PontiffFrench Means "bridge builder". Comes from the French word pont, which means bridge. ... [more]
PontzEnglish The name Pontz likely came from Germanic origin, probably originating from the German Pflanzen.
PoogaEstonian Pooga is an Estonian surname derived from "pooge" meaning "graft/grafting".
PoopuuEstonian Poopuu is an Estonian surname, possibly derived from "poom" ("beam") "puu" ("wood" or "tree").
PoortmanDutch Occupational name for a gatekeeper or topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town, from Dutch poort "gate" and man "man, person".
PootsmannEstonian Possibly an altered form of German Bootsmann, an occupational name meaning "boatswain, bosun". Compare Frisian Bootsma.
PorcelliItalian From Italian porcello, meaning "piglet". Used to denote someone who worked as a swineherd, or perhaps a nickname for someone who resembled a piglet in some way.
PorchiaItalian Means "young sow, female piglet", a metonymic name for a swineherd.
PoroshenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian порох (porokh) meaning "(gun)powder, dust", used as an occupational name for someone who made or sold gunpowder. A notable bearer is the former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (1965-).
PortEnglish, German, French Either from Middle English porte "gateway, entrance" (Old French porte, from Latin porta), hence a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town or city, or for the gatekeeper... [more]
PortierFrench occupational name for the gatekeeper of a walled town or city, or the doorkeeper of a great house, Old French portier (from Late Latin portarius)... [more]
PortmannGerman Occupational name for a gatekeeper, derived from Middle Low German port(e) meaning "gate" and man, or a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town.
PortnoyJewish, Belarusian, Ukrainian Occupational name for a tailor from Russian portnoj (an adjective derivative of port "uncut cloth").
PortnyaginRussian Derived from Russian портняга (portnyaga), a colloquial nickname derived from портной (portnoy) meaning "tailor, clothier".
PortokalosGreek From the Greek word πορτοκάλι (portokáli), which means "orange." The name could refer either to farmers who maintained an orange orchard / grove or someone who had an orange aspect to their appearance or demeanor.
PostmaWest Frisian, Dutch West Frisian variant of the Dutch and North German surname Posthumus, given to a child born after their father’s death. It could also be a variant of the habitational name Post or an occupational name for a mailman or guard, using the Frisian suffix -ma.
PotDutch From Middle Dutch pot "pot, jar", an occupational name for a potter, or perhaps a toponymic surname referring to a low-lying piece of land.
PotierFrench An occupational name for a maker of drinking and storage vessels, from potier "potter", an agent derivative of Old French pot "drinking vessel"... [more]
PotiseppEstonian Potisepp is an Estonian surname meaning "spade/shovel maker (smith)".
PresbiteroFilipino Borrowed from Spanish presbítero meaning "presbyter", an elder or priest in various Christian Churches. A notable bearer of this name is Filipino singer Thaddeus Presbitero Durano Jr... [more]
PressEnglish, Jewish A nickname for a pious individual from the Middle English form of "priest" or possibly someone employed by a priest. In the Jewish sense, one whose occupation was to iron clothes.
PreveItalian From Greek "πρεσβύτερος" (presbyteros), via Latin "presbyter" with the meaning of "The Old One".... [more]
PrevedorosGreek From the Italian rank of provveditore "he who sees to things" (overseer) was the style of various local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire of the Republic of Venice.
PrévostFrench From Old French prevost meaning "provost", a status name for officials in a position of responsibility.
PrevotFrench A prevot was a govenment position during the Ancient Régime
PrieskornGerman Possibly either a derisive nickname for a grain merchant from pries a variant of Middle High German brüsch or Middle Low German bross "brittle crumbly" and korn "grain" or alternatively for a grain seller from prisekorn "(I) determine the price of grain".
PriestEnglish Derived from the occupation priest, which is a minister of a church. It could also be a nickname for a person who is / was a priest.
PrieurFrench from prieur Old French prior "prior" a monastic official immediately subordinate to an abbot (from Latin prior "superior") hence an occupational name for a servant of a prior or an ironic nickname... [more]
PrinsDutch, Jewish Means "prince" in Dutch, a doublet of Prince. Often a habitational name for someone who lived or worked near a location named Prins, such as an inn or windmill, or sign depicting the Prince of Orange... [more]
PriorEnglish Occupational surname for a prior (a high-ranking official in a monastery), ultimately from Latin prior meaning "superior, first".
PriorIrish Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mac an Phríora meaning "son of the prior".
ProctorEnglish Occupational name from Middle English prok(e)tour "steward" (reduced from Old French procurateour, Latin procurator "agent", from procurare "to manage"). The term was used most commonly of an attorney in a spiritual court, but also of other officials such as collectors of taxes and agents licensed to collect alms on behalf of lepers and enclosed orders of monks.
ProntzosGreek Originally cattle breeders located in the Parnon mountains, the name derives from its original form, Prountzos, which means red faced ancestor, or bronzed face. It eventually got its current form as the centuries went by.
ProtopopescuRomanian Derived from Romanian protopop meaning "archpriest", from Old Church Slavonic протопопъ (protopopŭ), from Koine Greek πρωτοπαπάς (prōtopapás). A famous bearer of this surname is Dragoș Protopopescu, a Romanian writer, poet, critic, philosopher, and far-right politician.
ProvodnikovRussian From Russian проводник (provodnik) meaning "conductor". Means "son of a conductor".
ProvostEnglish, French Derived from the Middle English provost; referring to the person who heads a religious chapter in a cathedral or educational establishment. It was also used as a nickname for a self-important person and is a French variant of Prevost.
ProwzeAnglo-Norman An Anglo-Norman occupational surname used for soldiers or a nickname for someone bold that is derived from the pre-10th-century Old French proz or prouz, meaning "proud" or "brave". It could also be a variant of the surname Prue... [more]
PruulEstonian Pruul is an Estonian surname meaning "brew".
PtashnykUkrainian Denoted to someone who took care of birds, from Ukrainian птах (ptakh) "bird".
PuckettEnglish Of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Pocket(t), from a diminutive of Anglo-Norman French poque "small pouch", hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of purses and pouches or a nickname... [more]
PuķeLatvian Derived from Latvian puķe "flower". Occupational surname for a person who sells flowers.
PuletuaSamoan May come from Pule meaning 'authority, leader, command'.
PulišićCroatian Derived From puliš meaning "to smoke". It may refer to a smoker or someone who sells cigarettes.
PulverLow German, French, English I comes from the Latin verb meaning "to make powder." This name was given to either an alchemist or one who made gunpowder.
PunongbayanTagalog From Tagalog punong bayan meaning "mayor, chief (of a city)".
PunzalanFilipino, Tagalog, Pampangan Possibly an occupational name for a maker of fences or a nickname derived from Spanish punzar meaning "to punch, to sting".
PuriEstonian Puri is an Estonian surname meaning "sail".
PurjeEstonian Purje is an Estonian surname derived from "purjetama", meaning "sail".
PurvianceScottish Materials collector for the Crown. Materials that may be used as tax or in war. Similar to the system of purveyance. Approximately 1100's , southwest Scotland.
PurvisScottish Probably means "person in charge of buying supplies for a large household" (from Middle English purveys "provisions").
PüttseppEstonian Püttsepp is an Estonian name meaning "cooper" (literally, "tub smith").
PutzGerman German for "plaster". Likely used to denote someone who manufactured plaster
PüüdjaEstonian Püüdja is an Estonian surname meaning "catcher".
PuurEstonian Puur is an Estonian surname meaning "hutch" or "coop".
PuuseppEstonian Means "carpenter" in Estonian, literally "wood smith".
PygallEnglish (Hellenized, Rare) From ancient Greek for rump, associations with prostitution across Europe, commonly given to illegitimate children of prostitutes, found especially in North East England and Nottinghamshire.
PykeEnglish Most likely originates from the words pike (the weapon or the fish), having to do with fishermen or soldiers, or pick, having to do with miners or somebody who tills the ground.
PyleDutch (Americanized) Americanized form of Dutch Pijl, a metonymic occupational name for a marksman or an arrowsmith, derived from pijl meaning "arrow".
QuChinese The surname Qu(曲)has several sources. One of the main origins is from the ancient state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period. There was an official position named "Qu Ren" responsible for managing the brewing of wine in Jin... [more]
QuChinese The surname Qu has several sources. One of the main origins is from the ancient state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period. There was an official position named "Qu Ren" responsible for managing the brewing of wine in Jin... [more]
QuakerEnglish, Scottish This surname was used to indicate someone who worked as a son of a vicar, who was a priest in charge of a parish in which most or all of the tithes were paid to another recipient, while the vicar received a stipend.
QuestelFrench, Medieval French (?) The surname Questel was first found in Normandy. Currently, Questel is the most commonly occurring last name in Saint-Barthélemy, a French island in the Caribbean Sea.... [more]
QuituguaChamorro Chamoru meaning "Knock down/tear down/cut down"
RaadDutch Metonymic occupational name for an adviser, counselor, or member of a town council, from raad "advice, counsel", or derived from a given name containing the element (see rēdaz).
RaatDutch From Middle Dutch raet "advice, counsel". Could be an occupational name for a member of a council, or a short form of names containing rēdaz, such as Radulf... [more]
RabinovichYiddish, Russian Means "son of the rabbi" (through the name Rabin), referring to a scholar or teacher of the Torah in Judaism.
RacineFrench Means "(tree) root" in French, used as an occupational name for a grower or seller of root vegetables or as a nickname for a stubborn person.
RacioppiItalian, Sicilian Derived from Sicilian racioppu meaning "cluster of grapes", hence presumably a metonymic occupational name for someone who sold or produced grapes.
RaderGerman Variation of Rademacher, meaning "maker of wheels" in German ("rat" meaning wheel), later shortened to Rader and other variations such as Redder, Raeder, Redler, etc.
RadlerGerman Occupational name, which was derived from the kind of work done by the original bearer. It is a name for a wheelmaker or wheelwright. The name stems from the German noun rat, meaning wheel. The origin is more clear in the variant Rademacher
RafanielloItalian Probably from Italian ravanello "radish", probably given to someone who grew or sold radishes, or perhaps resembled one in some way.
RagostaItalian from aragosta "lobster" used for a shell-fisherman or otherwise as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a lobster in some way.
RaiaItalian, Sicilian Either a topographic name from Sicilian raia ‘smilax’ (a climbing shrub), or else derived from Sicilian raja meaning ‘ray’, or ‘skate’ (the fish), presumably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish or a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or fish seller.
RaidEstonian Raid is an Estonian surname derived from "raidur"; meaning "hewer".
RaieEstonian Raie is an Estonian surname meaning "cutting", "hewing" and "(tree) lumbering".
RajopadhyayaNewar From Sanskrit राजोपाध्याय (rājopādhyāya) meaning "royal guru; royal teacher". This is used by the Rajopadhyaya caste.
RakPolish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Jewish Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Hungarian (Rák), and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Slavic rak ‘crab’, ‘lobster’, or ‘crayfish’. This was applied as an occupational name for someone who caught and sold crayfish, crabs, or lobsters, or as a nickname to someone thought to resemble such a creature... [more]
RakićSerbian From Serbian "rak" meaning 'crab', 'lobster', or 'crayfish'. It can also mean 'cancer'.
RändurEstonian Rändur is an Estonian surname meaning "itinerant" and "migrant".
RangeGerman, French German: nickname for a ragamuffin, from Middle High German range ‘naughty boy’, ‘urchin’.... [more]
RangerEnglish, German, French English: occupational name for a gamekeeper or warden, from Middle English ranger, an agent derivative of range(n) ‘to arrange or dispose’.... [more]
RaščiusLithuanian Probably from Lithuanian raštvedys meaning "clerk" or "scribe".
RasilaFinnish A variant of the finnish word (rasi) for a forest that has been cleared for slash and burn but has not yet been burnt for agricultural means. The suffix "-la" is usually added to the stem of the word to indicate a location... [more]
RasorEnglish Probably from Old French rasor, meaning "razor".
RatasseppEstonian Ratassepp is an Estonian surname meaning "wheel smith".
RatherGerman, Jewish 1. Occupational name for a counsellor or nickname for a wise person, from Middle High German rater ‘adviser’. ... [more]
RathgeberGerman From Middle High German ratgebe or Middle Low German ratgever "giver of advice, counselor", an occupational name for an adviser or wise man.
RatnikovmRussian Means "son of the warrior", from Russian ратник (ratnik).
RauchGerman Perhaps an occupational nickname for a blacksmith or charcoal burner, from Middle High German rouch, German Rauch ‘smoke’, or, in the case of the German name, a status name or nickname relating to a hearth tax (i.e. a tax that was calculated according to the number of fireplaces in each individual home).
RaudseppEstonian Means "blacksmith" in Estonian, literally "iron smith".
RavelFrench, French (African) Derived from either a place called Ravel in the district of Drome or Provence, or from the word 'rave' meaning a root vegetable, and hence a grower or seller of such items.
RavelinoOld Celtic (Latinized, Archaic) It means manufacturing of fine and expensive fabrics. Also means the tailor or weaver. It comes from Asti and Piedmont (noth of Italy).
RavellinoCeltic It means weaver or taylor. In the Gaelic languaje is wehydd or gwehydd.
RavenelEnglish, French Habitational name from Ravenel in Oise or a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of horseradish, from a diminutive of Old French ravene ‘horseradish’ (Latin raphanus)... [more]
RavierOccitan Means "horseradish" in French, denoting someone who selled them.
RayamajhiNepali Probably a portmanteau of the Nepali words meaning 'Royal Fishmongers'. A member of the Rajput-Chhetri subcaste of Nepali family names.
RealeItalian Means "royal" in Italian, either an occupational name for someone in the service of a king or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal manner.
RealiItalian Variant of the surname Reale, which stems from reale "royal", either a name for someone in the service of a royal or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal, aristocratic manner.
ReamsPolish The last name Reams comes from Normandy, France.
RechnerGerman Occupational name from Middle High German rechenære "reckoner keeper of accounts".
RecknagelGerman from Middle High German recken "to raise or lift" (here in the imperative) and nagel "nail" hence a metonymic occupational name for a blacksmith or perhaps an obscene nickname (with a transferred sense for nagel i.e. ‘penis’).
RectorEnglish Status name for the director of an institution, in particular the head of a religious house or a college. Also an anglicized form of Richter.
ReddiTelugu Alternate transcription of Telugu రెడ్డి (see Reddy).
RednerGerman German: possibly a variant of Redmer, or an occupational name for a spokesman, Middle High German rednære.
ReediEstonian Reedi is an Estonian surname, possibly derived from "reeder", meaning "ship owner".
RegelGerman from Middle High German regel "(monastic) rule" (from Latin regula), perhaps a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in a monastery.
RégisFrench Occupational name for a local dignitary, from a derivative of Old French régir "to rule or manage".
RehderGerman Occupational name, which was derived from the kind of work done by the original bearer. It is a name for a wheelmaker or wheelwright.
ReialEstonian Reial is an Estonian surname derived from "treial" meaning "lathe turner".
ReisserUpper German An occupational name for a woodcutter, Middle High German risser.
RellerGerman (Swiss) Occupational name for a miller, derived from the Swiss German dialect term relle meaning "grist mill".
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]
ReshetnikovRussian Occupational name for a maker of sieves or gratings, derived from Russian решетник (reshetnik) meaning "sheathing, grate, sieve".
ReussGerman Occupational name for a cobbler, from Middle High German riuze.
ReusserSwiss, German, Upper German In Switzerland, an occupational name for a fisherman or maker of fish traps, from an agent derivative of Middle High German riuse "fish trap, weir basket". A nickname from an agent noun based on Middle High German riusen "to moan or complain"... [more]
RideoutEnglish Means "outrider (a municipal or monastic official in the Middle Ages whose job was to ride around the country collecting dues and supervising manors)".
RipperEnglish Means "maker, seller or carrier of baskets" (from a derivative of Middle English rip "basket").
RittermanGerman From Middle High German riter meaning "rider, knight" and man literally meaning "man".
RivetFrench, English French: from a diminutive of Old French rive ‘(river) bank’, ‘shore’ (see Rives).... [more]
RivettEnglish, French English (East Anglia): metonymic occupational name for a metalworker, from Middle English, Old French rivet ‘small nail or bolt’ (from Old French river ‘to fix or secure’, of unknown origin).... [more]
RobineauFrench derived from the Old French word robine, which was the word that was used for the communication channel of a salted fountain or barrel pond... [more]
RobotnikSlovak The masculine form of "labourer" or "worker". Most famously used for Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
RodmanEnglish The surname Rodman is an ancient English surname, derived from a trade name, "men who were by the tenure or customs of their lands to ride with or for the lord of the manor about his business". The most famous bearer of this name is the basketball player Dennis Rodman.
RoemerGerman Refers to a pilgrim or merchant visiting Rome.
RoheLow German The surname ROHE is from a short form of a Germanic formed with Middle High German Rouen 'to roar' or old High German ruin 'Care' , 'intent' (See roch).
RollUpper German, German, English German: from Middle High German rolle, rulle ‘roll’, ‘list’, possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a scribe.... [more]
RollsEnglish Possibly derived from the Latin word rotus, meaning "wheel". It would indicate one who built wheels as a living. A famous bearer was American inventor and entrepreneur Charles Rolls (1877-1910), founder of the Rolls-Royce Ltd along with Henry Royce (1863-1933).
RongChinese From Chinese 容 (róng) referring to a Zhou dynasty title used by officials who were in charge of managing rituals, music, and ceremonies. Alternately it may be derived from the name of the ancient state of Rong (location and time period unknown).
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.
RootEnglish From Middle English and Old French rote, an early medieval stringed instrument similar to a guitar that was played by turning wheels like a hurdy-gurdy.
RoperEnglish English: occupational name for a maker or seller of rope, from an agent derivative of Old English rāp ‘rope’. See also Roop.
RosDutch Could be an occupational name for a horse breeder or trader derived from Middle Dutch ros "horse, steed" (see hros), or a nickname for someone with red hair or ruddy skin derived from Dutch ros "reddish; red-haired, ginger".
RostGerman A metonymic occupational name for a limeburner or blacksmith, from Middle High German, Middle Low German rōst meaning ‘grate, grill’ or Middle High German rōst(e) meaning ‘fire, embers, pyre, grate’ (typically one for burning lime).
RotterGerman Variant spelling of Rother, an occupational name for the foreman or leader of a group or association of men, or a work gang, from an agent derivative of Middle High German rotte ‘team’, ‘gang’... [more]
RottscheitGerman Modernization of Rotscheidt, also a city in Germany (Rottscheidt) bearing another modern alternate spelling. When broken down it ultimately means "red" and "piece of wood", implying that the families of today descends from woodwrokers.
RouhaniPersian Means "cleric, clergyman" or "clean, pure, good" in Persian.
RoverEnglish, German (Anglicized) This surname is derived from Middle English roof (from Old English hrof) combined with the agent suffix (i)er, which denotes someone who does/works with something. Thus, the surname was originally used for a constructor or repairer of roofs.... [more]
RubinFrench, German, Slovene, Croatian, Czech, Slovak Metonymic occupational name for a jeweler, from Middle High German rubn Old French rubi Slovenian and Croatian rubin Czech and Slovak rubín "ruby"... [more]
RudererGerman Occupational name meaning "Rower" in German.
RügaEstonian Rüga is an Estonian surname derived from "rügama" meaning to "toil" and "rügaja" meaning "toiler".
RummeniggeGerman Meaning uncertain. It could possibly be an occupational name for a viticulturist who grew grapes to make wine, a seller or producer of Romanian wine, or a nickname for a person who preferred to drink Romanian wine... [more]
RuncieEnglish, Scottish Derived from Latin runcinus, and related to the Old French "roncin", for a horse of little value. Middle English, Rouncy, as in Chaucer's Cantebury Tales.... [more]
RuotinaItalian Means "wheel" in Italian. This meant that a bearer of this surname was a wheel maker.
RüsterGerman Means "elm (tree)" in German. Could alternatively derive from rüsten to "to equip, to arm", an occupational name for someone who provided weapons to an army.
RutterEnglish Either (i) "player of the rote (a medieval stringed instrument played by plucking)"; or (ii) from a medieval nickname for a dishonest or untrustworthy person (from Old French routier "robber, mugger")... [more]
RutzLow German Derived from Middle Low German rūtze or ruce "cobbler".
RybakPolish, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Jewish Means "fisherman" in some Slavic languages. Derived from the word ryba "fish". A famous bearer is Byelarusian-Norwegian artist Alexander Rybak (b. 1986) who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009.
RybakovRussian Means "son of the fisher" from Russian рыбак (rybak) meaning "fisherman".
SaccàItalian From Arabic سقى (saqa) "to give water", a nickname for a water carrier.
SackhoffGerman Occupational name for a farmer who cultivated land to grow plants, particularly crops, derived from Middle High German sack meaning "sack, end of a valley, area of cultivation" and hof meaning "farmstead, manor, farm"... [more]
SacoItalian There are several possible derivations for the Saco surname: the Saco name evolved from an old Tuscan personal name, Saccus; it came from the word "sacco" meaning "a sack," and was an occupational name for a maker of sacks or bags; it was a habitational name taken on from the place named Sacco in Salerno province.
SaekiJapanese From Japanese 佐 (sa) meaning "help, aid" and 伯 (eki) meaning "official, count, earl".
SaengerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a chorister or a nickname for someone who liked singing, from Middle High German senger, German Sänger meaning "singer".
SaetiaThai Form of Zhang (via the Teochew romanization) used by Thais of Chinese descent, formed with Thai แซ่ (sae) denoting Chinese family names.
SaetiaoThai Form of Zhang used by Chinese Thais (based on the Hokkien romanization of the name).
SaettaItalian Possibly an Italianized form of Sicilian Saitta, or else taken directly from the Italian word saetta meaning "arrow, bolt" or "thunderbolt, lightning"... [more]
SahIndian, Hindi Means "merchant, banker" in Hindi, ultimately from Sanskrit साधु (sadhu).
SaharaJapanese From Japanese 左 (sa), a clipping of 左衛門尉 (saemon-no-jō) meaning "judge of senior gate guards" and 原 (hara) meaning "meadow; plain; field".
SaittaSicilian, Italian Means "arrow" or "lightning bolt" in Sicilian, from Latin sagitta via sajitta. Probably a nickname for a quick or fast-footed person, though it may have also been a metonymic occupational name for a fletcher.
SakaTurkish Either an occupational name for a seller or deliverer of water or a nickname meaning "goldfinch".