AlcaláSpanish (Latin American) Derived from numerous towns with this name (fortified villages during the Moorish occupation of Spain), derived from Arabic القلعة (al-qalʿah) meaning "fortress, fortification, citadel".
AlcaldeSpanish Spanish: from alcalde 'mayor' from Arabic al-qāḍī 'the judge' a title dating from the days of Moorish rule in Spain.
AlcántaraSpanish Habitational name denoting someone originally from the municipality of Alcántara in Extremadura, Spain. The name is ultimately derived from Arabic اَلْقَنْطَرَة (al-qanṭara) meaning "the bridge".
AlcázarSpanish Habitational name from any of various places for example in the provinces of Ciudad Real Cuenca and Granada named with the word alcázar "citadel" or "palace" (from Arabic al "the" and qaṣr "fortress" a borrowing of Latin castrum; see Castro).
AlcockEnglish From a diminutive of given names starting with Al-.
AlcornScottish Scottish variation of Allcorn, a name that originally came from Alchorn, a manor in the parish of Rotherfield, Sussex.
AlcottEnglish English: ostensibly a topographic name containing Middle English cott, cote ‘cottage’ (see Coates). In fact, however, it is generally if not always an alteration of Alcock, in part at least for euphemistic reasons.
AldereteSpanish Habitational name from any of the places in Galicia (Spain) and Portugal called Alderete probably from a Gothic personal name or derived from the Old English personal, or first name “Aldrich,” which means old ruler
AldermanEnglish Status name from Middle English alderman, Old English ealdorman, "elder". In medieval England an alderman was a member of the governing body of a city or borough; also the head of a guild.
al-DosariArabic Means "the Dosari" in Arabic, referring to a person from the Dawasir (الدواسر) Bedouin tribe of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The tribe was formed in the town of Wadi Al Dawasir, in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia.
AldousEnglish Aldous is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest of 1066 brought to England. It comes from the Old English female given name Aldus. Ald, the first part of the name, means old.
AldridgeEnglish habitational name from a place in the West Midlands called Aldridge; it is recorded in Domesday Book as Alrewic, from Old English alor ‘alder’ + wīc ‘dwelling’, ‘farmstead’.
AlemánSpanish from alemán an ethnic name for a German also used as a nickname for a Spanish person having some connection with Germany. Cognate to Allman and Allemand.
AleongTrinidadian Creole, Caribbean, Chinese The surname Aleong is likely of Chinese origin, commonly found in Trinidad and Tobago and other parts of the Caribbean. It may be derived from the Chinese surnames Liang (梁), meaning "bridge" or "beam," or Long (龙), meaning "dragon," both of which carry symbolic cultural significance.
AlerEnglish (Rare), German From the alder tree, a tree found in the Americas, Europe and parts of Asia. The much less common given name Aler is possibly derived from it.
AlfesJewish Official website of the the City of Alfés (in the Province Lleida, Catalonia, Spain) says:... [more]
AlfieriItalian From Italian alfiere "standard-bearer, ensign", ultimately from Arabic فارس (al-faris) "horseman, rider; knight, cavalier". May alternately derive from the Germanic given name Adalfarus, meaning "noble journey".
AlfordEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from any of several places in England, derived from Old English ford "ford, river crossing" and an uncertain first element, possibly eald "old", or the given name Ealdgyð.
AlforqueSpanish (Philippines) Possibly from the name of a place called Alforque in Zaragoza province, Spain, meaning uncertain.
AlhadeffJudeo-Spanish Possibly an occupational name for a weaver from Arabic الهداف (al-̣haddāf) meaning "the weaver's shuttle". Alternately, it may be from Arabic الهدى (al-hadā) meaning "the guided one".
AlhambraSpanish Refers to the Alhambra, a palace complex located in Granada, Spain. The name itself is derived from Arabic الْحَمْرَاء (Al-Ḥamrā) meaning "the red one" or, ultimately, from Arabic أَحْمَر (ʾaḥmar) "red".
AllaireBreton, French (Quebec) From the name of the town of Allaire (Alaer in Breton) in Brittany, France. Other theories suggest it may come from Hilaire or from Alor.... [more]
AllalaBasque, Spanish Variant spelling of Ayala, in at least one case altered to avoid confusion with an unrelated person of the same name, and apparently to distance the bearer from prejudice against hispanics.
AllamArabic originally an arabic name but has been used by english speakers. the name means "recognized" or "famous". in other languages it means "one who represents us" and in some languages translates as "flag"
AllelyIrish From Irish Mac Ailghile meaning "descendant of Ailghil".
AllemanFrench (Cajun), Spanish (Canarian), German From the French and Spanish word for "German". Believed to have originated in the Alsace-Lorraine region. Some holders of the name migrated to the Canary Islands and are part of the larger Isleños population that settled throughout the Americas... [more]
AllemannGerman (Swiss) Derived from German Alemanne, originally "member of the Alemanni tribe", this word came to denote "of Germanic descent". It was used to refer to members of the German-speaking population of Switzerland (as opposed to those who spoke one of the Romance languages; compare Welsch).
AllenEnglish Possibly derived from the feminine given name Aline, a medieval diminutive of Adeline.
AllendeBasque, Spanish Means "beyond, yonder; on the other side" in Spanish, though it possibly derives from Basque aihen "vine, shoot" or ale "grain" combined with the collective suffix -di, meaning "pasture, cereal field".
AllendorfGerman Habitational name from any of ten or more places called Allendorf.
AllgeierGerman The harried officials at Ellis Island began to assign surnames based upon the pronunciation of the name by the immigrant, rather than attempting to ferret out the actual spelling. ... [more]
AllgoodLiterature Combination of the English words "all" and "good". It is used to denote a virtuous or heroic character in works of fiction.
AllinghamEnglish Habitational name from places called Allingham.
AllisEnglish From the Middle English and Old French female personal name Alis (Alice), which, together with its diminutive Alison, was extremely popular in England in the Middle Ages. The personal name is of Germanic origin, brought to England from France by the Normans; it is a contracted form of Germanic Adalhaid(is), which is composed of the elements adal "noble" and haid "brilliance, beauty".
AllisterScottish The name Allister is derived from the given name Alexander, which in turn was originally derived from the Greek name, which means defender of men. In the late 11th century, Queen Margaret introduced the name, which she had heard in the Hungarian Court where she was raised, into Scotland by naming one of her sons Alexander... [more]
AllorFrench (Quebec) Common Canadian spelling of the French surname Allard, reflecting the French pronunciation.
AllowayEnglish Means (i) "person from Alloway, Alloa or Alva", the name of various places in Scotland ("rocky plain"); or (ii) from the medieval male personal name Ailwi (from Old English Æthelwīg, literally "noble battle").
AllredEnglish From the Middle English personal name Alured, a form of Alfred, which was sometimes written Alvred, especially in Old French texts.
AlmaguerCatalan Habitational name from a place in Valencia named Almaguer.
AlmanzaSpanish Originally indicated a person from Almanza, a city in northern Spain. The city's name itself is derived from Arabic المنزل (al-manzil) meaning "the house".
AlmánzarSpanish (Caribbean) Derived from Arabic المنظر (al manẓar) meaning "the view" or "the lookout". This surname is primarily used in the Dominican Republic.
AlmarzaSpanish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 localities: the Castilian municipality of Almarza, Comarca of El Valle or the Riojan municipality of Almarza de Cameros.
AlmazánSpanish Habitational name demoting someone originally from the municipality of Almazán in Castile and León, Spain. The name itself is derived from Arabic المكان المحصن (al-makān al-ḥiṣn) meaning "the fortified place" or "the stronghold".
AlmendingerUpper German, German (Swiss) Habitational name for someone from a place called Allmendingen, of which there are two examples in Switzerland, in the canton of Bern, and one in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
AlmiraSpanish, Spanish (Philippines) Occupational surname meaning "admiral", referring to the highest rank in the navy, derived from the Spanish almirante meaning "admiral"
AlmondEnglish From the Middle English personal name Almund, from Old English Æthelmund, "noble protection" and variant of Allman, assimilated by folk etymology to the vocabulary word denoting the tree.
AlmonteSpanish From a place between Huelva and Sevilla. Means "the mountain".
AlomarCatalan From the given name Alomar, used especially in the Balearic Islands, itself derived from the Old German name Aldemar. This is borne by the Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Alomar (1968-).
AlsopEnglish Habitational name, now chiefly found in the Midlands, for a person from Alsop-en-le-Dale, a chapelry in the parish of Ashborne, Derbyshire. The place name itself meant "Ælle's valley" from the genitive of the Old English personal name Ælle and Old English hōp meaning "enclosed valley" (compare Hope).
AlstonEnglish A locational surname, derived from the many townships in England of the same name, meaning 'of the old manor or of the hillside'
AlthoffGerman A surname predominantly found in Westphalia and the Rhineland region of Germany which is derived from German alt "old" and Hof (Hoff in the local dialects) "farmstead; farm; manor".
AltmeyerGerman Status name for an older steward, headman, or tenant farmer, as distinguished from a younger one, from Middle High German alt ‘old’ + meier ‘steward’, ‘headman’, ‘tenant farmer’
AltoEstonian Alto is an Estonian surname meaning "from below".
AltonEnglish From a place name meaning "town at the source of the river" in Old English.
AltounianArmenian Meaning unknown. A famous bearer was Roger Altounyan (1922-1987), Anglo-Armenian physician and the namesake of Roger in the Swallows and Amazons books series.
AltringerGerman Habitational name for someone from a place called Altringen or Aldingen, of which there are two in Württemberg.
AltschulerJewish It is derived from the Altschul, Old Synagogue in Prague.
AlyeaFrench (Huguenot) From D'Ailly. It can be traced back to France in 1400's. The family with this last name came over to the United States, mainly on the East Coast in the 16th century as huguenot refugees.
Al-ZahraniArabic Means "the Zahrani" in Arabic, referring to the Zahran (زهران) tribe in Saudi Arabia. The name itself is derived from Arabic زهراني (zahran) meaning "flowering, blossoming", ultimately from زَهْرَة (zahra) meaning "flower, blossom" (see Zahrah).