TäppEstonian Täpp is an Estonian surname meaning "fleck" or "speckle".
TappEnglish, German Derived from an Old English given name Tæppa, of uncertain origin and meaning. In German, it is a nickname for a clumsy person or a simpleton, derived from Middle Low German tappe meaning "oaf".
TarabayArabic History of this surname is unknown. A famous bearer with this last name is Nick E. Tarabay, a Lebanese-American actor.
TarantoItalian Habitational name from the southern Italian city and provincial capital of this name (from Latin Tarentum from Greek Taras). Variant of Tarantino and Di Taranto.
TarbellEnglish Tarbell is an alteration of the English placename Turville in Buckinghamshire in England.
TardifFrench, French (Quebec) From Latin tardivus, "slow". Given its unusually frequency as a family name and derivatives like Tardieu or Tardivel, it may have been a medieval given name.
TarkowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Tarkowo in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or Tarków in Masovian Voivodeship (of uncertain origin compare tarka ‘grater rasper’).
TaronGerman (Rare) The standardized variant of Tarruhn which has origins in the Neumark region of Brandenburg, Prussia dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The Taron family was one of many German families who left the Neumark region and moved eastward into present-day Poland and Ukraine... [more]
TartakovskyRussian, Jewish Name for someone originally from the town of Tartakiv (or Tartakov) in Ukraine, derived from Ukrainian тартак (tartak) meaning "sawmill".
TartaroSpanish Ethnic name or regional name for someone who was from Tatarstan or who had traded with Tatarstan.
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]
TasmanDutch Derived from Dutch tas "bag" and man "person, man". Usually a metonymic name for someone who made bags, though in at least one case it was taken from the name of a ship, De Tas.
TassEstonian Tass is an Estonian surname meaning "cup" and "dish".
TassiItalian Could be a patronymic form of the given name Tasso, indicate the bearer is from one of several municipalities called Tasso, or be a nickname from Italian tasso meaning "badger (animal)" or "yew".
TataraJapanese From 多 (ta) meaning "many", 々, a phonetic character indicting a duplication of the beginning kanji, combined with 良 (ra) meaning "good".
TatascioreAmerican, Italian The surname Tatasciore is more commonly found in Italy than any other country or territory.
TatlockEnglish Probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place in Lancashire or Cheshire, where the surname occurs most frequently.
TatlonghariTagalog From Tagalog Tatlong Hari referring to the three kings (also known as the Magi or wise men) who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus.
TauntonEnglish Habitational name from Taunton in Somerset, Taunton Farm in Coulsdon, Surrey, or Tanton in North Yorkshire. The Somerset place name was originally a combination of a Celtic river name (now the Tone, possibly meaning ‘roaring stream’) + Old English tūn ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
TauraJapanese From Japanese 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy" and 浦 (ura) meaning "bay, inlet".
TawneyEnglish, Norman Habitational name from either of two places, Saint-Aubin-du-Thennay or Saint-Jean-du-Thennay, in Eure, Normandy, both so named from an uncertain first element (possibly a Gallo-Roman personal name or the Gaulish word tann ‘oak’, ‘holly’) + the locative suffix -acum.
TeachEnglish This surname is derived from the Middle English phrase "at asche," meaning at,or near the ash tree.
TeacherEnglish From an English word for someone who taught schools.
TeagardenLow German The surname Teagarden was first found in Bavaria, where the name Tiegarten was anciently associated with the tribal conflicts of the area. The name appeared in Solingen as Thegarden as early as 1374 and was recorded as Tegarden in 1488... [more]
TeasdaleEnglish From Teesdale, the name of a valley of the River Tees in northern England, derived from the river's name (meaning "warmth" in Old English) combined with dæl meaning "valley".
TecsonFilipino From Hokkien 德孫 (tiak sun) meaning "virtuous grandchild, benevolent grandchild". The bearers of this name are said to be descended from any of the three Tek Son brothers who originally came from Guangzhou, China.
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).
TedeschiItalian Plural; From the Italian word tedesco meaning "German".
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.
TejeroSpanish Occupational Spanish surname for a tiler, its origin may be in Saragossa, Spain. A famous bearer is Antonio Tejero, a Lieutenant Colonel who was responsible for the 23-F coup attempt.
TelferScottish, English, Italian From a personal name based on a byname for a strong man or ferocious warrior, from Old French taille or tailler "to cut" + fer "iron" Latin: ferrum "iron" (see Tagliaferro).
TelfordEnglish From the words taelf meaning "plateau" and ford meaning "river crossing"... [more]
TeliIndian From Sanskrit तेली (tēlī) meaning "oily" in Sanskrit. This is used by the Teli caste who traditionally specialized in oil pressing and trade.
TellecheaBasque Castilianized spelling of Telletxea, a habitational name meaning "(from) the house with tiles", composed of teila "roof tile" and etxe "house, home, building".
TempestEnglish (British) English (Yorkshire): nickname for someone with a blustery temperament, from Middle English, Old French tempest(e) ‘storm’ (Latin tempestas ‘weather’, ‘season’, a derivative of tempus ‘time’).
TempestaItalian Originally a nickname for a person with a blustery temperament, from Italian tempesta meaning "storm, tempest" (compare Tempest).... [more]
TempleEnglish, French Occupational name or habitational name for someone who was employed at or lived near one of the houses ("temples") maintained by the Knights Templar, a crusading order so named because they claimed to occupy in Jerusalem the site of the old temple (Middle English, Old French temple, Latin templum)... [more]
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”.
TeneyckDutch (Americanized) From Dutch ten eik meaning "at the oak tree", a topographic name for someone who lived by a prominent oak tree. This has been a prominent family name in Albany, NY, area since the 1630s.
TengChinese From Chinese 滕 (téng) referring to the ancient state of Teng, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
TengChinese Alternate transcription of Deng as well as the Hokkien and Teochew romanization of the name.
TennantEnglish, Scottish The Strathclyde-Briton people of ancient Scotland were the first to use the name Tennant. It is a name for someone who works as a tenant farmer. The name was applied to those who paid for the rent on their land through working the fields and donating a percentage of the take to the landlord... [more]
TerpstraWest Frisian, Dutch Derived from terp, a kind of artificial hill used as shelter during floods or high tide, and the Frisian habitational suffix -stra.
TerraccianoItalian Derived from Italian terrazzano "inhabitant of a walled city or castle; fellow countryman, villager, peasant", ultimately derived from Latin terra "land, earth, country".
TerraceScottish Possibly means "from Tarras", a place in Morayshire, Scotland.
TerracinaItalian From the name of a city in Lazio, Italy, called Tarracina in Latin.
TerrasEstonian Terras is an Estonian name derived from "terrass", meaning "terrace".
TerrienFrench Topographic name from an adjectival derivative of terre "land", denoting someone who lived and worked on the land, i.e. a peasant. It is Americanized frequently as Landers, and occasionally as Farmer.
TerzisGreek From the Italian surname Terzi 1 ultimately from the Italian given name Terzo, meaning the third given usually name to the third child.
TesauroItalian metonymic occupational name for a treasurer or person in charge of financial administration from Old Italian tesauro "treasure treasury" (from Latin thesaurus "hoard"). It may also be from the personal name Tesauro with the same origin.
TesoroSpanish, Italian from tesoro "treasure" (from Latin thesaurus "hoard") applied as a metonymic occupational name for a treasurer. In some cases this may be a habitational name from El Tesoro in southern Spain... [more]
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.
TesterEnglish From the Old French nickname testard, essentially meaning "big head", for a know-it-all.
TetleyEnglish habitational name from Tetlow in Manchester. The placename derives from the Old English male personal name Tetta or female Tette annd Old English hlaw "mound hill"... [more]
TewksburyEnglish Derived from Tewkesbury, a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is named with the Old English given name Teodec and burg meaning "fortification".
ThackerayEnglish Famous bearer is William Makepeace Thackeray, author of the novel Vanity Fair. ... [more]
ThackeryEnglish English (Yorkshire) habitational name from Thackray in the parish of Great Timble, West Yorkshire, now submerged in Fewston reservoir. It was named with Old Norse þak ‘thatching’, ‘reeds’ + (v)rá ‘nook’, ‘corner’.
TháiVietnamese Vietnamese form of Cai, from Sino-Vietnamese 蔡 (thái).
ThainScots, English Occupational surname meaning a nobleman who served as an attendant to royals or who was awarded land by a king.
ThamesEnglish Derived from the name of the River Thames, a major river in England. It is thought to have derived from Celtic Tamesis, which may have meant "dark, cloudy" or "turbid, turbulent".
ThammavongLao From Lao ທຳມະ (thamma) meaning "dharma, virtue, righteousness" and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family".
ThammavongsaLao From Lao ທັມມະ (thamma) meaning "dharma, virtue, righteousness" and ວົງສາ (vongsa) meaning "family".
ThanosGreek From a short form of the personal name Athanasios, literally "immortal". This was the name of several saints venerated in the Greek Orthodox Church, the most important of them being Athanasios the Great (293–373), theologian and patriarch of Alexandria in Egypt.
ThaoHmong From the clan name Thoj associated with the Chinese character 陶 (táo) (see Tao).
ThapaNepali, Indian, Bengali, Assamese, Hindi, Odia From an ancient military rank used in the Khasa Kingdom, which ruled parts of South Asia from the 11th to 14th centuries.