GagarinRussian A Russian surname derived from the word gagara, meaning loon (a waterbird, genus Gavia). Notable people with the surname include: Gagarin family, a Rurikid princely family.
GaglianoItalian Habitational name from a few places in Italy, which all derived from the Latin personal name Gallius
GainesEnglish, Norman, Welsh English (of Norman origin): nickname for a crafty or ingenious person, from a reduced form of Old French engaine ‘ingenuity’, ‘trickery’ (Latin ingenium ‘native wit’). The word was also used in a concrete sense of a stratagem or device, particularly a trap.... [more]
GaitánSpanish Originated from the Spanish word "gato," which means "cat." It is thought that the name may have been used to describe someone who had cat-like qualities, such as being agile or quick on their feet.
GaitánSpanish Derived from the city in Italy named Gaeta.
GaitherEnglish Occupational name for a goatherd, derived from Middle English gaytere literally meaning "goatherd".
GajdaSerbian, Croatian, Czech A slavicized variant of the German surname, Geidl. This was most notably used by Radola Gajda, a Czech military commander and politician who slaviczed his name from Rudolf Geidl.
GalanteItalian, French, Jewish Comes from the ancient French word "galant" meaning someone in love or who has fun. In the case of Mordecai Galante, a Spanish exile in 16th century Rome, his courteous manners won for him from the Roman nobles the surname "Galantuomo" (gentleman), from which Galante was eventually derived.... [more]
GalbraithScottish, Scottish Gaelic Ethnic name for someone descended from a tribe of Britons living in Scotland, from Gaelic gall ‘stranger’ + Breathnach ‘Briton’ (i.e. ‘British foreigner’). These were either survivors of the British peoples who lived in Scotland before the Gaelic invasions from Ireland in the 5th century (in particular the Welsh-speaking Strathclyde Britons, who survived as a distinctive ethnic group until about the 14th century), or others who had perhaps migrated northwestwards at the time of the Anglo-Saxon invasions.
GaleaBiblical Latin Galea in Latin is HELMET. The Galea was a Roman helmet in excess of 1000 BC. Another basis for the name was for a type of boat with oars and sails. The first Greek boats called galea, appeared around the second half of the 2nd millennium BC... [more]
GaleaSpanish, Italian, Maltese From Spanish galea "galleon, warship" presumably a metonymic occupational name for a shipwright or a sailor. Italian habitational name from Galea in Calabria.
GalkinRussian Derived from Russian галка (galka) meaning "jackdaw".
GałkowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Gałkowo or Gałków, both derived from Polish gałka meaning "knob, handle, lump".
GallSpanish In fact it is Catalan. See italian Gall... [more]
GallScottish, Irish, English Nickname, of Celtic origin, meaning "foreigner" or "stranger". In the Scottish Highlands the Gaelic term gall was applied to people from the English-speaking lowlands and to Scandinavians; in Ireland the same term was applied to settlers who arrived from Wales and England in the wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion of the 12th century... [more]
GallandFrench Nickname for a cheerful or high-spirited or bold person from Old French galant "lively vivacious" also "bold valiant" (the meanings "gallant" and "attentive to women" developed only in the 16th century) the present participle of Old French galer "to be in good humor to enjoy oneself" a word of ancient Germanic origin... [more]
GallantEnglish Nickname for a cheerful or high-spirited person, from Old French, Middle English galant "bold, dashing, lively". The meanings "gallant" and "attentive to women" are further developments, which may lie behind some examples of the surname.
GalletFrench Either a nickname for a cheerful companion a noun derivative of the Old French verb galler "to enjoy oneself to have fun". Or from a pet form of the personal name Gall.
GalliganIrish Shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Gealagáin 'descendant of Gealagán' a personal name from a double diminutive of geal 'bright white'.
GallowayScottish Scottish: regional name from Galloway in southwestern Scotland, named as ‘place of the foreign Gaels’, from Gaelic gall ‘foreigner’ + Gaidheal ‘Gael’. From the 8th century or before it was a province of Anglian Northumbria... [more]
GalpinEnglish English: occupational name for a messenger or scullion (in a monastery), from Old French galopin ‘page’, ‘turnspit’, from galoper ‘to gallop’.
GamKorean South Korean, from Sino-Korean "甘" (Gam) meaning "Sweet".
GamacheFrench, Walloon From French meaning "glove" or "mitten". Possibly an occupational name for a glover, someone who makes gloves or mittens, or had a connection to the glove-making industry.
GamageSinhalese Means "of the village" from Sanskrit ग्राम (grāma) meaning "village, settlement" combined with the Sinhala locative suffix -ගේ (-ge).
GamberiniItalian Possibly from the given name Gambrinus or Gambarus. The Italian word gambero "prawn, shrimp" has also been suggested as an origin.
GambinoItalian from a diminutive of gamba ‘leg’, probably applied as a nickname for someone with short legs.
GambleEnglish from the Old Norse byname Gamall meaning "old", which was occasionally used in North England during the Middle Ages as a personal name. ... [more]
GamboaSpanish, Filipino Castilianized form of Basque Ganboa. It is also a name for the quince tree (Cydonia oblonga).
GambonEnglish, Irish Derived from Anglo-Norman French gambon meaning "ham", itself derived from a Norman-Picard form of Old French jambe meaning "leg". A famous bearer is the Irish-English actor Sir Michael Gambon (1940-).
GamelinFrench From pet form of any of the compound personal names formed with gamal, related to Old Norse gamall, Old German gamel "old", "aged". ... [more]
GamizBasque The name of two settlements in Basque Country, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque gain "above, upper part; top, summit, peak" and the toponymic suffix -iz.
GammonEnglish From a medieval nickname applied to a merry or sportive person (from Middle English gamen "game"), or to someone who walked in a strange way or had some peculiarity of the legs (from Anglo-Norman gambon "ham").
GamoJapanese From 蒲 (ga) meaning "reed, bulrush" and 生 (mo) meaning "raw, fresh, unprocessed, natural".
GamonIrish This name is a last name for the Irish it means Liam Gamon.
GanChinese From Chinese 甘 (gān) of uncertain origin, possibly from the name of Shang dynasty minister Gan Pan or from the name of an ancient territory called Gan that existed in what is now Shaanxi province.
GanasGreek Occupational name for a coppersmith, from gana "coating", "verdigris". Possibly also a variant of Ganis.
GanboaBasque Habitational name of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque gain "height, summit, peak; over, above", or from the hypothetical archaic word *ganbo "hot spring, sulphurous water".
GanesanIndian Indian (Kerala, Tamil Nadu): Hindu name from Sanskrit gaṇeṣa ‘lord of the army’ ( see Ganesh ) + the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular suffix -n. This is found only as a given name in India, but has come to be used as a family name in the U.S.
GansGerman, Dutch Means "goose" in German and Dutch, either an occupational name for someone who worked with geese, a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a goose, or a nickname for someone walked oddly or was considered silly or foolish... [more]
GansGerman, Dutch From Old High German ganz "whole, intact, healthy", a nickname for a particularly strong or healthy person.
GanserGerman From the Middle High German word ganser meaning "gander", occupational name for a geese shepherd.
GantaFrisian Probably a habitational name for someone from Bant, in the 17th century an island in Friesland, now the village north of Emmeloord in the Noordoostpolder.
GantenbeinRomansh Derived from Romansh canta bein "he or she sings well".
GanusRussian Possibly derived from Russian анис (anis) referring to the anise (Pimpinella anisum) plant or from the Turkish given name Gainislam itself from Arabic عَيْن (ʿayn) meaning "spring, source" combined with the name of the religion Islam.
GarabedianArmenian Means "son of Garabed", an Armenian personal name meaning literally "leader, precursor" and traditionally used as an epithet of John the Baptist in the Armenian church.
GaraiBasque Means "height, summit, peak" and "high, tall; prominent, outstanding" in Basque.
GarandFrench nickname or status name from the Old French legal term garant "guarantor". perhaps from a personal name based on the ancient Germanic element warin "protection shelter" or "guard".
GarateBasque Habitational name from a town called Garate in Basque Country, or a topographic name, possibly from a derivative of Basque gara "height, peak" (garhaite in some dialects).
GarczyńskiPolish habitational name for someone from a place called Garczyn, in Gdańsk and Siedlce voivodeships.
GardeIndian Found among the Konkanasth Brahmins, probably from Marathi gəṛda ‘belch’.
GardeFrench from Old French garde "watch", "protection"; an occupational name for someone who kept watch or guard, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a vantage point or watchtower.
GardeaBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Laudio in Álava, Spain, of uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from Basque gari "wheat" and -di "place of, forest of", or from garagardi "barley field" and arte "in between"... [more]
GarfiasSpanish Nickname from the plural form of regional garfia 'claw paw' a word of Arabic origin.
GarfinkelYiddish Jewish (Ashkenazic) ornamental name or nickname from Yiddish gorfinkl ‘carbuncle’, German Karfunkel. This term denoted both a red precious or semi-precious stone, especially a garnet or ruby cut into a rounded shape (in which case it is an ornamental name), and a large inflamed growth on the skin like a large boil (in which case it is a descriptive nickname).
GarfunkelJewish, Yiddish From גאָרפֿינקל (gorfinkl), "carbuncle" in Yiddish, which in turns derives from German Karfunkel. A notable bearer of this surname is Art Garfunkel.... [more]
GaribaiBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Oñati, Spain, probably derived from Basque gari "wheat" and ibai "river". Alternatively, the first element could be garo "fern" or garai "high, tall, prominent".
GarlickEnglish (i) "grower or seller of garlic"; (ii) perhaps from a medieval personal name descended from Old English Gārlāc, literally "spear-play"; (iii) an anglicization of the Belorussian Jewish name Garelick, literally "distiller"
GarmendiaBasque, Spanish Garmendia is the surname of a family of the Basque Country region of Guipuzcoa, in Spain. The surname means "wheat mountain" in Basque from gar meaning "wheat" and mendi meaning "mountain"... [more]
GartenGerman, Jewish metonymic occupational name for a gardener or overseer of a garden or enclosure. Originally the term denoted the keeper of an enclosure for deer later of a vineyard or smallholding from Middle High German garte "garden enclosure"... [more]
GarthEnglish Means "garden" from northern Middle English garth (Old Norse garþr, garðr) "piece of enclosed ground; garden, paddock" originally denoting one who lived near or worked in a garden.
GartmannGerman (Swiss) Derived from Middle High German garte "garden; yard" and German Mann "man", this was occupational name for a gardener. In some cases it may have been a status name referring to the owner of a small (enclosed or fenced) farm or an occupational name for a worker at a deer preserve.
GartonEnglish habitational name from Garton or Garton on the Wolds in the East Yorkshire or from various minor places so named from Old English gara "triangular plot of land" and tun "farmstead".
GarufiItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly related to the Germanic given name Garulf, or to Arabic qaruf "hard, cruel".
GarvinIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gairbhín "descendant of Garbhán", a given name derived from a diminutive form of Old Irish garb "rough, coarse, rugged, cruel".
GarvinEnglish Derived from the Old English given name Garwine meaning "spear friend".
GarwoodEnglish Comes from a lost locational name from the Olde English gara, referring to a "triangular piece of land" or to a "spearhead", and wudu meaning a "wood".
GascoigneEnglish Originally denoted a person from the province of Gascony in France. A famous bearer is the English former soccer player Paul Gascoigne (1967-). Another was the television host and author Bamber Gascoigne (1935-2022).
GascónSpanish Spanish cognitive of Gascoigne. Habitational name for someone from the province of Gascony Old French Gascogne (see Gascoigne).
GąsiorPolish Means "gander (male goose)" in Polish. It was used as a nickname for a person who resembled a gander or as an occupational name for a keeper of geese.
GąsiorowskiPolish Name for someone from a place called Gąsiorowo or Gąsiorów, both derived from Polish gąsior meaning "gander".
GaskillEnglish Meaning "Goat Shelter". English (Lancashire) habitual name from Gatesgill in Cumbria, so named from Old Norse geit ‘goat’ + skáli ‘shelter’. The surname is first recorded in the early half of the 14th Century.
GassmannGerman, Jewish From German Gasse or Yiddish גאַס (gas), both from Middle High German gazze, meaning "street", denoting someone who lived in a street of a city, town or village.... [more]
GatchalianFilipino, Tagalog From a Hispanicised spelling of Gat Sa Li-Han, a Chinese title meaning "lord of Li-Han". It was used by the rulers of Li-Han, an ancient Philippine state that was located in the present-day city of Malolos.
GatdulaFilipino, Tagalog This surname honors Lakan Dula, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Tondo, via his alternative name Gat Dula. In it, the word or prefix Gat is a shortened version of the Tagalog honorific Pamagat, which at the time meant "nobleman," while Dula possibly means "palace." Altogether, it means "Nobleman of the Palace."
GatenbyEnglish Derives from the place of Gatenby in North Yorkshire, which comes from an Old Norse personal name "Gaithen", likely from Old Norse geitin "goats" (later influenced by Old English gāt "goat") and the suffix býr "farm, settlement", referring to a settlement with goats... [more]
GatlinEnglish English of uncertain origin; probably a variant of Catlin or Gadling, a nickname from Old English gœdeling ‘kinsman’, ‘companion’, but also ‘low fellow’.
GatlinGerman Possibly an altered spelling of German Göttling, from a Germanic personal name formed with god ‘god’ or god ‘good’ + -ling suffix of affiliation, or, like Gättling (of which this may also be an altered form), a nickname from Middle High German getlinc ‘companion’, ‘kinsman’.
GatmaitanFilipino, Tagalog From a Hispanicised form of Gat Maitan, a title meaning "lord of Mait" that was used by rulers of an ancient place named Mait or Maitan.
GatoSpanish Gato is a Spanish, Portuguese and Galician word for cat.
GattoItalian Derived from Old Italian gatto meaning "cat", ultimately from Late Latin cattus. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a cat in some way.
GattonEnglish Gat means "goat" and ton from tun means "enclosure".
GattusoItalian, Sicilian Sicilian and Calabrian variant of Gatto, notably borne by the Italian former soccer player Gennaro Gattuso (1978-).
GatusFilipino, Tagalog From Old Tagalog gatos meaning "million" or Cebuano gatos meaning "hundred".
GauciMaltese Derived from Maltese Għawdex through Arabic غودش (ġawdeš) which refers to the island of Gozo in the Maltese archipelago. The name itself is of Phoenician origin (through a Greek borrowing) possibly meaning "turn around"... [more]