Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
BA ArabicArabic from a shortened form of
Aba, accusative case of
Abu ‘father’.
BA ChineseChinese from the name of the kingdom of Ba, which existed in Sichuan during the
Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Descendants of some of the ruling class adopted the name of the kingdom as their surname...
[more] BAACK North Frisian, DutchEither from a reduced form of the Germanic personal name
Baldeke (a short form of any of the compound names with the first element bald ‘bold’, for example Baldewin) or from Middle Low German baec, bake ‘pork’, ‘bacon’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a butcher or pig farmer.
BAAMONDE GalicianThis indicates familial origin within either of 5 eponymous parishes.
BABA JapaneseMeans "riding ground" in Japanese from 馬
(ba) "horse" combined with 場
(ba) "place, ground, field".
BABEL FrenchEither (i) from the medieval French personal name
Babel, apparently adopted from that of St
Babylas, a 3rd-century Christian patriarch of Antioch, the origins of which are uncertain; or (ii) an invented Jewish name based on German or Polish
Babel "Babylon".
BABINEC CzechNickname from Old Czech babinec meaning "coward".
BABINGTON EnglishHabitational name for someone from Babington in Somerset or Great or Little Bavington in Northumberland, named with the Old English personal name Babba + the connective particle -ing- meaning "associated with", "named after" + tūn meaning "settlement".
BACCHUS English(i) Variant of
Backus (meaning "one who lives in or works in a bakery", from Old English
bǣchūs "bakehouse, bakery"), the spelling influenced by
Bacchus (name of the Greek and Roman god of wine)....
[more] BACHARACHAS JewishBacharachas is a derivate of the Bacharach that is a town in Germany.
BACIU RomanianRomanian surname from the word "baci" (shepherd)or the capitan of the game "oina".
BÄCKMAN SwedishCombination of Swedish
bäck "small stream" and
man "man".
BACKMAN English, Swedish, GermanCombination of Old English
bakke "spine, back" and
man "man". In Swedish, the first element is more likely to be derived from Swedish
backe "hill", and in German the first element can be derived from German
backen "to bake"...
[more] BACON English, French, NormanAn occupational surname for someone who sold pork, from Middle English and Old French
bacun or
bacon, meaning 'bacon', which is ultimately of Germanic origin. Can also be derived from the Germanic given names
Baco,
Bacco, or
Bahho, from the root
bag-, meaning 'to fight'...
[more] BACQUE BasqueIt's a Basque and Gascon surname whose meaning is cowboy, rancher (cattle rancher) or breeder.
BACUNAWA Filipino, CebuanoDerived from Cebuano
bakunawa referring to a type of serpent or dragon in Visayan mythology.
BĄCZALSKI PolishThis indicates familial origin within either of a cluster of 3 Lesser Polish villages: Bączal Dolny, Bączal Górny, or Bączałka.
BADDELEY EnglishFrom place names in both Suffolk and Staffordshire derived from an Old English personal name, 'Badda,' possibly meaning "battle" and
lee or
leah for a "woodland clearing," therefore meaning someone from "Badda's woodland clearing."
BADILLO SpanishTopographic name from a diminutive of vado ‘ford’ (Latin vadum) or a habitational name from either of two places named with this word: Valillo de la Guarena in Zamora province or Vadillo de al Sierra in Ávila.
BADOWSKI PolishHabitational name for someone from a place called Badowo in Skierniewice voivodeship.
BADRINETTE EnglishApparently an extremely rare name of French origin, but isn't used as a first name in France. It might come from the rather uncommon French surname
Bardinette, which apparently is a variant spelling of the surname
Bardinet...
[more] BAEDER German (Austrian)Means something like "bath house" which historically was associated with health or medicine.
BAEK KoreanKorean form of
Bai, from Sino-Korean 白
(baek) meaning "white".
BAER GermanDerived from Old High German
bero "bear".
BAFFA ItalianThe origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be from Italian
baffo "mustache", with the Latinate feminine suffix probably due to the influence of the word
famiglia "family". Alternatively it may be Albanian in origin, of unexplained meaning.
BAGATSING FilipinoFilipinized form of
Bhagat Singh, a combination of Sanskrit भगत
(bhagat) meaning "devotee, follower" combined with सिंह
(siṃhá) meaning "lion". A notable bearer was
Ramon Bagatsing (1916-2006), the 19th Mayor of Manila who was of Indian descent.
BAGCI Turkish (Rare)Bagci translated into English means vigneron, a vigneron is a person who cultivates grapes for winemaking. Originated in the 1920s in Turkey after the Balkan wars
BAGDONAS LithuanianPatronymic from the personal name Bagdon, Lithuanian form of Polish Bogdan.
BAGGINS LiteratureIn J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," the surname of
Frodo Baggins. Also the name of his relative Bilbo Baggins. The Bagginses are a well-to-do and respectable family of Hobbits living in Hobbiton of the Shire...
[more] BAHŞIŞ Crimean TatarDerived from Persian بخشش
(baxšeš) meaning "forgiveness, amnesty" or بخشیش
(bakhšīš) meaning "present, gratuity, reward".
BAIG MuslimBaig Name Meaning Muslim (common in Pakistan): from the Turkish word beg ‘bey’, originally a title denoting a local administrator in the Ottoman Empire, but subsequently widely used as a title of respect...
[more] BAIGORRI BasqueThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous commune in the arrondissement of Baiona.
BAINBRIDGE Englishfrom Bainbridge in North Yorkshire, named for the Bain river on which it stands (which is named with Old Norse beinn ‘straight’) + bridge.
BAINEBRIDGE English, IrishBridge over the Bain, An English town named for its place on the river Bain, now used as a surname. Lives near the bridge over the white water...
[more] BAIO ItalianFrom a nickname for someone with light brown or reddish-brown hair or beard, from
baio meaning "bay horse", ultimately derived from Late Latin
badius meaning "red-brown".
BAIRNSFATHER EnglishFrom a medieval nickname in Scotland and northern England for the (alleged) father of an illegitimate child (from northern Middle English
bairnes "child's" +
father). This surname was borne by British cartoonist and author Bruce Bairnsfather (1888-1959).
BAKON PolishOrigin is uncertain, possibly the Polish version of the surname
Bacon.
BĄKOWSKI Polish, JewishHabitational name for someone from a place called Bąkowa, Bąkowice, Bąkowiec, or Bąkowo.
BAKR ArabicFrom the given name
Bakr. A famous bearer was Abu Bakr (573-634), the first Islamic caliphate.
BAKSHI Indian, Bengali, PunjabiDerived from Persian بخشی
(baxši) meaning "paymaster, scribe, secretary", used as a title for officials who distributed wages in Muslim armies.
BALCOM EnglishAltered spelling of English
Balcombe, a habitational name from Balcombe in West Sussex, which is named with Old English
bealu "evil, calamity" (or the Old English personal name
Bealda) combined with
cumb "valley".
BALDACCHINO Maltese, Italian, SicilianOccupational name for an artisan who made the baldachin, also spelled baldaquin, a type of canopy used in cathedrals, from Italian
baldacchino "baldachin". This word is derived from Italian
Baldacca, a doublet of
Bagdad "
Baghdad", the city where the material originally came from.
BALDOCK English (Rare)Means "person from Baldock", Hertfordshire ("Baghdad": in the Middle Ages the lords of the manor were the Knights Templar, whose headquarters were in Jerusalem, and they named the town
Baldac, the Old French name for Baghdad).
BALDY EnglishPossibly derived from an Old English feminine given name, *
Bealdgýð, composed of the elements
beald "bold" and
gyð "battle", first recorded c.1170 as
Baldith, and in other cases from the Old Norse byname or given name
Baldi.
BALE EnglishVariant of
Bail. This is the surname of Welsh footballer Gareth Bale.
BALEN EnglishEnglish surname, perhaps of Cornish British origin, from belen, meaning "mill."
BALFOUR ScottishOriginating from several place names in Scotland. Derived from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "village pasture".
BALIAN ArmenianPatronymic of uncertain origin, perhaps from Turkish bal ‘lord’, ‘master’, a word of Arabic origin.
BALIJA Indian, TeluguIt is a Telugu name, denoting either "traders/merchants" or "agriculturists".
BALLARD EnglishEnglish and Scottish: derogatory nickname from a derivative of
bald ‘bald-headed’ (see also
Bald).
BALLASTER EnglishMeant "person who makes or is armed with a crossbow" (from a derivative of Middle English
baleste "crossbow", from Old French).
BALLERINI ItalianOccupational name or nickname for a dancer, Italian
ballerino, an agent derivative of
ballare "to dance".
BALLON SpanishTheoretically it could be a variant of vallón, from valle ‘valley’, but neither form is attested as a vocabulary word or as a place name element. Alternatively, it could be a Castilian spelling of Catalan Batlló, Balló, nicknames from diminutives of batlle ‘dancing’.English: variant spelling of Balon.
BALLOU Haitian Creole, French (Caribbean), FrenchThe Ballou name comes from that Medieval landscape of northwestern France known as Brittany. The name Ballou was originally derived from the family having lived in Brittany, where this distinguished family was established from ancient times...
[more] BALMA ItalianPerhaps a topographic name from the dialect word
balma meaning ‘grotto’, ‘cave’, ‘jutting rock’.
BALOKOVIĆ CroatianMost of Croatian families with the surname (last name) Baloković originate from the town of Donji Miholjac located in Osijek-Baranja County on the border with Hungary. During the 1700s and 1800s most of the people bearing this family name were born either in Donji Miholjac and/or nearby Nasice...
[more] BALSAM GermanOccupational name for a seller of spices and perfumes.
BALSANO German (Austrian), ItalianThe roots of the distinguished surname Balzano lie in Austria. The name derives itself from "Balthasar," the name of one of the three Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem, and was popular as both a first name and a family name during the 18th century....
[more] BAMBOROUGH EnglishBamborough name origin from early Northumberland early times other name know from the Bamborough is bamburgh as in bamburgh castle, ...
[more] BAN CroatianDerived from a noble title used in several states in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.
BANAS PolishThe town of Bana, in Hungary, is said to have given birth to this family name. The name appears to have traveled northward, within eastern Europe, ending up in Poland where it is most recognized.
BANDARA SinhalesePossibly derived from Bandāra, a group of guardian deities in the Sinhala Buddhist faith. The term was also used to refer to high officials within the Sinhala Kingdom.
BANDO JapaneseThis may be inaccurate, but Family Education says it means " East of The Slope", referring to eastern provinces of Osaka (lit. "Great Slope"). It's most popular in eastern Japan, where it originates from.
BANDY GermanThis interesting surname of German and Ashkenazic origin is a diminutive of the metonymic occupational name
Band, originally given to someone who made the wooden hoops with which wooden barrels were fastened together, deriving from the Germanic
band meaning "hoop", "band"...
[more] BANG DanishOriginally a nickname denoting a loud or brash person, from Old Danish
bang "noise" (from Old Norse
banga "to pound, hammer" of echoic origin). A literary bearer was Danish author Herman Bang (1857-1912)....
[more] BANGLA BengaliFrom বাংলা
(Bangla), the endonym of the Bengali people, the region of Bengal (including Bangladesh), and the Bengali language. The word itself is derived either from
Vanga, the name of an ancient kingdom on the Indian subcontinent, or from an Austric word meaning "sun god".
BANKSTON EnglishDerived from the old English world "Banke" usually given to a family who lived near a hill or a slope.
BANKSY English, Popular CultureThis is pseudonyms Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. Banksy's real name might be Robin Gunningham. How Banksy got his pseudonym is unknown...
[more] BANOVIĆ Serbian, Croatian"Son of a Ban", the
-ić "son of" suffix with
ban, the title of class of Croatian nobility beginning in the 7th century approximately equivalent to viceroy, lord or duke, stemming potentially from the Turkic
bajan ("rich, wealthy").
BANWELL EnglishMeans "person from Banwell", Somerset ("killer spring (perhaps alluding to a contaminated water source)").
BAO ChineseThere are three different surnames that are Romanized in pinyin as Bao. Other Romanizations include Bau, Pao, and Pau. This character also means "abalone", but the name comes from an old place name...
[more] BAR HebrewFrom Aramaic בְּרָא
(b'rā) meaning "son, child" or Hebrew בָּר
(bar) meaning "grain, cereal".
BARAD Biblical Hebrew (Rare)It's the Hebrew name of one the biblical plagues in the Hebrew bible that God cast on Egypt. It means Hail as in the Ice storm.
BARAGA SloveneA Slovene surname of unknown origin. A notable bearer was Slovene-American Roman Catholic bishop Frederic Baraga (1797-1868), who was the bishop of Marquette, a town in Upper Michigan, USA. There is also a village in Upper Michigan named Baraga, which was named after the bishop.
BARAKZAI PashtoMeans "son of Barak", from the given name
Barak (2) combined with Pashto زوی
(zoy) meaning "son (of)". The Barakzai are a Pashtun tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
BARASCH HebrewAcronym of the first two letters for the Hebrew phrase "son of the Rabbi Samuel." Bar Rabbi Schmul
BARBE FrenchNickname for someone with a beard, Old French
barbe (Latin barba).
BARBE GermanFrom Middle High German
barbe, the name of a species of fish resembling the carp; hence by metonymy an occupational name for a fisherman or fish dealer, or possibly a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish in some way.
BARBERA ItalianDerogatory nickname from barbera ‘barber’s wife’, a term also used to denote a prostitute or dishonest woman. Catalan (Barberà): habitational name from a place in Tarragona province, named with Late Latin Barbarianum ‘place of Barbarius’, a derivative of Barbarus (see Barbaro)...
[more] BARBERO SpanishSpanish occupational name for a barber-surgeon (see
Barber), Spanish
barbero, from Late Latin
barbarius, a derivative of
barba ‘beard’ (Latin
barba).
BARBON French (Quebec)Derived from the nickname
barbon meaning "old codger" as well as referring to a "confirmed bachelor".
BARBOSA Portuguesedenoting a person who lived by land that contained overgrown leafy vegetation from the portuguese word
barba "leaf" +
oso/osa (adjective suffix); variant of
Barboza BARCELÓ CatalanApparently from a personal name Barcelonus (feminine Barcelona), originally denoting someone from the city of Barcelona.
BARCELONA Catalan, SpanishHabitational name from Barcelona, the principal city of Catalonia. The place name is of uncertain, certainly pre-Roman, origin. The settlement was established by the Carthaginians, and according to tradition it was named for the Carthaginian ruling house of Barca; the Latin form was Barcino or Barcilo.
BÁRCENAS SpanishThis indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Espinosa de los Monteros.
BARCHO CircassianPossibly derived from an Adyghe word meaning "band, lace", referring to someone who made ropes or binding tapes, or from a Chechen word referring to a tailor.
BARCLAY Scottish, EnglishHabitational name of English origin, from Berkeley in Gloucestershire, named in Old English with
be(o)rc "birch" and
lēah "woodland clearing".
BARDELL EnglishOriginally meant "person from Bardwell", Suffolk ("Bearda's spring"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Mrs Bardell, Mr Pickwick's widowed landlady in Charles Dickens's 'Pickwick Papers' (1837), who misconstrues an innocent remark about having a companion as a marriage proposal, which leads to her suing Pickwick for breach of promise.
BARDEN EnglishEnglish: habitational name from places in North and West Yorkshire named Barden, from Old English
bere ‘barley’ (or the derived adjective
beren) +
denu ‘valley’.
BAREFOOT EnglishEnglish: nickname for someone who was in the habit of going about his business unshod, from Old English bær ‘bare’, ‘naked’ + fot ‘foot’. It may have referred to a peasant unable to afford even the simplest type of footwear, or to someone who went barefoot as a religious penance.In some instances, probably a translation of German Barfuss, the northern form Barfoth, or the Danish cognate Barfo(e)d.
BARGY Anglo-SaxonThe surname Bargy was first found in Gloucestershire, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
BARHAM EnglishEnglish: habitational name from any of the various places so called. Most, for example those in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, are named with Old English beorg ‘hill’ + ham ‘homestead’. The one in Kent, however, is from an unattested Old English byname Biora, Beora (a derivative of bera ‘bear’) + ham.
BARIL FrenchDuring the middle ages, when people were named after their given job, Baril was what winemakers and brewers were named. Baril simply means "Barrel" or "Keg"
BARINOV RussianMeans "son of the boyar", derived from Russian барин
(barin) "boyar, nobleman".
BARKER EnglishSURNAME Town cryer, or someone who shouts out notices
BARKIS EnglishMeant "person who works in a tannery" (from Middle English
barkhous "tannery" - bark was used in the tanning process). A fictional bearer is Barkis, a carrier in Charles Dickens's 'David Copperfield' (1849) who sends a message via David to Clara Peggotty that "Barkis is willin'" (i.e. to marry her).
BARKUS EnglishProbably a reduced form of Barkhouse, a topographic name for someone who lived by a tannery, Middle English barkhous, or an occupational name for someone who worked in one.
BARNABY EnglishEither (i) means "person from Barnaby", Yorkshire ("Beornwald's settlement"); or (ii) from the medieval male personal name
Barnaby, the English form of
Barnabas, a biblical name ultimately from Aramaic
Barnabia "son of Nabia".
BARNER EnglishSouthern English habitational name for someone who lived by a barn.
BARNO Italian, Ukrainian, French, Ancient Aramaic, RussianThe surname Barno was first found in the north of Italy, especially in Tuscany. The name occasionally appears in the south, usually in forms which end in "o," but the northern forms ending in "i" are much more common...
[more] BARON English, FrenchFrom the title of nobility, derived from Middle English & Old French
baron (ultimately of Germanic origin). Instead of referring to someone of rank, this surname referred to a service in a baronial household or a peasant with ideas above their station...
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