ElorriagaBasque It indicates familial origin within either of 5 eponymous neighborhoods: the one in Gasteiz, the one in Deba, the one in Kortezubi, the one in Barakaldo, or the one in Lemoa.
ElortzaBasque Derived from Basque elorri "hawthorn, thorn" and the abundance suffix -tza.
El OuafiArabic (Maghrebi) Means "the Ouafi", derived from the given name Wafi. A bearer was AhmedBoughèra El Ouafi (1898-1959), an Algerian athlete during the French rule over the country.
El-qasesArabic It means "the narrative (which refers to the title of a chapter of the Quran)".
ElrashidyArabic (Egyptian) Means "the rightly guided" from Arabic رَشِيد (rašīd) meaning "well-guided, following the right course".
ElricEnglish, Popular Culture From the medieval English givin name Elric. Notable bearers were the Fullmetal Alchemist characters Edward and Alphonse Elric, as well as their mother, Trisha Elric.
ElsegoodEnglish (British), English (Australian) Derived from an Old English given name, possibly *Ælfgod or *Æðelgod, in which the second element is god "god". (Another source gives the meaning "temple-god", presumably from ealh and god.)... [more]
ElsemereEnglish The surname Ellesmere was first found in Shropshire at Ellesmere, a market-town and parish, and the head of a union.
ElsevierDutch The name of a prominent Dutch publishing house of the 17th and 18th century, possibly derived from Old Hebrew הל ספר (hal safir) meaning "the book". Another suggested origin is Dutch hellevuur "hellfire" or helsche vier "four from hell", supposedly derived from a sign by the family’s house.
ElseyEnglish Derived from the Middle English given names Elfsi and Elsi, which in turn were derived from the Old English given name Ælfsige.
El-shafeiArabic It means "the intercessor (which refers to the Prophet of Islam, who will hopefully intercede on one's behalf before God on the day of judgement)".
ElwellEnglish Means "person from Elwell", Dorset (probably "spring from which omens can be read").
ElwoodEnglish It's either from a place name in Gloucestershire, England called Ellwood that is derived from Old English ellern "elder tree" and wudu "wood", or a form of the Old English personal name Ælfweald, composed of the elements ælf "elf" and weald "rule".
ElwyWelsh From the river Elwy in Wales, whose name likely derives from the Welsh elw "gain", "profit". Also sometimes used as a male first name in Wales.
ElzeaHebrew (Gallicized, Rare), American (South, Gallicized, Rare) The name means G-d’s help It is a French transition of the Hebrew name Eleazar applied to Jews that came to France by way of Egypt. Later it was carried over to the French Caribbean mainly St. Martinique which was the first major Jewish settlement in the Caribbean, but the name also spread to other Latin American Islands including Mexico... [more]
EmajõeEstonian Emajõe is an Estonian surname meaning "mother river" (a genitive form of "ema jõgi"). The Emajõgi is a 100km river flowing through Estonia.
EmerJewish Metonymic occupational name from Yiddish emer "pail, bucket".
EmerinGerman (Portuguese-style) Brazilian adaptation of the German surname Emmerich; altered for easier comprehension by the Portuguese-speaking population of Brazil.
EmeryEnglish, French, Norman English and French from a Germanic personal name, Emaurri, composed of the elements amja ‘busy’, ‘industrious’ + ric ‘power’... [more]
EmmerGerman A topographic name for someone who lived by land where grain was grown, a status name for someone who owned such land, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or dealt in grain.
EmotoJapanese From 柄 (e, gara) meaning "pattern, hilt, stalk", 恵 (e, megumi) meaning "blessing", or 江 (e) meaning "inlet bay" combined with 本 (moto, hon) meaning "origin, root".... [more]
EmsleyEnglish A name that came from a family that lived in Yorkshire, where they derived the family name from Helmsley. Probably of Old English origin Helm and ley or leah, which means "a clearing in the woods."
EncarnaciónSpanish Means "incarnation" in Spanish. This is given in reference to the Incarnation of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary (see Encarnación).
EngelbertGerman, English, French From a Germanic personal name composed of engel (see Engel) + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. The widespread popularity of the name in France during the Middle Ages was largely a result of the fact that it had been borne by a son-in-law of Charlemagne; in the Rhineland it was more often given in memory of a bishop of Cologne (1216–25) of this name, who was martyred.
EngelbrechtAfrikaans The name Engelbrecht has multiple translations, including "Angle Glorious" and "Bright Angel".
EnginScottish Scottish: habitational name from Elgin, a place in Moray.
EngineerIndian (Parsi) Parsi name literally meaning "engineer", referring to someone who made machines or engines. As the British rule of India demanded for all Parsees to adopt a surname, many used English vocabulary based on their occupation.
EnglandNorwegian (Rare) From the name of several farms in Norway, named with Old Norse eng "meadow" and land "land".
EngländerGerman, Jewish German ethnic name from Engländer "Englishman" and Jewish artificial name distributed at random by Austrian clerks.
EnglanderGerman, Jewish Ethnic name derived from German Engländer, meaning 'Englishman', thus denoting an incomer from England. In some cases, the Jewish name may be an ornamental adoption.
EnjolrasLiterature From a surname which was from Occitan enjeura meaning "to terrify". This was the name of a charismatic activist in Victor Hugo's novel 'Les Misérables' (1862).
EnnalsEnglish This unusual and interesting surname is of medieval English origin, and derives from either of two Anglo-Scandinavian male given names: Ingald or Ingulf. The former derives ultimately from the Old Norse "Ingialdr", having as its initial element the divine name "Ing", borne by a minor Norse god associated with fertility, and meaning "swelling, protuberance", with "gialdr", tribute; hence, "Ing's tribute"... [more]
EnnemuistEstonian Ennemuist is an Estonian surname derived from "ennemuiste" meaning "days of yore", and "ennemuistne" meaning "ancient".
EnokidaJapanese 榎 (Enoki) means "Hackle/Chinese Nettle Berry Tree", and 田 (Da) means "Rice Paddy, Field". A notable bearer with this family name is Daiki Enokida, who is a professional baseball player.
EnomotoJapanese From Japanese 榎 (enoki) meaning "hackberry, nettle tree" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".
EnoshimaJapanese From Japanese 江 (e) meaning "bay", ノ (no) which is a particle of possession, and 島 (shima) meaning "island". This can refer to the island in the Kanagawa prefecture.
EnshōganJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 焔 (en) meaning "blaze" and 硝岩 (shōgan), derived from 硝石 (shōseki) meaning "saltpeter" by replacing the character 石 (seki) meaning "stone" with 岩 (gan) meaning "rock".
EnsorEnglish Derived from Endesor, a village in Derbyshire, indicating a person who lived there. Endesor itself is Old English, coming from the genitive case of the first name Ēadin and ‘ofer’, meaning ‘sloping ridge’ (From ‘Dictionary of American Family Names’, 2nd edition, 2022).... [more]
EnysCornish (Rare), Celtic (Rare) Enys is an ancient Celtic word meaning a circle, and island or a clearing in the forest, so it is possible that the first owners took their name from the land.
EomäeEstonian Eomäe is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "eose-" meaning "spore" or "eospea" meaning "cone" and "mäe" meaning "hill/mountain"; "cone hill".
EpemaFrisian "Son of Epa" or "Son of Eepa". The name was applied starting around 1620 C.E. to the descendants of Eepa, matriarch of a family of the "grytman" type of elected nobility who held political power in and around the town of Sneek/Snits... [more]
EpshteynGerman, Jewish This surname may be derived from a German town known as Eppstein in Hesse. Epp probably came from Gaulish apa which means water or river and stein translates into English as stone.
EpsteinGerman, Jewish A habitational name for someone from a place named Eppstein, which is from Old High German ebur meaning ‘wild boar’ and stein meaning ‘stone’.
ErasoBasque Habitational name of uncertain etymology, possibly derived from Basque iratze "fern" and the abundance suffix -so. Coincides with the Basque word meaning "attack, charge, assault".
ErberJewish, German Meaning uncertain. Either a habitational name for someone living in a place named Erb or Erp, a name for a owner of a farm named Erbhof (derived from MIddle High German erbære "honorable, noble"), or derived from the given name Erpo.