PoitierFrench Evidently an altered spelling of Pothier. A famous bearer of this surname was the Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier (1927-2022).
PolhemSwedish (Rare) Derived from Polhammar, itself of uncertain origin. A notable bearer was Swedish scientist and inventor Christopher Polhem (1661-1751).
PoortvlietDutch From the name of the village and former municipality called Poortvliet in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, derived from Middle Dutch port meaning "port, harbour, storage yard, city" and vliet meaning "brook, stream, river, creek, inlet"... [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.
PortreyJewish Origin uncertain. Perhaps an altered form of Jewish Portnoy of North German Portner.
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.
PototFilipino, Cebuano From Cebuano putot meaning "short person", "flower bud" or "young coconut fruit".
PresleyScottish From Persley, a small Scottish hamlet on the River Don, Aberdeenshire, now a suburb of the much larger city of Aberdeen, named perhaps with the Pictish word *pres-, meaning 'bushes' or 'undergrowth'.... [more]
PreveItalian Derives from the Latin "presbyter" with the meaning of "Older". Abundant in the Piedmont region.
PreveItalian From Greek "πρεσβύτερος" (presbyteros), via Latin "presbyter" with the meaning of "The Old One".... [more]
PrévostFrench From Old French prevost meaning "provost", a status name for officials in a position of responsibility.
PrewettEnglish The surname Prewett is derived from the Middle English word prou, meaning "brave," or "valiant," with the addition of either of two common diminutive suffixes: -et or -ot. As such, this name is thought to have originally been a nickname for someone small but brave.
PrimroseScottish From the name of Primrose in Fife, Scotland, a place originally named Prenrhos, literally "tree-moor" in Welsh. This is the family name of the Earls of Rosebery.
PriorEnglish Occupational surname for a prior (a high-ranking official in a monastery), ultimately from Latin prior meaning "superior, first".
PuharSerbian (Modern, Rare) The last name of the contestant Mirjana Puhar from America's Next Top Model, who originally was born in Serbia. She died on February 24, 2015, aged 19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
PushkinRussian Derived from Russian пушка (pushka) meaning "gun, cannon". A notable bearer was Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), a Russian poet and writer.
PuyolCatalan Catalan variant of Pujol. It is borne by the retired Spanish soccer player Carles Puyol (1978-).
PyanykhRussian Derived from Russian пьяный (pyany) meaning "drunk". This may have been a nickname for a family of drunks.
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.
PyleEnglish From the Middle English word pile, meaning "stake" or "post", which is derived via Old English from Latin pilum, meaning "spike" or "javelin". This was a topographic name for someone who lived near a stake or post serving as a landmark, a metonymic occupational name for a stake maker, or a nickname for a tall, strong man.
PyleDutch (Americanized) Americanized form of Dutch Pijl, a metonymic occupational name for a marksman or an arrowsmith, derived from pijl meaning "arrow".
QuezonFilipino Meaning uncertain, possibly a variant of Quizon or from Hokkien 郭孫 (keh-sun) derived from 郭 (keh) meaning "outer city" and 孫 (sun) meaning "grandchild"... [more]
QuiambaoFilipino Possibly from Hokkien 欠賺 (khiàm-báu) meaning "owed money, lacking money" or 鹹賺 (kiâm-báu) meaning "stingy with money".
QuimpoFilipino From Hokkien 金舖 (kim-phò͘) meaning "gold shop" or 金寳 (kim-pó) meaning "golden treasure".
QuimsonFilipino From Hokkien 金孫 (kim-sun) meaning "golden grandchild".
QuinneyEnglish, Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coinne “descendant of Coinne”
QuintonEnglish From a place name meaning "queen's town" in Old English.
QuinzelPopular Culture The actual surname of the fictional character Harley Quinn. The character first appeared in the "Batman: The Animated Series" episode "Joker's Favor" in September 1992, but her full name (Harleen Quinzel) was not revealed until the February 1994 one-shot comic "The Batman Adventures: Mad Love"... [more]
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.
RackersGerman German (Räckers): in the Lower Rhine-Westphalia area, from a reduced form of Rädeker, itself a reduced form of Rademaker.
RaffordScottish, English From a village called Rafford in Moray, Scotland. The surname itself is derived from Gaelic rath meaning "fort, dwelling", and ford reffering to a river crossing.
RaisbeckEnglish Raisbeck is a hamlet in the civil parish of Orton, in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. The surname Raisbeck originates from the hamlet. The name of the hamlet derives from Hrridarr, a personal name and beck, a stream or river.
RambeauFrench (Rare), Frankish Altered spelling of the southern French family name Rambaut, from an Old French personal name, Rainbaut, composed of the Germanic elements ragin "counsel" + bald "bold", "brave", or alternatively from the Germanic personal name Hrambehrt or Hrambald, composed of the elements hramn "crow" & berht "bright" or bald "bold", "brave".
RamplingEnglish Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, derived from Latin ramus meaning "branch" (see Ramos). Famous bearers include English actress Charlotte Rampling (1946-) and her father, athlete and British Army officer Godfrey Rampling (1909-2009).
RapaceSwedish (Modern, Rare) From French and Italian rapace meaning "predatory, bird of prey, raptor". A notable bearer is Swedish actress Noomi Rapace.
ReadingEnglish Habitational name from the county seat of Berkshire, which gets its name from Old English Readingas "people of Read(a)", a byname meaning "red".
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.
ReddenEnglish Location name meaning "clearing or cleared woodland." Communities called Redden include one in Roxburghshire, Scotland and another in Somerset, England. A notable bearer is actor Billy Redden who played the dueling banjoist Lonnie in the 1972 film 'Deliverance.'
ReddiTelugu Alternate transcription of Telugu రెడ్డి (see Reddy).
RedfordEnglish Variant of Radford. A famous bearer is American actor Robert Redford (1936-).
RedgraveEnglish From the name of a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, derived from Old English hrēod meaning "reed" or rēad "red", and græf meaning "pit, ditch" or grāf "grove"... [more]
RedmanEnglish, Irish Variant of Raymond. Also a nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from Middle English rudde "red" and man "man".
RedmayneEnglish, Irish Derived from Redmain, a small hamlet in Cumbria, England. It is named with Old English rēad meaning "red" and Welsh main meaning "rock, stone". The name could also be derived from the given name Réamonn, which is an Irish form of Raymond... [more]
ReixachCatalan Habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Reixac in Catalonia, Spain, for example the municipality of Montcada i Reixac in the province of Barcelona.
RenfrewScottish Anglicized form of the Gaelic Rinn Friù, meaning "cradle of the Royal Stewards." It is derived from either the historical county of Renfrewshire in the west central lowlands of Scotland, or the town of Renfrew within both the historical and present-day boundaries of the county.
ReubensJewish, English Derived from the given name Reuben. This surname was borne by American comedian and actor Paul Reubens (1952-2023; birth name Paul Rubenfeld), who created and played the comic fictional character Pee-wee Herman.
RevelleFrench Variant of Revell, derived from the Old French word revel meaning pride, rebellion, etc.
RevelsAmerican from the surname Revel, a variant of Revell, a Middle English and Old French name referring to festivity
RhodeAmerican Comes from the state 'Rhode Island' in America
RhotonGerman, French Rhoton is a German and French surname from the 1800s. Some people believe that it is derived from the French word for red, but the origin is overall unknown. The name represents strength and power.
RianIrish (Anglicized, Rare, ?) An alternate spelling and pronunciation of Ó Riain, due to French influences after the progenitors of the family moved to France from Ireland.
RingerEnglish From the Norman name Reinger or Rainger derived from the Germanic elements ragin meaning "advice, counsel" and ger meaning "spear"... [more]
RinggoldGerman Comes from Germanic ring "ring" or "assembly" and wald "rule"
RiseboroughEnglish Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Risborough, Riseborough or Risbury in England, derived from Old English hrīs meaning "brushwood" and beorg meaning "hill, mound", or from hrīs and burh meaning "fortification"... [more]
RizalFilipino, Tagalog, Cebuano From Spanish ricial meaning "green field" or "rice field". A notable bearer was José Rizal (1861-1896), a Filipino nationalist and national hero.
RobardsEnglish Altered form of Roberts. A famous bearer was American actor Jason Robards (1922-2000), as well as his father Jason Robards Sr. (1892-1963) and son Sam Robards (1961-), also noted actors.
RochelleFrench, English habitational name from La Rochelle the name of several places in various parts of France especially that in Manche from a diminutive of Old French roche "rock cliff promontory"... [more]
RocherFrench From French roche, meaning "rock'. It indicates a person who worked at a quarry.
RomseyEnglish From the town of Romsey in Hampshire, England. The surname itself is derived from Old English rum meaning "broad", and ey meaning "area of dry land in a marsh."
RondeDutch Means "round" in Dutch, originally a nickname for a plump person, ultimately from Latin rotundus.
RönnlundSwedish Combination of Swedish rönn "rowan" and lund "grove".
RöntgenGerman Meaning uncertain. This was the name of German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923) who discovered and studied x-rays. Röntgen called the radiation "X" because it was an unknown type of radiation.
RosellSwedish Combination of ros "rose" and the common surname suffix -ell.
RosemontEnglish From rose "rose" + mont "mount". Also the name of a town in central California, near Sacramento. In 1880, there were 6 Rosemont families in Indiana.
RosénSwedish Combination of Swedish ros "rose" and the common Swedish surname suffix -én.
RottenPopular Culture From the English word rotten, meaning "In a state of decay/cruel, mean, immoral/bad, horrible". In the Icelandic children's television program LazyTown, Robbie Rotten is the main antagonist of the show who desires silence and peace, continuously formulates reckless schemes that often feature him masquerading in various disguises as a means of hoodwinking or tempting residents away from an active lifestyle... [more]
RougetFrench Derived from the French adjective rouge meaning "red" combined with the French masculine diminutive suffix -et.
RouvoetDutch From a nickname that meant "rough foot", derived from Middle Dutch ru meaning "rough, wild" and voet meaning "foot". This name is borne by the retired Dutch politician André Rouvoet (1962-).
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]
RowsonEnglish (British, Anglicized) The ancestors of the Rowson family first reached the shores of England in the wave of migration after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Their name is derived from the Norman given name Ralph. This name, which also occurs as Ralf, Rolf, and Raoul, is adapted from the Old French given name Raol.... [more]
RoxburghScottish From Roxburgh, a village near the market town of Kelso in the Scottish Borders area in Scotland, derived from the Old English byname Hroc meaning "rook" and burh meaning "fortified place"... [more]
RuckerGerman Middle High German: nickname rucken "to move or draw". North German: nickname from Middle Low German rucker "thief", "greedy or acquisitive person". German: from a reduced form of the Germanic personal name Rudiger... [more]
RudénSwedish (Rare) Swedish rud "clearing" (compare Ruud) combined with the common surname suffix -én.
RudyardEnglish From the location Rudyard (Staffs) which is recorded as Rudegeard in 100 The place-name probably derives from Old English rude "rue" and geard "enclosure yard".
RuffySwiss From a either of two places so named in Marne only one of which (in Vertus) still exists. Known bearers of this surname include the Swiss politician Eugène Ruffy (1854-1919), and Swiss politician Victor Ruffy (1823-1869).
RumschlagGerman This name is possibly a derivative of the German word for "envelope" which is spelled 'Umschlag'.
RumsfeldGerman Variant spelling of Rumfelt. A notable bearer was the American politician, businessman and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (1932-2021).
RunaiJapanese Japanese: written 船井 'boat' and 'well'
RundellEnglish Nickname derived from a diminutive of Middle English and Old French rond, rund meaning "fat, round" (see Rounds), or derived from Rundale, a local place in the village and civil parish of Shoreham in Kent, England, named with Old English rum(ig) meaning "roomy, spacious" and dæl meaning "valley".
RunnerEnglish (American) Probably an altered spelling of German Ronner, annoccupational name for a runner or messenger, a lightly armed mounted soldier. Compare Renner. UK The surname Runner was first found in Lancashire. One of the first records of the family was found in the year 1246 when Alan de Runacres held estates in that shire... [more]
RushenEnglish Originally denoted a person who lived near a marsh, noted for its rushes (see Rush). A famous bearer of this surname is the American singer Patrice Rushen (b. 1954).
RusskikhRussian Means "Russian" in Russian, probably used as a nickname for a person who lived in a village where the majority of residents were non-Russian.
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.
RutteDutch Derived from the given name Rutger. This surname is borne by the former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte (1967-).