ByamEnglish Probably means "person from Bytham", Lincolnshire ("homestead in a valley bottom"). Glen Byam Shaw (1904-1986) was a British theatre director.
ByeonKorean (Modern) Variant romanization of Sino-Korean 邉 (Byun) meaning "Border".
ByerScottish The history of the Byer family begins in the Boernician tribes of ancient Scotland. The Byer family lived in or near the place named Byers in Scotland. The place-name, Byers, derives from the Old English word byre, which means cattle shed... [more]
ByersScottish, English Scottish and northern English topographic name for someone who lived by a cattleshed, Middle English byre, or a habitational name with the same meaning, from any of several places named with Old English b¯re, for example Byers Green in County Durham or Byres near Edinburgh.
ByresScottish Byres was first used as a surname by the descendants of the ancient Boernician clans of Scotland. The first Byres family lived in or near the place named Byers in Scotland. The place-name, Byers, derives from the Old English word byre, which means cattle shed... [more]
ByronEnglish An English place name, earlier Byram, from byre, meaning "farm" and the suffix -ham meaning "homestead". Famously borne by the aristocratic poet, Lord Byron.
ByunKorean From Sino-Korean 邉 (Byun) meaning "Border".
BywaterEnglish The surname Bywater came from the Anglo-Saxon origin and means ’dweller by the water‘
CaamañoGalician This indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish in the municipality of Porto do Son.
CaanScottish, German, Jewish Altered spelling of Jewish Cohen, or probably denoted a person from the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Famous bearers of this surname include American actor James Caan (1940-2022), as well as his son Scott Caan (1976-), also a noted actor.
CaballoSpanish, Spanish (Latin American) Derived from the Spanish word cabello, ultimately derived from the Latin word caballus, meaning "horse". This denoted someone who worked in a farm that took care of horses, or someone who had personality traits attributed to a horse, such as energetic behaviour.
CabañaSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña ‘hut’, ‘cabin’ (Late Latin capanna, a word of Celtic or Germanic origin).
CabañasSpanish, Portuguese Habitational name from a place named with Spanish cabaña or Portuguese cabanha ‘hut’, ‘cabin’.
CabanissFrench Variant spelling of Cabanis, a habitational name from any of various places in Gard named Cabanis, from Late Latin capannis ‘at the huts’, ablative plural of capanna 'hut'... [more]
CabellCatalan, English, German As a Catalan name, a nickname for "bald" from the Spanish word cabello. The English name, found primarily in Norfolk and Devon, is occupational for a "maker or seller of nautical rope" that comes from a Norman French word... [more]
CabibboItalian Ultimately from the Arabic given name Habib, meaning "beloved, darling".
CableEnglish English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of rope, especially the type of stout rope used in maritime applications, from Anglo-Norman French cable ‘cable’ (Late Latin capulum ‘halter’, of Arabic origin, but associated by folk etymology with Latin capere ‘to seize’).... [more]
CacioppoItalian, Sicilian Derived from Sicilian cacioppu meaning "dried tree trunk", presumably applied as a nickname for someone with wizened skin, or from caciopu meaning "short-sighted" (derived from Greek kakiopes, literally meaning "having bad eyes").
ČádaCzech Descriptive nickname from Old Czech čad- "smoke", applied to someone with dark skin.
CadoganWelsh From the Welsh male personal name Cadwgan, literally probably "battle-scowler". Cadogan Estate is an area of Chelsea and Belgravia, including Cadogan Square, Sloane Street and Sloane Square, owned by the earls of Cadogan, descended from Charles Sloane Cadogan (1728-1807), 1st Earl Cadogan.
CadoretFrench, Breton From an old Breton given name Catuuoret meaning "protector in combat".
CaesarAncient Roman, English An Ancient Roman political title that indicated a military leader. A famous bearer was Julius Caesar, Roman general, dictator, and politician. In modern times, the surname is used to refer to an individual with a tyrannical attitude, which references the connotative meaning of the word "caesar", meaning "a dictator".
CagneyIrish Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Caingnigh meaning "descendant of Caingneach", a given name meaning "pleader, advocate". A famous bearer was American actor and dancer James Cagney (1899-1986).
CairdScottish Derived from Scottish Gaelic ceard meaning "craftsman, artist mechanic, travelling tinker".
CairnsScottish From Gaelic carn "cairn", a topographic name for someone who lived by a cairn, i.e. a pile of stones raised as a boundary marker or a memorial.
CakeEnglish From the Middle English cake denoting a flat loaf made from fine flour (Old Norse kaka), hence a metonymic occupational name for a baker who specialized in fancy breads. It was first attested as a surname in the 13th century (Norfolk, Northamptonshire).
ÇakırTurkish Means "greyish blue (eyes)" in Turkish.
ÇakmakTurkish Means "lighter" in Turkish, referring to a tool used to ignite fire. This is also the name of a village in Antalya Province, Turkey.
CalabazaSpanish, Indigenous American Nickname from ‘calabaza’ meaning pumpkin squash. This is commonly used by Pueblos (Native Americans) in New Mexico.
CalafioreItalian, Sicilian altered form of Calaciura from the Greek name Kalokiourēs a variant of KalokyrēsKalokyrios meaning "good man".
CalamariItalian From Latin calamarius "relating to a writing reed, ink pen", a name for a scribe, or perhaps a fisherman from the Italian descendant calamaro "squid, calamari".
CalatayudSpanish From the city in Spain, in province of Zaragoza within the autonomous community Aragón. The name Calatayud came from the Arabic قلعة أيوب Qal‘at ’Ayyūb, "the qalat (fortress) of Ayyub".
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.
CalderScottish Habitational name from any of the places called Calder in Midlothian and Caithness, or Cawdor in Nairnshire.
CalderaSpanish Derived from Spanish caldera meaning "basin, crater, hollow", ultimately from Latin caldarium or caldaria both meaning "hot bath, cooking pot". The word also denotes a depression in volcanoes, and it is commonly used as an element for surnames denoting streams or mountains.
CalderoneItalian From the Latin word Caldaria "cauldron". Given to someone who worked as a tinker or tinsmith. Italian cognitive of Calderón.
CaleroSpanish Metonymic occupational name for a burner or seller of lime, from calero ‘lime’.
CalfeeAnglo-Saxon This surname is a variant of the name Calf, which is a variant of the Old Norse Kalfr, however it is possible that it is a nickname for someone who had characteristics like a calf, or baby cow.
CalgerRomansh Derived from Romansh chalger "cobbler; shoemaker".
CaligiuriItalian Comes from the Greek words "kalos" meaning "beautiful" and "gheros" meaning "elderly," and was often given to children in the hopes that they would retain their beauty in their old age.
CalihuaNahuatl Meaning uncertain, possibly related to calli "house".
CalimlimFilipino, Pangasinan, Tagalog Topographic name denoting someone who lived in a shaded area, derived from the word limlim meaning "shade, impending darkness".
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.
CalliganIrish (Rare) Before Irish names were translated into English, Calligan had a Gaelic form of O Ceallachain, possibly from "ceallach", which means "strife".... [more]
CalonderRomansh Either derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and the given name Leonhard or from the name of the mountain Calanda.
CámaraSpanish Occupational name for a courtier or servant who could access the private quarters of a king or noble, from Spanish cámara meaning "room, chamber".
CaminoSpanish Derived from the Spanish word for "path", or "walkway". This could have been used to denote a person who lived near a path, or one who built paths for a living.
CammEnglish English (of Norman origin): habitational name for someone from Caen in Normandy, France.English: habitational name from Cam in Gloucestershire, named for the Cam river, a Celtic river name meaning ‘crooked’, ‘winding’.Scottish and Welsh: possibly a nickname from Gaelic and Welsh cam ‘bent’, ‘crooked’, ‘cross-eyed’.Americanized spelling of German Kamm.
CammarataItalian Habitational name from any of various places in Sicily named Cammarata, all derived from Greek καμάρα (kamara) meaning "vault".
CampagnaItalian Name for someone originally from any of various locations named Campagna, all derived from Latin Campania, itself from campus meaning "field".
CamperEnglish Respelling of German Kamper or Kämpfer (see Kampfer). The surname Camper is recorded in England, in the London and Essex area, in the 19th century; its origin is uncertain, but it may have been taken there from continental Europe.
CampionNorman, French English (of Norman origin) and French: status name for a professional champion (see Champion, Kemp), from the Norman French form campion.
CanadaFrench, English It derives from the Middle English "cane", a development of the Old French "cane", meaning cane, reed.
CanakTurkish From the Turkish town of Çanakkale. Canak is the Anglicised form, which may or may not retain its Turkish pronunciation.
CanalesSpanish Spanish: habitational name from any of several places called Canales, from canales, plural of canal ‘canal’, ‘water channel’, from Latin canalis.
CanavanIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ceanndubháin "descendant of Ceanndubhán", a byname meaning "little black-headed one", from ceann "head" combined with dubh "black" and the diminutive suffix -án.
CancinoSpanish A name for a person who first held the position of Chancellor.
CancioSpanish A name for a person who first held the position of Chancellor.
CancroItalian Derived from Italian cancro "cancer". Probably an occupational name for a person who catches, cooks, sells crabs.
CandelaSpanish, Italian, Sicilian, Catalan Either an occupational name for a chandler (a candle maker or candle seller) or a nickname for a tall thin person, derived from candela meaning "candle" (from Latin candela).
CandyEnglish Unexplained.There was a family of this name in Roussillon, France, descended from a partisan of James II named Kennedy, who was exiled in France in the 17th century. The family died out in France in 1868, but may have had an American branch.
CandyEnglish perhaps from Middle English candi "crystallized cane sugar" (via French from Persian qand "sugar") and used as a metonymic occupational name for a sugar merchant... [more]
CanelaSpanish Derived from the word 'canela' meaning cinnamon in Spanish. It Could also be a variant of the Catalan surname Candela.
CanellaItalian Italian regional surname denoting someone who lived by a canal. From the Italian canale 'canal', from the Latin canalis meaning "canal; conduit; groove; funnel; or ditch". Alternatively, it may come the genus name of wild cinnamon, a diminutive of the Latin canna "reed, cane".
CaneloSpanish From spanish canela meaning "cinnamon".
CanizalesSpanish (Latin American) This surname came from around the beginnings of 1800 in south regions of Colombia where sugar cane was cultivated. It's a variation of Cañizales, that literally means "sugar cane fields".
CannellaItalian Derived from the word "Cinnamon" in Italian meaning someone who was a baker and or made cinnamon.
CannerJewish (Anglicized, Modern, Rare) Anglicized (American) version of one of many Eastern European Ashkenazi surnames including Cahana, Cahane, Kahana, Kahane, etc. Cahana et al is a version of the common surname Cohen.
CañosaFilipino It is derived from the word 'Caña' meaning 'reed'. Born as a surname in before World War I, it is a newly formed family name built by Angelo Cañosa and his 2 siblings, formerly his birth surname is Caña when he and his siblings migrated to Agusan when they are wanted by the Spanish Authorities as they were berdugos(Killing Spanish allies)in their native place, Minglanilla and by rowing boats, they landed in Mindanao and he, Angelo Caña and his two siblings changed their family name into Cañosa... [more]
CanosaItalian It derives from the toponym Canosa di puglia.
CanovaRomansh Derived from Romansh casa "house" and nova, the feminine form of the adjective nov "new".
CanoyFilipino Possibly derived from Hokkien 橄欖孫 (ka-núi-sun) meaning "great-grandchild".
CantEnglish Means "singer in a chantry chapel", or from a medieval nickname for someone who was continually singing (in either case from Old Northern French cant "song").
CantagalloItalian From the name of a town, or possibly a nickname meaning "singing rooster".
CanterburyEnglish Habitational name from Canterbury in Kent, named in Old English as Cantwaraburg "fortified town (burgh) of the people (wara) of Kent".
CaouetteFrench (Quebec) Altered form of French Cahouet, itself a regional form of chat-huant meaning "screech owl", hence a nickname referring to the bird.