PenryWelsh, Cornish, English Derived from Welsh ap Henry meaning "son of Henry". It is also a variant of Pendray, which is derived from a place name in Cornwall meaning "top of the village" in Middle Cornish... [more]
PenseFrench Pense is, quite literally, a French word meaning "to think" or "thought", but is also a surname. Sometimes confused with the surname Pence, which is German.
PepysEnglish From the medieval personal name Pepis, a form of Old French Pepin, brought into England by the Normans. It may have been based on an earlier nickname meaning "awesome"... [more]
PercevalEnglish, Norman Derived from either the Old French given name Perceval, or from one of two places called Perceval in the department of Calvados in Normandy, France... [more]
PeregrineEnglish, Popular Culture Derived from the given name Peregrine. A fictional bearer is Alma LeFay Peregrine, a character from the novel "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" (2011) by Ransom Riggs.
PereiruMedieval Portuguese (Latinized, Rare, Archaic) This is a Military Order (Knights Templar or the Order of Solomon's Temple) and it was founded by the Henrique de Borgonha, conde de Portucale (Henry, Count of Portugal) in the year 1090. It was then confirmed by Pope Alexandre III in the year 1177... [more]
PerelloCatalan (Balearic), Catalan Perello is a Catalan surname linked to regions like Catalonia and the Balearic Islands in Spain, often associated with "pear tree" or specific locations named Perello.
PerizGascon Periz is a Gascon surname. It's a native of the region of Gascony (Guyenne). Its signification is Descendant of Peter (Also is The family of Peter). In the French languaje is Pierre. It's a surname of the Christian inspiration and alludes to St... [more]
PetzoldGerman German. Derives from a pet form of a Slavic version of the given name Peter.
PeureuxFrench In the war there was a French resistance fighter named Maurice Peureux.
PewWelsh From Welsh ap Hew or ap Hugh "son of Hugh" (see Pugh). A fictional bearer is Blind Pew, the blind pirate in Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' (1883).
PeyronFrench Unknown meaning. French surname. Famous bearer of this name is Bruno Peyron and the German princess Louise Peyron (1918-1989).... [more]
PfotenhauerGerman High German, carpenter's and woodworker's main occupation. Actual old German translation is "paw slapper" or "large paw" as in an animal (bear).
PicquetFrench A variant of Piquet of which it's meaning is of a military terminology of one soldier/small group of soldiers on a line forward of a postion to provide a warning of an enemy advance... [more]
PiggottEnglish, Irish, Norman From the Old French and Old English given names Picot and Pigot, or derived from Old English pic meaning "point, hill", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a hill with a sharp point (see Pike).
PinkusJewish Derived from the given name Pinkus, which in turn comes from the Biblical Hebrew name Phinehas.
PinoSpanish, Galician, Italian Spanish and Galician habitational name from any of the places in Galicia (Spain) named Pino from pino "pine" or a topographic name for someone who lived by a remarkable pine tree. Italian habitational name from Pino d'Asti in Asti province Pino Torinese in Torino or Pino Solitario in Taranto all named with pino "pine’... [more]
PitcherEnglish, German From an agent derivative of Middle English pich ‘pitch’, hence an occupational name for a caulker, one who sealed the seams of ships or barrels with pitch. English variant of Pickard... [more]
PlantzEnglish (American) Deriving from England. "Men known as a Planter was an English term for people who were "planted" abroad in order to promote a political, religious cause or for colonization purposes." ... [more]
PlassGerman From Middle Low German plas meaning "place, open square, street". Can also derive from a medieval form of the given name Blasius.
PleasanceEnglish Either (i) from the medieval female personal name Plaisance, literally "pleasantness"; or (ii) "person from Piacenza", Italy (from Latin Placentia, literally "pleasing things").
PleasantAmerican Means being a very bright man in the near future. Also can be used as a alias.
PlettinckFlemish Patronymic form of names beginning with the Germanic element blad meaning "blade" or "leaf".
PlievIngush (Russified), Ossetian (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush and Ossetian name, which is derived from the name of an Ingush teip (clan). The name itself comes from Plievo, the name of a village in Ingushetia, which means "village of the sons of Pkhile", referring to a given name possibly derived from Ossetian пыл (pyl) meaning "elephant".
PolidoriItalian Means "son of Polidoro". Famous bearers include John William Polidori (1795-1821), a physician to Lord Byron and author of 'The Vampyre' (1819), and his sister Frances Polidori (1800-1886), the mother of painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, poet Christina Rossetti, critic William Michael Rossetti, and author Maria Francesca Rossetti.
PolitisGreek Politis derives from the Greek word polis, which means 'city'. Therefore Politis means 'citizen'. According to some historians people with this surname have ancestors who came from Constantinople, which was commonly called Polis in the Byzantine era.
PompiliiItalian, Medieval Latin The surname Pompilii is of Italian origin and is likely derived from the Latin name Pompilius, which is historically linked to NumaPompilius, the legendary second king of Rome known for his wisdom and religious reforms... [more]
PonceSpanish Derived from Latin Pontius. Could be originated from an Ancient Roman town named "Italica" near another town named "Santiponce" in Seville, Spain.
PosadaItalian Spanish: habitational name from any of the numerous places named Posada, from posada ‘halt’, ‘resting place’. ... [more]
PosthumusDutch, Low German From a personal name which was given to a posthumous child, i.e., one born after the death of his father, derived from Latin postumus "last, last-born" (superlative of posterus "coming after, subsequent") via Late Latin posthumus, which was altered by association with Latin humare "to bury", suggesting death (i.e., thought to consist of post "after" and humus "grave", hence "after death"); the one born after the father's death obviously being the last.
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.
PrivettFrench, English, Welsh (?) French, from the given name Privat (see Privatus). Also an English habitational name from a place so named in Hampshire, derived from Old English pryfet "privet".
ProrokPolish The meaning of prorok is prophet. It was the maiden name of my maternal grandmother. It is not a common name. Her family was from the southeastern part of Poland.