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".
PostmaWest Frisian, Dutch West Frisian variant of the Dutch and North German surname Posthumus, given to a child born after their father’s death. It could also be a variant of the habitational name Post or an occupational name for a mailman or guard, using the Frisian suffix -ma.
PotDutch From Middle Dutch pot "pot, jar", an occupational name for a potter, or perhaps a toponymic surname referring to a low-lying piece of land.
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, South American 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.
PozsonyiHungarian Means "Bratislavan, relating to Bratislava" in Hungarian. Bratislava is now the capital city of Slovakia, which was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and was once called Pozsony (or Pressburg in German).
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]
PrestwichEnglish, Irish habitational name from a place in Lancashire (now Greater Manchester) so called Prestwick from Old English preost "priest" and wic "outlying settlement" or from other places with the same derivation.
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".
PridonovRussian The surname Pridonov is derived from a nickname. It contains an indication of the place of residence of the ancestor: "at the Don, i.e. on the Don River". The river named Don flows not only in the European part of Russia, but also in Scotland (the city of Aberdon is located on it) and in France (a tributary of the Vilena).
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.
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]
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. Derived from Ancient Greek Προχύτη (Prokhútē) via Latin Prochyta, of uncertain etymology.
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".
PrusinowskiPolish (Rare) Habitational name for someone from any of various Polish places called Prusinow, Prusinowo, or Prusinowice, named with the ethnic name Prus, meaning 'village of the Prussians'.
PrzespolewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Greater Polish villages in Gmina Ceków-Kolonia: Przespolew Pański or Przespolew Kościelny.
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.
PuginaItalian Possibly derived from Venetian Pùgia, referring to the region of Puglia (see Pugliese), or pugia meaning "abundance, plenty" as well as referring to the cuccagna pole festivities... [more]
PugliaItalian habitational name from Apulia (Italian Puglia) in southeastern Italy. Variant of Pugliese.
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.
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]
PutxetaBasque (Rare) From the name of a neighborhood of the municipality of Abanto, Biscay, possibly derived from Basque putzu "well, hole, puddle" and -eta "place of, abundance of".
PützstückGerman (Rare) Habitational name from a place so named near Königswinter, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
PuyolCatalan Catalan variant of Pujol. It is borne by the retired Spanish soccer player Carles Puyol (1978-).
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 From Chinese 乔 (qiáo) referring to Qiao Shan, a mountain in present-day Shaanxi province where the legendary king Huang Di was supposedly buried.
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.
QuChinese The surname Qu(曲)has several sources. One of the main origins is from the ancient state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period. There was an official position named "Qu Ren" responsible for managing the brewing of wine in Jin... [more]
QuChinese From Chinese 瞿 (qú) meaning "halberd", also possibly referring to an ancient state or fief named Qu (present-day location unknown) that existed during the Shang dynasty.
QuChinese The surname Qu has several sources. One of the main origins is from the ancient state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period. There was an official position named "Qu Ren" responsible for managing the brewing of wine in Jin... [more]
QuackenboschDutch Topographic name meaning "night heron woodlands" in Dutch, from Dutch kwak "night heron" and bosch "woodland wilderness". This surname is now extinct in the Netherlands.
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".
QuếVietnamese Vietnamese form of Gui, from Sino-Vietnamese 桂 (quế).
QuenbyEnglish English: of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Quarmby, a habitational name from a place so called in West Yorkshire.
QuerciaItalian Means "oak (tree)" in Italian, or figuratively "strong or resilient person".
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".
RadleyEnglish From rēadlēah meaning "red clearing". Radley is a village and civil parish in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England.
RadniceCzech This indicates familial origin within the Bohemian town of the same name.
RadolińskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish village of Radolin.
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.
RaffordScottish, English From a village called Rafford in Moray, Scotland. The surname itself is derived from Gaelic rath meaning "fort, dwelling", and ford reffering to a river crossing.
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).
RaguseaItalian (Americanized) Possibly an Americanized form of Ragusa. Adam Ragusea (1982-) is an American internet personality who makes videos about food recipes, food science, and culinary culture.
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, German (Austrian) Habitational name derived from either any of several places called Ramsen in Germany and Switzerland, or from places in Austria and upper Bavaria called Ramsau... [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 any of several ancient places called Rao.
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]
RausingSwedish (Rare) Combination of Raus, the name of a parish in southern Sweden, and the common surname suffix -ing "belonging to, coming from".
RavelFrench, French (African) Derived from either a place called Ravel in the district of Drome or Provence, or from the word 'rave' meaning a root vegetable, and hence a grower or seller of such items.
RavenEnglish, Dutch From a variety of sources all ultimately derived from the name of the bird. Could be a patronymic form of a given name such as Raven, Hraban, or Walraven; from a nickname referring to dark hair or thieving tendencies; or from a toponym derived from a given name.
RavenelEnglish, French Habitational name from Ravenel in Oise or a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of horseradish, from a diminutive of Old French ravene ‘horseradish’ (Latin raphanus)... [more]
RavenscarEnglish (British) From a coastal village with the same name, located in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England.
RavenscroftEnglish, English (British) Habitational name from a minor place in Cheshire, England. The place name means "Hræfn's croft", from an Old English personal name Hræfn (itself from Old English hræfn meaning "raven", possibly a byname) and Old English croft meaning "enclosed field".
RavenswaaijDutch From the name of a village in Gelderland, Netherlands, meaning "Raven’s ford", derived from the personal name Raven combined with Old Dutch wade "ford, shallows", later reinterpreted as Middle Dutch way "pool, kolk lake".
RayaGalician, Spanish Possibly a habitational name from Raya in Galicia or in Albacete and Murcia provinces. Possibly a topographic name from Spanish raya meaning "line", denoting the boundary between two countries or provinces.
RazoGalician A habitational name from Razo in A Coruña province, Galicia.
ReachScottish, English Scottish: Nickname For Someone With Streaks Of Gray Or White Hair From Gaelic Riabhach ‘Brindled Grayish’. English And Scottish: Habitational Name From Either Of Two Places Called Reach In Bedfordshire And Cambridgeshire Recorded As Reche In Medieval Documents From Old English Rǣc ‘Raised Strip Of Land Or Other Linear Feature’ (In The Case Of The Cambridgeshire Name Specifically Referring To Devil's Dyke A Post-Roman Earthwork)... [more]
ReadingEnglish Habitational name from the county seat of Berkshire, which gets its name from Old English Readingas "people of Read(a)", a byname meaning "red".
RealSpanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Galician Either a habitational name from any of numerous places called Real; those in Galicia (Spain) and Portugal being named from real "royal" or as variant of Rial while those in southern Spain and Catalonia are named in part from real meaning "encampment rural property" (Arabic raḥāl "farmhouse cabin")... [more]
RebolledoSpanish Habitational name from any of various places called Rebolledo for example Rebolledo de la Torre in Burgos from rebollo denoting a species of oak.
RechtGerman Probably a habitational name from a place so named in the Rhineland.
ReckGerman Nickname from Middle High German recke ‘outlaw’ or ‘fighter’. North German and Westphalian: from Middle Low German recke ‘marsh’, ‘waterlogged ground’, hence a topographic name, or a habitational name from a place named with this term.
RecktenwaldGerman habitational name from Recktenwald, near Saarbrücken.
ReddenEnglish Location name meaning "clearing or cleared woodland." Communities called Redden include one in Roxburghshire, Scotland and another in Somerset, England. A notable bearer is actor Billy Redden who played the dueling banjoist Lonnie in the 1972 film 'Deliverance.'
ReddickScottish, Northern Irish Habitational name from Rerrick or Rerwick in Kirkcudbrightshire, named with an unknown first element and wīc "outlying settlement". It is also possible that the first element was originally Old Norse rauðr "red".
ReddickEnglish Habitational name from Redwick in Gloucestershire, named in Old English with hrēod "reeds" and wīc "outlying settlement".
ReddingtonEnglish From a place name derived from an uncertain first element (perhaps the Old English given name Rēada) combined with the suffix ing meaning "belonging to" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
ReddishEnglish This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Reddish,' a village near Stockport, Cheshire.
RedenbachGerman Toponymic name possibly derived from Middle High German reden "to speak, to talk" and bach "stream". It could also be a variant of Wittenbach.
RedenbacherGerman (Americanized) Habitational name for someone from any of several places in Bavaria and Austria called Rettenbach, derived from German bach "stream" and an uncertain first element; possibly Old Germanic retten "swamp, moor", reudan "to clear (land), clearing", or roden "to redden, become red".
RédeyHungarian Indicated a person from Kisréde or Nagyréde, a village in Hungary.
RedfieldScottish Anglicized form of the Scottish habitational name Reidfuyrd, meaning "reedy ford".
RedfordEnglish Variant of Radford. A famous bearer is American actor Robert Redford (1936-).
RedgateEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Redgate such as Redgate in Uppingham (Rutland) recorded as le Redegate in 1290... [more]
RedgraveEnglish From the name of a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, derived from Old English hrēod meaning "reed" or rēad "red", and græf meaning "pit, ditch" or grāf "grove"... [more]
RedlingerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from Redling in Bavaria, Germany.
RedmayneEnglish, Irish Derived from Redmain, a small hamlet in Cumbria, England. It is named with Old English rēad meaning "red" and Welsh main meaning "rock, stone". The name could also be derived from the given name Réamonn, which is an Irish form of Raymond... [more]
RedpathScottish, English Habitational name from a place in Berwickshire, probably so called from Old English read ‘red’ + pæð ‘path’. This name is also common in northeastern England.
ReekieScottish Perhaps "person from Reikie", Aberdeenshire, or from a different form of the Scottish male personal name Rikie, literally "little Richard".
ReeseLow German, Dutch, German Variant of Riese or Reus, from risi meaning "giant". Alternatively, could be a patronymic form of the Germanic given name Razo, derived from rēdaz "counsel, advise", or a habitational name from places called Rees or Reese in Rhineland and Lower Saxony.
RehiEstonian Rehi is an Estonian surname meaning "threshing barn".
ReichenbergGerman, Jewish Habitational name from various places named Reichenberg in several different areas of Germany. As an ornamental name, it is composed of German reich(en) meaning "rich" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
ReilleFrench, Occitan Topographic name derived from Old Occitan relha meaning "plowshare", or a habitational name from any of several places named Reille or La Reille in southern France. A notable bearer was Honoré Charles Reille (1775-1860), a Marshal of France during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
ReinaSpanish, Portuguese Either a habitational name from any of the places called Reina. Or most likely from the female personal name Reina 1 (from Latin Regina) otherwise a nickname from reina "queen".
ReinmaaEstonian Reinmaa is an Estonian surname meaning "Rein's land". From the masculine give name "Rein" and "maa" ("land").