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.
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 Italian tozzo meaning "squat, stocky, thickset". ... [more]
TraegerGerman Derived from the German word Trager which means "Someone who carries something." Traeger could also mean "gift of God."
TraffordEnglish Habitational name derived from either Trafford, Lancashire (an Anglo-French variant of Stratford), from Bridge Mickle and Wimbolds Trafford, Cheshire (derived from Old English trog "trough, valley" and ford "river crossing"), or from the now-lost settlement of Trafford in Northamptonshire (derived from Old English traeppe "trap, fish trap" and ford).
TrahanFrench (Cajun), Welsh From the Welsh name Trahern, derived from the Welsh family seat Trehaverne.
TrandoItalian Italian: from the Germanic (Lombardic) personal name Brando, a short form of the various compound personal names formed with brand ‘sword’, particularly Aldobrando and Ildebrando.
TranmerEnglish Habitational name from Tranmere, a district within the borough of Birkenhead, Cheshire, or Tranmires, an area in Hackness, North Yorkshire. Both toponyms derive from Old Norse trani "crane (bird)" and melr "sandbank, dune".
TrautwigGerman (Modern) From an Ancient German given name made of the name elements TRUD "strength" and WIG "fight"
TravchukUkrainian Either from Ukrainian трава (trava) "grass" or травень (traven') "May (month)", both ultimately deriving from Old Slavic трѣва (trěva) "grass".
TremaineCornish Variant of Tremayne. A famous fictional bearer is Lady Tremaine, the main antagonist of Disney's Cinderella (1950).
TremayneCornish Name for someone from any of various locations called Tremayne (or Tremaine), from Cornish tre meaning "home, settlement, town" and men meaning "stone".
TrémontFrench Habitational name from any of several locations in France, derived from Latin trans "across, beyond" and mons "mountain", making it a cognate of Italian Tremonti... [more]
TrexlerGerman It is derived from the Middle High German "Drehseler," meaning "turner," and was most likely initially borne by a turner or lathe worker.
TrolleSwedish, Old Swedish Swedish noble family. According to legend, an early ancestor killed a troll and that's how the family got its name. The family's coat of arms depicts a headless troll. The earliest known ancestor is Birger Knutsson Trulle (died approx... [more]
TroshevmRussian Andrey Troshev ("Sedoy") was an agent for the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and fought in many wars.
TrotterEnglish, Scottish, German Northern English and Scottish: occupational name for a messenger, from an agent derivative of Middle English trot(en) 'to walk fast' (Old French troter, of Germanic origin). ... [more]
TroutmanEnglish (American) Americanized form of German "Trautmann". The German adjective "traut" means “dear” or "beloved", and it derives from the same root as "trauen": to trust. Worldwide, there are now more Troutmans than Trautmanns.... [more]
TroxelGerman Roots of the German surname Troxel can be found in the region of Hesse, where the name originated. Troxel may be an occupational name, derived from the Middle High German word "truhsaesee," meaning "leader." In this case, Troxel would be a variation of the German surname Truchsess.
TruebaSpanish This indicates familial origin within the vicinity of the eponymous Castilian river.
TsosieNavajo From the Navajo suffix -tsʼósí meaning "slender, slim", originally a short form of a longer name such as kiitsʼósí "slender boy", hashkétsʼósí "slender warrior", cháalatsʼósí "slim Charlie", dághaatsʼósí "the one with a slender mustache", dinétsʼósí "slender man", or hastiintsʼósí "slender man".
TsuryūJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 釣 (tsu), from 釣り (tsuri) meaning "fishing; angling" and 流 (ryū) meaning "flow of water, style", referring to a fisher.... [more]
TuđmanCroatian Derived from Croatian tuđin meaning "foreigner, stranger". This was the surname of the first president of Croatia, Franjo Tuđman (1922-1999). He was also the ninth and last president of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, which was part of the former state of Yugoslavia.
TunstallEnglish Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations in England named Tunstall, derived from Old English tun meaning "enclosure, garden, farm" and steall meaning "position, place, site".
TuppenEnglish It comes from people who shepherds. The word tup refers to a male sheep, and pen comes from where the sheep were kept. Tupping is a word used to refer to the mating of sheep and may also be related.
TurbinRussian From the nickname Турба (Turba) which was probably derived from an old dialectal word meaning "face, snout, muzzle (of an animal)", used as a name for a person with an unpleasant or ugly appearance... [more]
TurcoItalian Ethnic name for a Turk, or a nickname from the same word in the sense of a non-Christian or, following the medieval ethnic stereotype, a cruel, ferocious, or short-tempered person.
TürkmenTurkish, Turkmen Refers to a Turkmen person (someone from the present-day nation of Turkmenistan). The ethnonym itself is believed to be derived from Türk combined with the Sogdian suffix -man (thus meaning "almost Turk") or from Türk combined with Arabic إِيمَان (ʾīmān) meaning "faith, belief, religion".
TurtonEnglish From Turton, an historical area in Lancashire, England (now part of Greater Manchester); it was originally a township in the former civil parish of Bolton le Moors. It is derived from the Old Norse given name Þórr (see Thor) and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town"... [more]
TwerskyRussian Russian surname derived from Tver Oblast (known as Kalinin from 1931-1990, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
TwiningEnglish From the name of the village of Twyning in Gloucestershire, derived from Old English betweonan meaning "between" and eam meaning "river".
TynerIrish An Anglicized version of the Gaelic name O Teimhneain, which is derived from the word teimhean, meaning "dark."
TysoeEnglish Denoted the bearer was from the parish of Tysoe, Warwickshire, England. The name of the parish is derived from Old English Tīges hōh, meaning "spur of land belonging to the god Tiw." (Tiw was the Old English name for the Roman deity Mars, and also inspired the name of Tuesday.)
UbaJapanese From Japanese 姥 (Uba) meaning "Uba", a division in the division of Akougi in the area of Kasasa in the city of Minamisatsuma in the prefecture of Kagoshima in Japan.
UmlaufGerman German: occupational name for a policeman in a town or city, from Middle High German umbe laufen ‘to make the rounds’.
UmonJapanese (Rare) This surname combines 右 (u, yuu, migi) meaning "right" or 宇 (u) meaning "eaves, heaven, house, roof" with 門 (mon, kado, to) meaning "gate."... [more]
UngarGerman, Jewish ethnic name for a Hungarian or a nickname for someone who had trade relations with Hungary. Cognate of Ungaro and variant of Unger.
UnjitThai From Thai อุ่น (un) meaning "warm" and จิตร (chit) meaning "beautiful, drawing, mind".
UpchurchEnglish habitational name from a place called as "the high church" or possibly the higher of two churches from Middle English up "up high higher" and chirche "church" (Old English upp and cirice)... [more]
UpshawEnglish Probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place named with Old English upp meaning "up(per)" and sc(e)aga meaning "copse", or a topographic name with the same meaning.
UptainEnglish Derived from Upton, but meaning "always prepared"
UskoRusyn, Slovak Slovak-Rusyn (Suško): hypocoristic derivative of an adjective (see Suchý) meaning ‘dry’ (as a topographic name) or, when applied to people, ‘thin, lean, meager’.... [more]
UsluTurkish Means "well-behaved, obedient" in Turkish.
VadénSwedish Combination of Swedish place name element vad which in most cases mean "ford, place for wading", and the common surname suffix -én.
VærnesNorwegian Værnes is a village in the municipality of Stjørdal in Nord-Trøndelag county in Mid-Norway. The original spelling of the village's name was Vannes and it is a combination of var "calm, quiet" and nes "headland"... [more]
ValiSpanish, Italian (Swiss), Arabic This Spanish and Italian surname of VALI was a locational name for someone OR A family who lived in a valley. In valle quiescit ( In the valley of our home, we find peace.)... [more]
ValletFrench, English French topographic name from a diminutive of Old French val "valley" (see Val ) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallet the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France and French and English occupational name for a manservant from Old French and Middle English vallet "manservant groom".
VallinSwedish Derived from either Latin vallis "valley" or Swedish vall "wall, pasture, field of grass".
ValoisFrench topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, or a habitational name from any of the various places called Vallois, or regional name from the district in northern France so called, which was once an independent duchy... [more]
Van AgtDutch Means "from Acht", a small village within the city of Eindhoven in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch acht, achte meaning either "eight" or "preserve, lordly possession, legal district"... [more]
VandalEnglish (Rare) A English word meaning "someone who willfully destroys or defaces property",and a member of ancient Germanic tribes.
Van DoornDutch Means "of the thorns", a topographic name for someone who lived near thorn bushes, or in a settlement named after them.
Van GilsDutch Means "from Gilze" in Dutch, a village in North Brabant, Netherlands. Possibly derived from a cognate of Old Norse gil "gap, ravine, gully".
Van GoolDutch Means "from Goirle" in Dutch, the name of a town in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from Middle Dutch goor "filth, dirty; swampy forest floor" and lo "forest clearing, light forest".
Van HeutszDutch (Archaic) A bearer of this name is J.B. van Heutsz, also known as the Pacificator of Aceh, former governor general of the Dutch East Indies.
Van OortDutch Means "from the edge (of town)", derived from Middle Dutch ort "edge, corner, outermost point of a region". Sometimes altered to or from the surname Van Noort.
Van SchaikDutch Derived from any of several places called Schaik, Schaijk, or Schadijk, derived from the original form Schadewijk possibly meaning "shaded place" or "inhospitable place" from Middle Dutch scade meaning either "shadow, shade" or "damage" combined with wijk "village, settlement".
Van TolDutch Means "of (the) toll" or "from Tol" in Dutch, derived from tol "toll (fee); toll booth, toll house", a habitational name for someone who lived near or in a toll house or a place named for one, or a metonymic occupational name for a toll collector... [more]
Van WertDutch (Americanized, Archaic), Flemish Habitational name for someone from places in Belgium and the Netherlands called Weert, (De) Weerd, Weerde, or Waarde, all derived from Middle Dutch wert "holm, area surrounded by rivers".
VarnellEnglish Variant of Farnell. This form originated in southwestern England, where the change from F to V arose from the voicing of F that was characteristic of this area in Middle English.
VasaOld Swedish, Swedish (Archaic) Swedish noble and former royal family. Possibly from vase meaning "bundle" or "withy". The name is believed to be a reference to the family's coat of arms. The most notable member of the family was Gustav Eriksson Vasa (1496-1560), later known as Gustav I of Sweden (in modern times known exclusively as Gustav Vasa)... [more]
VascoSpanish Originally denoted a Basque person or someone from the Basque Country in Spain, from Latin Vascones of uncertain etymology.
VasseurFrench From Old French vavasour meaning "subvassal", a historical term used to refer to a tenant of a baron or lord who also had tenants under him.
VecchioItalian Means "old, aged" in Italian, originally used as a nickname for an older or oldest son or for someone who was prematurely grey or wrinkled.
VedrovmRussian From the Russian word ведро (vedro), meaning "bucket".
VeermanDutch Means "ferryman, skipper" in Dutch, from veer "ferry". Alternatively, it could be an occupational name for a feather merchant or fletcher, derived from veer "feather, plume", a contracted form of the archaic veder.
VerwoerdDutch Means "from the man-made hill", derived from Dutch woerd meaning "man-made hill", indicating someone who lived near or on terps (artificial dwelling mounds created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides or flooding)... [more]