RantEstonian Rant is an Estonian surname meaning "arris" and "flange".
RanzGerman The surname that can have one of two origins. In some cases, it is derived from the ancient German given name, Rando, whose origins lie in the word rand, meaning "rim of shield"... [more]
RaoChinese From Chinese 饒 (ráo) referring to any of several ancient places called Rao.
RapierDutch Dutch: perhaps from Middle Dutch rapiere ‘foil, sword’, for someone carrying such a weapon, or form a topographic name Raepier ‘land on which rapes are grown’.... [more]
RapinoItalian From the name of two municipalities in Abruzzo, Italy. It could also be a nickname for a barber, derived from Italian rapare meaning "to crop, to shave, to scalp".
RappaItalian, Sicilian from Sicilian rappa meaning ‘bunch, cluster’ or Italian rappa meaning ‘lock, quiff’, which was presumably applied as a nickname with reference to someone’s hair.
RasbandAmerican (Americanized, Rare) This name is not a very common family name found in the United States. The first Rasband (Thomas) coming to the U.S. arrived in New Orleans on the ship North Atlantic on 1 November 1850 and arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah on 13 August 1856... [more]
RasberryEnglish Possibly a habitational name from Ratsbury in Lynton, Devon.
RatchfordEnglish habitational name from Rochford (Worcestershire) from Old English ræcc ‘hunting dog’ (genitive ræcces) and ford "ford"... [more]
RatcliffEnglish Habitational name from any of the places, in various parts of England, called Ratcliff(e), Radcliffe, Redcliff, or Radclive, all of which derive their names from Old English rēad meaning "red" + clif meaning "cliff", "slope", "riverbank".
RathGerman 1 German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): descriptive epithet for a wise person or counselor, from Middle High German rāt ‘counsel’, ‘advice’, German Rat ‘counsel’, ‘advice’, also ‘stock’, ‘supply’.... [more]
RathboneEnglish Of unknown origin, but might denote a person with short legs. From Olde English rhath, meaning "short, and bon, "legs".
RatherGerman, Jewish 1. Occupational name for a counsellor or nickname for a wise person, from Middle High German rater ‘adviser’. ... [more]
RathgeberGerman From Middle High German ratgebe or Middle Low German ratgever "giver of advice, counselor", an occupational name for an adviser or wise man.
RäuberGerman, German (Swiss) German, Swiss German: derogatory nickname, from Middle High German roubære ‘robber’, ‘bandit’, ‘highwayman’ (from roub, roup ‘booty’, ‘spoils’).
RauchGerman Perhaps an occupational nickname for a blacksmith or charcoal burner, from Middle High German rouch, German Rauch ‘smoke’, or, in the case of the German name, a status name or nickname relating to a hearth tax (i.e. a tax that was calculated according to the number of fireplaces in each individual home).
RaudabaughGerman (Americanized) Raudabaugh is a German-Americanized surname of Reidenbach. People include Dan Raudabaugh (American Football coach) and Dave Raudabaugh (Outlaw who was an acquaintance to Billy the kid).
RavelFrench, French (African) Derived from either a place called Ravel in the district of Drome or Provence, or from the word 'rave' meaning a root vegetable, and hence a grower or seller of such items.
RavelingGerman nickname or patronymic from Middle Low German rave(n) ‘raven’
RavenEnglish, Dutch From a variety of sources all ultimately derived from the name of the bird. Could be a patronymic form of a given name such as Raven, Hraban, or Walraven; from a nickname referring to dark hair or thieving tendencies; or from a toponym derived from a given name.
RavenelEnglish, French Habitational name from Ravenel in Oise or a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of horseradish, from a diminutive of Old French ravene ‘horseradish’ (Latin raphanus)... [more]
RavenscroftEnglish, English (British) Habitational name from a minor place in Cheshire, England. The place name means "Hræfn's croft", from an Old English personal name Hræfn (itself from Old English hræfn meaning "raven", possibly a byname) and Old English croft meaning "enclosed field".
RawlsEnglish From the Olde German and Anglo-Saxon personal name Rolf. Originally derived from the Norse-Viking pre 7th Century 'Hrolfr' meaning "Fame-Wolf".
RayaGalician, Spanish Possibly a habitational name from Raya in Galicia or in Albacete and Murcia provinces. Possibly a topographic name from Spanish raya meaning "line", denoting the boundary between two countries or provinces.
ReachScottish, English Scottish: Nickname For Someone With Streaks Of Gray Or White Hair From Gaelic Riabhach ‘Brindled Grayish’. English And Scottish: Habitational Name From Either Of Two Places Called Reach In Bedfordshire And Cambridgeshire Recorded As Reche In Medieval Documents From Old English Rǣc ‘Raised Strip Of Land Or Other Linear Feature’ (In The Case Of The Cambridgeshire Name Specifically Referring To Devil's Dyke A Post-Roman Earthwork)... [more]
ReadingEnglish Habitational name from the county seat of Berkshire, which gets its name from Old English Readingas "people of Read(a)", a byname meaning "red".
RéalFrench This can derive from several different sources: southern French réal "royal", a word which was applied to someone either as a nickname (presumably given to people perceived as being regal) or as an occupational name (given to a person in the service of the king); or the French place name Réal, in which case this is a habitational name taken from any of various places which were named for having been part of a royal domain (also compare Reau, Reaux).
RealSpanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Galician Either a habitational name from any of numerous places called Real; those in Galicia (Spain) and Portugal being named from real "royal" or as variant of Rial while those in southern Spain and Catalonia are named in part from real meaning "encampment rural property" (Arabic raḥāl "farmhouse cabin")... [more]
RealeItalian From reale "royal", either an occupational name for someone in the service of a king or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal manner.
RealiItalian Variant of the surname Reale, which stems from reale "royal", either a name for someone in the service of a royal or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal, aristocratic manner.
ReamsPolish The last name Reams comes from Normandy, France.
RebolledoSpanish Habitational name from any of various places called Rebolledo for example Rebolledo de la Torre in Burgos from rebollo denoting a species of oak.
RecchiaItalian Nickname from a reduced form of orecchia "ear".
RecchioItalian Probably a shortened form of orecchio "ear".
RechnerGerman Occupational name from Middle High German rechenære "reckoner keeper of accounts".
RechtGerman Probably a habitational name from a place so named in the Rhineland.
RechtGerman, Jewish Nickname for an upright person, from Middle High German reht, German recht "straight". As a Jewish name it is mainly of ornamental origin.
ReckGerman Nickname from Middle High German recke ‘outlaw’ or ‘fighter’. North German and Westphalian: from Middle Low German recke ‘marsh’, ‘waterlogged ground’, hence a topographic name, or a habitational name from a place named with this term.
RecknagelGerman from Middle High German recken "to raise or lift" (here in the imperative) and nagel "nail" hence a metonymic occupational name for a blacksmith or perhaps an obscene nickname (with a transferred sense for nagel i.e. ‘penis’).
RecktenwaldGerman habitational name from Recktenwald, near Saarbrücken.
RectorEnglish Status name for the director of an institution, in particular the head of a religious house or a college. Also an anglicized form of Richter.
ReddenEnglish Location name meaning "clearing or cleared woodland." Communities called Redden include one in Roxburghshire, Scotland and another in Somerset, England. A notable bearer is actor Billy Redden who played the dueling banjoist Lonnie in the 1972 film 'Deliverance.'
ReddiTelugu Alternate transcription of Telugu రెడ్డి (see Reddy).
ReddickScottish, Northern Irish Habitational name from Rerrick or Rerwick in Kirkcudbrightshire, named with an unknown first element and wīc "outlying settlement". It is also possible that the first element was originally Old Norse rauðr "red".
ReddickEnglish Habitational name from Redwick in Gloucestershire, named in Old English with hrēod "reeds" and wīc "outlying settlement".
ReddingGerman Patronymic from any of the Germanic personal names with the first element rad "counsel, advice".
ReddingtonEnglish From a place name derived from an uncertain first element (perhaps the Old English given name Rēada) combined with the suffix ing meaning "belonging to" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
ReddishEnglish This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Reddish,' a village near Stockport, Cheshire.
RedgraveEnglish From the name of a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, derived from Old English hrēod meaning "reed" or rēad "red", and græf meaning "pit, ditch" or grāf "grove"... [more]
RedlingerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from Redling in Bavaria, Germany.
RedmanEnglish, Irish Variant of Raymond. Also a nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from Middle English rudde "red" and man "man".
RedmerFrisian North German: from the Frisian personal name, composed of the Germanic elements rad ‘advice’, ‘counsel’ + mari, meri ‘fame’.
RedpathScottish, English Habitational name from a place in Berwickshire, probably so called from Old English read ‘red’ + pæð ‘path’. This name is also common in northeastern England.
RedwoodEnglish Name possibly derived from the colour of the bark of trees or the name of the town Reedworth between Durham and Devon
RedžepagićBosnian Derived from Redžeb, meaning "Rajab", the seventh month of the Islamic calendar.
ReederMedieval English This surname was given to people in Medieval England who thatched houses using reed
ReedusEnglish, Scottish An English and Scottish name of uncertain origin. Possibly a reduced form of English Redhouse, a habitational name from any of the numerous places named Redhouse, including over ninety farms.
ReekEstonian Reek is an Estonian surname, possibly a corruption of "kreek", meaning "damson".
ReekieScottish Perhaps "person from Reikie", Aberdeenshire, or from a different form of the Scottish male personal name Rikie, literally "little Richard".
ReeseLow German, Dutch, German Variant of Riese or Reus, from risi meaning "giant". Alternatively, could be a patronymic form of the Germanic given name Razo, derived from rēdaz "counsel, advise", or a habitational name from places called Rees or Reese in Rhineland and Lower Saxony.
ReesonEnglish English (Lincolnshire):: patronymic meaning ‘son of the reeve’ from Middle English reve + son.
RegelGerman from Middle High German regel "(monastic) rule" (from Latin regula), perhaps a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in a monastery.
RegoPortuguese Primarily Iberian, particularly Portuguese in origin. A topographic name for someone who lived by a channel.
RegueiroGalician, Portuguese The name originated in Ourense (Galicia) in the 14th Century. It´s literal meaning in Portuguese is river. It is a surname referring to a person who lived near a river or water source.
RehaEstonian Reha is an Estonian surname meaning "rake".
RehderGerman Occupational name, which was derived from the kind of work done by the original bearer. It is a name for a wheelmaker or wheelwright.
ReialEstonian Reial is an Estonian surname derived from "treial" meaning "lathe turner".
ReichelGerman Derived from the Germanic root ric meaning "power".
ReichenbergGerman, Jewish Habitational name from various places named Reichenberg in several different areas of Germany. As an ornamental name, it is composed of German reich(en) meaning "rich" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
ReidheadEnglish The origins of the Reidhead surname are uncertain. In some instances, it was no doubt derived from the Old English word "read," meaning "red," and was a nickname that came to be a surname. Either way, we may conclude that it meant "red-haired" or "ruddy complexioned."
ReifingerGerman 1 German: perhaps a habitational name for someone from any of several places called Reiting in Bavaria and Austria, or from a Germanic personal name, a variant of Rediger .... [more]
ReinaSpanish, Portuguese Either a habitational name from any of the places called Reina. Or most likely from the female personal name Reina 1 (from Latin Regina) otherwise a nickname from reina "queen".
ReinboldGerman From a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ragin "counsel" + bald "bold", "brave."
ReinertGerman North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ragin ‘counsel’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’, for example Reinhard ( see Reinhardt ).
ReiseGerman, Jewish German (Westphalia) topographic name, from Middle Low German ris, res ‘swamp’. ... [more]
ReisenauerGerman Probably denoted a person from a minor place called Reisenau, or a topographic name for someone living by an overgrown water meadow, derived from Middle High German ris meaning "undergrowth" and owe meaning "water meadow".
ReiserGerman, Upper German Habitational name for someone from Reis or Reissen in Bavaria (see Reis). An occupational name from Middle High German reisære ‘warrior’, ‘traveler’... [more]
ReisnerJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) nickname for a traveler, from an agent derivative of German reisen ‘to travel’ (see Reise). Also a variant of Reis.
ReisnerGerman A habitational name for someone from a place called Reisen (for example in Bavaria), Reissen in Thuringia, or Reussen on the Saale river. A variant of Reiser Also from an agent derivative of Middle High German, Middle Low German rise ‘veil’; perhaps an occupational name for someone who made veils.
ReissGerman, Jewish, French (Huguenot) German: variant of Reis or from any of several Germanic personal names composed with ric ‘power(ful)’. Also from the French Huguenot forename Ris, rendered as Reis and Reiss.... [more]
ReisserUpper German An occupational name for a woodcutter, Middle High German risser.
ReiszHungarian, German (Archaic), Jewish Variant form of Reis, or else a patronymic from a pet form of one of the Germanic compound names formed with raginą "counsel, advice" as the first element.
RellerGerman (Swiss) Occupational name for a miller, derived from the Swiss German dialect term relle meaning "grist mill".
RelphEnglish From the Old French male personal name Riulf, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "power-wolf" (cf. Riculf).
RelyeaGerman, French (Anglicized) Altered spelling of southern German and French Rellier, or probably a regional variant of Swiss German Reller, especially in the western provinces of Austria... [more]
RemmelEstonian Remmel is an Estonian surname meaning "willow".
RempeGerman (Americanized, Modern) The roots of the German surname Rempe lie in the former duchy of Silesia, now part of Poland. The name means, simply, "son of Rempel," and was a popular first name in Silesia during the Middle Ages.