BijlDutch Means "axe" in Dutch, a metonymic name for someone who used an axe in their work, such as a woodcutter, shipwright, or butcher. Alternatively, a metronym derived from a short form of Amabilia or Sibilia.
BijlsmaWest Frisian Occupational name from Dutch bijl "axe" (see Bijl) combined with the Frisian suffix -ma. Could also be a patronym.
BikandiBasque Possibly derived from Latin vicus "street, neighbourhood; village, hamlet" and Basque (h)andi "big, large". Alternatively, the first element could be from bike "steep slope".
BikićCroatian Occupational name for someone who raised bulls.
BikuñaBasque From the name of a village in Álava, Basque Country, possibly derived from Latin vicus "street, neighbourhood; village, hamlet" and Basque on "good". Alternatively, the first element could be related to bike "steep slope".
BilczewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 distinct Greater Polish villages by the name of Bilczew.
BilderbackGerman (Modern, Archaic) German: habitational name from any of the three places in northern Germany named Billderbeck, formerly Bilderbeck.... [more]
BildtSwedish (Rare) Bildt is a Danish-Swedish-Norwegian noble family originating from Jutland in Denmark and now domiciled in Bohus county in southwest Sweden. The Norwegian branch of the family died out in the beginning of the 18th century... [more]
BilekCzech Nickname for a fair-haired person, from bílek "whiteness", a derivative of bílý "white".
BilenTurkish Means "knowing, cognizant" in Turkish.
BillinghurstEnglish It indicates familial origin within the eponymous village in West Sussex.
BillingsEnglish It comes from the old English bil, meaning "sword or halberd", though the word later came to refer to a pruning hook used to harvest fruit. It's also possible that the name comes from a location in ancient England called Billing, which would've gotten its name from the same source.
BillingslyEnglish Habitational name from a place in Shropshire named Billingsley, from Old English Billingesleah, probably 'clearing (Old English leah) near a sword-shaped hill'
BindschädlerGerman (Swiss) Derived from German binden "to bind" and Swiss German schädlen "to make wood vessels", this is an occupational surname referring to a cooper, a barrel maker.
BinettiItalian Comes from a diminutive of Bino. Italianized form of French 'Binet'. Habitational name from a place called Binetto (named with Latin vinetum ‘vineyard’) in Bari province.
BingelGerman A topographic name derived from a diminutive of Middle High German binge, which means "depression", "ditch", or "pit". May also be derived from pingel, which is a Westphalian nickname for a pedantic person.
BingemannGerman (Rare) Possibly a habitational name for someone from a place named Bingen or Bingum. May also be from a topographic name derived from the German word Binge, which means "trench", and may also refer to a kettle-shaped depression or a collapsed shaft in a mine (see Bingel).
BingerEnglish Derived from the Old English name Binningas, which was a name for someone who lived near stables.
BinghamEnglish Ultimately deriving from the toponym of Melcombe Bingham in Dorset. The name was taken to Ireland in the 16th century, by Richard Bingham, a native of Dorset who was appointed governor of Connaught in 1584... [more]
BingleyEnglish Habitational surname for someone originally from the town of Bingley in West Yorkshire, England. The name is either derived from the given name Bynna combined with the suffix -inga meaning "the people of" or from the Old English elements bing meaning "hollow" and leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
BiniItalian Comes from the given name Albino and other names ending with -bino ending.
BinkEnglish Topographic name for someone living by a bink, a northern dialect term for a flat raised bank of earth or a shelf of flat stone suitable for sitting on. The word is a northern form of modern English bench.
Bin LadenArabic (Rare) Means "son of Laden", from a name derived from Arabic لدن (ladin) meaning "soft, mellow". It was most notoriously borne by Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden (1957-2011), though it is also the surname of an wealthy upper-class Saudi family (of which the former is descended from).
BirchEnglish, German, Danish, Swedish (Rare) From Middle High German birche, Old English birce, Old Danish birk, all meaning "birch". This was likely a topographic name for someone living by a birch tree or a birch forest... [more]
BirchallEnglish Probably a habitational name from Birchill in Derbyshire or Birchills in Staffordshire, both named in Old English with birce "birch" + hyll "hill".
BircherGerman (Swiss) South German and Swiss German topographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood, from Middle High German birche "birch" + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
BirdeeEnglish Probably a variant spelling of English Burden .
BirdsonAfrican American It means son of Bird and most likely came from someone who was given the name Bird. The word bird is found in all English language dictionaries and was not intended to be a name.
BirdsongEnglish From the English words bird and song. Possibly an English translation of the German surname Vogelsang.
BirkinEnglish The surname "Birkin" comes from a village in Yorkshire of the same name, first recorded as "Byrcene" in the Yorkshire charters of 1030, and as "Berchine" and "Berchinge" in the Domesday Book. The first known person with the surname "Birkin" was Jon de Birkin, a baron who lived in the late-11th century.
BirnbaumGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, from Middle High German bir "pear" and boum "tree".
BirneEnglish, German, Jewish Means "pear" in German, making it the German equivalent of Perry 1, perhaps originally referring to a person who harvested or sold pears... [more]
BirneyEnglish Scottish: habitational name from a place in Morayshire, recorded in the 13th century as Brennach, probably from Gaelic braonach 'damp place'.
BirnieScottish Part of the clan MacInnes from the Scottish highlands. It was originally the name of a church (Burn-nigh) which became Birnie or Birney.
BiscornetLiterature Derived from the Latin words bis, meaning "two" and cornet, meaning "horn". According to French urban legend, this was the last name of the architect who built the doorways in the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral... [more]
BiscottiItalian An occupational surname for someone who sells or bakes biscotti.
BisleyEnglish (British) Bisley is a locational surname from the village of Bisley in Surrey. It comes from the words biss meaning “water” and leah meaning “farm”.
BissonnetteFrench (Quebec) North American spelling of French Bissonet, a topographic name from a diminutive of Old French buisson meaning "bush, scrub".
BistolfoItalian Bistolfi has a lineage between Alessandria Casale Monferrato, Acqui Terme and Prasco, Genoa and Savona. Bistolfo may derive from a modified form of the medieval name Guisulfus. In an act of 1327 Gui-sulfus Cottalorda (Mayor of Breil) signed an important peace agreement with Tenda, probably passing by the name Wisulfus, and therefore by common substitution of W with B.
BiswasBengali Derived from Sanskrit विश्वास (viśvāsa) meaning "trust, confidence, faith".
BitencourtBrazilian, Portuguese (Brazilian), French (Rare), English BITENCOURT, derives from Bittencourt, Bettencourt and Bethencourt; They 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]
BitsuieNavajo From bitsóí meaning "his grandchild", a commonly adopted surname when the BIA required Native Americans to take surnames for the purpose of official records.
BittakerEnglish Possibly an altered spelling of Whitaker. An infamous bearer was the American serial killer and rapist Lawrence Bittaker (1940-2019).
BittenbinderGerman Occupational name for a cooper, from Middle High German büte(n) "cask", "(wine) barrel" + binder "binder" (agent derivative of binden "to bind").
BjeljacSerbian, Croatian, Bosnian From the Croation Area of Kordun specifically Koranski Lug. Possibly also Bosnia. A large migration of Serbs were enticed by the Austrian government to move from Bosnia to Croatia to act as a buffer militia between the Ottoman Empire of Bosnia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Croatia... [more]
BjörkqvistSwedish Combination of Swedish björk "birch tree" and qvist, an obsolete spelling of kvist, "twig".
BjörnSwedish Means "bear" in Swedish. Either taken directly from the given name (see Björn) or from a nickname for a big, hairy person. It may also be derived from a place named with the element björn.
BjörnbergSwedish Ornamental name derived from Swedish björn meaning "bear" and berg meaning "mountain".
BlaauwDutch, South African Archaic spelling of Dutch blauw "blue", a nickname referring to the bearer’s eye colour, clothes, or possibly a pale and sickly complexion. It could also be an occupational name for someone who made blue dye, or bluing for laundry.
BlachPolish Alternatively perhaps a metonymic occupational name from Old Polish blach ‘skeet iron’, ‘metal fittings’.
BlacherFrench Mainly used in Southern France. Topographic name for someone who lived by an oak grove, originating in the southeastern French dialect word blache ‘oak plantation’ (said to be of Gaulish origin), originally a plantation of young trees of any kind.