JayEnglish, French Nickname from Middle English, Old French jay(e), gai "jay (the bird)", probably referring to an idle chatterer or a showy person, although the jay was also noted for its thieving habits.
JaycoxEnglish A patronymic surname from a pet form of the given name Jack.
JaydenEnglish Surname of the fictional character Norman Jayden, a character from the video game Heavy Rain.
JeffreyEnglish From a Norman personal name that appears in Middle English as Geffrey and in Old French as Je(u)froi. Some authorities regard this as no more than a palatalized form of Godfrey, but early forms such as Galfridus and Gaufridus point to a first element from Germanic gala "to sing" or gawi "region, territory"... [more]
JenksEnglish, Welsh English (also found in Wales) patronymic from the Middle English personal name Jenk, a back-formation from Jenkin with the removal of the supposed Anglo-Norman French diminutive suffix -in.
JesselEnglish From a pet-form of Jessop (a medieval male personal name - a different form of Joseph). A literary bearer is Miss Jessel, the governess who has charge of the two troubled and enigmatic children in Henry James's ghost story 'The Turn of the Screw' (1898).
JessieEnglish Possibly a variant of Jessey, an occupational name for someone making jesses (a short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry).
JobEnglish, French, German, Hungarian English, French, German, and Hungarian from the personal name Iyov or Job, borne by a Biblical character, the central figure in the Book of Job, who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him... [more]
JocelynEnglish Another of the names brought to England in the eleventh century by the Normans, and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a masculine name only.
JollyEnglish From the English word jolly, which is ultimately from Old French joli# ("merry, happy"). Originally a nickname for someone of a cheerful or attractive disposition.
JoplinEnglish Possibly derived from a Middle English diminutive of Geoffrey, a nickname from Middle English joppe "fool", or from the Biblical name Job... [more]
JordisonEnglish Possibly meaning son of Jordan. This name is surname of American drummer Joey Jordison.
JowettEnglish From the medieval male personal name Jowet or the female personal name Jowette, both literally "little Jowe", a pet-form of Julian... [more]
JoyEnglish Either derived directly from the word, indicating a nickname for a joyous person, or a variant of Joyce.
JoysonEnglish Metronymic of the name Joy from the female given name Joia, deriving from the Middle English, Old French "joie, joye" meaning "joy". It may also be a nickname for a person of a cheerful disposition.
JudgeEnglish Occupational name for a public official whose duty it is to administer the law, or a nickname for someone who acted like a judge, derived from Old French juge "judge, arbiter", from Latin iudex.
JuniperEnglish From the tree name juniper which comes from Latin iūniperus meaning "juniper-tree". This surnames denotes someone who lived near junipers.
JunkinsEnglish Derived from the Middle English given name Jenkin, which was in turn created from a diminutive of the name John, with the suffix "kin," added to the name.
JupeEnglish A kind of cloak or cape. It is possible that an ancestor of an individual with this surname was known for their association with these kinds of clothing.
JuskoUkrainian, English (American), Polish, Slovak The surname Jusko is both Polish and Ukrainian, but likely has Slavic Slovak origins. It may have come from the word "jus," which means "law" or "justice". It may come from a pet form of the names Just or Julian... [more]
KeelEnglish English habitational name from Keele in Staffordshire, named from Old English cy ‘cows’ + hyll ‘hill’, or from East and West Keal in Lincolnshire, which are named from Old Norse kjolr ‘ridge’... [more]
KeelerEnglish English: occupational name for a boatman or boatbuilder, from an agent derivative of Middle English kele ‘ship’, ‘barge’ (from Middle Dutch kiel). Americanized spelling of German Kühler, from a variant of an old personal name (see Keeling) or a variant of Kühl.
KeetonEnglish Habitational name from a place called Ketton in Durham or one in Rutland or from Keaton in Ermington, Devon. The first is named from the Old English personal name Catta or the Old Norse personal name Káti and Old English tūn "settlement"; the second is probably from an old river name or tribal name Cētan (possibly a derivative of Celtic cēd "wood") and Old English ēa "river"; and the last possibly from Cornish kee "hedge, bank" and Old English tūn.
KelsallEnglish Habitational name probably derived from Kelsall in Cheshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Kell combined with halh "nook, recess", or possibly from Kelshall, Hertfordshire, meaning "Cylle’s hill", or Kelsale, Suffolk, meaning "Ceol’s nook"... [more]
KemptonEnglish From the name of a place in Shropshire meaning "Cempa's town" or "warrior town", from a combination of either the Old English word cempa "warrior" or the byname derived from it and tun "farmstead, settlement".
KennawayEnglish From the medieval personal name Kenewi, from Old English Cynewīg, literally "royal war", or Cēnwīg, literally "bold war".
KennerEnglish Possibly derived from Middle English kenner "teacher", derived from kennen "to make known, to teach".
KennerkEnglish The surname Kennerk was first found in Westphalia, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families in the western region. From the 13th century onwards the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.
KensingtonEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places named Kensington in England, all derived from Old English given name Cynesige and tun "enclosure, town".
KensitEnglish A surname of Old English, pre-7th-century origins. It derives from a locality, probably either Kingsettle in Somerset, which translates as "the seat of the King", and is believed to relate to Alfred the Great, or possibly Kingside in Cumberland, or to some now lost village or town with a similar spelling.
KensleyEnglish This surname might derive from the surname Kinsley or from the locational surname Kelsey (denoting someone who is from either North or South Kelsey in Lincolnshire).
KentonEnglish habitational name from any of various places so named Kenton, for example in Devon, Greater London (formerly Middlesex), Northumberland, and Suffolk... [more]
KenwoodEnglish From the settlement of Kenwood in the parish of Kenton, county of Devon, England. ... [more]
KenyonEnglish, Welsh Kenyon is a surname from Wales meaning "a person from Ennion's Mound"
KerbelEnglish, German, Russian (Rare) Means "chervil" in German, a parsley-related herb. The surname probably came into England via Germanic relations between the two languages, hence it being most common in German & English countries.
KerslakeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a stream where cress grew, derived from Old English cærse meaning "watercress" and lacu meaning "stream".
KevilleEnglish Denoted someone from Keevil (recorded in the Domesday book as Chivele), a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, probably derived from Old English c¯f meaning "hollow" and leah meaning "woodland clearing".
KeyworthEnglish Habitational name from Keyworth in Nottinghamshire. The place name derives from an uncertain initial element (perhaps Old English ca "jackdaw") and Old English worþ "enclosure".
KidderEnglish English: possibly an occupational name from early modern English kidd(i)er ‘badger’, a licensed middleman who bought provisions from farmers and took them to market for resale at a profit, or alternatively a variant of Kidman... [more]
KidmanEnglish Occupational name for a goatherd or someone in charge of young livestock, from Middle English kid "young goat" and man.
KidwellWelsh, English The origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be derived from Middle English kidel "fish weir", denoting a person who lived by a fish weir or made his living from it, or from an English place called Kiddal, probably meaning "Cydda's corner of land" from the Old English given name Cydda and halh "nook or corner of land".
KileyIrish, English Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic "O' Cadhla" meaning "son of Cadhla". Cadhla means meaning graceful or beautiful; hence, "descendant(s) of 'the graceful one'".