American Submitted Surnames

American names are used in the United States. See also about American names.
usage
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Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Glad English
From a short form of the various Old English personal names with a first element glæd "shining, joyful". Compare Gladwin.
Gladding English
Given as a nickname to someone who is glad, in high spirits, and happy.
Gladney English
Probably means "bright island", from the Old English element glæd "bright" (cf. Glædwine) and the English element ney "island" (cf.... [more]
Glasgow English (American), English (British)
Derived from the city of Glasgow in Scotland.
Gleave English
Means either "sword-maker" or "sword-seller", or else from a nickname applied to a skilled swordsman (in either case from Middle English gleyve "sword").
Glendon Scottish, English
From the first name, which means "from the dark glen" in Scottish Gaelic.
Glissen English, Irish
Possible British version of the Irish surname Glasson from the the Gaelic word O’Glasain. Meaning green from the counties of Tipperary.
Gloster English
habitational name from the city of Gloucester. The place originally bore the British name Glevum (apparently from a cognate of Welsh gloyw "bright") to which was added the Old English element ceaster "Roman fort or walled city" (from Latin castrum "legionary camp")... [more]
Gloucester English
habitational name from the city of Gloucester. The place originally bore the British name Glevum (apparently from a cognate of Welsh gloyw "bright") to which was added the Old English element ceaster "Roman fort or walled city" (from Latin castrum "legionary camp")... [more]
Glowczenski American
This is my surname. My cousin Steve Glowzenski, had the C dropped along the way somewhere, probably the military.
Gober English, French
The surname Gober was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Norman influence of English history dominated after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed.
Gobert French, German, English
From the given name Gobert a compressed form of Godebert composed of the ancient Germanic elements god "good" or god/got "god" and berht "bright famous".
Goble English
From “Gobble”, meaning “to gorge, to guzzle”
Godil English
English: habitational name for someone from Gadshill in Kent, either of two places called Godshill in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, or Godsell Farm in Wiltshire, which were all originally named Godeshyll ‘God's hill’.
Godin English
Comes from the Germanic personal name Godin-, a pet form of any of various compound names beginning with god, got ‘god’. Compare Godbold, Goddard, and Godfrey.
Godwin English
Derived from the first name Godwine.
Godwinson English
Means "Son of Godwin". First born by Harold Godwinson. From his father Godwine, Earl of Wessex... [more]
Goforth English
Probably given to someone who likes to lead
Goldburg English, Jewish
Anglicized form of Goldberg.
Golden English
From the English word golden, likely a nickname for someone with blonde hair.
Goldfarb English, German, Jewish
Goldfarb is a Jewish occupational name that was originally derived from the Old German word gold.
Goldring German, English, Jewish
This surname was probably given to someone who wore a gold ring.
Goldsmith English
Occupational name for a worker in gold, a compound of Old English gold "gold" and smið "smith". In North America it is very often an English translation of German or Jewish Goldschmidt.
Goldthwaite English
Possibly derived from Guilthwaite in South Yorkshire, which is named from Old Norse gil meaning "ravine" and þveit meaning "clearing". However, the modern surname is associated with Essex, suggesting some other source, now lost.
Goldwyn English, Jewish
Derived from the Old English given name Goldwine, composed of the elements gold meaning "gold" and win meaning "friend".
Golston English (Rare)
Meaning uncertain.
Gonnynge English (Rare)
A variant of the given name Gunwyn, which is derived from the Old English word gundwein, meaning "battle friend".
Goodall English
Habitational name from Gowdall in East Yorkshire, named from Old English golde "marigold" and Old English halh "nook, recess".
Goodall English
From Middle English gode "good" and ale "ale, malt liquor", hence a metonymic occupational name for a brewer or an innkeeper.
Gooday English
Modernized form of Goody.
Goodbar German (Anglicized), English
Possibly an altered spelling of English Godber, derived from the medieval given name Godebert, or an occupational name for a beer brewer and a nickname for a toper... [more]
Goodchild English
Nickname derived from Middle English god "good" and cild "child". In some cases, it might have instead derived from godchild and been a nickname for someone who was the godchild of a prominent member of the community.
Goodenough English
From a medieval nickname probably applied either to someone of average abilities or to an easily satisfied person; also, perhaps from a medieval nickname meaning "good servant".
Goodfellow English
Generally explained as a nickname meaning 'good fellow' or 'good companion'.
Goodfriend English
Nickname for a reliable friend or neighbor, from Middle English gode meaning "good", and frend meaning "friend". It is an English translation and cognate of German Gutfreund, from Middle High German guot meaning "good" and vriunt meaning "friend".
Goodheart English
Nickname for a kindly person.
Gooding English
Derived from a pet form of names containing the Old English element god "god" or god "good", such as Godwin or Goding.
Goodliffe English
Derived from the Middle English feminine given name Godlieve, composed of the Germanic elements god meaning "good" or gud meaning "god", and liub meaning "dear, beloved".
Goodloe English
Goodloe traces back to the English Gidlow. The first recorded use of the name is from 1291; Robert de Gidlow was a freeholder in Aspull, Lancanshire, United Kingdom and the name occurs frequently down to the 17th century... [more]
Goodluck English
Early Anglo Saxon name from 6-7th century. Derived from Guolac,meaning battle play.
Goodrich English
Derived from the Middle English given name Goderiche (itself derived from the Anglo-Saxon given name Godric), composed of Old English god meaning "good" and ric meaning "ruler, mighty, god's ruler, power"... [more]
Goodrich English
Derived from the given name Godric or a habitational name from a village called Goodrich in Herefordshire, of the same origin.
Goods English
Variant of Good.
Goodson English
Nickname for a dutiful son, from Middle English gode ‘good’ + sone ‘son’.
Goodwill English
Nickname for a friendly or amiable person; from Middle English god(e), gud(e) goud(e), meaning "good" and wil(le), meaning "will, volition".
Goodyear English
Probably a nickname from Middle English expression gode ‘good’ (Old English gōd) + year, yere ‘year’ commonly used as an intensifier in questions e.g. ‘What the good year?’... [more]
Goof English (American, Rare)
The name has been Anglicized from the Dutch short form Goof, from Govert, with its roots from the Dutch and Limburgish cognate Godfried... [more]
Goose English, Norman
Occupational name for a goose-herd (a person who tends to geese) or a medieval nickname for a person who resembled a goose in some way. It could also be a English (of Norman French origins) cognate of Gosse.
Goot English
Variant of Good.
Gorey English, Irish (Anglicized)
See Mcgorry. Edward Gorey was a noted bearer.
Gorham English
A name originating from Kent, England believed to come from the elements gara and ham meaning "from a triangular shaped homestead." Compare Gore.
Gorringe English
Derived from the name of the village of Goring-by-the-Sea in Sussex
Gorsuch English
Habitational name from the hamlet of Gorsuch, Lancashire, earlier Gosefordsich, derived from Old English gosford meaning "goose ford" and sic meaning "small stream".
Gosden English
From the name of a lost place in the village and civil parish of Slaugham in West Sussex, England, derived from Old English gos meaning "goose" and denn meaning "woodland pasture".
Goshawk English
Probably referring to a breeder of Eagle-Owls or an eagle-tamer. Shares its name with the Wizarding World author, Miranda Goshawk.
Gosling English
1. variant of Joslin - see Jocelyn, Jocelyn. ... [more]
Gosney English
from Middle English gosse "goose" and ei "island" (Old English gos and ieg)... [more]
Goss English
Derived from the Old English word gos meaning "goose."
Gotham English
English: habitational name from Gotham in Nottinghamshire, so named from Old English gat ‘goat’ + ham ‘homestead’ or hamm ‘water meadow’.
Gould English
Variant of Gold.
Goulding English
From the late Old English personal name Golding, which was derived from Golda (or the feminine form Golde) and the patronymic suffix -ing.... [more]
Goulter English (Rare)
This very unusual name has long been recorded in England but perhaps surprisingly as a Norman personal name. The first recording in England was as "Galterii" which appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 for London as a French form of the Olde German "Walter" translating as "Mighty Army".
Govern English, Irish
Reduced form of McGovern.
Grabowsky English
Russian form of Grabowski.
Grace English
From the given name Grace
Grace English
Transferred from the given name Grace. Notable fictional bearer is Roy ... [more]
Graff English
Metonymic occupational name for a clerk or scribe, from Anglo-Norman French grafe "quill, pen" (a derivative of grafer "to write", Late Latin grafare, from Greek graphein).
Grammer German, English
Variant of Krämer or a habitational name for someone possibly from German places called Gram or Grammen. It can also be an English occupational name for a scholar or an astrologer, derived from Old French gramaire meaning "grammarian, scholar, astrologer"... [more]
Grand English
Variant of Grant.
Grandison English
A habitational name from Grandson on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland.... [more]
Grange English, French
From Old French grange "granary, barn", denoting someone who lived or worked in a granary, or who came from any of several places in France called Grange... [more]
Grant English, Scottish
From a medieval personal name, probably a survival into Middle English of the Old English byname Granta (see Grantham).
Grantham English
Habitational name from Grantham in Lincolnshire, of uncertain origin. The final element is Old English hām "homestead"; the first may be Old English grand "gravel" or perhaps a personal name Granta, which probably originated as a byname meaning "snarler"... [more]
Grass English, German
Topographic name for someone who owned or lived by a meadow, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or sold hay, from Middle English gras, Middle High German gras "grass, pasture, grazing".
Grato English
From a nickname given to somebody with grass-like hair, making this surname’s meaning “he with grass-like hair.”
Grave English
Topographic name, a variant of Grove.
Grave English
Variant of Graves.
Graves English
Variant of Grave.
Graves English, French, German
Derives from someone who had an occupation as a grave digger or a caretaker for a graveyard.
Graybill English (American)
Anglicized form of Swiss German Krähenbühl, meaning "crow hill".
Grazer English
Not available.
Grealish English
The name derives from the Old Norman French word "greslet", meaning pitted or scarred, and is itself derived from the very early Germanic word "gresle", or hailstone.
Greasby English
One who came from Greasby, a parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, now Merseyside.
Greaser English, Spanish
Means “mechanic, engineer”
Greay English (Rare)
The name Greay originated when a family matriarch changed the name to differentiate between the two families with the same name Grey. There was a wedding between the two families and it was easier if the name was changed.
Greeley English, Norman
English (of Norman origin): nickname for someone with a pock-marked face, from Old Northern French greslé ‘pitted’, ‘scarred’ (from gresle ‘hailstone’, of Germanic origin).
Greenall English
From Lincolnshire in England, meaning "green hill".
Greenfeld English
Partly Americanized form of the Ashkenazic Jewish ornamental name Grun(e)feld or Grinfeld, a compound of Yiddish grin + German Feld 'field', or of German Grünfeld (see Grunfeld).
Greenfield English, German (Americanized)
habitational name either from any of numerous minor places called Greenfield, for example in Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Sussex, and Yorkshire, from Old English grene "green" and feld "pasture, open country"... [more]
Greengrass English
Notable bearers include film director Paul Greengrass and baseball player Jim Greengrass.
Greenhill English
The name is derived from a geographic locality, "at the green hill", or rather, more specifically of "Greenhill". The surname could also derive from the liberty on the wapentake of Corringham in Lincolnshire, or a hamlet in the parish of Harrow in Middlesex... [more]
Greenidge English
From Greenhedge Farm in Aslockton, Nottinghamshire, itself derived from Old English grene “green” + hecg “hedge”.
Greening English
Meaning unknown.
Greenland English (Germanized)
Greenland Name Meaning. English: topographic name for someone who lived near a patch of land left open as communal pasturage, from Middle English grene 'green' + land 'land'. Translated form of German Grönland, a topographic name with the same meaning as 1, from Low German grön 'green' + Land 'land'.
Greenlaw English
From one of two placenames, located near the Anglo-Scottish border. Named with Old English grēne, 'green' and halw, 'hill, mound'.
Greenleaf English
From Old English grēne "green" and lēaf "leaf", presumably applied as a nickname, the significance of which is now lost.
Greenlee English
habitational name from any of various minor places, for example in Staffordshire, so named from Old English grene ‘green’ + leah ‘woodland clearing’.
Greensmith English
Occupational name for a greensmith, a smith who works with lead.
Greenwald American
Partly Americanized form of German and Jewish Grün(e)wald (see Grunwald). ... [more]
Greenway English
Originally given to a person who lived near a grassy path, from Middle English grene "green" and weye "road, path" (cf. Way).... [more]
Greg English
Variant spelling of Gregg.
Gregerson English
Means "son of Gregory/Greg"
Gregg English
Derived from the given name Greg, a short form of Gregory or Gregor.
Greggs English
Variant of Gregg.
Gregson English
Means "son of Greg"
Grene English
Variant of Green.
Gresham English
From a place name meaning "grazing homestead" in Old English.
Gresley English
From the name of either of two villages in Derbyshire, derived from Old English greosn "gravel" and leah "woodland clearing, glade".
Griggs English
Means "son of Grigg", Grigg being a short form of Gregory.
Grimes English, Irish
Patronymic derived from Grime.... [more]
Grimmie English
American variant of Grimm.
Grimshaw English
A habitational surname originating from the hamlet of Grimshaw in Lancashire, derived from Old English elements grīma "mask" and sċeaga "copse". Famous bearers of this surname include , English Victorian-era artist John Atkinson Grimshaw and Irish writer Beatrice Grimshaw, as well as the Grimshaw family in Coronation Street.
Grinder English
Occupational name for a grinder.
Grissom English
From a diminutive of Grice, which was originally a nickname for a grey-haired man, derived from Middle English grice, gris meaning "grey" (itself from Old French gris, apparently of Germanic origin).
Griswold English
meaning: from the gray forest.
Groover English (American)
Americanized form of German Gruber.
Grosvenor English
English surname of Norman origin meaning ‘the master huntsman’. Derived from Le Grand Veneur, this title was held by Hugh d'Avranches who accompanied William the Conqueror in the Norman invasion of England in 1066.
Grove English
Variant of Groves.
Grow English
Likely from the English word "grow".
Grumpy English, English (American)
Grumpy was english name possibly origin of Germanic languages and other spoken languages or other European languages
Grundy English
Probably a Middle English metathesized form of the Old French personal name Gondri, Gundric (see Gundry).
Grylls English (Rare)
There was an old and distinguished family of Grylls of Tavistock (Devon) and Lanreath (Cornwall) in the 17th century; two high sheriffs of the county then bore the name. The manor of Gryils (commonly mispronounced Garles), near the rocks called the Gryils or Garles, from which they probably derive their name, is in the parish of Lesneweth in that county.
Gudgeon English
from Middle English gojon, gogen, Old French gougon ‘gudgeon’ (the fish) (Latin gobio, genitive gobionis), applied as a nickname or perhaps as a metonymic occupational name for a seller of these fish... [more]
Guernsey English
Denoted someone who lived in Guernsey, an island in the Channel Islands, derived from Old Norse Grani and ey "island"... [more]
Guest English
Nickname for a stranger or newcomer to a community, from Middle English g(h)est meaning "guest", "visitor" (from Old Norse gestr, absorbing the cognate Old English giest).
Guidry French (Cajun), Louisiana Creole
Derived from the given name Witeric. This surname is particularly associated with Cajuns in Louisiana, United States, who seem all to be descended from Claude Guédry dit Grivois, who arrived in Acadia before 1671.
Guilder English
Occupational name for someone who worked in gold. The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th Century "gyldan" and the Old High German "gold", a refiner, jeweller, or gilder.
Gullick English
From the Middle English personal name Gullake, a descendant of Old English Gūthlāc, literally "battle-sport".
Gulliver English
From a medieval nickname for a greedy person (from Old French goulafre "glutton"). Jonathan Swift used it in his satire 'Gulliver's Travels' (1726), about the shipwrecked ship's surgeon Lemuel Gulliver, whose adventures "offer opportunities for a wide-ranging and often savage lampooning of human stupidity and vice."
Gumm English
From a nickname or byname from Middle English gome, Old English guma "man".
Gundry English
From Gondri, Gundric, an Old French personal name introduced to Britain by the Normans, composed of the Germanic elements gund "battle" and rīc "power(ful)".
Gunner English
Derived from the given name Gunnvǫr
Gunner English
From Old English gunne meaning "cannon, gun" and the agent suffix "-er"
Gunnery English
The surname Gunnery was first found in Lincolnshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons.
Guppy English
English habitational name from a place in Wootton Fitzpaine, Dorset, Gupehegh in Middle English. This is named with the Old English personal name Guppa (a short form of Guðbeorht "battle bright") + (ge)hæg "enclosure"... [more]
Gurney English, French, Norman
Originated from the region Normandy in France, is also a biospheric name from Gournay-en-Bray, a commune in France. It is also a fictional character's maiden name, Jacqueline "Jackie" Bouvier from the animated sitcom show, The Simpsons.
Gus English
From the given name Gus 1.
Guy English, French
From a French form of the Germanic personal name Wido, which is of uncertain origin. This name was popular among the Normans in the forms Wi, Why as well as in the rest of France in the form Guy.
Guy English
Occupational name for a guide, Old French gui (a derivative of gui(d)er "to guide", of Germanic origin).
Guyatt English
Diminutive of Guy.
Guyton English
Means "hill of Gaega".
Gwilliam English
Anglicised form of the Welsh given name Gwilym.
Gyatt English, French
Variant of Guyatt, Guyet, or Guyot, all diminutives of Guy.
Hackberry English
Means simply "hackberry".
Hackney English, Scottish
Habitational name from Hackney in Greater London, named from an Old English personal name Haca (genitive Hacan) combined with ēg "island, dry ground in marshland".
Hackney English, Scottish
From Middle English hakenei (Old French haquenée), an ambling horse, especially one considered suitable for women to ride; perhaps therefore a metonymic occupational name for a stablehand... [more]
Haddock English
Haddock is a surname of English. It may refer to many people. It may come from the medieval word Ædduc, a diminutive of Æddi, a short form of various compound names including the root ēad, meaning prosperity or fortune... [more]
Haddon English
Derived from the Old English word had meaning "heathland" and the Old English suffix -don meaning "hill"; hence, the "heathland hill" or the "heather-covered hill".... [more]
Hadfield English
Habitational name for a person from Hadfield in Derbyshire, from Old English hæþ "heath, wilderness" and feld "field".
Hadley English
A habitational name from either a place named Hadley, or a place named Hadleigh. The first is named from the Old English personal name Hadda + lēah (means ‘wood’, ‘(woodland) clearing’), and the other three are from Old English hǣð (meaning ‘heathland’, ‘heather') + lēah.
Hadnot English (American), African American
Corruption of Hodnett. Primarily given to African slaves in the USA.
Hagman English (Rare)
From a little town in Scotland.
Hagstrom English
Anglicized form of Swedish Hagström.
Hailes Scottish, English
Scottish habitational name from Hailes in Lothian, originally in East Lothian, named from the Middle English genitive or plural form of hall ‘hall’. ... [more]
Hailstone English
Possibly from Hailstone Hill in Wiltshire, which may be derived from Old English hālig-stān meaning "holy stone" or hagolstān meaning "hailstone". Could also derive from English personal name Æthelstān.
Hain English
From the Middle English personal name Hein 1. This is derived from the Germanic personal name Hagano, originally a byname meaning "hawthorn"... [more]
Hainey Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scottish, English
(Celtic) A lost me devil village in Scotland; or one who came from Hanney island in Berkshire.
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