PierpontEnglish English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places, for example in Aisne and Calvados, so called from Old French pierre ‘stone’ + pont ‘bridge’.
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).
PiirimaaEstonian Piirimaa is an Estonian surname meaning "border land".
PiirojaEstonian Piiroja is an Estonian surname meaning "border creek".
PijnenburgDutch From the name of an estate or hamlet called Pijnenburg in the town of Soest in Utrecht, the Netherlands, composed of Middle Dutch pijn meaning "pine tree" and burg meaning "fortress, manor, mansion".
PikeEnglish, Irish English: topographic name for someone who lived by a hill with a sharp point, from Old English pic ‘point’, ‘hill’, which was a relatively common place name element.... [more]
PilgaonkarKonkani, Indian Pilgaonkar is a Konkani surname used mostly in Goa by Konkani Hindus. Sachin Pilgaonkar of Bollywood fame is a famous person with that surname... [more]
PillsburyEnglish Derived from a place in Derbyshire, England, so named from the genitive of the Old English given name Pil and burh meaning "fortified place".
PinFrench, Dutch A topographic name for someone living by a pine tree or in a pine forest, or a habitational name from a place named with the Old French word pin, meaning ‘pine’.
PiñalSpanish Surname whose house was in Hoz de Anero, in the City council of Ribamontán al Monte (Santander).
PinckneyEnglish The surname Pinckney originally denoted someone from Picquigny, France, which derives from a Germanic personal name, Pincino (of obscure derivation) and the Latin locative suffix -acum... [more]
PineauFrench Either a diminutive of Pin from Old French pin "pine" or a habitational name from (Le) Pineau the name of several places in the western part of France of the same origin.
PinedaSpanish, Catalan Habitational name from any of the places in the provinces of Barcelona, Cuenca, and Burgos named Pineda, from Spanish and Catalan pineda "pine forest".
PiñeroSpanish Castilianized from the Portuguese surname Pinheiro, meaning "pine-tree"
PinkertonScottish, Northern Irish Habitational name for a person originally from a location in Scotland named Pinkerton, which is of uncertain meaning.
PinkhamEnglish habitational name from a lost or unidentified place in or bordering on Devon
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]
PinochetBasque, French, Spanish Derived from Basque pinoche meaning "pine cone". Alternately, it could be derived from the name of the hamlet of Pinouchet, located in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France... [more]
PinskerGerman, Prussian Habitational name from any of several places named near Posen (Polish Poznan) and in West Prussia.
PiórkowskiPolish Habitational name from places called Piórkowo in Toruń voivodeship or Piórków in Tarnobrzeg voivodeship.
PiroćanacSerbian Habitational name for someone from Pirot, Serbia.
PirovanoItalian Probably from a place in Lombardy, itself possibly deriving from Ancient Greek πυρο- (pyro-) "fire" and -γενής (-genes) "born of".
PisaItalian Habitational name from the city of Pisa in Tuscany. The city was probably founded by Greek colonists, but before coming under Roman control it was in the hands of the Etruscans, who probably gave it its name... [more]
PisoniItalian patronymic "from Pisone", from a derivative of Piso, from Latin pisum "pea"
PitsenbargerGerman Probably an altered spelling of Bezzenberger, which is derived from Boizenburg, a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
PlainFrench from Old French plain an adjective meaning "flat" and a noun meaning "plain" hence a topographic name denoting e.g. a dwelling on a flat terrain.
PlevnelievBulgarian From the Bulgarian name for the Greek village of Petroussa (called Plevnya in Bulgarian), itself derived from Bulgarian плевня (plevnya) meaning "barn". A notable bearer is Bulgarian president Rosen Plevneliev (1964-).
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".
PlinerRussian, Czech Originated from a small town in Russia named, Plino.
PlumEnglish, German, Jewish English and North German: from Middle English plum(b)e, Middle Low German plum(e) ‘plum’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a plum tree, or a metonymic occupational name for a fruit grower... [more]
PlumtreeEnglish From any of the locations called Plumtree for anyone who lived near a plum tree derived from Old English plume "plum" and treow "tree".
PolancoSpanish Habitational name from Polanco in Santander province.
PolandEnglish, German, French (Anglicized), Irish (Anglicized) English and German name is derived from the Middle High German Polan, which means "Poland". The surname originally signified a person with Polish connections.This French surname originated from an occupational name of a poultry breeder, or from a fearful person; it is derived from the Old French poule, which means "chicken".In other cases, particularly in Ireland, the English Poland is a variant of Polin,which is in turn an Anglicised form of the original Gaelic spelling of Mac Póilín, which translated from Irish means "son of little Paul"... [more]
PõldEstonian Põld is an Estonian surname, meaning "field".
PõldmaaEstonian Põldmaa is an Estonian surname meaning "field land".
PolinskiPolish Habitational name from Polinowo in Pila voivodeship or Polinów in Biala Podlaska voivodeship.
PolitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Habitational name derived from any one of several places called Police (known as Pölitz in German) in the Czech Republic. Hugh David Politzer (1949-) is an American theoretical physicist who, along with David Gross and Frank Wilczek, discovered asymptotic freedom.
PonceSpanish, English The Ponce name was carried into England after the migration from Normandy following the Norman Conquest of 1066.'Ponce' is derived from 'Ponsoby',a place in Cumberland, where the family settled. The Ponce motto is 'Pro rege, lege grege' meaning "For the King, law, and people"
PontonScottish First recording of surname in scotland in 1306 in the town of Ayr Scotland. I have many links showing ties to Scotland.
PoolEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived near a pool or pond, Middle English pole (Old English pōl), or a habitational name from any of the places named with this word, as for example Poole in Dorset, South Pool in Devon, and Poole Keynes in Gloucestershire.
PoolEstonian Pool is an Estonian surname meaning "at", "to", "towards", as well as "half". Derived from the location in which one lived.
PooleyEnglish Habitational name from Pooley Bridge in Cumbria, so named from Old English pol ‘pool’ + Old Norse haugr ‘hill’, ‘mound’. topographic name from Middle English pole ‘pool’ + ey ‘low-lying land’ or hey ‘enclosure’
PoortvlietDutch From the name of the village and former municipality called Poortvliet in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, derived from Middle Dutch port meaning "port, harbour, storage yard, city" and vliet meaning "brook, stream, river, creek, inlet"... [more]
PoplarEnglish Nickname for someone living by a poplar tree.
PortanovaItalian, Portuguese, Galician Habitational name from a place or locality called Portanova "new gate" from the elements neos "new" and porta "door".
PorteFrench from Old French porte "gateway entrance" (from Latin porta) hence a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town (typically the man in charge of them).
PorteousScottish A topographic surname for someone who lived in the lodge at the entrance to a manor house, derived from Middle English port, meaning "gateway" or "entrance", and hous meaning "house". It can also be an occupational name with similar meaning, derived from Latin portarius meaning "porter"... [more]
PortolaSpanish, Portuguese, Romani (Caló) Portola is Spanish and Portuguese for Port and is a Romani calo surname. People include Gaspar de Portolá, a Spanish explorer who was the first governor of Baja and Alta California and had many names after him in California cities and streets.
PortugalSpanish, Portuguese, English, Catalan, French, Jewish Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, English, French, and Jewish surname meaning ethnic name or regional name for someone from Portugal or who had connections with Portugal. The name of the country derives from Late Latin Portucale, originally denoting the district around Oporto (Portus Cales, named with Latin portus ‘port’, ‘harbor’ + Cales, the ancient name of the city)... [more]
PostgateEnglish From Postgate in Danby (NR Yorks) which is recorded as Postgate in the 12th century. The place-name derives from Old English post "post pillar" and Old Scandinavian gata ‘way path road" or Old English gæt "gate".
PotockiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Potok, Gmina Szydłów.
PottierFrench A variant of the french word for potter, potier.... [more]
PotulickiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 3 Greater Polish villages named Potulice.
PoultonEnglish English surname that means "settlement by a pool".
PóvedaSpanish habitational name from any of the places called Poveda in the provinces of Cuenca Ávila Salamanca and Soria or from Póveda de la Sierra in Guadalajara.
PowisEnglish The English of Welsh Surname Powys, which derives from the place "Powys" in Wales.
PoznanskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name from the city of Poznan in west-central Poland, or possibly from other places of this name, in Katowice and Siedlce voivodeships.
PozosSpanish, Galician A habitational name from any of several places named with the plural of pozo, meaning ‘well’. See Pozo.
PraderaSpanish Pradera is a Spanish surname meaning "meadow".
PramantelluSardinian This indicates familial origin within the eponymous commune.
PratleyEnglish Originates from a now "lost" medieval village believed to have been in the south east of England.
PratsCatalan Habitational name from any of the numerous places in Catalonia called Prats, from the plural of prat ‘meadow’
PreciItalian Italian origin. Native spelling is Preçi.
PréjanoSpanish It indicates familial origin within the eponymous La Riojan municipality.
PreshawEnglish (British, Rare) This surname is a habitational name from a locality near Upham on the slopes of the South Downs. It is entirely within a private estate and has its own chapel.
PresleyScottish From Persley, a small Scottish hamlet on the River Don, Aberdeenshire, now a suburb of the much larger city of Aberdeen, named perhaps with the Pictish word *pres-, meaning 'bushes' or 'undergrowth'.... [more]
PrestwoodEnglish habitational name from any of several places called from Middle English prestpriest "priest" and wode "wood" (Old English preostwudu) meaning "dweller by the priest's wood"
PrideauxCornish Means "person from Prideaux, earlier Pridias", Cornwall (perhaps based on Cornish prȳ "clay"). The modern Frenchified spelling is based on the idea that the name comes from French près d'eaux "near waters" or pré d'eaux "meadow of waters".
PrimroseScottish From the name of Primrose in Fife, Scotland, a place originally named Prenrhos, literally "tree-moor" in Welsh. This is the family name of the Earls of Rosebery.
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".
ProcidaItalian Habitational name from Procida, one of the Flegrean Islands off the coast of Naples in southern Italy.
ProiaItalian From the name of a place in Italy. The meaning is uncertain, but it might be derived from Greek πρωία (proía) "morning".
ProtzmanGerman A habitational name for someone from any of various places in Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, and Luxembourg called Protz.
ProvidenceEnglish From the name of the capital city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, derived from Middle English providence meaning "divine guidance, care", ultimately from Latin providentia.
PrunaSpanish (Rare) Possibly a habitational name from a place so named in Spain. It could also be derived from Catalan pruna "plum".
PrzespolewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Greater Polish villages in Gmina Ceków-Kolonia: Przespolew Pański or Przespolew Kościelny.
Puèg-redondOccitan This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Provençal commune.
PuenteSpanish Habitational name from any of the numerous places named Puente, from puente ‘bridge’.
PuentesSpanish Means "bridges" in Spanish. Originated from "puente". The surname was first found in the valley of the Trucios in the Basque region of Spain.However, families with this surname have been present in Catalonia for hundreds of years... [more]
PuertoSpanish Habitational name from any of the numerous places named Puerto, in most cases from puerto ‘harbor’ (from Latin portus ‘harbor’, ‘haven’).
PuértolasAragonese It indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality.
PuigdemontCatalan Means "top of the hill" or "peak of the mountain". It is derived from Catalan puig meaning "hill, peak" combined with either damunt meaning "on top, above", or munt (a diminutive of muntanya) meaning "mountain", using the preposition d'... [more]
PujolCatalan, French Catalan and French variant of Puig. Spanish tennis player Marcel Granollers (1986-) bears this name.
PukkEstonian Pukk is an Estonian surname meaning "trestle".
PulaskiPolish Polish (Pułaski): habitational name for someone from the Pulazie in Łomża Voivodeship.
PuławskiPolish It indicates familial origin within the eponymous Lesser Polish city.
PulitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Variant form of Politzer. A famous bearer was the Hungarian-American businessman, newspaper publisher and politician Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911). His family came from Hungary, but they were of Czech origin.
PulowGerman Pulow is the name of a small village in the northeast of Germany. There is also a lake with the same name.
PurbaBatak Means "east" in Batak, ultimately from Sanskrit पूर्व (purva).
PursleyEnglish Habitational name from Pursley Farm in Shenley, Hertfordshire, England.
PurzyckiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 3 Masovian villages: Purzyce, Purzyce-Rozwory, or Purzyce-Trojany.
PuschGerman Name for someone who lived near bushes or a thicket. The distinguished name Pusch is derived from the Old German word busc, which means thicket or brush.
PuseyEnglish Habitational name from Pusey in Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire), so called from Old English peose, piosu ‘pea(s)’ + ēg ‘island’, ‘low-lying land’, or from Pewsey in Wiltshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Pevesie, apparently from the genitive case of an Old English personal name Pefe, not independently attested + Old English ēg ‘island’.
PuseyFrench Habitational name form Pusey in Haute-Saône, so named from a Gallo-Roman personal name, Pusius, + the locative suffix -acum.
PušnikSlovene Habitational name for someone living near or on a pušča, which is Slovene for "uncultivated land" or "wasteland".
PutneyEnglish habitational name from Putney in Surrey (now Greater London) named in Old English from the personal name Putta (genitive Puttan) and hyth "landing place quay".
PutnikEstonian The surname definition is unknown. It is from the name of a farm Putniku Talu, meaning "Putnik farm". It was located in Vana-Kariste, Viljandimaa, Estonia.
PüttGerman Habitational name from any of several places so named in Rhineland, Westphalia, and Pomerania, but in most cases a topographic name from Middle Low German putte ‘pit’, ‘well’, ‘puddle’, ‘pond’.
PuttickEnglish (British) A variant spelling of the Sussex surname Puttock from the Village of Puttock, which itself derives from the Old English "Puttocke" a bird of prey, the kite. ... [more]
PyleEnglish From the Middle English word pile, meaning "stake" or "post", which is derived via Old English from Latin pilum, meaning "spike" or "javelin". This was a topographic name for someone who lived near a stake or post serving as a landmark, a metonymic occupational name for a stake maker, or a nickname for a tall, strong man.
PyneEnglish Means "pine" from the Old French pin. This was originally given as a topographical name for someone who lived by a conspicuous pine tree or in a pine forest.
PyrgosGreek Means "tower" in Greek. Pyrgos is a city in the northwestern Peloponnese, Greece, capital of the regional unit of Elis.
QiaoChinese Named after a Chinese mountain, Qiao Shan, where Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was supposedly buried. This is the 96th most common surname in China.
QinChinese From Chinese 秦 (qín) referring to the ancient state of Qin, which existed from 221 BC to 206 BC in what is now the Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
QiuChinese From Chinese 邱 or 丘 (qiū) referring to a place called Yingqiu that existed in the state of Qi in what is now Shandong province. The name was originally written with the character 丘 until its usage was prohibited during the Qing dynasty in order to avoid a taboo caused by using the character of Confucius's given name, 丘... [more]
QuChinese From Chinese 屈 (qū) meaning "bent, crooked", also referring to the ancient fief of Qu, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Hubei province.
QuackenbushDutch (Anglicized) Americanized spelling of Dutch Quackenbosch, a topographic name from Dutch quaak ‘swamp’ (cognate with the English word quagmire) + bosch ‘woodland’, ‘wilderness’.
QuagmirePopular Culture Derived from places named "Quagmire". One notable character is Glenn Quagmire from Family Guy.
QuanChinese From Chinese 权 (quán) referring to the ancient state of Quan, which existed during the Shang and Zhou dynasties in what is now Hubei province.
QuarryEnglish From Middle English quarey "quarry", a topographic name for someone who lived near a stone quarry, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in one. ... [more]
QuastGerman habitational name from any of several places so named in northern Germany. metonymic occupational name for a barber or nickname for someone who wore a conspicuous tassel or feather, from Middle Low German, Middle High German quast(e) "tuft", "tassel", "brush", also "fool".
QuenbyEnglish English: of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Quarmby, a habitational name from a place so called in West Yorkshire.
QuestedEnglish (British) English surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the lost village of Questers.
QuetzGerman German family name originating from the town of Quetz (today Quetzdölsdorf).... [more]
QuevedoCantabrian (Hispanicized) Castilianized form of a surname that indicates familial origin within the eponymous settlement at the geographic coordinates 43.128481, -4.039367.
QuinteroSpanish Habitational name from a location in Galicia named Quintero, from Galician quinteiro meaning "farmstead, square, plaza". Alternately, it may be derived from Spanish quinto meaning "fifth", possibly used as a name for a renter of quintas (a type of wine-growing estate).
QuintoAragonese, Spanish, Catalan, Italian Habitational surname for a person from a place called Quinto, for example in Zaragoza province. However, the high concentration of the surname in Alacant province suggests that, in some cases at least, it may derive from the personal name Quinto (from Latin Quintus denoting the fifth-born child or Catalan quinto "young soldier").... [more]
QuintonEnglish From a place name meaning "queen's town" in Old English.
QuislingNorwegian A treacherous person who sides with opposing forces, this meaning comes from Vidkun Quisling of Norway. He helped the Germans during the German rule of Norway in the 1940's. Original meaning "One from" (-ling) "Quislemark", (quis) A romanization of the place name of Kvislemark.
RackhamEnglish Means "person from Rackham", Sussex ("homestead or enclosure with ricks"). This surname was borne by British watercolourist and book illustrator Arthur Rackham (1867-1939).
RadfordEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places so named, for example in Devon, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Hereford and Worcester. Most are named from Old English read "red" + ford "ford", but it is possible that in some cases the first element may be a derivative of Old English ridan "to ride", with the meaning "ford that can be crossed on horseback".
RaffenspergerGerman Altered spelling of Ravensburger or Ravensberger, a habitational name for someone from Ravensburg in Württemberg, but there are a number of similar surnames, for example Raffenberg, a farm name near Hamm, and Raffsberger.
RagsdaleEnglish Apparently an English habitational name from Ragdale in Leicestershire, which is probably named from Old English hraca "gully", "narrow pass" + dæl "valley", "dale".
RagusaItalian Habitational name from Ragusa in Sicily, or from the ancient city of Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia (Italian name Ragusa).
RahnLow German From the slavic tribe of the Rani on the island of Rügen.
RainwaterEnglish (American) Americanized form of the German family name Reinwasser, possibly a topographic name for someone who lived by a source of fresh water, from Middle High German reine ‘pure’ + wazzer ‘water’.
RaisbeckEnglish Raisbeck is a hamlet in the civil parish of Orton, in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. The surname Raisbeck originates from the hamlet. The name of the hamlet derives from Hrridarr, a personal name and beck, a stream or river.
RaischGerman, German (Swiss) From Middle High German rīsch, rūsch ‘reed’, ‘rush’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived near a reed bed, or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for someone who used or harvested reeds... [more]
RajaEstonian Raja is an Estonian surname meaning "boundary" or "border".
RajalaaneEstonian Rajalaane is an Estonian surname derived from "raja" ("boundary", "border") and "lääne" ("occidental", "western"): "western border/boundary".
RajasaarEstonian Rajasaar is an Estonian surname meaning "border island" or "storm island".
RajaveeEstonian Rajavee is an Estonian surname meaning "border water" or "storm water".
RajkowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Rajki in Białystok voivodeship or Rajkowy in Gdańsk voivodeship.
RaleighEnglish English habitation name in Devon meaning "red woodland clearing".
RamalhoPortuguese Means "cut branch, brushwood" in Portuguese, used as a habitational name from any of various places called Ramalho.
RamplingEnglish Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, derived from Latin ramus meaning "branch" (see Ramos). Famous bearers include English actress Charlotte Rampling (1946-) and her father, athlete and British Army officer Godfrey Rampling (1909-2009).
RamsbottomEnglish Habitational name from a market town called Ramsbottom in Greater Manchester, England (historically in Lancashire), derived from Old English hramsa meaning "wild garlic" or ramm "ram", and bothm meaning "bottom, bottom valley".
RamserGerman (Swiss), German (Austrian) someone from any of several places in the Palatinate and in Switzerland called Ramsen or from places in Austria and upper Bavaria called Ramsau. In the Bavarian dialect Rams means "scree".... [more]
RangerEnglish, German, French English: occupational name for a gamekeeper or warden, from Middle English ranger, an agent derivative of range(n) ‘to arrange or dispose’.... [more]
RannasteEstonian Rannaste is an Estonian surname derived from "rand" and meaning "beach" or "shore".
RaoChinese From Chinese 饒 (ráo) referring to the ancient region of Rao, which existed during the state of Zhao in what is now Shaanxi province.
RapinoItalian From the name of two municipalities in Abruzzo, Italy. It could also be a nickname for a barber, derived from Italian rapare meaning "to crop, to shave, to scalp".
RatchfordEnglish habitational name from Rochford (Worcestershire) from Old English ræcc ‘hunting dog’ (genitive ræcces) and ford "ford"... [more]
RatcliffEnglish Habitational name from any of the places, in various parts of England, called Ratcliff(e), Radcliffe, Redcliff, or Radclive, all of which derive their names from Old English rēad meaning "red" + clif meaning "cliff", "slope", "riverbank".
RatzingerGerman Ratzinger means that someone has origins in the town of Ratzing. There are several German towns with this name. RATZ means ‘Serb’. Serbs were indigenous people in Germany, and many German cities originally had Serbian names (Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, Brandenburg)... [more]