BerishaAlbanian From the name of a tribe and historical region in northern Albania, meaning uncertain.
BeriyaGeorgian (Russified) Russified form of Beria. This is the way the last name of Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the NKVD from 1938-1946, last name was spelled in the official Soviet language (Russian).
BerkeleyEnglish From any of the locations called Berkeley derived the elements beorc "birch" and leah "clearing, wood" meaning "birch clearing"... [more]
BerlangaSpanish From the village or castle named "Berlanga de Duero" from Soria, Spain. Berlanga itself was derived from "berlain" which comes from the name of a precious stone derived from the Greek. So it could be related to stones.
BerlinSwedish Of uncertain origin. The name could be a shortened form of Berglin. It could also be a habitational name from the city in Germany or from a place in Sweden named with ber or berg "mountain"... [more]
BerlinGerman, English Habitational name from the city in Germany, the name of which is of uncertain meaning. It is possibly derived from an Old Slavic stem berl- meaning swamp or from a West Slavic word meaning "river lake".
BerlinerblauGerman, Jewish Means “Prussian blue” in German. A notable bearer of this surname is Jacques Berlinerblau, a professor of Jewish civilization, and Stefania Berlinerblau, an American anatomist and physician.
BermejoSpanish Originally a nickname for a man with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from Spanish bermejo "reddish, ruddy" (itself from Latin vermiculus "little worm", from vermis "worm", since a crimson dye was obtained from the bodies of worms).
BermeoBasque From the town Bermeo in Biscay (Basque Country, Spain). Origin likely pre-Roman.
BerminghamEnglish (Modern, Rare) Bermingham is the Gaelicised version of 'De Birmingham' and is descended from the family of Warwickshire, England. The Irish version of the name MacFeorais/MacPheorais is derived from Pierce de Bermingham.
BernGerman, Scandinavian, German (Swiss) German and Scandinavian: from the personal name Berno, a pet form of Bernhard. In South German it comes from the habitational name from Bern, Switzerland, notably in the south; in other parts from the personal name Berno.
BernabéuCatalan (Valencian) From the given name Bernabé. A famous bearer was Santiago Bernabéu (1895-1978), a Spanish soccer player and the eleventh president of the soccer club Real Madrid CF.
BernadotteFrench, Swedish Possibly from the name of a historical province in Southern France named Béarn. This was originally a French non-noble surname. French general Jean Baptise Bernadotte (1763-1844) became the king of Sweden as Charles XIV John (Swedish: Karl XIV Johan) in 1818 and founded the current royal house in Sweden, House of Bernadotte.
BernasconiItalian The surname of BERNASCONI is of Italian origin, a locational name meaning the dweller on or near a small hill. The names of habitation are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages, farmsteads or other named habitations... [more]
BernellEnglish From the Old French word brunel, a diminutive of brun, describing someone who had brown hair. It was occasionally also used as a descriptive first name during the middle ages in England.
BernerEnglish, Norman From the Norman personal name Bernier from Old English beornan ‘to burn’, hence an occupational name for a burner of lime (compare German Kalkbrenner) or charcoal... [more]
BernerGerman, Low German German habitational name, in Silesia denoting someone from a place called Berna (of which there are two examples); in southern Germany and Switzerland denoting someone from the Swiss city of Berne. ... [more]
BernthalJewish Ornamental name derived from the Yiddish given name Ber meaning "bear" and German thal meaning "valley". A famous bearer is American actor Jon Bernthal (1976-).
BerrettaItalian From berretta, originally meaning ‘hooded cloak’ (Latin birrus), later ‘headdress’, ‘bonnet’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such headgear or a nickname for an habitual wearer.
BerryannMedieval English (Rare) The name is pre 7th century Olde English and later Olde French. It derives from the word burri or berri, translating as a fortress or castle and means 'one who dwelt at the castle'. The suffix 'man' also indicates that it was job descriptive for a guard or keeper of the castle... [more]
BerryclothEnglish (Rare) This name is of English locational origin, from the place called Barrowclough near Halifax in West Yorkshire.
BerryhillEnglish A name for someone who worked as a servant at the manor house.
BertagniItalian Bertagni has a lineage in Genoa and one in Lucca. Possibly derives from Gothic, Lombard and Germanic names containing the root germanica bertha (bright) or the celtic bert (bearer).
BertinFrench From the given name Bertin a diminutive of the ancient Germanic personal name Berhto a short form of various compound names formed with berht "bright famous".
BertizBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Bertizarana, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque berta "near, close, next to" or bertze "other" combined with either (h)aitz "rock, stone" or the toponymic suffix -iz.
BérubéFrench Habitational name from some minor place named with Old French belru "beautiful stream", with the subsequent pleonastic addition of bé, variant of bel "beautiful".
BerzeliusSwedish Derived from the name of an estate named Bergsätter located near Motala, Östergötland, Sweden. Bergsätter is composed of Swedish berg "mountain" and säter "outlying meadow"... [more]
BesalúCatalan This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
BesançonFrench Habitational name for a person from the eponymous capital city of Doubs in France, ultimately from Latin Vesontiō, derived from Proto-Celtic *ves "mountain". Folk etymology states that it is associated with the place name with Old French bison "wisent".
BeshimovKyrgyz Possibly derived from the given name Beshim. A known bearer is Bakyt Beshimov, the deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan.
BessonFrench, Provençal, Occitan Southern French nickname from Occitan besson "twin" (from Latin bis) or from the various places (Le) Besson in southern France.
BestautyOssetian Derived from Ossetian бистэ (biste) meaning "village, suburb" or from Persian به (beh) meaning "good, excellent, better". In the case of the former, it would have been used to indicate the place of residence of an ancestor.
BesteFrench, English Nickname from Middle English beste Old French beste "beast animal" (especially those used for food or work) applied either as a metonymic occupational name for someone who looked after beasts such as a herdsman or as a nickname for someone thought to resemble an animal... [more]
BeswickEnglish habitational name from any of the places in Lancashire and East Yorkshire named Beswick. The second element is Old English wic "outlying (dairy) farm"... [more]
BethanyEnglish Possibly a topographic name derived from the Old English plant name betonice meaning "betony". The form of the name has been altered by folk association with the New Testament place name.
BetheaWelsh Possible altered form of the Welch surname Bethel
BethencourtFrench, English, Portuguese (Rare) Bettencourt and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
BetschlaRomansh (Archaic) Derived from the Germanic name element beraht "bright". The name was replaced by the Italianized form Bezzola in the 18th century.
BettencourtFrench, English, Portuguese (Rare) Bettencourt and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
BevierFrench (Germanized) From Old French bevier, meaning "a measure of land". This was probably a nickname for someone who owned or worked such a piece of land. This surname was first found in Austria, where the name Bevier came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging medieval society.
BevilacquaItalian From Italian bevi l'acqua "drinks water", a nickname likely applied ironically to an alcoholic.
BexleyEnglish Habitational name from Bexley (now Bexleyheath in Greater London), which was named from Old English byxe ‘box tree’ + leah ‘woodland clearing’.
BeyoğluTurkish Means son of a bey. “Bey” (Ottoman Turkish: بك “Beik”, Albanian: bej, Bosnian: beg, Arabic: بيه “Beyeh”, Persian: بیگ “Beyg” or بگ “Beg”) is a Turkish title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders or rulers of various sized areas in the Ottoman Empire... [more]
BezdenezhnykhRussian Means "without money", from Russian денежных (denezhnykh) meaning money and prefix без (bez) meaning without. Denoted to a very very poor person.
BezshtankoUkrainian From Ukrainian без (bez), meaning "without" and a diminutive form of штанів (shtaniv), meaning "pants". Compare the surname Shtanko.
BezuglyymRussian From Russian без (bez), meaning "without" and угол (ugol), meaning either "angle, corner" or "coal". The surname can mean "cornerless, angleless" or "coalless, without coal".
BhaduriBengali Habitational name from the village of Bhadur in present-day West Bengal, India.
BhaerGerman Likely a variant of German Baer, meaning "bear". A notable bearer is character Friedrich Bhaer, Jo's husband in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
BhallaIndian This surname is derived from Sanskrit bhalla meaning (among other things) ‘auspicious’, ‘missile’, and ‘bear’.
BhalliPunjabi Meaning uncertain. This is the name of a clan found in Punjab, Pakistan.
BhandariIndian, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Nepali Derived from Sanskrit भाण्डागारिक (bhandagarika) meaning "storekeeper, treasurer", ultimately from भाण्डागार (bhandagara) meaning "storeroom, storehouse, treasury".
BhardwajIndian From Sanskrit bhāradvāja ‘descendant of bharadvāja’, bharadvāja meaning ‘one who has strength or vigor’ (a compound of bharat ‘bearing’ + vāja ‘vigor’). According to legend, Bharadvaja (bharadvāja) was the name of one of the great sages.
BhargavaIndian From Sanskrit bhārgava ‘(descendant) of Bhrigu’. Bhrigu is the name of one of the great sages of Hindu legend.
BharuchaIndian (Parsi) Refers to the city of Bharuch in Gujarat, India, which is thought to be derived from the name of a figure in Hindu mythology.
BhasinIndian, Hindi, Punjabi Believed to be derived from Sanskrit भानु (bhānu) meaning "ray of light" or "sun".
BhatejaPunjabi, Jatt, Sikhism Bhateja is a clan name found among Jatt Sikhs and khatris primarily concentrated in Punjab, India. The clan holds a deep historical, cultural, and social presence within Sikh society. Over time, many Bhateja families have migrated to different parts of the world, particularly to Canada, the UK, the USA, and Australia, where Sikh communities have flourished... [more]
BhatnagarIndian, Hindi, Marathi, Odia Derived from the name of a subgroup of the Kayasth community, denoting association with Hanumangarh (formerly named Bhatner), a city in Rajasthan, India.