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").
TaiberGerman German (also Täuber) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Taube ‘pigeon, dove’. The -er inflection denotes the male bird, but in most cases this is an occupational name for a pigeon breeder, from an agent noun derivative ending in -er(t).
TalukderBengali From a title for land-owning aristocrats in the Mughal Empire and British Raj who were responsible for collecting taxes. The title itself was derived from Arabic تعلق (ta'alluq) meaning "attachment, affiliation" combined with the Persian suffix دار (-dar) indicating ownership.
TalusaarEstonian Talusaar is an Estonian surname meaning "farm island".
TalwarIndian Sikh name based on the name of a clan in the Khatri community, derived from Panjabitəlwār ‘sword’ (Sanskrit taravāri).
TammejuurEstonian Tammejuur is an Estonian surname meaning "oak root".
TammiksaarEstonian Tammiksaar is an Estonian surname meaning "oak wood island".
TammsaarEstonian Tammsaar is an Estonian surname, meaning "oak island".
TamrakarNewar, Indian Means "copper maker; craftsman" in Sanskrit. This is used by the Tamrakar caste of Nepal and India, and mainly of Newar ethnicity in Nepal.
TarafdarBengali From a title which denoted a holder of a taraf (a type of administrative division formerly used in South Asia), itself derived from Arabic طرف (taraf) meaning "area, section, side" and the Persian suffix دار (dar) indicating ownership.
TarverEnglish Uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Thorferth, a variant of the Old Norse given name Þórfreðr (compare Tolfree), or perhaps from Torver, the name of a former village in Lancashire... [more]
TaşdemirTurkish From Turkish taş meaning "stone" and demir meaning "iron".
TedderEnglish From the Middle English word Thedere or Teddere which either comes from the Old English name Thēodhere or the Germanic name Theudher. Alternatively, it could be an occupational name from the Middle English Teddere, meaning “one who teds”... [more]
TederEstonian Means "black grouse" in Estonian (species Tetrao tetrix, aka Lyrurus tetrix).
TeeäärEstonian Teeäär is an Estonia surname meaning "roadside" and "wayside".
TeeveerEstonian Teeveer is an Estonian surname meaning "road/causeway edge".
TegnérSwedish Derived from the name of Tegnaby parish in Småland, Sweden. The name was originally spelled Tegnérus, but was later shortened to Tegnér. Notable bearers include Alice Tegnér (1864-1943), composer of many Swedish hymns and children's songs, and Esaias Tegnér (1782-1846), bishop and writer.
TeissièrOccitan Occupational name meaning "weaver", ultimately from Latin texarius.... [more]
TelferScottish, English From a personal name based on a byname for a strong man or ferocious warrior, derived from Old French tailler "to cut" and fer "iron". Compare Taillefer, Tagliaferro.
TelgerLow German Derivative of Telge, a topographic name denoting an enclosed tree nursery.
TemplerEnglish Templer is an Old English surname denoting either a servant of one of the Knights Templar, or a person living near or serving at a church. The meaning is “church attendant”.
TemplierFrench French variant of Temple, given to someone who was a member of the Templar order.
TessierFrench Occupational Name For A Weaver, From Old French Tissier (From Late Latin Texarius, A Derivative Of Texere ‘To Weave’). It Is Also Found In England As A Surname Of Huguenot Origin. Compare Tacey.
ThevarTamil The Mukkulathor people, who are also collectively known as Thevar, are a community or group of communities native to the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India. They comprise the Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar communities that share a common myth of origin and claim to have once been members of various ancient South Indian dynasties.
TigerSwedish Perhaps taken from Swedish tiga "to keep quiet, to say nothing". Tiger is one of the names adopted by Swedish soldiers in the 17th century.
TisgaonkarMarathi It is derived from the words “tis” meaning “three” and “gaonkar” meaning “landlord or village headman.” The surname’s meaning is “the headman of three villages.”
TišljarCroatian Derived from Chakavian Croatian tišljar, meaning "carpenter".
TisseurFrench Occupational surname meaning "weaver".
TolivarAsturian (Modern, Rare), English (Rare) Variant of Tolliver. Apparently, this name may have originated in Candamo, Asturias, in the 18th (or earlier) century. The "var" last syllable may be related to "fer," and the meaning may be related to iron, e.g. iron miner, iron refiner, etc... [more]
TonerIrish (Anglicized, Modern) An anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname, O'Tomhrair. Still used in the modern day Republic of Ireland, and relatively common in Atlantic Canada.
TozerEnglish Tozer is a surname commonly believed to have originated in Devon, South West England. It is a reference to the occupation of carding of wool which was originally performed by the use of teasels (Latin carduus), via the Middle English word tōsen, to tease (out).
TrainorIrish Reduced form of McTraynor, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Thréinfhir "son of Tréinfhear", a byname meaning "champion, strong man" (from tréan "strong" and fear "man").
TranmerEnglish Habitational name from Tranmere, a district within the borough of Birkenhead, Cheshire, or Tranmires, an area in Hackness, North Yorkshire. Both toponyms derive from Old Norse trani "crane (bird)" and melr "sandbank, dune".
TraynorEnglish Derives from old English word 'trayne' which means to trap or to snare. Also an occupational name given to horse trainers. First found in Yorkshire, England in the 1300s.
TreacherEnglish From a medieval nickname for a tricky or deceptive person (from Old French tricheor "trickster, cheat").
TrexlerGerman It is derived from the Middle High German "Drehseler," meaning "turner," and was most likely initially borne by a turner or lathe worker.
TrierweilerGerman Trierweiler is a German surname of Germanic and French roots, specifically associated with the town of Trier in Germany and its surrounding areas. The first part, "Trier," refers to the city of Trier, one of the oldest cities in Germany... [more]
TrippierEnglish This surname is derived from an occupation. 'a tripherd,' a goatherd, Yorkshire and Lancashire. 'Trip, a flock of sheep, a herd of swine or goats' (Halliwell).
TrotterEnglish, Scottish, German Northern English and Scottish: occupational name for a messenger, from an agent derivative of Middle English trot(en) 'to walk fast' (Old French troter, of Germanic origin). ... [more]
TroyerGerman (Anglicized) Surname common among the Amish and the Mennonites. It is the Pennsylvania German form of the German last name "Dreier", "Dreyer" or "Treyer". Hans Treyer, an early Anabaptist leader, died as a martyr of his faith in Bern in 1529... [more]
TumberEnglish English: habitational name from any of the various places so called from their situation on a stream with this name. Humber is a common prehistoric river name, of uncertain origin and meaning.
TuncerTurkish Derived from Turkish tunç meaning ''bronze''.
UhlerGerman Uhler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kastellaun, whose seat is in the like-named town.
UhlířCzech Uhlíř is a originally craftsman dedicated to the production of charcoal. It is also called a person involved in the distribution of coal.... [more]
UhrGerman, Jewish Derived from the given name Ulrich. In Jewish, it is a metonymic occupational name for a watch or clock maker, derived from German uhr meaning "watch, clock".
ÜlgerTurkish Means "villus, fine hair" in Turkish.
UngarGerman, Jewish ethnic name for a Hungarian or a nickname for someone who had trade relations with Hungary. Cognate of Ungaro and variant of Unger.
UngerGerman German, Jewish (Ashkenazic), and Slovenian: ethnic name for a Hungarian or a nickname for someone who had trade relations with Hungary, from the ethnic term Unger ‘Hungarian’ ... [more]
UpsherEnglish Habitational name denoting someone from the hamlet Upshire in County Essex, derived from Old English upp "up, upper" and scir "shire, district".
UpshurEnglish Most probably an altered spelling of English Upshire, a habitational name from Upshire in Essex, named with Old English upp "up" and scir "district". Alternatively, it may be a variant of Upshaw.
UrizarBasque Habitational name derived from Basque uri "town, city" and zahar "old, aged".
UsherEnglish Occupational name from Middle English usher, meaning "usher, doorkeeper".
VadeboncœurFrench (Quebec) From the French phrase va de bon cœur meaning "go with a good (merry) heart". This was a secondary surname, common among soldiers in colonial French Canada, which has been adopted as a principal surname.
VaderGerman (Rare) From Middle Low German vader meaning ‘father’, ‘senior’; in the Middle Ages this was used a term of address for someone who was senior in rank or age.
VaiksaarEstonian Vaiksaar is an Estonian surname meaing "quiet/still ("vaikus") island ("saar")". May also come from "väike saar", meaning "little island".
Van Den OeverDutch Means "from the riverbank" in Dutch, derived from oever "bank, riverbank, shore". Den Oever is also the name of a village in North Holland.
Van DerDutch Possibly a clipping of a longer surname beginning with van der meaning "of the, from the". Alternatively, could be a variant spelling of van Deur.
Van Der GeerDutch Means "from the headland", derived from Dutch geer "pointed piece of land, headland; spear".