MillScottish, English Scottish and English: topographic name for someone who lived near a mill, Middle English mille, milne (Old English myl(e)n, from Latin molina, a derivative of molere ‘to grind’)... [more]
ScheideggerGerman, German (Swiss) Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary or watershed. The name was derived from the Old German word SCHEIDE, meaning 'to part, to divide'. It may also have been a habitation name from any of the numerous places named with this word.
MiyaJapanese From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace".
AlkaiagaBasque From the name of a neighborhood in the municipality of Lesaka, Nevarre, of uncertain etymology. The last element is almost certainly -aga "place of, group of"; suggestions for the other elements include Basque a(ha)l "power, capacity, might" and kai "dock, pier, harbour", or alka "wild oats, wild grass", or alk "rock" and ai "slope".
RzymskiPolish Derived from a place named ryzm "Rome". Denoting for someone from Rome.
IllopmägiEstonian Illopmägi is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "iisop" meaning "hyssop", or "ilus" meaning "beautiful", and "mägi" meaning "mountain/hill".
IrigoienBasque Means "upper village", derived from Basque (h)iri "village, town, settlement" and goi "high; upper part".
CardoneItalian, Sicilian From Sicilian carduni "thistle, teasel, cardoon" possibly a topographic name but also could mean "rough, uncouth, stingy, or miserly".
SinijärvEstonian Sinijärv is an Estonian surname meaning "blue lake".
MaakEstonian Maak is an Estonian surname meaning "ore".
PorkoFinnish Meaning uncertain, possibly derived from Finnish poro meaning "reindeer".
GouweleeuwDutch Means "golden lion", from an inflected form of goud "gold" and leeuw "lion". Probably given to someone who worked by or lived near a sign depicting a lion.
IngaItalian, Spanish Possibly from Sicilian inga "ink", an occupational name for a scribe. Alternatively, it could derive from the Germanic given name Inge.
MontalbanSpanish Spanish (Montalbán): habitational name from Montalbán de Córdoba from Latin montem albanum 'white mountain'.
CiavattaItalian From ciabatta "slippers", a nickname for a cobbler, or someone known for dressing casually.
KirkseyEnglish English: probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place. This surname is also common in the American South.
Da PalestrinaItalian, History Means "of Palestrina" in Italian, an Italian commune near Rome, derived from an Italian form of Latin Praenesteus or Praeneste, both of uncertain meaning. a famous bearer of the surname was the Italian late Renaissance composer GiovanniPierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594).
PfefferGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a spicer, or a nickname for a person with a fiery temper, for a small man, or for a dark-haired person. Derived from German Pfeffer "pepper".
OchsenkopfGerman Habitational name for a person living in any of the mountains across Germany, Austria, or Liechtenstein, literally meaning "ox's head" in German.
HeemskerkDutch From the name of a small town in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands, possibly derived from the personal name Hemezen (itself possibly a diminutive form of the element heim) combined with kirke "church".
ZildjianArmenian (Anglicized) English form of Armenian Զիլճյան (see Zilčyan). The famous bearer of this name was Avedis Zildjian, founder of the oldest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world, the Avedis Zildjian Company.
WaffelDutch (Anglicized, ?) Possibly an Anglicized form of a hypothetical Dutch surname derived from wafel "waffle, wafer".
SouterEnglish, Scottish Occupational name for a cobbler or shoemaker, derived from Middle English soutere, ultimately derived from Latin sutor "shoemaker, cobbler".
Espinosa De Los MonterosSpanish Originating in northern Spain in the Espinosa de los Monteros municipality, it has various meanings. One meaning is that it was the surname of hidalgos who lived in Espinosa and helped the nobles get on their horses... [more]
EnnalsEnglish This unusual and interesting surname is of medieval English origin, and derives from either of two Anglo-Scandinavian male given names: Ingald or Ingulf. The former derives ultimately from the Old Norse "Ingialdr", having as its initial element the divine name "Ing", borne by a minor Norse god associated with fertility, and meaning "swelling, protuberance", with "gialdr", tribute; hence, "Ing's tribute"... [more]
NishiiJapanese From Japanese 西 (nishi) meaning "west" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
AbeygunaratneSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit अभय (abhaya) meaning "fearless" combined with गुण (guna) meaning "quality, property, attribute" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
DaiberGerman Derived from either Middle High German tiuber "pigeon breeder, pigeon fancier" or from Middle High German touber "wind musician, musician who plays a wind instrument".
SekewaelIndonesian The last name Sekewael is an original name from one of the island in Maluku. That one island name is "Negeri Oma." The meaning of Sekewael is "The Guardian of the River" because in "Negeri Oma" any body want to use the river of the water they have to ask for permission by Sekewael family... [more]
TubmanEnglish From a nickname, a variant of Tubb. A notable bearer was the American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913).
QuevedoCantabrian (Hispanicized) Castilianized form of a surname that indicates familial origin within the eponymous settlement at the geographic coordinates 43.128481, -4.039367.
NosawaJapanese No means "field, plain" and sawa means "swamp, marsh".
CantEnglish Means "singer in a chantry chapel", or from a medieval nickname for someone who was continually singing (in either case from Old Northern French cant "song").
BagaoisanFilipino, Tagalog From Tagalog bagwisan meaning "to grow wings" or "to pull out the wing feathers (of a bird)".
ChilupeSouthern African Chiefly used among the Bemba ethnic group in Zambia in the Lusaka, Copperbelt, and Luapula Provinces. It is in reference to the agricultural tool 'chilupe' which is used to separate husks from pounded grain.
RanarajaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit रण (rana) meaning "delight, pleasure, joy" or "battle, war" combined with राज (raja) meaning "king".
PeralesSpanish Habitational name for someone from any of various locations named Perales, from Spanish perales meaning "pear trees" (the plural of peral meaning "pear tree").
LotspeichEnglish possibly from Bavarian lott ‘mud’ + speich ‘spittle’, ‘moist dirt’, either a topographic name for someone who lived on land in a muddy area or a nickname for someone who had a dirty appearance... [more]
LumbrerasSpanish Habitational Name From A Place Called Lumbreras In La Rioja From The Plural Of Lumbrera ‘Lamp’ Possibly Referring To An Old Signal Tower.
PasteurFrench French for "shepherd" or "preacher, pastor". Famous bearer Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French chemist who created the first rabies vaccine, gave his name to the process of 'pasteurization'.
AbaspahićSouth Slavic Made from a name ABAZ and surname SPAHIĆ, Means "son of ABAZ SPAHIĆ"
DőreHungarian Means "fool, misguided, silly" in Hungarian.
MastenbroekDutch Originally indicated a person from the polder area of Mastenbroek in the Dutch province of Overijssel, as well as a small village built around a church in the middle of that polder area. The place names derive from Middle Dutch mast meaning "pole, mast" or "pig feed, fodder" combined with broek meaning "marsh, wetland".
KowsariPersian "Kowsar" refers to a river or stream in paradise, which is mentioned in the Quran. Another interpretation is that it means "abundant" or "overflowing."
St PeterEnglish Originally from French Canadian immigrants, an anglicized form of French St Pierre.
VitsinmRussian From dialectal Russian вица (vitsa), meaning "rod, whip, long stick".
VarnellEnglish Variant of Farnell. This form originated in southwestern England, where the change from F to V arose from the voicing of F that was characteristic of this area in Middle English.
KnollEnglish, German, Jewish English and German topographic name for someone living near a hilltop or mountain peak, from Middle English knolle ‘hilltop’, ‘hillock’ (Old English cnoll), Middle High German knol ‘peak’... [more]
KalleskePolish (Germanized, Rare) The surname Kalleske can be found among 40 telephone subscribers in Germany, in addition to the spelling Kaleske (about 39 times), with at least six namesake. Assuming that the normal spread of a family name is between 400 and 500 times this name is very rare... [more]
IwaseJapanese From Japanese 岩 (iwa) meaning "boulder, cliff, rocks" and 瀬 (se) meaning "rapids, ripple, current".
BresserEnglish The surname is derived from the old English word brasian, meaning to make out of brass. This would indicate that the original bearer of the name was a brass founder by trade. The name is also derived from the old English Broesian which means to cast in brass and is the occupational name for a worker in brass.
Pardo De TaveraSpanish (Rare, Archaic) In the case of Filipino physician Trinidad Pardo de Tavera (1857-1925), he came from a Portuguese aristocratic family of Pardo from Tavira (a town in Portugal). The family added the name de Tavera, meaning "of Tavira" to affix their place of origin, similar to Spanish noble customs... [more]
RaatikainenFinnish A family name first registered in the form Radikain in the 16th or 17th century. Derives from the German man's name Konrad which in Finland was shortened to Radi.
BascöurtFrench The Bascourt or Bascur surname is from France, from that place dates the beginning of the surname, however the French of previous centuries had no records of that surname. ... [more]
BlowEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with a pale complexion (from Middle English blowe "pale"). This surname was borne by English composer John Blow (1649-1708) and British fashion editor Isabella Blow (original name Isabella Delves Broughton; 1958-2007); additionally, "Joe Blow" is a name used colloquially (in US, Canadian and Australian English) as representative of the ordinary uncomplicated unsophisticated man, the average man in the street (of which the equivalent in British English is "Joe Bloggs").
RanaweeraSinhalese From Sankrit रण (rana) meaning "battle, war" and वीर (vira) maning "hero, man, brave".
WitschgeDutch Dutch cognate of Witzke. Famous bearers of this surname include brothers Rob (1966-) and Richard Witschge (1969-), both of whom are former Dutch soccer players.
WallmanSwedish Combination of Swedish vall "pasture, field of grass" and man "man".
KitanokoujiJapanese (Rare) Kitanokouji (北小路) comes from kita (北) means "North", Kouji (小路) means "Alley". This is one of the kuge surnames and this surname is very rare. No notable people or fictional characters bear this surname.
EmbertonEnglish Habitational name for a person from the village named Emberton in Buckinghamshire, from the Old English personal name Eanberht and tun "enclosure, town".