SchmeichelGerman Nickname for a flatterer, derived from Middle High German smeichen literally meaning "to flatter". Famous bearers of this surname include Peter Schmeichel (1963-) and his son Kasper Schmeichel (1986-), both of whom are Danish soccer goalkeepers.
SchmelzerGerman occupational name for a smelter from an agent derivative of Middle High German smelzen German schmelzen "to smelt metal" or "make glass".
SchmidlappGerman Derived from Middle High German smit "smith, metalworker" and lap(pe) meaning "cloth, patch, rag".
SchmidlkoferGerman, German (Austrian) Occupational name for a farmer who was also a blacksmith, derived from a diminutive of Middle High German smit meaning "smith" and the suffix -kofer (a variant of -hofer).
SchmidtbergerGerman A distinguishing name for someone named Berger who worked as a blacksmith, or a habitational name for someone from any of several places called Schmidtberg in Bavaria and Switzerland.
SchmuckGerman, German (Austrian) From Middle High German smuc meaning "jewel", "finery", hence a metonymic occupational name for a jeweler, or a nickname for someone who wore a prominent jewel or ornament.North German: nickname from Middle Low German smuck meaning "neat", "dainty".
SchnappGerman Derived from Middle High German snappen meaning "to chatter", or Middle Low German snappen meaning "to grab". This was originally a nickname for a chatterer or a greedy person.
SchneeGerman, Popular Culture A German surname meaning "snow". One fictional bearer of this surname is Weiss Schnee, a main character from the popular web series RWBY.
SchnitzGerman From Upper German schnitz, meaning "woodcutter".
SchnitzerGerman From Upper German schnitz, referring to someone who cuts wood, ultimately from Middle High German snitzære "woodcutter, carver, crossbow maker".
SchockGerman German origin. Means "shock" in German, as in surprise.
SchoenGerman, Jewish From German schön, Middle High German schoene "fine, beautiful; refined, friendly, nice", a nickname for a handsome or pleasant man. As a Jewish name, it’s usually ornamental.
SchoenDutch Means "shoe" in Dutch, an occupational name for a shoemaker.
SchoenwetterGerman German (Schönwetter): nickname for someone with a happy disposition, from Middle High German schœn ‘beautiful’, ‘fine’, ‘nice’ + wetter ‘weather’.
SchottlerGerman Occupational name for a wood turner, Middle Low German scoteler (an agent derivative of scotel ‘wooden bowl’).
SchouDanish Topographic name for someone who lived by a small wood, from a Germanized form of Danish skov 'wood', 'forest', 'copse'.
SchramGerman, English, Yiddish Derived from German Schramme (Middle High German schram(me)) and Yiddish shram, all of which mean "scar".
SchrammGerman German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic nickname for a person with a scar, from Middle High German schram(me), German Schramme, Yiddish shram ‘scar’.
SchreinerGerman Occupational surname for a joiner (maker of wooden furniture), ultimately from Middle High German schrīnære.
SchrepferGerman (Swiss), German Derived from from Middle High German schrepfer "barber-surgeon's assistant", ultimately from the verb schrepfen "to bleed someone".
SchrockGerman Some think that the last name Schrock comes from the German word which meant something along the lines of "Jump" or "Leaps" and was probably a nickname to someone who was a great jumper, or someone who was easily startled.
SchrootDutch Possibly an altered form of des Groot via Sgroot, meaning "son of the Groot", itself a byname meaning "great, large". Alternatively, it could be related to schroot "scrap (metal)" or the older scrode "to cut", an occupational name for someone who worked with metal, or perhaps a tailor.
SchuelerGerman The surname Schueler was first found in southern Germany, where the name was closely identified in early mediaeval times with the feudal society which would become prominent throughout European history.
SchuhGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a maker or repairer of shoes, derived from Middle High German schuoch meaning "shoe". In some cases, it may have denoted a person to a house distinguished by the sign of a shoe.
SchuknechtGerman Occupational name for a shoemaker’s assistant, from Middle High German schuoch meaning "shoe" + knecht meaning "journeyman", "assistant".
SchumerJewish, German (Rare) Possibly taken from Middle Low German schumer meaning "good for nothing, vagabond". Notable bearers are American comedian Amy Schumer (b. 1981) and American politician Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer (b... [more]
SchutzGerman Occupational surname for an archer or a watchman, from Middle High German schützen "to guard, protect". Also a habitational name from Schutz, a place near Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
SchuurmanDutch Derived from Dutch schuur "barn, shed" and man "person, man".
SchwaabGerman The surname of German VfB Stuttgart footballer Daniel Schwaab, born in Waldkirch, Germany.
SchwabGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone from Swabia (German Schwaben), from Middle High German Swap, German Schwabe ‘Swabian’. The region takes its name from a Germanic tribe recorded from the 1st century BC in the Latin form Suebi or Suevi, of uncertain origin; it was an independent duchy from the 10th century until 1313, when the territory was broken up.
SchwabeGerman 1. The name given to those who lived in Swabia
SchwanbeckGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named, for example near Lübeck and near Anklam.
SchwandtGerman Topographic name for someone who lived in a forest clearing, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
SchwandtGerman Habitational name from any of the various places called Schwand or Schwanden, all in southern Germany, named with this element, from Middle High German swant (from swenden "to thin out", "make disappear", causative from swinden "to disappear" modern German schwinden.
SchwankGerman Either a nickname for a thin person, (derived from Middle High German swanc meaning "little, slender, thin"), a pretty person (from Middle Low German swank "fine, dainty") or a fun, loving person (from Middle High German swanc and Middle Low German swank "funny idea, joke, jest, foolery").
SchwankeGerman From a short form of the German given name Swaneke, a pet form of Swane, ultimately derived from a Germanic compound name formed with swan meaning "swan" as the first element (see Schwenke 2).
SchwanzGerman Form of Schwan. Also means tail in German.
SchwartzmanJewish Nickname for a dark-skinned or dark-haired person, from German schwarz meaning "black" and man meaning "man, person".
SchwarzbachGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named literally "dark stream", derived from the elements swarz "black" and bah "stream".
SchweigertGerman Derives from an agent derivative of the German "schweigen", to be silent, and the nickname would have been given to a silent, quiet, taciturn person.
SchwenkGerman Variant spelling of Schwanke, or apparently a nickname referring to a person's gait, derived from Middle High German swenken meaning "to swing back and forth, to sling" (see Schwenke 1).
SchwerdtfegerGerman occupational name for an armorer or specifically for a servant whose job was to polish swords Middle High German Middle Low German swertfeger (from swert "sword" and an agent derivative of fegen "to polish or clean").
SchwerinGerman, Jewish habitational name from any of the places called Schwerin in Mecklenburg Brandenburg and Pomerania.
SchwertnerGerman Either a habitational name for someone from Schwerta in Silesia or an occupational name for a sword maker.
SchwingGerman Occupational name for someone whose job was to swingle flax, i.e. to beat the flax with a swingle in order to remove the woody parts of the plant prior to spinning, from Middle German swingen meaning "to swing" or swing meaning "swingle".
ScobieScottish Means "person from Scobie", an unidentified place in Perth and Kinross ("thorny place"). A fictional bearer is Henry Scobie, the conscience-wracked and ultimately suicidal deputy commissioner of police in Graham Greene's West Africa-set novel 'The Heart of the Matter' (1948).
ScotlandEnglish (i) "person from Scotland"; (ii) "person from Scotland or Scotlandwell", Perth and Kinross; (iii) from the Norman personal name Escotland, literally "territory of the Scots"
ScottoItalian Either an ethnic name for someone from Scotland or Ireland from medieval Italian scotto or scoto meaning "Scot", making it a cognate of Scott, or from a diminutive of given names ending in sco such as Francesco (via its diminutive Francescotto) or Maresco (via Marescotto).
ScreetonEnglish Locational surname originating from the village of Screveton in Nottinghamshire. Derived of Old English elements scīr-rēfa "sheriff" and tun "settlement".
ScrimshawMedieval English Referring to one who was a fencing-master, coming from the old French "eskermisseour", meaning "fencer" and which came in turn from the old high German word "skirmen", which meant "to defend".
ScrogginsEnglish Derived from Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood", given to someone who lived near a bushy area, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a prickly personality.
ScroggsEnglish From Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood".
ScroggsScottish Derived from a place in Scotland named Scrogges.
ScuderiSicilian Patronymic form of Scudero, a status name equivalent to English Squire, from scudero "shield-bearer", Latin scutarius, an agent derivative of scutum "shield"... [more]
ScullinOld Irish The surname Scullin originates from the pre 10th century O' Sceallain, which itself derives from the word 'sceall' meaning the stone of a fruit or the kernel.
ScurlockWelsh, Irish Obscure, probably derived from 'ystog', a Welsh word meaning 'fortress'
SeaborgEnglish, Swedish (Americanized) English cognate of Sjöberg, as well as the Americanized form. Glenn T. Seaborg (1912-1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements.
SeabornEnglish From an Old English personal name derived from the elements sǣ "sea, lake" and beorn "warrior".
SeabraPortuguese Habitational name from the town of Puebla de Sanabria in northwestern Spain of uncertain meaning, possibly of Arabic, Celtic or Latin origin.
SeaforthEnglish The name of a projection of the sea on the east coast of Lewis, on the Long Island, Scotland. Means "the forth of the sea".
SeagerEnglish, German (Modern) English: from the Middle English personal name Segar, Old English S?gar, composed of the elements s? ‘sea’ + gar ‘spear’.... [more]
SeagraveEnglish Habitational name from a place in Leicestershire, recorded in Domesday Book as Satgrave and Setgrave; probably named from Old English (ge)set meaning "fold", "pen" (or sēað meaning "pit", "pool") + grāf meaning "grove" or græf meaning "ditch".
SealyEnglish Derived from Old English sælig "blessed, fortunate, prosperous, happy" and was used as a term to describe someone with a cheerful, happy disposition.
SearsEnglish Version of Sayer. Used in the United States. Famous bearer of the name is Richard Warren Sears, one of the founders of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
SebaldLiterature In 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events', Gustav Sebald was a film director who hid secret codes in his movies, a member of V.F.D., and the likely creator of the Sebald Code.
SebőHungarian Possibly from Hungarian seb, meaning "wound".
SebronEnglish Exact origins unknown. It could possibly be from "Seabourne", from a patronymic name ("the son of Sebern"), from William Sebrin, Normandy 1180, or possibly even from Norman or Scandinavian origin.
SedgwickEnglish Habitational name from Sedgwick in Cumbria, so named from the Middle English personal name Sigg(e) (from Old Norse Siggi or Old English Sicg, short forms of the various compound names with the first element "victory") + Old English wic "outlying settlement", "dairy farm"; or from Sedgewick in Sussex, named with Old English secg (sedge) + wic.
SeditaItalian From Italian sei "six" + dita, plural of dito "finger", hence a nickname either for someone having six fingers or metaphorically for someone who was very dextrous.
SeeEnglish, German Topographic name for someone who lived by the sea-shore or beside a lake, from Middle English see meaning "sea", "lake" (Old English sǣ), Middle High German sē. Alternatively, the English name may denote someone who lived by a watercourse, from an Old English sēoh meaning "watercourse", "drain".
SeelyMedieval English Means "Blessed", "Happy", and/or "Lucky." By adding an Un- to Seely makes it "Unblessed", "Unhappy", and/or "Unholy." Used primarily in Northern England and Southern Scotland during the Middle English period but is derived from the Old English sǣl and gesǣlig... [more]