EidsnessNorwegian (Expatriate) From Old Norse eið "isthmus" and nes "headland". This was the name of a farmstead in Norway.
EirisOld Irish (Latinized) Its meaning That is fruitfulness or fertility. It comes from the Irish name Eire Or Eriu (Erin, Eirinn). Another ancient name is Ivernia (Hibernia or Iverni) and its meaning is the green and fertile lands.
ElenbaasDutch Reinterpretation of Elenbos or Elebaers (see Elbert), or from another Germanic personal name composed of the elements aljaz "other" or agil "point or edge (of a sword)" combined with berht "bright"... [more]
EnjolrasLiterature From a surname which was from Occitan enjeura meaning "to terrify". This was the name of a charismatic activist in Victor Hugo's novel 'Les Misérables' (1862).
EnnalsEnglish This unusual and interesting surname is of medieval English origin, and derives from either of two Anglo-Scandinavian male given names: Ingald or Ingulf. The former derives ultimately from the Old Norse "Ingialdr", having as its initial element the divine name "Ing", borne by a minor Norse god associated with fertility, and meaning "swelling, protuberance", with "gialdr", tribute; hence, "Ing's tribute"... [more]
EnysCornish (Rare), Celtic (Rare) Enys is an ancient Celtic word meaning a circle, and island or a clearing in the forest, so it is possible that the first owners took their name from the land.
ErasSpanish From the medieval personal name Egas, probably of Visigothic origin. This surname is very rare in Spain; it is found mainly in Ecuador... [more]
Espinosa De Los MonterosSpanish Originating in northern Spain in the Espinosa de los Monteros municipality, it has various meanings. One meaning is that it was the surname of hidalgos who lived in Espinosa and helped the nobles get on their horses... [more]
EssLow German, German (Swiss) North German: topographic name for someone living on or owning land that was waterlogged or partly surrounded by water, from Middle Low German es ‘swamp’, ‘water’. ... [more]
EsteruelasSpanish Possibly from the place name Camarma de Esteruelas, a village in Madrid.
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."
EubanksEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a bank of yew trees, from Old English iw "yew" and bank "bank".
EurlingsDutch, Flemish Derived from the Germanic given name Ulrich. A famous bearer of this surname is the Dutch politician and businessman Camiel Eurlings (1973-).
EzeriņšLatvian Derived from the word ezers meaning "lake".
FàbregasCatalan Deriving from any of the places in Barcelona province named Fàbregues, from the plural of Fàbrega. Famous bearer of this surname is Spanish/Catalan footballer Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler.
FaïsMedieval Occitan, Occitan (Rare) Derived from Old French and Occitan fagot, meaning "bundle" (of sticks/twigs), denoting someone who collects bundles.
FalcesSpanish (Philippines) Falces is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. In Basque the town is called Faltzes. It has a population of around 2500 inhabitants. It is well known for the famous "encierro del pilon", which is a running of the bulls made even more dangerous due to it being run down a narrow road of a steep hill... [more]
FariasPortuguese Habitational name from any of various places in Portugal called Faria.
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]
FassGerman From Middle High German faz, German Fass 'cask', 'keg', hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of casks and kegs, or a nickname for someone as rotund as a barrel. German: variant of Fasse, Faas.
FawkesEnglish From the Norman personal name Faulques or Fauques, which was derived from a Germanic nickname meaning literally "falcon". A famous bearer of the surname was Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), the English Catholic conspirator... [more]
FeldhausGerman habitational name from a place called Feldhaus after a "house standing in open country", derived from the elements feld "field" and hus "house"... [more]
FellowsEnglish English: patronymic from Fellow, from Middle English felagh, felaw late Old English feolaga ‘partner’, ‘shareholder’ (Old Norse félagi, from fé ‘fee’, ‘money’ + legja to lay down)... [more]
FerrersAncient Roman It derives from Latin, "ferrum", which means "iron". As a surname, it derives from two French villages named "Ferrieres" where iron was mined.
FiennesEnglish Derived from Fiennes, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The wealthy and influential Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes family, prominent in British society, originated in northern France... [more]
FigginsEnglish Derived from a medieval diminutive of Fulk (such as Fygge or Fulchon).
FiggisEnglish From a medieval nickname for a trustworthy person (from the Anglo-Norman form of Old French fichais "loyal").
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.
FilsFrench From fils "son", used to identify the younger of two bearers of the same personal name in a family.
FiscusGerman From Latin fiscus "basket", a humanistic Latinization of the German surname Korb. This is a metonymic occupational name for a basketmaker or a peddler, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a basket.
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.
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.
FitzsimonsIrish Fitzsimons (also spelled FitzSimons, Fitzsimmons or FitzSimmons) is a surname of Norman origin common in both Ireland and England. The name is a variant of "Sigmundsson", meaning son of Sigmund. The Gaelicisation of this surname is Mac Shíomóin.
FlorisItalian Cognate to Flores, or a toponym from Sardinian floris "flowers". Possibly from the Latin cognomen Florens meaning "prosperous, flourishing".
FlorosGreek From the Latin word for flower, 'florus', also could be associated with the name Florus
FouldsEnglish (British) Mr. Fould-Dupont supplied the steel for the Eiffel tower. Later on, he fled to England and changed his last name from Fould-Dupont to Foulds.
FussMedieval Low German German from Middle High German fus ‘foot’, hence most probably a nickname for someone with some peculiarity or deformity of the foot, but perhaps also a topographic name for someone who lived at the foot of a hill.
GabrasGreek A corruption of the name Gabriel is also the name of a Byzantine family. Branches of the family live in Greece using the name Gabras, in Turkey as Kavraz and in Russia as Khovrin.
GailītisLatvian Derived from the word gailis meaning "rooster".
GainesEnglish, Norman, Welsh English (of Norman origin): nickname for a crafty or ingenious person, from a reduced form of Old French engaine ‘ingenuity’, ‘trickery’ (Latin ingenium ‘native wit’). The word was also used in a concrete sense of a stratagem or device, particularly a trap.... [more]
GaitanosGreek Derived from the Ancient Greek Καίετανος (Kaietanos) meaning "who come from the cave/port" or "who come from Gaeta", an ancient Greek port that is located in the Italian modern province of Lazio.
GalifianakisGreek Patronymic derived from Galifa, a small village near the former municipality of Episkopi in the regional unit of Heraklion, in Crete, Greece. The place name itself is possibly derived from Greek γαλίφης (galífis) meaning "flatterer", a cognate of Italian gaglioffo... [more]
GanasGreek Occupational name for a coppersmith, from gana "coating", "verdigris". Possibly also a variant of Ganis.
GansGerman, Dutch Means "goose" in German and Dutch, either an occupational name for someone who worked with geese, a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a goose, or a nickname for someone walked oddly or was considered silly or foolish... [more]
GansGerman, Dutch From Old High German ganz "whole, intact, healthy", a nickname for a particularly strong or healthy person.
GanusRussian Possibly derived from Russian анис (anis) referring to the anise (Pimpinella anisum) plant or from the Turkish given name Gainislam itself from Arabic عَيْن (ʿayn) meaning "spring, source" combined with the name of the religion Islam.
GemistosGreek, Late Greek Means "full, laden" in Greek, supposedly referring to a head full of knowledge. One of the earliest recorded bearers was Georgios Gemistos Plethon, a Greek scholar of the late Byzantine era. He chose the pseudonym Plethon (from πλῆθος (plethos) "multitude, great number", from πλήθω (pletho) "to fill") partly in reference to the meaning of his surname.
GennimatasGreek Possibly from the Greek verb γεννιέμαι (genniemai) meaning "to be born".
GentilisItalian (Latinized) Latinized form of Gentili. The Italian-born Oxford professor and jurist Alberico Gentili (1552-1608) was known as Albericus Gentilis in Latin.