StensonEnglish From the name of a hamlet (now called Twyford and Stenson) in Derbyshire, England. The name is a combination of the Old Norse name Steinn and Old English tun "settlement, enclosure".
SterleyEnglish This is an English locational surname. Recorded as Starley, Stearley, Sterley, Sturley, and others, it originates from a place called 'ster-leah', meaning "steer" or "cattle farm". However no such place in any of the known surname spellings is to be found in England, although there is place called Starleyburn in Fifeshire in Scotland... [more]
SternkeLow German (Rare, ?) From the German word or surname Stern meaning "star" and the Low German diminutive "-ke". The exact origins of this surname are unknown.
StowellEnglish A locational name from various places in England called Stowell
StrathairnScottish From Strathearn, the name of a large valley of the River Earn in Scotland, derived from Gaelic srath meaning "river valley, grassland" combined with the river's name. A famous bearer is American actor David Strathairn (1949-).
StreisandGerman, Jewish Possibly an ornamental name, literally meaning "scattersand" in German. This surname is borne by the American singer and actress Barbra Streisand (1942-).
StrelowGerman, Polabian Originally an Polabian name from the city Stralsund (pola. Stralov).
StrindbergSwedish Likely a combination of Strinne, the name of a village in Multrå parish, Ångermanland, Sweden, and berg "mountain". A well known bearer of this name was Swedish playwright and novelist August Strindberg (1849-1912).
StrömgrenSwedish Combination of Swedish ström "stream" and gren "branch".
StronachScottish From Gaelic srónach meaning "nosy" or "sharp-nosed".
StureOld Swedish, Swedish (Rare) Derived from Old Norse stura "to be contrary". This was the surname of two important families in the 15th and 16th century Sweden. Members of these families served as regents of Sweden during this time... [more]
SuksaiThai Means "bright, brilliant, radiant" in Thai.
SuksiThai From Thai สุข (suk) meaning "joy, happiness" and ศรี (si) meaning "glory, honour, splendour".
SuksriThai Alternate transcription of Thai สุขศรี (see Suksi).
SulickPolish Derived from the Polish given name “Sułislaw,” which is composed of the elements “sun” and “sław,” which mean “sun” and “glory”. It is thought to have originally referred to someone who was associated with the sun or who was considered to be illustrious or famous.
SulitFilipino, Tagalog From a nickname derived from Tagalog sulit which can mean "test, gain" or "return of something borrowed, remittance".
SullyFrench, Haitian Creole from any of the various places called Sully for example in Calvados Loiret Saone-et-Loire and Oise. The first of these is recorded in 1180 as Silleium from the Gallo-Roman personal name Silius or Cilius and the Latin locative element acum... [more]
SummerEnglish, German From Middle English sum(m)er, Middle High German sumer "summer", hence a nickname for someone of a warm or sunny disposition, or for someone associated with the season of summer in some other way.
SumpterEnglish Occupational name for someone who drove a packhorse, from Middle English sompter.
SundinSwedish Combination of Swedish sund "strait" and the common surname suffix -in.
SundqvistSwedish From Swedish sund meaning "sound, strait", and kvist meaning "twig, branch".
SuñgaFilipino, Pampangan Old spelling of Sunga. Despite other names like Pañganiban or Pañgilinan falling out of use in favor of their untilded forms, Suñga is still used, with Sunga being much more common.
SvedinSwedish Combination of Swedish svedja "to burn off, to swidden" (referring to slash-and-burn agriculture (in Swedish: svedjebruk)) and the common surname suffix -in.
SwanwickEnglish Habitational name from Swanwick in Derbyshire, possibly also Swanwick in Hampshire. Both are named from Old English swan, "herdsman," and wic, "outlying dairy farm."
SweetingEnglish Derived from Old English swete and Middle English sweting meaning "darling, sweetheart", hence a nickname for a popular and attractive person, or for somebody who habitually addressed people with the term (see Sweet).
SymereEnglish (American, Rare) Name of unknown origin, typically used in the United States. It is best known as the real first name of American rapper Lil Uzi Vert.
SyrénSwedish Meaning uncertain. Perhaps a combination of an unknown first element and the common surname suffix -én, or taken directly from Swedish syren "lilac".
SzmulikPolish The Szmulik surname has much history. Its origins are Hebrew. It has taken on various spellings over the centuries, depending on where the person or family lived in Europe or America.... [more]
SzołdrskiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Greater Polish village of Szołdry.
TabiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 多比 (Tabi) meaning "Tabi", an area in the city of Numazu in the prefecture of Shizuoka in Japan.
TadaJapanese From the Japanese 多 (ta) "many" and 田 (ta or da) "rice paddy."
TafaAlbanian Derived from the given name Tafa, itself a short form of Mustafa.
TafajAlbanian Means "descendant of Tafa", from a short form of the given name Mustafa.
TafuJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 多布 (Tafu) meaning "Tafu", a former township in the former district of Kōge in the former Japanese province of Buzen in parts of present-day Ōita, Japan and Fukuoka, Japan.
TalonEnglish, French Derived from Old French talon "heel", denoting a person with a deformity or a swift person. It could also be a diminutive form of given names Talbot and Talleyrand.
TamangTamang From Tamang རྟ་དམག་ (Ta Damag) meaning "Tamang", a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group.
TamonJapanese (Rare) This surname is used as 多門, 多聞 or 田門 with 多 (ta, oo.i, masa.ni, masa.ru) meaning "frequent, many, much", 田 (den, ta) meaning "rice field/paddy", 門 (mon, kado, to) meaning "gate" and 聞 (bun, mon, ki.ku, ki.koeru) meaning "ask, hear, listen."... [more]
TandaJapanese From Japanese 反 (tan) referring to a unit of areal measure (equivalent to about 991.7 metres squared) and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
TanglaoTagalog From Tagalog tanglaw meaning "light, illumination", ultimately from Hokkien 燈樓/灯楼 (teng-lâu).
TasmanDutch Derived from Dutch tas "bag" and man "person, man". Usually a metonymic name for someone who made bags, though in at least one case it was taken from the name of a ship, De Tas.
TatlıTurkish Means "sweet, pleasant, agreeable" in Turkish.
TautouFrench, Occitan Derived from French tatou meaning "armadillo". It may have originally been given to a person who resembled an armadillo in some way. A famous bearer is the French actress and model Audrey Tautou (1976-).
TeasdaleEnglish From Teesdale, the name of a valley of the River Tees in northern England, derived from the river's name (meaning "warmth" in Old English) combined with dæl meaning "valley".
TebayEnglish From the name of a village in Cumbria, England, derived from the German name element theod meaning "people".
TecsonFilipino From Hokkien 德孫 (tiak sun) meaning "virtuous grandchild, benevolent grandchild". The bearers of this name are said to be descended from any of the three Tek Son brothers who originally came from Guangzhou, China.
TedderEnglish From the Middle English word Thedere or Teddere which either comes from the Old English name Thēodhere or the Germanic name Theudher. Alternatively, it could be an occupational name from the Middle English Teddere, meaning “one who teds”... [more]
TegnérSwedish Derived from the name of Tegnaby parish in Småland, Sweden. The name was originally spelled Tegnérus, but was later shortened to Tegnér. Notable bearers include Alice Tegnér (1864-1943), composer of many Swedish hymns and children's songs, and Esaias Tegnér (1782-1846), bishop and writer.
TeleeIndian Variant transcription of Devanagari तेली (see Teli).
TeliIndian From Sanskrit तेली (tēlī) meaning "oily" in Sanskrit. This is used by the Teli caste who traditionally specialized in oil pressing and trade.
Ten BoomDutch Means "at the tree" in Dutch. A notable bearer of this surname was Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983), a German woman who helped Jewish people take refuge into her home during the Second World War.
TéngyuánChinese From Chinese 藤 (téng) meaning "wisteria" combined with 原 (yuán) meaning "origin, source".
TennantEnglish, Scottish The Strathclyde-Briton people of ancient Scotland were the first to use the name Tennant. It is a name for someone who works as a tenant farmer. The name was applied to those who paid for the rent on their land through working the fields and donating a percentage of the take to the landlord... [more]
TerpstraWest Frisian, Dutch Derived from terp, a kind of artificial hill used as shelter during floods or high tide, and the Frisian habitational suffix -stra.
TerraceScottish Possibly means "from Tarras", a place in Morayshire, Scotland.
TetikTurkish Means "vigilant, watchful, alert" in Turkish.
TetsuJapanese Tetsu could mean "iron", or it could be spelled with te meaning "hand" and tsu meaning "harbor, seaport".
TetsukaJapanese Te means "hand" and tsuka means "mound, hillock".
TetzelGerman A variant of Tetzlaff and is derived from the bakery Tetzel Prime in Casey, Illinois.
TewksburyEnglish Derived from Tewkesbury, a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is named with the Old English given name Teodec and burg meaning "fortification".
TezcanTurkish Means "impetuous, impatient, excited" in Turkish.
ThapaNepali, Indian, Bengali, Assamese, Hindi, Odia From an ancient military rank used in the Khasa Kingdom, which ruled parts of South Asia from the 11th to 14th centuries.
TheronSouthern African, Afrikaans, Occitan Habitational name for someone from any of various locations in Occitanie named Théron or Thérond, ultimately from Latin torus meaning "elevation, height, embankment". A famous bearer is South African and American actress Charlize Theron (1975-).
ThongsingThai From Thai ทอง (thong) meaning "gold" and สิงห์ (sing) meaning "lion".
ThongsukThai From Thai ทอง (thong) meaning "gold" and สุก (suk) meaning "ripe, mature".
ThongthipLao, Thai From Thai ทอง (thong) or Lao ທອງ (thong) meaning "gold" and Thai ทิพย์ (thip) or Lao ທິບ (thip) meaning "divine, heavenly, celestial".
ThorénSwedish Combination of the name Thor (possibly derived from a place named with this element) and the common surname suffix -én.
ThornburgEnglish The name Thornburg comes from the Old English thorn broc, because the original bearers lived near a "stream by the thorns" in Buckinghamshire and North Yorkshire.
ThulinSwedish Meaning uncertain. Possibly derived from thule, an ancient Greek and Roman term for an area in northern Europe which some believe to be the Nordic countries.
ThunbergSwedish Combination of Swedish tun (from Old Norse tún) "enclosure, courtyard, plot, fence" and berg "mountain".
TigerSwedish Perhaps taken from Swedish tiga "to keep quiet, to say nothing". Tiger is one of the names adopted by Swedish soldiers in the 17th century.
TilsleyEnglish Derived from the place name Tyldesley, which in turn derives from Old English personal name Tīlweald with the suffix lēah “clearing, meadow”. Notable bearers of this name include Canadian salvationist and writer Bramwell Tillsley, as well as Welsh poet and Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales Gwilym Tilsley known under his bardic name of "Tilsli".... [more]
TimmerDutch, Low German Means "timber" in Dutch and Low German, an occupational name for a carpenter.
TimmonsIrish Reduced anglicisation of Gaelic Mac Toimín meaning "son of Toimín" (a pet form of Tomás, itself a Gaelic form of Thomas)... [more]
TimsitJudeo-Spanish From the name of the village of Temzit located in the Nafusa region in western Libya.
TiongsonFilipino Derived from either Hokkien 長孫 (tióng-sun) meaning "eldest grandchild" or 仲孫 (tiōng-sun) meaning "second oldest grandchild, middle grandchild".
TischbeinGerman, Literature Means "table leg" in German, from German tisch "table" and bein "leg". This was the surname of a German family of master artists from Hesse which spanned three generations. This is also the surname of the main character of the 1929 novel Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner, Emil Tischbein.
TisdaleEnglish Variant spelling of Teasdale. Famous bearers or this name include the actress and singer Ashley Tisdale (1985-), basketball player and bass guitarist Wayman Tisdale (1964-2009) and the engraver, miniature painter and cartoonist Elkanah Tisdale (1768-1835), all Americans.
TjernströmSwedish Combination of Swedish tjärn "tarn" and ström "stream".
TlebzuCircassian (Russified) Derived from Adyghe лӏы (ḷə) meaning "husband, man" and бзэу (bzăw) meaning "deer, stag".
TobaJapanese From Japanese 鳥 (to) meaning "bird" and 羽 (ba) meaning "feather".
TobarSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Castilian municipality.
TobiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 登 (to) meaning "to climb; to rise" and 日 (bi), the joining form of 日 (hi) meaning "sun; day", referring to a port that is closest to sunrise.
TobingBatak Means "riverbank, edge" in Batak. It is also used as a short form of Lumbantobing.
TogaJapanese From Japanese 東 (tō) "East", "eastern" and 賀 (ga) "congratulation". Other kanji combinations can form this surname as well.
TolstoyRussian Means "fat" from Russian толстый (tolstyy) meaning "thick, stout, fat". This was the name of a Russian family of nobility; a notable member was Count Lev "Leo" Tolstoy (1828-1910), a Russian writer.
Tôn NữVietnamese From Sino-Vietnamese 孫女 (tôn nữ) meaning "granddaughter", originally used as a title for various royal women belonging to the Nguyễn dynasty.
TōnoJapanese From Japanese 東 (tō) meaning "east" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
TōnoJapanese From Japanese 遠 (tō) meaning "distant, far off" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
TorvaldsFinland Swedish From the given name Torvald. A notable bearer is Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds (b. 1969), inventor of the Linux kernel.
TownshendEnglish Variant of Townsend. This surname is borne by the English musician Pete Townshend (1945-).
TozerEnglish Tozer is a surname commonly believed to have originated in Devon, South West England. It is a reference to the occupation of carding of wool which was originally performed by the use of teasels (Latin carduus), via the Middle English word tōsen, to tease (out).
TozziItalian Derived from the Italian adjective tozzo meaning "squat; stocky" and also "chunk; hunk", both from Latin túndere meaning "to dent" or from Slavic stotz meaning "stump".... [more]