PischeddaSardinian Thought to derive from the Sardinian word pischedda, which translates to "little fish", possibly indicating a connection to fishing or aquatic occupations that were prevalent in coastal communities.
BurgioItalian Denoting someone from a town of the same name, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "high, lofty", possibly by way of Arabic بُرْج (burj) "tower", German burg "castle, fortification; settlement", French bourg "burg, market town", or Latin burgus "watchtower, fortified town".
RueFrench The name Rue dates back to the days of Medieval France, in the region of Normandy. It is derived from their residence in Normandy. However, the name Ruell is derived from the Old French word ruelle, meaning lane or alley, and indicates that the original bearer lived in such a place... [more]
PomerantzGerman Occupational name for an importer or seller of bitter (Seville) oranges, Middle High German pomeranz (medieval Latin pomarancia, composed of the elements arancia, the name imported with the fruit.
RheinGerman From the German name for the River Rhine, denoting somebody whom lived within close proximity to the river. The river name itself comes from a Celtic word meaning 'to flow' (Welsh redan, 'run, flow').
DeforgeFrench This is a surname of French origins. Introduced into England after the famous Invasion and Conquest of 1066, it is residential, but also possibly occupational. It is a surname which in its different forms is widely recorded heraldically, and particularly in the French regions of Brittany and Normandy... [more]
DumanskimUkrainian, Polish Means "from the place of mist/fog, one associated with thoughts/reflection" from the Slavic word думан (duman) which can mean "fog, mist, haze" in archaic or poetic Ukrainian/Polish but it could also mean "thought, reflection, daydream" in some Slavic uses.
KármánHungarian An ethnic name for people from Karaman, Turkey, via Medieval Latin Caramanus.
MacgintyIrish Patronymic surname from the original Irish Gaelic form 'mac an tsaoi' meaning "son of the scholar". Notable namesake is Irish rugby player AlanLeon "AJ" MacGinty.
McNairIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Mhaoir "son of the steward or keeper".
JunkinsEnglish Derived from the Middle English given name Jenkin, which was in turn created from a diminutive of the name John, with the suffix "kin," added to the name.
LammersEnglish Habitational name from either Lamas in Norfolk or Lamarsh in Essex, derived from Old English lām "loam, clay" combined with ersc "plowed field" or mersc "marsh".
GampEnglish (British) This surname is thought to originate from Sarah or Sairey Gamp, Mrs. Gamp as she is more commonly known, in the novel Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens.... [more]
TulenheimoFinnish Meaning "fire's tribe" in Finnish. A famous bearer was Finnish prime minister Antti Tulenheimo (1879-1952), who was born Antti Thulé.
DuhonFrench Gascon variant of Dufon or Dufond, which is a topographic name from fond meaning “bottom,” with fused preposition and definite article du meaning “from the.” The surname Duhon is very rare in France.
SchachnerGerman German origins (as told to me by my family); popular in Austria and also has Jewish and Slavic origins, according to the internet/ancestry.com.
MarioItalian There's a popular character named Mario, and his brother, Luigi. Together; they're the Super Mario Bros. They've been very popular since the 80's and came out with the greatest games throughout the 90's, 00's, 10's, and 20's.
FairbrotherEnglish From a medieval nickname probably meaning either "better-looking of two brothers" or "brother of a good-looking person", or perhaps in some cases "father's brother".
GeistGerman Habitational name for someone who lived in a house marked by the sign of the Holy Spirit (normally depicted as a dove), from Middle High German geist 'spirit'.
CagneyIrish Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Caingnigh meaning "descendant of Caingneach", a given name meaning "pleader, advocate". A famous bearer was American actor and dancer James Cagney (1899-1986).
HaruyamaJapanese From Japanese 春 (haru) meaning "spring" and 山 (yama) meaning "mountain, hill".
FiordeliseItalian (Rare) Derived from Italian fiordaliso "cornflower". In heraldry, however, fiordaliso is the Italian term for Fleur-de-lys, the symbol for the King of France (until the French Revolution). This surname either could have been ornamental, or could have referred to Italians loyal to the French Kingdom / Empire, even those among the king's guard.
Da LuzPortuguese From a religious epithet meaning ‘of the light’, specifically the Marian name "Nuestra Señora da Luz" (which means "Our Lady of the Light").
VeseyAmerican Famous bearer is Denmark Vesey (1767-1822).
ColdenEnglish, Scottish English: habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Colden, from Old English cald ‘cold’ col ‘charcoal’ + denu ‘valley’.... [more]
DownsEnglish This surname is derived from the Old English element dun meaning "hill, mountain, moor." This denotes someone who lives in a down (in other words, a ridge of chalk hills or elevated rolling grassland).
TakamiyaJapanese From Japanese 高 (taka) meaning "tall, high" and 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace".
LeverettEnglish Diminutive of Lever, from the Middle English personal name Lefred, Old English Leofræd, composed of the elements leof ‘dear’, ‘beloved’ + red ‘counsel’.
LéotardFrench From the given name Leopold. Jules Léotard was an acrobat who popularized the leotard, a gymnastics garment. The garment is named after him.
RaffordScottish, English From a village called Rafford in Moray, Scotland. The surname itself is derived from Gaelic rath meaning "fort, dwelling", and ford reffering to a river crossing.
Van HeukelomDutch, Belgian Denoted someone from any of several places Heukelom or similar, derived from Old Dutch *hukila "hill, elevated place" and hem "home, settlement".
TurneyEnglish, Norman Habitational name from places in France called Tournai, Tournay, or Tourny. All named with the pre-Roman personal name Turnus and the locative suffix -acum.
RuutopõldEstonian Ruutopõld is an Estonian surname derived from "ruut (square)" and "põld" ("field").
PatrushevRussian Patronymic derived from a Russian diminutive of Patricius. This is borne by Russian political and security figure Nikolai Patrushev (1951-), former director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
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".
VansickleDutch (Americanized) Americanized form of a hypothetical Dutch surname, probably derived from either the given name Sikkel (see Siegel) or from sikkel meaning "sickle, scythe".
TobaJapanese From Japanese 鳥 (to) meaning "bird" and 羽 (ba) meaning "feather".
KarasuJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 烏 (u, o, izukunzo, karazu, nanzo) meaning "crow, raven" or 鴉, which is an outdated variant of 烏.... [more]
KillGerman (Rare) A habitational name for someone from a place named Kill.
EmerJewish Metonymic occupational name from Yiddish emer "pail, bucket".
BelarbiArabic (Maghrebi) Means "son of the Arab" from Arabic بْن (bn) meaning "son (of)" and اَلعَرَبِيّ (al-ʿarabiyy) meaning "the Arab".
JudgeEnglish Occupational name for a public official whose duty it is to administer the law, or a nickname for someone who acted like a judge, derived from Old French juge "judge, arbiter", from Latin iudex.
AltosaarEstonian Altosaar is an Estonian surname, possibly derived from the masculine given name "Alto" and "saar", meaning "island"; "Alto's island".
CheryFrench The name Chery is derived from the Anglo Norman French word, cherise, which means cherry, and was probably used to indicate a landmark, such as a cherry tree, which distinguished the location bearing the name.
RoddEnglish Locational name for someone "at the rod" of land, from Middle English rodde. Also could come from the given name Rod, or the parish of Rodd in Herefordshire, England.
KoelEstonian Koel is an Estonian surname meaning "weft" and "seal(ant)".
SmockEnglish From Middle English smoc, smok meaning "smock", "shift", hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or sold such garments, or a nickname for someone who habitually wore a smock (the usual everyday working garment of a peasant).
L'HuillierFrench Denoted a person who produces or sells oil, from French huile "oil" with fused definite article l'. Anne Geneviève L'Huillier (1958-) is a French physicist who beat the world record for the shortest laser pulse, of 170 attoseconds.
MullinixFrench A locational name "of de Moloneaux" probably from the noble family who trace their descent from William the Conqueror, from Molineaux-sur-Seine, near Rouen. The name came to England during the wake of the Norman Conquest... [more]