Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
GrawertLow German, German (East Prussian) As a Low German name, Grawert is derived from Middle High German grā and Old High German grāo "gray" (originally "shimmery, gleaming"). As a surname, it was a nickname given to someone with gray hair.... [more]
GrealishEnglish The name derives from the Old Norman French word "greslet", meaning pitted or scarred, and is itself derived from the very early Germanic word "gresle", or hailstone.
GreensmithEnglish Occupational name for a greensmith, a smith who works with lead.
GrenierFrench Occupational name for a grain merchant (from Latin granarius), or a topographic name for someone who lived by a granary (from Latin granarium) or a metonymic occupational name for someone who supervised or owned one.
GrindyGerman (Modern), French I have seen elsewhere explanations about this name being German or French in origin. Sorry, I do not have the sources to hand
GroschGerman Either a metonymic occupational name for a moneyer or possibly a nickname for an avaricious person from Middle High German Middle Low German grosche "groschen" a medieval thick silver coin its name ultimately derived from medieval Latin denariusgrossus literally "thick coin".
GrosvenorEnglish English surname of Norman origin meaning ‘the master huntsman’. Derived from Le Grand Veneur, this title was held by Hugh d'Avranches who accompanied William the Conqueror in the Norman invasion of England in 1066.
GuardiaItalian, Spanish From Spanish and Italian guardia "guard watch" a topographic name for someone who lived by a watch place by a watchtower or a habitational name from any of numerous places called La Guardia named with the same word; or a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept watch or for a member of the town guard... [more]
GuastiItalian Meaning uncertain, may denote someone from the town of Guasto. Alternately, it may be an occupational name from gastaldo "chamberlain", from Latin gastaldus "manager, bailiff, steward", or be a nickname from guasto "broken, crippled".
GuertinFrench A French surname that evolved from the Old Germanic given name Warin meaning "to guard" or "protection". This surname was often given as an occupational name for a guard, or someone who served as a protector in their community.
GuetFrench French - From Old French guet "lookout, watchman".
GuezJudeo-Spanish Either derived from Hebrew גָּזַז (gazaz) meaning "to shear, to cut (hair)" or Arabic قزاز (qazzaz) meaning "silk merchant, sericulturist".
GuilderEnglish Occupational name for someone who worked in gold. The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th Century "gyldan" and the Old High German "gold", a refiner, jeweller, or gilder.
GüldenGerman Variant of Gulden, a metonymic occupational name for a craftsman who gilded objects, or a habitational name referring to a house name such as In den silvren Gulden ("In the Silver Guilder"), De Gulden Hoeve ("The Gilded Farmhouse") or De Gulden Zwaan ("The Gilded Swan").
GuldenDutch, German Means "golden, gilded" or "guilder, florin (coin)", possibly an occupational name for a goldsmith, or a habitational name derived from a house.
GullitDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Possibly derived from Old Dutch golt meaning "gold", most likely referring to a person who worked with gold. The former Dutch soccer player Ruud Gullit (1962-; birth name Rudi Dil) is a famous bearer of this name.
GunjiJapanese From Japanese 郡 (gun) meaning "county, district" and 司 (ji) meaning "officer, official, boss".
GunnerEnglish From Old English gunne meaning "cannon, gun" and the agent suffix "-er"
GuralnickJewish Occupational name from Ukrainian guralnyk, Yiddish guralnik "distiller".
GuriraSouthern African, Shona From the Ndau word gurira meaning "to break or cut for someone, cut short, take shortcut". The American-Zimbabwean actress and playwright Danai Gurira (1978-) is a famous bearer of this name.
GuroFilipino, Maranao From Maranao goro meaning "teacher, instructor", ultimately from Sanskrit गुरु (guru).
GuroalimFilipino, Maranao From Maranao goro meaning "teacher, instructor" and alim meaning "sage, philosopher".
GurusingaBatak From Sanskrit guru, meaning “Mentor”, and singha, meaning “Lion”.
HäberliGerman (Swiss) Derived from Alemannic and Upper German Haber, a variant of Standard High German Hafer "oats" in combination with the diminutive suffix -li. This name denoted a young farmer of oats.
HabermannGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a grower or seller of oats, composed of the elements Haber and the agent suffix -mann.
HabermehlGerman metonymic occupational name for a producer or seller of oatmeal from Middle High German habaro "oats" and melo "flour".
HackneyEnglish, Scottish From Middle English hakenei (Old French haquenée), an ambling horse, especially one considered suitable for women to ride; perhaps therefore a metonymic occupational name for a stablehand... [more]
HaferGerman, Jewish Metonymic occupational name for a grower of or dealer in oats, from German Hafer "oats". Compare Haber. As a Jewish surname, it is in many cases ornamental.
HaftekPolish “From the english occupation name describing a maker of handles for tools - a hafter”... [more]
HaganJewish Hebrew, shortened from haganah which means soldier
HagemannGerman, Danish Derived from Middle Low German hage "enclosure, hedge" and mann "person, man".
HaikJudeo-Spanish From the name of a garment worn by Algerian women, derived from Arabic حاك (hak) meaning "to weave". It was used as an occupational name for a maker of these garments.
HamelDutch Means "wether, castrated ram" in Dutch, an occupational name for a shepherd.
HamerEnglish, German From the town of Hamer in Lancashire from the old english word Hamor combining "Rock" and "Crag". It is also used in Germany and other places in Europe, possibly meaning a maker of Hammers.
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.
HammershaimbFaroese An Faroese Surname, Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb (1819-1909) was a Faroese Lutheran minister who established the modern orthography of Faroese, the language of the Faroe Islands, based on the Icelandic language, which like Faroese, derives from Old Norse.
HandschuhGerman Occupational name for a maker or seller of gloves or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore gloves from Middle High German hantschuoch "glove" literally "hand shoe" from the elements hant "hand" and schuh "shoe".
HansardEnglish Possibly from Middle English hansard "merchant or citizen of a Hanseatic town". Alternatively, from the given name Ansard, derived from ansu "god" and ward "guard" or hard "strong".
HarambašićCroatian, Bosnian, Serbian Derived from harambaša (харамбаша), which was a historic rank for the senior commander of a hajduk band. The hajduks were bandits and freedom fighters in the Balkans who fought the Ottomans.
HaramijaCroatian Derived from harambaša, which was a historic rank for the senior commander of a hajduk band. The hajduks were bandits and freedom fighters in the Balkans who fought the Ottomans.
HarbourEnglish Variant of French Arbour or a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of a lodging house, from Old English herebeorg "shelter, lodging".
HargierFrench Known back to the 15th or 16th century in France.... [more]
HarmerEnglish (British) Meaning, of the Army or man of Armor, from the battle at Normandy, France. It was formerly a French last name Haremere after the battle at Normandy it moved on to England where it was shortened to Harmer.
HasteEnglish, French Derived from Old French haste meaning "(roasting) spit" (ultimately from Latin hasta "spear, lance, pike"), an occupational name for a seller of roast meat or a servant who turned the spit to cook meat.
HatathliNavajo From Navajo hataałii meaning "medicine man, shaman", literally "singer" (from the verb hataał "he sings, he is chanting").
HatmanuRomanian Medieval military rank the equivalent of general rank
HatterEnglish This name derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "haet" meaning a hat and was originally given either as an occupational name to a maker or seller of hats
HattlerGerman Occupational name for someone who raises goats.
HauptmannGerman Derived from German hauptmann, a word used for a German military rank meaning "Captain".
HausGerman Topographic and occupational name for someone who lived and worked in a great house, from Middle High German, Middle Low German hus "house" (see House).
HauschildGerman Possibly from German haus "house" or hauen "to chop, to hack" combined with schild "shield".
HausknechtGerman occupational name from Middle High German hus "house" and kneht "boy servant" also "town-hall, messenger".
HausmannGerman From Middle High German hus "house" (see Haus) + man "man".
HauswirthGerman From Middle High German haus 'house' and wirt 'owner' or 'master'.
HaversEnglish Possible variant of Haver, a German, Dutch and English surname. In Germany or England it refers to oats and is used as an occupational surname for a grower or seller of oats... [more]
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.
HedrickGerman (Americanized) This name has a very obscure origin. With the name being of German origin but with notably more people living in England. It means, "Combatant ruler/Ruler of the heathland
HefnerGerman, Jewish Recorded in several spellings including Hafner, Haffner, and Hevner, this is as surname of early Germanic origins. ... [more]
HegdeKannada Hegde means the Headman of the village. Hegde or Heggade Pergade is a surname from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kasargod district of Kerala and Karnataka in India. It is found amongst Hindus of the Bunt community, Jain bunt community, Havyaka Brahmins, Vokkaligas in Karnataka.... [more]
HeilandGerman South German: from Middle High German heilant ‘savior’, ‘Christ’, presumably either a name given to someone who had played the part of Christ in a mystery play or an occupational name for a healer, from Middle High German heilen ‘to heal’, ‘save’.
HeimburgerGerman, Jewish Status name for a village head, derived from Middle High German heim meaning "homestead, settlement" and bürge meaning "guardian". It could also be a habitational name for someone from numerous places called Heimburg or Heimberg in Germany.
HelberGerman Occupational name for a thresher, from Middle High German helwe 'chaff' + the agent suffix -er; alternatively, it could be a habitational name from a place called Helba near Meiningen.
HelferGerman Metonymic occupational name for an assistant of some kind, or nickname for a helpful person, from Middle High German hëlfære, German Helfer 'helper', 'assistant'.
HelmEnglish, Dutch, German from Old English helm "protection covering" (in later northern English dialects "cattle shelter barn"). The name may be topographic for someone who lived by or worked at a barn or habitational from a place so named such as Helme in Meltham (Yorkshire)... [more]
HelmeyerGerman, Dutch, Danish Derived from Middle Dutch meier "bailiff, steward; tenant farmer" and an uncertain first element.
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]
HenkerGerman Occupational name for an Executioner, from the German word "Henker" meaning Hangman.
HerHmong From the clan name Hawj associated with the Chinese character 侯 (hóu) (see Hou).
HerbsterGerman Occupational name for a grape picker or vintner from Middle High German herbest "(grape) harvest".
HercigonjaCroatian Derived from Herzogin, a German title meaning "duchess".
HerderGerman An occupational surname in reference to herding animals. The anglicized pronounciation is "Her-der", but is Germanically pronounced, "Herr-der".
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.
HerrmanGerman Herrman is of ancient German origin. It is derived from a Germanic personal name made up of the elements heri meaning "army," and man meaning "man." Herrman was first found in Prussia, where the name emerged in medieval times as one of the notable families of the region.
HillierEnglish Occupational name for a roof tiler or thatcher from Middle English helier "roofer, slater, tiler", ultimately derived from Old English helan "to hide, conceal, cover".
HinawaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 火縄 (hinawa) meaning "matchlock", referring to the occupation of making matchlocks.
HineEnglish occupational name from Middle English Old English hine "servant member of a household" also "farm laborer" (such as a herdsman or shepherd)... [more]
HippGerman From the middle high German word hippe meaning "waffle". Perhaps an occupational name for someone who cooks waffles.
HồVietnamese Vietnamese form of Hu, from Sino-Vietnamese 胡 (hồ).
HodderEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of hoods, from a Middle English agent derivative of Old English hod
HoedDutch Means "hat, cover", an occupational name for a hatmaker.
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.
HoggEnglish An occupational name for someone who herded swine.
HoggattEnglish A name for someone who worked as a keeper of cattle and pigs.
HohnGerman Derived from Middle High German hon "chicken". As a surname, it was given to someone who either bred or traded in chickens.... [more]
HolderGerman, Jewish, English 1. German: topographic name for someone who lived by an elder tree. Middle High German holder, or from a house named for its sign of an elder tree. In same areas, for example Alsace, the elder tree was believed to be the protector of a house... [more]
HollierEnglish, French Occupational name for a male brothel keeper, from a dissimilated variant of Old French horier "pimp", which was the agent noun of hore "whore, prostitute". Hollier was probably also used as an abusive nickname in Middle English and Old French.... [more]
HollisterEnglish An occupational name for a female brothel-keeper, a feminine form of Hollier.
HolmanEnglish Uncertain etymology. Could be a topographic name derived from Old English holh "hollow, hole" or holm, which can mean either "holly" or "small island" (see Holme), combined with man "man, person"... [more]
HöövelEstonian Höövel is an Estonian surname meaning "planer".
HopDutch Variant form of Hopp. Alternatively, an occupational name derived from Dutch hop referring to the common hop (Humulus lupus), a kind of plant traditionally used to preserve and flavour beer.
HopfGerman An occupational name for a brewer or farmer, from German Hopfen meaning "hops", a plant used in preserving and flavouring beer.
HorntonEnglish (Rare, Archaic) Derived from the surname Horton or perhaps used to describe a horn maker meaning “maker of horns.”
HosekinDutch (Archaic) Occupational name for a maker or seller of hose (garments for the legs), from Middle Dutch hose "stocking, boot".
HoshinaJapanese It can be spelled with 星 (hoshi) meaning "star, mark, dot" and 奈 (na) meaning "name, noted, distinguished, reputation", or 保 (ho) meaning "protect", combined with 科 (shina, ka) meaning "department, technology".
HosnerGerman Occupational name for a knitter of hose (garments for the legs), from the plural form of Middle High German hose + the agent suffix -er (see Hose 3).
HospodPolish (Rare) From the Proto-Slavic gospodь, meaning "lord" or "host." Variant of the Old Polish gospodzin, meaning "landlord."... [more]
HowladerBengali From a Bengali word meaning "land owner", itself derived from Arabic حول (hawl) meaning "power, might, strength" and the Persian suffix دار (dar) indicating ownership.
HoyEnglish Metonymic occupational name for a sailor, from Middle Dutch hoey "cargo ship".
HuāwūChinese From Chinese 花 (huā) meaning "flower, blossom" combined with 屋 (wū) meaning "shop".
HudecCzech, Slovak Occupational name for a fiddler, hudec, a derivative of housti meaning "to play the fiddle".
HufnagelGerman Metonymic occupational name for a farrier from Middle High German hufnagel "horseshoe nail" (literally "hoof nail"). Derived from huof "hoof" and nagal "nail".
HulkeEnglish a nickname for a person who literally "towed" ships and barges
HurtadoSpanish Derived from the Spanish word hurtar, meaning "to steal".
HusemannGerman Epithet for a servant or an administrator who worked at a great house, from Middle Low German hus ‘house’ (see House 1, Huse) + man ‘man’.
HütterGerman German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a hatter from an agent derivative of Middle High German huot ‘hat’; Yiddish hut, German Hut ‘hat’. German (Hütter): topographic name from Middle High German hütte ‘hut’... [more]
ImamArabic, Bengali, Persian, Urdu From Arabic إِمَام (ʾimām) meaning "leader, guide", used to denote a Muslim leader.
IngogliaItalian Means "belonging to the family of Goglia" in Italian, derived from the prefix in- meaning "belonging to the family of" combined with the name Goglia... [more]
InmanEnglish (British) Anglo-Saxon in Origin. Occupational surname given to a person who "tended a lodge or an inn". Surname first found in Lancashire, England.
In'yakuJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 印鑰 (in'yaku) meaning "seal of head government office and keys to various buildings", referring to someone who would make seals or keys for such purposes.
IteJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 射 (i) meaning "shoot" and 手 (te) meaning "hand", referring to an archer.
JäägerEstonian Jääger is an Estonian surname meaning "game warden". Ultimately, from the German-language "jäger" meaning "hunter".
JägermeisterssenGerman Means son of the "Master-Hunter". Originally given to the son of the master-hunter in hunting camps.
JaggardEnglish The name Jaggard is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It was originally a name for someone who worked as a person who tends draughthorses.
JahimeesEstonian Jahimees is an Estonian surname meaning "hunter" (literally, "hunting man").
JaimoukhaCircassian Means "cow herd, cowman", from Kabardian жэм (žăm) meaning "cow" and хъу (χ°) "male, man". It traditionally indicated someone who was wealthy because they possessed a large herd of bovine.
JanmaatDutch Possibly from janmaat, a slang term for a sailor or the collective nautical community, derived from a combination of the common given name Jan 1 and maat "shipmate, sailor; mate, buddy".
JardinFrench, English Derived from Old French jardin meaning "enclosure, garden", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a garden or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked as a gardener.
JaukGerman (Austrian) The meaning of the name Jauk is similar to the word "acre" in English. It is a measure word for how much land an ox can plough in one day. People with the surname Jauk are likely to have descended from farmers... [more]
JaunzemeLatvian Feminine form of Jaunzems, a Latvian occupational surname meaning "new farmer", composed of jauns meaning "new" and zeme meaning "land" (compare zemlja).