ButtafuocoItalian Means "linstock (staff for lighting a cannon)" in Italian, composed of butta "to throw, toss" and fuoco "fire", perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a gunner, or a figurative nickname for someone with a hot temper... [more]
YukitōJapanese From Japanese 雪 (yuki) meaning "snow" and 藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria".
FrickerGerman, German (Swiss) Habitational name for someone from the Frick valley in Baden, Germany, or from Frick in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland.
Van BronckhorstDutch Means "from Bronckhorst", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, itself derived from Dutch brink meaning "village green, edge, slope" and horst meaning "overgrown elevated place" or "higher located brushwood"... [more]
TabakDutch Occupational name for a butcher or hog breeder, from Middle Dutch tucbake composed of tucken "to pull, push, strike" and bake "hog, pig; meat from the back of a pig".
NaultFrench From a short form of various medieval personal names derived from Germanic personal names formed with wald 'rule' as the final element, in particular Arnold.
SikumbangMinangkabau Allegedly from the phrase si kumbang meaning "black tiger", probably derived from Minangkabau kumbang which can mean "beetle" or "tiger, leopard". The name may have been used to refer to Tamil settlers from southern India who had darker skin and practised a tiger-like form of martial arts... [more]
HalawaNias Nias clan name derived from the given name Halawa referring to an ancestor.
KimmelGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German kumin and German kümmel meaning "caraway" (related to Latin cuminum, a word of Oriental origin, like the plant itself), hence a metonymic occupational name for a spicer, literally a supplier of caraway seeds... [more]
WijesenaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit विजय (vijaya) meaning "victory" and सेना (sena) meaning "army".
HareIrish (Anglicized), English (American) Irish (Ulster): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÍr, meaning ‘long-lasting’. In Ireland this name is found in County Armagh; it has also long been established in Scotland.... [more]
MisirlouGreek Misirlou (Μισιρλού), due to the suffix "ou", is the feminine form (in Greek) of Misirlis (Μισιρλής- a surname) which comes from the Turkish word Mısırlı, which is formed by combining Mısır ("Egypt" in Turkish, borrowed from Arabic مِصر Miṣr) with the Turkish -lı suffix, literally meaning "Egyptian".
CherkaouiArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic شَرْقِيّ (šarqiyy) meaning "eastern", denoting someone who comes from the east (chiefly Moroccan).
KishchukUkrainian From Ukrainian кіт (kit) or кішка (kishka), both meaning "cat".
CurcioItalian Could be derived from the Ancient Roman gens Curtius, or directly from a regional descendant of Latin curtus meaning "shortened, short" or "mutilated, broken, incomplete"... [more]
Du PlessisAfrikaans, French Creole, French (Cajun), French (Huguenot) French topographic name for someone who lived by a quickset fence, Old French pleis (from Latin plexum past participle of plectere ‘plait’, ‘weave’), with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’... [more]
SchottlanderGerman, Jewish From German Schottland "Scotland" and, in some cases, denoted an immigrant from Scotland or Ireland. As a Jewish surname, it is most often an ornamental name.
GloffGerman German and Swiss German: from the Germanic personal name Egilolf, composed of the elements agi(l) ‘edge’, ‘point’ (of a sword) + wolf ‘wolf’, cognate with Old English Ecgwulf. This was the name of several Lombard kings (ancestors of the Bavarian ducal line of the Agilolfinger), who introduced the name to Italy.
DingerEnglish Means "one who rings the bell," which is most likely a butler
KowsariPersian "Kowsar" refers to a river or stream in paradise, which is mentioned in the Quran. Another interpretation is that it means "abundant" or "overflowing."
AdedejiYoruba Means "one crown has become two" in Yoruba.
RamasamyTamil From the name of the Hindu god Rama 1 combined with Tamil சாமி (sami) meaning "chief, master, lord" (ultimately from Sanskrit स्वामिन् (svamin)).
MullScottish Scottish, Irish, or English: Probably comes from the Scots language, as the Scots word for "headland" or comes from the geographical term, which is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Maol, a term for a rounded hill, summit, or mountain bare of trees... [more]
AbellaCatalan, Galician Means "bee" in Catalan and Galician, used as a nickname for a small, active person or an occupational name for a beekeeper.
DovbykUkrainian Means "one who works with wood", from Ukrainian довбати (dovbaty), which means "to dig, to make a hole, to cut out" (referring to wood in this case).
HagerDutch, North Frisian From a Germanic personal name, either Hager, composed of hag "hedge, enclosure" and heri "army", or Hadegar, from hadu "battle, combat" and gar "spear" or garu "ready, prepared".
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.
MeanswellPopular Culture Simply the English words "means well". This is the surname of the main protagonist of LazyTown, Stephanie Meanswell, as well as her uncle, Mayor Milford Meanswell.
GallantEnglish Nickname for a cheerful or high-spirited person, from Old French, Middle English galant "bold, dashing, lively". The meanings "gallant" and "attentive to women" are further developments, which may lie behind some examples of the surname.
MarínGalician This indicates familial origin within either of 4 eponymous localities: the municipality in the Comarca of O Morrazo, the neighborhood of the parish of Xubial, the neighborhood of the parish of Camos in the municipality of Nigrán, or the neighborhood of the parish of Fiestras in the municipality of Silleda.
VaidyaIndian, Marathi Derived from Sanskrit वैद्य (vaidya) meaning "physician, doctor", ultimately from the word विद् (vid) meaning "to know".
YetimTurkish Means "orphan" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic يتيم (yatim).
GalassoItalian In northern Italy it could derive from Piedmontese galàs "rooster" (see Gallo), while in southern Italy it might derive from Greek γάλα (gala) "milk", as a nickname for someone with pale skin.
StepnowskyPolish Polish (Stępnowski): habitational name for someone from Stępno in Kalisz voivodeship, named with stępać ‘to plod’ ( see Stepien ), or from a place called Stepnów, now in Ukraine.
HollingworthEnglish Habitational name for a person from the village called Hollingsworth in Greater Manchester and other villages so called, all derived from Old English holegn "holly" and worþ "enclosure".
TorkingtonEnglish From the name of a place in Greater Manchester, originally meaning "Tork's settlement" (Tork being a name or nickname combined with Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town").
HackneyEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from Hackney in Greater London, named from an Old English personal name Haca (genitive Hacan) combined with ēg "island, dry ground in marshland".
CiobotaruRomanian Occupational name from Romanian ciubotar meaning "shoemaker".
PrinsDutch, Jewish Means "prince" in Dutch, a doublet of Prince. Often a habitational name for someone who lived or worked near a location named Prins, such as an inn or windmill, or sign depicting the Prince of Orange... [more]
KropotkinmRussian The surname of a notable royal family including that of famous anarcho communist philosopher Petr Kropotkin.
MaceEnglish, French English: from a medieval personal name, a survival of Old English Mæssa, which came to be taken as a pet form of Matthew.... [more]
HovdaNorwegian Habitational name from the many farmsteads in Norway named Hovda. Derived from Old Norse hófði "rounded peak", itself derived from Old Norse hofuð "head".
SakonJapanese A notable bearer is the actor Peter Sakon Lee.
IllopmägiEstonian Illopmägi is an Estonian surname possibly derived from "iisop" meaning "hyssop", or "ilus" meaning "beautiful", and "mägi" meaning "mountain/hill".
BelyakovmRussian From Russian беляк (belyak), meaning "white rabbit".
KuularTuvan Derived from Tuvan куу (kuu) meaning "swan" or "gray". Names bearing unfavourable meanings were traditionally used by Tuvans to ward off evil spirits.
AlthoffGerman A surname predominantly found in Westphalia and the Rhineland region of Germany which is derived from German alt "old" and Hof (Hoff in the local dialects) "farmstead; farm; manor".
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.
DegenGerman, Swiss Means "rapier, small sword, dagger" in German, an occupational name for someone who made rapiers. Alternately, it could be derived from a given name containing Old High German degan "soldier, warrior", such as Degenhard or Herdegen.
AamisseppEstonian Aamissepp is an Estonian surname meaning "cooper". From "aam" (genitive: "aami", partitive "aami" meaning a "big barrel" and "sepp", meaning "smith".)
FayneEnglish The surname Fayne is derived from the Middle English words "fein," "fayn," or " fane," which all mean "glad." The name was a nickname for a happy or good-natured person.
PhoenixEnglish From the name of a beautiful immortal bird which appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years... [more]