SpringallEnglish Means (i) "operator of a springald (a type of medieval siege engine)" (from Anglo-Norman springalde); or (ii) from a medieval nickname for a youthful person (from Middle English springal "youth").
LeithEnglish From the name of a Scottish town (now a district of Edinburgh), which is derived from Gaelic lìte "wet, damp". It is also the name of the river that flows though Edinburgh.
BogusławskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Boguslaw or Boguslawice, both derived from the given name Bogusław.
GranierFrench French for a grain merchant (from Latin granarius), a topographic name for someone who lived by a granary (from Latin granarium) or a metonymic role name for someone who monitors or owned one.
BělínCzech Either a nickname from Czech bílý ‘white’ or a derivative of the female personal name Běla (which also means ‘white’), denoting the son or husband of a woman so named.
TsudaJapanese From Japanese 津 (tsu) meaning "port, harbour" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
BearEnglish From the Middle English nickname Bere meaning "bear" (Old English bera, which is also found as a byname), or possibly from a personal name derived from a short form of the various Germanic compound names with this first element... [more]
KemererGerman From the Old German word "kämmerer," which means "chamberlain." A chamberlain was the person in charge of the noble household; to him would fall the duty of ensuring that the castle and court of the noble ran smoothly.
PellegrinFrench Unknown. Possibly a variant of Pellegrino. This surname was given to the Chilean named Raúl Alejandro Pellegrin Friedmann (1958-1988; nicknamed JoséMiguel).
SonodaJapanese From Japanese 園 or 薗 (sono) meaning "park, garden, orchard" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
ScanagattaItalian Probably means "cat killer", from Italian scannare "to slaughter, to cut the throat of" and gatto "cat", with the figurative meaning of "cheat, scoundrel". (Compare Pelagatti)... [more]
NiemitaloFinnish Finnish surname derived from the words "Niemi" meaning "peninsula,cape" and "talo" meaning "house"
RegueiroGalician, Portuguese The name originated in Ourense (Galicia) in the 14th Century. It´s literal meaning in Portuguese is river. It is a surname referring to a person who lived near a river or water source.
ShijubouJapanese (Rare) From 四 (shi) meaning "four", 十 (ju) meaning "ten", and 坊 (bo) meaning "monk, son, boy".
RoppoloItalian Perhaps a derivative of Roppo, a given name of Germanic origin.
KlingDutch Occupational surname meaning "blade" in Dutch, referring to a person who made knives. A Dutch cognate of Messer.
MaverickEnglish (Rare) Surname notably borne by Texas lawyer, politician and land baron Samuel Maverick (1803-1870) to whom the word maverick was coined.
LamalfaSicilian Variant of Malfa, most probably a habitational name for someone from Malfa on the island of Salina (Messina), although the name has also been linked with Amalfi in Salerno and Melfi in Potenza.
AtwellEnglish Topographic name from Middle English atte welle "by the spring or stream"
WaitmanEnglish From Middle English and Older Scots waithman meaning "hunter; outlaw", equivalent to Old English waþ "hunt, chase; wandering" and mann "person, man".
PizzutoItalian Italian surname derived from a nickname meaning ‘malicious’.
MerrihewEnglish, Irish Likely an altered form of Welsh Meredith (which is found as Meriday in 16th- and 17th-century English sources; also compare Merridew) or possibly of English Mayhew.
SeepEstonian Seep is an Estonian surname meaning "soap".
BaruaIndian, Assamese From a military title historically used in Assam, derived from an Ahom word meaning "ten thousand" (referring to the number of soldiers under the command of such an officer).
KentonEnglish habitational name from any of various places so named Kenton, for example in Devon, Greater London (formerly Middlesex), Northumberland, and Suffolk... [more]
ChallengerEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a touchy or quarrelsome person (from a derivative of Middle English chalangen "to challenge"). A fictional bearer is Professor George Challenger, irascible scientist and explorer, leader of the expedition to Amazonia in Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Lost World' (1912).
SunartoChinese (Indonesian) Indonesianized form of Chinese surnames such as Sun (孫). Surnames like these were instituted during the New Order era (1966–1998) in Indonesia due to social and political pressure toward Chinese Indonesians.
PoplarEnglish Nickname for someone living by a poplar tree.
ManeIndian, Marathi Drived from Sanskrit मान (mana) meaning "respect, honour" or मान्य (manya) meaning "respected, venerable".
WiersmaWest Frisian Can be a patronymic form of the given name Wier, a contracted form of Wieger (see also Wiro), or a toponymic surname from West Frisian wier "artificial hill, dwelling mound", a cognate of English weir and Dutch wierde.
McgivernNorthern Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Uidhrín, a patronymic from a personal name which is from a diminutive of odhar 'dun'. This surname is also found in Galloway in Scotland, where it is of Irish origin.
DziałyńskiPolish This indicates familial origin within Działyń, Gmina Zbójno.
SalthouseEnglish From the name of any of the various places in England so-called or somebody who lived or worked in a salthouse, all derived from Old English sealthus "salt facility, storehouse for salt".
KatagamiJapanese From Japanese 片 (kata) meaning "single" and 上 (gami) meaning "above".
NõmmikEstonian Nõmmik is an Estonian surname meaning "heath forest" or "heath stand".
FoeEnglish (Rare) From Middle English fo "foe, enemy; hostile", possibly a nickname for someone who played the Devil in a pageant play. Can also be a variant form of Fow.
KajitaniJapanese Rare Japanese surname, roughly meaning "to add to the field; extend field boundaries".
RohrbachGerman, German (Swiss) German and Swiss German: habitational name from any of numerous places called Rohrbach (‘reed brook’ or ‘channel brook’) in many parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is a common surname in Pennsylvania.
RondelliItalian, English, French From the medieval name "Rondello" derived from French "rondel" meaning "go around, round" or "rondel", a French old nickname for a round, plump man.
SchwerdtfegerGerman occupational name for an armorer or specifically for a servant whose job was to polish swords Middle High German Middle Low German swertfeger (from swert "sword" and an agent derivative of fegen "to polish or clean").
AnnamTelugu The surname is derived from the Telugu word అన్నం (annam) which means rice.
BousquetOccitan Originally a name for someone living or working in a wooded area.
ChamberlinFrench, English French cognate and English variant of Chamberlain. Occupational name for an official in charge of the private chambers of his master from Old French chamberlenc "chamberlain".
KincaidScottish Scottish habitational name from a place near Lennoxtown, north of Glasgow, which is first recorded in 1238 as Kincaith and in 1250 as Kincathe... [more]
ZuckermanGerman, Yiddish As a German surname, it is an occupational name for a merchant who sold sugar or nickname for a sweet tooth.... [more]
al-FayadhArabic Means "the generous, the charitable, the bountiful" in Arabic, derived from Arabic فَيَّاض (fayyāḍ) meaning "to overflow".
EffenbergGerman Possibly denoted a person coming from a place of this name in Germany, or for someone who lived on or near a mountain or hill covered with elm trees, derived from German effe meaning "elm" and berg meaning "mountain, hill"... [more]
HollingsheadEnglish Habitational name from a lost place in County Durham called Hollingside or Holmside, from Old English hole(g)n "holly" and sīde "hillside, slope"; there is a Hollingside Lane on the southern outskirts of Durham city... [more]
KvitsiniaAbkhaz Mingrelian form of the Abkhaz surname Kutsnia; the Abkhaz name was replaced by the Mingrelian spelling during the era of Joseph Stalin. It is most likely derived from Abkhaz икуцны иааз (ikutsny iaaz) meaning "one who migrates", though the word квици (kvitsi) has no real meaning in Abkhaz... [more]
KabaWestern African, Manding From a Mandinka clan name perhaps derived from the name of a village in southern Mali.
RohumaaEstonian Rohumaa is an Estonian surname meaning "grassland" and "meadow".
PilengisLatvian (Rare) This was my mother's maiden name. She and the rest of my family were born in Latvia. I am the first American born. I do not know what Pilengis means.
ÇillerTurkish Means "freckles" in Turkish, referring to a person with freckles on their face. A notable bearer was Turkey's first female prime minister, Tansu Çiller (1946-).
BenícioPortuguese (Brazilian) Spanish form of Benedict, from the Late Latin name Benedictus, which meant "blessed". A notable bearer is Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro (born 1967).
EklöfSwedish Combination of Swedish ek "oak" and löf, an archaic spelling of löv, "leaf".
BatawiArabic Means "Betawi" in Arabic, referring to someone originally from the city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in Indonesia.
ShandyEnglish (Rare) Shandy appears as a rare surname, mostly found in English-speaking countries going back to the 1600s. This name may originate from the English dialect adjective meaning "boisterous" or "empty headed; half crazy", of which the earliest record dates to 1691, though any further explanation for its origins are unknown... [more]
AhlschlägerGerman The Ahlschlager family name was found in the USA, the UK, and Canada between 1880 and 1920. The most Ahlschlager families were found in the USA in 1920. In 1880 there were 6 Ahlschlager families living in Iowa... [more]