Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
BrambleEnglish This surname is taken from the word which refers to a common blackberry (British) or any of several closely related thorny plants in the Rubus genus (US). It also refers to any thorny shrub. The word is derived from Old English bræmbel with a euphonic -b- inserted from the earlier bræmel or brémel, which is then derived from Proto-Germanic *bræmaz meaning "thorny bush."
BranchEnglish topographic name or nickname from Middle English braunch "branch" (Old French branchebraunche) of uncertain application (compare German Zweig)... [more]
BrandeisJewish Derived from Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (known as Brandeis-Altbunzlau or Brandeis an der Elbe in German), a town located in the Prague-East District, in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic... [more]
BrandenburgGerman (East Prussian, Rare) From a state in eastern Germany, formerly known as Prussia, containing the capital city of Berlin. Ancient. Associated with the Margravate (Dukedom) of Brandenburg, the seat of power in the Holy Roman Empire... [more]
BrandenburgGerman habitational name from Brandenburg the name of a province its principal city and numerous other places.
BrandhorstGerman, Dutch Possibly derived from brant "fire, torch, sword" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
BrandisGerman, Jewish, Swiss German & Swiss: Habitational name from a former Brandis castle in Emmental near Bern, Switzerland, or from any of the places so named in Saxony, Germany. A famous bearer of the name is Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003).... [more]
BrannockIrish Originally taken from the Welsh place name Brecknock. Medieval settlers brought this name to Ireland.
BransbyEnglish (British) English locational name from the village of Bransby in Lincolnshire. The place name is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Branzbi' and later (1115) as 'Brandesby'. These recordings showing that the derivation is from the Old Norse personal name Brandr meaning "sword" and byr, the whole meaning being "Brand's village" or "homestead"... [more]
BrasseEnglish Likely derived from the name of the village of Brace in Shropshire, England. The name of the village likely came from the Old English word braec, which was used for small forests and thickets, or the later Old English word braec, which was used for ground broken up for cultivation.
BraunschweigGerman, Jewish Denoted a person from the city of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "Bruno's settlement".
BraytonEnglish Derived from the Old Norse name breithr meaning "broad", or the Old Norse personal name Breithi, combined with the Old English suffix tun meaning "town, farmstead".
BreedEnglish Habitational name from any of various minor places, for example Brede in Sussex, named with Old English brǣdu "breadth, broad place" (a derivative of brād "broad").
BreedingGerman From the Low German brēde "open field". Denotes a person from such a place.
BréhantBreton Refers to a place of the same name in Côtes-d'Armor.
BrehmeGerman Variant form of Bremer. This name was borne by the German soccer player Andreas Brehme (1960-2024).
BreidingGerman From the name of a place in the Lippe area in northwestern Germany.
BreitbachGerman habitational name from a place in Bavaria named Breitbach from Middle High German breit "broad" and bah "stream".
BreitnerGerman Derived from Middle High German breit meaning "broad, fat, wide". This was either a nickname for a stout or fat person, a topographic name for someone who lived on fertile and flat land, or an occupational name for a farmer who owned such land... [more]
BreitsameterGerman Breitsameter was a person who originated from Breitsamet manor in southern Bavaria.
BreitwieserGerman Derived from German breit "broad" and wisa "meadow".
BreitzmannGerman Eastern German topographic name for someone who lived by a birch wood, ultimately derived from the Slavic stem bres "birch".
BrendenNorwegian Derived from Old Norse brenna "land cleared for cultivation by burning" (also known as svedjebruk "slash-and-burn agriculture").
BrennaNorwegian Variant of Brenden, a Norwegian surname derived from brenna "land cleared for cultivation by burning" (also known as svedjebruk "slash-and-burn agriculture").
BrentonEnglish habitational name primarily from Brenton near Exminster possibly named in Old English as Bryningtun "settlement (Old English tun) associated with Bryni" (a personal name from Old English bryne "fire flame") or "Bryni's town".
BreretonEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places named Brereton or similar in England, derived from Old English brer "briar" and tun "enclosure, town" or dun "hill, mountain".
BrettonEnglish, French habitational name from any of the places called from Bretton in Derbyshire and Yorkshire, both of which mean "settlement of the Britons", from Old English brettas "Briton" and tun "enclosure, settlement"... [more]
BrevikNorwegian Habitational name from any of several farms named Brevik, from Norwegian bred "broad" and vik "bay".
BrewtonEnglish Variant spelling of the habitational name Bruton, from a place in Somerset, so named with a Celtic river name meaning 'brisk' + Old English tun 'farmstead'.
BrezhnevmRussian Denoted a person from a village called Brezhnevo. The most notable bearer was Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982), a leader of the Soviet Union.
BridgefordEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from any of the various places called Bridgford or Bridgeford in England or from a lost or unidentified place in Scotland, all possibly derived from Old English brycg "bridge" and ford "ford".
BridgwaterEnglish Habitational name from a town named Bridgwater in Somerset, derived from Old English brycg "bridge" and the given name Walter, after Norman knight Walter of Douai (1046-1107).
BrierEnglish Derived from Old English brer "briar, bramble", a topographic name for someone who lived near a briar patch, or a nickname for a prickly, irritable person.
BrinkLow German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish Means "village green" or "hill, slope, edge of a field or steep place". As a Swedish name, it’s ornamental.
BrinkerGerman, Dutch Derived from brink "edge, slope" or "village green", indicating that the bearer of the surname lived near a prominent slope of land or next to the centre of a village.
BrintonEnglish English locational surname, taken from the town of the same name in Norfolk. The name means "settlement belonging to Brun" - the personal name coming from the Old English word for "fire, flame".
BrionFrench Refers to any of several places of the same name. Derived from Gaulish briga "height, hill" and the suffix -one.
BrionGalician Refers to a place of the same name from the province A Coruña in pre-Roman Galicia.
BrionesSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Riojan municipality.
BriscoeEnglish From any of the various places of this name or similar, derived from Old Norse bretar "Briton, Welsh" or birki "birch" and skógr "forest, wood".
BrissendenEnglish Derived from either of two places in Kent, England called Brissenden (one near Frittenden and the other near Tenterden), both named with the Old English given name Breosa (a byname derived from bresa meaning "gadfly") and Old English denn meaning "woodland pasture (for swine)".
BritnellEnglish Habitational name from a place called Brinton in Norfolk, England. See Brinton.
BritoPortuguese The Brito family has its original roots in the village of Brito, around 1033 of the Christian era, where Dom Hero de Brito, lord of many estates in Oliveira, Carrazelo and Subilhães, all located between the Ave River and Portela dos Leitões, a very rich region and where the Solar dos Brito was located.
BrizuelaSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the Castilian municipality of Merindad de Valdeporres.
BroadheadEnglish From Old English brad "wide, broad" and heafod "head", a topographic name for someone who lived by a broad headland.
BrochtrupGerman Possibly indicated someone who was from a farm called Brochtrup in the town of Lüdinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A famous bearer is American actor Bill Brochtrup (1963-).
BrockerGerman North German topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp, from Middle Low German brook bog + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
BrodskyCzech Habitational name derived from a number of places, including Bohemia.
BrodzińskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called for example Brudzyń (formerly Brodzino) in Konin voivodeship, or Brodna in Piła voivodeship.
BromleyEnglish Habitational name from any of the many places so called in England. Most of them derived from Old English brom "common broom" and leah "woodland, clearing".
BrosnanIrish Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Brosnacháin meaning "descendant of Brosnachán", a given name derived from Brosna, a small village and parish in County Kerry, Ireland. A well-known bearer is the Irish actor Pierce Brosnan (1953-).
BroughEnglish Habitational name derived from any place called Brough, named with Old English burh "fortress" (compare English and Irish Burke).
BroughamEnglish From the parish of Brougham in Westmoreland, derived from Old English burg "stronghold" + ham "piece of land".
BroughtonEnglish Habitational name from any of the many places so called in England. The first name element is derived from Old English broc "brook", burh "fortress", or beorg "castle". The second element is derived from Old English tun "settlement, dwelling".
BrucknerGerman Topographic name for someone living by a bridge or an occupational name for a bridge toll collector; a variant of Bruck with the addition of the suffix -ner.
BruecknerGerman, German (Silesian) German (Brückner): from Middle Low German brugge, Middle High German brugge, brücke, brügge ‘bridge’ + the agent suffix -ner, hence a topographic name for someone living by a bridge, an occupational name for a bridge toll collector, or in the southeast (Silesia for example) a bridge keeper or repairer... [more]
BrueggemannLow German, German North German (Brüggemann): topographic name for someone who lived near a bridge or a metonymic occupational name for a bridge keeper or street paver, Middle Low German brüggeman (see Bruckman, Brueckner).
BrueghelDutch, Flemish From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium, for example the village of Breugel in North Brabant. Their names mean "enclosed area, hunting preserve" in Dutch. This was the surname of a Dutch-Flemish family of artists who were influential during the Renaissance period in the Low Countries... [more]
BruggemanDutch, Flemish Means "bridgeman" in Dutch, an occupational name for someone who operated, guarded, or otherwise worked on a bridge. It could also denote someone who lived near a bridge, or who came from the Flemish city of Bruges, which also derives from Old Dutch brugga "bridge".
BruggerGerman, American South German variant or Americanized spelling of North German Brügger (see Bruegger). habitational name for someone from any of various (southern) places called Bruck or Brugg in Bavaria and Austria.
BrühlGerman, Jewish Topographic name for someone who lived by a swampy area, derived from Middle High German brüel and Middle Low German brul meaning "swampy land with brushwood". It may also be a habitational name from various places named Brühl in Germany.
BrumbaughGermanic Brumbaugh is derived from towns of the same name, located in various regions of Germany: from "in der Brumbach" a farm near Müsen, Germany, or in the town of Brombach, Swabia and or Switzerland.
BrumbyEnglish English habitational name from a place in Lincolnshire named Brumby, from the Old Norse personal name Brúni or from Old Norse brunnr "well" + býr "farmstead, village".
BrunswickEnglish, German English habitational name from the city in Saxony now known in German as Braunschweig. ... [more]
BruntonEnglish (Rare) From Old English burna meaning "stream" and tun, settlement; hence, "settlement by a stream".
BruskiPolish Habitational surname for someone from a place called Brus.
BrusseFrench Topographic name for someone living in a scrubby area of country, from Old French broce meaning "brushwood, scrub". It is also occupational name for a brush maker, from Old French brusse meaning "brush".
BrzozowskimPolish Habitational name for someone from a place named Brzozowa, Brzozowice, or Brzozowo, all derived from Polish brzoza, meaning "birch tree".
BrzumińskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Masovian village of Brzumin.
BuchGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a beech tree or beech wood, from Middle High German buoche, or a habitational name from any of the numerous places so named with this word, notably in Bavaria and Württemberg... [more]
BuchcickiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Buchcice.
BucheGerman Meaning "beech" and denoting someone who lived near beech trees.
BuchenkoUkrainian Means "from Bucha". Bucha (Буча) is a city just outside of Kyiv, but the surname can also denote to someone from one of the many villages in Ukraine called Bucha.
BucherGerman Upper German surname denoting someone who lived by a beech tree or beech wood, derived from Middle High German buoche "beech tree".
BüchlerGerman Habitional name for someone from Büchle or Büchel, or who lived near beech trees, ultimately from Büche "beech (tree)". Alternatively, could be an occupational name for someone who pressed oil from beechnuts.
BuckinghamEnglish Habitational name from the former county seat of the county of Buckinghamshire, Old English Buccingahamm "water meadow (Old English hamm) of the people of (-inga-) Bucc(a)".
BucklandEnglish Habitational name from any of the many places in southern England (including nine in Devon) named Buckland, from Old English bōc "book" and land "land", i.e. land held by right of a written charter, as opposed to folcland, land held by right of custom.
BuczyńskimPolish Name for a person from any of various settlements named Buczyn or Buczyna, derived from Polish buczyna meaning "beechwood, beech forest".
BudaHungarian (Rare) Habitational name from the name of the old capital of Hungary.
BudeGerman, Dutch Means "booth, stall" or "hut, small house".
BudouJapanese From Japanese 武 (bu) meaning "military, martial" combined with 堂 (dou) meaning "temple, shrine" or from 武道 (budou) meaning "Japanese martial arts".
BudziszewskiPolish Habitational name for someone from places called Budziszewo.
BuehlGerman Topographic name for someone who lived on a hillside, from Middle High German bühel meaning "hill", or a habitational name from a place called Bühl, for example in Baden. Compare Buhl.
BuenavistaSpanish (Philippines) Means "good view" in Spanish. This was likely a habitational name for any of the places in Spain named this.
BuendíaSpanish Probably a habitational name from Buendía in Cuenca province, Spain.
BugajskiPolish Habitational name from any of numerous places called Bugaj.
BugenhagenPomeranian Haven on the Bugen river. Hagen coming from the German word haven, and there was once a river or small body of water in Pomerania near the border of modern day Poland and Germany called Bugen. The word Bugen, in German, means to bend or to yield... [more]
BuglassEnglish Possibly from the Booklawes region near Melrose, Roxburgshire, originally spelt "Buke-Lawes" (lit. "buck/stag" combined with "low ground"); otherwise from the Gaelic words buidhe - "yellow" and glas - "green".
BühlerGerman From the German word "bühl", meaning hill.
BuicanRomanian (Rare) It comes from the name Buicani which comes from the village Buiucani situated in Moldova
BuissonFrench, Haitian Creole (Rare) Topographic name for someone who lived in an area of scrub land or by a prominent clump of bushes from (Old) French buisson "bush scrub" (a diminutive of bois "wood"); or a habitational name from (Le) Buisson the name of several places in various parts of France named with this word.
BuitenhuisDutch Means "country house, building outside of the city" in Dutch, derived from buiten "outside, out of; in the country" and huis "house, home, residence".
BuitragoSpanish, Spanish (Latin American) This indicates familial origin within either of 2 eponymous municipalities: the Castilian one in El Campo de Gómara or the Manchego municipality of Buitrago del Lozoya in Sierra Norte, Comunidad de Madrid.
BujandaBasque It indicates familial origin within the eponymous council of the municipality of Kanpezu.
BujnowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Bujnowo or Bujnow, named with bujny ‘luxuriant’, ‘bushy’, ‘fertile’.
BukhariArabic, Urdu Indicated a person from the city of Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan, itself possibly derived from Sogdian βuxārak meaning "place of good fortune".
BulgariaItalian, Spanish Originally an ethnic name or regional name for someone from Bulgaria or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with Bulgaria, which is named after the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, itself possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed".
BullickEnglish Habitational name from Bulwick, Northampton, or Bolwick Hall, Norfolk, both derived from Old English bula "bull" and wic "village, settlement, farmstead".
BulnesAsturian It indicates familial origin within the eponymous parish of the council of Cabrales.
BulsaraIndian (Parsi) From the name of the city of Valsad (historically known as Bulsar) in Gujarat, India. A famous bearer was British singer Farrokh Bulsara (1946-1991), better known as Freddie Mercury.
BulstrodeEnglish Locational surname referring to the medieval village of Bulstrode in Berkshire. ... [more]
BurdeineiRusyn (Ukrainianized, Rare) Burdeinei is an 18th century Ruthenian (Rusyn) surname from the Carpathian Mountains and Western Ukraine. It is a descriptive surname that indicates a type of location of residence.... [more]
BurdickAnglo-Norman This surname is derived from a geographical locality.,'of Burdet.'
BurdisEnglish A habitational name for Bordeaux, France.
BureOld Swedish, Swedish This was the name of an influential family in 16th century Sweden. The name originated from the village Bure (now known as Bureå) in Skellefteå parish in Northern Sweden. The village got its name from the nearby Bure River (Swedish: Bure älv, Bureälven) whose name was derived from the Swedish dialectal word burra "buzz, rumble".
BurelaGalician This indicates familial origin within the eponymous municipality in the Comarca of La Mariña Central.
BurgerEnglish, German, Dutch Status name for a freeman of a borough. From Middle English burg, Middle High German burc and Middle Dutch burch "fortified town". Also a German habitational name for someone from a place called Burg.
BurghershEnglish The surname of the burghersh family. Several people had it, Including Bartholomew Burghersh the Elder and Younger, and Henry Burghersh. They also married into the Badlesmere bloodline. It seems to have descended from the village of Burghersh, now known as Burwash
BurgioItalian Denoting someone from a town of the same name, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "high, lofty", possibly by way of Arabic بُرْج (burj) "tower", German burg "castle, fortification; settlement", French bourg "burg, market town", or Latin burgus "watchtower, fortified town".
BurgosSpanish Surname from a place named Burgos of Spain.
BurkinsEnglish English variant of Birkin, Burkin, a habitational name from the parish of Birkin in West Yorkshire, so named with Old English bircen ‘birch grove’, a derivative of birce (see Birch).
BurkowskiPolish It is composed of buk (Common Slavic for "beech tree") and the Slavic suffixes -ov and -ski. In some cases, the name may originate from a toponym
BurnellEnglish Derived from an Anglo-Norman personal name composed of a diminutive form of brun "brown", likely originating as a nickname for someone with a brown complexion or brown hair... [more]
BurneyEnglish, Irish Form of the French place name of 'Bernay' or adapted from the personal name Bjorn, ultimately meaning "bear".
BurnleyEnglish English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from Burnley in Lancashire, so named with the Old English river name Brun (from brun ‘brown’ or burna ‘stream’) + leah ‘woodland clearing’... [more]
BurrEnglish, Scottish, German Nickname for a person who is difficult to shake off, derived from Middle English burr meaning "bur" (a seedhead that sticks to clothing). It could also be a derivation from Old English bur meaning "small dwelling, building", or a German topographic name derived from burre meaning "mound, hill"... [more]
BurridgeEnglish Derived from an English place name, derived from Old English burg "fortress, fortification, castle" and Old English hrycg, Old Norse hryggr "ridge" or from the name Burgric.