DharmapalaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit धर्म (dharma) meaning "that which is established, law, duty, virtue" and पाल (pala) meaning "guard, protector".
TischbeinGerman, Literature Means "table leg" in German, from German tisch "table" and bein "leg". This was the surname of a German family of master artists from Hesse which spanned three generations. This is also the surname of the main character of the 1929 novel Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner, Emil Tischbein.
LagoItalian, Spanish, Portuguese Topographic name for someone living by a lake from lago "lake" (from Latin lacus) or a habitational name from any of the many places called with this word.
PetrieEnglish Patronymic surname that was derived from the first name Peter.
DürerGerman, History In the case of the German painter Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), this was a variant of the German surname Türer, a German translation of Hungarian Ajtósi, meaning "doormaker", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect... [more]
FentonEnglish Originated from several place names in England, meaning “marsh town” from Old English fenn “marsh, fen” + tun “enclosure; settlement, town”.
LolokhoevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush surname derived from the name of an Ingush teip (clan), itself derived from Lyalakh, the name of a mountain village. The village's name itself is of unknown meaning.
LatourFrench Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a tower usually a defensive fortification or watchtower from Old French tūr "tower"; or a habitational name from any of various places called Latour or La Tour named with this word.
AzoulayJudeo-Spanish Meaning uncertain. It may derived from Spanish azul or French azur meaning "blue" (both ultimately derived from Persian via Arabic), possibly used as a nickname for someone with blue eyes or an occupational name for a maker of blue ceramic ware... [more]
MarttinenFinnish Derived from the given name Martti and the name suffix -nen, which is sometimes patronymic. John Morton (1725-1777), Pennsylvania/American politician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was descended from a Marttinen family whose name had been anglicized as Morton.
Van HelmontBelgian, Dutch Possibly a variant of Van Helmond. Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580-1644) was a Belgian chemist, physiologist, and physician, considered as the founder of pneumatic chemistry.
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.
RõukEstonian Rõuk is an Estonian surname derived from the word "rõuk", a type of traditional stack made for the collection and drying of hay, cereals, or straw, often made with a wooden frame.
HarareetHebrew Topographic name derived from Hebrew הֲרָרִית (hararit) meaning "mountainous". A famous bearer was Israeli actress Haya Harareet (1931-2021; birth name Haya Neuberg), who had a prominent role in the movie Ben-Hur (1959).
AtsugiJapanese (Rare) Atsugi (厚木) means "thick tree", notable bearer of this surname is Nanami Atsugi (厚木 那奈美), a Japanese Voice actress. It is also a city name in Kanagawa perfecture.
SwedenborgSwedish Derived from the surname Svedberg (sometimes spelled Swedberg). A notable bearer was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a Swedish theologian and scientist.
KontrafourisGreek A surname of Italian origin, from the Italian words 'contra' meaning against, and 'furo' meaning thief. Common in Greece and among the Greek diaspora.
IñárrituBasque Means "between the valleys" or "in the valley", derived from Basque iñar meaning "valley" and ritu meaning "between". The Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu (1963-) is a famous bearer of this name.
CageEnglish from Middle English, Old French meaning "cage, enclosure". Denoting someone who lived by or was the keeper of a cage, in the sense "lock-up, prison for petty offenders".
KállayHungarian Habitational name for someone from a place called Kálló or Kallo in Nógrád County or from the provincial town of Nagykálló in Szabolcs County in Hungary
YelnatsLiterature Invented by Louis Sacher for his novel "Holes". The name was created because it is Stanley spelled backwards. Stanley Yelnats IV is the main character in the novel.
BednarzPolish Occupational name for a cooper in Polish.
ChalaireAmerican (South, Rare, ?) Chalaire is a very rare surname, few people in the United States have the family name and might be raised in the United States. Around 99 people have been found who wears Chalaire as their family name... [more]
BerentzenGerman The surname is derived from the given name Bernd and was formerly written "Bernd sin Sohn" which meant "son of Bernd"... [more]
LayKhmer Means "marbled, patterned, striped" in Khmer.
KawabataJapanese 'Side or bank of the river'; written two ways, with two different characters for kawa ‘river’. One family is descended from the northern Fujiwara through the Saionji family; the other from the Sasaki family... [more]
CorderFrench (Anglicized, Archaic), English (American) Linked to both English, French and Spanish origin. Cordier, Cordero, Corder- one who makes cord. Can refer to both the act of making cords (rope), cores of fire wood, or actual location names.... [more]
MiodownikPolish, Jewish The literal translation is "honey cake", from the Polish word/root surname miod, meaning "honey." An occupational surname to those in the honey business, mainly beekeepers and bakers.... [more]
BainbridgeEnglish from Bainbridge in North Yorkshire, named for the Bain river on which it stands (which is named with Old Norse beinn ‘straight’) + bridge.
RokaJapanese Japanese name meaning "White crest of the wave".
SummerhaysEnglish Probably means "person living by a summer enclosure (where animals were grazed on upland pastures in the summer)" (from Middle English sumer "summer" + hay "enclosure").
MaleckiPolish Habitational name for someone from places called Malki in the voivodeships of Ostroleka and Torun.
SebronEnglish Exact origins unknown. It could possibly be from "Seabourne", from a patronymic name ("the son of Sebern"), from William Sebrin, Normandy 1180, or possibly even from Norman or Scandinavian origin.