LemaîtreFrench Means "the master" in French, either used as a nickname for someone who behaved in a masterful manner or an occupational name for someone who was a master of their craft.
DowsonEnglish Either a patronymic surname derived from the given name Dow, a medieval variant of Daw (which was a diminutive of David), or else a metronymic form of the medieval feminine name Dowce, literally "sweet, pleasant", from Old French dolz, dous (cf... [more]
JeschkeGerman Germanized form of Czech and Slovakian Ješko and Polish Jeszka, pet forms of given names beginning with Ja- or Je- such as Jan 1 or Jarosław, as well as various cognates or similar-sounding names, such as Ježek ("hedgehog").
SaikaJapanese From 雑 (sai) meaning "miscellaneous" and 賀 (ka) meaning "congratulations, joy".
RoeEnglish Nickname for a timid person, derived from the Middle English ro meaning "roe"; also a midland and southern form of Ray.
ZahraniArabic From the Arabic زهراني (zahran) meaning "flowering, blossoming"; ultimately from زَهْرَة (zahra) meaning "flower, blossom" (see Zahrah)... [more]
ChanthavongsaLao From Lao ຈັນທະ (chantha) meaning "moon" and ວົງສາ (vongsa) meaning "family".
BeendersDutch Possibly an occupational name for a bookbinder or barrel maker, from Middle Dutch binden "to bind, to tie". Alternatively, could be related to been "bone".
HannamEnglish Habitational name from a place called Hanham in Gloucestershire, which was originally Old English Hānum, dative plural of hān ‘rock’, hence ‘(place) at the rocks’. The ending -ham is by analogy with other place names with this very common unstressed ending.
PuckettEnglish Of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Pocket(t), from a diminutive of Anglo-Norman French poque "small pouch", hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of purses and pouches or a nickname... [more]
UlvaeusSwedish (Rare) Allegedly a latinization of Ulfsäter, a combination of Swedish ulv "wolf" and säter "mountain pasture". Björn Ulvaeus (b. 1945) is a Swedish songwriter, composer and former member of ABBA.
StellrechtGerman Occupational name for a cartwright, from Middle High German stel "framework" and reht (from Old High German wurht-) "maker". Compare English -wright.
YoshimuraJapanese From Japanese 吉 (yoshi) meaning "lucky, good" or 佳 (yoshi) meaning "beautiful, good, excellent" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
MignognaItalian Probably derived from Italian mignone "small, cute, pretty, graceful; favourite", or perhaps from a river of the same name in Lazio, Italy.
GrableGerman Means "digger of ditches or graves" (from a derivative of Middle High German graben "ditch"). A famous bearer was US actress, dancer and singer Betty Grable (1916-1973).
SeminarioSpanish (Latin American) Means "seminar" in Spanish, likely denoting an academic person. Miguel Grau Seminario (1834-1879) was the most renowned Peruvian naval officer and hero of the naval battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific
GyllenhaalSwedish The name Gyllenhaal originated from Nils Gunnarsson Gyllenhaal's father Gunne Olofsson Haal, who was from Hahlegården, a crown homestead in South Härene Parish in the county of Västergötland in West Sweden... [more]
SorhapuruBasque (Rare) From the name of a village in south-west France Basque Country, possibly derived from sorho "field, cultivated land" and buru "head, top, summit; leader, chief".
KaleCroatian Possibly derived from Turkish kale, meaning "castle, fortress".
HergenötherGerman Habitational name for someone from Hergenroth near Limburg or from Hergenrode near Darmstadt, both in Hessen.
HeadleeEnglish (Rare) The Anglo-Saxon name Headlee comes from when the family resided in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Headley in Hampshire is the oldest. The surname Headlee belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
ToyokawaJapanese From Japanese 豊 (toyo) meaning "bountiful, luxuriant" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".
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]
KondaJapanese Written with characters meaning ‘now’ and ‘rice paddy’, this version of the name is found mostly in eastern Japan. In western Japan it is pronounced Imata.
ZhuoChinese From Chinese 卓 (zhuó) meaning "outstanding, lofty".
CastagnoItalian For someone who lived near a chestnut tree from castagno "chestnut" (from latin castanea). Variant of Castagna and Italian cognitive of Chastain.
CherryEnglish From Middle English chirie, cherye "cherry", hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of cherries, or possibly a nickname for someone with rosy cheeks.... [more]
SnowdenEnglish Habitational name from Snowden, a place in West Yorkshire named from Old English snāw ‘snow’ + dūn ‘hill’, i.e. a hill where snow lies long.
SolorioSpanish This indicates familial origin within the vicinity of the Sierra de Solorio mountain range that straddles Aragon, La Mancha, & Old Castile.
VahejõeEstonian Vahejõe is an Estonian surname meaning "mid/dividing river".
WeißmüllerGerman from Middle High German wiz "white" and mulin "miller" an occupational name for a miller who produced white flour which was produced as early as the 14th century.
BatmazTurkish Means "unsinkable, buoyant" or "cheerful, carefree" in Turkish.
PuttickEnglish (British) A variant spelling of the Sussex surname Puttock from the Village of Puttock, which itself derives from the Old English "Puttocke" a bird of prey, the kite. ... [more]
HaverbusYiddish, Dutch Means "blessed friend", from Hebrew חבר (haver) and ברוך (baruch) "blessed".
GiudiceItalian Means "judge, magistrate" in Italian, from Latin iudex, composed of ius "law" and dicere "to say, declare". This was an occupational name for an officer of justice, or a nickname for a solemn and authoritative person.
MelilloItalian Means "small apple, crab apple" in Neapolitan, either a topographic name, an occupational name for a grower or seller of apples, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a sour disposition. Alternatively, it could be from the Latin given name Mellilus, related to the endearment mellilla "little honey", or be a diminutive form of Meli.
WatneyEnglish Probably means "person from Watney", an unidentified place in England (the second syllable means "island, area of dry land in a marsh"; cf. Rodney, Whitney)... [more]
SalussoliaItalian, Piedmontese Originally denoted a person from Salussola, a comune (municipality) in the province of Biella in Piedmont, Italy.
ShigusawaJapanese Keiichi Shigusawa, professionally known as Keiichi Sigsawa, is an award winning novelist.
BollingEnglish, German nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling 'pollard', or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling 'excessive drinking'. German (Bölling): from a personal name Baldwin
PykeEnglish Most likely originates from the words pike (the weapon or the fish), having to do with fishermen or soldiers, or pick, having to do with miners or somebody who tills the ground.
VeitchScottish Derived from the Latin word vacca which means "cow". This was either an occupational name for a cowherd or a nickname for a gentle person.
TrzmielPolish Means "bumblebee" in Polish (dialectally meaning "good-for-nothing, worthless").
LindeGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Derived from Middle Hugh German, Dutch linde or Scandinavian lind "lime tree". Almost exclusively ornamental in Swedish, otherwise probably habitational. There are also a number of feminine names containing the element lind, for example Linda, Dietlinde and Gerlinde, and it's possible that the surname is derived from any of those names.
ShewellEnglish Variant of Sewell, possibly influenced by the Middle English word shewel "scarecrow".
ShindōJapanese From Japanese 新 (shin) meaning "new", 進 (shin) meaning "advance, progress", 信 (shin) meaning "trust, faith", or 真 (shin) meaning "truth, reality" combined with 藤 (dō) meaning "wisteria" or 堂 (dō) meaning "temple, shrine".
HeaEstonian Hea is an Estonian surname meaning "good".
DerungsRomansh Derived from the preposition de "of" and Latin runcare "to weed out, to thin out, to root up", referring to someone who lived near a clearing.
NancyFrench Habitational name from a city named Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle).
VirayFilipino, Tagalog, Pampangan, Pangasinan Occupational name derived from Tagalog, Pampangan and Pangasinan biray referring to a type of small, flat-bottomed rowing boat.
ThongsavanhLao From Lao ທອງ (thong) meaning "gold" and ສະຫວັນ (savanh) meaning "heaven".
ArabeyaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 荒 (ara) meaning "uncultivated, desolate", 部 (be) meaning "department, division; part", and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".
AugelloItalian Italian (Campania) dialect variant of Uccello ‘bird’, hence either a nickname for a diminutive, birdlike person or an occupational name for a fowler. Compare Auciello.
HanfordEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Hanford, Handforth, or Hannaford, derived from either Old Welsh hen "old" and ford "road, way", or from Old English ford "ford, river crossing" combined with the given name Hanna.