ChiaramonteItalian Italianized from of the French surname Clermont, using Italian chiaro "bright, clear" and monte "mountain". It was brought to Sicily from Picardy, France, by a branch of the House of Clermont in the 11th century, and several locations were subsequently named after them... [more]
ChiarenzaItalian From Clarence, a medieval Frankish town in Greece, called Chiarenza or Clarenza in Italian, rendered Γλαρέντζα (Glarentza) in contemporary Greek documents.
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", possibly referring to an orphanage.
ChildreyEnglish From the name of a village in Oxfordshire, England, derived from either the Old English given name Cilla or the element cille/cwylla "spring, well" combined with riþ "stream".
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".
ChinenJapanese, Okinawan From 知 (chi) meaning "wisdom, knowledge" and 念 (nen) meaning "feeling, sense".
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 Probably derived from the place name Chute in Wiltshire, England, or from the parish Shute in Devon. Alternatively, it could be from the Dutch surname Van Choate, itself derived from a location in France.
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".
ChodakPolish Chodak is a Polish surname, likely derived from "chodak", meaning a wooden shoe or clog
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, Dutch Either from a short form of the personal name Christian, or from a nickname meaning "the Christian", both from Latin Christ (see Christos 1).
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.
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).
ChuVietnamese Vietnamese form of Zhou, from Sino-Vietnamese 周 (chu).
ChuChinese From Chinese 褚 (chǔ) referring to the ancient fief of Chu, which existed in the state of Song in what is now Henan province.
ChuVietnamese Vietnamese form of Zhu, from Sino-Vietnamese 朱 (chu).
ChūJapanese Variant reading of Japanese Kanji 中 or 仲 (see Naka).
ChubaHungarian A name that deserves better knowledge of for how it may soon disappear in my family.
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]
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.
CimineraItalian from a dialect variant of ciminiera "chimney" hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who built chimneys or worked a furnace oven or kiln with a chimney or a nickname for a tall thin person.
CiminoItalian Occupational name for a spice dealer, from cimino "cumin", Sicilian ciminu.
CinnamondScottish, Irish, English Possibly originates from Scottish place name Kininmonth. Probably introduced to Northern Ireland by Scottish settlers where it remains in Ulster. Another origin is the French place name Saint Amand originated from French Huguenots settling in Ireland.
CintronSpanish Spanish form for the french "Citroen". Original from Puerto Rico.
CisnerosSpanish Habitational name from Cisneros, a place in the province of Palencia, named with a derivative of Spanish cisne 'swan' (via Old French and Latin from Greek kyknos).
CitroItalian From Italian meaning "citrus fruit". Possibly an occupational name for someone who sells or raise any citrus fruit.
CitronFrench, Venetian Ultimately from Latin citrum meaning "lemon, citrus fruit". Possibly an occupational name for someone who sells or raise lemons or any citrus fruit.
CitroneEnglish, Italian Ultimately from Latin citrum meaning "lemon, citrus fruit". Possibly an occupational name for someone who sells or raise lemons or any citrus fruit.
ClagueManx Shortened Anglicization of either Gaelic Mac Luathóg "son of Luathóg", itself derived from a diminutive of Gaelic luath, Manx leah "swift", or from Gaelic Mac Laoghóg "son of Laoghóg", which is derived from a diminutive of Gaelic laogh and Manx lheiy "calf".
ClahNavajo From Navajo nitłʼa meaning "he is left-handed".
ClaretCatalan Diminutive of clar meaning "clear, bright". This is the name of various towns in Catalonia. A famous bearer of this surname is Catalan saint and missionary Antonio María Claret (1807-1870).
ClavelSpanish Metonymic occupational name for a spice trader or a nail maker, derived from Spanish clavel or Catalan clavell meaning "nail", later also "clove", itself a derivative of Latin clavellus "nail".
ClavelFrench Metonymic occupational name for a nail maker, ultimately from Latin clavellus "nail", but in some cases possibly from the same word in the sense "smallpox, rash". A fictional bearer is Miss Clavel, a nun and teacher in Ludwig Bemelmans's 'Madeline' series of children's books (introduced in 1939).
ClavellFrench, Catalan The first documented records of the surname Clavell appear in Catalunya between 1291 and 1327. The word clavell traces back to the Indo-European words "kleu", later "klawo" meaning a metal tool. In Latin "clavus", it eventually became a surname "Clavell".