VoolaidEstonian Voolaid is an Estonian surname derived from "vool ("current/flow") and "laid" ("islet").
HałasPolish Means "noise, racket, din" in Polish, a nickname for a noisy or disruptive person.
MockfordEnglish Mockford comes from "Mocca's ford", with Mocca being an Old English name of uncertain origin. An alternative theory is that it comes from "Motholfr's ford" from the Old Norse meaning "renown-wolf". Either way, Mockford was once a place in Sussex, near Rottingdean, and it is from there that most branches of the name originate.
AlbeeScottish Means either "son of the blond one" or "son of Alpin".
KapadiaIndian, Gujarati Occupational name for a cloth maker from Gujarati કાપડ (kāpaḍ) meaning "cloth, fabric".
SakurajimaJapanese From Japanese 桜 or 櫻 (sakura) both meaning "cherry blossom" combined with 島 (jima) meaning "island". This surname comes from 桜島 (Sakurajima), an active stratovolcano located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan... [more]
De GoedeDutch Means "the good (person)" in Dutch, a nickname for someone considered especially kind or gentle, or perhaps for someone gullible.
FarionUkrainian (Rare), Polish (Rare), Rusyn (Rare, ?) Possibly from a Hutsul (Rusyn) dialectal word meaning "intriguer". Alternatively, it could be from the Greek headdress, of which's name derives from φάριο (phário), meaning "lantern, beacon"... [more]
LyskinBelarusian, Russian, Ukrainian Derived either from Belarusian лысы (lysy) or Russian лысый (lysy) or Ukrainian лисий (lysyi) all meaning "bald, bald-headed, hairless".
AbkhaziGeorgian Means "Abkhaz person" in Georgian, referring to a member of the Abkhaz ethnic group inhabiting the Black Sea coast. This was the name of a Georgian family of princely status descended from the Shervashidze ruling family of Abkhazia.
LieshoutDutch Originally indicated a person from the village of Lieshout in the province of North-Brabant, Netherlands. It is possibly derived from either Dutch lies meaning "great manna grass" (a grasslike plant that grows near riverbanks and ponds) or Middle Dutch lese meaning "track, furrow", combined with hout meaning "forest".
IesakaJapanese From 家 (ie) meaning "house, family, home" and 坂 (saka) meaning "hill, slope".
UrkelEnglish (American) This is the surname of character Steven Quincy Urkel (referred to mononymously as Urkel) from the American sitcom Family Matters, where he is played by Jaleel White. In season 5, Urquelle is used as a variant spelling of Urkel and detonates Steven's less nerdy alter ego... [more]
NevesPortuguese Means "snows" in Portuguese, derived from either the Marian title Maria das Neves "Mary of the Snows", or from any of several locations named for the title.
GlassIrish, Scottish Anglicized form of the epithet glas "gray, green, blue" or any of various Gaelic surnames derived from it.
SwitserEnglish Either (i) from the medieval nickname Swetesire (literally "sweet sir, amiable master"), applied sarcastically either to someone who used the expression liberally as a form of address or to someone with a de-haut-en-bas manner; or (ii) an anglicization of Schweitzer (from Middle High German swīzer "Swiss person").
OpstadNorwegian Norwegian: habitational name from any of ten farmsteads in southeastern Norway named Olstad, from a contracted form of Old Norse Ólafsstaðir, from the personal name Ólaf + staðir, plural of staðr ‘farmstead’, ‘dwelling’.
MolinaresSpanish Derived from Spanish molina meaning "mill". Possibly an occupational name for a mill worker.
EnnalsEnglish This unusual and interesting surname is of medieval English origin, and derives from either of two Anglo-Scandinavian male given names: Ingald or Ingulf. The former derives ultimately from the Old Norse "Ingialdr", having as its initial element the divine name "Ing", borne by a minor Norse god associated with fertility, and meaning "swelling, protuberance", with "gialdr", tribute; hence, "Ing's tribute"... [more]
BurridgeEnglish Derived from an English place name, derived from Old English burg "fortress, fortification, castle" and Old English hrycg, Old Norse hryggr "ridge" or from the name Burgric.
ArlottEnglish From a medieval nickname for a ne'er-do-well (from Middle English harlot or arlot "vagabond, base fellow"; "prostitute" is a 15th-century development). This surname was borne by Jack Arlott (1914-1991), a British journalist, poet and cricket commentator.
WernikPolish (Rare) A diminutive surname created from the initial sound of a personal name, place or thing and diminutive ik suffix added to create a surname. The ik suffix may be commemorative also, meaning a significant event has occured regarding the person or family... [more]
UngarGerman, Jewish ethnic name for a Hungarian or a nickname for someone who had trade relations with Hungary. Cognate of Ungaro and variant of Unger.
KuniiJapanese From Japanese 国 or 國 (kuni) meaning "country, land" and 井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
OżgamPolish (Polonized, Modern) The Polish surname Ozga, originating in the 15th century, derives from the Polish word "ozga," denoting a young tree or sapling, especially a willow. Variations such as "Ożga" reflect regional dialectal differences and linguistic shifts... [more]
BangDanish Originally a nickname denoting a loud or brash person, from Old Danish bang "noise" (from Old Norse banga "to pound, hammer" of echoic origin). A literary bearer was Danish author Herman Bang (1857-1912).... [more]
PeuralaFinnish Probably derived from the Finnish peura meaning "deer" with the suffix -la indicating a place.
AubuchonFrench (Modern, ?) The Aubuchon name is French, but of uncertain origin. It is probably from the patronymic prefix au + buchon, a dialect term for a woodcutter (Standard French bûcheron).
KlingemannGerman Occupational surname for a knife maker, literally meaning "knife maker, weapons smith". It is derived from German klinge meaning "blade".
De GeerDutch, Swedish Derived from the town of Geer near Liège, Belgium. The town lies along the course of the river Jeker, which is called Geer in French. Alternatively, it could derive from Dutch geer "wedge-shaped piece of land".
WeinheimerGerman German: habitational name for someone from any of the places named Weinheim, for example in Baden and Hessen.
DomanCzech, Slovak, Polish Derivative of the personal name Tomas, or Slavic, Polish name formed with 'doma' meaning home or domestic such as Domasław or Domarad, also shortened from the surname Domański.
BrackenIrish From Irish Ó Breacáin meaning "descendant of Breacán", a personal name from a diminutive of breac 'speckled', 'spotted', which was borne by a 6th-century saint who lived at Ballyconnel, County Cavan, and was famous as a healer; St... [more]
KostrzewskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Kostrzewice in Sieradz voivodeship or Kostrzewy in Kalisz voivodeship, both named with kostrzewa ‘fescue grass’.
AshkenaziJewish From a nickname given by Jews in Slavic countries to Jews from Germany. It was also used to denote a Yiddish-speaking Jew who had settled in an area where non-Ashkenazic Jews were the majority. The name ultimately comes from Hebrew אַשְׁכְּנַז (ashk'náz), a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, which is likely from Assyrian Aškūza.
SperberGerman, Jewish From a nickname for a small but belligerent person from Middle High German sperwære "sparrow hawk" (Old High German sparwāri a compound of sparw "sparrow" and āri "eagle").
HassdenteufelGerman A German Satzname, from the expression "Hass den Teufel" meaning "hate the devil".
BonaseraSicilian Derived from the expression bona sera "good evening". This name was applied as a nickname either for someone who made frequent use of this salutation or as a personal name bestowed on a child as an expression of gratitude in the sense "it was a good evening when you were born".
ValderramaSpanish Habitational name from any of the places named Valderrama, as for example in Burgos province.
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]
ArmenterosSpanish Habitational name from either of two places called Armenteros, in the provinces of Ávila and Salamanca, from the plural of armenatero meaning ‘cowherd’, from Latin armenta ‘herd(s)’.
EddyAmerican A common surname used among people whose ancestry originates from the United Kingdom (England, Ireland and Scottland etc.) Shelia Eddy is an American who was convicted in 2014 for the murder of Skylar Neese in the state of West Virginia.
BieniakPolish Polish family name with Germanic origins. The Bieniak family lived in the Polish villages of Grębków and nearby Kózki for nearly 500 years.
FarlowEnglish Habitational name from a place in Shropshire so named from Old English fearn "fern" and hlaw "hill tumulus".
BonsallEnglish (British) This is a locational name which originally derived from the village of Bonsall, near Matlock in Derbyshire. The name is Norse-Viking, pre 10th Century and translates as 'Beorns-Halh' - with 'Beorn' being a personal name meaning 'Hero' and 'Halh' a piece of cultivated land - a farm.
BeginBelarusian, Jewish Nickname for a runner, derived from Belarusian бегун (begun) meaning "one who walks quickly". A noteworthy bearer was Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin (1913-1992), who is best remembered for signing a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, for which he and Anwar Sadat were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
NaharArabic Means “river” or “canal”. It is likely that individuals with this last name come from a family with a history or connection to water or irrigation systems.
TsumuraJapanese From Japanese 津 (tsu) meaning "port, harbour" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".
BitsuieNavajo From bitsóí meaning "his grandchild", a commonly adopted surname when the BIA required Native Americans to take surnames for the purpose of official records.
HamatoJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 浜 (hama) meaning "beach; seashore" and 戸 (to) meaning "door; doorway".... [more]
KaeserGerman, German (Swiss) Occupational name for a cheesemaker or a cheese merchant from an agent derivative of Middle High German kæse "cheese". Variant of Käser.