SwaminathanIndian From a personal name derived from Sanskrit Svāmi ‘Lord’ + Nātha ‘Lord’ + the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -N.
SwanEnglish, Scottish Originally given as a nickname to a person who was noted for purity or excellence, which were taken to be attributes of the swan, or who resembled a swan in some other way. In some cases it may have been given to a person who lived at a house with the sign of a swan... [more]
SwanwickEnglish Habitational name from Swanwick in Derbyshire, possibly also Swanwick in Hampshire. Both are named from Old English swan, "herdsman," and wic, "outlying dairy farm."
SwartzlanderEnglish (American) Americanized form of German Schwarzländer, a habitational name for someone from an area of Bavaria known as Schwarzland ‘the black land’, from Middle High German swarz ‘black’ + land ‘land’.
SwaseyEnglish Unexplained. Possibly an Anglicized form of Dutch Swijse(n), variant of Wijs "wise" (see Wise).
SwedenborgSwedish Derived from the surname Svedberg (sometimes spelled Swedberg). A notable bearer was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a Swedish theologian and scientist.
SweetingEnglish Derived from Old English swete and Middle English sweting meaning "darling, sweetheart", hence a nickname for a popular and attractive person, or for somebody who habitually addressed people with the term (see Sweet).
SwettEnglish Derived from the old English words "swete" and "swot".
ŚwierczyńskiPolish Name for someone from a place called Świerczyn or Świerczyna, both derived either from Polish świerk meaning "spruce" or świerszcz meaning "cricket".
SwigertGerman (Americanized) Americanized form of German Schweigert or Zweigert, an occupational name for a gardener or tender of plants, from an agent derivative of Middle High German zwigen, meaning "to graft" or "to plant".
SwinburneEnglish habitational name primarily from Great and Little Swinburne (Northumberland) but perhaps also occasionally from one or other places similarly named from Old English swin "pig" and burna "stream" meaning "pig stream".
SwingEnglish Probably an Americanized spelling of German Schwing or from Middle High German zwinc meaning "legal district", hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a district administrator.
SwintonEnglish, Scottish From various place names composed of Old English swin "pig, wild boar" and tun "settlement, enclosure".
SwisherGerman Americanized form of German Schweitzer meaning Swiss.
SwitserEnglish Either (i) from the medieval nickname Swetesire (literally "sweet sir, amiable master"), applied sarcastically either to someone who used the expression liberally as a form of address or to someone with a de-haut-en-bas manner; or (ii) an anglicization of Schweitzer (from Middle High German swīzer "Swiss person").
SykesEnglish English Surname (mainly Yorkshire): topographic name for someone who lived by a stream in a marsh or in a hollow, from Middle English syke ‘marshy stream’, ‘damp gully’, or a habitational name from one of the places named with this word, in Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
SymereEnglish (American, Rare) Name of unknown origin, typically used in the United States. It is best known as the real first name of American rapper Lil Uzi Vert.
SymingtonScottish Habitational surname derived from the places of the same name, derived from the given name Simon and northern Middle English ‘ton’ meaning settlement... [more]
SyngeEnglish (British) First found in Shropshire where they had been anciently seated as Lords of the Manor of Bridgenorth, from the time of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 A.D.
SyracuseItalian (Anglicized) Americanized spelling of Siracusa. This is also the name of a city in the U.S. state of New York, though the etymology is unrelated.
SyrénSwedish Meaning uncertain. Perhaps a combination of an unknown first element and the common surname suffix -én, or taken directly from Swedish syren "lilac".
SyrettEnglish Either (i) from the medieval male personal name Syred (from Old English Sigerǣd, literally "victory-counsel"); or (ii) from the medieval female personal name Sigerith (from Old Norse Sigfrithr, literally "victory-lovely").
SysBelgian (Modern) No actual idea as to origin except it is Belgian from Flanders region.
SzamotulskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish town of Szamotuły.
SzarabajkaPolish, English His surname, Szarabajka, means "Grey Tale" in Polish. Last name is pronounced "sarah-bike-ah".
SzászHungarian From Szász meaning "Saxon" in Hungarian. Ethnic or regional name for a German speaker from Transylvania or Szepes, etymologically a derivative of German Sachs.
SzeligaPolish Habitational name from places called Szeliga or Szeligi. It is not clear whether there is any connection with the Polish vocabulary word szeliga ‘coat-of-arms’.
SzmulikPolish The Szmulik surname has much history. Its origins are Hebrew. It has taken on various spellings over the centuries, depending on where the person or family lived in Europe or America.... [more]
SzokolyiHungarian Derived from Szokolya, a village in Pest county, Hungary. It is located in the largest basin of the Börzsöny Hills. The Morgó Brook runs across the village.
SzołdrskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish village of Szołdry.