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.
Stocking English
Topographic name from Middle English stocking 'ground cleared of stumps'.
Stockley English
Derived from Old english stocc (tree bark) and leah (clearing), indicating that the original bearer of this name lived in a wooded clearing.
Stockton English
Habitational surname for a person from any of the places (e.g. Cheshire, County Durham, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and North and West Yorkshire) so called from Old English stocc "tree trunk" or stoc "dependent settlement" + tun "enclosure", "settlement".
Stockwell English
An English boy's name meaning "From the tree stump spring"
Stogdill English
Possibly a variant of Stockdale.
Stokely English
Variation of Stockley.
Stoller German, Jewish, English
Habitational surname for someone from a place called Stolle, near Zurich (now called Stollen).... [more]
Stonefield English
Meaning "stone field".
Stonehill English
Meaning "stone hill".
Stonehouse English
From Middle English ston stan 1 "stone" (Old English stan 1) and house "house" (Old English hus)... [more]
Stoneman English
Combination of Stone and English man. Sometimes used an English form of German Steinmann.
Stonestreet English
Topographic name for someone who lived by a paved road, in most cases a Roman road, from Middle English stane, stone, "stone" and street "paved highway", "Roman road".
Stonor English
Locational name from a village in Oxfordshire, England. The name comes from Old English stán "stony" and the place was named for a stone circle on the land.
Stoops English
May descend from Stoop or Stobe.... [more]
Storey English
From the Old Norse nickname Stóri, literally "large man". A literary bearer is British novelist and playwright David Storey (1933-).
Storie English (American)
Possibly a variant of Storey.
Storm English, Low German, Dutch, Scandinavian
Nickname for a man of blustery temperament.
Stormborn English
most likely of Scandinavian origin
Story English
Variant of Storey.
Stoter English (Modern)
Of Dutch origin and still in use there in a restricted region. Herder of large animals such as cattle or horses. May share a root with Ostler (unverified). Note: Stot in Scottish dialect still means a young bull.... [more]
Stout Scottish, English
Probably a nickname for a brave or powerfully built man, from Middle English stout ‘steadfast’. A contrary origin derives from the Old Norse byname Stútr ‘gnat’, denoting a small and insignificant person.
Stowell English
A locational name from various places in England called Stowell
Stoyle English
Variant of Styles.
St Peter English
Originally from French Canadian immigrants, an anglicized form of French St Pierre.
Straight English
Nickname from Middle English streʒt "straight, upright", presumably applied in either a literal or a figurative sense.
Strang English
Originally given as a nickname to one who possessed great physical strength.
Strangeways English
Means "person from Strangeways", Greater Manchester ("strong current").
Stratton English
English: habitational name from any of various places, in Bedfordshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Surrey, and Wiltshire, so named from Old English str?t ‘paved highway’, ‘Roman road’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
Straughan English
Northern English (Northumbria and the Northeast) variant of Scottish Strachan.
Strawberry English (American, Rare)
Possibly from the name of the fruit, or from any of the various places named Strawberry in the US.
Strawbridge English (American)
Someone who built bridges as a living.
Stream English
English topographic name for someone who lived beside a stream, Middle English streme. Americanized form of Swedish Ström or Danish Strøm (see Strom).
Streeter English
English (Sussex) topographic name for someone living by a highway, in particular a Roman road (see Street).
Strete English
Strete is derived from Old English "Straet" which, in turn is derived from the latin "strata". This surname has spelling variants including, Streeter, Street, Straight, and Streeten. The first occurrences of this surname include Modbert de Strete of Devon (1100), AEluric de Streitun and his heir Roger (at the time of Henry de Ferrers) and Eadric Streona, Ealdorman of Mercia.
Stribling English
From a medieval nickname for a youthful or inexperienced person (from Middle English stripling "youth").
Strider English
Likely an anglicized variation of the Dutch term "Strijder" or German term "Streiter," this surname represents an occupational designation for a soldier or a descriptive term for someone with a combative demeanor.... [more]
Stringfellow English
Nickname for a powerful man, Middle English streng ‘mighty’, ‘strong’ + felaw ‘fellow’ (see Fellows).
Stroh English, German
Means "straw" when translated from German, indicating a thin man, a person with straw-colored hair, or a dealer of straw.
Stroll English
Stroll comes from the English word meaning to walk without hurry, probably for someone who liked to walk.
Stuckey English
Stuckey was first found in Devonshire where they held family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence diminished after the battle of Hastings in 1066. For the next three centuries the Norman ambience prevailed... [more]
Studley English
From any number of places called Studley in Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and North Yorkshire. The name comes from Old English stod "stud farm" + leah "pasture".
Stukeley English
From a surname meaning "woodland clearing with tree stumps" in Old English.
Stukely English
Possibly meaning "stucco" or "stuck".
Sturdivant English
Perhaps a nickname for messenger, a pursuivant or a hasty person, derived from Middle English stirten, sterten meaning "to start, leap" (ultimately from Old English styrtan) and avaunt meaning "forward" (itself from Old French).
Sturdy English
From a nickname meaning "strong".
Sturgeon English
From the word "sturgeon" from the Old French esturgeon "sturgeon". A nickname for someone who closely resembled the eponymous fish.
Sturt English
Variant of Stuart
Sturtevant English
Variant form of Sturdivant.
St Vincent English
Most likely referring to Vincent Ferrer, a friar and preacher or one of the many places called St. Vincent.
Style English
Variant of Styles.
Suckling English
From a medieval nickname for someone of childlike appearance or childish character (from Middle English suckling "infant still feeding on its mother's milk"). Sir John Suckling (1609-1642) was an English poet and dramatist.
Sugarbaker English
Occupational name for an owner of a sugar-house, a factory where raw sugar was made or refined, derived from Middle English sugre, suker meaning "sugar" and bakere meaning "baker".
Suiter American (South)
"Suiter" may also refer to a surname that originated in South Germany as an occupational name for a shoemaker. It comes from a metathesized form of the Middle High German word siuter.
Sullen English
Means "gloomy, ill-tempered, moody" in English, with the archaic meanings "lonely, desolate" and "mischievous, malignant, obstinate", derived from Anglo-Norman soleyn "solitary, alone".
Sully English
Sully, Varient of the last name Sullivan. Notable people include Alfred Sully, American Civil war officer famous for his paintings.
Summ English
Variant of the surname Summers.
Summer English, German
From Middle English sum(m)er, Middle High German sumer "summer", hence a nickname for someone of a warm or sunny disposition, or for someone associated with the season of summer in some other way.
Summerhays English
Probably means "person living by a summer enclosure (where animals were grazed on upland pastures in the summer)" (from Middle English sumer "summer" + hay "enclosure").
Summerlee English (Rare)
This surname is originated from Old English sumer meaning "summer" and leah meaning "clearing, meadow."
Summerlin English, German, Scottish
An English surname.... [more]
Summerset English
Regional surname for someone from Somerset, an area in England. The name is derived from Old English sumer(tun)saete meaning "dwellers at the summer settlement".
Sumpter English
Occupational name for someone who drove a packhorse, from Middle English sompter.
Sumter English
This surname is derived from an official title. 'the sumpter.' Old French sommetier, a packhorseman, one who carried baggage on horseback
Sunder English
From Sanskrit sundara‘beautiful’. This is only a given name in India, but has come to be used as a family name in the U.S.
Sunderland English
Habitational name from any of the locations with the name 'Sunderland', most notably the port city County Durham. This, along with other examples in Lancashire, Cumbria and Northumberland derives from either Old English sundor 'seperate' and land 'land' or Old Norse suðr 'southern' and land 'land' (see Sutherland)... [more]
Surrey English
Regional name for someone from the county of Surrey.
Surridge English
From the medieval personal name Seric, a descendant of both Old English Sǣrīc, literally "sea power", and Sigerīc, literally "victory power".
Surridge English
Originally meant "person from Surridge", Devon ("south ridge").
Surridge English
Meant "person from the south" (from Old French surreis "southerner").
Susan English, Dutch, Jewish (Sephardic)
As an English (London) and Dutch surname, it comes from the feminine personal name Susanna, from Hebrew שושן (shushan) meaning "lily, lily of the valley".... [more]
Sussex English
Derived from an English county name meaning "region of the Saxons from the south" in Old English.
Sutcliff English
From Old English sūth, meaning "south, southern" and cliff.
Sutcliffe English
The name means ''south of the cliff/hill''.
Sutherlin English
Variant of Sutherland
Sutter German, English
English and South German occupational name for a shoemaker or cobbler (rarely a tailor), from Middle English suter, souter, Middle High German suter, sutære (from Latin sutor, an agent derivative of suere ‘to sew’).
Sutterfield English
Possibly derives from the Old English word ''sutere'', and the Latin word ''sutor'', meaning a shoemaker.
Suttor English
English... [more]
Swagger English (American)
Probably a nickname for someone who's confident but aggressive and arrogant.
Swaile English
Recorded in the spellings of Swaile, Swale and Swales, this is an English surname. It is locational, and according to the famous Victorian etymologist Canon Charles Bardsley, originates from either a hamlet called Swallow Hill, near Barnsley in Yorkshire, with Swale being the local dialectal pronunciation and spelling... [more]
Swain Scottish, Irish, English
Northern English occupational name for a servant or attendant, from Middle English swein "young man attendant upon a knight", which was derived from Old Norse sveinn "boy, servant, attendant"... [more]
Swan English, Scottish
Originally given as a nickname to a person who was noted for purity or excellence, which were taken to be attributes of the swan, or who resembled a swan in some other way. In some cases it may have been given to a person who lived at a house with the sign of a swan... [more]
Swann English
Variant of Swan.
Swannell English
From the Old Norse female personal name Svanhildr, literally "swan-battle".
Swanwick English
Habitational name from Swanwick in Derbyshire, possibly also Swanwick in Hampshire. Both are named from Old English swan, "herdsman," and wic, "outlying dairy farm."
Swartwood English (American, Anglicized)
Variant of Swarthout, a Dutch locational name for a dweller in or near a black wood.
Swartzlander English (American)
Americanized form of German Schwarzländer, a habitational name for someone from an area of Bavaria known as Schwarzland ‘the black land’, from Middle High German swarz ‘black’ + land ‘land’.
Swasey English
Unexplained. Possibly an Anglicized form of Dutch Swijse(n), variant of Wijs "wise" (see Wise).
Sweed English
Variant spelling of Sweet.
Sweeting English
Derived from Old English swete and Middle English sweting meaning "darling, sweetheart", hence a nickname for a popular and attractive person, or for somebody who habitually addressed people with the term (see Sweet).
Swenson English, Swedish
Variant or Americanized form of Svensson or Svensen. As an English name it may also mean "son of Swain".
Swett English
Derived from the old English words "swete" and "swot".
Swinburne English
habitational name primarily from Great and Little Swinburne (Northumberland) but perhaps also occasionally from one or other places similarly named from Old English swin "pig" and burna "stream" meaning "pig stream".
Swinehart English, German
Means "swine herder", from Middle High German swīn "hog, swine" and hertære "herder".
Swing English
Probably an Americanized spelling of German Schwing or from Middle High German zwinc meaning "legal district", hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a district administrator.
Swinton English, Scottish
From various place names composed of Old English swin "pig, wild boar" and tun "settlement, enclosure".
Swiss English (American)
Americanized form of German Schweitz.
Switser English
Either (i) from the medieval nickname Swetesire (literally "sweet sir, amiable master"), applied sarcastically either to someone who used the expression liberally as a form of address or to someone with a de-haut-en-bas manner; or (ii) an anglicization of Schweitzer (from Middle High German swīzer "Swiss person").
Sycamore English
Probably comes from the tree Sycamore
Sykes English
English Surname (mainly Yorkshire): topographic name for someone who lived by a stream in a marsh or in a hollow, from Middle English syke ‘marshy stream’, ‘damp gully’, or a habitational name from one of the places named with this word, in Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
Sylvester English
From the given name Sylvester.
Syme English
Variant of Symes, from a form of the given name Simon 1 (see Simms).
Symere English (American, Rare)
Name of unknown origin, typically used in the United States. It is best known as the real first name of American rapper Lil Uzi Vert.
Symmes English
Variant of Simms
Symond English
Variant of Simon.
Syrett English
Either (i) from the medieval male personal name Syred (from Old English Sigeræd, literally "victory-counsel"); or (ii) from the medieval female personal name Sigerith (from Old Norse Sigfrithr, literally "victory-lovely").
Szarabajka Polish, English
His surname, Szarabajka, means "Grey Tale" in Polish. Last name is pronounced "sarah-bike-ah".
Taber English, Polish
English: variant spelling of Tabor. ... [more]
Tabor English, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Jewish
English: metonymic occupational name for a drummer, from Middle English, Old French tabo(u)r ‘drum’.... [more]
Tacey English, English (American)
(East Midlands): From A Pet Form Of The Middle English Personal Name Eustace. Compare Stacey, Stace... [more]
Tackleberry Popular Culture, American (Rare)
This is a surname most notably used by Officer Eugene Tackleberry (played by the lovably hilarious David Graf) in the classic Police Academy movies of the 1980s-90s. Officer Tackleberry is a markedly boyish police officer who has a passionate adoration for guns and adventure... [more]
Taffe English
Of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname "Ó Táth," meaning "descendant of Táth." It's believed to have originated as a personal name, possibly meaning "poet" or "philosopher."
Talbert English, French
From a continental Germanic personal name composed of the elements tal "valley" and berth "bright".
Talcott English, Norman
Norman habitational name from Taillecourt in France.... [more]
Tallent English
Habitational name from Talland in Cornwall, which is thought to be named as ‘hill-brow church site’, from Cornish tal + lann.
Tallentire English (Rare)
From a small village in Cumbria, England, meaning 'head of the land' in Cumbric.
Talley English
Variant of Tolley.
Talley English (American)
Americanized form of Tallig.
Tallon English, Irish, Norman, French
English and Irish (of Norman origin), and French from a Germanic personal name derived from tal ‘destroy’, either as a short form of a compound name with this first element (compare Talbot) or as an independent byname... [more]
Talon English, French
Derived from Old French talon "heel", denoting a person with a deformity or a swift person. It could also be a diminutive form of given names Talbot and Talleyrand.
Tancock English
From a shortened variant of the male personal name Andrew, with the suffix -cock (literally "cockerel", hence "jaunty or bumptious young man"), that was often added to create pet-forms of personal names in the Middle Ages.
Tandy English
From a pet-form of the male personal name Andrew.
Tangerine English
Possibly means "from Tangier".
Tanguay French, English
From a personal name, a contraction of Tanneguy, from Breton tan meaning 'fire', and ki meaning 'dog', which was the name of a 6-th century Christian saint associated with Paul Aurelian.
Tape English, German
Variant spelling of Tapp.
Tapp English, German
Derived from an Old English given name Tæppa, of uncertain origin and meaning. In German, it is a nickname for a clumsy person or a simpleton, derived from Middle Low German tappe meaning "oaf".
Tarbell English
Tarbell is an alteration of the English placename Turville in Buckinghamshire in England.
Tarver English
Sodhut dweller, from old English
Tatasciore American, Italian
The surname Tatasciore is more commonly found in Italy than any other country or territory.
Tates English
This is a variant of rather Tate or Tate, both having the same origin.
Tatischeff French, Russian, English
Best known as the actual full surname of Jacques Tati.
Tatlock English
Probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place in Lancashire or Cheshire, where the surname occurs most frequently.
Taunton English
Habitational name from Taunton in Somerset, Taunton Farm in Coulsdon, Surrey, or Tanton in North Yorkshire. The Somerset place name was originally a combination of a Celtic river name (now the Tone, possibly meaning ‘roaring stream’) + Old English tūn ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
Tawney English, Norman
Habitational name from either of two places, Saint-Aubin-du-Thennay or Saint-Jean-du-Thennay, in Eure, Normandy, both so named from an uncertain first element (possibly a Gallo-Roman personal name or the Gaulish word tann ‘oak’, ‘holly’) + the locative suffix -acum.
Tayler English
Variant of Taylor.
Taylorson English
Means "son of Taylor".
Tea English
Variant of Tee.
Teach English
This surname is derived from the Middle English phrase "at asche," meaning at,or near the ash tree.
Teacher English
From an English word for someone who taught schools.
Teasdale English
From Teesdale, the name of a valley of the River Tees in northern England, derived from the river's name (meaning "warmth" in Old English) combined with dæl meaning "valley".
Tebay English
From the name of a village in Cumbria, England, derived from the German name element theod meaning "people".
Tebbs English
Variant of Tibbs.
Tedder English
From the Middle English word Thedere or Teddere which either comes from the Old English name Thēodhere or the Germanic name Theudher. Alternatively, it could be an occupational name from the Middle English Teddere, meaning “one who teds”... [more]
Tefft English
Variant of English Taft. This surname was already well established in Connecticut and Rhode Island by 1715.
Tegan English
Variant of Teagan.
Teixeria Portuguese, English (Rare)
Variant of Teixeira, more commonly used in the United States likely by American-Portuguese citizens
Telfer Scottish, English, Italian
From a personal name based on a byname for a strong man or ferocious warrior, from Old French taille or tailler "to cut" + fer "iron" Latin: ferrum "iron" (see Tagliaferro).
Telford English
From the words taelf meaning "plateau" and ford meaning "river crossing"... [more]
Temple English, French
Occupational name or habitational name for someone who was employed at or lived near one of the houses ("temples") maintained by the Knights Templar, a crusading order so named because they claimed to occupy in Jerusalem the site of the old temple (Middle English, Old French temple, Latin templum)... [more]
Templer English
Templer is an Old English surname denoting either a servant of one of the Knights Templar, or a person living near or serving at a church. The meaning is “church attendant”.
Templeton English
Derived from Templeton, from the English words 'temple' and 'town'.
Tenant English
Variant of the surname Tennant.
Tennant English, Scottish
The Strathclyde-Briton people of ancient Scotland were the first to use the name Tennant. It is a name for someone who works as a tenant farmer. The name was applied to those who paid for the rent on their land through working the fields and donating a percentage of the take to the landlord... [more]
Tennor English (American)
Possibly an altered spelling of Tanner or Tenner.
Terrence English
From the given name Terrence.
Terryberry English
Americanized form of German Dürrenberger
Terse English
This name means literally curt, short or stiff. Similar to Stiff (surname) (see Stiff under user submitted names) Not very commonly used. If you're looking for a name for a fictional character who is either an antagonist or just likes to stir things up, you could probably use this.
Terwiliger American
a name adopted by a Dutch family in New York
Terwilliger English
An anglicized version of the Dutch surname, Der Willikeur, meaning "a by-law; a statute". Also, Der willige-waar, means "serviceable ware", or "ware that sells well" and could be related as well.
Tester English
From the Old French nickname testard, essentially meaning "big head", for a know-it-all.
Tetley English
habitational name from Tetlow in Manchester. The placename derives from the Old English male personal name Tetta or female Tette annd Old English hlaw "mound hill"... [more]