KoKorean There is only one Chinese character for the surname Ko. There are ten different Ko clans, but they are all descended from the Ko clan of Cheju Island. There is no historical information regarding the founder of this clan, but there is a legend which tells of three men who appeared from a cave on the north side of Cheju Island’s Halla Mountain... [more]
HechtGerman Means "pike (fish)" in German, generally a nickname for a rapacious and greedy person. In some instances it may have been a metonymic occupational name for a fisher, and in others it may be a habitational name from a house distinguished by a sign depicting this fish.
HelmEnglish, Dutch, German Either from Old English helm "protection covering" (in later northern English dialects "cattle shelter barn"). The name may be topographic for someone who lived by or worked at a barn or habitational from a place so named such as Helme in Meltham (Yorkshire)... [more]
LutomskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Lutom in Poznań voivodeship.
IzadiPersian Derived from Persian ایزد (izad) meaning "god, angel".
KukaSlovak, Polish, Serbian, Czech, Croatian, German Slovak, Polish, Czech, Serbian, and Croatian: nickname derived from Slovak kukať, Polish kukać, Czech kukat, Croatian kukati meaning "to cuckoo" or, in some of these languages, from a homonymous verb meaning "to peep, to peer out".... [more]
BarnumEnglish (American, Americanized, Modern) Barnum originated as an altered form of the English surname Barnham, a habitational name from places called Barnham in Suffolk and West Sussex, or Barnham Broom in Norfolk, meaning "homestead of the family or followers of a man named Beorn".
LehmkuhlGerman, Low German topographic or occupational name for someone working or living by a clay pit from Middle Low German lēm "clay" and kule "pit" a habitational name from any of several places called with this term for example Lehmkuhlen near Kiel.
HalawaNias Nias clan name derived from the given name Halawa referring to an ancestor.
Madlang-awaTagalog From Tagalog madlang awa meaning "mercy for the community".
GadolinFinnish (Rare) Derived from the name of the homestead Magnula in Kalanti (formerly Nykyrko) parish in southwest Finland. Magnula is thought to be associated with Latin magnus "large, big, great" and the name Gadolin is derived from Hebrew gadol with the same meaning... [more]
CodaItalian Means "tail" in Italian, from Latin cauda, probably referring to the bearer living on a long, narrow piece of land.
CadedduItalian From Sardinian cadeddu "puppy, whelp", ultimately from Latin catellus.
StreteEnglish Strete is derived from Old English "Straet" which, in turn is derived from the latin "strata". This surname has spelling variants including, Streeter, Street, Straight, and Streeten. The first occurrences of this surname include Modbert de Strete of Devon (1100), AEluric de Streitun and his heir Roger (at the time of Henry de Ferrers) and Eadric Streona, Ealdorman of Mercia.
Van HeldenDutch Means "from Helden" in Dutch, the name of a village in Limburg, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch helde "slope, incline".
ViinEstonian Viin is an Estonian surname, derived from "viinapuu", meaning "grape".
ShastriHindi, Marathi From a title meaning "scholar", itself derived from Sanskrit शास्त्रिन् (shastrin) denoting a person who was well-versed in the shastras.
XinChinese From the name of a state of Xin that existed during the Xia dynasty. King Qi (2197–2188 bc) granted this state to one of his sons, whose descendants adopted a modified form of the character for Xin as their surname.
NoonanIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Nuanáin (from Irish Gaelic Ó hIonmhaineáin) meaning "descendant of Ionmhaineán", a diminutive of the given name Ionmhain "beloved, dear". ... [more]
PejovićSerbian (Russified, Modern) Pejović is a Serbian surname. Mainly used in serbia. But also used in Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia
MikiJapanese From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
PépinFrench From the Old French name Pepis, itself a form of the given name Pépin. Alternatively, it may be derived from French pépin meaning "(fruit) seed", thus making it an occupational name for a gardener or someone who grew fruit-bearing trees.
KellnerGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, French Means "waiter, cellarman" in German, ultimately derived from Latin cellarium "pantry, cellar, storeroom". This was an occupational name for a steward, a castle overseer, or a server of wine.
VeldmanDutch Means "field man" in Dutch, a name for a farmer, or someone who lived by a field.
HaverlandDutch Means "oat field" in Dutch, from Dutch haver "oat" and land.
EnglanderGerman, Jewish Ethnic name derived from German Engländer, meaning 'Englishman', thus denoting an incomer from England. In some cases, the Jewish name may be an ornamental adoption.
VeaNorwegian Habitational name from any of four farmsteads so named, from the plural of Old Norse viðr meaning "wood", "tree".
KidamuraJapanese From 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood", 貴 (ki) meaning "valuable", or 喜 (ki) meaning "rejoice", combined with 田 (da) meaning rice paddy, field" and 村 (mura) means "hamlet, village".
AsadaJapanese From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" or 麻 (asa) meaning "hemp, flax" and 田 (ta) meaning "field".
BethanyEnglish Possibly a topographic name derived from the Old English plant name betonice meaning "betony". The form of the name has been altered by folk association with the New Testament place name.
MorkovinRussian From Russian морковь (morkov) meaning "carrot".
SwartzlanderEnglish (American) Americanized form of German Schwarzländer, a habitational name for someone from an area of Bavaria known as Schwarzland ‘the black land’, from Middle High German swarz ‘black’ + land ‘land’.
ZacharJewish, Hungarian, Russian, Slovak, Belarusian Derived from the Hebrew word זָכַר (zakhar) meaning "to remember". As a surname it can also derive from the given name Zakhar (Zechariah) that shares this etymology.
SeddaItalian From a place name in Sardinia, meaning "top of a mountain". May alternately derive from Sardinian sedda "saddle", indicating the bearer's occupation.
HayamiJapanese From Japanese 速 (haya) meaning "fast", 逸 (haya) meaning "deviate" or 早 (haya) meaning "early"; combined with 水 (mi) meaning "water" or 見 (mi) meaning "see".
WiseauEnglish (American, Rare) Meaning unknown, believed to be derived from French oiseau, meaning bird. As a surname, it is born by American Director Tommy Wiseau.
PuķeLatvian Derived from Latvian puķe "flower". Occupational surname for a person who sells flowers.
NevelsDutch Possibly a variant of Nevens. Coincides with Dutch nevel "fog".
FoggGermanic This surname appeared in Denmark during the time of the Vikings. It is believed to have Jute origin. It spread to Italy during the Roman Empire and to England as early as the 1080s, being listed in the Doomsday Book compiled by William the Conqueror... [more]
AllmanEnglish From Norman aleman "German, relating to Germany", ultimately from Late Latin Alemannus "member of the Alemanni tribe". Cognate to French Allemand and Spanish Alemán.
YamamaeJapanese Yama means "mountain, hill" and mae means "front".
HorsleyEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places called Horsley in England, all derived from Old English hors "horse" and leah "woodland, clearing", probably referring to a place where horses were put out to pasture.
KotromanićMedieval Serbian The Kotromanić were a late medieval Bosnian and Serbian noble family. The name is thought to have originated from a knight named Cotromano.
MantelEnglish, German, French, Dutch nickname for someone who wore a cloak in a particularly conspicuous way or with a striking design, from Middle English, Middle High German, Old French, and Middle Dutch mantel "cloak, coat" (from Late Latin mantellus)... [more]
WinkelmannGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner or kept a corner shop (see Winkel), with the addition of Middle High German man, German Mann ‘man’... [more]
ChurchyardEnglish It comes from when the family lived in or near the precincts of a church. Churchyard belongs to the large class of Anglo-Saxon topographic surnames, which were given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as "a hill", "stream", "church", or "type of tree".
GödelGerman From an Old German personal name, Godilo, Godila.German (Gödel): from a pet form of a compound personal name beginning with the element god ‘good’ or god, got ‘god’.Variant of Godl or Gödl, South German variants of Gote, from Middle High German got(t)e, gö(t)te ‘godfather’.
TsukadaJapanese From Japanese 塚 (tsuka) meaning "hillock, mound" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
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.
DouChinese From Chinese 窦 (dòu) meaning "hole, burrow".