ChâtelainFrench from châtelain "lord (of the manor)" Old French chastelain (from Latin castellanus a derivative of castellum "castle") applied either as a status name for the governor or constable of a castle or as an ironic nickname.
ChaumontFrench Habitational name from any of numerous places called Chaumont "bald mountain" from the elements chalscaux "bald" and mont "mountain" (ultimately from Latin calvusmons) for example in Cher Orne Jura Haute-Savoie.
ChaunceyAmerican Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Norman French habitation names Chancé or an American adaptation of a German place name of Schanze located on the Upper Rhine. Could also be a short form of Chancellor.
ChavisLumbee The earliest possibly record of this is from 1728. The spelling at the time was possibly different. It was the surname of freed servant mulatto servant named Will Chaviss. In 1900 census of Robeson County, North Carolina the word was self-identified as a Lumbee last name.
ChawlaIndian, Hindi, Punjabi, Indian (Sikh) Derived from the name of a clan in the Arora community, which is apparently named with Sanskrit तांडुल (cawal) meaning "rice". Originating from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, the name is also derived from Aror (now Rohri) a city in the Sukkur District, Sindh, Pakistan, and the community comprises both Hindus and Sikhs.
CheeksPopular Culture This is the surname of Sandy a Cheeks from SpongeBob SquarePants.
CheemaPunjabi Meaning unknown. This is the name of a Punjabi-speaking subclan of the Jat people found in India and Pakistan, with most members being either Muslim or Sikh.
CheesemanEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of cheese.
CheeverEnglish Means "goatherd", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a goat (e.g. in capriciousness) (in either case from Anglo-Norman chivere "goat"). It was borne by American author John Cheever (1912-1982).
ChenThai Possibly a Name that Thai People with Chinese Descendants have. It has a Meaning of "Deserve".
CheneFrench Means "oak" in French. Perhaps it's named for someone who lived by an oak tree.
CheneryMedieval French, English (British, Anglicized, Modern) Derived from the Old French "chesne" for oak tree, or "chesnai" for oak grove, from the medieval Latin "casnetum". As a topographical name, Cheyne denoted residence near a conspicuous oak tree, or in an oak forest.
ChengHmong From the clan name Tsheej associated with the Chinese character 陳 (chén) (see Chen).
ChénierFrench French surname which indicated one who lived in an oak wood or near a conspicuous oak tree, derived from Old French chesne "oak" (Late Latin caxinus). In some cases it may be from a Louisiana dialectical term referring to "an area of shrub oak growing in sandy soil" (i.e., "beach ridge, usually composed of sand-sized material resting on clay or mud... [more]
ChenierFrench (Cajun) A sandy or shelly beach. Derived from the French word for wood, “chêne,” meaning oak.
ChernoffRussian, Jewish Alternative spelling of Chernov, a patronymic from the byname Chernyj meaning ‘black’, denoting a black-haired or dark-skinned person.
ChernovRussian From Russian чёрный (chyorniy) meaning "black".
ChernovaRussian Derived from Russian чёрный (chyorniy) meaning "black". Feminine counterpart of Chernov.
CherryEnglish From Middle English chirie, cherye "cherry", hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of cherries, or possibly a nickname for someone with rosy cheeks.... [more]
CheryFrench The name Chery is derived from the Anglo Norman French word, cherise, which means cherry, and was probably used to indicate a landmark, such as a cherry tree, which distinguished the location bearing the name.
ChestnutEnglish From Old French castan "chestnut tree" (Latin castanea), a name for someone who lived near a particular chestnut tree, or possibly a nickname for someone with chestnut-coloured hair (see Chastain).
ChestnuttEnglish "Chestnut." A notable bearer is Charles Waddel Chestnut, a novelist.
ChetcutiMaltese Derived from Arabic كتكوت (katkūt) meaning "(newborn) chick, young chicken".
ChevrierFrench Occupational name for a goatherd from an agent derivative of chèvre "goat" (from Latin capra "nanny goat").
ChewEnglish Habitational name from a place in Somerset named Chew Magna, which is named for the river on which it stands, a Celtic name, perhaps cognate with Welsh cyw ‘young animal or bird’, ‘chicken’.
CheyneEnglish Locational or topographical surname derived from Old French chesne, chesnai "oak tree, oak grove", ultimately derived from medieval Latin casnetum.
ChhayKhmer Khmer romanization of the Chinese surname Cai, which derives from the name of the ancient Cai state.
ChhetriNepali, Indian, Bengali Derived from Sanskrit क्षत्रिय (kṣatríya), the name of the Hindu social class consisting of warriors and rulers.
ChiaramonteItalian comes from the italian word chiara meaning "clear" and the the word monte meaning "mountain", possibly denoting someone who lived by clear mountians, hills, etc.
ChiassonFrench, English French surname originally denoting someone from the the municipality of Chiasso in Ticino, Switzerland, located along the Swiss/Italian border.... [more]
ChiavettaItalian From Italian "chiavetta", deriving from chiave meaning key.
ChicaSpanish Apparently from chica, feminine form of chico ‘small’, ‘young’ (see Chico), but a variant of the habitational name Checa, from a place so named in Jaén province is also a possibility.
ChiesaItalian Means "church" in Italian, originally a topographic name for someone who lived near a church, a habitational name from any of various places named Chiesa or perhaps an occupational name for someone who worked in a church.
ChildEnglish Nickname from Middle English child meaning "child", "infant".
ChildersEnglish Probably a habitational name from some lost place named Childerhouse, from Old English cildra "child" and hus "house". This may have referred to some form of orphanage.
ChildressAnglo-Saxon The surname Childress may have been a nickname for an orphan, or an occupational name applied to someone who ran an orphanage. Further research showed the name was derived from the Old English word cildra-hus, which means "children's house" or "orphanage".
ChinchillaSpanish Originally denoted a person from the Spanish town of Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón in the province of Albacete. The place name is possibly of Arabic origin.
ChindavongLao From Lao ຈິນດາ (chinda) meaning "imagination, meditation, reflection" and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family".
ChiodiItalian From Italian chiodo "nail", probably given to someone who made or sold nails.
ChiovaroSicilian Unknown meaning. Brought over to the United States from Sicilian immigrants, where the pronunciation changed from KEE-o-vah-row to SHIV-ahr-ow.
ChoateEnglish, Dutch The names of Choate and Chute are believed to have been of common origin and derived from the residence of their first bearers at a place called Chute in Wiltshire, England. Certain historians, however, state that the name of Choate was of Dutch origin and was taken by its first bearers from their residence at a place of that name in the Netherlands.
ChockalingamIndian, Tamil From a nickname referring to the Hindu god Shiva, composed of the Sanskrit words चोक्का (cokkā) meaning "alluring" and लिङ्गम् (liṅga) meaning "sign, symbol, mark".
ChoiceEnglish Derived from the personal names Josse or Goce, which are derived from the Latin word "gaudere" and is a cognate in origin with the word "joy."
ChokshiIndian From Gujarati čoksi ‘jeweler’, ‘assayer of gold and silver’, from čokəs ‘precise’, ‘circumspect’, a compound of čo- ‘four’, ‘four-way’, ‘all-round’ (Sanskrit čatus- ‘four’) + kəs ‘assaying’ (Sanskrit kạsa ‘rubbing’, ‘touchstone’).
ChopinFrench French and English: nickname for a heavy drinker, from Old French chopine, a large liquid measure (from Middle Low German schopen "ladle"). The derived Old French verb chopiner has the sense 'to tipple’, ‘to drink to excess’... [more]
ChoquetteFrench Altered spelling of French Choquet, a Picard form of Old French soquet, which was the term for a tax on wines and foodstuffs, hence a metonymic occupational name for a collector of such taxes.
ChoulesEnglish (British, Rare) The surname Choules is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a variant of Scholes, itself "a topographical name for someone who lived in a rough hut or shed", from the Northern Middle English 'scale, schole'... [more]
ChristGerman From the Latin personal name Christus "Christ" (see Christian). The name Christ (Latin Christus) is from Greek Khristos, a derivative of khriein "to anoint", a calque of Hebrew mashiach "Messiah", which likewise means literally "the anointed".
ChristmasEnglish Either an occupational name for someone who was responsible for arrangement of festivities for Christmas day, or it might a nickname for someone who was born on Christmas.
ChriswellEnglish Likely originated in England. Creswell seems to be the oldest spelling then gradually giving way to Criswell and Chriswell.
ChronisGreek From a short form of Greek Polychronis. The word χρόνος (chrónos) itself means "time" in Greek.
ChronowskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 5 Lesser Polish villages: Chronów-Kolonia Dolna, Chronów-Kolonia Górna, Chronówek, Chronów in Gmina Orońsko, or Chronów in Gmina Nowy Wiśnicz.
ChryslerGerman, Jewish From a German name referring to spinning or related to a Yiddish word, krayzl meaning "spinning top." The name can refer to a potter who spun a wheel to make utensils or to a person with curly hair or someone known for being continually active... [more]
ChrzanowskiPolish Originally denoted someone who came from a place called Chrzanów or Chrzanowo, both derived from Polish chrzan meaning "horseraddish".
ChuJapanese Variant transcription of Japanese Kanji 中 or 仲 (see Chū).
ChūJapanese Variant reading of Japanese Kanji 中 or 仲 (see Naka).
ChubbEnglish English (mainly West Country): nickname from Middle English chubbe ‘chub’ a common freshwater fish Leuciscus cephalus. The fish is notable for its short fat shape and sluggish habits and the word was used in early Modern English for a lazy spiritless person a rustic or a simpleton... [more]
ChurchwardAnglo-Saxon Churchward derives from Old English pre 7th Century 'cyrice' meaning church, plus 'weard', a ward of guardian, originally given as an occupation name to a church custodian.
CianciItalian The surname Cianci is a name for a person of small financial means. The surname Cianfari is derived from the Italian words cianfrone and cianferone, which referred to a type of medieval coin.
CiavarellaItalian From Sicilian ciavaredda "goat kid", an occupational name for a goatherd, or perhaps a nickname based on the bearer's appearance or behaviour.
CifuentesSpanish Habitational Name Probably From Cifuentes In Guadalajara Named From Spanish Cien ‘Hundred’ (From Latin Centum) + Fuentes ‘Springs’ (From Latin Fontes; See Font ) Because Of The Abundance Of Natural Springs In The Area.