Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AardemaFrisian The surname Aardema is a patronymic from the personal name Aart, a local variant of Arend, + -ma, a Frisian suffix of origin.
AaronsonJewish Aaronson is a patronymic surname from the personal name Aaron.
AbagnaleItalian Either an occupational name for a shepherd or a person who lived near a sheepfold (derived from Italian abbagnale meaning "good shepherd, good sheepfold"), or a topographic name for someone who lived in a wet or swampy area (from abagnato meaning "drenched, soaked")... [more]
AbayonFilipino, Cebuano Derived from Cebuano abay meaning "parallel, analogue, juxtapose".
AbazaArabic From the name of the Abazin (or Abaza) people native to the Northwest Caucasus. This name was adopted by Abazins, Circassians, and Abkhaz who were expelled from the Caucasus in the 19th century.
AbecassisJudeo-Spanish From Hebrew אָב (áv) meaning "father" and Arabic قَصَّاص (qaṣṣāṣ) meaning "storyteller, narrator" (used as a title for community leaders and rabbis among North African Jews).
AbkhazavaGeorgian, Mingrelian Most likely from Georgian აფხაზი (apkhazi) meaning "Abkhaz". Alternately, it may be from the Adjaran (Muslim) given name Abkhas, derived from Arabic أب ('ab) meaning "father" and خاص (khas) meaning "special, particular".
AbkhaziGeorgian Means "Abkhaz person" in Georgian, referring to a member of the Abkhaz ethnic group inhabiting the Black Sea coast. This was the name of a Georgian family of princely status descended from the Shervashidze ruling family of Abkhazia.
AbplanalpGerman, German (Swiss) Topographic name for someone living high on a mountainside, from German ab- "below", "off" + Planalp "high, flat mountain-meadow".
AbulafiaJudeo-Spanish From Arabic أبو العافية (abū l-ʿāfiya) meaning "father of health" from أبو (abū) meaning "father" and عافية (ʿāfiya) meaning "health, well-being".
AcarTurkish Means "sturdy, hardy" or "bold, fearless" in Turkish.
AcarAncient Aramaic The origins of Acar in Lebanon is ACHAR (עָכָר), Anglicized form of Hebrew Akar or Akan, meaning “one who troubles or roils”.
AdıgüzelTurkish From Turkish adı meaning "name" and güzel meaning "beautiful, nice".
AdleibaAbkhaz Most likely from the given name Adlei, itself derived from Arabic عَادِل (ʿādil) meaning "fair, just", combined with Abkhaz аҧа (āpā) meaning "son"... [more]
AdvaniIndian, Sindhi Means "descendant of Adu" in Sindhi, Adu probably being the name of a past ancestor.
AfsharPersian From the name of the Afshar people, a Turkic tribe residing in Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. The name itself may mean "obedient" or perhaps "extraction, squeeze, press".
AgassiArmenian, Persian, Italian The surname Agassi most likely evolved from a nickname for someone resembling a mappie, perhaps jokingly referred to as chattering or nagging person. ... [more]
AğayevAzerbaijani Means "son of the ağa", from the Turkish title ağa meaning "lord, master".
AgelastosGreek Means in Greek, 'The one that never laughs.'
AghaeiPersian From the Persian title آقا (âqâ) meaning "sir, lord, mister".
AgiusMaltese Derived from Arabic عَجُوز (ʿajūz) meaning "old (person), elderly".
AgrbaAbkhaz Most likely derived from Abkhaz агыруа (ā́gər-uā) meaning "Mingrelian, farm labourer, serf", historically used to refer to the Mingrelians, an ethic sub-group of the Georgians. Alternatively, it could be from Abkhaz агара (āgārā) meaning "to take" or "to bring"... [more]
AgresteFrench French cognate of Agresta. This is also the French word for the grayling butterfly, Hipparchia semele.
ÁguilaSpanish From águila "eagle" (Latin aquila). This is either a nickname for a haughty man or one with an aquiline nose, or a habitational name from a place in Salamanca province called Águila.
AlasEstonian Alas is an Estonian surname, derived from either "ala-" meaning "area" and "region"; or "alasti", meaning "bald" and "nude"; "alastus" means "bareness".
al-AwlakiArabic Means "the Awlaki" in Arabic, referring to a person from the Awalik (عواليك) tribe of south Yemen.
AlbeeScottish Means either "son of the blond one" or "son of Alpin".
AlberGerman Alber family name was first found in Alsace. The nickname given to someone fair in complexion or blond haired is derived from Latin word Albanus, which means white.
al-DosariArabic Means "the Dosari" in Arabic, referring to a person from the Dawasir (الدواسر) Bedouin tribe of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The tribe was formed in the town of Wadi Al Dawasir, in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia.
al-DulaimiArabic Means "the Dulaimi" in Arabic, referring to a person from the Dulaim (الدليم) royal tribe of Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and Jordan.
al-MohannadiArabic (Mashriqi) Originally indicated a person from the Al Muhannadi (أل مهند) or Al-Mahanda (المهاندة) tribe based primarily in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, especially in Qatar. The tribe itself is derived from the given name Muhannad.
Al-mutairiArabic Means “the Mutairi” referring to the Mutayr (مطير) tribe of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Al-ZahraniArabic Means "the Zahrani" in Arabic, referring to the Zahran (زهران) tribe in Saudi Arabia. The name itself is derived from Arabic زهراني (zahran) meaning "flowering, blossoming", ultimately from زَهْرَة (zahra) meaning "flower, blossom" (see Zahrah).
AmanziItalian Possibly from amate "to love". Alternately, may be from the dialectical word manzu "tame, gentle, docile", or from the given name Mantius.
AmpuanFilipino, Maranao From a royal title meaning "one who asks for apology" or "revered, great" in Maranao.
AnackerGerman Nickname for a day laborer, as opposed to someone who owned fields, from Middle High German āne meaning "without" + acker meaning "field".
AnarduItalian From a dialectical variant of Italian anatra "duck (bird)".
Anay-oolTuvan Derived from Tuvan анай (anay) meaning "goat, kid" combined with оол (ool) meaning "son, boy".
AnouilhFrench From Catalan anull, meaning "slow worm". It is originally a nickname given to a spineless and slow person. The French author Jean Anouilh is a famous bearer of this surname.
AràbiaItalian, Spanish Ethnic name for someone from Arabia or some other Arabic-speaking country or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with one of these countries.
ArcheambeauFrench The name Archambeau is derived from the Latin personal name 'Arcambaldus'. In turn the name 'Arcambaldus', is derived from the Germanic word 'Ercan', which means precious in Germanic, and 'bald', meaning bold and daring.... [more]
ArdzinbaAbkhaz Means "son of silver" from Abkhaz араʒны (aradzny) meaning "silver" and аҧа (apa) meaning "son".
ArlottEnglish From a medieval nickname for a ne'er-do-well (from Middle English harlot or arlot "vagabond, base fellow"; "prostitute" is a 15th-century development). This surname was borne by Jack Arlott (1914-1991), a British journalist, poet and cricket commentator.
ArranoBasque Derived from the Basque word "Arranoa", meaning eagle.
ArroEstonian Arro is an Estonian surname, possibly derived from "aroom", meaning "fragrant". Possibly a corruption of "aru", meaning "upland meadow".
ArshbaAbkhaz Most likely from a contracted form of Arabic أَرْشَد (ʾaršad) meaning "most sensible, most reasonable" or Persian ارشد (arshad) "senior, superior, eldest" combined with Abkhaz аԥа (āpā) "son".
AruEstonian Aru is an Estonian surname meaning both "dry upland grassy meadow" and "wit" and "intelligence".
AruItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Sardinian aru, a forked branch used to close hedges (possibly related to Latin varus "bent outwards, bow-legged"), or from arru "ring".
AruküllEstonian Aruküll is an Estonian surname meaning "intelligent enough".
AsanteWestern African, Akan From the ethnic name of the Ashanti, a sub-ethnic group of the Akan from southern Ghana. The name possibly means "warlike" in the Twi language.
AsariJapanese From Japanese 浅 (asa) meaning "shallow" and 利 (ri) meaning "benefit, advantage".
AshkatsaoAbazin Possibly from an Abkhaz word meaning "lazy", used as a nickname for a lazy person.
AshkenaziJewish From a nickname given by Jews in Slavic countries to Jews from Germany. It was also used to denote a Yiddish-speaking Jew who had settled in an area where non-Ashkenazic Jews were the majority. The name ultimately comes from Hebrew אַשְׁכְּנַז (ashk'náz), a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, which is likely from Assyrian Aškūza.
AshmanEnglish, Anglo-Saxon From Middle English Asheman, a byname meaning "pirate, seaman". It can also be made up of English ash referring to the "ash tree", and man. In that case, it could refer to someone who lived by ash trees... [more]
AşıkTurkish Means "lover, devotee, suitor" in Turkish.
AskeladdFolklore The main character in Asbjornsen and Moe's Norwegian Folktales, Askeladd is usually the youngest and smallest of three brothers who is left to sit by the fire in the ashes, hence his name (similar to Cinderella)... [more]
AslamasGreek This surname is usually found among Pontic Greeks. The surname comes from the Georgian first name Aslamaz which is likely related to the Georgian adjective ლამაზი (lamazi) meaning "beautiful, handsome".
AstoreItalian Derived from Italian astore meaning "goshawk", which is a bird of prey that was used for hunting in the Middle Ages. The surname had first started out as a nickname: either for a falconer, or for a person who had aquiline features or who was cunning by nature.
AtakTurkish Means "rash, audacious, reckless" in Turkish.
AtatürkTurkish It means "Father of the Turks" in Turkish. It was given to the first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemal, by the Turkish Parliament in 1934.
AteşTurkish Means "fever" or "fire, light" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian آتش (atash).
AuricchioItalian "A nickname from a dialect variant of orecchio ‘ear’ (from Latin auricula)."
AusEstonian Aus is an Estonian surname meaning "honest".
AushevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush surname derived from Nakh ауш (aush) or аус (aus) literally meaning "rock, slope", figuratively meaning "strong, solid, confident".
AvidzbaAbkhaz Derived from Georgian ავი (avi) meaning "currish, severe, sullen" combined with ძე (dze) "son" and Abkhaz аԥа (āpā) "son". The name was most likely borne by Georgians under the spelling Avidze, which was modified with the Abkhaz suffix -ba after migration to Abkhazia.
AvitovHebrew (Modern, Rare) Means "my father is good", from Hebrew ’av meaning "father" and tov meaning "good".
AzzopardiMaltese Possibly derived from the Hebrew term סְפָרַדִּי (s'faradí) used to refer to Jews originating from Iberia (called Sephardim or Sephardic Jews). It may also be of Greek origin from a word meaning "black, Mauritanian" or "soldier" with a connection to Middle Persian spʿh "army" used to refer to a person of African descent or someone who worked as a mercenary... [more]
BabinecCzech Nickname from Old Czech babinec meaning "coward".
BabuIndian, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada Derived from Hindi बाबू (babu) meaning "father, sir", used as a respectful term of address for a man as well as a term of endearment for a young boy.
BạchVietnamese Vietnamese form of Bai, from Sino-Vietnamese 白 (bạch).
BachaPashto Means "king" in Pashto, ultimately from Persian پادشاه (padeshah).
BacigalupoItalian From Ligurian bacigare "to beat with a stick" and lupo "wolf", or from Genoese basigâ "to swing, to tease" and lupo "wolf". Possibly a nickname for someone considered courageous or cowardly, or an occupational name for a hunter.
BainScottish, French, English Nickname for a hospitable person from northern Middle English beyn, bayn meaning "welcoming", "friendly".... [more]
BaioItalian From a nickname for someone with light brown or reddish-brown hair or beard, from baio meaning "bay horse", ultimately derived from Late Latin badius meaning "red-brown".
BairnsfatherEnglish From a medieval nickname in Scotland and northern England for the (alleged) father of an illegitimate child (from northern Middle English bairnes "child's" + father). This surname was borne by British cartoonist and author Bruce Bairnsfather (1888-1959).
BajwaPunjabi Derived from Persian باز والا (bâz vâlâ) meaning "great hawk, great falcon".
BakunPolish Possibly from bak "screaming" or bakać "to scold", from bakun "low-quality tobacco", or from the Hebrew personal name Bakum, possibly related to Habakkuk.
BakuninRussian derived from Russian words "бакуня" (bakunya) and "бакуля" (bakulya) meaning chatterbox, talkative person or agile, business-like person.... [more]
BalasuriyaSinhalese Derived from Sanskrit बाल (bala) meaning "young, boy" and सूर्य (surya) meaning "sun".
BaldoniItalian From the Germanic word "baltha", which means "gallant" or "bold."
BalfeIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Balbh meaning 'stammering dumb' itself probably a translation of a Norman surname of similar meaning ultimately derived from Latin balbus 'stammering'.