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."
RonanIrish shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Rónáin "descendant of Rónán" a personal name apparently based on a diminutive of rón "seal".
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]
RozhkoUkrainian, Russian From Ukrainian and Russian рожок (rozhok), a diminutive form of the word "horn" in both langauges.
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).
RugeleyEnglish From the name of a town in Staffordshire, England, derived from Old English hrycg "ridge" and leah "woodland clearing".
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.
RuszczakPolish From the verb ruszać with numerous potential meanings—"to move; to set out", "to shake; to waver", "to bother; to harass" or "to disturb someone else's belongings"—or from Rus meaning either "reddish-haired person" or "Ruthenian; Rusyn".
RutteDutch Derived from the given name Rutger. This surname is borne by the former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte (1967-).
RydbergSwedish Combination of Swedish ryd "woodland clearing" and berg "mountain". Notable bearers are author and poet Viktor Rydberg (1828-1895) and physicist Johannes Rydberg (1854-1919).
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]
SadaJapanese From 佐 (sa) meaning "assist" and 田 (ta) meaning "rice paddy, field".
SaineiKorean (Japanized, Rare) From Japanese 載寧 (Sainei), the Japanese reading of Korean Hanja 載寧 (Chaeryŏng/Jaeyeong) meaning "Chaeryŏng", a clan or a county in province of South Hwanghae in North Korea where the clan originated.
SainiIndian Indian (Panjab): Hindu (Arora) and Sikh name derived from the name of an Arora clan.
Saint-JustFrench From Saint Justus of Beauvais, a Catholic Saint. A famous bearer of this name is Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, a figure of the French Revolution who was guillotined.
SaithongThai From Thai สาย (sai) meaning "line, wire, string" and ทอง (thong) meaning "gold".
SajiJapanese From 佐 (sa) meaning "help, assist" and 治 (ji) meaning "govern, administer, rule, cure".
SamonJapanese (Rare) This surname combines 左 (sa, sha, hidari) meaning "left" or 佐 (sa) meaning "assistant, help" with 門 (mon, kado, to) meaning "gate."... [more]
SamrithKhmer Means "refined, polished, clean, pure" in Khmer.
SamsonFilipino From Hokkien 三孫 (sam-sun) meaning "third grandson".
SanjouJapanese From Japanese 三 (san) meaning "three" and 條 or 条 (jou) meaning "paragraph".
San JuanSpanish Means "Saint John", derived from Spanish santo "saint" combined with Juan 1. This is a habitational name for a person from any of various places called San Juan, so named for a local shrine or church dedicated to Saint John (San Juan).
SankeyEnglish, Irish Habitational name from a place in Lancashire, which derived from the name of an ancient British river, perhaps meaning "sacred, holy." ... [more]
ŞanlıTurkish Means "famous, glorious, magnificent" in Turkish.
SaraçTurkish Means "saddler, saddlemaker" in Turkish.
SardarIndian, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu From a title meaning "chief, leader", derived from Persian سر (sar) meaning "head, authority" and the suffix دار (dar) meaning "possessor".
SarnowPolabian (Germanized), German From the village of Sarnow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Surname of the mayor of Stralsund Karsten Sarnow.
SarverEnglish, Jewish English and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) occupational name from Old French serveur (an agent derivative of server ‘to serve’), Yiddish sarver ‘servant’.
Sauve'French Sauve' from France to Canada. Changed probably due to an "a" and an "o" confusion in cursive. My granfather's was typo-ed on WW II old men's sign up in MA. or RI, USA.
SavardFrench Either from Old French savart meaning "wasteland" or the Germanic elements sab of uncertain meaning and hard meaning "brave, hardy".
SaxonEnglish Derived from the tribe of the Saxons from the Anglo-Saxon element seaxa "a Saxon" derived Germanic elements sahso and sahsaz derived from sahsą "knife"... [more]