PlatiniItalian Occupational name for a person who coats objects with platinum, derived from Italian platinare literally meaning "to platinize, to coat with platinum". A notable bearer is the former French soccer star Michel Platini (1955-).
LatourFrench Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a tower usually a defensive fortification or watchtower from Old French tūr "tower"; or a habitational name from any of various places called Latour or La Tour named with this word.
FilosaItalian Southern Italian: Probably an occupational nickname for a fisherman, from Sicilian filuòsa ‘fishing net’. Also from the subphylum: Filosa. These are known as euglyphids, filose (which means stringy or thread-like), amoebae with shells of siliceous scales or plates, which are commonly found in soils, nutrient-rich waters, and on aquatic plants.
PanepintoItalian Derived from the word "pane" meaning "bread" in Italian and "pinto" meaning "painted", "flecked", or possibly "bad". The name is generally given to a baker.
ChokalingamIndian, Tamil Variant of Chockalingam. A famous bearer is American actress and comedienne Vera Mindy Chokalingam (1979-), who uses the stage name Mindy Kaling.
KnolDutch Derived from Middle Dutch knolle "tuber, turnip, lump of earth", a nickname for a fat or clumsy person, or an occupational name for a farmer.
GiffordEnglish Gifford is an English name for someone who comes from Giffords Hall in Suffolk. In Old English, it was Gyddingford, or "ford associated with Gydda." Alternatively, it could come from the Middle English nickname, "Giffard," from Old French meaning "chubby-cheeked."
MichalczewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Michalczew.
EastleyEnglish A Saxon village called East Leah has been recorded to have existed since 932 AD. (Leah is an ancient Anglo-Saxon word meaning 'a clearing in a forest'). There is additional evidence of this settlement in a survey from the time which details land in North Stoneham being granted by King Æthelstan to his military aid, Alfred in 932 AD... [more]
ArquetteFrench From arquet meaning "little bow" or "little arch" (diminutive of arche, from Latin arcus). It was originally an occupational name for an archer, but the French word arquet(te) is also found in the sense 'market trader' (originally, perhaps, one with a stall underneath an arch)... [more]
NiazaiPashto Most likely from Persian نیاز (niyaz) meaning "need, necessity, desire, wish" (see Niaz or Niyaz) combined with Pashto زوی (zoy) meaning "son (of)"... [more]
PashaUrdu, Bengali, Persian, Albanian From the high-ranking Ottoman military rank pasha of disputed origin, perhaps derived from the Persian title پادشاه (padeshah) meaning "king" or from Turkish baş meaning "head" and ağa meaning "lord, master".
DaveyEnglish, Welsh Derived from the given name David. Alternately, it may be a variant spelling of Welsh Davies or Davis, which could be patronymic forms of David, or corrupted forms of Dyfed, an older Welsh surname and the name of a county in Wales.
BennaniArabic (Maghrebi) Means "my son" in Hebrew, from בן (ben) meaning "son" and אני (ani) meaning "I, me". This is the name of a Moroccan family of Jewish origin that converted to Islam.
KeurlisGerman Unknown origin. This surname is no longer found in Germany.
De BonteDutch Means "the colourful", from Dutch bont meaning "motley, multi-coloured; varied, mixed". Probably a nickname for someone known for wearing bright clothing, or perhaps figuratively referring to someone who behaves oddly or unpredictably.
NingChinese From Chinese 宁 (níng) meaning "peaceful, tranquil", also referring to the ancient county of Ningyi, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
SaeidzadehPersian From the given name Saeid combined with the Persian suffix -زاده (-zâde) meaning "offspring".
Nihon'yanagiJapanese Means "2 salix trees", from Japanese 二本 (nihon) meaning "2 (cylindrical objects)" and 柳 (yanagi) meaning "salix". This is the name of a few places in Japan (in the city of Goshogawara and the city of Gonohe).
InthavongLao From Lao ອິນທະ (intha) referring to the Hindu god Indra and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family". This is the most common surname in Laos.
AkehisaJapanese Ale means "bright" and hisa means "long time ago, lasting".
NoviItalian Derived from Italian novello and ultimately derived from Latin novellus meaning "new". "Novi" also means "new" in several Slavic languages.
SakuncharoensukThai (Rare) From Thai สกุล (sakun) meaning "birth; ancestry; family", เจริญ (charoen) meaning to "grow; to increase; to develop", and สุข (suk) meaning "joy; happiness".
HalfpennyEnglish Nickname probably for a tenant whose feudal obligations included a regular payment in cash or kind (for example bread or salt) of a halfpenny. From Old English healf "half" (from proto Germanic halbaz) and penning "penny" meaning "half penny".
SjoerdsmaFrisian, Dutch Derived from the Frisian given name Sjoerd combined with the Frisian surname suffix -(s)ma, which is most likely derived from Old Frisian monna meaning "men".
MitaPolish From a pet form of the personal name Dymitr
KazanovRussian Means "of Kazan", either referring to the city of Kazan in Tatarstan, Russia, or from a given name. The name is most likely of Turkic origin, possibly from Bulgar qazan meaning "cauldron, pot", which would have been used to denote someone who made pots.
JinasenaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit जिन (jina) meaning "victorious, triumphant" and सेना (sena) meaning "army".
KinoJapanese From 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood" and 野 (no) meaning "field, plain, wilderness".
BavieraSpanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan Means "Bavaria" in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Catalan. Indicating for someone from Bavaria a state in Germany.
CulverEnglish Means "person who keeps or looks after doves", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a dove (e.g. in mild disposition) (in either case from Middle English culver "dove")... [more]