MadridSpanish habitational name from what is now Spain's principal city Madrid. Throughout the Middle Ages it was of only modest size and importance and did not become the capital of Spain until 156 Its name is of uncertain origin most probably a derivative of Late Latin matrix genitive matricis "riverbed" much changed by Arabic mediation (see Madrigal ). There are other smaller places of the same name in the provinces of Burgos and Cantabria and these may also be sources of the surname.
BodinGerman (Rare) Likely derived from various Germanic personal names containing the name element Bod meaning "messenger". Another theory is that the name could be derived from any of the several places named Boddin in Germany.
OsterdayAmerican (Germanized, Rare) One day in Germany there was a male infant left on the steps to a church. When someone found the baby on the steps, they decided to name him Oster because that day was the day of Easter. Easter in German is Oster... [more]
GillPunjabi Gill is an Indian (Punjab): Sikh name, probably from Punjabi gil ‘moisture’, also meaning ‘prosperity’. There is a Jat tribe that bears this name; the Ramgarhia Sikhs also have a clan called Gill... [more]
WakuniJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 和国 with 和 (o, ka, wa, nago.mu, nago.yaka, yawa.ragu, yawa.rageru) meaning "harmony, Japan, Japanese style, peace, soften" and 国 (koku, kuni) meaning "country."... [more]
ClevengerEnglish Occupational name for a keyholder derived from the word claviger, itself from Latin claviger meaning "key-bearer".
WimmerGerman Occupational last name, meaning "wine maker," using a derivation of the element Wein (meaning "wine") and likely another derivation from -macher (meaning "maker"). It's possible as well that it is derived from Weimann.
KizewskiPolish Polish, variant of Kiszewski a habitational name for someone from Stara Kiszewa (formerly Kiszewa) in Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship.
TownEnglish topographic name from Middle English toun(e) th one tun(e) "town village settlement" (Old English tun) often in the senses "primary settlement within an area" "manor estate" and "hamlet farm" for someone who lived in such a place.
al-WarfalliArabic (Maghrebi) Means "the Warfalli" in Arabic, referring to a person from the Warfalla (ورفلة) tribal confederation of western Libya. The tribe is of mixed Arab and Arabized Berber origin, and they mainly reside in the city of Bani Walid in the Misrata district.
ElzeaHebrew (Gallicized, Rare), American (South, Gallicized, Rare) The name means G-d’s help It is a French transition of the Hebrew name Eleazar applied to Jews that came to France by way of Egypt. Later it was carried over to the French Caribbean mainly St. Martinique which was the first major Jewish settlement in the Caribbean, but the name also spread to other Latin American Islands including Mexico... [more]
BouhiredArabic (Maghrebi) Meaning unknown. A notable bearer is Djamila Bouhired (1935-), an Algerian militant and nationalist who opposed the French rule over Algeria.
AffleckGalician, Scottish Variation of Auchinleck, a town near Dundee, Scotland... Ben & Casey Affleck are famous bearers of the name. Auchinleck appears to have been one of those places where the ancient Celts and Druids held conventions, celebrated their festivals, and performed acts of worship... [more]
CiavattaItalian From ciabatta "slippers", a nickname for a cobbler, or someone known for dressing casually.
KlemmGerman Either from Middle High German klem "narrow, tight", a nickname for miserly person, or from the related klemme "constriction; narrows", a habitational name for someone who lived in a narrow area... [more]
DinklageGerman Occupational name for a grain farmer or grain merchant, derived from an agent derivative of Middle High German dinkel meaning "spelt" (a variety of wheat). It could also be derived from Dinkelsbühl, a historic town in the state of Bavaria (formerly in central Franconia), or Dinklage, a town in the Vechta district, in Lower Saxony, Germany... [more]
YagiJapanese From Japanese 八 (ya) meaning "eight" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".
KoniRussian Derived from Russian конь (konʹ) "horse", denoting someone who worked with horses or whose traits are similar to one. Anatoly Koni (1844-1927) was a Russian jurist, judge, politician and writer... [more]
ForsythScottish Variant of Forsythe. Known bearers include the Scottish botanist William Forsyth (1737-1804), after whom the genus Forsythia is named, and Scottish inventor Alexander John Forsyth (1769-1843).
TsurugaJapanese From Japanese 敦 (tsuru) meaning "kindness, honesty" and 賀 (ga) meaning "congratulations". Other combinations of kanji characters can also form this name.
ShimazuJapanese From Japanese 島 (shima) meaning "island" and 津 (zu) meaning "port, harbor".
MittagGerman Means "midday, noon" in German, with an archaic meaning of "south". Habitational name given to someone who lived south of a main settlement.
FreidhofGerman Topographical name from the German Fredihof 'graveyard', 'cemetery' (from Middle Low German, Middle High German vrithof 'enclosed farmstead or courtyard', later 'cemetery').
Van HertrooijDutch Means "from Hertrooij", most likely a place name in the Netherlands. It could possibly derive from Middle Dutch hert meaning "deer" and rood meaning "red".
SzurkowskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Greater Polish villages named Szurkowo.
TrustyEnglish This is a late medieval occupation descriptive name given to a professional witness, in effect an early Solicitor, the name deriving from the Olde French "Attester" - one who testifies or vouches for a contract or agreement.
PauwDutch, Flemish Means "peacock" in Dutch. Could be a habitational name from a sign depicting a peacock, or a nickname for a proud or flamboyant person. In some cases, it can be a shortened form of the patronymic Pauwels "son of Paul".
TungateEnglish habitational name from Tungate a minor place near North Walsham named from Old English tun "farmstead estate" and Old Norse gata or Old English gæt "way path road street gate".
BurkinsEnglish English variant of Birkin, Burkin, a habitational name from the parish of Birkin in West Yorkshire, so named with Old English bircen ‘birch grove’, a derivative of birce (see Birch).
KajiwaraJapanese From Japanese 梶 (kaji) meaning "paper mulberry" and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".
TõnissooEstonian Tõnissoo is an Estonian surname meaning "Tõnis' (a masculine given name) swamp". Probably an Estonianization of "Tõnis' son (son of Tõnis)".
MomozakiJapanese From Japanese 桃 (momo) meaning "peach" combined with 崎 (zaki) meaning "cape, peninsula".
IriyaJapanese From 入 (iri) meaning "insert, enter" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".
EachusEnglish, Swiss Name is said to have originated in Cheshire and Lancashire. A variant of Etches, possibly a variant of Edge , with post-medieval excrescent -s and devoicing of the consonant, or an altered pronunciation of the nickname Edgoose (Middle English Edcus, early modern English Etcus)... [more]
WakatsuchiJapanese From the Japanese 若 (waka) "young" and 土 (tsuchi) "earth," "soil."
ShresthaNewar From Sanskrit श्रेष्ठ (śrēṣṭha) meaning "important; most excellent; great" in Sanskrit. This is originally used by the Shrestha caste but is now adopted by many castes.
KäserGerman, German (Swiss) occupational name for a cheesemaker or a cheese merchant (see Kaeser ). topographic name for someone who lived by a summer dairy in the Alps from a Tyrolean dialect word derived from Ladin casura... [more]
AbregoSpanish As a Spanish surname, it was from Spanish ábrego, which originally meant "African", from Latin africus. The vocabulary word in modern Spanish has lost this general sense and now means "south wind" (literally, "African (wind)").
CastiglioneItalian Habitational name for someone from any of various places called Castiglione, derived from Italian castiglione meaning "castle, fortress".
ElmahdyArabic (Egyptian) Means "the Mahdi" from Arabic مَهْدِيّ (mahdiyy) meaning "guided one, rightly guided". In Islam, the term refers to a figure who will restore peace to the world.