Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
HamillIrish According to MacLysaght, a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÁdhmaill "descendant of Ádhmall", which he derives from ádhmall "active".
HammerGerman, English, Jewish From Middle High German hamer, Yiddish hamer, a metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of hammers, for example in a forge, or nickname for a forceful person.
HaringtonEnglish Variant spelling of Harrington. A famous bearer is English actor Kit Harington (1986-).
HarjoCreek From Creek Ha'chō meaning "crazy brave; recklessly brave".
HarkawayEnglish From a sporting phrase used to guide and incite hunting dogs.
HarlessEnglish, German English: probably a variant spelling of Arliss, a nickname from Middle English earles ‘earless’, probably denoting someone who was deaf rather than one literally without ears.
HarmaFinnish, Estonian Anglicized form of either Härma or Haarma. The former is a toponymic surname referring to several places in Estonia and Finland, probably derived from the given name Herman... [more]
HašekCzech (?) Meaning "Pure" or "Chaste" from Latin Castus, a shortening of Castulus. Diminutive of the personal name Haštal. Noteable people with this surname include Dominik Hašek, a Czech ice hockey Goal-tender and Jaroslav Hašek, a Czech satirist and Journalist, most known for his satirical novel, 'The Good Soldier Švejk'.
HässliGerman (Swiss), French (Rare) Swiss German diminutive form of Haas. This is a French surname via Alsace-Lorraine. A notable bearer is French footballer (soccer player) Eric Hassli (1981-).
HasumiJapanese From Japanese 蓮 (hasu) meaning "lotus" and 見 (mi) meaning "look, appearance".
HatzisGreek Hatzis is the modern form of the Greek khatzis 'a pilgrim to Jerusalem' (either Christian or Muslim), considered a high social distinction. The Greek term is Semitic in origin and is cognate with Arabic hajj 'pilgrimage (to Mecca).'
HaworthEnglish Literally means "enclosure with a hedge," from the Old English words haga + worth.
HazardEnglish, French Nickname for an inveterate gambler, a crafty person, or a brave or foolhardy man prepared to run risks, from Middle English hasard via Old French hasart "dice game, game of chance", later used metaphorically of other uncertain enterprises... [more]
HazarikaIndian, Assamese From a military title used during the Ahom Kingdom that indicated an official who commanded over 1,000 soldiers. The title itself is derived from Assamese হাজাৰ (hazar) meaning "thousand".
HeaEstonian Hea is an Estonian surname meaning "good".
HechtGerman Means "pike (fish)" in German, generally a nickname for a rapacious and greedy person. In some instances it may have been a metonymic occupational name for a fisher, and in others it may be a habitational name from a house distinguished by a sign depicting this fish.
HeenanOld Irish Thought to be a nickname or metonymic, and to owe its derivation from the early Gaelic word ean meaning a "bird". The derivation is from the ancient name O'hEeanchain, which loosely translates as The descendant of the son of the Bird.
HeintzelmanGerman From a pet form of Heinrich, with the addition of -mann ‘man’.
HeitmeyerGerman German: distinguishing nickname for a farmer whose land included heathland, from Middle Low German heide ‘heath’, ‘wasteland’ + Meyer 1.
HeldGerman, Jewish, Dutch Means "hero" in German, ultimately derived from Middle High German helt. This name was bestowed upon a person either in its literal meaning or else in an ironic sense.
HeldeEstonian Helde is an Estonian surname meaning "big-hearted".
HellatEstonian Hellat is an Estonian surname derived from "hellalt", meaning "affectionately".
HellerGerman Nickname from the small medieval coin known as the häller or heller, named for the city it was first minted (in 1208) at, Hall am Kocher (currently called Schwäbisch Hall).
HemKhmer From Khmer ហេម (hem) meaning "gold", ultimately from Sanskrit हेम (hema).
HematiPersian Derived from Persian همت (hemat) meaning "aspiration, ambition, zeal".
HenaresSpanish Derived from the Celtic form of "brave". Also is the name of many towns (Alcala de Henares, Espinosa de Henares, Tortola de Henares...) and a river
HengstGerman, Dutch metonymic occupational name for someone who worked with or bred horses or a nickname for a brave strong man from Middle High German and Middle Dutch hengest "stallion" also "gelding" derived from Old Germanic hangist "stallion"... [more]
HeppEstonian Hepp is an Estonian surname meaning "lively".
HerbstGerman, Jewish Nickname from Middle High German herbest "harvest". The modern German word herbst has come to mean "fall" the time of year when the harvest takes place... [more]
HerdDutch Comes from Middle Dutch hert, herte ‘hart’, ‘stag’; probably a nickname for someone who was fleet of foot, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a deer; variant of Heard.
HerringGerman, English, Dutch, Scottish Occupational name for a fisherman, someone who caught or sold herring, or perhaps someone known for eating herring. It could have also been a nickname from the medieval phrase "to like neither herring nor barrel", meaning something of little value.
HertzelGerman The ancestral home of the Hertzel family is in the German province of Bavaria. Hertzel is a German nickname surname. Such names came from eke-names, or added names, that described their initial bearer through reference to a physical characteristic or other attribute... [more]
HerzlGerman, Jewish Variant of Hertz. It was notably borne by the Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist, writer and political activist Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), who is considered the founder of the modern Zionist movement.
HettiarachchiSinhalese From Sinhala හෙට්ටි (hetti) referring to the Chetty caste (primarily composed of merchants and traders) combined with the colonial-era title ආරච්චි (arachchi) used to denote a village headman or leader.
HettigeSinhalese From Sinhala හෙට්ටි (hetti) referring to the Chetty caste (primarily composed of merchants and traders) combined with the suffix -ගේ (-ge) meaning "of, home, house".
HeureauxFrench (Caribbean) Possibly from French heureux "happy, lucky, good". Ulises Heureaux (1845-1899) was the 22nd, 26th, and 27th president of the Dominican Republic
HewczakPolish Hewczak is primarily a Polish surname of the Ukrainian surname of Hewczuk.... [more]
HexspoorDutch Derived from Middle Dutch hicken "to pick, to chop" and spoor "spur", a nickname for a rider who often spurred on their horse.
HeyerDutch From Middle Dutch heiger "heron", a nickname for someone with long legs. Alternatively, from a Germanic personal name composed of hag "enclosure, hedge" and heri "army".
HindEnglish, Scottish English (central and northern): nickname for a gentle or timid person, from Middle English, Old English hind ‘female deer’.... [more]
HoareEnglish From a nickname meaning "gray-haired", ie. "hoary".
HodgeEnglish Nickname from Middle English hodge "hog", which occurs as a dialect variant of hogge, for example in Cheshire place names.
HoeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a spur of a hill.
HoenDutch, German From Middle Dutch hoen "chicken, hen", perhaps a nickname denoting a silly or foolish person, or an occupational name for someone who raised chickens.
HolladayEnglish English: from Old English haligdæg ‘holy day’, ‘religious festival’. The reasons why this word should have become a surname are not clear; probably it was used as a byname for one born on a religious festival day.
HölttäFinnish Means "unreliable" or "untrustworthy". A nickname for a deceitful person.
HoltzclawGerman (Anglicized, Modern) Americanized spelling of German Holzklau, which translates into modern German as "wood thief", but is probably a nickname for someone who gathered wood, from Middle High German holz "wood" + a derivative of kluben "to pick up", "gather", "steal".
HolzklauGerman From Middle High German holz ‘wood’ + a derivative of klūben ‘to pick up, gather, steal’. It means "wood thief" but it was probably more likely used as nickname for someone who gathered wood
HomolkaCzech From homolka meaning "(cone-shaped lump of) cream cheese". The word homolka itself is derived from homole "cone". This was either a nickname for a mild person or an occupational name for someone who made cheese.
HörmannGerman The distinguished surname Hormann is of very ancient German origin. It is derived from a Germanic personal name made up of the elements "heri," meaning "army," and "man," meaning "man."
HouckGerman Nickname from Middle Dutch houck, a marine fish, or from Middle Dutch hoec, houck ‘buck’. variant of Hoek.
HowdyshellAmerican, German Americanized (i.e., Anglicized) form of the Swiss German Haudenschild, which originated as a nickname for a ferocious soldier, literally meaning "hack the shield" from Middle High German houwen "to chop or hack" (imperative houw) combined with den (accusative form of the definite article) and schilt "shield".
HoyleWelsh, English Derived from Old English holh meaning "hole". It is thought to have originally been a name for someone who lived in a round hollow or near a pit.
HryshkoUkrainian The Hryshko National Botanical Garden is named after Soviet Ukrainian botanist Mykola Hryshko.
HübschGerman Nickname from Middle High German hübesch 'courtly', 'polite', 'refined', 'agreeable', German hübsch.
HuguenotFrench Meaning uncertain. It could be denoted as a French Protestant who held the Reformed tradition of Protestantism, possibly derived from Middle French eiguenot "Swiss confederate", from Swiss republican Besançon Hugues, or a diminutive form of Hugues, from the same person... [more]
HwangKorean, Taiwanese Korean form of Huang, from Sino-Korean 黃 (hwang). It is also a Chinese alternate transcription of the same name chiefly used in Taiwan.
IgotFilipino, Cebuano Means "lipote" (a type of tree in the genus Syzygium) in Cebuano.
IlaganTagalog Means "to evade, to dodge, to get out of the way (of something)" in Tagalog.
İleriTurkish Means "advanced, forward, ahead" in Turkish.
IllustrisimoSpanish (Philippines) Variant of Ilustrisimo. This spelling variation possibly came about from the influence of American surnames during the American occupation of the Philippines... [more]
ImamovićBosnian Means "son of the imam", from Arabic إِمَام (ʾimām) referring to a Muslim leader.
ImanishiJapanese From Japanese 今 (ima) meaning "now, present" and 西 (nishi) meaning "west".
ImbimboNeapolitan From Italian bimbo meaning "a child, a male baby" (which is a variant of bambino "child") combined with in-, a prefix indicating "belonging to the family of".
ImparatiItalian Nickname for a knowledgeable person. From Italian imparato meaning "learned".
InfanteSpanish From infante literally "child", but in Spain also a title borne by the eldest sons of noblemen before they inherited, and in particular by the son of the king of Castile; thus the surname probably originated either as a nickname for one of a lordly disposition or as an occupational name for a member of the household of an infante.
InfanteItalian Nickname for someone with a childlike disposition, from infante "child" (Latin infans, literally "one who cannot speak").
IraniPersian Means "Iranian" in Persian. It is also commonly used within a Zoroastrian community in India with the same name.
IrelandEnglish, Scottish Ethnic name for someone from Ireland, Old English Iraland. The country gets its name from the genitive case of Old English Iras "Irishmen" and land "land". The stem Ir- is taken from the Celtic name for Ireland, Èriu, earlier Everiu... [more]
IronsideEnglish Possibly from Middle English irenside (Old English iren ‘iron’ + side ‘side’), a nickname for an iron-clad warrior.
İşbaşaranTurkish From Turkish iş "work" and başaran "one who is successful".
JadallahArabic Means "the generosity of Allah" in Arabic.
JadeEnglish, French From the given name Jade. It could also indicate someone with jade green eyes.
JagiełłoPolish Originally from Old Lithuanian jotis and gaili, meaning "strong rider". This was the last name of the Polish King Władysław Jagiełło, who, along with his wife, started the Jagiellonian dynasty in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
JaikEstonian Jaik is an Estonian surname derived from "jäik" meaning "rigid" and "stiff".
JandusayTagalog From Tagalog handusay meaning "to prostrate, to lie face down".
JaniIndian, Odia, Gujarati Derived from Sanskrit ज्ञानिन् (jñānin) meaning "knowing, learned, wise".
JanisseFrench Possibly a respelling of French Janisset, from a pet form of Jan, a variant spelling of Jean, French equivalent of John.
JaradatArabic Means "locusts, grasshoppers" in Arabic.
JarząbekPolish A Polish surname meaning "Grouse". A nickname for someone thought to resemble the bird.
JarzombekPolish Variant spelling of Jarząbek, from jarząbek meaning "grouse", presumably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the bird.
JaskółkaPolish Nickname from Polish jaskółka meaning "swallow".
JaszczukPolish Derived from Polish jaszczurka, meaning "lizard."
JayEnglish, French Nickname from Middle English, Old French jay(e), gai "jay (the bird)", probably referring to an idle chatterer or a showy person, although the jay was also noted for its thieving habits.
JayalathSinhalese Means "winner, victor" from Sanskrit जय (jaya) meaning "victory, conquest" combined with Sinhala ලත් (lat) meaning "received, having".
JeanpetitFrench Means "little Jean" from Old French petit "small" and the given name Jean 1, originally a nickname for a small man called Jean (or applied ironically to a large man), or a distinguishing epithet for the younger of two men named Jean.... [more]
JeknićMontenegrin Derived from jekanje (јекање), meaning "moaning, crying".
JeonKorean From Sino-Korean 全 (jeon) meaning "whole, entire".
JeschkeGerman Germanized form of Czech and Slovakian Ješko and Polish Jeszka, pet forms of given names beginning with Ja- or Je- such as Jan 1 or Jarosław, as well as various cognates or similar-sounding names, such as Ježek ("hedgehog").
JeterFrench (Huguenot), German Jeter is a French and German surname. It is the last name of former New York Yankees baseball player, Derek Jeter. It's also the last name of Carmelita Jeter, an American sprinter who specializes in the 100 meter sprint.
JobEnglish, French, German, Hungarian English, French, German, and Hungarian from the personal name Iyov or Job, borne by a Biblical character, the central figure in the Book of Job, who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him... [more]
JolicoeurFrench (Quebec), Haitian Creole From Old French joli "joyful, cheerful" and cuer "heart". It was originally a nickname for a cheerful person. This was a frequent French Canadian secondary surname (or dit name).
JolleyEnglish The surname Jolley came from the English word jolly.
JollyEnglish From the English word jolly, which is ultimately from Old French joli# ("merry, happy"). Originally a nickname for someone of a cheerful or attractive disposition.
JongbloedDutch Nickname for a young person, derived from Middle Dutch jonc meaning "young" and bloet meaning "blood". A famous bearer of this surname was the Dutch soccer goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed (1940-2023).