Submitted Surnames Starting with C

Chesebro English
Variant of Chesbro and Chesbrough.

Chesley English

Chesna English (American)

Chesney English (?)
Came from France and has been shortened.

Chessa Italian
Probably from Sardinian chersa "lentisk", a kind of tree.

Chessell English

Chessen Yiddish (Anglicized, Modern), Russian

Chesterfield English

Chesterman English

Chesters English

Chesterton English
From the name of a parish in Cambridgeshire.

Chestnut English
From Old French castan "chestnut tree" (Latin castanea), a name for someone who lived near a particular chestnut tree, or possibly a nickname for someone with chestnut-coloured hair (see Chastain).

Chestnutt English
"Chestnut." A notable bearer is Charles Waddel Chestnut, a novelist.

Chetcuti Maltese
Derived from Arabic كتكوت‎‎ (katkūt) meaning "(newborn) chick, young chicken".

Chetrit Judeo-Spanish
Alternate transcription of Shitrit.

Chetti Indian, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil
Variant of Chettiar.

Chettiar Indian, Tamil, Malayalam
Refers to a member of any of the various South Indian castes of traders, businessmen, and merchants. The name itself may be from the Tamil honorific எட்டி (eṭṭi) or from a Sanskrit word meaning "wealth".

Chetty Indian, Tamil, Telugu
Variant of Chettiar.

Chetverikov Russian

Cheucarama Indigenous American
Unknown.

Cheuk Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhuo.

Chevallier French
Variant of Chevalier.

Chevapravatdumrong Thai
Possibly from Thai ชีวประวัติ (chiwaprawat) meaning "biography" combined with ดำรง (damrong) meaning "uphold, sustain". A notable bearer is Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (1977-), an American screenwriter of Thai descent known for her work in the animated television series Family Guy.

Chevier French

Chevrand French

Chevrier French
Occupational name for a goatherd from an agent derivative of chèvre "goat" (from Latin capra "nanny goat").

Chevron French
From French chèvre meaning "goat", indicating a person who cultivated goats.

Chevtayev m Russian

Chew English
Habitational name from a place in Somerset named Chew Magna, which is named for the river on which it stands, a Celtic name, perhaps cognate with Welsh cyw ‘young animal or bird’, ‘chicken’.

Chew Chinese (Hokkien), Chinese (Teochew)
Hokkien and Teochew romanization of Zhou.

Chewitt Caribbean, Bahamian Creole (?)

Chewy Hebrew

Cheyne English
Locational or topographical surname derived from Old French chesne, chesnai "oak tree, oak grove", ultimately derived from medieval Latin casnetum.

Cheyo Tanzanian (Rare)
Italian and Spanish variation of Elisha. "God is my salvation"

Chhangte Mizo
Chhangte has an unknown meaning.

Chhay Khmer
Khmer romanization of the Chinese surname Cai, which derives from the name of the ancient Cai state.

Chhetri Nepali, Indian, Bengali
Derived from Sanskrit क्षत्रिय (kṣatríya), the name of the Hindu social class consisting of warriors and rulers.

Chhim Khmer

Chhin Khmer

Chhit Khmer

Chi Chinese

Chi Chinese (Rare)
From 池 (Chí) means pool.

Chiacchiaretta Italian
From chiacchierare "to chat, to chatter, to gossip".

Chiacchio Italian
Possibly from Neapolitan chiachiello "all talk, not serious".

Chiaki Japanese (Rare)
Depending on the kanji used can mean different things. Chi means "thousand" or "wisdom" and aki means "bright", "autumn", "sparkle", "crystal ball" or "shining". This is the last name of Naomi Chiaki, a Japanese singer... [more]

Chiala Italian
Possibly a variant of Cicala.

Chiam Chinese (Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of Zhan.

Chiama Igbo
Western Africa (Nigeria)... [more]

Chian Chinese

Chiang Chinese
Alternate transcription of Jiang.

Chiang Chinese
Alternate transcription of Jiang 1.

Chiang Chinese
Alternate transcription of Jiang 2.

Chiao Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 焦 (see Jiao).

Chiapello Italian
Possibly connected to chiappare "to catch, to trap", a nickname for a hunter. Alternately, may be an elaborate form of Chiappa.

Chiappa Italian
Possibly chiappa "stone", indicating someone who lived in a stony area.

Chiappetta Italian
A nickname derived from chiappa, meaning "buttock, butt cheek". Alternately, may be a diminutive of Chiappa.

Chiappone Italian
From Sicilian chiappuni "fat, lazy man".

Chiara Italian
Chiara meaning clear

Chiaramonte Italian
comes from the italian word chiara meaning "clear" and the the word monte meaning "mountain", possibly denoting someone who lived by clear mountians, hills, etc.

Chiarella Italian
Diminutive of Chiara, itself from the given name Chiara.

Chiarenza Italian
From Clarence, a medieval Frankish town in Greece, called Chiarenza or Clarenza in Italian, rendered Γλαρέντζα (Glarentza) in contemporary Greek documents.

Chiasson French, English
French surname originally denoting someone from the the municipality of Chiasso in Ticino, Switzerland, located along the Swiss/Italian border.... [more]

Chiavetta Italian
From Italian "chiavetta", deriving from chiave meaning key.

Chibana Japanese
千 (Chi) means "one thousand" and 花 (bana) is a variation of hana, meaning "blossom, flower".... [more]

Chibara Japanese
Variant of Chihara.

Chibhabha Southern African

Chibolo African

Chica Spanish
Apparently from chica, feminine form of chico ‘small’, ‘young’ (see Chico), but a variant of the habitational name Checa, from a place so named in Jaén province is also a possibility.

Chicane Various
Unknown origins/meaning. Some sources claim it is a variation of the surname "Chick". Chicane is also a French word meaning "to cavil, to quibble".

Chicheportich Judeo-Spanish
Variant of Chicheportiche.

Chicheportiche Judeo-Spanish
French variant of Sasportas.

Chichester English

Chichigov Chechen
Meaning unknown.

Chichigova Chechen
Feminine transcription of Chechen Чичигов (see Chichigov).

Chickliss English

Chiclana Spanish
This indicates familial origin within either of 2 eponymous Andalusian municipalities: Chiclana de la Frontera or Chiclana de Segura.

Chideya African

Chido Spanish
Likely given to someone who lived in a cold environment

Chieco Spanish
Derives from the given name Franciscus.

Chien Taiwanese
Alternate romanization of Jian chiefly used in Taiwan.

Chiere French (Rare)
Possibly derived from the Old French chiere, from chier, meaning "dear, dearest".

Chiesa Italian
Means "church" in Italian, originally a topographic name for someone who lived near a church, a habitational name from any of various places named Chiesa or perhaps an occupational name for someone who worked in a church.

Chifley Irish, English

Chigurh Literature, Popular Culture
Meaning unknown. It is intended to be "ethnically ambiguous", but one theory suggests that it may be derived from the Spanish verb seguir meaning "to follow, to continue". This name was invented by the American author Cormac McCarthy for the villain in his novel No Country for Old Men (2005)... [more]

Chigusa Japanese
This surname is used as 千種, 千草 or 千艸 with 千 (sen, chi) meaning "thousand", 種 (shu, -gusa, tane) meaning "class, kind, seed, species, variety", 草 (sou, kusa, kusa-, -gusa) meaning "draft, grass, herbs, pasture, weeds, write" and 艸 (sou, kusa) meaning "grass, plants."... [more]

Chigwedere Southern African

Chihara Japanese
From Japanese 茅 (chi) meaning "thatch" or 千 (chi) meaning "thousand" combined with 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain". A notable bearer of this surname is Minori Chihara (茅原 実里), a Japanese voice-actress who is best known for voicing Yuki Nagato from the Haruhi Suzumiya series and Aya Natsume from Tenjō Tenge.

Chiina Japanese

Chijimatsu Japanese
From 千 (chi, sen) meaning "thousand", 々 is a particle that indicates that the previous syllable should be repeated (chi becomes ji), and 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree".

Chikafuji Japanese
Chika means "near" and fuji means "wisteria".

Chikahisa Japanese
Chika means "near" and hisa means "long time, long time ago, longevity".

Chikamatsu Japanese
From 近 (chika) meaning "close, near" and 松 (matsu) meaning "pine, fir tree".

Chikamiya Japanese
近 (chika) means ‘near, close, proximity’, 宮 (Miya) means ‘palace, shrine, temple.’ Could be used for someone who had lived near a palace, shrine, or temple. Currently used by around 10 families.

Chikano Japanese
Chika means "near" and no means "field, rice paddy".

Chiklak Yupik

Chikomborero Shona
CHIKOMBORERO means "a blessing".

Chikuchishin Japanese (Rare)
Variant reading of Japanese Kanji 築地新 (see Tsukijishin).

Chila Italian
Italian form of Cheilas.

Chilavert Spanish (Latin American)

Chilcote English

Child English
Nickname from Middle English child meaning "child", "infant".

Childers English
Probably a habitational name from some lost place named Childerhouse, from Old English cildra "child" and hus "house", possibly referring to an orphanage.

Childree English (Rare)

Childress English
Variant of Childers.

Childs English
patronymic from Child

Chiles English

Chillingworth English (Rare)
Notable as the surname of Hester Prynne's husband Roger Chillingworth in the 1850 novel 'The Scarlet Letter'

Chillo South American

Chilombo African

Chilton English

Chilver English (British)
Means "ewe lamb" , (a young female sheep).

Chilvers English
Means "son of Chilver" (probably from the Old English male personal name Cēolfrith, literally "ship-peace").

Chim Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhan.

Chim Khmer
Variant transcription of Choem.

Chim Mayan
From Yucatec Maya chiim meaning "bag, sack".

Chimalhua Nahuatl
Means "has a shield, possessor of shields" in Nahuatl.

Chimariya Hinduism (Modern)

Chimoto Japanese
Chi can mean "thousand" or "ground, soil" and moto means "source, origin, root".

Chin Chinese (Hakka)
Hakka romanization of Chen.

Chin English
Variant of Chinn.

Chin English (American)
Variant of Chinn.

Chin English (American)
Variant of Chinn.

Chin Chinese (Hokkien)

Chinc Polish
Variant of Hinc.

Chinchilla Spanish
Originally denoted a person from the Spanish town of Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón in the province of Albacete. The place name is possibly of Arabic origin.

Chinchón Spanish
It indicates familial origin within the eponymous Madrileño municipality.

Chincoya Nahuatl
Meaning uncertain.

Chińcz Polish
Variant of Hinc.

Chincz Polish
Variant of Hinc.

Chindavong Lao
From Lao ຈິນດາ (chinda) meaning "imagination, meditation, reflection" and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family".

Chinen Japanese

Ching Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Cheng 1.

Chini Italian
Possibly a variant of Zini.

Chinji Japanese (Rare)
From Japanese 鎮寺 (Chinji), from 鎮寺門 (Chinjimon), 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, as well as surrounding areas.

Chinn English

Chinn Welsh

Chinn Welsh

Chinneck English

Chino Japanese (Rare)
Written with characters Chi ("Micanthus Reed") and No ("Feild").

Chino Japanese
From Japanese 千 (chi) meaning "thousand" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Chino Spanish (Mexican)
From Mexican Spanish meaning "curly" or "kinky haired".

Chino Indigenous American, Quechua (Hispanicized), Aymara (Hispanicized)
From Quechua/Aymara meaning "girl".

Chino Italian
Derived from the given name Gioacchino.

Chi Nowydh Cornish
It means "new house".

Chinyemba Southern African

Chio Chinese (Cantonese)

Chiodi Italian
From Italian chiodo "nail", probably given to someone who made or sold nails.

Chionas Greek
Likely derived from modern Greek χιόνι (chioni) meaning "snow".

Chionidis Greek
From the Greek word for snow, 'χιόνι'. Descendant, son of the 'snowy one.'

Chiovaro Sicilian
Unknown meaning. Brought over to the United States from Sicilian immigrants, where the pronunciation changed from KEE-o-vah-row to SHIV-ahr-ow.

Chipley English (American)

Chipman English

Chippendale English
Derived from a place called "Chippingdale".

Chipperfield English
Derived from Hertfordshire Village of Chipperfield

Chips English (British)
Chips is a rare English (british) last name which is a nickname of Christopher and Charles

Chirac French

Chiravejsundornkul Thai (Sanskritized, Rare)
Sanskritized transcription of Thai จิรเวชสุนทรกุล (see Chirawetsunthonkun).

Chirawetsunthonkun Thai (Rare)
From Thai จิร (chira) meaning "long", เวช (wet) meaning "doctor; physician", สุนทร (sunthon) meaning "beautiful; nice; well", and กุล (kun) meaning "tribe, race, lineage".

Chirayangyuen Thai (Rare)
Means "to endure long", From Thai จิร (chira-) meaning "long; extended" and ยั่งยืน (yangyuen) meaning "to endure; to last".

Chircop Maltese

Chiriboga Basque (Hispanicized)
Castilianized form of Txiriboga.

Chirico Italian
Surname of Italian surrealist artist, Giorgio de Chirico

Chirigu Italian
Variant of Cherchi.

Chirillo Italian

Chirino Spanish
Variant of Quirino.

Chirivella Catalan (Hispanicized)
Castilianized form of Xirivella.

Chirkov m Russian
From Russian чирковой (chirkovoy), meaning "teal".

Chiroto Shona
Meaning unknown.

Chirunda African

Chisaka Japanese
Chi means "thousand" and saka means "slope, hill".

Chisaki Japanese
Chi can mean "thousand" or "pond", and saki means "cape, promontory, peninsula".

Chisché Romansh

Chisefsky Polish

Chishall English
The name comes from when they lived in Chishall, two parishes in the county of Essex.

Chishiya Japanese
From Japanese 千 (chi) meaning "thousand", 地 (chi) meaning "earth, land", 智 (chi) meaning "wisdom, intellect" 散 (chi) meaning "scatter", 梓 (shi) meaning "Japanese cherry birch", 塩 (shio) meaning "salt", 沙 (shi) meaning "sand", 司 (shi) meaning "to take charge of; to control; to manage", 史 (shi) meaning "history", 四 (shi) meaning "four", 士 (shi) meaning "samurai, warrior", 子 (shi) meaning "child", 市 (shi) meaning "market", 志 (shi) meaning "purpose, will, determination, aspiration, ambition", 氏 (shi) meaning "a family; a clan", 糸 (shi) meaning "thread", 紙 (shi) meaning "paper", 紫 (shi) meaning "purple; violet", 至 (shi) meaning "to reach; to arrive", 詩 (shi) meaning "poetry, poem", 資 (shi) meaning "money; fund; wealth; capital", 汐 (shi) meaning "evening tide; night tides; ebb", 心 (shi) meaning "heart, mind, soul" or 清 (shi) meaning "clear; limpid", and 也 (ya) meaning "also" or 哉 (ya), an exclamation... [more]

Chisholm Scottish
The name of a location in Roxburghshire, Scotland, which itself comes from cisil "gravel" and holm "islet".

Chishti Urdu
From the name of the town of Chisht in present-day Herat province, Afghanistan.

Chisley English

Chisuga Japanese
Chi means "thousand" and suga means "sedge".

Chiswell English
Variant of Chishall.

Chitsawangdee Thai (Rare)
Variant transcription of Thai จิตต์สว่างดี (see Chitsawangdi).

Chitsawangdi Thai (Rare)
From Thai จิตต์ (chit) meaning "mind; heart; soul; spirit; mentality", สว่าง (sawang) meaning "bright; shining", and ดี (di) meaning "good".

Chittsawangdee Thai (Rare)
Variant transcription of Thai จิตต์สว่างดี (see Chitsawangdi).

Chiu Chinese
Alternate transcription of Qiu chiefly used in Taiwan.

Chiura Japanese (Rare)
This surname is used as 千浦, 地浦 or 知浦 with 千 (sen, chi) meaning "thousand," 地 (ji, chi) meaning "earth, ground", 知 (chi, shi.raseru, shi.ru) meaning "know, wisdom" and 浦 (ho, ura) meaning "bay, beach, creek, gulf, inlet, seacoast."... [more]

Chivaaree Thai
From Thai ชีวะ (chiwa) meaning "life" and อารี (ari) meaning "tolerant, liberal, generous; magnanimous"

Chivers Welsh

Chivton English (American)
Portmanteau of Chiovaro and Cranston. First known use in 2023.

Chivu Romanian

Chiwara Japanese
Variant of Chihara.

Chiweshe Shona
Meaning unknown.

Chiya Japanese (Rare)
Means "bloody arrow; arrow of blood" in Japanese.

Chiyoda Japanese

Chiyonofuji Japanese
It means "One thousand years of wisteria."

Chiyota Japanese

Chizaka Japanese
Variant of Chisaka.

Chizaki Japanese
Variant of Chisaki.

Chizhevskiy m Russian, Polish (Russified), Yiddish (Russified)
Russian form of Czyżewski.

Chizhov m Russian
Russian form of Czyżewski.

Chkalov m Russian

Chkhenkeli Georgian

Chkhetidze Georgian
Meaning unknown.

Chkheydze Georgian (Russified)

Chlo Israeli

Chloey Khmer

Chloros Greek
Meaning "green" in Greek

Chludzinski Polish

Chmakov Russian

Chmakova Russian (Anglicized)

Chmara Polish
Derived from proto-slavic *xmara meaning "dusky"

Ch'ng Chinese (Hokkien)
Hokkien romanization of Zhuang.

Cho Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Hakka), Chinese (Hokkien)
Cantonese, Hakka and Hokkien romanization of Cao.

Choate English
Probably derived from the place name Chute in Wiltshire, England, or from the parish Shute in Devon. Alternatively, it could be from the Dutch surname Van Choate, itself derived from a location in France.

Chocholi Albanian

Chock English
From English Shock or German Schöck

Chockalingam Indian, Tamil
From a nickname referring to the Hindu god Shiva, composed of the Sanskrit words चोक्का (cokkā) meaning "alluring" and लिङ्गम् (liṅga) meaning "sign, symbol, mark".

Chodak Polish
Chodak is a Polish surname, likely derived from "chodak", meaning a wooden shoe or clog

Chodankar Indian

Chodecki Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Kuyavian town of Chodecz.

Chodkiewicz Polish

Choem Khmer

Chohan Urdu, Indian, Hindi, Punjabi
Alternate transcription of Chauhan.

Choi Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Cai.

Choice English
Derived from the personal names Josse or Goce, which are derived from the Latin word "gaudere" and is a cognate in origin with the word "joy."

Choisel French

Chojnicki Polish

Chokalingam Indian, Tamil
Variant of Chockalingam. A famous bearer is American actress and comedienne Vera Mindy Chokalingam (1979-), who uses the stage name Mindy Kaling.

Chokshi Indian
From Gujarati čoksi ‘jeweler’, ‘assayer of gold and silver’, from čokəs ‘precise’, ‘circumspect’, a compound of čo- ‘four’, ‘four-way’, ‘all-round’ (Sanskrit čatus- ‘four’) + kəs ‘assaying’ (Sanskrit kạsa ‘rubbing’, ‘touchstone’).

Cholera Indian

Cholerzyński Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Cholerzyn.

Cholevas Greek
Feminine form is Choleva

Chollet French

Chollette French

Cholmely English
The Cholmely family lived in the township of Cholmondley in the parish of Malpas in Cheshire.

Cholmondeley English
An aristocratic surname derived from a place name in Cheshire which means "Ceolmund's grove" in Old English.

Cholymay Micronesian

Chomacki Polish

Chomchuen Thai
Means "congratulations" from Thai ชม (chom) meaning "see, watch, praise, admire" and ชื่น (chuen) meaning "happy, joyful, delighted".

Chon Chinese

Chonenko Ukrainian

Chong Korean
Variant romanization of Jeong.

Chono Japanese
Cho can mean "butterfly" and no means "field, wilderness, plain".

Chönz Romansh
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Conrad.

Choo Korean
Variant romanization of Chu.

Choo Chinese (Hokkien), Chinese (Teochew)
Hokkien and Teochew romanization of Zhu.

Chooi Malaysian

Chopin French
French and English: nickname for a heavy drinker, from Old French chopine, a large liquid measure (from Middle Low German schopen "ladle"). The derived Old French verb chopiner has the sense 'to tipple’, ‘to drink to excess’... [more]

Chopra Indian, Punjabi
Of unknown meaning.

Choque Indigenous American, Quechua (Hispanicized), Aymara (Hispanicized)

Choquehuanca Spanish (Latin American)

Choquette French
Altered spelling of French Choquet, a Picard form of Old French soquet, which was the term for a tax on wines and foodstuffs, hence a metonymic occupational name for a collector of such taxes.

Chorafas Greek

Chorafopoulos Greek

Choret French (Quebec)
Variant of Chauré.

Choriev Tajik, Uzbek
Masculine form of Chorieva.

Chorieva Tajik, Uzbek
Feminine form of Choriev.

Chorley English

Chornenki French (Quebec)

Chornenkyi m Ukrainian
Variant of Chornyy.

Chornykh Ukrainian
Ukrainian form of Chernykh.

Chornyy m Ukrainian
Ukrainian cognate of Chyornyy.

Chosokabe Japanese
Variant transcription of Chousokabe.

Chouchane Arabic (Maghrebi, ?)

Choudary Urdu, Indian, Telugu
Variant of Chaudhary.

Choudhry Indian, Hindi, Urdu
Alternate transcription of Chaudhary.

Choudhuri Indian, Bengali, Odia, Assamese
Variant of Chaudhary.

Choudry Urdu, Punjabi
Urdu and Punjabi form of Chaudhary.

Chougule Marathi
Alternate transcription of Marathi चौगुले (see Chaugule).

Chouhan Indian, Assamese, Bengali, Hindi
Alternate transcription of Chauhan.

Chouinard French (Quebec)
Nickname of a diminutive from French choucas meaning "jackdaw".

Choukri Arabic (Maghrebi)
Alternate transcription of Shukri chiefly used in Morocco.

Choules English (British, Rare)
The surname Choules is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a variant of Scholes, itself "a topographical name for someone who lived in a rough hut or shed", from the Northern Middle English 'scale, schole'... [more]

Chouraqui Judeo-Spanish
Means "the one who comes from the east" from Arabic شَرْقِيّ (šarqiyy) meaning "eastern".

Chourey Hindi
chourey surname basically belongs to kurmi caste

Chousokabe Japanese
From Japanese 長 (chou) meaning "chief, head, leader", 宗 (so) meaning "religion", 我 (ka) meaning "ego" and 部 (be) meaning "section".

Chovan Slovak

Chovban Eastern European (Rare)

Chow Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Zhou.

Chowdary Indian, Telugu, Tamil
Variant of Chaudhary used in Southern India.

Chowdhary Indian, Bengali
Alternate transcription of Chaudhary.

Chowdhry Indian, Hindi, Bengali
Alternate transcription of Chaudhary.

Choy Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Cai.

Chrapko Belarusian
Belarusian Latin spelling of Khrapko.

Chraplewski Polish
This indicates familial origin within either of 3 Greater Polish villages named Chraplewo.

Chresta Romansh
Variant of Cresta.

Chrétien French, French (Quebec)
French form of Christian.

Chretien French

Chriqui Judeo-Spanish
Alternate transcription of Chouraqui.

Chris Nigerian

Chrisley English

Chrisma Indonesian

Chrisman English
Derived from the given name Christian.

Christ German, Dutch
Either from a short form of the personal name Christian, or from a nickname meaning "the Christian", both from Latin Christ (see Christos 1).

Christen German (Swiss)
Derived from the given name Christian.

Christenson English
Anglicized form of Christensen

Christer Swedish, Danish
From the given name Christer.

Christiani German, Dutch
From the given name Christian.

Christie Scottish
Means "son of Christian" or "son of Christopher".

Christina English, Various
Derived from the name Christina

Christine Eastern African