Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
CableEnglish English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of rope, especially the type of stout rope used in maritime applications, from Anglo-Norman French cable ‘cable’ (Late Latin capulum ‘halter’, of Arabic origin, but associated by folk etymology with Latin capere ‘to seize’).... [more]
CacciatoreItalian Derived from Italian cacciatore meaning "hunter, huntsman", ultimately derived from cacciare meaning "to hunt".
CaesarAncient Roman, English An Ancient Roman political title that indicated a military leader. A famous bearer was Julius Caesar, Roman general, dictator, and politician. In modern times, the surname is used to refer to an individual with a tyrannical attitude, which references the connotative meaning of the word "caesar", meaning "a dictator".
CakeEnglish From the Middle English cake denoting a flat loaf made from fine flour (Old Norse kaka), hence a metonymic occupational name for a baker who specialized in fancy breads. It was first attested as a surname in the 13th century (Norfolk, Northamptonshire).
CalamariItalian From Latin calamarius "relating to a writing reed, ink pen", a name for a scribe, or perhaps a fisherman from the Italian descendant calamaro "squid, calamari".
CaldeiraPortuguese Name given to a maker of kettles or other cooking vessels.
CallenderEnglish Occupational name for a person who finished freshly woven cloth by passing it between heavy rollers to compress the weave. From Old Franch calandrier, calandreur.
CalliariItalian (Latinized, Archaic) This is an Italian surname, in the north of Italy. Calliari is the result of the deformation of the graphically Calligari, where you can clearly see excision of the letter or character D, which is located in the middle of the surname... [more]
CalvezBreton From Breton kalvez meaning "carpenter".
CalzadillaSpanish habitational name from any of the places called (La) Calzadilla, named with a diminutive of calzada 'paved road'
CámaraSpanish Occupational name for a courtier or servant who could access the private quarters of a king or noble, from Spanish cámara meaning "room, chamber".
CancroItalian Derived from Italian cancro "cancer". Probably an occupational name for a person who catches, cooks, sells crabs.
CandelaSpanish, Italian, Sicilian, Catalan Either an occupational name for a chandler (a candle maker or candle seller) or a nickname for a tall thin person, derived from candela meaning "candle" (from Latin candela).
CandyEnglish perhaps from Middle English candi "crystallized cane sugar" (via French from Persian qand "sugar") and used as a metonymic occupational name for a sugar merchant... [more]
CaneEnglish From the English word meaning "cane, reed", a nickname for someone tall and thin, or perhaps an occupational name for someone who gathered reeds.
CanelaSpanish Derived from the word 'canela' meaning cinnamon in Spanish. It Could also be a variant of the Catalan surname Candela.
CannavaroItalian Probably from a nickname used to refer to rope makers or hemp growers. This surname is most famously borne by brothers Fabio (1973–) and Paolo Cannavaro (1981–), former football players.
CannellaItalian Derived from the word "Cinnamon" in Italian meaning someone who was a baker and or made cinnamon.
CantEnglish Means "singer in a chantry chapel", or from a medieval nickname for someone who was continually singing (in either case from Old Northern French cant "song").
CantaraItalian, Sardinian Occupational name for a singer. From Italian cantare meaning "to sing".
CaparasPampangan Derived from Pampangan para's meaning "hot, spicy", possibly used as an occupational name for a cook.
CapdevilaCatalan From Catalan cap meaning "chief, head" and de vila meaning "of the town".
CapelleFrench, English, Dutch, Flemish French topographic name for someone living by a chapel, from a regional variant of chapelle "chapel" (compare Chapell 2), or a habitational name from any of several places named La Capelle... [more]
CapraroItalian Occupational name for a goatherd, derived from Italian capra meaning "goat".
CaprioItalian from Latin caprae ‘goats’ or possibly from Greek kapros "(wild) boar" and so a metonymic occupational name for a goatherd or swineherd or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a goat or boar.
CaraballoSpanish Occupational name for a knight or a knight's servant.
CaradineEnglish, German (Anglicized) Americanized form of German Gardein, itself a Germanized spelling of French Jardin. It could also denote someone from the village and civil parish of Carden in Cheshire, England.
CaramelleFrench Name given to a chalumeau player, derived from the old French chalemel, calamel or chalemie, which in turn were derived from the Latin word calamus meaning "reed". Italian variations of the surname are: Caramella, Caramelli, Caramello (diminutive: Caramellino) and Caramelo.
CarandangFilipino, Tagalog Occupational name for someone who dried things using fire, derived from Tagalog dangdang meaning "heating, toasting, drying through exposure to fire or glowing coals".
CarawayEnglish Probably means "spice merchant" (from Middle English carewei "caraway").
CarbreyIrish Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Ó Cairbre and Mac Cairbre meaning "descendant of Cairbre", a given name meaning "charioteer".
CardEnglish English: metonymic occupational name for someone who carded wool (i.e. disentangled it), preparatory to spinning, from Middle English, Old French card(e) ‘carder’, an implement used for this purpose... [more]
CardenEnglish Derived from Middle English cardoon "wild thistle, artichoke thistle". Could be a nickname for someone who carded wool (which was originally done with thistles), for a person who lived near a thistle patch, or for a prickly and unapproachable person... [more]
CardonFrench from the name of several places in southern France called (Le) Cardon. Or from Old Norman French cardon "thistle" (a diminutive of carde from Latin carduus) hence a topographic name for someone who lived on land overgrown with thistles an occupational name for someone who carded wool (originally a process carried out with thistles and teasels) or perhaps a nickname for a prickly and unapproachable person... [more]
CareEnglish Occupational name for a locksmith, Middle English keyere, kayer, an agent derivative of keye.
CarganicoItalian Possibly from cargar, an Italic descendent of Latin carrico "to load", indicating someone who carried or loaded items for transport for a living.
ĈaristoEsperanto Occupational name for a charioteer, from ĉaro, meaning "a chariot, wagon, or cart", and -isto, a suffix used for professions.
CarlanIrish Anglicized form of Irish O'Carlain or O'Caireallain, from the Irish carla meaning a "wool-comb" and an meaning "one who" which roughly translates as "one who combs wool"... [more]
CarneiroPortuguese, Galician Means "ram" in Portuguese and Galician, either used as an occupational name for a shepherd or a habitational name for someone from any of various places called Carneiro.
CarnellEnglish A crossbowman or archer who protected castles and fortresses.
CarosellaItalian From carosello "carousel, merry-go-round", possibly a nickname for a farmer, as a carousel was an allotment of grain collected by farmers. Also a type of jousting tournament.
CarpenitoItalian This surname derives from a person who had worked as a "carpenter".
CarradineEnglish, German (Anglicized) Variant spelling of Caradine. This name is borne by members of the Carradine family of actors, notably the American actor John Carradine (1906-1988).
CarreauFrench Variant of Carrel. It could also be a habitational name from several places named Carreau in France.
CarrelFrench French: from Old French quar(r)el ‘bolt (for a crossbow)’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of crossbow bolts or a nickname for a short, stout man. The word also meant ‘paving slab’, and so it could also have been a metonymic occupational name for a street layer... [more]
CarrellEnglish English: from Old French carrel, ‘pillow’, ‘bolster’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of these. In some cases perhaps an altered spelling of Irish Carroll... [more]
CarrierEnglish An occupational name meaning someone who transports goods.
CarrierFrench From carrier, "quarrier, someone who works in a quarry". cf Carrara.
CartierFrench, Norman Original Norman French form of Carter. A notable bearer was Breton-French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), who is known for discovering the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
CartmanEnglish Originally referred to a man who worked with a cart. A famous bearer is Eric Cartman from the adult cartoon South Park
CarvilleFrench, Irish As a French location name it comes from a settlement in Normandy. As an Irish name it derives from a word for "warrior".
CarvoeiroPortuguese Derived from the Portuguese word "carvão," which means "coal." It likely originated as a surname for someone who worked with or lived near coal, or it could have been a nickname based on physical characteristics or personal attributes associated with coal.
CasellaItalian From casa "house" (Latin casa "hut, cottage, cabin"), perhaps originally denoting the occupier of the most distinguished house in a village. Italian chef Cesare Casella (1960 - ) is one such bearer of this name.
CaslariJewish (Archaic), Judeo-Provençal, Judeo-Catalan, Judeo-French Abraham ben David Caslari was a Catalan-Jewish physician. Abraham Caslari (presumably a different man) is also listed in the index of known Jews in France in the late middle ages in the book Judaia Gallica by Heinrich Gross.
CasselEnglish, French, German A surname derived from the Latin military term castellum "watchtower, fort". A variant spelling of the word castle. Denoted someone hailing from the commune of Cassel in the Nord départment in northern France or the city of Kassel (spelled Cassel until 1928) in Germany... [more]
CastagnaItalian From Italian castagna "chestnut" (from Latin castanea) for someone who worked with chestnuts. Variant of Castagno and Italian cognitive of Chastain.
CatapanoItalian Means "catapan, governor of a catepanate", ultimately from Byzantine Greek κατεπάνω (katepánō) "(the one) placed at the top, or the topmost".
CatchpoleEnglish Meant "bailiff, especially (originally) one who could seize domestic animals in lieu of tax or debt" (from Anglo-Norman cachepol, from cacher "to chase" + pol "chicken").
CauchonFrench, Norman, Picard Metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of slippers, derived from French chausson literally meaning "slipper".
CaulfieldIrish Comes from the Irish Gaelic Mac Cathmhaoil, which was Anglicized to McCawell and then morphed into Caulfield. Mac Cathmhaoil comes from a word meaning "chieftan".
CavaItalian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese From cava ‘cave’, ‘cellar’ (from Latin cavea), hence a metonymic occupational name for someone employed in the wine cellars of a great house, a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a cave, or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word.
CavadentiItalian From Italian cava ("to extract, to pull out") and denti ("teeth"), an occupational name for a dentist.
CaveNorman, French, English A name of various possible origins. As a Norman French name Cave can mean "bald" from cauf or it can mean "worker in a wine cellar" or "one who dwelt in or near a cave". As an English name Cave refers to a Yorkshire river whose fast current inspired the name meaning "swift".
CayabyabPangasinan, Tagalog From Pangasinan and Tagalog kayabyab denoting a person who pounded rice grains with a pestle in a mortar.
CeaușescuRomanian (Rare) Derived from Romanian ceauș "doorman, courier, usher" (ultimately derived from Ottoman Turkish çavuş "messenger, sergeant"). A notable bearer of the surname is the infamous Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.
CeesayWestern African, Manding Gambian surname of Mandinka origin, which originally indicated a descendant of a marabout, i.e. a West African Muslim teacher and religious leader.... [more]
ČelikovićCroatian, Serbian, Bosnian Derived from Serbo-Croatian "čelik", ultimately from Turkish çelik, meaning "steel". The -ović suffix is a patronym.
CenaItalian Derived from Latin meaning "dinner, meal, supper". Possibly an occupational name for a cook or a waiter. In an alternative representation, it could be given to someone who's known for hosting or being involved in meals or dinners, or may have given this surname to an illegitimate child who was not welcomed at the dinner table.
CenaPolish From Polish meaning "price". Possibly an occupational name for a trader or dealer.
CeraSpanish, Italian, Catalan, Sicilian Metonymic occupational name for a wax seller, derived from Latin cera meaning "wax". A famous bearer of this surname is Canadian actor and musician Michael Cera (1988-).
CeriseFrench, Italian Italian habitational name from La Cerise or Torrent-La Cerise placenames in Valle d'Aosta from French cerise "cherry"; and French occupational name from cerise "cherry" (from Latin cerasus) applied as a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or sold cherries.
CespedesSpanish From the plural of cesped "peat", "turf" (Latin caespes, genitive caespitis), applied as a habitational name from a place named Céspedes (for example in Burgos province) or named with this word, or a topographic name for someone who lived by an area of peat, or possibly as a metonymic occupational name for someone who cut and sold turf.
CestareEnglish (American, Modern) There is a similar name, Sastre, which is the Spanish form of the surname Sarto, meaning "tailor." The name CESTARE is phonetically similar to Sastre and could be a derivative of that name.... [more]
CestaroItalian From cesta "basket" and the suffix -aro, an occupational name for a basket maker.
ChaHmong From the clan name Tsab or Tsaab associated with the Chinese character 張 (zhāng) (see Zhang).
ChamberlinFrench French cognate of Chamberlain. Occupational name for an official in charge of the private chambers of his master from Old French chamberlenc "chamberlain".
ChamplinBelgian, English Means Champion, was a family name in Belgium, a status and influence that was envied by the princes of the region.... [more]
ChanEnglish (Modern, Rare) Shortened form of Chandler used by lolcow Christian Weston Chandler (1982-), who goes by the nickname Chris-Chan, most likely influenced by the Japanese diminutive suffix ちゃん (chan) commonly used in anime and manga fandom.
ChantryEnglish Means "singer in a chantry chapel" or "one who lives by a chantry chapel". A chantry was a type of chapel, one endowed for the singing of Masses for the soul of the founder (from Old French chanterie, from chanter "to sing").
ChapaSpanish An occupational name for a metalworker meaning "metal sheet", amongst other things. It may also come from the name of a place in Galicia, Spain, or the Basque word and oak bush, "chaparro".
ChapdelaineFrench Compound name derived from Old French chape meaning "hooded cloak, cape, hat" and de laine meaning "of wool", probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such apparel, or as a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive cloak or hat.
ChapelFrench Occupational name for a maker of cloaks or a nickname for a person who wore a distinctive cloak, from a diminutive of Old French chape meaning "cape, cloak".
ChapinFrench, Spanish From a reduced form of French eschapin or Spanish chapín, a term for a light (woman's) shoe; perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore this type of footwear or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a shoemaker.
CharFrench Name for someone who works as a carter, from French char "cart, carriage".
CharArabic French-influenced spelling of Shaar. Borne by both Muslims and Christians.
CharIndian Name from Sanskrit āčārya "teacher, spiritual guide". Originated among Brahmins, members of the highest caste in Hindu society, who traditionally serve as priests and teachers.
ChariotFrench Means "cart" in French. Perhaps an occupational name for a cartwright or a carter.
CharlierFrench, Walloon Occupational name for a cartwright wheelwright from Old French charrelier a derivative of charrel "cart" a diminutive of char "cart carriage".
CharodeevRussian Patronymic surname derived from Russian чародей (charodey) meaning "wizard, sorcerer, magician, enchanter".
ChâtelainFrench from châtelain "lord (of the manor)" Old French chastelain (from Latin castellanus a derivative of castellum "castle") applied either as a status name for the governor or constable of a castle or as an ironic nickname.
ChatelaineFrench A chatelaine is the mistress of a wealthy house or a castle.... [more]
ChattopadhyayBengali From Chatta, the name of a village, and Sanskrit उपाध्याय (upadhyaya) meaning "teacher, instructor".
ChaucerEnglish Meaning a "worker who makes leggings or breeches". Notable bearer is author Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), most well known for his classic 'The Canterbury Tales'.
CheesemanEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of cheese.
CheeverEnglish Means "goatherd", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a goat (e.g. in capriciousness) (in either case from Anglo-Norman chivere "goat"). It was borne by American author John Cheever (1912-1982).
ChemlaJewish (Sephardic) Derived from Arabic ﺷﻤﻠﺔ (shamlah) meaning "cloak, mantle", probably used as a name for someone who wore, made or sold cloaks.
CherenkovmRussian Derived from Russian черенок (čerenók) "handle, hilt", denoting a tall, thin person or a maker of such handles. Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov (1904-1990) was a Soviet physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1958 with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm for the discovery of Cherenkov radiation, made in 1934.
ChettiarIndian, Tamil, Malayalam Refers to a member of any of the various South Indian castes of traders, businessmen, and merchants. The name itself may be from the Tamil honorific எட்டி (eṭṭi) or from a Sanskrit word meaning "wealth".
ChoquetteFrench Altered spelling of French Choquet, a Picard form of Old French soquet, which was the term for a tax on wines and foodstuffs, hence a metonymic occupational name for a collector of such taxes.
ChryslerGerman, Jewish From a German name referring to spinning or related to a Yiddish word, krayzl meaning "spinning top." The name can refer to a potter who spun a wheel to make utensils or to a person with curly hair or someone known for being continually active... [more]
ChucklerIndian, Telugu Telugu occupational name for a leather worker, a job historically considered spiritually polluting and impure in India, where the surname belongs to Dalit, or "Untouchables" - members of the lowest caste.
CiaramitaroItalian From Sicilian ciaramidaru "roof tile maker, potter", ultimately from Ancient Greek κέραμος (keramos) "potter's clay, pottery, tile".
CiavarellaItalian From Sicilian ciavaredda "goat kid", an occupational name for a goatherd, or perhaps a nickname based on the bearer's appearance or behaviour.
CiavattaItalian From ciabatta "slippers", a nickname for a cobbler, or someone known for dressing casually.
CimineraItalian from a dialect variant of ciminiera "chimney" hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who built chimneys or worked a furnace oven or kiln with a chimney or a nickname for a tall thin person.
CiminoItalian Occupational name for a spice dealer, from cimino "cumin", Sicilian ciminu.
CimpoieruRomanian Occupation surname originating from bagpipe players; Romanian version of Piper
CitronFrench, Venetian Ultimately from Latin citrum meaning "lemon, citrus fruit". Possibly an occupational name for someone who sells or raise lemons or any citrus fruit.
CitroneEnglish, Italian Ultimately from Latin citrum meaning "lemon, citrus fruit". Possibly an occupational name for someone who sells or raise lemons or any citrus fruit.
CiubotaruRomanian Means "boot maker" in Romanian, the one that makes boots ("ciubota" (singular), regionalism for "cizma"/"gheata"). Not the same with "shoe maker" (or "Schumacher" in German) as the Romanian "Ciubotar" refers strictly to boots and not all kinds of shoes.
ClavelSpanish Metonymic occupational name for a spice trader or a nail maker, derived from Spanish clavel or Catalan clavell meaning "nail", later also "clove", itself a derivative of Latin clavellus "nail".
ClavelFrench Metonymic occupational name for a nail maker, ultimately from Latin clavellus "nail", but in some cases possibly from the same word in the sense "smallpox, rash". A fictional bearer is Miss Clavel, a nun and teacher in Ludwig Bemelmans's 'Madeline' series of children's books (introduced in 1939).
ClercFrench Occupational or status name for a member of a minor religious order or for a scholar Old French clerc from Late Latin clericus from Greek klerikos a derivative of kleros "inheritance legacy" with reference to the priestly tribe of Levites (see Levy ) "whose inheritance was the Lord"... [more]
ClericoItalian Occupational or status name for a member of a minor religious order or for a scholar from Late Latin clericus (see Clerc ). Italian cognitive of Clark.
ClingerEnglish (American) Americanized spelling of German Klinger.Possibly a variant of Clinker. an English occupational name for a maker or fixer of bolts and rivets.
ClossGerman The surname Closs is of Germanic origin, likely derived from the Low German word kloss or kloß, meaning “dumpling” or “ball”, possibly used as a nickname for someone with a round shape or associated with food preparation... [more]
ClutterbuckEnglish English surname of unknown origin, possibly a corrupted form of a Dutch surname derived from Dutch klateren "to clatter" and beek "brook", or from klateren and bok "buck, billy goat", or from an older form of kladboek meaning "account book, minute book".
CoachFrench Possibly an altered spelling of French Coache, from the Norman and Picard term for a damson, probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of plums.
CocoItalian, Sicilian occupational name for a cook a seller of cooked meats or a keeper of an eating house from southern Italian coco "cook" (from Latin cocuscoquus).
CocuzzaItalian From cocuzza "gourd", "pumpkin", applied either as an occupational name for a grower or seller of gourds or a nickname for a rotund individual.
CollierEnglish From the English word for someone who works with coal, originally referring to a charcoal burner or seller. Derived from Old English col "coal, charcoal" combined with the agent suffix -ier.
ColonelAmerican From a French word for a military rank of an officer who led a column of regimental soldiers. Could be a nickname for someone with a military bearing or demeanor.
ComerEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of combs, or to someone who used them to prepare wool or flax for spinning, derived from Middle English combere, an agent derivative of Old English camb meaning "comb"... [more]