford in Ayrshire, another near Stranraer in Galloway, and the Aird, the higher part of the Vale of Beauly, near Inverness...
[more] ARDEHI Persian, Kurdish, Ancient PersianHouse Ardehis of Zagors or Ardahvans (Persian: اردهیان) were one of the Persian Sassanid royal families, who occupied the Mounts of Zagros before the Islamic conquest of Persia in 650 CE. Ardahvans in Shahnameh and Persian mythology are mentioned to be the first settlers of Zagros mountains, and the constructors of Forts Of Zagros.
ARDELLA African AmericanDerivative of
Arden, popularized by the poem of the same name by Langston Hughes, the most well-known Black poet of the Harlem Renaissance. Meaning is "garden dweller."...
[more] ARDEN EnglishFrom various English place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high"....
[more] ARDER EstonianArder is an Estonian surname meaning, possibly a corruption of "ader", meaning "plow".
ARDZINBA AbkhazMeans "son of silver" from Abkhaz араʒны
(ārāʒnə) "silver" and аҧа
(āpā) "son".
AREN EstonianAren is an Estonan surname meaning "developing" and "growth".
ARENALDI Italian (Rare)Originally found in the Campania, Foggia area. Derived from the medieval name of Germanic origin Arenaldus or Arinaldus
ARENCIBIA SpanishCastilianized combination of the basque words of
aranz meaning "thorn"; "hawthorn" +
ibi meaning "ford" + a (basque article suffix); meaning someone living by a thorny ford. A "ford" is a body of water shallow enough to walk through; In this context topographically referring to a some places in Spain
ARENDI EstonianArendi is an Estonian surname derived from "arendaja" meaning "developer".
ARETXEDERRA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Gordexola.
ARFAOUI Arabic (Maghrebi)Possibly derived from Arabic عَرَفَ
(ʿarafa) meaning "to know" or أَرْفَع
(ʾarfaʿ) meaning "high, lofty, elevated" (chiefly Tunisian).
ARGANDOÑA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Gasteiz.
ARGENTO ItalianFrom
argento "silver", perhaps sometimes applied as a nickname for someone with silvery gray hair, but more often a metonymic occupational name for a silversmith.
ARGINDEGI BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Legazpi.
ARGYLE Scottish, Scottish GaelicFrom the regional name Argyll, a county of southwestern Scotland, named in Gaelic as Earre Ghàidheal ‘coast of the Gaels’. Argyll was the earliest part of Scotland to be settled by Gaelic speakers from Ireland from the 6th century onwards...
[more] ARGYLL Scottish, Scottish GaelicFrom the regional name Argyll, a county of southwestern Scotland, named in Gaelic as
Earre Ghàidheal ‘coast of the Gaels’. Argyll was the earliest part of Scotland to be settled by Gaelic speakers from Ireland from the 6th century onwards...
[more] ARIGE TeluguThis name is famous surname in telugu states of South India.
ARIMA Japanese (Rare)This is a surname and first name that means "Owns A Horse". In the west and in the Ryukyu Islands is where this name is mostly possessed. This is taken from the Aroma hot spring near the city of Kobe.
ARIMA JapaneseMeans "owns a horse", from Japanese 有
(ari) meaning "have, possess, exist" and 馬
(ma) meaning "horse".
ARISAWA Japanese有 (Ari) means "Exist" and 沢/澤 (Sawa) means "Swamp, Marsh". Mamizu Arisawa is a light novel author, it is likely that this isn't her real last name though, since Mamizu isn't her real first name.
ARISEN English (Modern)From a Dutch surname that means "son of
Aris". In The Netherlands, this name is never used as a first name, since Dutch law strictly prohibits the use of surnames as first names. Therefore, if this name is indeed sometimes used as a first name in the United States (where it *is* allowed to use surnames as first names), one should classify Arisen as an (American-)English first name.
ARISTAVA AbkhazMingrelian form of the Abkhaz name Арстаа
(Arstaa) ultimately derived from the Ancient Greek personal name
Aristarchus.
ARITA Japanese (Rare)Ari means "Has" or "Owns" and Ta means "Rice Patty". This is most is most common in west-central Japan.
ARITZALA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Navarrese municipality.
ARIYOSHI Japanese有 (Ari) means "Exist" and 吉 (Yoshi) means "Fortunate, Lucky". This surname means "Fortune Exists".
ARIZA CatalanCastilianized form of Basque Aritza, a topographic name from Basque (h)aritz ‘oak’ + the article suffix -a.
ARIZA SpanishSpanish: habitational name from a place so named in Zaragoza province in Aragón.
ARKHANGELSKY RussianHabitational name for someone from Arkhangelsk, a province (
oblast) of Russia.
ARLEGI BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Galar.
ARLEN AmericanOf uncertain origin. Possibly a form of the German name
Erlen or a Gaelic name meaning "pledge" or "oath".
ARLINGHAUS GermanPerhaps a habitational name from Oerlinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia.
ARLINGTON EnglishLocation 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] ARLOTT EnglishFrom 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.
ARLOTTA SicilianFrom the French personal name Arlot, recorded in the Latinized form Arolottus from the 13th century.
ARMENDARITZE BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous commune in the French arrondissement of Baiona.
ARMENTEROS SpanishHabitational 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)’.
ARMIJO SpanishDerived 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.
ARMOUR Scottish, Northern IrishFrom 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.
ÄRMPALU EstonianÄrmpalu is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "härmas" ("frosty") and "palu" ("sandy heath/heathy woodland").
ARNETT EnglishDerived from
Arnold, a pet name perhaps. Also could be from /arn/ "eagle" and /ett/, a diminutive.
ARORA Indian, Hindi, Punjabi, SindhiHindu and Sikh name derived from اروهڙ
(Aror), the name of the former capital of Sindh, India (now a part of Pakistan and known as Rohri). The name itself is derived from Hindi and Punjabi
Aur meaning "someone else", used by the past Aroras to escape persecution.
AROUET FrenchA famous bearer was French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778), whose birth name was François-Marie Arouet.
AROUSI Jewish, Hebrew, Jewish (Australian, Expatriate), Judeo-Arabic, ArabicYemenite 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).
AROZTEGI BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Atetz.
ARQUETTE FrenchFrom 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] ARRA Galician, SicilianHabitational name from a place in Galicia called Arra, this surname was also found in some parts of Sicily.
ARRETXEA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous hamlet in the French canton of Uztaritze.
ARRHENIUS Swedish (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] ARRIGO ItalianItalian: from the medieval personal name Arrigo, a variant of Enrico.
ARRIGUNAGA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the vicinity of the eponymous beach in the municipality of Getxo.
ARRILLAGA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of Usurbil.
ARRO EstonianArro is an Estonian surname, possibly derived from "aroom", meaning "fragrant". Possibly a corruption of "aru", meaning "upland meadow".
ARROITZ BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Navarrese municipality.
ARROYO SpanishHabitational name from any of numerous places named with
arroyo "watercourse", "irrigation channel."
ARSENAULT French (Acadian)From French
arsenal meaning "workshop". This is the occupational surname for someone who worked at an arsenal.
ARSHBA AbkhazMost 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".
ARTABIA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Allin.
ARTEAGA BasqueIt literally means a place where there are live oaks &/or evergreen oaks.
ARTETA BasqueThis 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.
ARTINO GreekHabitational name for someone from the city of Arta in Epirus.
ARTIS EnglishEnglish: 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.
ARTZINIEGA BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
ARU EstonianAru is an Estonian surname meaning both "dry upland grassy meadow" and "wit" and "intelligence".
ARUJA EstonianAruja is an Estonian surname derived from "varuja" meaning "purveyor".
ARUKASK EstonianArukask is an Estonian surname meaning "silver birch" (Betula pendula).
ARUKÜLA EstonianAruküla is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland village".
ARUKÜLL EstonianAruküll is an Estonian surname meaning "intelligent enough".
ARULAID EstonianArulaid is an Estonian surname meaning "grassy meadow islet".
ARUMAA EstonianArumaa is an Estonian surname meaning "grassy meadow land".
ARUMÄE EstonianArumäe is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland hill/mountain".
ARUMETS EstonianArumets is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland/dry upland meadow forest".
ARUNDEL EnglishEnglish 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.
ARUORG EstonianAruorg is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland/meadow valley".
ARUSAAR EstonianArusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "meadow/grassland island".
ARUTEE EstonianArutee is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland road".
ARUVÄLI EstonianAruväli is an Estonian surname meaning "grassy meadow field".
ARUVEE EstonianAruvee is an Estonian surname meaning "grassy meadow water".
ASA JapaneseVariously 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.
ASAHINA JapaneseAsa means "Morning". Hi in this surname means "Ratio, Proportion". Na means "Nara, what?". It's also a first name.
ASAKA JapaneseFrom the Japanese 淺 or 浅 (
asa) "superficial" and 香 (
ka) "odour," "smell," 加 (
ka) "increase," "step-up" or 賀 (
ka) "congratulation."
ASAKURA Japanese, Popular CultureThis surname is made with 浅 (Asa) means "Superficial, Shallow", or 朝 (Asa) meaning "Morning", and 倉/蔵 (Kura) means "Storehouse, Owns, Posesses". Azumi Asakura is a voice actress. There are a lot of fictional characters with this surname as well, such as Ryouko Asakura from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
ASANO JapaneseMeaning ‘shallow plain’; probably derived from two places of that name, one in Mino (now southern Gifu prefecture), the other in Owari (now Nagoya prefecture). Both families descend from the Minamoto clan through the Toki family.
ASATO Japanese (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] ASBURY EnglishEnglish location name with the elements
as- meaning "east" or "ash tree" and
-bury meaning "fortified settlement."
ASCENCIO Spanish, ItalianFrom 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).
ASCHER GermanDerived from German
asche meaning "ash" (tanners worked with ash)
ASHBY EnglishEnglish: habitational name from any of the numerous places in northern and eastern England called Ashby, from Old Norse
askr ‘ash’ or the Old Norse personal name
Aski +
býr ‘farm’.
ASHCROFT EnglishEnglish (chiefly Lancashire) topographic name from Middle English
asche ‘ash tree’ +
croft ‘enclosure’, or a habitational name from a minor place named with these elements.
ASHER EnglishTopographic surname denoting someone who dwelled by an ash tree, from Middle English
asche "ash tree" combined with the suffix
-er.
ASHFORD EnglishDerived from
Ashford, which is the name of several places in England. All but one of these derive the second element of their name from Old English
ford meaning "ford" - for the one in North Devon, it is derived from Old English
worō or
worth meaning "enclosure"....
[more] ASHIKAGA JapaneseAshikaga is a surname that originated with samurai families. Kaga means "Flower Bud,Reed" and Ashi means "Place",but it is most commonly, ( if not always ) written with characters meaning ,"foot" and "advantage".
ASHIQ Punjabi, UrduDerived from Arabic عَاشِق
(ʿāšiq) meaning "enamored, infatuated" or "admirer, lover", ultimately from عِشْق
(ʿišq) "being in love".
ASHKENAZI Hebrew, JewishFrom the name of a kingdom referenced in the Hebrew Bible named
Ashkenaz, also used to refer to Jews living in Europe or Slavic countries. The name itself is mostly likely derived from Assyrian
Aškūza, in turn, the Assyrians probably based the name off of that of the Scythians.
ASHLAND EnglishThis surname is derived from Old English
æsc &
land and it means "ash tree land."
ASHMAN English, Anglo-SaxonFrom Middle English
Asheman, a byname meaning "pirate, seaman". It can also be made up of English
ash referring to the "ash tree", and
man. In that case, it could refer to someone who lived by ash trees...
[more] ASHMORE EnglishEnglish locational name, from either "Aisemare", (from Old English pre 7th Century "aesc" meaning ash plus "mere" a lake; hence "lake where ash-trees grow), or from any of several minor places composed of the Old English elements "aesc" ash plus "mor" a marsh or fen.
ASHTON EnglishDerived from a place name which meant "ash tree town" in Old English.
ASHUBA AbkhazPossibly from Abkhaz ашә
(āš°) meaning "cheese" or "beech" or ашәа
(āš°ā) meaning "song".
ASIKKALA FinnishCould be a habitational name from a place so named in southern Finland.
ASIMOV RussianOriginally spelled Ozimov, Asimov is the anglicized surname of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. His father was not familiar with Latin characters when they immigrated to the United States, when Isaac was 3, so the name became Asimov, not Azimov....
[more] ÅSLUND SwedishCombination of Swedish
ås "ridge, esker" and
lund "grove".
ASPERGES ItalianIt means "you bless", and it is also the device used by priests to spread holy water over people or places
ASPINALL EnglishA locational name of Anglo-Saxon origin, it means “aspen well”.
ASQUITH EnglishHabitational name from a village in North Yorkshire named Askwith, from Old Norse askr ‘ash tree’ + vi{dh}r ‘wood’
ASSELBROUGH Englishpronouncec assel brudd the origin of the name id unknown but the family were first fiund in heworth .george asselbrough married sarah keatlie in heworth.they had george b1752-1833 alston,srag 17154c nicholas 1757 - 1813 felling pit disaster.peter 1760 james 1762,...
[more] ASTANA KazakhDerived from
Astana, the name of the capital city of Kazakhstan. Its name is derived from Persian
آستانه (âstâne) meaning "capital".
ASTONI ItalianIt is the surname of the Home and Away family, The Astoni family, consisting of 4 members, Ben, Maggie, Coco and Ziggy.
ASTORE ItalianDerived from Italian
astore meaning "goshawk", which is a bird of prey that was used for hunting in the Middle Ages. The surname had first started out as a nickname: either for a falconer, or for a person who had aquiline features or who was cunning by nature.
ÅSTRÖM SwedishCombination of Swedish
å "creek, small river, stream" and
ström "stream, current, flow".
ASUKÜLA EstonianAsuküla is an Estonian surname meaning "populated village".
ASUSAAR EstonianAsusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "resident (of) island" ("island dweller/resident").
ATARI Japanese中 (Atari) means "The Middle". Anotable bearer with this surname is Kousuke Atari, he is a self trained musician and pop singer.
ATEN Frisian, DutchThe Frisian name Aten means "Noble Wolf". The name was probably given to lesser lords. As noble would mean nobility. As wolf was always a symbol of a warrior, or hunter. Usually Nobles who were also warriors, were lesser lords...
[more] ATHERTON EnglishHabitational name from a place near Manchester named Atherton, from the Old English personal name Æ{dh}elhere + Old English tūn meaning "settlement".
ATIENZA SpanishThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous Manchego municipality.
ATLEE EnglishEnglish: topographic name for someone whose dwelling was ‘by the clearing or meadow’, Middle English
atte lee. The word
lea or
lee (Old English
leah) originally meant ‘wood’, thence ‘clearing in a wood’, and, by the Middle English period, ‘grassy meadow’.
ATMORE EnglishLocational surname derived from Middle English
atte more meaning "at the marsh".
ATONDO BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Navarrese municipality of Itza.
ATSUDA JapaneseFrom Japanese 渥 (atsu) meaning "moist" combined with 田 (da) meaning "paddy, field".
ATTARD MalteseOne possible origin of the name is that it refers to a place called "Atti" in Bologna, Italy. Therefore the name and it's variations would mean "a person from Atti"....
[more] ATTENBOROUGH English (British)Derived from the name of a village and a suburb called Attenborough, located in the Broxtowe borough of Nottinghamshire, England.
ATWELL EnglishTopographic name from Middle English
atte welle "by the spring or stream"
AUA EstonianAua is an Estonian surname meaning "honorable".
AUBINE French (Rare)Derived from the medieval French feminine given name
Aubine, which was the French form of
Albina. But in other words, you could also say that Aubine was the feminine form of
Aubin.
AUBINET French (Rare)Derived from the medieval French masculine given name
Aubinet, which was a diminutive (as the
-et suffix indicates) of the given name
Aubin....
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