AlhadeffJudeo-Spanish Possibly an occupational name for a weaver from Arabic الهداف (al-̣haddāf) meaning "the weaver's shuttle". Alternately, it may be from Arabic الهدى (al-hadā) meaning "the guided one".
DeremerDutch Occupational name for a belt maker or cutter of leather straps, from Dutch riem "belt, strap". It could also be a name for a peat digger, someone who "riems" peat.
TurnburkeAusturian This is my mother's maiden name. Her grandfather, Francis Turnburke was born in Lisbon Portugal in 1825. This family lived in Washington D C. It is said the name was changed from Turnburg to Turnburk then to Turnburke.
DiskinIrish (Anglicized) Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Díscín "descendant of Díscín", which may be derived from díosc "barren". The place name Ballyeeskeen, now Ballydiscin, in County Sligo, is derived from the surname.
CourvilleFrench Derived from either of two communes in the departments of Marne and Eure-et-Loir in France. It is named with Latin curba villa, denoting a settlement in the curve of a road.
TuttEstonian Tutt is an Estonian surname meaning "wisp" or "tuft".
PreusGerman/Norwegian Unknown, but may have come from Prussia or be Jewish. It could mean to jabber. Maybe the same as Preuss, but eliminated the S when immigrating to America.
ManoJapanese From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" or 間 (ma) meaning "pause" and 野 (no) meaning "field, plain, wilderness".
ThomaGerman, German (Swiss) German and Swiss German: variant of Thomas. Greek: genitive patronymic from Thomas. Genitive patronymics are particularly associated with Cyprus.
RockmanGerman Possibly a habitational name for someone from Rockau in Thuringia.
DadashiPersian Derived from Persian داداش (dadash) meaning "brother".
MontignyFrench habitational name from (Le) Montigny the name of several places in various parts of France (from a Gallo-Roman estate name Montiniacum formed either from a personal name or from a derivative of mons "mountain" and the locative suffix acum)... [more]
AntillónAragonese This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
YellmanEnglish Yellman comes from the English words yell and man creating Yellman. The last name Yellman was also given to a person who consistently yelled a lot.
HishmehArabic From Arabic حشمة (hishmah) meaning "modesty, decency".
BrantingSwedish A combination of Swedish brant "steep hill" and the suffix -ing. A famous bearer was Hjalmar Branting (1860–1925), Prime Minister of Sweden in the 1920s.
UusmeesEstonian Uusmees is an Estonian surname meaning "new man".
AbplanalpGerman, German (Swiss) Topographic name for someone living high on a mountainside, from German ab- "below", "off" + Planalp "high, flat mountain-meadow".
TrifilettiSicilian Topographic name from a diminutive of Greek τρίφυλλον (triphyllon) meaning "clover, pitch trefoil", literally "three-leaved" from τρία (tría) "three" and φύλλον (phyllon) "leaf, foliage".
TakayanagiJapanese From Japanese 高 (taka) meaning "tall, high" and 柳 (yanagi) meaning "willow".
DigbyEnglish Derived from the name of an English town, itself derived from a combination of Old English dic "dyke, ditch" and Old Norse býr "farm, town".
MagalingTagalog Means "skilled, great, excellent" in Tagalog.
O'gradyIrish Anglicized form of Ó Gradaigh, meaning "descendant of Gradaigh." Gradaigh is a personal name derived from the Irish Gaelic word grada, "the illustrious one."
SachtlebenGerman Nickname for someone perceived to lead a carefree, easy life, from Middle Low German sacht(e) meaning "soft" + leben meaning "life".
DinklageGerman Occupational name for a grain farmer or grain merchant, derived from an agent derivative of Middle High German dinkel meaning "spelt" (a variety of wheat). It could also be derived from Dinkelsbühl, a historic town in the state of Bavaria (formerly in central Franconia), or Dinklage, a town in the Vechta district, in Lower Saxony, Germany... [more]
TkaczJewish Occupational name for a weaver, Polish tkacz, a noun derivative of tkać "to weave".
KamiyuiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 神 (kami) meaning "God, spirit" and 結 (yui) meaning "connection", referring to the event of someone praying for the descent of God.
LemonAfrican American This surname is a Middle English personal name Lefman, Old English Leofman, composed of the elements leof ‘dear’, ‘beloved’, and mann ‘man’, person. This surname came to be used as a nickname for a lover or sweetheart, from Middle English Lemman.
JõgiojaEstonian Jõgioja is an Estonian surname meaning "river creek".
ToomsooEstonian Toomsoo is an Estonian surname literally meaning "Toomas' swamp". However, it is a corruption of the surname "Thompson" or "Tomson" that has been Estonianized.
SavorgnanItalian (Rare) From a small town near Udine named Savorgnano del Torre, of Friulian origin. This was the name of a Friulian aristocratic family, ascribed to the Venetian participate. The famous bearer of this surname was an Italian-French explorer Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza (1852-1905)
AkçaTurkish Means "money, coin" or "pale, whitish" in Turkish.
Van De LeestDutch, Flemish Derived from Dutch leest meaning "last, boottree", a tool used by shoemakers to shape boots. This can be either an occupational name for cobblers, or a habitational name from the settlement of Leest, itself possibly named for a field in the shape of a boot.
DiawaraWestern African From the name of the Diawara clan and ethnic subgroup of the Soninke people which is apparently derived from the name of the town of Dia in Mali or from the name of the medieval Dia Dynasty of Gao, also in Mali.
GauciMaltese Derived from Maltese Għawdex through Arabic غودش (ġawdeš) which refers to the island of Gozo in the Maltese archipelago. The name itself is of Phoenician origin (through a Greek borrowing) possibly meaning "turn around"... [more]
CilliërsAfrikaans Brought to South Africa by settlers of French decent some time in the past 300 years. Sometimes also a given name for boys.
MoskalenkoUkrainian Means "child of a moskal" in Ukrainian. A moskal originally denoted somebody who was an inhabitant of the Grand Duchy of Moscow from the 12th to the 15th centuries. However, nowadays it is used as a pejorative term for a Muscovite or, by extension, a Russian... [more]
GrableGerman Means "digger of ditches or graves" (from a derivative of Middle High German graben "ditch"). A famous bearer was US actress, dancer and singer Betty Grable (1916-1973).
SaldívarSpanish Castilianized variant of Basque Zaldibar, a habitational name from a place so named in Biscay province. The place name is of uncertain derivation: it may be from zaldu ‘wood’, ‘copse’ or from zaldi ‘horse’ + ibar ‘water meadow’, ‘fertile plain’.
BaezaSpanish From a place called Baeza in Andalusia, Spain.
NõguEstonian Nõgu is an Estonian surname meaning "dell".
SaoKhmer Unexplained but a common surname in Cambodia.
HanaueJapanese From Japanese 花 (hana) meaning "flower" or 華 (hana) meaning "flower, petal" combined with 上 (ue) meaning "above, top, upper, superior" or 植 (ue) meaning "planting".
LingChinese From Chinese 凌 (líng) meaning "ice", originally used as an occupational name for a palace official who was in charge of storing and handling ice.
DaoheuangLao Means "marigold" (literally "bright star") in Lao, from the words ດາວ (dao) meaning "star" and ເມືອງ (huang) meaning "bright, clear, beautiful".
BandieraItalian from bandiera "banner flag" hence presumably a status name for a standard bearer. Italian cognate of Banner.
BøeNorwegian Derived from Old Norse býr "farm, village, settlement" or búa "to reside".
RzewuskiPolish It indicates familial origin within the Podlachian village of Rzewuszki.
CammarataItalian Habitational name from any of various places in Sicily named Cammarata, all derived from Greek καμάρα (kamara) meaning "vault".
MacRoyScots The ancient Dalriadan-Scottish name MacRoy is a nickname for a person with red hair. MacRoy is a nickname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress... [more]
MesserGerman Occupational name for an official in charge of measuring the dues paid in kind by tenants, from an agent derivative of Middle High German mezzen "to measure".
FukuchiJapanese From Japanese 福 (fuku) meaning "happiness, good fortune, blessing" and 地 (chi) meaning "earth, soil, ground".
SundayEnglish Denoted a person who was born on or is associated with Sunday, derived from Middle English Sonday. A famous bearer of the name was American evangelist and professional baseball outfielder Billy Sunday (1862-1935), full name William Ashley Sunday, which is an anglicized form of the surname Sonntag, as his parents were German immigrants.
OtawaraJapanese A notable bearer is Harukiyo Otwara, a daimyo of the Sengoku Period.
OstiguyBasque, French Worn Quebec (Ostéguy variant), the name is visibly Basque and assumes initially a Ostegi form, which could designate a place where the foliage is abundant (osteo = + -egi sheet suffix). Alternatively, place the cold, cold house (Ortz, otz, followed -egi or -tegi).
BagnallEnglish From a place in England, derived from the Old English name "Badeca", a short form of any name beginning from beadu "battle", and halh "nook, recess".
ShakshukiArabic (Maghrebi) Most likely from Libyan Arabic شَكْشُوكَةٌ (šakšawka) meaning “a mixture”, referring to a type of North African dish made of vegetables and fried eggs.
RamamurthyIndian, Tamil Derived from Sanskrit राम (rāma) meaning "pleasing, pleasant, charming" or "dark, black" (see Rama 1) combined with मूर्ति (mūrti) meaning "idol, icon".
CoachFrench Possibly an altered spelling of French Coache, from the Norman and Picard term for a damson, probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of plums.
OverbeekeDutch Means "over the creek", from Dutch over "over, above" and beek "brook, creek".
CarischRomansh Derived from Romansh casa "house" and, by extension, "household, family" and the given name Risch.
BenatarJudeo-Spanish Means "son of the perfumer", derived from Arabic عطر ('atr) meaning "perfume, scent".
SumanasenaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit सुमन (sumana) meaning "good-minded, benevolent" and सेना (sena) meaning "army".