Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
PassepartoutLiterature Derived from French passe-partout, which literally means "goes everywhere" but is actually an idiom for "skeleton key".... [more]
PassetFrench (Huguenot) Derived from French pas "(geography) strait, pass" in combination with a diminutive suffix.
PassiItalian, Medieval Italian The surname Passi was first found in the town of Mugello, with the Passerini family who moved south to Florence in the 10th century. Terranova dei Passerini is a comune in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy about 50 kilometres (31 miles) southeast of Milan.... [more]
PassmoreEnglish Either (i) from a medieval nickname for someone who crossed marshy moorland (e.g. who lived on the opposite side of a moor, or who knew the safe paths across it); or (ii) perhaps from an alteration of Passemer, literally "cross-sea", an Anglo-Norman nickname for a seafarer... [more]
PasteurFrench French for "shepherd" or "preacher, pastor". Famous bearer Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French chemist who created the first rabies vaccine, gave his name to the process of 'pasteurization'.
PateEnglish Derives from the given name Pat(t), a short form of the personal name Patrick from the Latin Patricius meaning "son of a noble father".
PatemanEnglish The name Pateman is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It is a name for someone who worked as a boatman. The surname Pateman is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word bat, which means a boat.
PaterDutch From Latin pater ‘father’, also used to denote the father superior in a religious order, hence probably a nickname for a "solemn" or "pompous man."
PateraCzech Nickname for the illegitimate son of a priest.
PaternoItalian Italian surname of unknown origin, most likely comes from Paternò in Sicily. Notable individuals include Joe Paterno (1926 - 2012), head coach at Pennsylvania State University until 2011.
PathanIndian (Muslim), Bengali, Urdu, Pashto Derived from Hindustani पठान (paṭhān) meaning "a Pashtun (person)", referring to the Pashtun ethnic group inhabiting present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is sometimes used by Pashtuns who ancestrally migrated to India.
PathanIndian (Muslim) It is used as a last name for Indian Muslims and usually means Hindustani (A Man/Woman that cares about their Country/town) also is a brave person
PatrushevRussian Patronymic derived from a Russian diminutive of Patricius. This is borne by Russian political and security figure Nikolai Patrushev (1951-), former director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
PätsEstonian Päts is an Estonian surname meaning "pone" or "loaf".
PattaItalian Possibly from patta "draw, settlement", perhaps a nickname given to a negotiator. The same term can also mean "heat, warmth of the hearth".
PattinsonEnglish, Scottish Derived from the name of an ancestor. 'The son of Patrick' (which see), from the nick. Pate and diminutive Patt-in; compare Colin, Robin.
PaudelNepali From Nepali पौडी (paudi) possibly referring to the town of Pauri in Uttarakhand, India, combined with आलय (alaya) meaning "house, dwelling".
PauellRussian Russian translation of the surname of Powell
PaveseItalian Means "one from Pavia". Pavia is an Italian town located in Lombardy, northern Italy. It can also derive from pavese, a kind of big, Medieval shield.... [more]
PaveyEnglish Either (i) from the medieval female personal name Pavia, perhaps from Old French pavie "peach"; or (ii) "person from Pavia", Italy.
PaxsonEnglish This surname means "son of Pack." Pack may be a survival of the Old English personal name Pacca or it may have been a Middle English personal name derived from Paschalis (meaning "relating to Easter"), the Latin form of Pascal.
PaytasHungarian, English (American) From the Hungarian nickname pajtás meaning "comrade, pal". Possibly originates from the Ottoman Turkish word پایداش (paydaş) meaning "partner, sharer". A notable bearer of the surname is the American YouTuber Trisha Paytas.
PchyolkinRussian Derived from Russian пчёлка (pchyolka), a diminutive of пчела (pchela) meaning "bee". The founder of the surname may have been a beekeeper.
PeabodyEnglish Probably from a nickname for a showy dresser, from Middle English pe "peacock" (see Peacock) and body "body, person". Alternatively it may be from the name of a Celtic tribe meaning "mountain men" from Brythonic pea "large hill, mountain" combined with Boadie, the tribe's earlier name, which meant "great man" (or simply "man") among the Briton and Cambri peoples... [more]
PeachEnglish (Rare) Derived from the name of the fruit, which itself derived its name from Late Latin persica, which came from older Latin malum persicum meaning "Persian fruit."
PeachyEnglish (Anglicized) Means “lived near a peach tree, sold peaches, or was associated with the fruit in some other way”. Originally arrived with the in England after the Norman conquest of 1066.
PearcyEnglish (American) Variant of Percy, which is a name derived from Perci, a parish and canton near St. Lo, in Normandy
PearksEnglish Sir Stuart Edmond Pearks (1875–1931) served as the Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province of British India from 1930 until 1931. Sourced from Wikipedia.... [more]
PearlEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a trader in pearls, which in the Middle Ages were fashionable among the rich for the ornamentation of clothes, from Middle English, Old French perle (Late Latin perla).
PeaseEnglish English: from Middle English pese ‘pea’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of peas, or a nickname for a small and insignificant person. The word was originally a collective singular (Old English peose, pise, from Latin pisa) from which the modern English vocabulary word pea is derived by folk etymology, the singular having been taken as a plural.
PechmanGerman "Pechman" means "man with bad luck" in many European languages (Polish, German, and Dutch predominantly), though in German, it originally referred to one who prepared, sold, or used pitch.
PechtoldGerman, Dutch, Jewish From the Old German given name Pechtholt, which is composed of the elements pecht "rotation" and holdt "hero". As a Dutch-language surname, it is derived from the Middle Dutch given name Pechte combined with Old High German walt "power, authority"... [more]
PecicAlbanian Derived from the name of the small town Peja (Pec) in western Kosovo. Most likely given to the inhabitants of the town and their descedents.
PedrazaSpanish Refers to the blow received from a stone thrown intentionally to wound someone.
PedreiraPortuguese, Galician Means "quarry, rocky place" in Portuguese and Galician, originally a habitational name from any of various places called Pedreira or A Pedreira.
PedrosaSpanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Galician Habitational name from any of numerous places named Pedrosa, from pedroso, pedrosa meaning "stoney", an adjectival derivative of pedra meaning "stone".
PedrosoPortuguese Its origin is the word "pedra", which means "stone".
PeeblesScottish, Spanish (?) Habitational name from places so named in Scotland. The place names are cognate with Welsh pebyll "tent, pavilion".
PeegelEstonian Peegel is an Estonian surname meaning "mirror".
PeeleEnglish This surname was given topographically to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. A famous bearer of this surname is actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director Jordan Peele.
PeepEstonian Peep is an Estonian surname (and masculine given name). Taken from the given name "Peep".
PeetEstonian Peet is an Estonian surname meaning "beetroot".
PeetEnglish, Dutch Derived from a pet form of the given name Peter. As a Dutch nickname, it is derived from Middle Dutch pete meaning "godfather, godmother, godchild".
PeetersooEstonian Peetersoo is an Estonian surname meaning "Peeter's swamp". However, it most likely derived from an Estonianization of the surname "Peterson" or "Peeterson".
PeetreEstonian Peetre is an Estonian surname; a variant of the masculine given name "Peeter".
PeetsaluEstonian Peetsalu is an Estonian surname meaning "beet/beetroot grove".
PeeveyNorman, English Means "a place with a fine view". Composed of the Old French roots beu, which means "fair" and "lovely", and voir, which means "to see".
PeikGerman From Middle Low German pek ‘sharp, pointed tool or weapon’.
PeikertGerman Probably an occupational name for a drummer.
PeilEstonian Peil is an Estonian surname meaning "gage".
PeinadoSpanish Derived from peinado meaning "combed" (past participle of peinar meaning "to comb"), hence a nickname for a well-groomed person or for someone with naturally smooth rather than curly hair.
PeiperGerman (Austrian) Occupational name for a piper, from Middle High German piper. In some cases it may be derived from Sorbian pipar "pepper", thus being an occupational name for a spicer or a nickname for one with a fiery temper.
PeirceEnglish From the given name Piers. A notable bearer was the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who is considered to be one of the founders of pragmatism, along with William James and John Dewey.
PeixotoPortuguese Occupational name for a fisherman or fish seller or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a fish, derived from Portuguese peixe meaning "fish".
PejovićSerbian (Russified, Modern) Pejović is a Serbian surname. Mainly used in serbia. But also used in Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia
PeledJewish Derived from Hebrew פלדה (plada) meaning "steel".
PelekanosGreek Means woodpecker" from Greek pelekanos "green woodpecker" (cognate with pelekan "pelican"; both come from pelekys "axe" the pelican because its beak is shaped like an axe the woodpecker because it uses its beak like an axe).
PelevinRussian Derived from dialectal Russian пелева (peleva) meaning "chaff, shuck". A notable bearer is Victor Pelevin, the Russian fiction writer.
PelisaarEstonian Pelisaar is an Estonian surname meaning "capstan/windlass island".
PelissierFrench From Old French "Pelicier", (Meaning "Furrier", from an agent derivative of pelice, meaning "Fur cloak", from Late Latin "pellicia", from "pellis", meaning "skin fur". An occupational name of someone likely in the fur and hide trade.
PelleGerman From Middle Low German pelle "precious purple silk cloth", presumably an occupational name for a maker or seller of such cloth or for a maker of official and church vestments.
PellegrinFrench Unknown. Possibly a variant of Pellegrino. This surname was given to the Chilean named Raúl Alejandro Pellegrin Friedmann (1958-1988; nicknamed JoséMiguel).
PellerinFrench From Old French pellerinpelegrin "pilgrim" (from Latin peregrinus "traveler") applied as a nickname for a person who had been on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land or to a famous holy site elsewhere... [more]
PellicanoItalian, Sicilian nickname from dialect pelecanòpelicanò "woodpecker" from modern Greek pelekanos "green woodpecker" (cognate with pelekan "pelican"; both come from pelekys "axe" the pelican because its beak is shaped like an axe the woodpecker because it uses its beak like an axe).
PelterDutch This surname is occupational in origin. It comes from the Latin word "pellis," meaning "skin" or "hide," and would have originally been born by someone who tanned or sold hides and pelts for a living.
PeltierFrench Variant of Pelletier (from Old French pellet, a diminutive of pel "skin, hide").
PeltonEnglish Habitational name from Pelton, a place in County Durham, named from an unattested Old English personal name Peola + tun 'farmstead', 'settlement'.
PeltzGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a furrier, from Middle High German bellez, (modern German pelz) "fur", "animal skin".