BureOld Swedish, Swedish This was the name of an influential family in 16th century Sweden. The name originated from the village Bure (now known as Bureå) in Skellefteå parish in Northern Sweden. The village got its name from the nearby Bure River (Swedish: Bure älv, Bureälven) whose name was derived from the Swedish dialectal word burra "buzz, rumble".
BurelFrench metonymic occupational name for a worker in the wool trade or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in brown from Old French burelborel a diminutive of boure "frieze" a type of coarse reddish brown woolen cloth with long hairs (from Late Latin burra "coarse untreated wool").
BurgerEnglish, German, Dutch Status name for a freeman of a borough. From Middle English burg, Middle High German burc and Middle Dutch burch "fortified town". Also a German habitational name for someone from a place called Burg.
BurgioItalian Denoting someone from a town of the same name, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "high, lofty", possibly by way of Arabic بُرْج (burj) "tower", German burg "castle, fortification; settlement", French bourg "burg, market town", or Latin burgus "watchtower, fortified town".
BurgmeierGerman Occupational name for the tenant farmer of an estate belonging to a castle or fortified town, from Middle High German burc "(fortified) town, castle" and meier "tenant farmer" (see Meyer 1).
BurgosSpanish Surname from a place named Burgos of Spain.
BurkettEnglish English: from an Old English personal name, Burgheard, composed of the elements burh, burg ‘fort’ (see Burke) + heard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’... [more]
BurkhalterGerman Topographic name composed of the Middle High German elements burc "castle" "protection" and halter from halde "slope".
BurkhardtGerman Burk is German for "Strong", and hardt is the "heart of a castle".
BurkinsEnglish English variant of Birkin, Burkin, a habitational name from the parish of Birkin in West Yorkshire, so named with Old English bircen ‘birch grove’, a derivative of birce (see Birch).
BurkowskiPolish It is composed of buk (Common Slavic for "beech tree") and the Slavic suffixes -ov and -ski. In some cases, the name may originate from a toponym
BurlEnglish Old English occupational name originally meaning "cup bearer" or "butler" for one who dispensed wine and had charge of the cellar. Eventually the name came to mean the chief servant of a royal or noble household and was replaced by the French language inspired named 'Butler,' akin to the world "bottler".
BurlacuRomanian Probably means "bachelor" in Romanian, this is one of the most common surnames in Romania.
BurmeisterGerman North German: status name for the mayor or chief magistrate of a town, from Middle Low German bur ‘inhabitant, dweller’, ‘neighbor’, ‘peasant’, ‘citizen’ + mester ‘master’.
BurnellEnglish Derived from an Anglo-Norman personal name composed of a diminutive form of brun "brown", likely originating as a nickname for someone with a brown complexion or brown hair... [more]
BurnetteFrench Descriptive nickname from Old French burnete ‘brown’ (see Burnett). Possibly also a reduced form of Buronet, from a diminutive of Old French buron ‘hut’, ‘shack’.
BurneyEnglish, Irish Form of the French place name of 'Bernay' or adapted from the personal name Bjorn, ultimately meaning "bear".
BurnleyEnglish English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from Burnley in Lancashire, so named with the Old English river name Brun (from brun ‘brown’ or burna ‘stream’) + leah ‘woodland clearing’... [more]
BurrEnglish, Scottish, German Nickname for a person who is difficult to shake off, derived from Middle English burr meaning "bur" (a seedhead that sticks to clothing). It could also be a derivation from Old English bur meaning "small dwelling, building", or a German topographic name derived from burre meaning "mound, hill"... [more]
BurridgeEnglish Derived from an English place name, derived from Old English burg "fortress, fortification, castle" and Old English hrycg, Old Norse hryggr "ridge" or from the name Burgric.
BurzyńskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of various locations called Burzyn, derived from Polish burza meaning "storm, tempest".
BusDutch Possibly derived from Middle Dutch busse meaning "firelock" or "round box, tin", an occupational name for someone who made containers or firearms.
BusalacchiItalian Means "father of Zallaq", from Arabic أَبُو (abu) "father of" and الزلاق (zallaq) of unknown meaning, possibly related to the given name Salah 1 meaning "righteousness".
BusbyEnglish Habitational name from a place in North Yorkshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Buschebi, from Old Norse buskr "bush, shrub" or an Old Norse personal name Buski and býr "homestead, village", or from some other place so called.
BuscemiSicilian Name for someone originally from the town of Buscemi in Sicily, derived from the Arabic toponym قلعة أبي شامة (qal'at 'abi shama) meaning "castle of the man with the mole" or "castle of (the family of) Abi Shama".
BusfieldEnglish This is a locational surname and originates from the hamlet of 'Bousfield', eight miles from the town of Appleby in Cumberland. This hamlet was controlled by Norse Vikings for several centuries until the Norman invasion of 1066... [more]
BustamanteSpanish Habitational name for someone originally from the town of Bustamante in Cantabria, Spain, derived from Latin bustum Amantii meaning "pasture of Amantius".
BusterDutch Related to German Buste "blister, pimple, pockmark, ulcer", ultimately from Latin apostema "boil, abscess".
ButtaItalian Italian: from a short form of a compound name formed with butta- ‘throw’, as for example Buttacavoli.Italian: from an old German feminine personal name Butta.Italian: variant of Botta.
ButtacavoliItalian From Italian butta "to throw, toss" and cavoli "cabbages".
ButtafuocoItalian Means "linstock (staff for lighting a cannon)" in Italian, composed of butta "to throw, toss" and fuoco "fire", perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a gunner, or a figurative nickname for someone with a hot temper... [more]
ButterEnglish, German 1. English: nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a bittern, perhaps in the booming quality of the voice, from Middle English, Old French butor ‘bittern’ (a word of obscure etymology)... [more]
ButterfieldEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a pasture for cattle or at a dairy farm, or a habitational name from a place named Butterfield (for example in West Yorkshire), from Old English butere ‘butter’ + feld ‘open country’.
ButterflyEnglish From the insect Butterfly this Surname is borne by Star Butterfly from Star Vs. the forces of evil.
ButtermanDutch Occupational name for someone who made or sold butter.
BüttnerGerman Occupational name for a cooper or barrel-maker, an agent derivative of Middle High German büte(n) "cask", "wine barrel". This name occurs chiefly in eastern German-speaking regions.
BuxtonEnglish 1. A habitational name for someone from Buxton in Derbyshire, from the Middle English Buchestanes or Bucstones (meaning "bowing stones"), from Old English būgan meaning "to bow" and stanes, meaning "stones".... [more]
ByDutch Variant form of De Bie. Alternatively, could derive from a place name.
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‘
CaamalMayan From Mayan ka'amal meaning "twice", also taken to mean "self-conceited".
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]
CabantingCebuano From Cebuano banting meaning "brace, support, holdfast".
CabebePampangan Topographic name for someone who lived by a body of water, derived from Pampangan be'be meaning "shore, edge of a body of water".
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.
CaddickWelsh From the Welsh male personal name Cadog, a pet-form of Cadfael (a derivative of Welsh cad "battle").
CadeEnglish Either possibly from a Middle English form of the Old English personal name Cada itself probably of Brittonic origin from any of a number of names beginning with catu "battle"... [more]
CadenaSpanish From Aguilar de Campoo, a district of Villalon in Valladolid.
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".
CaflischRomansh Derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family", in combination with Flisch.
CageEnglish from Middle English, Old French meaning "cage, enclosure". Denoting someone who lived by or was the keeper of a cage, in the sense "lock-up, prison for petty offenders".
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).
CakebreadEnglish From Middle English cakebrede, bread made in flattened cakes, or of the finer and more dainty quality of cake.
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.