Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
FarnworthEnglish Farnworth is a combination of two words: old-English fearn meaning "fern" and worth, making the full meaning of Farnworth "settlers from a place where ferns are abundant." The oldest known record of the surname was in Farnworth with Kearsley (modern-day Farnworth), Lancashire in 1185... [more]
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]
FarrimondEnglish Either from the Norman given name Faramund, or else a variant of the occupational surname Ferriman ('with post-medieval excrescent -d').
FarrowEnglish Northern English: hyper-corrected form of Farrar, occupational name for a smith or worker in iron. The original -ar or -er ending of this name came to be regarded as an error, and was changed to -ow.
FarthingEnglish (i) "someone who lives on a 'farthing' of land" (i.e. a quarter of a larger area); (ii) from a medieval nickname based on farthing "1/4 penny", perhaps applied to someone who paid a farthing in rent; (iii) from the Old Norse male personal name Farthegn, literally "voyaging warrior"
FastolfEnglish From the Old Norse male personal name Fastúlfr, literally "strong wolf". It was borne by Sir John Fastolf (1380-1459), an English soldier whose name was adapted by Shakespeare as "Falstaff".
FaucettEnglish Locational surname from various British places: Fawcett in Cumberland, Facit in Lancashire, Forcett in North Yorkshire, or Fa’side Castle in East Lothian, Scotland. The linguistic origins of the name arise variously from, in Cumberland and Lancashire, "multi-coloured hillside" in 7th century Old English fag or fah, "brightly coloured, variegated, flowery" with side, "slope"; in North Yorkshire from Old English ford, "ford", and sete, "house, settlement"; or, reputedly, in East Lothian, "fox on a hillside"... [more]
FauntleroyEnglish Little Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. Fauntleroy is also Donald Duck's middle name.
FawcettEnglish Originates from the Anglo-Saxon word 'fag' or 'fah' meaning bright or flowery.
FawkesEnglish From the Norman personal name Faulques or Fauques, which was derived from a Germanic nickname meaning literally "falcon". A famous bearer of the surname was Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), the English Catholic conspirator... [more]
FawleyEnglish This is a name for someone who worked as a person who worked as the fowler or the bird-catcher having derived from the Old English word "fugelere" which literally means "hunter of wild birds, fowler"... [more]
FayeFrench, English Refers to one who came from Fay or Faye (meaning "beech tree") in France.
FayneEnglish The surname Fayne is derived from the Middle English words "fein," "fayn," or " fane," which all mean "glad." The name was a nickname for a happy or good-natured person.
FeatherEnglish from Middle English fetherfedder "feather" or perhaps a shortened form of Middle English fetherer applied as a metonymic occupational name for a trader in feathers and down a maker of quilts or possibly a maker of pens... [more]
FeathermanEnglish Derived from the Old English word "feþerman," which means "falconer" or "hawk trainer." It was likely used as an occupational surname for someone who was involved in hunting with birds of prey using the falconry or hawking methods.
FeatherstonhaughEnglish Indicates a person lived in or near Featherstonhaugh in Northumberland, England. From Old English feðere "feather", stān "stone", and healh "corner."
FelkerEnglish The surname Felker was a patronymic surname, created from a form of the medieval personal name Philip. It was also a habitational name from a place name in Oxfordshire. Forms of the name such as de Filking(es) are found in this region from the 12th and 13th centuries.
FellEnglish From Middle English fell ”high ground”, ultimately derived from Old Norse fjall, describing one who lived on a mountain.
FellEnglish, German, Jewish Metonymic occupational name for a furrier, from Middle English fell, Middle High German vel, or German Fell or Yiddish fel, all of which mean "skin, hide, pelt". Yiddish fel refers to untanned hide, in contrast to pelts "tanned hide" (see Pilcher).
FellerEnglish, German, Jewish Occupational name for a furrier, from an agent derivative of Middle English fell, Middle Low German, Middle High German vel, or German Fell or Yiddish fel "hide, pelt". See also Fell.
FellowsEnglish English: patronymic from Fellow, from Middle English felagh, felaw late Old English feolaga ‘partner’, ‘shareholder’ (Old Norse félagi, from fé ‘fee’, ‘money’ + legja to lay down)... [more]
FennerEnglish A surname of either Old French origin, allegedly meaning “huntsman”, or else more probably referring to those who were brought over from the Low Countries to assist in draining the “fens” or wetlands of England and Ireland – a process which lasted from the 9th to the 18th centuries.
FenningEnglish Topographic name for a fen dweller, from a derivative of Old English fenn (see Fenn).
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.
FentonEnglish Originated from several place names in England, meaning “marsh town” from Old English fenn “marsh, fen” + tun “enclosure; settlement, town”.
FerrandFrench, English This French surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a nickname (thus making it a descriptive surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval French masculine given name Ferrand, which was a variant form of the name Fernand, itself a contraction of Ferdinand.... [more]
FerrarEnglish The Ferrars are the Lincolnshire branch of the noble De Ferrers family. The latter having been linked to Tamworth Castle, manors in Baddesley Clinton, Tutbury Castle and the now ruined Groby Castle as well as many other estates around the UK.... [more]
FettEnglish Nickname from Old French fait, Middle English fet meaning "suitable", "comely".
FeverelEnglish From a Middle English form of February, probably used as a nickname either for someone born in that month or for someone with a suitably frosty demeanor. In fiction, this surname was borne by the central character of George Meredith's novel 'The Ordeal of Richard Feverel' (1859).
FielderEnglish Southern English from Middle English felder ‘dweller by the open country’.
FieldhouseEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived in a house in open pasture land. Reaney draws attention to the form de Felhouse (Staffordshire 1332), and suggests that this may have become Fellows.
FieldingEnglish Topographic name from an Old English felding ‘dweller in open country’.
FiennesEnglish Derived from Fiennes, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The wealthy and influential Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes family, prominent in British society, originated in northern France... [more]
FilkinsEnglish Means either (i) "person from Filkins", Oxfordshire ("settlement of Filica's people"); or "son of Filkin", a medieval personal name meaning literally "little Phil", from Philip.
FilleryEnglish From a medieval nickname derived from Anglo-Norman fitz le rei "son of the king" (see also Fitzroy), probably applied mainly (and ironically) to an illegitimate person or to someone who put on quasi-royal airs.
FillmoreEnglish Of uncertain origin: it could be derived from the Norman given name Filimor, composed of the Germanic elements filu ("very") and mari or meri ("famous"), or it might be a combination of the Saxon elements fille ("abundance") and mere, a word denoting a lake or otherwise humid land.
FineEnglish (?) English nickname for a clever or elegant man, from Old French fin ‘fine’, ‘delicate’, ‘skilled’, ‘cunning’ (originally a noun from Latin finis ‘end’, ‘extremity’, ‘boundary’, later used also as an adjective in the sense ‘ultimate’, ‘excellent’).
FingerEnglish, German, Jewish Probably applied as a nickname for a man who had some peculiarity of the fingers, such as possessing a supernumerary one or having lost one or more of them through injury, or for someone who was small in stature or considered insignificant... [more]
FinkGerman, Slovene, English, Jewish Nickname for a lively or cheerful person, Jewish ornamental name derived from the Germanic word for "finch", and German translation of Slovene Šinkovec which is from šcinkovec or šcinkavec meaning "finch".
FinkleaEnglish Variant form of Finkley. A famous bearer was the American actress and dancer Cyd Charisse (1922-2008), whose birth name was Tula Ellice Finklea.
FinkleyEnglish From Finkley, a hamlet in Hampshire, England, derived from Old English finc meaning "finch" and leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
FirmanEnglish, French From a medieval personal name meaning "firm, resolute, strong man." Borne by early saints and bishops. First name variants Firman and Firmin... [more]
FirthEnglish, Scottish, Welsh English and Scottish: topographic name from Old English (ge)fyrhþe ‘woodland’ or ‘scrubland on the edge of a forest’.... [more]
FishburneEnglish Derived from the villages of Fishbourne in West Sussex and the Isle of Wight, or the village and civil parish of Fishburn in County Durham, England, all named from Old English fisc meaning "fish" and burna meaning "stream"... [more]
FiskeEnglish, Norwegian From the traditionally Norwegian habitational surname, from the Old Norse fiskr "fish" and vin "meadow". In England and Denmark it was a surname denoting someone who was a "fisherman" or earned their living from selling fish.
FitzhughEnglish English (Northamptonshire): Anglo-Norman French patronymic (see Fitzgerald) from the personal name Hugh.
FitzpiersEnglish, Literature Means "son of Peter" in Anglo-Norman, from a medieval form of Peter, Piers. Edred Fitzpiers is a character in the 18th-century novel The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy, who is depicted as a new doctor in the small woodland village of Little Hintock, who took an interest in Grace Melbury, one of the characters, Giles Winterborne's childhood sweetheart.
FlackEnglish Probably from Middle English flack / flak meaning "turf, sod" (as found in the place name Flatmoor, in Cambridgeshire), and hence perhaps an occupational name for a turf cutter.
FlannerEnglish This early occupational and mainly 'midlands' English surname, is actually of pre-medieval French origins. Introduced into England at the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066, it derives from the French word flaonet meaning a 'little flan', and described a maker of patisserie or pancakes.
FlintEnglish, German Topographic name for someone who lived near a significant outcrop of flint, Old English, Low German flint, or a nickname for a hard-hearted or physically tough individual.
FlintonEnglish Habitational name from Flinton in the East Yorkshire from Old English flint "flint" and tun "enclosure, yard, town"
FoeEnglish (Rare) From Middle English fo "foe, enemy; hostile", possibly a nickname for someone who played the Devil in a pageant play. Can also be a variant form of Fow.
FollowillEnglish Of Norman origin - from Folleville Somme in northern France. The placename Ashby Folville in Leicestershire derives its affix from the de Folevill family who held the manor from the 12th to 14th centuries.
FooteEnglish Nickname for someone with a peculiarity or deformity of the foot, from Middle English fot (Old English fot), or in some cases from the cognate Old Norse byname Fótr.
ForceEnglish From the word "force" meaning waterfall in the North of England.
FordhamEnglish Habitational name from any of the places in Cambridgeshire, Essex, and Norfolk named Fordham, from Old English ford ‘ford’ + ham ‘homestead’ or hamm ‘enclosure hemmed in by water’.
FormanEnglish An occupational surname for a keeper of swine, Middle English foreman, from Old English for hog, "pig" and mann ‘man’. The word is attested in this sense from the 15th century but is not used specifically for the leader of a gang of workers before the late 16th century.
FormbyEnglish From the name of a town in Merseyside, England, meaning "Forni's village". The second part is derived from Old Norse býr meaning "farm, settlement". A famous bearer is George Formby (1904-1961), English comedian and entertainer.
FortonEnglish Habitational name from any of the places in Hampshire Lancashire Shropshire and Staffordshire named Forton from Old English ford "ford" and tun "settlement enclosure".
FosdickEnglish From Fosdyke in Lincolnshire, England, meaning "fox dyke".
FowEnglish Derived from Middle English fou "spotted, stippled, multicoloured".
FoweatherEnglish Derived from the place name Fawether, Bingley, itself a combination of Middle English fah "multicoloured, stippled" and hather "heather"... [more]
FowlEnglish, Popular Culture This name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and derives from the Old English pre 7th Century word fugol, "fowl", "bird", which was used as a byname and as a personal name. The medieval form of the word was the Middle English development foul, fowl(e), used as a continuation of the Old English personal name and also as a nickname for someone who in some way resembled a bird.
FrameEnglish, Scottish From the Old English word fram, meaning "vigorous, strong, brave".
FramptonEnglish English: habitational name from any of various places so called, of which there are several in Gloucestershire and one in Dorset. Most take the name from the Frome river (which is probably from a British word meaning ‘fair’, ‘brisk’) + Old English tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
FranklandEnglish Status name for a person whom lived on an area of land without having to pay obligations. From Norman French frank, 'free' and Middle English land, 'land'. This surname is common in Yorkshire.... [more]
FrémontFrench (Americanized), English (American) Fremont is a French surname meaning Free Mountain. People include John Frémont a US Explorer and Politician who fought in the Mexican-American War to free California and many places named after him, Including Fremont, California, and Fremont Nebraska.
FreshEnglish Probably a nickname for someone who's young.
FrettEnglish English from Middle English frette, Old French frete ‘interlaced work (in metal and precious stones)’ such as was used for hair ornaments and the like, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such pieces.
FretwellEnglish Taken from the Old English "freht," meaning "augury," and "well," meaning "spring, stream."
FrewinEnglish From the Middle English personal name Frewine, literally "noble or generous friend".
FriarEnglish Denoted a member of any of certain religious orders of men, especially the four mendicant orders. (Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans)
FriendEnglish Nickname for a companionable person, from Middle English frend "friend" (Old English freond). In the Middle Ages the term was also used to denote a relative or kinsman, and the surname may also have been acquired by someone who belonged to the family of someone who was a more important figure in the community
FrisbyEnglish Means "person from Frisby", Leicestershire ("farmstead of the Frisians"). A frisbee is a plastic disc thrown from person to person as a game; the trademarked name, registered in 1959 by Fred Morrison, was inspired by the Frisbie bakery of Bridgeport, Connecticut, whose pie tins were the original models for the plastic discs.
FrithEnglish, Scottish From Old English friþ "peace, refuge, sanctuary", probably denoting a person who lives in a sanctuary or at peace. It also be a variant of English surname Firth.
FrizzellEnglish (Rare) Either (i) from Friseal, the Scottish Gaelic form of Fraser; or (ii) from a medieval nickname applied to someone who dressed in a showy or gaudy style (from Old French frisel "decoration, ribbon").
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]
FrogEnglish From the English word frog which is a type of amphibian.
FroggattEnglish Topographical name from the village of Froggatt in Derbyshire.
FromentFrench, Walloon, English from French froment "wheat" (from Latin frumentum "grain") probably applied as a nickname for a peasant or as metonymic occupational name for a dealer in wheat... [more]
FroudEnglish From the Old English personal name Frōda or Old Norse Fróði, both meaning literally "wise" or "prudent". A variant spelling was borne by British historian James Anthony Froude (1818-1894).
FulcherEnglish English (chiefly East Anglia): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements folk ‘people’ + hari, heri ‘army’, which was introduced into England from France by the Normans; isolated examples may derive from the cognate Old English Folchere or Old Norse Folkar, but these names were far less common.
FurlongEnglish, Irish Apparently a topographic name from Middle English furlong ‘length of a field’ (from Old English furh meaning "furro" + lang meaning "long".
FurmanPolish, Czech, Slovak, Jewish, Slovene, English, German (Anglicized) Polish, Czech, Slovak, Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic), and Slovenian: occupational name for a carter or drayman, the driver of a horse-drawn delivery vehicle, from Polish, Yiddish, and Slovenian furman, a loanword from German (see Fuhrmann)... [more]
FurneauxFrench (Anglicized), English Locational surname from any of several places in France called Fourneaux, or from fourneau "furnace".
GableEnglish Northern English: of uncertain origin, perhaps a habitational name from a minor place named with Old Norse gafl ‘gable’, which was applied to a triangular-shaped hill. The mountain called Great Gable in Cumbria is named in this way.... [more]