Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ReisenauerGerman Probably denoted a person from a minor place called Reisenau, or a topographic name for someone living by an overgrown water meadow, derived from Middle High German ris meaning "undergrowth" and owe meaning "water meadow".
ReiserGerman, Upper German Habitational name for someone from Reis or Reissen in Bavaria (see Reis). An occupational name from Middle High German reisære ‘warrior’, ‘traveler’... [more]
ReisnerGerman A habitational name for someone from a place called Reisen (for example in Bavaria), Reissen in Thuringia, or Reussen on the Saale river. A variant of Reiser Also from an agent derivative of Middle High German, Middle Low German rise ‘veil’; perhaps an occupational name for someone who made veils.
ReitsmaWest Frisian Derived from either the personal name Reitse or the place name Reitsum combined with the Frisian suffix -ma.
ReixachCatalan Habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Reixac in Catalonia, Spain, for example the town of Montcada i Reixac in the province of Barcelona.
RekdalNorwegian The name of people from the small town Rekdal in West-Norway. Former footballer Kjetil Rekdal (1968- ) is the most known person from there.
RekovRussian From Russian река (reka) meaning "river".
RelyeaGerman, French (Anglicized) Altered spelling of southern German and French Rellier, or probably a regional variant of Swiss German Reller, especially in the western provinces of Austria... [more]
RendallScottish, English Variant of Randall. Habitational name from Rendall in Orkney. Possibly also an Americanization of Swedish Rendahl.
RendelmannGerman A habitational name for someone from Rendel near Frankfurt (Hesse).
RenfrewScottish Anglicized form of the Gaelic Rinn Friù, meaning "cradle of the Royal Stewards." It is derived from either the historical county of Renfrewshire in the west central lowlands of Scotland, or the town of Renfrew within both the historical and present-day boundaries of the county.
RenshawEnglish, Scottish A habitational surname from any of the so-called or like-sounding places in the United Kingdom. These include Renishaw in Derbyshire, Ramshaw in Durham, the lost Renshaw in Cheshire and Radshaw in Yorkshire... [more]
RenteríaSpanish Castilianized variant of Basque Errenteria, the name of two towns in Gipuzkoa and Biscay provinces, Basque Country. Means "customs" in Spanish.
RequenaSpanish, Catalan habitational name from Requena in Valencia or Requena de Campos in Palencia apparently so called from a short form of the various Visigothic compound personal names with the first element rīc "powerful" with the addition of the locative suffix -ena.
RequesensCatalan This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the municipality of La Jonquera.
RequiãoPortuguese Derived from the name of a village in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, ultimately from the name of Rechila, a 5th-century Suevic king of Gallaecia.
RequirosoFilipino Denoted a person from one of the various places of this name in Spain. Quirós, the place name, may derive from Galician queiroa meaning "heather".
RestonEnglish Location name from northern England meaning "brush wood settlement" or place where brush wood, also known as rispe, grew.
RestorickCornish Means "person from Restowrack", farm in Cornwall ("watery hill-spur").
RetaSpanish Castilianized variant of Basque Erreta, a habitational name from a town called Erreta in Navarre, Basque Country
ReusGerman Topographic name from Middle High German riuse "fish trap", or from a regional term reuse meaning "small stream, channel".
ReusCatalan From the name of a city in Catalonia, Spain.
RevereEnglish, French, Judeo-Italian French: variant of Rivière, Rivoire, or Rivier, topographic name for someone living on the banks of a river, French rivier ‘bank’, or habitational name from any of the many places in France named with this word.... [more]
RevordFrench (Quebec) Comes from the French surname of Rivard, a geographical name for someone who lived on a river bank. The -ard ending is changed to -ord in Canadian and American French.
ReznorGerman May be a variant of the German surname Reisner, a habitational name for someone from a place called Reisen (for example in Bavaria), Reissen in Thuringia, or Reussen on the Saale river.
RheimsFrench From the city of Reims in France, also known as Rheims in English.
RheinGerman From the German name for the River Rhine, denoting somebody whom lived within close proximity to the river. The river name itself comes from a Celtic word meaning 'to flow' (Welsh redan, 'run, flow').
RhineGerman, French, English, Irish A habitational name for an individual whom lived within close proximity of the River Rhine (see Rhein). The river name is derived from a Celtic word meaning 'to flow' (Welsh redan, 'flow').... [more]
RibchesterEnglish This name originates from the small village in Lancashire that shares the same name. Interestingly, most people with the name 'Ribchester' are in Lancashire, but a lot are also found in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
RiberaCatalan, Spanish Habitational name from any of various locations in Spain named Ribera, derived from Catalan and Spanish ribera meaning "bank, shore".
RibéryFrench Indicated a person from La Ribeyre, a town in the Auvergne region of France, which translates to "the riverbank". The former French soccer player Franck Ribéry (1983-) is a famous bearer of this name.
RichEnglish Derived from the name of a (former) village in Lincolnshire, England named with the Old English element ric "stream, drainage channel".
RichmondEnglish Habitational name from any of the numerous places so named, in northern France as well as in England. These are named with the Old French elements riche "rich, splendid" and mont "hill"... [more]
RiddickScottish A different form of Reddick ("person from Rerwick or Rerrick", Dumfries and Galloway (perhaps "robbers' outlying settlement")). A fictional bearer of the surname is Richard B. Riddick, (anti)hero of the 'Chronicles of Riddick' movies.
RidgewayEnglish Comes from Middle English 'riggewey', hence a topographic name for someone who lived by such a route or a habitational name from any of various places so named, for example in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, and Staffordshire.
RidingEnglish From Old English rydding "cleared land, assart".
RidingerGerman A habitational name for someone from a place named Riding or Rieding. It is also possibly an altered spelling of Reitinger, a topographic name from Reit(e), which means ‘clearing’ (Old High German riuti).
RiedelGerman Derived from Middle High German riet "damp, mossy area".
RiedemannGerman Either a habitational name derived from places named Ried or Riede, or a topographic name derived from Low German Riede "rivulet".
RiegelGerman From Middle High German rigel "bar, crossbeam, mountain incline", hence a topographic name or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word in Baden, Brandenburg, and Silesia; in some instances it may have been a metonymic occupational name for a maker of crossbars, locks, etc.
RiesenbergGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a big mountain, from Middle High German rise meaning "giant" and berg meaning "mountain".
RiesenbergGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a big mountain, derived from Middle High German rise meaning "giant" and berg meaning "mountain".
RigoletFrench Means "creek" in French. From (American) French rigole (“rivulet”), from Old French regol.
RiihimäkiFinnish Derived from Riihimäki, a town and municipality in southern Finland, meaning "drying barn hill" in Finnish.
RijlaarsdamDutch Derived from Reguliersdam, a dam named for a nearby monastery from Old French reguler "ecclesiastical, subject to religious or monastic rule".
RiloEnglish Transferred use of the surname derived from the Old English elements ryge (rye) and lēah (wood, clearing, meadow). See also Riley 1.
RimesEnglish Originally denoted one who came from the city of Reims in the Grand Est region of France, or a topographic name for someone who lived in a thickly wooded area, derived from Old French ramel (a diminutive of raim) meaning "branch", ultimately from Latin ramus... [more]
RinJapanese From Japanese 林 (rin) meaning "forest".
RinbayashiJapanese (Rare) It's written like this: 林林. Both rin and hayashi mean "forest". This is because rin is the Chinese reading called onyomi, and hayashi is the Japanese reading called kunyomi.
RiseboroughEnglish Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Risborough, Riseborough or Risbury in England, derived from Old English hrīs meaning "brushwood" and beorg meaning "hill, mound", or from hrīs and burh meaning "fortification"... [more]
RitongaBatak From Batak ri meaning "reed, grass" and tonga meaning "middle, centre".
RittGerman Either a topographic name from Old High German ritta meaning "reeds" or a habitational name from a place near Kassel, Germany. Alternately it may also be a variant of Ried.
RivabellaItalian Derived from the Italian word riva meaning "bank (shore, riverbank, lakebank)" (from Latin ripa) and bella meaning "beautiful"... [more]
RivadeneiraSpanish habitational name from a parish named Riba de Neira in Lugo province meaning 'bank of the river Neira' Neira being a tributary of the Miño.
RivardFrench Geographical name for someone who lived on a river bank.
RivareuaLigurian It indicates familial origin within the eponymous frazione of the commune of Carasco.
RixGerman given to a person who resided near a hill, stream, church, or tree
RizalFilipino, Tagalog, Cebuano From Spanish ricial meaning "green field" or "rice field". A notable bearer was José Rizal (1861-1896), a Filipino nationalist and national hero.
RoaSpanish Habitational name from the town of Roa (de Duero) in Burgos province, Spain.
RoascioItalian (Rare) Derived from Roascio, the name of a municipality in the province of Cuneo in the Piedmont region of Italy. The meaning of the municipality's name is uncertain, but since it is located in Piedmont and known as Roass in the Piedmontese language, the etymological origin of the name is most likely Piedmontese... [more]
RoasioItalian This surname originates from the Piedmont region of Italy. It is most likely derived from Roasio, which is the name of a municipality in that same region. The meaning of the municipality's name is uncertain, but since it is located in Piedmont and known as Roaso in the Piedmontese language, the etymological origin of the name is most likely Piedmontese... [more]
RobertshawEnglish habitational name from a lost place Robertshaw in Heptonstall (Yorkshire) from the Middle English Old French personal name Robert and Middle English shaueshaghe "wood grove thicket" (Old English sceaga) meaning "Robert's wood".
RochelleFrench, English habitational name from La Rochelle the name of several places in various parts of France especially that in Manche from a diminutive of Old French roche "rock cliff promontory"... [more]
RochesterEnglish Means "person from Rochester", Kent (probably "Roman town or fort called Rovi"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Mr Rochester, the Byronic hero of Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' (1847).
RochesterEnglish Habitational name from one of three places in Northumberland called Rochester, with names whose early spellings are very similar and sometimes difficult to distinguish from each other... [more]
RockefellerGerman Means "from Rockenfeld." Some famous bearers include founder of the Standard Oil Company and philanthropist John Davison Rockefeller (1839-1937), and 41st Vice President of the U.S.A. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979).
RockettFrench From the French "la roche," or "of the rock." Some family histories trace this back to French Hugenots (sp) who immigrated to England in the 1500's from the Normandy region of France.
RockmanGerman Possibly a habitational name for someone from Rockau in Thuringia.
RockwellEnglish Means "person from Rockwell", Buckinghamshire and Somerset (respectively "wood frequented by rooks" and "well frequented by rooks"). Famous bearers include American illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) and Utah pioneer Porter Rockwell (1813-1878).
RoddEnglish Locational name for someone "at the rod" of land, from Middle English rodde. Also could come from the given name Rod, or the parish of Rodd in Herefordshire, England.
RodelaGalician Possibly habitational name from a place called Rodel (in A Coruña province, Galicia), derived from a diminutive of roda "wheel".
RodhamEnglish From Roddam in Northumberland. The name is thought to have derived from Germanic *rodum, meaning 'forest clearing'.
RodiaItalian Habitational name from Rodia, a locality in Messina, Sicily.
RodwellEnglish Rodwell, a name of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational surname deriving from any one of various places in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Kent, England. In English, the meaning of the name Rodwell is "Lives by the spring near the road".
RoeNorwegian Habitational surname for any of the several farmsteads named Roe or Røe, derived from the Old Norse ruð meaning "clearing".
RoeberLow German Habitational name from a place named Roben, for example in Thuringia or Schleswig. From a Germanic personal name based on hrod ‘renown’, ‘victory’. Low German variant of Räuber and Rauber.
RoestDutch Habitational name derived from Old Dutch roest "reed bed, rush forest". Alternatively, from Dutch roest "rust", a nickname for a red-haired person.
RoginJewish Habitational name from any of various villages named Rogi or from Rogin, all in Belarus.
RogińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from any of various places called Rogi, named with meaning róg "horn".
RohrGerman, Jewish Topographic name for someone who lived in an area thickly grown with reeds, from Middle High German ror. Also a habitational name from one of the several places named with this word.
RohrbachGerman, German (Swiss) German and Swiss German: habitational name from any of numerous places called Rohrbach (‘reed brook’ or ‘channel brook’) in many parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is a common surname in Pennsylvania.
RokunoJapanese Roku means "six" and no means "field, wilderness".
RokutamboJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 六 (roku) meaning "6" and 反穂 (tambo), from 田圃 (tambo) meaning "rice paddy field", referring to a rice paddy field with an area of 6 tans (around 5950 m²) in Japanese measurement.
RolstonEnglish English habitational name from any of various places, such as Rowlston in Lincolnshire, Rolleston in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire, or Rowlstone in Herefordshire, near the Welsh border... [more]
RomneyEnglish English: habitational name from a place in Kent, so called from an obscure first element, rumen, + Old English ea ‘river’ (see Rye).
RomseyEnglish From the town of Romsey in Hampshire, England. The surname itself is derived from Old English rum meaning "broad", and ey meaning "area of dry land in a marsh."
RonSpanish, Galician Habitational name from a town called Ron in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.
RoncesvallesSpanish The name of a village in Navarre (Spain) where there was a Priory of Saint Mary of which the Hospital of Our Lady of Rouncevale at Charing Cross London was a cell.
RongChinese From Chinese 荣 (róng) referring to the ancient fief of Rong, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now Henan province.
RønningNorwegian From any of the many farmsteads named Rønning, ultimately derived from Old Norse ruðja "woodland clearing".
RoosEstonian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, German (Swiss), Low German Means "rose" in Estonian and Dutch. Swedish and Danish variant of Ros, also meaning "rose". This could be a locational name for someone living near roses, an occupational name for someone who grew roses, or a nickname for someone with reddish skin.
RoosipuuEstonian Roosipuu is an Estonian surname meaning "rose wood".
RootDutch From Dutch root, a derivative of roten "to ret", a topographic name for someone who lived by a retting place, a place where flax is soaked in tubs of water until the stems rot to release the linen fibers.
RootareEstonian Rootare is an Estonian surname meaning "reed hut/house".
RoselandEnglish Americanized form of Norwegian Røys(e)land; a habitational name from about 30 farmsteads, many in Agder, named from Old Norse reysi ‘heap of stones’ + land ‘land’, ‘farmstead’.
RosemontEnglish From rose "rose" + mont "mount". Also the name of a town in central California, near Sacramento. In 1880, there were 6 Rosemont families in Indiana.
RosenbaumGerman, Czech Habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a rosebush, Middle High German rōsenboum.
RosenblumJewish From rosen meaning "rose" and blume meaning "flower".
RosenboomDutch From Dutch rozeboom meaning "rose tree", a habitational name for someone who lived near such a tree or a sign depicting one, or who come from the neighbourhood Rozenboom.
RosevearCornish, English From the name of a Cornish village near St Mawgan which derives from Celtic ros "moor, heath" and vur "big".
RosewarneCornish Cornish locational origin from Ros(e)warne, an estate in the parish of Camborne. The name derives from the Breton "ros" meaning a hill(ock), usually one where heather grows, plus the Anglo-Norman French "warrene", a piece of land for breeding game.
RostovRussian, Literature Either derived from Rostov Oblast, a Russian federal subject, the town of Rostov in Yaroslavl Oblast, or Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city in the Rostov Oblast. This is also the surname of multiple characters from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel "War and Peace".
RostovskyRussian Referring to a region in Southwestern Russia named "Rostov".
RostworowskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish village of Rostworowo.
RotaItalian Means "wheel" in Italian, from various place names.
RothackerGerman Either a topographic name based on a field name derived from Middle High German riutenroten "to clear land (for cultivation)" and acker "field"... [more]
RottGerman As far as I've researched the name dates back to a man by the name of Count Palatine Kuno von Rott (~1083). After he got land from the Pfalzfrafs which seem to be a nobile family line.... [more]
RotterdamDutch Denoting someone from a place named Rotterdam "place of the muddy water".
RouenFrench From the other broad category of surnames that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. ... Ruen is a place-name from in Rouen, the capital of Normandy... [more]
RouthEnglish From the village and civil parish of Routh in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England (recorded in the Domesday book as Rutha). The place name may derive from Old Norse hrúedhr meaning "rough shaly ground"... [more]
RoviaroItalian Uncertain etymology. Most common in Veneto, northern Italy.
RoviraCatalan Topographic name for someone who lived by an oak wood, from Catalan rovira meaning "oak wood, oak grove".
RovnákCzech Habitational name from places named Rovné and/or Rovný.
RoweJewish A shortened form of the surname Horowitz, a variant of the surname Horovic, from the town of Horovice, Czech Republic.
RowleyEnglish Anglo Saxon Name- locational, comes from several places in England such as in Devonshire, Yorkshire, County Durham and Staffordshire. It means ' rough wood or clearing', from the Old English 'run' meaning rough and 'leah', meaning clearing in a wood.
RoxburghScottish From Roxburgh, a village near the market town of Kelso in the Scottish Borders area in Scotland, derived from the Old English byname Hroc meaning "rook" and burh meaning "fortified place"... [more]
RózsavölgyiHungarian, Jewish Either a Magyarized form of Rosenthal, or a habitational name denoting a person from the village of Ružindol in the Trnava region of Slovakia (formerly a part of Hungary and called Rózsavölgy).
RozwadowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Rozwady or Rozwadów in Biała Podlaska voivodeship.
RuChinese From Chinese 汝 (rǔ) referring to the ancient fief of Ru Chuan (汝川) or the Ru river, both located in what is now Henan province.
RubalcavaSpanish Habitational name for someone originally from the town of Rubalcaba in Cantabria, Spain. The name itself is derived from Arabic الربع الخالي (ar-rubʿ al-ḵālī) meaning "the Empty Quarter", referring to the Rub' al Khali desert in the Arabian Peninsula.
RudeNorwegian, German German: From a pet form of a personal name formed with Old High German hrōd "fame", for example Rudolf or Rüdiger... [more]
RudeenSwedish (Archaic) Variant or possibly an anglicized form of Rudén. Rudeen is currently not used in Sweden. One known bearer, bishop Torsten Rudeen (1661-1729), got his name from his father's surname Rudenius (also related to Rudén).
RudyardEnglish From the location Rudyard (Staffs) which is recorded as Rudegeard in 100 The place-name probably derives from Old English rude "rue" and geard "enclosure yard".
RudzutakaLatvian (Rare) Rudzutaka is compound from two words first rudzu meaning "rye" and second taka meaning "path". Rudzutaka is femenine form of surname, the masculine form of surname is Rudzutaks. Most famous person with this surname is Jānis Rudzutaks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jānis_Rudzutaks... [more]
RueFrench The name Rue dates back to the days of Medieval France, in the region of Normandy. It is derived from their residence in Normandy. However, the name Ruell is derived from the Old French word ruelle, meaning lane or alley, and indicates that the original bearer lived in such a place... [more]
RuettenGerman (Rütten): from a field name, here showing an inflected form from a full name like aus den Rütten ‘from the clearing(s)’ (see Rutten and Reuter 1
RuffySwiss From a either of two places so named in Marne only one of which (in Vertus) still exists. Known bearers of this surname include the Swiss politician Eugène Ruffy (1854-1919), and Swiss politician Victor Ruffy (1823-1869).
RugbyEnglish From Rugby, Warwickshire. Originally named *Rocheberie, from Old English *Hrocaburg, 'Hroca's fort', the name was altered due to influence fort Danish settlers, with the second element being replaced with Old Norse byr, 'farm'.... [more]