LafrikiAfrican The surname Lafriki most likely means “The African,” derived from the Arabic word “Afriki” (أفريقي) meaning “African.” It is most commonly found in Morocco and is believed to have originated as a descriptor for individuals or families identified by their African origin—particularly in historical contexts where such markers distinguished local populations from those influenced by or migrating from other regions.... [more]
DebyeDutch Variant of De Bie. A notable bearer of the surname was the Dutch-American physicist and physical chemist Peter Debye (1884-1966), born Petrus Debije.
LandisGerman, German (Swiss) German and Swiss German nickname for a highwayman or for someone who lays waste to the land, from Middle High German landoese.
KittirattanawiwatThai (Rare) From Thai กิตติ (kitti) meaning "fame; renown", รัตน (rattana) meaning "gem; jewel", and วิวัฒน์ (wiwat) of unknown meaning.
WhitgiftEnglish Means "person from Whitgift", Yorkshire ("Hvítr's dowry"). This surname was borne by Anglican churchman John Whitgift (?1530-1604), archbishop of Canterbury 1583-1604 (in addition, Whitgift School is an independent day school for boys in South Croydon, founded in 1595 by John Whitgift; and Whitgift Centre is a complex of shops and offices in the middle of Croydon, Greater London, on a site previously occupied by Whitgift School).
PiuChinese 1 Chinese 牛: this name probably arose during the Zhou dynasty ( 1122–221 bc ) in the area of Gansu province; the details are unclear. It was borne by a person named Niu Wen, who was a descendant of the eldest brother of the last king of the Shang dynasty, Zhou Xin ( 1154–1123 bc ).... [more]
EkvallSwedish Composed of Swedish ek "oak" and vall "field, pasture".
KabuJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 蕪 (Kabu), a clipping of 蕪 (Kabumon) meaning "Kabu Gate", a name of a group of several households, that was in the division of Kami in the area of Noda in the city of Izumi in the prefecture of Kagoshima in Japan, for the Kadowari System that took place in the Edo Period in the former Japanese province of Satsuma in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan.... [more]
BrandsDutch, German Patronymic from the given name Brand, derived from Old Dutch brand "fire, sword, torch" or a name containing the element.
BugenhagenPomeranian Haven on the Bugen river. Hagen coming from the German word haven, and there was once a river or small body of water in Pomerania near the border of modern day Poland and Germany called Bugen. The word Bugen, in German, means to bend or to yield... [more]
SkłodowskafPolish Feminine form of Skłodowski. This was the last name of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, better known as Marie Curie, a radiation scientist.
PoddaItalian From Sardinian podda "flour", or pudda "chicken".
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.
BongiornoItalian Italian from the medieval personal name Bongiorno (composed of bono ‘good’ + giorno ‘day’), bestowed on a child as an expression of the parents’ satisfaction at the birth (‘it was a good day when you were born’).
OstwaldGerman from the ancient Germanic personal name Ostold composed of the elements ōst "east" (see Oest ) and Old High German walt(an) "to rule". Variant of Oswald.
KilgallenIrish Kilgallen comes from the Irish name Mac Giolla Chaillin, meaning the son of a servant or devotee of St. Caillin.
SchneeGerman, Popular Culture A German surname meaning "snow". One fictional bearer of this surname is Weiss Schnee, a main character from the popular web series RWBY.
MerleauFrench The name Merleau is a rare French given name and surname, derived from "merle" meaning "blackbird" in French with the diminutive suffix "-eau", which can indicate a place of water or serve as a poetic augmentative, enhancing its natural imagery.... [more]
BagaoisanFilipino, Tagalog From Tagalog bagwisan meaning "to grow wings" or "to pull out the wing feathers (of a bird)".
WestenraLiterature The name is originated from a term meaning 'Lights from the West'. The name could be given to someone who is born in the west. This was the surname of a character in the novel Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker.
SilerEnglish Anglicized form of Seiler, an occupational name for a rope maker, from German Seil ‘rope’
BloemDutch Means "flower, bloom" or "flour (of wheat, corn)" in Dutch. Could be a nickname for a pretty or cheerful person, a metonymic occupational name for a florist, gardener, baker or miller, or a habitational name for a person who lived near flowers or a sign depicting them... [more]
TsuburayaJapanese From Japanese 円 (tsubura) meaning "circle, round" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".
FazalArabic In Islam Imam Hussain's brother (Abbas) was named Fazal, however he was not his biological brother. Imam Hasan was his biological brother. Fazal was rather referred to as Abbas, in his life (c. 566 – c. 653 CE) he was referred to as Abbas and is also referred to today as Abbas
TakamakiJapanese From Japanese 高 (taka) meaning "tall, high" and 巻 (maki) meaning "scroll, book, roll up, tie" or 高巻 (takamaki) meaning "to detour around a waterfall"
GastelumSpanish Hispanic (Mexico): Probably An Altered Form Of Basque Gaztelu (See Gastelo ).
MetriItalian Uncertain etymology. Possibly derived from a short form of Demetrio.
VivisEnglish (Rare) Found in the 1891, 1901 & 1911 British census, other Ancestry.co.uk records & FreeBMD. Could derive from Vivas from Spanish Catalan
FeuchtwangerGerman Denoted a person from the town of Feuchtwangen in Germany. The name of the town is probably from German feucht "wet, humid, dank" and possibly wangen "cheek".
HiiemetsEstonian Hiiemets is an Estonian surname meaning "sacred grove forest".
GranataItalian Granata is an Italian word for a shade of red (maroon), and the Latin name of the city of Granada.
SpoonEnglish Apparently a metonymic occupational name either for a maker of roofing shingles or spoons, from Old English spon "chip, splinter" (see also Spooner).
NatokCircassian Derived from Adyghe натӏэ (nāṭă) meaning "forehead" combined with къу (q°) meaning "man, male".
BrintonEnglish English locational surname, taken from the town of the same name in Norfolk. The name means "settlement belonging to Brun" - the personal name coming from the Old English word for "fire, flame".
EscotoSpanish ethnic name from escoto originally denoting a Gaelic speaker from Ireland or Scotland; later a Scot someone from Scotland. Spanish cognitive of Scott.
WilfordEnglish habitational name from either of two places called Wilford in Nottinghamshire and Suffolk both probably named with an Old English welig "willow" and Old English ford "ford".
KsiazekPolish Nickname meaning ‘little priest’ or possibly a patronymic for an illegitimate son of a priest, from ksiadz ‘priest’ + the diminutive suffix -ek.nickname meaning ‘little prince’, from a diminutive of ksia?ze ‘prince’.
CahannesRomansh Derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and the German given name Hannes.
RouseEnglish From a nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion, derived from Old French rous "red", from Latin russus "red, reddish-brown".
TreadwellEnglish Occupational name for a fuller, a person who cleaned and shrunk newly woven cloth by treading it. It is derived from Middle English tred(en) "to tread" and well "well".
SebaldLiterature In 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events', Gustav Sebald was a film director who hid secret codes in his movies, a member of V.F.D., and the likely creator of the Sebald Code.
HanawaJapanese Either from 花 (hana) meaning "flower" and 輪 (wa) meaning "loop, ring, wheel" or 塙 (hanawa) meaning "mountain, projecting tableland". The 花輪 spelling has multiple readings.
VoronovmRussian Patronymic derived from Russian ворон (voron) meaning "raven".
DayleyEnglish English surname of Norman origin derived from the Norman preposition de for someone from any of numerous places in Northern France called Ouilly.
HibiyaJapanese It consists of the Japanese Kanji meaning day/sun (日), ratio (比), and valley (谷). Chitose Hibiya from the manga and anime Chobits is a notable bearer of this surname.
MawdsleyEnglish Derived from Mawdesley in Lancashire, England; meaning "Maud's clearing," from the given name Maud and leah (woodland, clearing).