American Submitted Surnames

American names are used in the United States. See also about American names.
usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Salisbury English
Habitational name from the city in Wiltshire, the Roman name of which was Sorviodunum (of British origin). In the Old English period the second element (from Celtic dun ‘fortress’) was dropped and Sorvio- (of unexplained meaning) became Searo- in Old English as the result of folk etymological association with Old English searu ‘armor’; to this an explanatory burh ‘fortress’, ‘manor’, ‘town’ was added... [more]
Salk English (American)
Likely the English form of Schalk, which means "dweller near a willow tree".
Sallis English
A name for someone who lives where sallows grow - sallows being a type of willow, from the Middle English 'salwe'.
Sallow English (Rare)
Sallow comes from the medieval word for willow tree. It is a location surname.
Salt English
Of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the town in Staffordshire.
Salter English
Occupational name for an extractor or seller of salt (a precious commodity in medieval times), from Middle English salt 'salt' + the agent suffix -er.
Salthouse English
Salthouse and other variants come from the place name in Northumberland.
Saltmarsh English
Last name of cricket player Ian Saltmarsh (1901-1970).
Sambourne English
From the name of a hamlet in Warwickshire, England.
Samways English
From a medieval nickname for a fool (from Middle English samwis "foolish", literally "half-wise").
Sand English, Scottish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Jewish
From the vocabulary word sand. As a Swedish and Jewish name, often ornamental. Otherwise topographic.
Sand English, Scottish
Derived from a short form of Alexander.
Sandburg English (American, Rare)
Americanized from of Swedish Sandberg.
Sandell English
Originated from a name for someone who lived on a sand hill
Sandeman English
Scottish surname of famous merchant family engaged in banking in Scotland and London and in the Port Wine trade in London. The same family were earlier the founders of an obscure Protestant sect the Sandemanians.
Sandhurst English (Rare)
From Sandhurst, the name of places in the English counties of Kent, Gloucestershire and Berkshire, all of which come from the Old English elements sand "sand" and hyrst "hillock, copse".
Sandler English
Norman origin. Habitational name from Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët in La Manche, which gets its name from the dedication of its church to St. Hilary, or alternatively from either of the places, in La Manche and Somme, called Saint-Lô... [more]
Sandwell English
From a place called SANDWELL.
Sangwin English
From Middle English sanguine (blood) ,one of the four humours.
Sankey English, Irish
Habitational name from a place in Lancashire, which derived from the name of an ancient British river, perhaps meaning "sacred, holy." ... [more]
Santee English
A topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.
Sappingfield American (Anglicized, Rare)
From the German name "Sappenfeld," a small town in Bavaria, Germany. (Pop. 380.) The town itself is named after an early resident named "Sappo;" in English, the name means "Sappo's Field." The name "Sappo" may mean noble (unconfirmed)... [more]
Sard English, French, Spanish, Italian
In the book surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary by Henry Harrison and Gyda (Pulling) Harrison 1912 - Reprinted 1996. The Sard surname (which has been in England, Italy and Europe for a long time) is defined thus on page 136.... [more]
Sarré English
“apologetic”
Sarver English, Jewish
English and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) occupational name from Old French serveur (an agent derivative of server ‘to serve’), Yiddish sarver ‘servant’.
Satterthwaite English
From a place in England named with Old English sætr "shielding" and Old Norse þveit "pasture".
Saunder English
From the given name Alexander.
Savell English
English variant of Saville.
Savery English
Originally from the given name of Germanic origin, Savaric
Saville English
A habitational name from an uncertain place in Northern France. This is most likely Sainville, named from Old French saisne, 'Saxon' and ville, indicating a settlement.
Sax English, Norwegian
From the Old Norse personal name Saxi meaning "knife, sword".
Sax English
From Middle English sax meaning "knife", an occupational name for a knife maker, or perhaps a nickname for someone skilled with a knife.
Saxon English
Derived from the tribe of the Saxons from the Anglo-Saxon element seaxa "a Saxon" derived Germanic elements sahso and sahsaz derived from sahsą "knife"... [more]
Saxton English
Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, possibly also one in Cambridgeshire, both so named from Old English Seaxe "Saxons" and tūn "enclosure, settlement".
Sayward English (Rare)
English surname which was a variant of Seward.
Scaggs English
Variant of Skaggs both of English origin and unknown meaning. Famous bearer is singer Boz Scaggs (1944-) of the Steve Miller Band and the band Toto.
Scales English
Name for a person who lives in a shed.
Scamp English
Variant of Camp with a prosthetic -s.
Scarborough English
Habitational name from Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, so named from the Old Norse byname Skarði + Old Norse borg "fortress", "fortified town".
Scargill English
This ancient surname is of Old Norse origin, and is a locational name from a place called Scargill in Northern Yorkshire, deriving from the Old Norse bird name "skraki", a diving duck, plus the Old Norse "gil", valley or ravine.
Scarr English
Derived from the word ‘skjarr’ meaning a rocky outcrop / hill
Scholes English
A name for a person who lives in a shed.
Schram German, English, Yiddish
Derived from German Schramme (Middle High German schram(me)) and Yiddish shram, all of which mean "scar".
Schug American, German
From the German word Schuh "shoe". ... [more]
Scoggins English
Possibly derived from Old Norse skegg meaning "beard".
Scogings English, Old Danish
A surname of Scandinavian origin from the old Norse and old Danish by-name "Skeggi" or "skoggi", meaning 'the bearded one'. Common in areas invaded and settled by Scandinavians in the 8th and 9th Centuries.
Scotford English
Derived from Scotforth, the name of a village near Lancaster (in Lancashire) in England. The village's name means "ford of the Scot(s)" and is derived from Old English Scott "Scot" combined with Old English ford "ford".
Scotland English
(i) "person from Scotland"; (ii) "person from Scotland or Scotlandwell", Perth and Kinross; (iii) from the Norman personal name Escotland, literally "territory of the Scots"
Screeton English
Locational surname originating from the village of Screveton in Nottinghamshire. Derived of Old English elements scīr-rēfa "sheriff" and tun "settlement".
Scroggins English
Derived from Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood", given to someone who lived near a bushy area, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a prickly personality.
Scroggs English
From Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood".
Sea English
Variant of See.
Seabert English
Transferred use of the given name Seabert
Seaborg English, Swedish (Americanized)
English cognate of Sjöberg, as well as the Americanized form. Glenn T. Seaborg (1912-1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements.
Seaborn English
From an Old English personal name derived from the elements "sea, lake" and beorn "warrior".
Seabridge English
It means "sea bridge".
Seabright English
Derives from the Old English name Sæbeorht from sæ meaning "sea" and beorht meaning "bright". Related to Seabert.
Seaforth English
The name of a projection of the sea on the east coast of Lewis, on the Long Island, Scotland. Means "the forth of the sea".
Seager English, German (Modern)
English: from the Middle English personal name Segar, Old English S?gar, composed of the elements s? ‘sea’ + gar ‘spear’.... [more]
Seagle English (American)
Americanized form of Jewish Segal 1 or German Siegel.
Seagrave English
Habitational name from a place in Leicestershire, recorded in Domesday Book as Satgrave and Setgrave; probably named from Old English (ge)set meaning "fold", "pen" (or sēað meaning "pit", "pool") + grāf meaning "grove" or græf meaning "ditch".
Seal English
Variant of Seals, perhaps an occupational name for a person who makes saddles.
Sealy English
Derived from Old English sælig "blessed, fortunate, prosperous, happy" and was used as a term to describe someone with a cheerful, happy disposition.
Seaman English
Means "born by a sailor".
Sean English
The stage Surname of English singer Jay Sean (born Kamaljit Singh Jhooti)
Sears English
Version of Sayer. Used in the United States. Famous bearer of the name is Richard Warren Sears, one of the founders of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Season English
Likely a corruption of the surname Searson, meaning "son of Saer".
Seaward English
Means “dweller by the sea”.
Sebastian German, English
From the given name Sebastian.
Secker English
Variant of Saker.
Seddon English
"Broad hill" in Old English. A surname that most occurs in Merseyside, and Lancashire.
Sedgwick English
Habitational name from Sedgwick in Cumbria, so named from the Middle English personal name Sigg(e) (from Old Norse Siggi or Old English Sicg, short forms of the various compound names with the first element "victory") + Old English wic "outlying settlement", "dairy farm"; or from Sedgewick in Sussex, named with Old English secg (sedge) + wic.
Sedon English
Variant of "Seddon"
See English, German
Topographic name for someone who lived by the sea-shore or beside a lake, from Middle English see meaning "sea", "lake" (Old English sǣ), Middle High German sē. Alternatively, the English name may denote someone who lived by a watercourse, from an Old English sēoh meaning "watercourse", "drain".
Seeley English
Variant of Sealy.
Segale English, Italian
Respelling of SEGAL. A famous bearer is Mario A. Segale, the inspiration for Nintendo's video game character Mario
Seger Swedish, English, Dutch
Means "victory" in Swedish. It is also a variant of the English surname Seager or derived from the Germanic given name Sigiheri "victory army".
Segura Spanish, Catalan, American (Hispanic)
Derived from Spanish segura "safe, secure".
Selbey English
Variant of Selby.
Seldon English
Variant of Selden.
Self English
East Anglian surname, from the medieval English masculine name Saulf which was derived from the Old English elements "sea" and wulf "wolf".
Selfridge English
habitational name from an unidentified minor place called with Old English scelf "shelf" and hrycg "ridge".
Selwyn English
from the Middle English personal name Selewin (Old English Selewine perhaps from sele "manor" or sǣl "happiness prosperity" and wine "friend")... [more]
Semer English
From the village of Semer in Suffolk.
Sensabaugh American
Americanized form of German Sensenbach, a topographic name formed with an unexplained first element + Middle High German bach ‘creek’.
Settle English
From the town of Settle in Yorkshire, England.
Severn English
From the name of the River Severn, which is of unknown meaning. The Severn is Great Britain's longest river, flowing from Wales through much of western England to the Bristol Channel. It is one of Britain’s most ancient river names, recorded as early as the 2nd century AD in the form Sabrina; its original meaning may have been "slow-moving" or "boundary".
Severn English
From a medieval personal name derived from Severinus (Latin).
Severson American
Probably an Americanized form of Sivertsen, Sivertson, or Sievertsen.
Sevier English
Occupational name for a sieve-maker, Middle English siviere (from an agent derivative of Old English sife "sieve").
Seville Spanish, English
a city in southwestern Spain; a major port and cultural center; the capital of bullfighting in Spain. Synonyms: Sevilla Example of: city, metropolis, urban center. a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts... [more]
Sewell English
English from the Middle English personal names Siwald and Sewald, Old English Sigeweald and Seweald, composed of the elements sige ‘victory’ and se ‘sea’ + weald ‘rule’... [more]
Sewick English
Derived from Sedgwick.
Seymer English
Variant of Seymour, or from the village of Semer in Suffolk.
Shacklady English
Perhaps from a medieval nickname for a man who had had sexual relations with a woman of higher social class (from shag "to copulate with" (not recorded before the late 17th century) and lady).... [more]
Shackleford English, Medieval English
Locational surname deriving from the place called Shackleford in Surrey, near the town of Farnham. The origin of "shackle" is uncertain. It could be derived from Old English sceacan "to shake"... [more]
Shackleton English
The place name probably means "valley by a point of land," from the Old English scacol + denu. Another source claims the word scacol, describes a "tongue of land."
Shade English, Scottish
Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary, from Old English scead "boundary".
Shade English
From Old English sceadu "shadow, wraith", possibly a nickname for a very thin man.
Shadow English
Origin unidentified. The name Shadue, Schadewe is recorded in England in the 12th and 13th centuries, from Middle English shadwe ‘shadow’, Old English sceadu (see Shade)... [more]
Shadrach English
From the given name Shadrach.
Shadwell English
English surname meaning "By the shed spring"
Shady English, Irish
Origin unidentified. Possibly Irish or English.
Shallcross English
Means "person from Shallcross", Derbyshire ("place by the Shacklecross", an ancient stone cross in the High Peak, its name perhaps denoting a cross to which people could be shackled as a penance).
Shandy English (Rare)
Shandy appears as a rare surname, mostly found in English-speaking countries going back to the 1600s. This name may originate from the English dialect adjective meaning "boisterous" or "empty headed; half crazy", of which the earliest record dates to 1691, though any further explanation for its origins are unknown... [more]
Shanks English (Modern)
Possibly a diminutive of LONGSHANKS, which would be given to a tall or gangly person.
Sharpin English
Variant of Sharp.
Sharpton English
Habitational name from Sharperton in Northumberland, possibly so named from Old English scearp "steep" and beorg "hill", "mound" and tun "settlement".
Shasteen English (American, Modern)
A derivative Chastain.... [more]
Shattuck English
A locational name from a family in Chaddock, a hamlet in the parish in Lancashire, England. Also a variant of Chadwick.
Shawe English
Variant of Shaw 1.
Sheard English
English surname which was originally from a place name meaning "gap between hills" in Old English.
Sheen English
Meaning unknown, though possibly a variant of Sean. A famous bearer of the surname is actor Charlie Sheen.
Sheeran English, Irish
Shortened form of O'Sheeran.
Sheffield English, English (British)
A surname which named after an city in England.... [more]
Sheldon English, English (American)
From an Old English place name meaning "valley with steep sides".
Sheldrake English
From a medieval nickname for a dandyish (showy) or vain man, from Middle English scheldrake, the male of a type of duck with brightly-coloured plumage (itself from the East Anglian dialect term scheld "variegated" combined with drake "male duck").
Shell American
Posibly from the given name Shell.
Shelley English, Irish
From the given name Shelley It means "wooded clearing" in Irish.
Shelley English, Irish (Anglicized)
Habitational name from any of the three places called Shelley (Essex Suffolk Yorkshire) or from Shelley Plain in Crawley (Sussex)... [more]
Shenberger English (?)
The name Shenberger comes from a common mix up with the archaic Austrian-German surname Schoenberg; meaning "Beautiful Mountain."
Shenton English
"Beautiful town" in Old English. Parishes in Leicestershire, and Cheshire.
Sheperd English
Variant of Shepherd or transferred use of the surname Sheperd.
Sheriff English, Scottish
Occupational name for a sheriff, derived from Middle English schiref, shreeve, shryve literally meaning "sheriff", or from Old English scir meaning "shire, administrative district" and (ge)refa meaning "reeve"... [more]
Sherlock English, Irish
Nickname for someone with "fair hair" or "a lock of fair hair."
Sherrard English
Probably from a medieval nickname based on Middle English shere "bright, fair", with the derogatory suffix -ard.
Sherrell English
This surname is of English locational origin, from the place in Devonshire called Shirwell. The placename is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sirewelle, and by 1242 as Shirewill... [more]
Sherring English
Patronymic variant of the given name Sherwin.
Sherwin English
English: nickname for a swift runner, from Middle English schere(n) ‘to shear’ + wind ‘wind’.
Sherwood English
From a place name meaning "bright forest", derived from Old English scir meaning "bright" and wudu meaning "tree, wood".
Shevalier English (American), English (Canadian)
Anglicized form of the French surname Chevalier.
Shield English
Metonymic occupational name for an armorer, from Middle English scheld "shield" (Old English scild, sceld).
Shilling English, German (Americanized), Dutch (Americanized)
nickname from the Middle English coin name schilling "shilling" (Old English scilling) probably referring to a fee or rent owed or paid... [more]
Shingler English
An occupational name for someone who laid wooden tiles, or shingles on roofs, from an agent derivative of Middle English schingle ‘shingle’. ... [more]
Shinn English
Metonymic occupational name for a Skinner, from Old English scinn, Middle English shin ‘hide’, ‘pelt’. In Middle English this word was replaced by the Norse equivalent, skinn.
Ship English
This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is an occupational surname for "a mariner", or perhaps, occasionally a "ship or boat-builder". The derivation of the name is from the Olde English pre 7th Century scip, ship, in Middle English schip
Shipley English (Rare)
English: habitational name from any of the various places, for example in Derbyshire, County Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire, Sussex, and West Yorkshire, so called from Old English sceap, scip ‘sheep’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
Shipman English
Occupational name for a mariner, or occasionally perhaps for a boatbuilder, from Middle English "schipman". One notable person is known evildoer Harold Shipman. He was an English general practitioner who is believed to be one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history.
Shipp English
nickname for a mariner or perhaps a boatbuilder from Middle English schip "ship". Compare Shipman . in addition the name may occasionally also have been topographic or habitational referring to a house or inn distinguished by the sign of a ship.