SparrowEnglish English: nickname from Middle English sparewe ‘sparrow’, perhaps for a small, chirpy person, or else for someone bearing some fancied physical resemblance to a sparrow.
SpataforaItalian This surname originates from the Italian island of Sicily, where it was first borne by a noble family of Byzantine origin, which had settled on the island in the 11th century AD. Their surname was derived from the Greek noun σπάθη (spathe) "blade, sword" (akin to Latin spatha "broad sword with a double edge") combined with Greek φορεω (phoreo) "to carry, to bear", which gives the surname the meaning of "he who carries the sword" or "sword-bearer"... [more]
SpäthGerman Derived from Middle High German spæte "late".
SpeakmanEnglish English (chiefly Lancashire) nickname or occupational name for someone who acted as a spokesman, from Middle English spekeman ‘advocate’, ‘spokesman’ (from Old English specan to speak + mann ‘man’).
SpecaItalian From a variant of spiga "spike, ear (of grain)"
SpeedEnglish A nickname for a fortunate person, from Middle English sped, "success".
SpeerGerman, Dutch, English German and Dutch cognate of Spear, as well as an English variant of the same surname.
SpendloveEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone who spread their amorous affections around freely. A different form of the surname was borne by Dora Spenlow, the eponymous hero's "child-wife" in Charles Dickens's 'David Copperfield' (1849-50).... [more]
SperberGerman, Jewish From a nickname for a small but belligerent person from Middle High German sperwære "sparrow hawk" (Old High German sparwāri a compound of sparw "sparrow" and āri "eagle").
SpillmanEnglish From the medieval male personal name Spileman, literally "acrobat" or "jester" (from a derivative of Middle English spillen "to play, cavort").
SpinosaItalian Most likely from Italian spinosa meaning "prickly, thorny, spiny, ticklish, touchy".
SplendenteItalian From Italian splendente "bright, shining", supposedly given to an infants abandoned at orphanages on sunny days.
SpoorsEnglish From Middle English spoor "spur", an occupational name for someone who made spurs, or perhaps a nickname for someone known for wearing them.
SpringbornGerman Derived from Middle Low German sprinkborn meaning "spring, well", hence either a nickname for someone who lived by a spring or a water well, or from various place names in Germany.
SpringerGerman, English, Dutch, Jewish Nickname for a lively person or for a traveling entertainer, from springen "to jump, to leap". A famous bearer was Ludwig der Springer (AKA Louis the Springer), a medieval Franconian count who, according to legend, escaped from a second or third-story prison cell by jumping into a river after being arrested for trying to seize County Saxony in Germany.
SproutEnglish This name is derived from the name of an ancestor, meaning "the son of Sprot".... [more]
SpruanceEnglish Possibly a variant of Spruce. A notable bearer was Raymond A. Spruance (1886-1969), a United States Navy admiral during World War II.
SpruijtDutch Means "sprout" in Dutch, originally a nickname for a young person or a descendant of a wealthy, powerful or important family.
SpruytDutch Variant of Spruijt. This surname is especially common in Belgium.
SpryEnglish Was apparently a nickname for an active, brisk, or smart person. The word spry is of obscure origin.
SquarepantsPopular Culture The surname of the famous cartoon character "SpongeBob SquarePants" from the entitled show.
SquibbEnglish Nickname for an irascible, unpredictable or petty person, derived from Middle English squibbe meaning "firework, firecracker". A famous bearer is the American actress June Squibb (1929-).
StallardEnglish Byname for a valiant or resolute person, from a reduced pronunciation of Middle English stalward, stalworth "stalwart" (an Old English compound of stǣl "place" and wierðe "worthy").
StalloneItalian from stallone "stallion" applied either as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a stallion or as a metonymic occupational name for someone who bred horses. from an augmentative of stalla "stable stall" used as a topographic name and as a habitational name from any of the minor places called with this word.... [more]
StamDutch Means "trunk (of a tree), stem" in Dutch, a nickname for a blocky or heavily built man.
StangGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) from Middle High German stang, German Stange ‘pole’, ‘shaft’, hence a nickname for a tall, thin person, a metonymic occupational name for a maker of wooden shafts for spears and the like, or a metonymic occupational name for a soldier.
StarGerman, Jewish Means "starling (bird)" in German, probably denoting a talkative or perhaps a voracious person. Alternatively, an Anglicized form of Stern 2.
StarDutch Means "stiff, frozen, rigid" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch staer "having a troubled or gloomy expression; tight, stiff", a nickname either for a gloomy person or for someone who was rigid and inflexible.
StarkeyEnglish, German From a diminutive of Stark. This surname is borne by the English musician Sir Richard Starkey (1940-), also known as Ringo Starr.
StarlingEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a starling, especially in constantly chattering.
StarobratPolish (Rare) Possibly comprised of the Polish elements stary "old" deriving from Proto-Slavic *starъ and brat "brother" deriving from Proto-Slavic *bràtrъ or *bràtъ.
StateGerman Nickname from Middle High German stæt(e) meaning "firm", "steadfast", "constant".
StauchGerman From Middle High German stuche, a term used to denote both a type of wide sleeve and a headcovering. Also a habitational name from a place called Staucha, near Dresden.
SternkeLow German (Rare, ?) From the German word or surname Stern meaning "star" and the Low German diminutive "-ke". The exact origins of this surname are unknown.
StiefelGerman Either from stiefel "boot", which could mean a boot maker or from middle low german stief which means "stiff", a nickname for a stubborn person
StieglitzGerman Meaning goldfinch, Stiglitz was borrowed into German from a Slavic language, probably Old Czech stehlec. Several possible origins: of the surname can be: ... [more]
StiffEnglish (American) Used sometimes as a derogatory term, stiff means uptight. It is used in a surname in American culture as well as in the media, such as novels, movies or tv shows.
StillmanEnglish From German still "quiet" and Mann "man", hence, "calm man".
StockhardtGerman Nickname for a stiff person, from Stock "stick, staff, trunk" and hart "hard".
StokerDutch Means "stoker, one who stokes a fire" or "firestarter, agitator" in Dutch, an occupational name or a nickname for a troublemaker.
StoutScottish, English Probably a nickname for a brave or powerfully built man, from Middle English stout ‘steadfast’. A contrary origin derives from the Old Norse byname Stútr ‘gnat’, denoting a small and insignificant person.
StraightEnglish Nickname from Middle English streʒt "straight, upright", presumably applied in either a literal or a figurative sense.
SträngSwedish Probably taken directly from Swedish sträng "strict, stern, harsh, grim". although it could also be derived from the name of the city Strängnäs.
StrangEnglish Originally given as a nickname to one who possessed great physical strength.
StrynckxFlemish Variant form of Dutch Streng "strong, rope, cord", a metonymic occupational name for a rope maker. Alternatively, it could be a nickname derived from streng "strict, severe, cruel".
StultsGerman The Stults surname is derived from the German word "stoltz," which means "proud," and as such, it was most likely originally a nickname, which became a hereditary surname.
StummGerman Descriptive nickname for a mute person, from Middle High German, Middle Low German stum ‘mute’.
StumpGerman From Middle Low German stump ‘tree stump’ (borrowed into Middle English), hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a prominent tree stump, or else a nickname for a short, stocky person.... [more]
SturdivantEnglish Perhaps a nickname for messenger, a pursuivant or a hasty person, derived from Middle English stirten, sterten meaning "to start, leap" (ultimately from Old English styrtan) and avaunt meaning "forward" (itself from Old French).
SucklingEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone of childlike appearance or childish character (from Middle English suckling "infant still feeding on its mother's milk"). Sir John Suckling (1609-1642) was an English poet and dramatist.
SudanChinese From Chinese 苏丹 (sūdān) meaning "sultan". This is a common surname among Hui Muslims.
SukkasemThai From Thai ศุข (suk) meaning "joy, happiness, delight" and เกษม (kasem) meaning "contentment, happiness".
SuksamranThai From Thai สุข (suk) meaning "joy, delight" and สำราญ (samran) meaning "happy, joyful".
SulitFilipino, Tagalog From a nickname derived from Tagalog sulit which can mean "test, gain" or "return of something borrowed, remittance".
SullenEnglish Means "gloomy, ill-tempered, moody" in English, with the archaic meanings "lonely, desolate" and "mischievous, malignant, obstinate", derived from Anglo-Norman soleyn "solitary, alone".
SumitomoJapanese From Japanese 住 (sumi) meaning "living" and 友 (tomo) meaning "friend".
SummerEnglish, German From Middle English sum(m)er, Middle High German sumer "summer", hence a nickname for someone of a warm or sunny disposition, or for someone associated with the season of summer in some other way.
SummerlyIrish From Irish Gaelic Ó Somacháin "descendant of Somachán", a nickname meaning literally "gentle" or "innocent".
SundayEnglish Denoted a person who was born on or is associated with Sunday, ultimately derived from Proto-West-Germanic *sunnōn dag. A famous bearer of the name was American evangelist and professional baseball outfielder Billy Sunday (1862-1935), full name William Ashley Sunday, which is an anglicized form of the surname Sonntag as his parents were German immigrants
SuriyaarachchiSinhalese From Sanskrit सूर्य (sūrya) meaning "sun" combined with the Sinhala title ආරච්චි (ārachchi) meaning "village leader, sergeant".
SuriyawongThai From Thai สุริย (suriya) meaning "sun, solar" and วงศ์ (wong) meaning "lineage, family, dynasty".
SvetlakovmRussian Derived from Russian word светло (svetlo) meaning "light".
SvetleyshiymRussian Svetleyshiy was a title used by non-firstborn children of royals.
SwaggerEnglish (American) Probably a nickname for someone who's confident but aggressive and arrogant.
SwanEnglish, Scottish Originally given as a nickname to a person who was noted for purity or excellence, which were taken to be attributes of the swan, or who resembled a swan in some other way. In some cases it may have been given to a person who lived at a house with the sign of a swan... [more]
SweetingEnglish Derived from Old English swete and Middle English sweting meaning "darling, sweetheart", hence a nickname for a popular and attractive person, or for somebody who habitually addressed people with the term (see Sweet).
SwettEnglish Derived from the old English words "swete" and "swot".
ŚwitałaPolish Derived from Polish świt "dawn" "sun" "daylight" or świtać "to dawn". It is a nickname for an early-riser.
SwitserEnglish Either (i) from the medieval nickname Swetesire (literally "sweet sir, amiable master"), applied sarcastically either to someone who used the expression liberally as a form of address or to someone with a de-haut-en-bas manner; or (ii) an anglicization of Schweitzer (from Middle High German swīzer "Swiss person").
SzmulikPolish The Szmulik surname has much history. Its origins are Hebrew. It has taken on various spellings over the centuries, depending on where the person or family lived in Europe or America.... [more]
SzotPolish Nickname for a fish seller with a bad reputation, from szot "bad herring".
SzurgotPolish Nickname from szurgot ‘shuffling sound’
SzyślakPolish Derived from East Slavic word šišlat "do slowly".
TalonEnglish, French Derived from Old French talon "heel", denoting a person with a deformity or a swift person. It could also be a diminutive form of given names Talbot and Talleyrand.
TaltsEstonian Talts is an Estonian surname, possibly deriving from "taltsas", meaning "tame".
TalukderBengali From a title for land-owning aristocrats in the Mughal Empire and British Raj who were responsible for collecting taxes. The title itself was derived from Arabic تعلق (ta'alluq) meaning "attachment, affiliation" combined with the Persian suffix دار (-dar) indicating ownership.
TalyshRussian From Russian талыш (talysh), meaning "a Talysh". The Talysh are a minority ethnic group in Iran and Azerbaidzhan.
TamazightBerber, Northern African Derived from ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵗⵜ (Tamaziɣt), the Berber (Amazigh) name for the collective Berber language family used in North Africa.
TaponFrench From the old French word tapon, meaning "cork". Hence this surname was first given to corks makers.
TäppEstonian Täpp is an Estonian surname meaning "fleck" or "speckle".
TappEnglish, German Derived from an Old English given name Tæppa, of uncertain origin and meaning. In German, it is a nickname for a clumsy person or a simpleton, derived from Middle Low German tappe meaning "oaf".
TarafdarBengali From a title which denoted a holder of a taraf (a type of administrative division formerly used in South Asia), itself derived from Arabic طرف (taraf) meaning "area, section, side" and the Persian suffix دار (dar) indicating ownership.
TardifFrench, French (Quebec) From Latin tardivus, "slow". Given its unusually frequency as a family name and derivatives like Tardieu or Tardivel, it may have been a medieval given name.
TarkEstonian Tark is an Estonian surname meaning "wise" or "sage".
TarkmeelEstonian Tarkmeel is an Estonian surname meaning "wise minded".
TarkpeaEstonian Tarkpea is an Estonian surname meaning "wiseacre" (literally, "clever head").
TarkusEstonian Tarkus is an Estonian surname meaning "cleverness".
TaşçıTurkish Means "stonemason, stonecutter" in Turkish.
TaşkıranTurkish Means "stone breaker" from Turkish taş meaning "stone, rock" and kıran meaning "destroyer, breaker, pestilence".
TasmanDutch Derived from Dutch tas "bag" and man "person, man". Usually a metonymic name for someone who made bags, though in at least one case it was taken from the name of a ship, De Tas.
TassoniItalian Probably derived from Italian tasso meaning "badger (animal)", though it can also mean "yew (tree)".
TautouFrench, Occitan Derived from French tatou meaning "armadillo". It may have originally been given to a person who resembled an armadillo in some way. A famous bearer is the French actress and model Audrey Tautou (1976-).
TecsonFilipino From Hokkien 德孫 (tiak sun) meaning "virtuous grandchild, benevolent grandchild". The bearers of this name are said to be descended from any of the three Tek Son brothers who originally came from Guangzhou, China.
TederEstonian Means "black grouse" in Estonian (species Tetrao tetrix, aka Lyrurus tetrix).
TekTurkish Means "single, sole, unique" in Turkish.
TekinTurkish From an Old Turkish title meaning "prince".
TemizTurkish Means "clean, neat, pure" in Turkish.
TempestEnglish (British) English (Yorkshire): nickname for someone with a blustery temperament, from Middle English, Old French tempest(e) ‘storm’ (Latin tempestas ‘weather’, ‘season’, a derivative of tempus ‘time’).
TempestaItalian Originally a nickname for a person with a blustery temperament, from Italian tempesta meaning "storm, tempest" (compare Tempest).... [more]
TerrienFrench Topographic name from an adjectival derivative of terre "land", denoting someone who lived and worked on the land, i.e. a peasant. It is Americanized frequently as Landers, and occasionally as Farmer.
TerseEnglish This name means literally curt, short or stiff. Similar to Stiff (surname) (see Stiff under user submitted names) Not very commonly used. If you're looking for a name for a fictional character who is either an antagonist or just likes to stir things up, you could probably use this.
ThammavongsaLao From Lao ທັມມະ (thamma) meaning "dharma, virtue, righteousness" and ວົງສາ (vongsa) meaning "family".
ThapaNepali, Indian, Bengali, Assamese, Hindi, Odia From an ancient military rank used in the Khasa Kingdom, which ruled parts of South Asia from the 11th to 14th centuries.
TharuNepali Possibly refers to the Tharu, an indigenous ethnic group of Nepal.
ThongsukThai From Thai ทอง (thong) meaning "gold" and สุก (suk) meaning "ripe, mature".
ThörnSwedish Either a cognate of English Thorn or German Torn, or a soldier name derived from Swedish törn "thorn".
ThynneEnglish Either a nickname meaning “thin”, from Old English þynne, or the designation “of th’Inne” for someone who lived at the Inn of Court.
TigerSwedish Perhaps taken from Swedish tiga "to keep quiet, to say nothing". Tiger is one of the names adopted by Swedish soldiers in the 17th century.
TizzoniItalian From Italian tizzone "embers, live coal; firebrand", probably a nickname for a troublemaker or revolutionary.
TjeknavorianArmenian Derived from Armenian ճգնավոր (čgnavor) "hermit, anchorite, ascetic". The famous bearer of the name is Iranian Armenian composer and conductor Loris Tjeknavorian (1937-).
TlebzuCircassian (Russified) Derived from Adyghe лӏы (ḷə) meaning "husband, man" and бзэу (bzăw) meaning "deer, stag".
TobarSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Castilian municipality.
TocmoCebuano From Cebuano tukmo meaning "spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis)".