ErmanGerman (Modern), French (Modern) Erman is a shortened French adaption of the Swiss-German surname Ermendinger, itself derived from the older surname Ermatinger, a name connected to the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance, and came into existence during the early or middle 18th century when Jean-Georges Ermendinger (1710-1767), a Swiss fur trader from Geneva, married into a French speaking Huguenotte family... [more]
ErmatingerGerman (Swiss) The surname Ermatinger derives from the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance. It simply means "from Ermatingen".... [more]
EspírituSpanish From a short form of Spanish del Espíritu Santo meaning "of the Holy Spirit, of the Holy Ghost" (Latin Spiritus Sanctus), which was the second part of religious compound names formed from the bearer's given name and del Espíritu Santo... [more]
EssienWestern African, Akan, Ibibio, Efik Means "sixth born child" in Akan, possibly deriving from the given name Nsia. As a Nigerian name it is derived from a given name (found among the Ibibio and Efik people) denoting the son the family lineage depends on, possibly meaning either "a child who belongs to everyone" or "the child who takes charge of outside matters"... [more]
EstesWelsh, Spanish, English a popular surname derived from the House of Este. It is also said to derive from Old English and have the meaning "of the East." As a surname, it has been traced to southern England in the region of Kent, as early as the mid-16th century.
EtchellsEnglish (British) This surname was a habitation name derived from the Old English word "ecels" which is roughly translated as the "dweller on a piece of land added to an estate." Alternatively, the name may have derived from the Old English word "ecan" which means "to increase."
EtienamNigerian, Ibibio (?), Spanish (Caribbean, ?) This is a name which originates from the Calabar/Akwa Ibom region of southeastern Nigeria. It means "a doer of good, or benevolent". It is also found in Spanish-speaking regions of the Caribbean such as Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba (El Oriente) which have populations of people of Ibibio/Efik decent known as "Carabali".
EtxegaraiBasque Means "house on top of a hill", derived from Basque etxe "house, home, building" and garai "top, highest part".
EtxezarretaBasque Derived from Basque etxe "house, building" and zahar "old" combined with the toponymic suffix -eta "place of, abundance of".
EveringhamEnglish Means "homestead of the followers of Eofor". From Old English eofor "boar" inga, meaning "the people of, followers of" and ham meaning "home, estate, settlement".
FacchiniItalian Occupational name for a porter (a carrier of objects), derived from Italian facchino meaning "porter, carrier of goods". The word facchino was originally from Sicilian facchinu meaning "jurist, scribe, clerk, theologian" (ultimately from Arabic فَقِيه (faqīh) meaning "jurisconsult, expert on law"), but was later modified to mean "porter".
FaheyIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Fathaidh or Ó Fathaigh meaning "descendant of Fathadh", a given name derived from the Gaelic word fothadh "base, foundation".... [more]
FairbrotherEnglish From a medieval nickname probably meaning either "better-looking of two brothers" or "brother of a good-looking person", or perhaps in some cases "father's brother".
FairfaxEnglish From a nickname for someone with beautiful long hair, from Old English fæger "beautiful, pleasant" and feax "hair".
FallEnglish, German English topographic name Middle English falle "fall descent" (from Old English gefeall or gefall "felling of trees" Old Norse fall "forest clearing") denoting a waterfall steep slope or (in northern England) a forest clearing... [more]
FallonIrish Anglicized form of the surname Ó Fallamhain meaning "descendant of Fallamhan", the name being a byname meaning "leader" (derived from follamhnas meaning "supremacy").
FanshaweEnglish Meant "person from Featherstonehaugh", Northumberland (now known simply as "Featherstone") ("nook of land by the four-stones", four-stones referring to a prehistoric stone structure known technically as a "tetralith")... [more]
FaradayIrish From Irish Gaelic Ó Fearadaigh "descendant of Fearadach", a personal name probably based on fear "man", perhaps meaning literally "man of the wood". A famous bearer was British chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867).
FariesScottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic Faries (meaning: fair, beautiful, or handsome) is derived from ancient Scottish Dalriadan MacFergus clans of the mountainous west coast of Scotland... [more]
FarthingEnglish (i) "someone who lives on a 'farthing' of land" (i.e. a quarter of a larger area); (ii) from a medieval nickname based on farthing "1/4 penny", perhaps applied to someone who paid a farthing in rent; (iii) from the Old Norse male personal name Farthegn, literally "voyaging warrior"
FasanoItalian Probably from Italian fasani "pheasant", a nickname for someone who resembled the bird in appearance or (lack of) intelligence, who hunted them, or who lived in an area populated by them. ... [more]
FawleyEnglish This is a name for someone who worked as a person who worked as the fowler or the bird-catcher having derived from the Old English word "fugelere" which literally means "hunter of wild birds, fowler"... [more]
FederspielGerman (Swiss) Derived from Middle High German vederspil "bird of prey (trained for hunting)", this was an occupational name for a falconer.
FernelFrench Derived from French ferronel, a diminutive of (obsolete) ferron "maker or seller of iron".
FerrarEnglish The Ferrars are the Lincolnshire branch of the noble De Ferrers family. The latter having been linked to Tamworth Castle, manors in Baddesley Clinton, Tutbury Castle and the now ruined Groby Castle as well as many other estates around the UK.... [more]
FerrignoItalian Derived from the Italian adjective ferrigno meaning "made of or resembling iron" (a derivative of Latin ferrum meaning "iron"), applied as a nickname to someone who was very strong or thought to resemble the metal in some other way... [more]
FilkinsEnglish Means either (i) "person from Filkins", Oxfordshire ("settlement of Filica's people"); or "son of Filkin", a medieval personal name meaning literally "little Phil", from Philip.
FilleryEnglish From a medieval nickname derived from Anglo-Norman fitz le rei "son of the king" (see also Fitzroy), probably applied mainly (and ironically) to an illegitimate person or to someone who put on quasi-royal airs.
FinanIrish Means "descendant of Fionnán", anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Fionnáin.
FinnertyIrish Reduced anglicisation of Irish Ó Fionnachta meaning "descendant of Fionnachta", a given name derived from fionn meaning "fair, white" and sneachta meaning "snow".
FitzEmpressHistory, Anglo-Norman Means "son of the empress" in Anglo-Norman French. The three sons of Empress Matilda (1102-1167) were known as Henry FitzEmpress (King Henry II of England), Geoffrey FitzEmpress, Count of Nantes, and William FitzEmpress, Count of Poitou.
FitzoothFolklore (?) Fitzooth means "son of a nobleman". Robin Hood's real name was Robert Fitzooth.
FitzpiersEnglish, Literature Means "son of Peter" in Anglo-Norman, from a medieval form of Peter, Piers. Edred Fitzpiers is a character in the 18th-century novel The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy, who is depicted as a new doctor in the small woodland village of Little Hintock, who took an interest in Grace Melbury, one of the characters, Giles Winterborne's childhood sweetheart.
ForsytheScottish, Northern Irish This surname has two possible origins. The more accepted explanation is that it comes from the Gaelic given name Fearsithe, which means "man of peace" from the elements fear "man" and sithe "peace"... [more]
FoyIrish (Anglicized) A different form of Fahy (from Irish Gaelic Ó Fathaigh "descendant of Fathach", a personal name probably based on Gaelic fothadh "foundation").
FrankenbergGerman, Jewish habitational name from a place in northern Hesse named as "fort (Old High German burg) of the Franks". From German franken and berg "mountain hill mountain"... [more]
FrankfurterGerman Habitational name for someone from either Frankfurt am Main or Frankfurt an der Oder, both places in Germany, derived from German Franke "Franconian, Frank" and Furt "ford", literally meaning "ford of the Franks"... [more]
FrisbyEnglish Means "person from Frisby", Leicestershire ("farmstead of the Frisians"). A frisbee is a plastic disc thrown from person to person as a game; the trademarked name, registered in 1959 by Fred Morrison, was inspired by the Frisbie bakery of Bridgeport, Connecticut, whose pie tins were the original models for the plastic discs.
FuenokazeJapanese Borne by character Ren Fuenokaze (笛の 風錬) in the fake visual novel adventure game 'Danganronpa 4K: Hopeless Rising', made up of the nouns 笛 (fue) meaning "flute", の (no) meaning "of the", and 風 (kaze) meaning "winds".... [more]
FujinomiyaJapanese Fuji means "wisteria", no means "therefore, of", and miya means "shrine".
GamageSinhalese Means "of the village" from Sanskrit ग्राम (grāma) meaning "village, settlement" combined with the Sinhala locative suffix -ගේ (-ge).
GambierFrench Derived from gambier, a Northern French variant of jambier, the masculine form of jambière "greave (a piece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin, and occasionally the tops of the feet)"... [more]
GamgeeLiterature In J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", the surname of Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Frodo Baggins' gardener.
GarabedianArmenian Means "son of Garabed", an Armenian personal name meaning literally "leader, precursor" and traditionally used as an epithet of John the Baptist in the Armenian church.
GarcésSpanish Meaning "son of García" ultimately from medieval spanish Garsea, using the patronymic suffix és/ez
GardeaBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Laudio in Álava, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque gari "wheat" and -di "place of, forest of", or from garagardi "barley field" and arte "in between"... [more]
GarthEnglish Means "garden" from northern Middle English garth (Old Norse garþr, garðr) "piece of enclosed ground; garden, paddock" originally denoting one who lived near or worked in a garden.
GartonEnglish From a place name: either Garton or Garton on the Wolds, both in East Yorkshire, or from various places similarly named, from Old English gara "triangular plot of land" and tun "enclosure, town".
GarvinIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gairbhín "descendant of Garbhán", a given name derived from a diminutive form of Old Irish garb "rough, coarse, rugged, cruel".
GarwoodEnglish Comes from a lost locational name from the Olde English gara, referring to a "triangular piece of land" or to a "spearhead", and wudu meaning a "wood".
GatchalianFilipino, Tagalog From a Hispanicised spelling of Gat Sa Li-Han, a Chinese title meaning "lord of Li-Han". It was used by the rulers of Li-Han, an ancient Philippine state that was located in the present-day city of Malolos.
GatdulaFilipino, Tagalog This surname honors Lakan Dula, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Tondo, via his alternative name Gat Dula. In it, the word or prefix Gat is a shortened version of the Tagalog honorific Pamagat, which at the time meant "nobleman," while Dula possibly means "palace." Altogether, it means "Nobleman of the Palace."
GatmaitanFilipino, Tagalog From a Hispanicised form of Gat Maitan, a title meaning "lord of Mait" that was used by rulers of an ancient place named Mait or Maitan.
GauntEnglish This name is believed to have derived "from the town of Gaunt, now Ghent, in Flanders."... [more]
GavazanskyBelarusian Means "from the town of Gavezhno". Gavezhno is a town in Belarus.
GeerDutch From Dutch geer "tapering piece of land" (compare Garland). Can also be a shortened form of Van Den Geer.
GeesonIrish This unusual name is the patronymic form of the surname Gee, and means "son of Gee", from the male given name which was a short form of male personal names such as "Geoffrey", "George" and "Gerard"... [more]
GillanIrish The Gillan surname is a reduced Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaoláin, which means "son of the servant of St Faolán." While the name may have originated in Ireland, this line was extant by the beginning of the 17th century, only to find many of the family to return to Ireland about 100 years later with the Plantation of Ulster.... [more]
GillespieScottish, Irish Gillespie can be of Scottish and Irish origin. The literal meaning is "servant of bishop", but it is a forename rather than a status name. The Irish Gillespies, originally MacGiollaEaspuig, are said to to be called after one Easpog Eoghan, or Bishop Owen, of Ardstraw, County Tyrone... [more]
GinigeSinhalese From Sinhala ගිනි (gini) meaning "fire" combined with the suffix ගේ (ge) meaning "of, home, house" or "custodian". It was used as an occupational name for someone who used fuel and firewood to create fire before the introduction of firearms and gunpowder.
GiorgainafGreek (Archaic) Andronymic meaning "wife of Georgios". This was used in early modern Greece, at which time a married woman's surname was formed from her husband's given name and the suffix -αινα (-aina)... [more]
GizaPolish Nickname from Old Polish and dialect giża meaning "hind leg of an ox or swine". It could also be applied as an occupational name for a butcher.
GlockGerman Meant "person who lives by a church bell-tower or in a house with the sign of a bell", "bell-ringer" or "town crier" (German Glocke "bell"). It was borne by Sir William Glock (1908-2000), a British music administrator.
GlushkovRussian Derived from Russian глухой (glukhoy) meaning "deaf" or "remote, out-of-the-way", either used as a nickname for a deaf person or for someone originally from a remote place.
GoswamiIndian, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese Derived from Sanskrit गोस्वामिन् (gosvamin) meaning "religious mendicant" (literally "owner of cows" or "lord of cows"), from गो (go) meaning "cow" and स्वामिन् (svamin) meaning "owner, lord, master".
GoudierGerman Germanic patronym from "godhari" meaning "army of God".
GrableGerman Means "digger of ditches or graves" (from a derivative of Middle High German graben "ditch"). A famous bearer was US actress, dancer and singer Betty Grable (1916-1973).
GribbenIrish This surname is of Old Gaelic origin, and is a variant of "Cribben", which itself is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "MacRoibin", meaning "son of (mac) Robin", a patronymic from the Anglo-Norman French given name "Robin"... [more]
GriffinIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized (part translated) form of Gaelic Ó Gríobhtha "descendant of Gríobhtha", a personal name from gríobh "gryphon".
GrońskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Grońsko in Greater Poland Voivodeship (named with the nickname Gron, Grono, from grono "bunch of grapes") or from Groń, the name of several places in southern, mountainous part of Lesser Poland (named with the regional word groń "ridge").
GuezJudeo-Spanish Either derived from Hebrew גָּזַז (gazaz) meaning "to shear, to cut (hair)" or Arabic قزاز (qazzaz) meaning "silk merchant, sericulturist".
GuggenheimerJewish Originally indicated a person from either Gougenheim in Alsace or Jugenheim in Hesse, perhaps meaning "home of Gogo(n)". Gogo(n) is a Germanic personal name
GujaratiIndian Denoted a person of Gujarat descent. From Gujarati ગુજરાત (gujrāt), inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀕𑀼𑀚𑁆𑀚𑀭𑀢𑁆𑀢𑀸 (gujjarattā) "country of the Gurjaras”, itself comes from Sanskrit *गुर्जरत्रा (gurjaratrā), of the same meaning... [more]
GukasyanArmenian Means "son of Gukas", the Armenian equivalent of Luke.
GulianArmenian From Armenian word gul meaning "rose", as well as "laughter", combined with the common suffix of ian meaning "son of".
GulkScottish Gaelic A patronym from the old Gaelic personal name Gilchrist, composed of gilla meaning “friend, servant” with the suffix Christ; means "follower of Christ".
GulliverEnglish From a medieval nickname for a greedy person (from Old French goulafre "glutton"). Jonathan Swift used it in his satire 'Gulliver's Travels' (1726), about the shipwrecked ship's surgeon Lemuel Gulliver, whose adventures "offer opportunities for a wide-ranging and often savage lampooning of human stupidity and vice."
GursulturJewish (Latinized), Kurdish, Hebrew This name is a composition of the following words: GUR; Hebrew for "lion cub", SUL; which is an abbreviation of Suleman (Kurdish for king Solomon), TUR; this word is derived from the Arba'ah Turim. The Arbaáh Turim are often called simply the Tur, which is an important Halakhic code.... [more]
GurugeSinhalese Derived from Sinhala ගුරු (guru) meaning "teacher, master" and the locative suffix -ගේ (-ge) meaning "of, home, house".