CapeFrench, English (British) French and English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of capes and cloaks, or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore a cloak or cape, from Middle English and Old Norman French cape ‘cape’, ‘cloak’, ‘hooded cloak’ (in French also ‘hood’ or ‘hat’), from Late Latin cappa, capa, probably a derivative of caput ‘head’ (see Capp)... [more]
ČapekCzech Derived from a diminutive of Czech cáp meaning "stork", applied as a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a stork. In some cases the family name may have derived from a heraldic symbol.
CapelEnglish From the Domesday Book of 1086, from the old French word 'capele' meaning chapel.
CapriItalian habitational name for someone from Capri the island in the Bay of Naples.
CaprioItalian from Latin caprae ‘goats’ or possibly from Greek kapros "(wild) boar" and so a metonymic occupational name for a goatherd or swineherd or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a goat or boar.
CapshawEnglish Unexplained. Perhaps a habitational name from Cadshaw near Blackburn, Lancashire, although the surname is not found in England.
CapuaItalian Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km (16 mi) north of Naples on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now.... [more]
CaraccioloItalian Famous bearer of this surname is Canadian-Italian singer Alessia Caracciolo (1996-).
CaradineEnglish, German (Anglicized) Americanized form of German Gardein, itself a Germanized spelling of French Jardin. It could also denote someone from the village and civil parish of Carden in Cheshire, England.
CarafaItalian It could derive from toponyms such as Caraffa del Bianco in the province of Reggio Calabria or Caraffa in the province of Catanzaro.... [more]
CarandangFilipino, Tagalog Occupational name for someone who dried things using fire, derived from Tagalog dangdang meaning "heating, toasting, drying through exposure to fire or glowing coals".
CarawayEnglish Probably means "spice merchant" (from Middle English carewei "caraway").
CarbajalSpanish, Judeo-Spanish Probably a habitational name denoting someone originally from any of the multiple locations called Carbajal in León, Asturias, or Zamora in Spain. Alternatively, it may be of pre-Roman origin from the word carbalio meaning "oak", denoting someone who either lived near an oak tree or who was like an oak tree in some way.... [more]
CardEnglish English: metonymic occupational name for someone who carded wool (i.e. disentangled it), preparatory to spinning, from Middle English, Old French card(e) ‘carder’, an implement used for this purpose... [more]
CardoSpanish, Italian From cardo "thistle, cardoon" (from Latin carduus) either a topographic or occupational name for using wool carder thistles, or from the given name Cardo a short form of given names Accardo, Biancardo, or Riccardo.
CardonFrench from the name of several places in southern France called (Le) Cardon. Or from Old Norman French cardon "thistle" (a diminutive of carde from Latin carduus) hence a topographic name for someone who lived on land overgrown with thistles an occupational name for someone who carded wool (originally a process carried out with thistles and teasels) or perhaps a nickname for a prickly and unapproachable person... [more]
CardoneItalian, Sicilian From Sicilian carduni "thistle, teasel, cardoon" possibly a topographic name but also could mean "rough, uncouth, stingy, or miserly".
CarducciItalian From Riccarduccio, an affectionate form of the given name Riccardo. A famous bearer of this surname is Italian poet Giosuè Carducci (1835-1907), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1906.
CardwellEnglish From the traditionally British surname, which is a variant of the British surname Caldwell, a from the Old English cald "cold" and well(a) "spring, stream".
CareEnglish Occupational name for a locksmith, Middle English keyere, kayer, an agent derivative of keye.
ĈaristoEsperanto Occupational name for a charioteer, from ĉaro, meaning "a chariot, wagon, or cart", and -isto, a suffix used for professions.
CarlanIrish Anglicized form of Irish O'Carlain or O'Caireallain, from the Irish carla meaning a "wool-comb" and an meaning "one who" which roughly translates as "one who combs wool"... [more]
CarlanderSwedish Combination of the given name Karl or Swedish karl "man" and ander, from classical Greek andros, "man".
CarlbergSwedish Combination of the given name Carl or Swedish karl "man", and berg "mountain".
CarlinSwedish (Rare) Combination of the given name Karl, which is also a common place name prefix, and the common surname suffix -in (originally from Latin -inus "descendant of").
CarlyonCornish Cornish: habitational name from any of three places in Cornwall called Carlyon, in St. Minver and Kea parishes. The first element is Celtic ker ‘fort’; the second could represent the plural of Cornish legh ‘slab’.
CarmackEnglish Anyone with information about this last name please edit.
CarmichaelScottish, English From the name of a village in Scotland meaning "fort of Michael", from Welsh caer meaning "fortress" and the given name Michael.
CarneiroPortuguese, Galician Means "ram" in Portuguese and Galician, either used as an occupational name for a shepherd or a habitational name for someone from any of various places called Carneiro.
CarnellEnglish A crossbowman or archer who protected castles and fortresses.
CarnigliaItalian Derived from the Latin word “carnem”, meaning “flesh”, and likely referred to a person who worked with meat or was a butcher. The surname may have also been adopted as a nickname for someone who was particularly robust or fleshy.
CarosellaItalian From carosello "carousel, merry-go-round", possibly a nickname for a farmer, as a carousel was an allotment of grain collected by farmers. Also a type of jousting tournament.
CarradineEnglish, German (Anglicized) Variant spelling of Caradine. This name is borne by members of the Carradine family of actors, notably the American actor John Carradine (1906-1988).
CarrasquilloSpanish The surname Carrasquillo is of Spanish origin and it is derived from the word "carrasca" which means "holm oak". Therefore, the name roughly translates to "a place where there are holm oaks".
CarrawayEnglish (British) The name Carraway belongs to the early history of Britain, and its origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of one having lived on a road near a field or piece of land that was triangular in shape... [more]
CarreFrench French (Carré): from Old French carré "square", applied as a nickname for a squat, thickset man.
CarrelFrench French: from Old French quar(r)el ‘bolt (for a crossbow)’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of crossbow bolts or a nickname for a short, stout man. The word also meant ‘paving slab’, and so it could also have been a metonymic occupational name for a street layer... [more]
CarrellEnglish English: from Old French carrel, ‘pillow’, ‘bolster’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of these. In some cases perhaps an altered spelling of Irish Carroll... [more]
CarrenderEnglish (American) Probably from Scottish kerr meaning "rough, wet ground" combined with ender (possibly related to the end of something). It probably denoted someone who lived between rough, wet ground and normal ground.
CarreñoAsturian This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
CarreraSpanish, Italian Spanish: topographic name for someone living by a main road, carrera ‘thoroughfare’, originally a road passable by vehicles as well as pedestrians (Late Latin carraria (via), a derivative of carrum ‘cart’), or a habitational name from any of various places named with this word.... [more]
CarreyIrish Variant of Carey. A famous bearer is Canadian-American actor and comedian Jim Carrey (1962-).
CarrickScottish The possible roots of the Carrick family name may be from the ancient Strathclyde people of the the Scottish/English Borderlands. Carrick may also be of local origin, referring to those who lived in or near the place called Carrick in Ayrshire... [more]
CarrierEnglish An occupational name meaning someone who transports goods.
CarrierFrench From carrier, "quarrier, someone who works in a quarry". cf Carrara.
CarringtonEnglish, Scottish English: habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Carrington, probably named with an unattested Old English personal name Cara + -ing- denoting association + tun ‘settlement’.... [more]
CarriónSpanish It comes from the knight Alonso Carreño, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the town of Carrión de los Condes (Palencia), where he founded his solar house.
CarrizoSpanish Nickname for a person who's bold, shameless.
CarrowEnglish English: habitational name from either of two places: Carrow in Norfolk or Carraw in Northumberland. The first is thought to be named from Old English carr ‘rock’ (a Celtic loan word) + hoh ‘spur of a hill’, while the last may be named either from an Old British plural of carr, or from carr + Old English raw ‘row’... [more]
CarruthersScottish This old Scottish surname was first used by Strathclyde-Briton people. The Carruthers family in the land of Carruthers in the parish of Middlebie, Dumfriesshire. In that are it is pronounced 'Cridders'.... [more]
CartagenaSpanish From the name of the city of Cartagena in southeastern Spain, derived from Latin Carthāgō Nova meaning "New Carthage" (ultimately derived from Phonecian qrt-ḥdšt meaning "new city").
CartierFrench, Norman Original Norman French form of Carter. A notable bearer was Breton-French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), who is known for discovering the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
CartmanEnglish Originally referred to a man who worked with a cart. A famous bearer is Eric Cartman from the adult cartoon South Park
CartmellEnglish Denoted a person from Cartmel, a village in Cumbria, England (formerly in Lancashire). It is the site of a famous priory, inland from Cartmel Sands. The place name is derived from Old Norse kartr meaning "rocky ground" and melr meaning "sandbank".
CartmillAnglo-Saxon The name Cartmill is an old Anglo-Saxon name. It comes from when a family lived in or near the village of Cartmel in the county of Lancashire (now part of Cumbria.) Thus, Cartmill is a habitation surname which is derived from the name of a place... [more]
CarucciItalian Derived from Medieval Latin names Carutius or Caruccius or from the Italian term caruccio composed by caro meaning "dear" with the endearment suffix -uccio.
CarulliItalian It should derive from the late Latin cognomen Carullus, a hypochoristic form of the more widespread cognomen Carus.... [more]
CaruthersScottish Means "Rhydderch's fort" in Cumbric. This might refer to the king of Alt Clut, Rhydderch Hael.
CasadoSpanish Origin uncertain. Perhaps from casado "married", it may also be an alteration of Quesada.
CasagrandeItalian Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations called Casagrande or Casa Grande, derived from Italian casa meaning "house" and grande meaning "big, large".
CasanovaCatalan, Italian Catalan and Italian: topographic name from Latin casa ‘house’ + nova ‘new’, or a habitational name from any of the many places named with these words.
CasarrubiasSpanish Topographic name from the plural of Spanish casa rubia ‘red house’.
CasasSpanish Origin uncertain. Possibly from casas "houses", which was used for several location names. Alternatively, it may be a corruption of Casaus, which was the name of two French knights that helped in the conquest of Seville.
CasellaItalian From casa "house" (Latin casa "hut, cottage, cabin"), perhaps originally denoting the occupier of the most distinguished house in a village. Italian chef Cesare Casella (1960 - ) is one such bearer of this name.
CasementManx Anglicized and reduced form of Manx Gaelic Mac Asmuint meaning "son of Ásmundr". A notable bearer was Sir Roger Casement (1864-1916), an Irish-born British consular official and rebel.
CasesCatalan Catalan family name. Plural of 'casa' meaning 'house', possibly given to people who were given or built a manor or town house or had a slightly better than normal dwelling for their location/village etc..... [more]
CashionIrish Anglicized form of either Mac Caisin or Ó Caisin meaning "descendant of Caisín" (see Cassidy).
CassarMaltese Of debated origin and meaning. Theories include a derivation from the Italian given name Cesare (via the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) and a Maltese adoption of the Sicilian surname Cassarà... [more]
CassataItalian Derived from the Italian word cassata, denoting a sweet cake made with cheese and candied fruit.
CassattFrench Origin uncertain. This is not known as a surname in Britain. It may be an Americanized form of a French name such as Casault.
CasselEnglish, French, German A surname derived from the Latin military term castellum "watchtower, fort". A variant spelling of the word castle. Denoted someone hailing from the commune of Cassel in the Nord départment in northern France or the city of Kassel (spelled Cassel until 1928) in Germany... [more]
CasselberryGerman (Anglicized) Americanized form of German Kesselberg, which may derive from various places called Kesselberg or Kesselburg in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria in Germany.
CassellEnglish Either (i) "person from Cassel", northern France, or "person from Kassel", Germany ("fort"); or (ii) a different form of Castle ("person who lives by or lives or works in a castle")... [more]
CasseseItalian From Arabic قِسِّيس (qissis) "priest", perhaps a nickname for someone who worked for or was related to a priest, or perhaps someone who was notably pious.
CasseyScottish, Irish This surname originated around ancient Scotland and Ireland. In its Gaelic form it is called, 'O Cathasaigh', which means 'the watchful one'.... [more]
CastagnaItalian From Italian castagna "chestnut" (from Latin castanea) for someone who worked with chestnuts. Variant of Castagno and Italian cognitive of Chastain.
CastagnoItalian For someone who lived near a chestnut tree from castagno "chestnut" (from latin castanea). Variant of Castagna and Italian cognitive of Chastain.
CastañedaSpanish Habitational name from any of various places called Castañeda, a Spanish word meaning "chesnut grove", itself derived from castaña meaning "chesnut".
CastelFrench Topographic name from a derivative of Late Latin castellum "castle" (a diminutive of Latin castrum "fort Roman walled city") or a habitational name from any of several places called (Le) Castel... [more]
CastigliaItalian A Regional name for someone from Castile in Spain. Castile was an independent kingdom between the 10th and 15th centuries, it formed the largest power in the Iberian peninsula. The name derives from the many castles in the region.
CastiglioneItalian Habitational name for someone from any of various places called Castiglione, derived from Italian castiglione meaning "castle, fortress".