HodnyCzech My great grandfather Frank Hodny homesteaded in Lankin, North Dakota, came from Czechoslovakia in 1870's. With his brother Joseph Hodny, both had large families. ... [more]
HodsonEnglish Hodson is a very interesting surname in that it has multiple origins, depending on the Hodson lineage in question. ... [more]
HoeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a spur of a hill.
HolbrookEnglish, German (Anglicized) English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Derbyshire, Dorset, and Suffolk, so called from Old English hol ‘hollow’, ‘sunken’ + broc ‘stream’. ... [more]
HolcombEnglish Habitational name from any of various places, for example in Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Oxfordshire, and Somerset, so named from Old English hol meaning "hollow", "sunken", "deep" + cumb meaning "valley".
HoldenEnglish, Irish habitational name from one or more of various places so named especially Holden in Haslingden (Lancashire) but also Holden in Bolton and Holden in Silsden (both Yorkshire) Holedean Farm in Henfield and Holden in Rotherfield (both Sussex) Holding Farm in Cheriton and Woolding Farm in Whitchurch (Hampshire) and Holden in Southborough (Kent)... [more]
HolderGerman, Jewish, English 1. German: topographic name for someone who lived by an elder tree. Middle High German holder, or from a house named for its sign of an elder tree. In same areas, for example Alsace, the elder tree was believed to be the protector of a house... [more]
HolladayEnglish English: from Old English haligdæg ‘holy day’, ‘religious festival’. The reasons why this word should have become a surname are not clear; probably it was used as a byname for one born on a religious festival day.
HollandRomani Holland is an English surname that was adopted by some Romani families that immigrated to England in the 1500s. It is unclear if the surname was simply adopted, or if it an anglicised form of a Romani surname.
HollandsworthEnglish (British, Rare) Possibly an alternative spelling of Hollingsworth. Likely named after the town of Holisurde(1000s AD)/Holinewurth(1200s)/Hollingworth(Present) The town's name means "holly enclosure"
HolleyEnglish English (chiefly Yorkshire) topographic name from Middle English holing, holi(e) ‘holly tree’. Compare Hollen.
HollidayScottish An ancient Scottish name that was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for someone who lived near the mountain called Holy Day in the country of Annandale.
HollierEnglish, French Occupational name for a male brothel keeper, from a dissimilated variant of Old French horier "pimp", which was the agent noun of hore "whore, prostitute". Hollier was probably also used as an abusive nickname in Middle English and Old French.... [more]
HollifieldEnglish habitational name from a minor place called as "the holy field" (Old English holegn "holy" and feld "open country") perhaps Holyfield in Waltham Holy Cross (Essex) or less likely for linguistic reasons Hellifield (Yorkshire).
HollingsheadEnglish Habitational name from a lost place in County Durham called Hollingside or Holmside, from Old English hole(g)n "holly" and sīde "hillside, slope"; there is a Hollingside Lane on the southern outskirts of Durham city... [more]
HollywoodEnglish Habitational name from any of various farms or hamlets in England called Hollywood such as one in Sandon and Burston (Staffordshire) perhaps named with Middle English holegn "holly" and wudu "wood".
HolmanDutch Topographic name for a dweller in a hollow
HolsteinGerman habitational name from the province of Holstein long disputed between Germany and Denmark. This gets its name from holsten the dative plural originally used after a preposition of holst from Middle Low German holt-sate "dweller in the woods" (from Middle Low German holt "wood" and satesete "tenant")... [more]
HolterEnglish, German, Norwegian Derived from English holt meaning "small wood". A topographic name for someone who lived near a small wooden area, as well as a habitational name from a place named with that element.
HolthausGerman North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a copse (a small group of trees), from Middle Low German holt ‘small wood’ + haus ‘house’.
HoltzclawGerman (Anglicized, Modern) Americanized spelling of German Holzklau, which translates into modern German as "wood thief", but is probably a nickname for someone who gathered wood, from Middle High German holz "wood" + a derivative of kluben "to pick up", "gather", "steal".
HoltzmannUpper German, German Derived from the Upper German word "holz," which means "forest." Thus many of the names that evolved from this root work have to do with living in the woods
HolyfieldEnglish, Scottish Although the Scottish surname is known to derive from the Medieval Latin word "olifantus," meaning "elephant," its origins as a surname are quite uncertain. ... He was one of the many Anglo-Norman nobles that were invited northward by the early Norman kings of Scotland.
HolyoakEnglish Habitational name from Holy Oakes (Leicestershire) or else a topographic name from residence near a "holy oak" (or "gospel oak") from Middle English holy "holy" and oke "oak" (from Old English halig and ac).
HolzbergGerman Habitational name from any of various places called Holzberg for example in Hesse and Silesia.
HolzhauerGerman Occupational name for a "lumberjack, woodsman" with the element holz "forest".
HolzingerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from any of various places called Holzing or Holzingen.
HomolkaCzech From homolka meaning "(cone-shaped lump of) cream cheese". The word homolka itself is derived from homole "cone". This was either a nickname for a mild person or an occupational name for someone who made cheese.
HoneggerSwiss Arthur Honegger (10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer, and a member of Les Six, a group of composers associated with Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. His most famous work is "Pacific 231".
HoodEnglish, Scottish, Irish English and Scottish: metonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Middle English hod(de), hood, hud ‘hood’. Some early examples with prepositions seem to be topographic names, referring to a place where there was a hood-shaped hill or a natural shelter or overhang, providing protection from the elements... [more]
HoogenboomDutch Topographic name for someone living by a tall tree, "tall tree", or a habitational name from places called Hoogboom and Hogenboom in the Belgian province of Antwerp, meaning "tall tree".
HoornGerman (Austrian) From the Germanic word horn meaning "horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.
HootDutch, German The Dutch form is a habitation name for someone who lived in the hout or "woods" while the German form hoth is from an occupational name for a maker of hats.
HoriuchiJapanese From Japanese 堀 (hori) meaning "ditch, moat, canal" and 内 (uchi) meaning "inside".
HörmannGerman The distinguished surname Hormann is of very ancient German origin. It is derived from a Germanic personal name made up of the elements "heri," meaning "army," and "man," meaning "man."
HornbyEnglish A habitational name from locations called Hornby in northern England, though predominantly associated with Lancashire. Derived from the Norse horni meaning "horn" and býr meaning "farm" or "settlement".
HorneckerGerman Habitational name denoting someone from any of various places called Horneck.
HornerEnglish 1 English, Scottish, German, and Dutch: from Horn 1 with the agent suffix -er; an occupational name for someone who made or sold small articles made of horn, a metonymic occupational name for someone who played a musical instrument made from the horn of an animal, or a topographic name for someone who lived at a ‘horn’ of land.... [more]
HorneyGerman (Anglicized) German: Eastphalian or Americanized form of a personal name composed of the Germanic elements hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’ + nit ‘battle fury’, ‘eagerness to fight’, or a habitational name from a place so called in Brandenburg or in the Rhineland... [more]
HornsbyEnglish A habitational name from Cumbria, derived from the Norse Ormr meaning "serpent" and býr meaning "farm". Similar in form to Hornby, Hornsby is a widespread surname in northern England.
HortaCatalan, Portuguese Means "garden" (Latin hortus), hence a topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosed garden or an occupational name for one who was a gardener.
HorvitzEnglish (American) Surname of Richard Steven Horvitz, a voice actor in Angry Beavers, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Invader Zim.
HorwitzYiddish Derived from the Yiddish pronunciation of the name of the town of Hořovice in Bohemia.
HosmerEnglish From the Old English name Osmaer, a combination of the Old English elements oss, meaning "god", and maer, meaning "fame".
HosnerGerman Occupational name for a knitter of hose (garments for the legs), from the plural form of Middle High German hose + the agent suffix -er (see Hose 3).
HostetlerGerman The name itself comes from the word Hostet or Hochstatt meaning "high place". Thus Hostetler is someone living in a high place or on high ground.
HotalingEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of Dutch Hoogteijling, an indirect occupational name for a productive farmer, from hoogh ‘high’ + teling ‘cultivation’, ‘breeding’.
HotzGerman (Swiss), German Of debated origin and meaning; theories include a habitional name for someone from the Hotzenwald, a derivation from any given name containing the Germanic name element hadu "battle, combat" and a derivation from the verb hotzen "to swing, to sway, to tremble".
HoughEnglish English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Cheshire and Derbyshire, so named from Old English hoh ‘spur of a hill’ (literally ‘heel’). This widespread surname is especially common in Lancashire... [more]
HoughtonEnglish English habitational name from any of the various places so called. The majority, with examples in at least fourteen counties, get the name from Old English hoh ‘ridge’, ‘spur’ (literally ‘heel’) + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
HousemanEnglish Referred to a man who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut (see House). Famous bearers of this name include Romanian-British-American actor John Houseman (1902-1988; real name Jacques Haussmann), Argentine soccer player René Houseman (1953-2018) and Canadian actor Tyson Houseman (1990-).
HovdaNorwegian Habitational name from the many farmsteads in Norway named Hovda. Derived from Old Norse hófði "rounded peak", itself derived from Old Norse hofuð "head".
HowaldGerman From any several places named, from the elements hoh "high" and wald "forest".
HowarthEnglish "From a hedged estate", from Old English haga ("hedge, haw") and worð ("farm, estate"). Likely originating from the Yorkshire village of the same name. Common in Lancashire and recorded from at least 1518, as Howorthe, with an earlier version of Hauewrth in Gouerton dated 1317 recorded in the Neubotle charters.
HowcroftEnglish Means "enclosed field on a hill". Derived from the words haugr "hill", of Norse origin, and croft "enclosed field"
HowdyshellAmerican, German Americanized (i.e., Anglicized) form of the Swiss German Haudenschild, which originated as a nickname for a ferocious soldier, literally meaning "hack the shield" from Middle High German houwen "to chop or hack" (imperative houw) combined with den (accusative form of the definite article) and schilt "shield".
HowladerBengali From a Bengali word meaning "land owner", itself derived from Arabic حول (hawl) meaning "power, might, strength" and the Persian suffix دار (dar) indicating ownership.
HowlettEnglish The name Howlett was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Norman personal name Hugh. Howlett was a baptismal name which means the son of Hugh... [more]
HowleyEnglish, Irish English habitational name from Howley in Warrington (Lancashire) or Howley in Morley (Yorkshire). The Lancashire name also appears as Hooley and Wholey while the Yorkshire placename comes from Old English hofe "ground ivy... [more]
HoxieEnglish They were first found in the settlement of Hawkshaw in the county of Lancashire. The surname Hoxie belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
HoyEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a sailor, from Middle Dutch hoey "cargo ship".
HoyaSpanish is a habitational (local) name, taken on from any of several place names, such as from Hoyos in Cáceres province, or Hoyos in Ávila province. These place names come from the Spanish words "hoyo," meaning "pit," or "hole."
HøyerDanish A surname relatively common in Denmark, derived from the Old Norse word haugr, meaning "mound, cairn, hill". Alternatively, meaning can be traced back to the old Germanic personal name Hucger, a compound consisting of hug- "heart, mind, spirit" and geirr "spear".
HoylandEnglish, Norwegian English (South Yorkshire): habitational name from any of various places in South Yorkshire named with Old English hoh ‘hill spur’ + land ‘(cultivated) land’. ... [more]
HoyleWelsh, English Derived from Old English holh meaning "hole". It is thought to have originally been a name for someone who lived in a round hollow or near a pit.
HoytEnglish Generally a topographical name for someone who lived on a hill or other high ground. As such Hoyt is related to words such as heights or high. Hoyt is also possibly a nickname for a tall, thin person where the original meaning is said to be "long stick".
HrachGerman (Austrian, Rare), Czech (Rare) Originated in the Czech-speaking region of Bohemia in Austria, pre-1900. From Czech hrách, meaning "pea." Given either to a very short man or to a gardener.
HrdinaCzech, Slovak Hrdina is a Czech and Slovak surname meaning "hero". Two notable bearers are Jan Hrdina, and Jiří Hrdina, both are ice hockey players.