JesselEnglish From a pet-form of Jessop (a medieval male personal name - a different form of Joseph). A literary bearer is Miss Jessel, the governess who has charge of the two troubled and enigmatic children in Henry James's ghost story 'The Turn of the Screw' (1898).
JessieEnglish Possibly a variant of Jessey, an occupational name for someone making jesses (a short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry).
JeterFrench (Huguenot), German Jeter is a French and German surname. It is the last name of former New York Yankees baseball player, Derek Jeter. It's also the last name of Carmelita Jeter, an American sprinter who specializes in the 100 meter sprint.
JewsonEnglish (British) A patronymic (also potentially matronymic) surname that means "the son of Jull", coming from the element Jull, a diminutive form of the personal name Julian or Juette from Iovis, the Roman god of thunder and the sky combined with the suffix of son.
JiChinese From Chinese 纪 (jì) referring to the ancient state of Ji, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
JiChinese From Chinese 季 (jì) meaning "youngest brother".
JiaChinese From Chinese 甲 (jiǎ) meaning "one, first", also referring to an ancient fief or small state named Jia located in what is now either Henan or Hebei province.
JiaChinese From Chinese 贾 (jiǎ) referring to an ancient state and fief named Jia, both located in what is now Shanxi province.
JianChinese From Chinese 簡 (jiǎn) meaning "simple, uncomplicated", taken from the given name of several individuals.
JiangChinese From Chinese 蒋 (jiǎng) referring to the ancient state of Jiang, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
JiaoChinese From Chinese 焦 (jiāo) referring to the ancient state of Jiao, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now the provinces of Shaanxi and Henan.
JibikiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 字 (ji) meaning "letter; character" and 引 (biki), the joining form of 引 (hiki), from 引き (hiki) meaning "pull", referring to a dictionary.
JimutaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 爾 (ji), a phonetic character, and 牟田 (muta) meaning "wetland; bog".
JinJapanese From Japanese 神 (jin) meaning "deity; god". This may have been used by shrine masters, people who came from shrines, or people who were granted by the emperor of Japan.
JinadasaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit जिन (jina) meaning "victorious, triumphant" and दास (dasa) meaning "servant, slave".
JinasenaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit जिन (jina) meaning "victorious, triumphant" and सेना (sena) meaning "army".
JinboJapanese From 神 (jin, kami) meaning "god, deity, divine" combined with 保 (ho, tamotsu) meaning "protect".
JinguJapanese Formed with 神 (shin, jin, kami, kan, kou) meaning "god" and 宮 (kyuu, guu, kuu, miya) meaning "palace, shrine".
JingūjiJapanese formed with 神 (Shin, Jin, Kami, Kan, Kou) meaning "God" and 宮 (Kyuu, Guu, Ku, Kuu, Miya) meaning "Palace". and 司 (Shi, Ji) meaning "Director". Which means the surname could possible come out as “God’s Palace of the Director”
JinnouchiJapanese From the Japanese 陣 (jin) "camp" and 内 (uchi or nai) "inside." The grammatical and phonetic particle ノ or 之 (no) is sometimes written between the other two characters.
JirōmanJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 次郎 (jirō) meaning "2nd son" and 万 (man), a character clipping of 万屋 (yorozuya) meaning "general store", referring to a general store that was run by a 2nd son.... [more]
JlassiArabic (Maghrebi), Berber From the name of an Tamazight (Berber) tribal confederation in Tunisia; the name could be from Arabic إِخْلَاص (ʾiḵlāṣ) meaning "sincerity, devotion, loyalty" or of unknown Berber meaning.
JobEnglish, French, German, Hungarian English, French, German, and Hungarian from the personal name Iyov or Job, borne by a Biblical character, the central figure in the Book of Job, who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him... [more]
JocelynEnglish Another of the names brought to England in the eleventh century by the Normans, and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a masculine name only.
JolicoeurFrench (Quebec), Haitian Creole From Old French joli "joyful, cheerful" and cuer "heart". It was originally a nickname for a cheerful person. This was a frequent French Canadian secondary surname (or dit name).
JollyEnglish From the English word jolly, which is ultimately from Old French joli# ("merry, happy"). Originally a nickname for someone of a cheerful or attractive disposition.
JongKorean Alternate romanization of Jeong chiefly used in North Korea.
JongbloedDutch Nickname for a young person, derived from Middle Dutch jonc meaning "young" and bloet meaning "blood". A famous bearer of this surname was the Dutch soccer goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed (1940-2023).
JoofSerer The surname Joof (English spelling in Gambia) whit its derivatives Juuf / Juf (Seereer proper) or Diouf (French spelling in Senegal and Mauritania) is a Senegambian surname found amongst the Seereer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania... [more]
JõõgerEstonian Jõõger is an Estonian surname, possibly a corruption of "jääger" meaning "hunter" and "trapper".
JoonEstonian Joon is an Estonian surname meaning "line" and "stripe".
JoonasEstonian Joonas is an Estonian surname (and masculine given name); a variant of the name "Jonas".
JoplinEnglish Possibly derived from a Middle English diminutive of Geoffrey, a nickname from Middle English joppe "fool", or from the Biblical name Job... [more]