EichhornGerman, Jewish, Belgian German topographic name for someone who lived on or near an oak-covered promontory, from Middle High German eich(e) ‘oak’ + horn ‘horn’, ‘promontory’. German from Middle High German eichhorn ‘squirrel’ (from Old High German eihhurno, a compound of eih ‘oak’ + urno, from the ancient Germanic and Indo-European name of the animal, which was later wrongly associated with hurno ‘horn’); probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal, or alternatively a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a squirrel... [more]
DemskyPolish, Jewish Derived from Polish dab and demb meaning "oak", which is either a habitational name from a place with the same name or an ornamental name with reference to the tree and its qualities of strength and durability.
TamrakarNewar, Indian Means "copper maker; craftsman" in Sanskrit. This is used by the Tamrakar caste of Nepal and India, and mainly of Newar ethnicity in Nepal.
GalbierRomansh Derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and the given name Albert.
FfordeEnglish (British) Notably the last name of English novelist Jasper Fforde. The spelling suggests it is Welsh. Possibly a form of Ford? The source is unknown to me.
NomoriJapanese (?) From Japanese 野 (no) meaning "field" or 乃 (no), a possessive particle combined with 森 (mori) meaning "forest".
FinkleyEnglish Habitational name for a person from the hamlet of Finkley in Hampshire, derived from Old English finc "finch" and leah "woodland, clearing".
BotkinRussian This was the surname of Evgeniy Botkin ( 1865 - 1918) who was the Russian court physician. He remained loyal to the family of Tsar Nicholas II Romanov when the revolution occurred and followed them into exile in Siberia... [more]
HeureauxFrench (Caribbean) Possibly from French heureux "happy, lucky, good". Ulises Heureaux (1845-1899) was the 22nd, 26th, and 27th president of the Dominican Republic
ShiraiJapanese Means "Purple Thunder". From Japanese 紫 (shi) meaning "purple" and 雷 (rai) meaning "thunder". Notable bearers are joshi wrestlers Mio Shirai and Io Shirai.
RusskikhRussian Means "Russian" in Russian, probably used as a nickname for a person who lived in a village where the majority of residents were non-Russian.
SnapperDutch From Middle Dutch snappen meaning "to chatter, babble, snap" or "to snatch, grab, seize", a nickname for a talkative person, or perhaps a thief. Compare Schnapp.
LoshaAlbanian An Albanian surname, most common on the south in the variant Loshaj. The most famous person bearing it was Peter Losha, head of the Losha clan and the despot of Arta.The surname originates from the word lios means "pockmark" in Albanian.
CavaItalian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese From cava ‘cave’, ‘cellar’ (from Latin cavea), hence a metonymic occupational name for someone employed in the wine cellars of a great house, a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a cave, or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word.
Van DoornDutch Means "of the thorns", a topographic name for someone who lived near thorn bushes, or in a settlement named after them.
VahtraEstonian Vahtra is an Estonian surname meaning "maple" (Aceraceae).
SutantoJavanese (Modern) Sutanto comes in part from the Chinese surname Tan. The prefix Su is Javanese. The Su and to were used to make the name Indonesian but not eliminate the Chinese part... [more]
GilioItalian Derived from a variant of the given name Giglio, which can be from an Italian form of Latin Aegidius, or else taken directly from the Italian word giglio meaning "lily".
FettGerman Nickname for a fat man, from Middle Low German vett meaning "fat".
AsanteWestern African, Akan From the ethnic name of the Ashanti, a sub-ethnic group of the Akan from southern Ghana. The name possibly means "warlike" in the Twi language.
ShironoJapanese Shiro means "white" and no means "field, wilderness".
RostásiHungarian Probably comes from the Hungarian word "rosta" wich means sieve.
StriglGerman Name given in 1056 a.d. Meaning- Keeper of the Royal Horses.
KostrzewskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Kostrzewice in Sieradz voivodeship or Kostrzewy in Kalisz voivodeship, both named with kostrzewa ‘fescue grass’.
ĆwiklińskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Masovian villages in Gmina Płońsk: Ćwiklinek or Ćwiklin.
HigginbothamEnglish Habitational name from a place in Lancashire now known as Oakenbottom. The history of the place name is somewhat confused, but it is probably composed of the Old English elements ǣcen or ācen "oaken" and botme "broad valley"... [more]
SaxEnglish From Middle English sax meaning "knife", an occupational name for a knife maker, or perhaps a nickname for someone skilled with a knife.
GerwigGerman, French Derived from the Germanic given name Gerwig, ultimately from the elements gēr meaning "spear" and wīg meaning "battle, fight". This surname is also found in France (mainly in the region of Alsace)... [more]
MottEnglish The surname Mott was first found in Essex, where the family held a family seat from very early times, having been granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. Moate (Irish: An Móta) is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland... [more]
RamplingEnglish Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, derived from Latin ramus meaning "branch" (see Ramos). Famous bearers include English actress Charlotte Rampling (1946-) and her father, athlete and British Army officer Godfrey Rampling (1909-2009).
PohranychnyymUkrainian Means "on the border", from Ukrainian границя (hranytsya), meaning "border", and the prefix по- (po-), meaning "by, on, in, to". Denoted to a person living near a border.
DesrouleauxFrench, Haitian Creole Means "of the scrolls" in French. It is a occupational name for a scribe, a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing... [more]
HavelockEnglish From the Middle English male personal name Havelok, from Old Norse Hafleikr, literally "sea sport". It was borne by the British general Sir Henry Havelock (1795-1857).
GuntliRomansh Derived from Romansh cunt "count" in combination with the diminutive suffix -li.
MahatoIndian, Bengali, Hindi, Assamese, Odia, Nepali From a title given to the head of a village or a well-to-do peasant, possibly derived from Sanskrit महत् (mahat) meaning "great, large, big".
WolowitzJewish This is the surname of the character Howard in the American television show "The Big Bang Theory".
AlmlöfSwedish Combination of Swedish alm (Old Norse almr) meaning "elm" and löv (Old Norse lauf) meaning "leaf".
NehruIndian, Hindi From Sanskrit नहर (nahar, nehar) meaning "canal". This name was borne by Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), the first Prime Minister of India. His earliest recorded ancestor Raj Kaul adopted the name when, upon moving from Kashmir to Delhi, he was granted a jagir (feudal land grant) with a house situated on the banks of a canal... [more]
GriffoItalian From grifo "gryphon" (Latin gryphus, Greek gryps, of Assyrian origin), hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble the mythical beast.
OrlikowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Orlikowo in Łomża voivodeship.
HoyleWelsh, English Derived from Old English holh meaning "hole". It is thought to have originally been a name for someone who lived in a round hollow or near a pit.
MacGillisScottish The MacGillis surname is a very rare surname from Scotland. It means "Mac Giolla Iosa", and translates to "son of the servant of Jesus". The surname was first found in Perthshire in central Scotland.... [more]
RoestDutch Habitational name derived from Old Dutch roest "reed bed, rush forest". Alternatively, from Dutch roest "rust", a nickname for a red-haired person.
BarbeauFrench Derived from barbeau meaning "barbel", a type of fish, hence a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman, or a nickname for a man with a sparse beard, the fish being distinguished by beardlike growths on either side of its mouth... [more]
ChewEnglish Habitational name from a place in Somerset named Chew Magna, which is named for the river on which it stands, a Celtic name, perhaps cognate with Welsh cyw ‘young animal or bird’, ‘chicken’.
BasińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Basin.
VeikatEstonian Veikat is an Estonian surname possibly an Estonianization of the German surname "Weikart".