Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ScarduzioItalian From the Italian verb scardare, meaning to husk a hazelnut or chestnut. Possibly a metaphor for a sculptor who 'husked' a sculpture from stone.
ScarffEnglish Nickname from Old Norse skarfr meaning "cormorant".
ScargillEnglish This ancient surname is of Old Norse origin, and is a locational name from a place called Scargill in Northern Yorkshire, deriving from the Old Norse bird name "skraki", a diving duck, plus the Old Norse "gil", valley or ravine.
ScarlatoItalian Occupational name for a dyer, or as a nickname for someone who habitually wore scarlet or who had bright red hair, From Sicilian scarlatu "scarlet".
ScerriMaltese Meaning disputed; it could be derived from Sicilian sciarra meaning "fight, brawl", Arabic شَرّ (šarr) meaning "evil, cruel", or a word meaning "anger".
SchaafGerman Metonymic occupational name for a shepherd, from Middle High German schāf ‘sheep’. In some cases it may have been a nickname for someone thought to resemble a sheep, or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a sheep... [more]
SchaalGerman, Dutch, French, Jewish Either a nickname for a braggart or a market crier, (derived from Middle High German schal meaning "noise, bragging"), an occupational name for someone who made dishes for scales and vessels for drinking, (from Middle Low German and Dutch schale "dish"), a habitational name from Schaala in Thuringia or the Schaalsee lake near Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, or a topographic name for someone living on marshy land, (from Dutch schald "shallow")... [more]
SchaapDutch Means "sheep" in Dutch, an occupational name for a shepherd. Alternatively, it could be a nickname for someone who looked or behaved like a sheep in some way, or who lived by a sign depicting a sheep.
SchabenGerman Describes an inhabitant of the region Swabia
SchachnerGerman German origins (as told to me by my family); popular in Austria and also has Jewish and Slavic origins, according to the internet/ancestry.com.
SchachtGerman, Flemish From Middle Low German and Middle Dutch schacht "shaft; pole, tunnel", a metonymic occupational name for someone who made shafts for tools or weapons, or who worked in a mineshaft.
SchadeGerman, Dutch From schade "damage, injury", a derivative of schaden "to do damage, harm, hurt", generally a nickname for a thug or clumsy person, or, more particularly, a robber knight, who raided others’ lands.
SchalkGerman, Dutch From Old High German scalc "servant, retainer, jester", which eventually evolved to mean "joker, rogue, knave". Could be an occupational name for an attendant or jester, a nickname for someone mischievous, or derived from a given name containing scalc as an element, such as Godschalk.
SchallerUpper German From Middle High German word "schal," which means "noise," or "bragging," and as such is was thought to have originally been a nickname for a braggart, or for a market crier.
SchattnerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from any of several places named Schaten or Schatten, or a topographic name for someone living in a shady location, from Middle High German schate "shade", "protection".
SchatzGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) metonymic occupational name for a treasurer, from German Schatz ‘treasure’, Middle High German scha(t)z. It may also have been a nickname for a rich man (or ironically for a miser), or else for a well-liked person or a ladies’ favorite, from the use of the vocabulary word as a term of endearment... [more]
SchätzelGerman German diminutive of Schatz, or a nickname for a lover meaning "little sweetheart" (from the same word used as a term of endearment).
SchauerGerman The Schauer surname comes from the Middle High German word "schouwen" meaning "to inspect;" as such, the name is thought to have originally been occupational, for some kind of inspector, perhaps an official of a market.
SchaumburgGerman, Belgian Habitational name from any of the places called Schaumburg or Schauenburg in Germany, or Schauwberg in Brabant, Belgium. Derived from schūm "slag, cinder" and burg "mountain, hill".
SchausGerman, Luxembourgish A nickname for a simpleton, from schaus, a word in Rhenish Franconian and Lower Rhine dialects of German.
ScheeleGerman, Dutch, Swedish (Rare) From Middle Low German schele and Dutch scheel meaning "squinting, cross-eyed". A notable bearer was German-Swedish pharmaceutical chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) who discovered oxygen and identified several other elements.
ScheepensDutch From Middle Dutch schēpen "alderman", a member of a municipal council.
ScheidGerman, Jewish Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary (between two valleys etc.) or crossroads Middle High German scheide, a habitational name from any of various places called ScheidtScheiden... [more]
ScheideggerGerman, German (Swiss) Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary or watershed. The name was derived from the Old German word SCHEIDE, meaning 'to part, to divide'. It may also have been a habitation name from any of the numerous places named with this word.
ScheidemannGerman Denoted a person who is divorced or who lives in a valley, from Middle High German scheiden "to separate, to divorce (a couple)" and mann "man".
ScheinGerman, Jewish from Middle High German schīn German schein "shining brightness" hence a nickname for someone with either a radiant personality or possibly for someone living in a sunny location or a Jewish artificial name.
ScherlGerman Derived from the Middle Low German word “scherl” or “scherle,” which means “small shield.” It may have been from a person known for carrying a small shield, a person who lived near a small shield-shaped sign or symbol, or a person who lived in a place named after the small shield.
ScherlacherBanat Swabian Surname was first found documented in Swabia southwest Germany in the Baden area.
SchermerhornDutch From Schermerhorn, the name of a village in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands, derived from Dutch schermer meaning "fencer" and hoorn meaning "horn". It was borne by the Dutch politician Willem "Wim" Schermerhorn (1894-1977), a Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
SchiazzaItalian From chiazza "stain, blot", perhaps given to someone with a prominent birthmark. Might also from a regional dialect, meaning "piazza, town square".
SchickGerman A nickname given to a person who's smart, stylish, and well-dressed.
SchicklgruberGerman (Austrian) This was the surname of Maria Schicklgruber (April 15, 1795 - January 7, 1847), the grandmother of Adolf Hitler.
SchiffGerman, Jewish From Middle High German Schif "ship", indicating the bearer was either a sailor, or lived in a house distinguished by a ship sign.
SchildGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a maker or painter of shields, from Middle High German, Middle Dutch schilt "shield".
SchildJewish From German Schild "shield" or "(house) sign", applied either as an ornamental name or as a habitational name for someone who lived in a house distinguished by a sign.
SchilderDutch Means "painter" in Dutch, derived from Middle Dutch schildere "shield painter" (from schilt "shield"), originally denoting someone who painted coats of arms on shields. An occupational name for someone who painted houses, shields, or anything else.
SchildhauerGerman First appeared during the Middle Ages in Central Europe/Germany. The name means "Shield-Maker" and suggests correlation to Blacksmiths or or other forms of metalwork in the time period.
SchildknechtGerman From the occupation of a page or squire for a knight derived from schilht "shield" and kneht "servant".
SchillerGerman Nickname for someone with a squint, from an agent derivative of Middle High German schilhen, schiln 'to squint'.
SchillingGerman, Dutch, Jewish Means "shilling (coin)", possibly a nickname for a serf who had paid his rent or fee to his lord for his freedom. It could also be a habitational name derived from Schillingen, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany... [more]
SchimmelpfennigGerman From Middle High German schimel "mildew, mould" and pfennic "penny", a nickname for someone who was miserly or stingy with their money, hence it growing mouldy in its purse.
SchirmacherGerman occupational name for someone who makes harnesses and bridles for horses from Middle High German geschirre "harness" and macher "maker".
SchirokauerGerman, Yiddish Derived from the town of Sieraków in the Silesian Voivodeship in Poland.
SchlatterUpper German Topographic name from Middle High German slâte "reedy place", or a habitational name from any of several places named Schlatt, from the same word.
SchlemmerGerman Derived from a Middle High German word meaning "feast" and thus used as a nickname for a "gourmet".
SchlepGerman Probably a nickname or occupational name for a laborer or carrier, especially in a mine, from Middle Low German slepen, Middle High German slepen 'to drag or carry (a load)' (modern German schleppen, schleifen).
SchmeichelGerman Nickname for a flatterer, derived from Middle High German smeichen literally meaning "to flatter". Famous bearers of this surname include Peter Schmeichel (1963-) and his son Kasper Schmeichel (1986-), both of whom are Danish soccer goalkeepers.
SchmelzerGerman occupational name for a smelter from an agent derivative of Middle High German smelzen German schmelzen "to smelt metal" or "make glass".
SchmidlappGerman Derived from Middle High German smit "smith, metalworker" and lap(pe) meaning "cloth, patch, rag".
SchmidlkoferGerman, German (Austrian) Occupational name for a farmer who was also a blacksmith, derived from a diminutive of Middle High German smit meaning "smith" and the suffix -kofer (a variant of -hofer).
SchmidtbergerGerman A distinguishing name for someone named Berger who worked as a blacksmith, or a habitational name for someone from any of several places called Schmidtberg in Bavaria and Switzerland.
SchmoeckelGerman (East Prussian) Originally Smekel. In the 17th century the ‘Sm’ in Low German was gradually replaced by the ‘Schm’ from High German. ... [more]
SchmuckGerman, German (Austrian) From Middle High German smuc meaning "jewel", "finery", hence a metonymic occupational name for a jeweler, or a nickname for someone who wore a prominent jewel or ornament.North German: nickname from Middle Low German smuck meaning "neat", "dainty".
SchnappGerman Derived from Middle High German snappen meaning "to chatter", or Middle Low German snappen meaning "to grab". This was originally a nickname for a chatterer or a greedy person.
SchneeGerman, Popular Culture A German surname meaning "snow". One fictional bearer of this surname is Weiss Schnee, a main character from the popular web series RWBY.
SchoenGerman, Jewish From German schön, Middle High German schoene "fine, beautiful; refined, friendly, nice", a nickname for a handsome or pleasant man. As a Jewish name, it’s usually ornamental.
SchoenDutch Means "shoe" in Dutch, an occupational name for a shoemaker.
SchoendienstGerman Occupational name meaning "beautiful service", from Middle High German schoen "beautiful" and dienst "service, duty". A famous bearer was the American baseball player Albert "Red" Schoendienst (1923-2018).
SchoenwetterGerman German (Schönwetter): nickname for someone with a happy disposition, from Middle High German schœn ‘beautiful’, ‘fine’, ‘nice’ + wetter ‘weather’.
SchönenbergerGerman Habitational name for someone from any of several places in Germany and Switzerland named Schönenberg.
SchonewilleDutch Perhaps a nickname for an attractive person, derived from Middle Dutch schône meaning "beautiful, clean, pure" and wille meaning "to want, to desire".
SchönrockGerman Either a metonymic occupational name for a baker from Middle High German schœn "fine" (see Schoen ) and rogge "rye"... [more]
SchopenhauerGerman Derived from German schöpfen meaning "to scoop, ladle" and hauen meaning "to chop", referring to a maker of wooden and metal scoops and buckets. This name was borne by the German pessimist philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), the author of the 1818 book The World as Will and Representation among other works.
SchottlanderGerman, Jewish From German Schottland "Scotland" and, in some cases, denoted an immigrant from Scotland or Ireland. As a Jewish surname, it is most often an ornamental name.
SchottlerGerman Occupational name for a wood turner, Middle Low German scoteler (an agent derivative of scotel ‘wooden bowl’).
SchouDanish Topographic name for someone who lived by a small wood, from a Germanized form of Danish skov 'wood', 'forest', 'copse'.
SchramGerman, English, Yiddish Derived from German Schramme (Middle High German schram(me)) and Yiddish shram, all of which mean "scar".
SchrammGerman German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic nickname for a person with a scar, from Middle High German schram(me), German Schramme, Yiddish shram ‘scar’.
SchreinerGerman Occupational surname for a joiner (maker of wooden furniture), ultimately from Middle High German schrīnære.
SchrepferGerman (Swiss), German Derived from from Middle High German schrepfer "barber-surgeon's assistant", ultimately from the verb schrepfen "to bleed someone".