EberlingGerman (Austrian) The surname Eberling was first found in Austria, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. Always prominent in social affairs, the name became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System and the nation... [more]
EbinaJapanese From Japanese 蝦 (ebi) meaning "shrimp, prawn" and 名 (na) meaning "name, reputation".
EbisuJapanese, Japanese Mythology This name most likely comes from the god Ebisu, his name being spelled in numerous ways, one of them being 戎 (ebisu) meaning "arms" or 蛭 (ebi, hiru) meaning "leech" and 子 (ko, su) meaning "child, sign of the rat"... [more]
EfetürkTurkish Means "brother of the Turks", derived from Turkish efe meaning "older brother, brave".
EffenbergGerman Possibly denoted a person coming from a place of this name in Germany, or for someone who lived on or near a mountain or hill covered with elm trees, derived from German effe meaning "elm" and berg meaning "mountain, hill"... [more]
EichenlaubGerman, Jewish Derived from Eichenlau, a topographic name from Middle High German eichen "oaks" and loh "forest clearing", reinterpreted through folk etymology as Eichenlaub, meaning "oak leaf".
ElfordMedieval English From the Old English personal name Ella, from the word oelf meaning "elf" or from the Old English alor/elre, meaning "alder tree." The name in full would mean "alder tree by a ford" or "Ella who lives by a ford".... [more]
EllenbergGerman, Jewish, German (Swiss) Derived from two municipalities and a village called Ellenberg in Germany. As an ornamental name, it is derived from German ölenberg, literally meaning "olive mountain".
EllersleyEnglish From the baptismal name, Elsy, which is ultimately derived from the old Norse word Aelfsige, literally meaning elf-victory.
ElmahdyArabic (Egyptian) Means "the Mahdi" from Arabic مَهْدِيّ (mahdiyy) meaning "guided one, rightly guided". In Islam, the term refers to a figure who will restore peace to the world.
ElmalehJudeo-Spanish, Arabic From Arabic مَالِح (māliḥ) meaning "salty, savoury", probably used to refer to a salt trader.
EmoriJapanese From Japanese 江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and 守 (mori) meaning "watchman, keeper, caretaker".
EmoriJapanese From Japanese 江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet" and 森 (mori) meaning "forest".
EmotoJapanese From 柄 (e, gara) meaning "pattern, hilt, stalk", 恵 (e, megumi) meaning "blessing", or 江 (e) meaning "inlet bay" combined with 本 (moto, hon) meaning "origin, root".... [more]
EnatsuJapanese 江 (E) means "river, inlet" and 夏 (natsu) means "summer".... [more]
EngelhardtGerman Derived from the Germanic given name Engelhard, composed of German engel meaning "angel" and hard meaning "brave, hardy, strong".
EnjolrasLiterature From a surname which was from Occitan enjeura meaning "to terrify". This was the name of a charismatic activist in Victor Hugo's novel 'Les Misérables' (1862).
EnshōganJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 焔 (en) meaning "blaze" and 硝岩 (shōgan), derived from 硝石 (shōseki) meaning "saltpeter" by replacing the character 石 (seki) meaning "stone" with 岩 (gan) meaning "rock".
ErasoBasque Habitational name of uncertain etymology, possibly derived from Basque iratze "fern" and the abundance suffix -so. Coincides with the Basque word meaning "attack, charge, assault".
EssienWestern African, Akan, Ibibio, Efik Means "sixth born child" in Akan, possibly deriving from the given name Nsia. As a Nigerian name it is derived from a given name (found among the Ibibio and Efik people) denoting the son the family lineage depends on, possibly meaning either "a child who belongs to everyone" or "the child who takes charge of outside matters"... [more]
EstrelaPortuguese The surname Estrela, of Portuguese origin, means "star," symbolizing guidance, hope, and celestial beauty, and is commonly found in Portugal.
EtienamNigerian, Ibibio (?), Spanish (Caribbean, ?) This is a name which originates from the Calabar/Akwa Ibom region of southeastern Nigeria. It means "a doer of good, or benevolent". It is also found in Spanish-speaking regions of the Caribbean such as Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba (El Oriente) which have populations of people of Ibibio/Efik decent known as "Carabali".
EveshamEnglish Derived from the Old English homme or ham and Eof, the name of a swineherd in the service of Egwin, third bishop of Worcester.
EvolaItalian Perhaps a topographic name from Italian ebbio, a type of plant known as danewort in English (genus Sambucus), itself derived from Latin ebullus; alternatively, it may have been a habitational name for a person from a minor place named with this word... [more]
FagundesPortuguese Patronymic from the personal name Fagundo (see Facundo).
FairweatherEnglish, Scottish From Middle English fayr "fair, beautiful, pleasant" and weder "weather", a nickname for a person with a sunny temperament, or who only worked in good weather. ... [more]
FalkowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Falkow
FarragutBreton, French, Catalan, American A Breton-French surname of unknown origin. A notable bearer was American naval flag officer David Farragut (1801-1870), who is known for serving during the American Civil War. His father was of Catalan ancestry... [more]
FarrugiaMaltese Derived from Maltese farruġ meaning "chicken", used as a name for someone who kept chickens.
FassbinderGerman Variant of Kiefer 2, from German Fass "barrel, keg, cask" and binder "girder, tie". Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor, considered as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement.
FatemiPersian From the given name Fatemeh, denoting descent or association with the Prophet Muhammad's daughter.
FennoyAmerican Fennoy is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Fennoy family once lived near a marsh or swamp. Another name for wetlands is fen, in the Old English fenn, from which this name is derived.
FielderEnglish Southern English from Middle English felder ‘dweller by the open country’.
FigueiraPortuguese, Galician Means "fig tree" in Portuguese and Galician, ultimately from Latin ficaria. It was used a topographic name for someone who lived or worked near fig trees or for someone from any of various places called Figueira (derived from the same word).
FinkelsteinJewish Means "spark stone" from Old High German funko meaning "spark" and stein meaning "stone".
FinnertyIrish Reduced anglicisation of Irish Ó Fionnachta meaning "descendant of Fionnachta", a given name derived from fionn meaning "fair, white" and sneachta meaning "snow".
FinottiItalian Derived from the Medieval Italian given name Fino or also given to someone whose ancestors were named Delfino or Ruffino.
FitoussiJewish (Sephardic) Meaning uncertain, possibly from the Tamazight place name Fitous located in present-day Libya. Alternately it may be related to the Arabic root ف ط س (f-t-s) meaning "flatness", possibly used as a nickname for someone with a flat nose.
FleischhackerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a butcher from German fleisch "flesh meat", and an agent derivative of hacken "to chop or cut".
FleischhauerGerman Occupational name for a butcher from Middle High German fleisch or vleisch "flesh meat" and an agent derivative of Middle High German houwen "to cut". Variant of Fleischauer.
FlygareSwedish Means "someone who flies" in Swedish, ultimately a combination of the verb flyga "to fly" and the suffix -are denoting a person who performs the action of the verb. The surname was first used in the 17th century and is therefore unrelated to the modern occupation pilot (the Swedish word for pilot is also "pilot"), instead, a flygare probably referred to a person who was quick, fast.
FragosoPortuguese, Spanish Means "rocky, rough, uneven" in Portuguese and Spanish, ultimately from Latin fragosus. It was originally a habitational name from any of various places called Fragoso.
FrankowskimPolish Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations named Franki, Frankowo, or Frankowa, all derived from Polish frank "franc, free"
FrantsuzovRussian Derived from Russian француз (frantsuz) meaning "French, Frenchman".
FratiniMedieval Italian (Tuscan, Modern) My understanding is that the Fratini surname originated in the Arno River Valley somewhere between Arezzo and Florence.
FrobisherEnglish The surname Frobisher is derived from an occupation, 'the furber' or 'furbisher.' (Middle English fourbishour, from Old French forbisseor). A furbisher was a scourer of armour and metals generally, found also as' furbearer.' Frobisher is the most prominent modern form of the surname... [more]
FuchinoJapanese Fuchi means "abyss, deep end, pool" and no means "field, plain".
FuenmayorSpanish This indicates familial origin within the eponymous Riojan municipality.
GaddamuTelugu Variant of Gaddam. This surname means "on the hill" It is derived from the Telugu words "gadda (గడ్డ)" which means hill and "meeda (మీద)/meedi (మీది)" which means on. The two words were put together and shortened to Gaddamu.
GadolinFinnish (Rare) Derived from the name of the homestead Magnula in Kalanti (formerly Nykyrko) parish in southwest Finland. Magnula is thought to be associated with Latin magnus "large, big, great" and the name Gadolin is derived from Hebrew gadol with the same meaning... [more]
GaetaItalian Derived from the town of Gaeta, in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. It can also derive from the given name Gaetano which shares its origin.
GagalacTagalog From Tagalog gagalak meaning "delighted, joyous".
GalanteItalian, French, Jewish Comes from the ancient French word "galant" meaning someone in love or who has fun. In the case of Mordecai Galante, a Spanish exile in 16th century Rome, his courteous manners won for him from the Roman nobles the surname "Galantuomo" (gentleman), from which Galante was eventually derived.... [more]
GalindoSpanish Either from the given name Galindo or from the name of the Galindians, an ancient Baltic tribe.
GalishoffUpper German, German (Austrian) Derived from the ancient Roman name Gallus, meaning "rooster" in Latin. Hoff meaning house combines the growing or tending to poultry on a farm house, hence the name Galishoff which has been modified over the millennia... [more]
GałkowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from a place called Gałkowo or Gałków, both derived from Polish gałka meaning "knob, handle, lump".
GalliganIrish Shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Gealagáin 'descendant of Gealagán' a personal name from a double diminutive of geal 'bright white'.
GatchalianFilipino, Tagalog From a Hispanicised spelling of Gat Sa Li-Han, a Chinese title meaning "lord of Li-Han". It was used by the rulers of Li-Han, an ancient Philippine state that was located in the present-day city of Malolos.
GatdulaFilipino, Tagalog This surname honors Lakan Dula, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Tondo, via his alternative name Gat Dula. In it, the word or prefix Gat is a shortened version of the Tagalog honorific Pamagat, which at the time meant "nobleman," while Dula possibly means "palace." Altogether, it means "Nobleman of the Palace."
GattusoItalian, Sicilian Sicilian and Calabrian variant of Gatto, notably borne by the Italian former soccer player Gennaro Gattuso (1978-).