BlacksmithEnglish Occupational name for a blacksmith, a smith who work with iron. The name is rare in England and mostly found in North America, suggesting that it's a translation of a non-English name meaning "blacksmith" (see Kowalski, Raudsepp and Lefèvre for example).
BlakewayEnglish Literally means "black way", thus referring to a black road near which the original bearer must have lived. A famous bearer of this surname was Jacob Blakeway (b. 1583-?), the biological father of Mayflower passenger Richard More (1614-1696).
BlameyEnglish From blaidh-mez, the wolf's meadow; or pleu-mez, the parish meadow.
BlanchflowerEnglish From a medieval nickname applied probably to an effeminate man (from Old French blanche flour "white flower"). This surname was borne by Northern Irish footballer Danny Blanchflower (1926-1993).
BlandEnglish Bland is a habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire called Bland, the origin of which is uncertain. Possibly it is from Old English (ge)bland ‘storm’, ‘commotion’ (from blandan ‘to blend or mingle’), with reference to its exposed situation... [more]
BlandfordEnglish Habitational name from Blandford Forum and other places called Blandford in Dorset (Blaneford in Domesday Book), probably named in Old English with bl?ge 'gudgeon' (genitive plural blægna) + ford 'ford'.
BlankenshipEnglish Variant of Blenkinsop, a surname derived from a place in Northumberland called Blenkinsopp. The place name possibly derives from Cumbric blaen "top" and kein "back, ridge", i.e. "top of the ridge", combined with Old English hōp "valley" (compare Hope).
BlaxtonEnglish There are two possible origins for this surname; one- from the name of the village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster (part of South Yorkshire, England) on the border of Lincolnshire, or two- from the Old English personal name Blaecstan, meaning "black stone"
BlaylockEnglish The surname of James P. Blaylock (1950-), an early steampunk author. His surname may mean "black lock" from Middle English blakelok, originally referring to a person with dark hair.
BlennerhassettEnglish The Blennerhassett surname comes from someone having lived in Cumberland, on the Borderlands between Scotland and England. ... [more]
BlessedEnglish From a medieval nickname for a fortunate person. This surname is borne by British actor Brian Blessed (1936-).
BlewettEnglish From a medieval nickname for a blue-eyed person or one who habitually wore blue clothing (from Middle English bleuet "cornflower" or bluet "blue cloth").
BlissettEnglish A different form of Blessed. A bearer of this surname is Luther Blissett (1958-), a Jamaican-born English footballer ("Luther Blissett" has been used since 1994 as a cover name for activists engaging in anti-cultural establishment polemics and spoofs on the internet and elsewhere).
BloodEnglish Evidently from Old English blod ‘blood’, but with what significance is not clear. In Middle English the word was in use as a metonymic occupational term for a physician, i.e. one who lets blood, and also as an affectionate term of address for a blood relative.
BloodEnglish Derived from the Old English byname Blīþa (meaning "happy, blithe").
BloodgoodEnglish (American), Dutch (Americanized) Anglicized form of Dutch Bloetgoet. The progenitor of the American Bloodgood family was Francis Bloodgood, a 17th-century Dutch emigrant to Flushing, Queens, New York, originally named Frans Jansen Bloetgoet.
BloomfieldEnglish This interesting surname is of early medieval English origin, and is a locational name from either of the two places thus called in England, one in Staffordshire, and the other in Somerset, or it may be a dialectal variant of Blonville (-sur-Mer) in Calvados, Normandy, and hence a Norman habitation name... [more]
BlowEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone with a pale complexion (from Middle English blowe "pale"). This surname was borne by English composer John Blow (1649-1708) and British fashion editor Isabella Blow (original name Isabella Delves Broughton; 1958-2007); additionally, "Joe Blow" is a name used colloquially (in US, Canadian and Australian English) as representative of the ordinary uncomplicated unsophisticated man, the average man in the street (of which the equivalent in British English is "Joe Bloggs").
BlueberryEnglish English surname of unexplained origin, probably from the name of a lost or unidentified place.
BlufordEnglish, American (South) Possibly an English habitational name from a lost or unidentified place. The name occurs in records of the 19th century but is now very rare if not extinct in the British Isles. In the U.S. it is found chiefly in TX and TN.
BluntEnglish Nickname for a person with fair hair or a light complexion from Old French blunt meaning "blond". It was also used as a nickname for a stupid person from Middle English blunt or blont meaning "dull".
BobberEnglish From the ancient Anglo-Saxon name Baber, a town in the county of Suffolk. A famous bearer of the last name is actor, director, animator, voice actor, and musician Troy Bobber.
BodkinEnglish From the medieval male personal name Bowdekyn, a pet-form of Baldwin.
BoebertEnglish (American) A notable bearer of this surname is Lauren Opal Boebert (Born on December 15, 1986) who is an American (U.S.A.) politician, businesswoman, and gun rights activist, serving as the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 3rd congressional district since 2021... [more]
BoeingEnglish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of German Böing. This was the surname of American industrialist William Boeing (1881-1956) who founded The Boeing Company, a manufacturer of airplanes.
BoekhoutEnglish Probably a habitational name from the village Boekhoute in northern Belgium, close to the border to The Netherlands.
BoldGerman, English English: nickname from Middle English bold ‘courageous’, ‘daring’ (Old English b(e)ald, cognate with Old High German bald). In some cases it may derive from an Old English personal name (see Bald)... [more]
BollandFrench, German, English From the Ancient Germanic name Bolland. Alternatively it derive from the place name Bowland from the Old English boga meaning "bow" and land meaning "land".
BollardEnglish, Irish According to MacLysaght, this surname of Dutch origin which was taken to Ireland early in the 18th century.
BollingEnglish, German nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling 'pollard', or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling 'excessive drinking'. German (Bölling): from a personal name Baldwin
BoltEnglish From Middle English bolt meaning "bolt", "bar" (Old English bolt meaning "arrow"). In part this may have originated as a nickname or byname for a short but powerfully built person, in part as a metonymic occupational name for a maker of bolts... [more]
BomengenEnglish (American), Norwegian (Rare) Name created from during immigration from Norway to the United States in either the late 19th or early 20th century meaning, "The farm with the big gate."
BookeAmerican American variant of the German name Buche meaning "beech" in reference to the beech tree. Notable bearer is the actor Sorrell Booke (1930-1994).
BookerEnglish Occupational name for a maker of books, a scribe or a binder of books, from Old English bocere.
BoolEnglish This surname derives from the Old English pre 7th Century bula, or the Medieval English bulle, bolle, meaning "bull", and was given as a nickname to one with great physical strength.
BoormanEnglish This surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and may be either a topographical name for someone who lived in a particularly noteworthy or conspicuous cottage, from the Old English bur "bower, cottage, inner room" with mann "man", or a locational name from any of the various places called Bower(s) in Somerset and Essex, which appear variously as Bur, Bure and Bura in the Domesday Book of 1086.
BootEnglish, Dutch, German English: metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of boots, from Middle English, Old French bote (of unknown origin).... [more]
BoothbyEnglish From the name of a parish in Lincolnshire, England.
BornGerman, English A topographical name indicating someone who lived near a stream, from the Old English "burna, burne". Alternatively, it could be contemporarily derived from the modern English word "born". Possible variants include Bourne, Burns and Boren.
BorondaAmerican (Hispanic), Basque Boronda is a Californio surname that is also of Basque origin. Boronda is the name of a place in Salinas California named after Jose Eusebio Boronda where he made his house out of Adobe. Today, It is a California national Historic landmark in Boronda road in Salinas.
BoschAmerican The surname Bosch originates from the Old Norse word "buski," meaning "bush," or "woods” thus it is classed at a toponymic surname and was most likely used by a man who lived near a prominent bush... [more]
BosleyEnglish English habitation surname derived from the Old English personal name Bosa and the Old English leah "clearing, field". It's also possibly a variant of the French surname Beausoleil meaning "beautiful sun" from the French beau 'beautiful, fair' and soleil 'sun'... [more]
BossEnglish From an originally French term meaning "hunchback".
BostonEnglish Habitational name from the town Boston in Lincolnshire, England. The name means "Botwulf’s stone".... [more]
BostwickEnglish From an English surname which was from a lost or unidentified place name. The second element is clearly Old English wic "outlying (dairy) farm".
BottomleyEnglish English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Bottomley, from Old English botm ‘broad valley’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.
BowdenEnglish Habitational name from any of several places called Bowden or Bowdon, most of them in England. From Old English boga "bow" and dun "hill", or from Old English personal names Buga or Bucge combined with dun.... [more]
BowdlerFlemish, English Originally de Boelare it evolved to Bowdler or Bowdle after Baldwin de Boelare came to England in 1105 & was given a lordship over Montgomery, Wales.
BoweMedieval English, English, Irish (Anglicized) There are three possible sources of this surname, the first being that it is a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of bows, a vital trade in medieval times before the invention of gunpowder, and a derivative of the Old English boga "bow", from bugan "to bend"... [more]
BowkerEnglish A surname of French origin, from the occupational term for 'butcher' (boucher). Some theories have it that it derives from OE 'bocer', meaning a scribe, but the former is more likely and is more widely affirmed.
BowlandEnglish From any variety of places in England with this name. These places are likely from with Old English boga ‘bow’ (in the sense of a bend in a river) and land ‘land’.
BowserEnglish Nickname from the Norman term of address beu sire ‘fine sir’, given either to a fine gentleman or to someone who made frequent use of this term of address.
BradfieldEnglish habitational name from any of the places in Berkshire Devon Essex Suffolk South Yorkshire and elsewhere named Bradfield from Old English brad "broad" and feld "open country" meaning "wide field".
BradshawEnglish Habitational name from any of the places called Bradshaw, for example in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, from Old English brad "broad" + sceaga "thicket".
BraffAmerican Jewish (from Poland): probably an ornamental name from German brav 'good', 'upright'. Swedish: an old spelling of Brav, possibly a soldier's name.
BraggEnglish, Welsh From a nickname for a cheerful or lively person, derived from Middle English bragge meaning "lively, cheerful, active", also "brave, proud, arrogant".
BrahamEnglish From the name of a town called Braham, probably derived from Old English brom meaning "broom (a type of plant)" and ham meaning "home, settlement" or hamm meaning "river meadow".
BraileyEnglish Habitational name for a person from Brayley Barton in Devon, which is derived from the name of the Bray river (a back formation from High Bray which is from Celtic bre meaning "hill" or Old English brǣg "brow") combined with Old English leah "woodland, clearing".
BraithwaiteEnglish Northern English habitational name from any of the places in Cumbria and Yorkshire named Braithwaite, from Old Norse breiðr "broad" + þveit "clearing".
BraleyEnglish (American) A New England variant spelling of Brailey. French: from a diminutive of Brael, from Old French braiel, a belt knotted at the waist to hold up breeches; presumably an occupational name for a maker of such belts... [more]
BramahEnglish From a place called either Bramall, or Bramhall formerly Bromale. From old english brom "broom" and halh, "nook, recess"
BrambleEnglish This surname is taken from the word which refers to a common blackberry (British) or any of several closely related thorny plants in the Rubus genus (US). It also refers to any thorny shrub. The word is derived from Old English bræmbel with a euphonic -b- inserted from the earlier bræmel or brémel, which is then derived from Proto-Germanic *bræmaz meaning "thorny bush."
BrasseEnglish Likely derived from the name of the village of Brace in Shropshire, England. The name of the village likely came from the Old English word braec, which was used for small forests and thickets, or the later Old English word braec, which was used for ground broken up for cultivation.
BraunershritherGerman, Dutch, English This name mean Leather (Tanned) Knight, or a fighter of leather armor, or in Dutch, Leather writer, one who branded print on leather
BraybrookeEnglish From the name of the Northamptonshire village of Braybrooke, meaning "the broad brook."
BraytonEnglish Derived from the Old Norse name breithr meaning "broad", or the Old Norse personal name Breithi, combined with the Old English suffix tun meaning "town, farmstead".
BreakspearEnglish From a medieval nickname for someone who had achieved notable success in jousts or in battle. Nicholas Breakspear (?1100-1159) was the original name of Pope Hadrian IV, the only English pope.
BreedEnglish Habitational name from any of various minor places, for example Brede in Sussex, named with Old English brǣdu "breadth, broad place" (a derivative of brād "broad").
BreedloveEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a likable or popular person (from Middle English breden "to produce" + love). This surname is borne by Craig Breedlove (1937-), US land-speed record holder.