Submitted Surnames on the List of Notable Writers

This is a list of submitted surnames in which the name appears on the list of Notable Writers.
usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Aali Arabic
From the given name Aali.
Akhmatova Tatar, Russian
Feminine form of Akhmatov, meaning "son of Äxmät".
Akın Turkish
Means "raid, rush, influx, inflow" in Turkish.
Akins Scottish, English, Northern Irish
Variant of Aikens, which is derived from the given name Aiken, a variant of the medieval diminutive Atkin (see Aitken).
Akutagawa Japanese
Akuta (芥) means "mustard", kawa (川) means "river", kawa changes to gawa due to rendaku. Notable bearers of this surname are Ryuunosuke Akutagawa (芥川龍之介), a Japanese writer and Ryuunosuke Akutagawa from Bungou Stray dogs who shares the same name.
Alcott English
English: ostensibly a topographic name containing Middle English cott, cote ‘cottage’ (see Coates). In fact, however, it is generally if not always an alteration of Alcock, in part at least for euphemistic reasons.
Alegria Spanish, Portuguese
In Spanish, the name is from a location.... [more]
Aleixandre Aragonese
From the given name Aleixandre.
Alexie Romanian
From the given name Alexie.
Alighieri Italian
From the given name Alighiero, Italian form of Aldiger. A famous bearer of this surname is Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), author of the Divine Comedy.
Allende Basque, Spanish
Means "beyond, yonder; on the other side" in Spanish, though it possibly derives from Basque aihen "vine, shoot" or ale "grain" combined with the collective suffix -di, meaning "pasture, cereal field".
Allingham English
Habitational name from places called Allingham.
Amado Spanish
From the given name Amado.
Amis English (British)
Kingsley and Martin Amis, father and son novelists from England.
Anderson Scottish, Irish
Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Ghille Andrais meaning 'Son of the devotee of St. Andrew'. ... [more]
Angelou Greek (Cypriot)
Means "son of Angelos" or "son of the angel" in Greek. A famous bearer is the American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
Applegate English
Extremely common variant of Applegarth, in which the less familiar final element has been assimilated to the northern Middle English word gate meaning "road" or to modern English gate.
Aragón Spanish
Habitational name from Aragon Spain which was an independent kingdom from 1035 to 1479. It took its name from the river Aragón which arises in its northwestern corner... [more]
Aragon Spanish, Catalan, French
A surname and an autonomous community of Spain.
Arden English
From various English place names, which were derived from a Celtic word meaning "high".... [more]
Ariosto Italian
From the Germanic given name Ariost, meaning "battle-ready". A famous bearer of this surname is Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533).
Arouet French
A famous bearer was French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778), whose birth name was François-Marie Arouet.
Asher Jewish
From the given name Asher.
Asher English
Name for someone who dwelled by an ash tree, from Middle English asche or asshe meaning "ash tree".
Asimov Russian
A notable bearer was author Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) whose name was derived from Russian озимый хлеб (ozímyj khleb) "winter grain" combined with the patronymic suffix -ov. His family name was originally spelled Азимов (Azimov), but it got anglicized to Asimov with an S instead of Z when the family immigrated to the United States... [more]
Austen English
A variant of the surname Austin.
Azzopardi Maltese
Possibly derived from the Hebrew term סְפָרַדִּי (s'faradí) used to refer to Jews originating from Iberia (called Sephardim or Sephardic Jews). It may also be of Greek origin from a word meaning "black, Mauritanian" or "soldier" with a connection to Middle Persian spʿh "army" used to refer to a person of African descent or someone who worked as a mercenary... [more]
Bạch Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Bai, from Sino-Vietnamese 白 (bạch).
Bach Vietnamese
Simplified variant of Bạch.
Bainbridge English
from Bainbridge in North Yorkshire, named for the Bain river on which it stands (which is named with Old Norse beinn ‘straight’) + bridge.
Banks Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Bruacháin
Banville French, English, Irish
From a place in france derived from the Germanic name Bada and French ville "village, town".
Barker English
SURNAME Town cryer, or someone who shouts out notices
Barry African
A Guinean surname meaning the family comes from the Peul, Fulani, or Foulbe ethnic groups of West Africa.
Barry Irish (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Beargha meaning, 'descendant of Beargh.'
Bataille French
nickname for a bellicose man from bataille "battle" (from Latin battalia) or a habitational name from (La) Bataille the name of several places in France all named as the site of a battle in former times... [more]
Batur Turkish
Means "hero" in Turkish.
Baudelaire French
A French surname, coming from the word "baudelaire", which is a short, broad, and curved sword used in heraldry.
Beauchamp English, French
From the name of various places in France, for example in Manche and Somme, which was derived from Old French beu, bel meaning "fair, lovely" and champ, champs "field, plain".
Beckett English
An Old English name simply meaning "beehive". Famous Irish playwrite Samuel Beckett bears this name.
Bedford English
From the English county Bedfordshire and its principal city or from a small community in Lancashire with the same name. The name comes from the Old English personal name Beda, a form of the name Bede and the location element -ford meaning "a crossing at a waterway." Therefore the name indicates a water crossing once associated with a bearer of the medieval name.
Bertin French
From the given name Bertin a diminutive of the ancient Germanic personal name Berhto a short form of various compound names formed with berht "bright famous".
Bierce English, Welsh
English variant and Welsh form of Pierce. A famous bearer was the American author, journalist and poet Ambrose Bierce (1842-c. 1914), who wrote The Devil's Dictionary and other works... [more]
Bilgin Turkish
Means "scholar, learned, pundit" in Turkish.
Bland English
Bland is a habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire called Bland, the origin of which is uncertain. Possibly it is from Old English (ge)bland ‘storm’, ‘commotion’ (from blandan ‘to blend or mingle’), with reference to its exposed situation... [more]
Bliss Medieval English, Medieval English (Anglicized)
Originally a nickname for a cheerful person, derived from the Old English blisse, meaning "gladness" or "joy." Another origin of the surname is habitional, coming from from the village of Blay in Calvados (modern-day Normandy), spelled as Bleis in 1077, or from the village of Stoke Bliss in Worcestershire, first known as Stoke de Blez, named after the Norman family de Blez.... [more]
Blok Dutch
Means "block" in Dutch. This could be a nickname for someone with a heavy build, a metonymic occupational name for someone who used a block of wood in their work, such as a shoemaker, a milliner, or an executioner, or a toponymic surname for someone living on an enclosed piece of land.
Blume German, English
Could be from the Jewish surname Blum of from Swedish Blom. It could also be from the English word bloom.
Bonnin French
Derived from a diminutive of Bon, it is also found in the island of Mallorca and Turin, Italy.
Bontemps French
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).
Borges Portuguese, 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.
Braithwaite English
Northern English habitational name from any of the places in Cumbria and Yorkshire named Braithwaite, from Old Norse breiðr "broad" + þveit "clearing".
Brecht German
From a short form of any of various personal names formed with Germanic element berth " bright" "famous".
Breton French, English
French and English: ethnic name for a Breton, from Old French bret (oblique case breton) (see Brett).
Bridge English
Indicating one who lived near a bridge.
Brink Low German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish
Means "village green" or "hill, slope, edge of a field or steep place". As a Swedish name, it’s ornamental.
Brod Jewish
Either derived from German Brot "bread" or taken from one of the various towns named Brod in Bosnia, Croatia and Macedonia or from one of the towns named Brody in Ukraine and Poland.
Brodsky Czech
Habitational name derived from a number of places, including Bohemia.
Browning English
English: from the Middle English and Old English personal name Bruning, originally a patronymic from the byname Brun (see Brown).
Buck English
From the given name Buck.
Burney English, Irish
Form of the French place name of 'Bernay' or adapted from the personal name Bjorn, ultimately meaning "bear".
Byron English
An English place name, earlier Byram, from byre, meaning "farm" and the suffix -ham meaning "homestead". Famously borne by the aristocratic poet, Lord Byron.
Camp English
Cognate of Kemp.
Camus Basque
From the name of a location in Bermeo, Vizcaya (or Biscay), a Basque region in Spain.
Cao Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Gao, from Sino-Vietnamese 高 (cao).
Čapek Czech
Derived from a diminutive of Czech cáp meaning "stork", applied as a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a stork. In some cases the family name may have derived from a heraldic symbol.
Capote Italian (Tuscan)
Capote is a name for person who was the chief of the head from the Italian personal name Capo.
Car Croatian, Serbian
Means "Tzar".
Carducci Italian
From Riccarduccio, an affectionate form of the given name Riccardo. A famous bearer of this surname is Italian poet Giosuè Carducci (1835-1907), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1906.
Carmiggelt Dutch
Dutch cognate of Carmichael. This was the surname of the Dutch writer, journalist and poet Simon Carmiggelt (1913-1987).
Carnegie Scottish
Habitational name from a place called Carnegie, near Carmyllie in Angus, from Gaelic cathair an eige "fort at the gap".
Carrington English, 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]
Casanova Catalan, Italian
Catalan and Italian: topographic name from Latin casa ‘house’ + nova ‘new’, or a habitational name from any of the many places named with these words.
Cats Dutch, Jewish
Habitational name for a person from the village of Kats in Zeeland, Holland, or a nickname for someone who in some way resembled a cat, derived from Middle Dutch catte literally meaning "cat"... [more]
Çela Albanian
Meaning Unknown.
Çela Albanian
From an old nickname for a brother-in-law, derived from a shortened form of the Turkish title çelebi meaning "gentleman".
Cha Korean
Cha is a relatively uncommon family name in Korea. The Yeonan Cha clan is the only clan. The founding ancestor was Cha Hyo-jeon, son of Ryoo Cha-dal (류차달) (10th century AD). Most of the clan's members live in Gyeongsang, Hwanghae, and P'yŏngan provinces... [more]
Cha Hmong
From the clan name Tsab or Tsaab associated with the Chinese character 張 (zhāng) (see Zhang).
Chaucer English
Meaning a "worker who makes leggings or breeches". Notable bearer is author Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), most well known for his classic 'The Canterbury Tales'.
Cheever English
Means "goatherd", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a goat (e.g. in capriciousness) (in either case from Anglo-Norman chivere "goat"). It was borne by American author John Cheever (1912-1982).
Chekhov Russian
Possibly referred to someone from Czechia, or a derivative of the ancient Russian name Chekh or Chokh, which in turn relates to the verb chikhat "to sneeze"... [more]
Cherry English
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]
Chesterton English
From the name of a parish in Cambridgeshire.
Christie Scottish
Means "son of Christian" or "son of Christopher".
Clare English
From the given name Clare
Collodi Italian, History
From a part of the municipality of Pescia in the Tuscany region of central Italy, of unknown etymology. This was the surname of the pen name of the Italian author Carlo Lorenzini (1826-1890) who wrote the fairy tale novel The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Colonna Italian
topographic name from colonna "column" (from Latin columna).
Conrad German, German (Swiss), Romansh
Derived from the given name Conrad.
Cornwell English
Habitational name from Cornwell in Oxfordshire, named from Old English corn, a metathesized form of cron, cran ‘crane’ + well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’.variant of Cornwall.
Coward English
several origins... [more]
Cowen Scottish, English (British)
Scottish and northern English: variant spelling of Cowan.
Cowley Irish, Manx
Contracted anglicised form of the Norse-Gaelic surname "Mac Amhlaoibh", meaning "son of Amhlaoibh". See also: Olafson, Olafsen, Ólafsson, and Ólafsdóttir
Crichton English, Scottish
Variant of Creighton. It could also in some cases be an anglicized form of Dutch Kruchten.
D'annunzio Italian
Patronymical form of Annunzio, Italian form of the Latin given name Annuntius. A famous bearer of this surname is Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938).
Daudet French
Not available.
Dazai Japanese
太宰 is translated as (plump; thick; big around | superintend; manager; rule) it could be roughly translated as meaning "a plump superintend"... [more]
Deane English
Variant of Dean 1 or Dean 2.
Defoe English
Could be a variant of Foe, or an Anglicized form of a French surname such as Deveaux, Dufau, or Thevoz, a pet form of Étienne.
Deledda Italian, Sardinian
Variant of Ledda. A famous bearer of this surname is Nobel Prize for Literature recipient Grazia Deledda (1871–1936).
De Lima Spanish
"de Lima" is the surname given to the people who lived near the Limia River (Lima in portuguese) on the Province of Ourense, an autonomous community of Galicia, located at the northwest of Spain. The root of the name is Don Juan Fernandez de Lima, maternal grandson to the King Alfonso VI de León (1040-1109).
Desai Indian, Marathi, Gujarati
From a feudal title derived from Sanskrit देश (desha) meaning "country, kingdom" and स्वामिन् (svamin) meaning "owner, master, lord".
Deveraux English, French
Variant spelling of Devereux.
De Winter Dutch
Means "the winter" in Dutch, a nickname for a cold or gloomy man, or perhaps for someone born in the winter. It could also be a habitational name referring to a house or tavern named for the season.
Doolittle English
From a medieval nickname applied to a lazy man (from Middle English do "do" + little "little"). It was borne by the American poet Hilda Doolittle (1886-1961). A fictional bearer is Eliza Doolittle, the flower seller in Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion' (1913); and a variant spelling was borne by Dr Dolittle, the physician who had the ability to talk to animals, in the series of books written by Hugh Lofting from 1920.
Dostoyevsky Belarusian, Russian
Habitational name from Dostoev in Belarus.
Douwes Dutch, Frisian
From the given name Douwe, itself derived from Frisian dou meaning "dove, pigeon". A notable bearer was the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887), better known by his pen name Multatuli.
Driver English
Occupational name for a driver of horses or oxen attached to a cart or plow, or of loose cattle, from a Middle English agent derivative of Old English drīfan ‘to drive’.
Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Yu 2, from Sino-Vietnamese 余 (dư).
Du Aimé French
The Duaime surname comes from an Old French word "hamel," which meant "homestead." It was likely first used as a name to describe someone who lived at a farm on the outskirts of a main town, or for someone that lived in a small village.
Ducasse French
French: topographic name for someone who lived by an oak tree, from Old French casse ‘oak (tree)’ (Late Latin cassanos, a word of Celtic origin), with the fused preposition and article du ‘from the’... [more]
Dupin French
Means "of the pine tree" in French, referring to a person who lived near a pine tree or was from any of various locations named Le Pin.
Eastman English
Derived from the Old English given name Eastmund, or a variant of East.
Egan Irish
Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAodhagáin (see Hagan).
Ende Estonian
Ende is an Estonian surname derived from "enda" meaning "own" and self".
Enright Irish (Anglicized)
From Irish Gaelic Indreachtach, literally "attacker". The surname was borne by British poet D.J. Enright (1920-2002).
Evanovich Russian
Means "son of Evan".
Fassbinder German
Variant of Kiefer 2, from German Fass "barrel, keg, cask" and binder "girder, tie". Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor, considered as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement.
Fernandes Indian (Christian)
Adopted from the Portuguese surname Fernandes meaning "son of Fernando"
Ferrante Italian
This surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a nickname (thus making it a descriptive surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval masculine given name Ferrante... [more]
Fitzgerald Irish
Alternate capitalization of Fitzgerald
Forster English (Anglicized), German, Jewish, Slovak
English: occupational and topographic name for someone who lived or worked in a forest (see Forrest). ... [more]
Forsyth Scottish
Variant of Forsythe. Known bearers include the Scottish botanist William Forsyth (1737-1804), after whom the genus Forsythia is named, and Scottish inventor Alexander John Forsyth (1769-1843).
France French
Ethnic name for an inhabitant of France, a country in Europe.
France Czech
Variant of Franc.
France Slovene
Derived from the given name France 2, a vernacular form of Frančišek, which is ultimately from Latin Franciscus.
Franzén Swedish
Combination of the given name Franz and the popular surname suffix -én, derived from Latin -enius "descendant of".
Friedman English (American), Jewish
Americanized form of Friedmann as well as a Jewish cognate of this name.
Frost Welsh
Originally spelled Ffrost (the double ff is a Welsh letter). The Welsh word ffrost refered to someone who is excessively bold or a brag, especially with regard to warrior feats. Edmund Ffrost signed his name this way on the ship's register of the boat which brought him to the Massachussett's Bay Colony in 1631... [more]
Gaarder Norwegian
Norwegian form of Gardener.
Gavran Croatian, Serbian
Means "raven".
Gerritsen Dutch
Means "Gerrit’s son" in Dutch.
Gibson Irish
Anglicized form of Irish-Gaelic Ó Gibealláin.
Ginsberg Jewish
Ornamental varient of Ginsburg
Giovanni Italian
From the given name Giovanni.
Glasgow English (American), English (British)
Derived from the city of Glasgow in Scotland.
Goethe German
From a short form of the personal name Godo, formed with the Germanic element god, got 'god', or from Middle High German göte 'godfather'.
Goff Welsh
Variant of Gough 1.
Gogol Ukrainian, Polish, Jewish
Means "Common goldeneye (a type of duck)" in Ukrainian. Possibly a name for a fowler. A famous bearer was Nikolai Gogol.
Goldsmith English
Occupational name for a worker in gold, a compound of Old English gold "gold" and smið "smith". In North America it is very often an English translation of German or Jewish Goldschmidt.
Goldstein Jewish
Means "gold stone" in German.
Goscinny Polish
Derived from Polish adjective gościnny from word gość meaning 'guest'.
Grass Romansh
Derived from Romansh grass "fat".
Grass English, German
Topographic name for someone who owned or lived by a meadow, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or sold hay, from Middle English gras, Middle High German gras "grass, pasture, grazing".
Grass Scottish
Occupational name, reduced from Gaelic greusaiche "shoemaker". A certain John Grasse alias Cordonar (Middle English cordewaner "shoemaker") is recorded in Scotland in 1539.
Guan Chinese
From Chinese 管 (guǎn) meaning "administer, manage, control", also referring to the ancient state of Guan that existed in what is now Henan province.
Gunesekera Sinhalese
Alternate transcription of Sinhala ගුණසේකර (see Gunasekara).
Gunn Scottish
This ancient Scottish surname is of Norwegian origin derived from the Old Norse personal name Gunnr. This surname, in most cases originated in Caithness, Scotland's most northerly county.
Gurira Southern African, Shona
From the Ndau word gurira meaning "to break or cut for someone, cut short, take shortcut". The American-Zimbabwean actress and playwright Danai Gurira (1978-) is a famous bearer of this name.
Häll Estonian
Häll is an Estonian surname meaning "cradle" and "birthplace".
Hall Estonian
Hall is an Estonian surname meaning both "grey" and "frost".
Harjo Estonian
Harjo is an Estonia surname, a variation of "Harju"; from Harju County.
Harjo Creek
From Creek Ha'chō meaning "crazy brave; recklessly brave".
Harris Welsh
A combination of the Welsh adjective 'hy', meaning 'bold' or 'presumptuous' and the common Welsh personal name 'Rhys'. This surname is common in South Wales and the English West Country and has an official Welsh tartan... [more]
Hašek Czech (?)
Meaning "Pure" or "Chaste" from Latin Castus, a shortening of Castulus. Diminutive of the personal name Haštal. Noteable people with this surname include Dominik Hašek, a Czech ice hockey Goal-tender and Jaroslav Hašek, a Czech satirist and Journalist, most known for his satirical novel, 'The Good Soldier Švejk'.
Hastings English, Scottish
Habitational name from Hastings, a place in Sussex, on the south coast of England, near which the English army was defeated by the Normans in 1066. It is named from Old English H?stingas ‘people of H?sta’... [more]
Hastings Irish
Connacht shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hOistín ‘descendant of Oistín’, the Gaelic form of Augustine (see Austin).
Hauptmann German
Derived from German hauptmann, a word used for a German military rank meaning "Captain".
Hazzard English
Variant spelling of Hazard.
Heine German, Dutch, Jewish
Derived from a short form of Heinrich.
Heller German
Nickname from the small medieval coin known as the häller or heller because it was first minted (in 1208) at the Swabian town of (Schwäbisch) Hall.
Hemingway English
Probably from the name of an unidentified minor place near the village of Southowram in West Yorkshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Hemma combined with weg meaning "way, road, path"... [more]
Higgins English
Patronymic from the medieval personal name Higgin, a pet form of Hick.
Higgins Irish
Variant of Hagan.
Hinton English (Archaic)
Comes from Old English heah meaning "high" and tun meaning "enclosure" or "settlement." A notable person with the surname is female author S.E Hinton.
Hiraoka Japanese
From Japanese 平 (hira 2) meaning "level, even, peaceful" and 岡 (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".
Hoag Scottish, Norwegian, Swedish, English
Scottish and English: variant of Hogg .... [more]
Hogan Norwegian
Anglicized form of the Norwegian surname Haugen (or Haugan), meaning "hill."
Hogg English
An occupational name for someone who herded swine.
Hooft Dutch
Means "head" in Middle Dutch.
Hoyt English
Generally a topographical name for someone who lived on a hill or other high ground. As such Hoyt is related to words such as heights or high. Hoyt is also possibly a nickname for a tall, thin person where the original meaning is said to be "long stick".
Hugo French
Victor Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. He was also the writer of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and 'Les Misérables'.
Huygens Dutch, Belgian
Means "son of Hugo". A notable bearer was Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695).
Ihimaera Maori
This name in English means Ishmael. This name is not only a surname but was used at least in the past as a first name. This name could have another origin. This is the last name of the first Maori author to produce a book made up of stories Witi Ihimaera (1944- ).
Ingalls English, Scandinavian (Anglicized)
Patronymic from the Anglo-Scandinavian personal name Ingell, Old Norse Ingjaldr.... [more]
Iqbal Arabic, Urdu, Bengali
From the given name Iqbal.
Ishiguro Japanese
Ishi means "Stone" and Guro is just a form of Kuro, meaning "Black". Hiroshi Ishiguro was the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory.
Ishiguro Japanese
From Japanese 石 (ishi) meaning "stone" and 黒 (kuro) meaning "black".
Jin Japanese
From Japanese 神 (jin) meaning "deity; god". This may have been used by shrine masters, people who came from shrines, or people who were granted by the emperor of Japan.
Jonson English
Variant of Johnson and English form of Johnsson
Jordán Spanish, Hungarian
From the given name Jordán.
Jünger German, Jewish
German (Jünger) distinguishing name, from Middle High German jünger ‘younger’, for the younger of two bearers of the same personal name, usually a son who bore the same name as his father... [more]
Juul Danish, Norwegian
Alternate form of Juhl. This variant of the name can be traced back to the 13th century as the name of a Danish noble family still alive today. The family is sometimes referred to as "Juul med liljen" meaning "Juul with the fleur-de-lis" in reference to their coat-of-arms, as a way to distinguish them from another Danish noble family - the Juel-family - who in turn are known as "Juel with the star"... [more]
Kaleb Croatian
Possibly rom the name Caleb.... [more]
Kane Irish, Norwegian
From the anglicized Irish surname Cathan, meaning "warlike." In Norway, it's used as a noble name.
Kawabata Japanese
'Side or bank of the river'; written two ways, with two different characters for kawa ‘river’. One family is descended from the northern Fujiwara through the Saionji family; the other from the Sasaki family... [more]
Kawabata Japanese
From Japanese 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 畑 (hata) meaning "farm, cropfield".
Kawabata Japanese
From Japanese 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream" and 端 (hata) meaning "edge, end, tip".
Keane Irish (Modern)
A nickname for a "brave" or "proud" person deriving from Middle English given name Kene
Kenyon English, Welsh
Kenyon is a surname from Wales meaning "a person from Ennion's Mound"
Kerouac French (Quebec)
Variant form of Kirouac. This name was borne by the American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), who was a pioneer of the Beat Generation, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
Ketchum Popular Culture
The surname of Ash Ketchum in the English dub of the anime "Pokémon," and comes from the English localizations' catchphrase "Gotta Catch' em All!"
Khan Korean (Russified)
Russified form of Han.
Kingsolver English (American)
Altered form of English Consolver, which is unexplained. Compare Kinsolving.
Kinsella Irish
From Gaelic Uí Ceinnsealaigh meaning "descendant of Cinnsealach", a given name probably meaning "chief warrior".
Kozak Jewish
Nickname from Yiddish kozak from a Ukrainian loanword meaning "warrior", "brave man".
Kozak Polish, Czech, Slovak, Sorbian, Ukrainian
Ethnic name for a Cossack, a member of a people descended from a group of runaway serfs who set up a semi-independent military republic in Ukraine in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Krasiński Polish
This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Krasne, Przasnysz County.
Lackey Irish
Lackey was originally a name for a horse servant.
Lagerlöf Swedish
A notable bearer was Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940), the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature (1909).
Lahiri Bengali
Habitational name from either the village of Lohori in present-day Bangladesh or the village of Laheria in India.
Laxness Icelandic (Rare)
Derived from the name of a farm in Mosfellsbær parish in southwest Iceland. A notable bearer was author and Nobel Prize winner Halldór Laxness (1902-1998).
Lear English
Means (i) "person from Leire", Leicestershire ("place on the river Leire", a river-name that may also be the ancestor of Leicestershire); or (ii) "person from Lear", any of several variously spelled places in northern France with a name based on Germanic lār "clearing"... [more]
Leopardi Italian
From the medieval given name Leopardus. A famous bearer of this surname is Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837), one of the most influential Italian poets.
Le Roux French
Nickname for a person with red hair, from Old French rous "red." Variant spelling of Leroux.
Levin Jewish, Lithuanian, Belarusian, German, Russian, French (Quebec, Anglicized), Various
As a Lithuanian Jewish and Belarusian Jewish name, it is a Slavicized form of Levy. As a German and German Jewish name, it is derived from the given name Levin... [more]
Levin German
German cognate of Lewin. Derived from the given name Levin the modern German form of Leobwin a cognate of Leofwine.
Lieber English, German, Polish, Jewish
From the given name Lieber.
Lively English
Nickname from Middle English lifly, "lively", "nimble".
Lively English
A modern English surname possibly derived from a lost village called Laefer-leah which would give it the meaning "the farm by the lake".... [more]
Locke English
Occupational name for a locksmith.
Locke English, German
Variant of Lock.
Locke English, German
From Old English or Old High German loc meaning "lock of hair, curl".
Longfellow English
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline.
Lovecraft English
An English surname coming from the Old English lufu, meaning "love, desire", and cæft, meaning "strength, skill".... [more]
Low Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Hokkien), Chinese (Teochew)
Romanization of Liu chiefly used in Malaysia and Singapore.
Lowry Lumbee
The surname is prominent. The earliest time this name is scene is when a grandchild of man named James Lowery is called James Lowry in the 1700s. This name was self-identified as an Indian Name in the Robeson County, North Carolina 1900 census... [more]