JastremskiUkrainian, Polish, Czech Derives from a Slavic surname and originates from western Ukraine. The term was initially used to describe either people from the East (Polish name) or people from the South (Ukrainian name). Jastremski is derived from the word jastrom, meaning 'easterner'.... [more]
JaworekPolish Most likely comes from the last name Javorski meaning someone from "Jawor".
JayEnglish, French Nickname from Middle English, Old French jay(e), gai "jay (the bird)", probably referring to an idle chatterer or a showy person, although the jay was also noted for its thieving habits.
JaynesEnglish (British) The Jaynes surname is a patronymic name created from the personal name Jan, which was a Middle English variant of the name John, or as "son of Jan.
JazayeriPersian Derived from Persian جزایر (jazâyir) meaning "islands", of Arabic origin.
JeffreyEnglish From a Norman personal name that appears in Middle English as Geffrey and in Old French as Je(u)froi. Some authorities regard this as no more than a palatalized form of Godfrey, but early forms such as Galfridus and Gaufridus point to a first element from Germanic gala "to sing" or gawi "region, territory"... [more]
JehleHebrew Jehle-Romanov surname was given name of monarchical leaders over the areas of eastern Eurasia known as Russia and all Russia's yet upon revolution family erroneously reported all dead. Most family of Alexander died while remaining in Russia, while those whom escaped circa 1880 survived... [more]
JenksEnglish, Welsh English (also found in Wales) patronymic from the Middle English personal name Jenk, a back-formation from Jenkin with the removal of the supposed Anglo-Norman French diminutive suffix -in.
JeschkeGerman Germanized form of Czech and Slovakian Ješko and Polish Jeszka, pet forms of given names beginning with Ja- or Je- such as Jan 1 or Jarosław, as well as various cognates or similar-sounding names, such as Ježek ("hedgehog").
JesselEnglish From a pet-form of Jessop (a medieval male personal name - a different form of Joseph). A literary bearer is Miss Jessel, the governess who has charge of the two troubled and enigmatic children in Henry James's ghost story 'The Turn of the Screw' (1898).
JessieEnglish Possibly a variant of Jessey, an occupational name for someone making jesses (a short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry).
JeterFrench (Huguenot), German Jeter is a French and German surname. It is the last name of former New York Yankees baseball player, Derek Jeter. It's also the last name of Carmelita Jeter, an American sprinter who specializes in the 100 meter sprint.
JewsonEnglish (British) A patronymic (also potentially matronymic) surname that means "the son of Jull", coming from the element Jull, a diminutive form of the personal name Julian or Juette from Iovis, the Roman god of thunder and the sky combined with the suffix of son.
JezierskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Jezioro, Jeziory, Jeziora, or Jezierzyce, all places named with jezioro meaning "lake".
JiChinese From Chinese 纪 (jì) referring to the ancient state of Ji, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Shandong province.
JiChinese From Chinese 季 (jì) meaning "youngest brother".
JiaChinese From Chinese 甲 (jiǎ) meaning "one, first", also referring to an ancient fief or small state named Jia located in what is now either Henan or Hebei province.
JiaChinese From Chinese 贾 (jiǎ) referring to an ancient state and fief named Jia, both located in what is now Shanxi province.
JianChinese From Chinese 簡 (jiǎn) meaning "simple, uncomplicated", taken from the given name of several individuals.
JiangChinese From Chinese 蒋 (jiǎng) referring to the ancient state of Jiang, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
JiaoChinese From Chinese 焦 (jiāo) referring to the ancient state of Jiao, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now the provinces of Shaanxi and Henan.
JinJapanese From Japanese 神 (jin) meaning "deity; god". This may have been used by shrine masters, people who came from shrines, or people who were granted by the emperor of Japan.
JobEnglish, French, German, Hungarian English, French, German, and Hungarian from the personal name Iyov or Job, borne by a Biblical character, the central figure in the Book of Job, who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him... [more]
JocelynEnglish Another of the names brought to England in the eleventh century by the Normans, and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a masculine name only.
JolicoeurFrench (Quebec), Haitian Creole From Old French joli "joyful, cheerful" and cuer "heart". It was originally a nickname for a cheerful person. This was a frequent French Canadian secondary surname (or dit name).
JollyEnglish From the English word jolly, which is ultimately from Old French joli# ("merry, happy"). Originally a nickname for someone of a cheerful or attractive disposition.
JooKorean Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 주 (see Ju).
JoofSerer The surname Joof (English spelling in Gambia) whit its derivatives Juuf / Juf (Seereer proper) or Diouf (French spelling in Senegal and Mauritania) is a Senegambian surname found amongst the Seereer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania... [more]
JoostEstonian Joost is an Estonian surname, derived from the masculine given name "Joost"; ultimately from St. Judoc.
JoplinEnglish Possibly derived from a Middle English diminutive of Geoffrey, a nickname from Middle English joppe "fool", or from the Biblical name Job... [more]
JordàSpanish Derived from the personal name Jordàn
JowettEnglish From the medieval male personal name Jowet or the female personal name Jowette, both literally "little Jowe", a pet-form of Julian... [more]
JoyEnglish Either derived directly from the word, indicating a nickname for a joyous person, or a variant of Joyce.
JudehArabic From Arabic جودة (jawdah) meaning "excellence, goodness".
JudgeEnglish, Irish occupational name for an officer of justice or a nickname for a solemn and authoritative person thought to behave like a judge from Middle English Old French juge "judge" (from Latin iudex from ius "law" and dicere "to say") which replaced the Old English term dema... [more]
JuelDanish, Norwegian, Swedish Alternate form of Juhl. This variant of the name can be traced back to the 14th century and is the name of a Danish noble family sometimes referred to as "Juel med stjernen" meaning "Juel with the star" in reference to their coat-of-arms, as a way to distinguish them from another Danish noble family - the Juul-family - who in turn are known as "Juul with the fleur-de-lis"... [more]
JuhlDanish, Norwegian (Rare), Low German Likely originating as a nickname for people born around Christmas or who had a connection with that time of year, from the Old Norse jól, which was the name of the Nordic pagan midwinter festival, or modern Danish jul meaning "Christmas" (cf... [more]