Submitted Surnames on the List of Olympic Medalists
This is a list of submitted surnames in which the name appears on the list of Olympic Medalists.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
BlitzGerman This surname is presumed to be coming from a nickname for a fast runner or a quick tempered person, from German blitz(er) meaning "lightning" (ultimately from Middle High German blicze.)
BoKhmer From Khmer បូ (bo) meaning "ribbon, colored headband". Possibly a nickname for a person who's associated with a ribbon. Alternatively, it could be an occupational name for a ribbon maker.
BøNorwegian Variant of Bøe. A notable bearer is Norwegian biathlete Tarjei Bø (b. 1988).
BobrovmRussian From Russian бобр (bobr), meaning "beaver".
BodeGerman, Dutch, English, Danish Means "messenger, deliverer, herald; prophet, omen", ultimately from Old Germanic budą. This can be an occupational name, or a patronymic derived from a given name containing the element (see Bothe).
BøeNorwegian Derived from Old Norse býr "farm, village, settlement" or búa "to reside".
BolDutch From Dutch bol "ball, sphere" or "bun, roll, round piece of bread or pastry", possibly an occupational name for a baker, a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a ball or globe, or a nickname for a bald man, or perhaps a ball player.
BolDutch Derived from the given name Baldo, a short form of names beginning with the element bald "bold, brave”.
BoltEnglish Either: an occupational name for an archer or a maker of bolts, or a nickname for a stocky or upright person, derived from Middle English bolt "bolt, crossbow bolt". A famous bearer of the name is Jamaican athletic sprinter Usain Bolt (1986-), widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time.
BonFrench, Hungarian As a French surname, it is derived from Old French bon meaning "good", or occasionally from the Latin given name Bonus (borne by a minor 3rd-century Christian saint martyred at Rome with eleven companions under the Emperor Vespasian... [more]
BontempsFrench Derived from Old French bon temps meaning "good time". One popular bearer of the name is the American poet and novelist Arna Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973).
BootEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of boots, ultimately from Old French bote "boot, high-sided leather shoe".
BootGerman, Dutch Metonymic occupational name for a boat builder, sailor, or a ship’s carpenter, from Dutch boot "boat, ship".
BootDutch, German Patronymic form of Bode, derived from either Old High German boto "messenger, envoy" or the related bot "command, order".
BordersEnglish Americanization of surname Bader. Forefathers who were Hessian soldiers during the American revolution.
BorgMaltese From Maltese borġ meaning "castle, citadel, tower".
BorgesPortuguese, Spanish Possibly from Old French burgeis meaning "town-dweller" (see Burgess). Alternately, it may have denoted someone originally from the city of Bourges in France.
BorowskimPolish Derived from Polish bor, meaning "pine forest".
BoschAmerican The surname Bosch originates from the Old Norse word "buski," meaning "bush," or "woods” thus it is classed at a toponymic surname and was most likely used by a man who lived near a prominent bush... [more]
BostonEnglish Habitational name from the town Boston in Lincolnshire, England. The name means "Botwulf’s stone".... [more]
BoswellFrench (Anglicized) The name Boswell is an Anglicization of the name of a French village: Boseville (Beuzeville). This was a village of 1400 inhabitants near Yvetot, in Normandy. (from 'A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames', by Charles W. Bardsley, New York, 1901)... [more]
BowdenEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Bowden or Bowdon, most of them in England. From Old English boga "bow" and dun "hill", or from Old English personal names Buga or Bucge combined with dun.... [more]
BraggEnglish, Welsh From a nickname for a cheerful or lively person, derived from Middle English bragge meaning "lively, cheerful, active", also "brave, proud, arrogant".
BreitkreutzGerman probably a nickname for a person with a broad butt. Breitkreutz replaced an earlier more transparent form of the surname Breitarsch the use of kreuz (literally "cross") as a euphemism for "buttocks" first occurring in the 17th century... [more]
BremnerScottish Derived from the Scottish Gaelic name MacGillebhàin which means "son of the fair-haired one." It is associated with the Clan Bremner, which has roots in the northern parts of Scotland.
BrendenNorwegian Derived from Old Norse brenna "land cleared for cultivation by burning" (also known as svedjebruk "slash-and-burn agriculture").
BrennerGerman, German (Austrian), Jewish Derived from Middle High German brennen "to burn". Both as a German and a Jewish name, this was an occupational name for a distiller of spirits. As a German surname, however, it also occasionally referred to a charcoal or lime burner or to someone who cleared forests by burning.
BreuerGerman, Jewish occupational name for a brewer of beer or ale from Middle High German briuwer "brewer". Cognate of Brewer.
BriscoeEnglish From any of the various places of this name or similar, derived from Old Norse bretar "Briton, Welsh" or birki "birch" and skógr "forest, wood".
BrockmannLow German Denoted someone who lived in or by a marsh, from Middle Low German brok "swamp, marsh" (see brōkaz) and man "person, man".
BrogdonEnglish Variant of Brogden The valley of the brook a rural place now in Lancanshire, England.
BrookerEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, a variant of Brook.
BroughEnglish Habitational name derived from any place called Brough, named with Old English burh "fortress" (compare English and Irish Burke).
BrowningEnglish English: from the Middle English and Old English personal name Bruning, originally a patronymic from the byname Brun (see Brown).
BruchGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a marsh or a stream that frequently flooded, from Middle High German bruoch "water meadow" or "marsh" (cognate to old English broc "brook", "stream" cf... [more]
BruggemanDutch, Flemish Means "bridgeman" in Dutch, an occupational name for someone who operated, guarded, or otherwise worked on a bridge. It could also denote someone who lived near a bridge, or who came from the Flemish city of Bruges, which also derives from Old Dutch brugga "bridge".
BrunsFrench Bruns was first found in Poitou where this noble family held a family seat since ancient times. The Bruns surname derives from the French word "brun," meaning "brown"; possibly a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in the color brown.
BuckinghamEnglish Habitational name from the former county seat of the county of Buckinghamshire, Old English Buccingahamm "water meadow (Old English hamm) of the people of (-inga-) Bucc(a)".
BucurRomanian A ancient Romanian name of Dacian origin. It means "happy". A legendary Romanian shepherd named Bucur it is said to have founded Bucharest, the present capital or Romania, giving his name to it (The Romanian city name is Bucureşti).
BuonocoreItalian Nickname for a reliable or good-hearted person, derived from Italian buono meaning "good" and core meaning "heart" (ultimately from Latin cor).
BurchellEnglish An English surname derived from the village of Birkehill (also known as Biekel or Birtle). It means "birch hill".
BurdickAnglo-Norman, English, Dutch (Americanized) English (Middlesex) nickname from an unrecorded Middle English burre-dokke ‘burdock’ the name of a prickly plant with burrs and dock-like leaves (usually Arctium lappa) common on waste ground. It may have been given to someone of a prickly temperament or perhaps to someone with a hoarse voice.... [more]
BureOld Swedish, Swedish This was the name of an influential family in 16th century Sweden. The name originated from the village Bure (now known as Bureå) in Skellefteå parish in Northern Sweden. The village got its name from the nearby Bure River (Swedish: Bure älv, Bureälven) whose name was derived from the Swedish dialectal word burra "buzz, rumble".
BurgerEnglish, German, Dutch Status name for a freeman of a borough. From Middle English burg, Middle High German burc and Middle Dutch burch "fortified town". Also a German habitational name for someone from a place called Burg.
BüttnerGerman Occupational name for a cooper or barrel-maker, an agent derivative of Middle High German büte(n) "cask", "wine barrel". This name occurs chiefly in eastern German-speaking regions.
CalcaterraItalian Nickname from calcare meaning "to tread", "to stamp" + terra meaning "land", "earth", "ground", probably denoting a short person, someone who walked close to the ground, or an energetic walker.
CaldeiraPortuguese Name given to a maker of kettles or other cooking vessels.
CallenderEnglish Occupational name for a person who finished freshly woven cloth by passing it between heavy rollers to compress the weave. From Old Franch calandrier, calandreur.
CamichelRomansh Derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and the given name Michael.
CampagnaItalian Name for someone originally from any of various locations named Campagna, all derived from Latin Campania, itself from campus meaning "field".
CarbajalSpanish, Judeo-Spanish Probably a habitational name denoting someone originally from any of the multiple locations called Carbajal in León, Asturias, or Zamora in Spain. Alternatively, it may be of pre-Roman origin from the word carbalio meaning "oak", denoting someone who either lived near an oak tree or who was like an oak tree in some way.... [more]
CarbonellEnglish From a medieval nickname for a dark-haired or swarthy person, from Anglo-Norman carbonel, literally "little charcoal".
CarmichaelScottish, English From the name of a village in Scotland meaning "fort of Michael", from Welsh caer meaning "fortress" and the given name Michael.
CarneyIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Catharnaigh "descendant of Catharnach", a byname meaning "warlike".
CarringtonEnglish, Scottish English: habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Carrington, probably named with an unattested Old English personal name Cara + -ing- denoting association + tun ‘settlement’.... [more]
CarruthersScottish This old Scottish surname was first used by Strathclyde-Briton people. The Carruthers family in the land of Carruthers in the parish of Middlebie, Dumfriesshire. In that are it is pronounced 'Cridders'.... [more]
CartmellEnglish Denoted a person from Cartmel, a village in Cumbria, England (formerly in Lancashire). The place derives its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, which is composed of Old Norse kartr "rocky ground" and melr "sandbank, dune".
CaruthersScottish Means "Rhydderch's fort" in Cumbric. This might refer to the king of Alt Clut, Rhydderch Hael.
CassellEnglish Either (i) "person from Cassel", northern France, or "person from Kassel", Germany ("fort"); or (ii) a different form of Castle ("person who lives by or lives or works in a castle")... [more]
CavillEnglish Derived from Cavil, a place located in the East Riding of Yorkshire in northern England, named from Old English ca meaning "jackdaw" and feld meaning "open country". It is borne by the British actor Henry Cavill (1983-).
ChaconSpanish Spanish (Chacón): nickname from chacón ‘gecko’.
ChalmersScottish Variant of Chambers. The -l- was originally an orthographic device to indicate the length of the vowel after assimilation of -mb- to -m(m)-.
ChampionEnglish, French Derived from the Middle English and Old French words campion, champiun and champion all meaning "athlete" such as a wrestler or boxer; also "warrior hired to do battle in single combat on behalf of others" (from Late Latin campio genitive campionis a derivative of campus "plain field of battle")... [more]
ChaseFrench Topographic name for someone who lived in or by a house, probably the occupier of the most distinguished house in the village, from a southern derivative of Latin casa "hut, cottage, cabin".
CherryEnglish From Middle English chirie, cherye "cherry", hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of cherries, or possibly a nickname for someone with rosy cheeks.... [more]
ChildEnglish From a nickname for an affectionate term for a person, or for a young man of noble birth, or for a young noble waiting for knighthood, or for someone who was younger than their siblings, or who was a minor on the death of his father, derived from Old English cild "baby, child"... [more]
ClevelandEnglish English regional name from the district around Middlesbrough named Cleveland ‘the land of the cliffs’, from the genitive plural (clifa) of Old English clif ‘bank’, ‘slope’ + land ‘land’... [more]
ClevelandNorwegian (Anglicized) Americanized spelling of Norwegian Kleiveland or Kleveland, habitational names from any of five farmsteads in Agder and Vestlandet named with Old Norse kleif "rocky ascent" or klefi "closet" (an allusion to a hollow land formation) and land "land".
CliffEnglish habitational name from any of numerous places called Cliff(e), Cle(e)ve, or Clive, from Old English clif "slope, bank, cliff", or a topographic name from the same word... [more]
CollierEnglish From the English word for someone who works with coal, originally referring to a charcoal burner or seller. Derived from Old English col "coal, charcoal" combined with the agent suffix -ier.
CorbalánAragonese This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
CordeiroPortuguese, Galician Means "young lamb" in Portuguese and Galician (Latin cordarius, a derivative of cordus "young", "new"). Occupational name for a shepard
CorderoSpanish Means "lamb" in Spanish, either used as an occupational name for a shepherd or a religious name referring to Jesus as the Lamb of God.
CornetFrench, Walloon Either a topographic name for someone who lived on a street corner, from a derivative of corne "corner". From cornet, denoting either a rustic horn or an object made of horn, hence a metonymic occupational name for a hornblower or for a worker in horn... [more]
CorralesSpanish Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations named Corrales in Spain, from Spanish corral meaning "coral, enclosure".
CorsonEnglish Nickname from Old French 'corson', a diminutive of curt ‘short’
CorsonDutch (Americanized, ?) From the given name of Cors Pieters, a sailor with the Dutch West Indies Company, who arrived in the Dutch Colony, New Amsterdam (present day New York), on or before 1638... [more]
CosgroveEnglish Habitational name from Cosgrove in Northamptonshire, named with an Old English personal name Cof + Old English graf "grove", "thicket".
CottonEnglish From the name of any of the various places in England so-called or similar, derived from Old English cot "cottage, small house" and ham "home, estate, settlement".
CoulibalyWestern African, Manding Francization of Bambara kulu bari meaning "without a canoe", referring to someone who crossed a river or another body of water without the use of a canoe.
CoulonFrench From Old French colomb "pigeon" (from Latin columba) used as a metonymic occupational name for a breeder.