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.
Bobe English
Derived from the nickname Boebel
Bock German, Upper German, Jewish, English
Altered spelling of German Böck (see Boeck) or Bach.... [more]
Boden English
Possibly a variant of Baldwin.
Bodin French, English
Derived from Old French personal name Bodin or a variant spelling of Baudouin.
Bodkin English
From the medieval male personal name Bowdekyn, a pet-form of Baldwin.
Boebert English (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]
Boeing English (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.
Boekhout English
Probably a habitational name from the village Boekhoute in northern Belgium, close to the border to The Netherlands.
Bogs English
A name given to someone that lives near a bog or swamp. More comonly spelled as Boggs.
Bohart English (Rare)
Meaning unknown.
Boland English
Variant of Bowland and Bolland.
Bold German, 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]
Bolding English, German
Patronymic from Bold as a personal name.
Bolen English
Variant of BULLEN.
Boleyn English
Franciscanized form of Bullens, a Dutch surname meaning "son of Baldo" (meaning "strong").
Boliver Welsh, English
Derived from Welsh ap Oliver meaning "son of Oliver".
Bolland French, 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".
Bollard English, Irish
According to MacLysaght, this surname of Dutch origin which was taken to Ireland early in the 18th century.
Bolling English, 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
Bolt English
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]
Bomengen English (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."
Bonaparte Italian (Rare), French (Rare), Judeo-Italian (Rare), American (Rare), Caribbean (Rare)
Variant and French form of Buonaparte. This is also a Jewish surname. A notable bearer was Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1820), who ruled as Emperor of France from 1804 through 1814 and again briefly in 1815, who was of Italian (Tuscan) ancestry... [more]
Bonde English
Variant of Bond.
Bonds English
Variant of Bond.
Bonecutter English
Likely from someone who's job was to work with deceased people.
Bones English
Derives from bon, "good" in Old French.
Booke American
American variant of the German name Buche meaning "beech" in reference to the beech tree. Notable bearer is the actor Sorrell Booke (1930-1994).
Booker English
Occupational name for a maker of books, a scribe or a binder of books, from Old English bocere.
Bool English
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.
Boorman English
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.
Boot English, Dutch, German
English: metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of boots, from Middle English, Old French bote (of unknown origin).... [more]
Boothby English
From the name of a parish in Lincolnshire, England.
Boothe English
Variant of Booth
Boothroyd English
Possibly from the Old English booth meaning "hut, shack" and royd meaning "clearing (in the woods)".
Boots English, Dutch, German
A variant of Boot meaning "shoemaker" in English or "boatman" in Dutch or German.
Booty English
Means butt. Usually big and round.There are also two of them.
Borchert German, English
Variant of Borchardt (see Burkhard).
Borecki English
Habitational name for someone from a place called Borek or Borki, from bór "pine forest".
Borman Dutch, Low German, English
Dutch and North German: variant of Bormann. ... [more]
Born German, 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.
Borne English, French, Dutch
1. English: variant spelling of Bourne. ... [more]
Boronda American (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.
Bosch American
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]
Bosley English
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]
Boss English
From an originally French term meaning "hunchback".
Boston English
Habitational name from the town Boston in Lincolnshire, England. The name means "Botwulf’s stone".... [more]
Bostwick English
From an English surname which was from a lost or unidentified place name. The second element is clearly Old English wic "outlying (dairy) farm".
Boteler English
Variant of Butler, from Old French bouteillier “bottler”.
Botting English, Dutch
Patronymic from BOTT, an Old English personal name of unknown origin.
Bottomley English
English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Bottomley, from Old English botm ‘broad valley’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.
Boudreau English
English variant of French Beaudreau.
Boulton English
Means "district" characterized by bends from the Old English words boga and land.
Bourn English
Variant of Bourne.
Bowden English
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]
Bowdler Flemish, 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.
Bowe Medieval 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]
Bower English, Scottish
Scottish: occupational name for a bow maker, Older Scots bowar, equivalent to English Bowyer. ... [more]
Bowerman English, American
1. English: occupational name for a house servant who attended his master in his private quarters (see Bower). ... [more]
Bowersock English
Likely an Americanized spelling of Bauersack.
Bowker English
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.
Bowland English
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’.
Bowser English
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.
Bowskill English
From the place name Bowscale.
Bowyer English
English: occupational name for a maker or seller of bows (see Bow), as opposed to an archer. Compare Bowman.
Boye English, German, Dutch, Frisian, Danish
From the Germanic given names Boio or Bogo, which are of uncertain origin... [more]
Boyne English, Irish, Scottish
English: variant of Boon.... [more]
Boynton English
Variant of Boyton, from a place in Lancashire, England.
Boys English
From the Old French word bois, which means "wood," indicates that the original bearer lived near a wooded area, such as a forest.
Bradham English
Means "broad home". From brad "broad", and ham "home"
Bradshaw English
Habitational name from any of the places called Bradshaw, for example in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, from Old English brad "broad" + sceaga "thicket".
Bradstreet English
A notable bearer is Anne Bradstreet, essentially known as America's first famous poet.
Braff American
Jewish (from Poland): probably an ornamental name from German brav 'good', 'upright'. Swedish: an old spelling of Brav, possibly a soldier's name.
Bragg English, Welsh
From a nickname for a cheerful or lively person, derived from Middle English bragge meaning "lively, cheerful, active", also "brave, proud, arrogant".
Brague English
Began being used in the 1700's
Braham English
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".
Braithwaite English
Northern English habitational name from any of the places in Cumbria and Yorkshire named Braithwaite, from Old Norse breiðr "broad" + þveit "clearing".
Braley English (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]
Bramah English
From a place called either Bramall, or Bramhall formerly Bromale. From old english brom "broom" and halh, "nook, recess"
Bramble English
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."
Branner Danish, German, English
Danish variant of BRANDER and German variant of BRANTNER.
Brass English, German
English (Northumberland): variant of Brace.... [more]
Brasse English
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.
Brathwaite English
Place-name derived from the Old Norse words for a "broad clearing".
Braunershrither German, 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
Braybrooke English
From the name of the Northamptonshire village of Braybrooke, meaning "the broad brook."
Brayson English
Patronymic form of the surname Bray.
Brayton English
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".
Brazil English (Rare), Irish (Anglicized, Rare)
Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Breasail "descendant of Breasal", Breasal being a byname which meant "strife".
Brazos Filipino, English (American)
Means "arms" in Spanish.
Breakspear English
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.
Brearley English
Variation of Brierley possibly originating in Yorkshire, England. A well-known bearer is former English cricketer Mike Brearley.
Breath English, Scottish
From the LA Bret family in Daveham. The Scottish variant is Braid.
Breathe English
English(?) variant of Breath. It comes from the La Bret family in Daveham.
Breece English
Variant of Breese or Preece.
Breed English
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").
Breedlove English
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.
Breland English
Americanized form of Breler.
Brentley English
Late variant of Brenkley.
Brereton English
From the name of locations in Cheshire and Staffordshire, England. The name is derived from Old English brér "briar" + tún "enclosure, farmstead".
Bresser English
The surname is derived from the old English word brasian, meaning to make out of brass. This would indicate that the original bearer of the name was a brass founder by trade. The name is also derived from the old English Broesian which means to cast in brass and is the occupational name for a worker in brass.
Breton French, English
French and English: ethnic name for a Breton, from Old French bret (oblique case breton) (see Brett).
Breunig German, German (Austrian), American
Origin probably in Frankfurt am Main... [more]
Brewton English
Variant spelling of the habitational name Bruton, from a place in Somerset, so named with a Celtic river name meaning 'brisk' + Old English tun 'farmstead'.
Breyette English (American)
Of uncertain origin and meaning. First found in the United States around 1880. Self-taught artist Michael Breyette is a bearer of this surname
Brian Irish, English, French
1) Variant spelling of Bryan. ... [more]
Brick Irish (Anglicized), English, German, Jewish
Irish Anglicized form of Gaelic $Ó Bruic] "descendant of Broc", i.e. "badger" (sometimes so translated) or Ó Bric "descendant of Breac", a personal name meaning "freckled"... [more]
Bride Irish, Scottish, English
Further Anglicized from Scottish/Irish MacBride, from the root for Brigid.
Bridge English
Indicating one who lived near a bridge.
Bridgeford English
Meaning "bridge ford".
Bridgford English
Meaning "bridge ford".
Bright English
From a Middle English nickname or personal name, meaning "bright, fair, pretty", from Old English beorht "bright, shining".
Brightwen English
From either of the two Old English given names Beohrtwine (a masculine name which meant "bright friend") or Beohrtwynn (a feminine name which meant "bright joy").
Brindley English
Habitational name from a place in England so named. From Old English berned "burnt" and leah "woodland clearing".
Brinkley English
"From Brinca's Field" or "Field in the forest"
Brinsley English
From a place meaning "brun's clearing" or "brown clearing" with the elements Brun "brown" and leah "meadow, clearing".
Brinson English
Habitational name from Briençun in northern France.
Brinton English
English locational surname, taken from the town of the same name in Norfolk. The name means "settlement belonging to Brun" - the personal name coming from the Old English word for "fire, flame".
Brissenden English
Derived from either of two places in Kent, England called Brissenden (one near Frittenden and the other near Tenterden), both named with the Old English given name Breosa (a byname derived from bresa meaning "gadfly") and Old English denn meaning "woodland pasture (for swine)".
Britnell English
Habitational name from a place called Brinton in Norfolk, England. See Brinton.
Brizendine French, English, Jewish
Derived from a personal name, probably of Celtic origin (Latinized as Britus), which was borne by a 5th century saint, who succeeded St. Martin as bishop of Tours.
Broadhead English, German
1 English (Yorkshire): topographic name for someone who lived by a broad headland, i.e. a spur of a mountain, from Middle English brode ‘broad’ + heved ‘head’.... [more]
Brockett English
From the Old French words broque and brocke.
Broderick Irish, Welsh, English
Surname which comes from two distinct sources. As a Welsh surname it is derived from ap Rhydderch meaning "son of Rhydderch". As an Irish surname it is an Anglicized form of Ó Bruadair meaning "descendent of Bruadar"... [more]
Brogden English
From the name of a place in West Yorkshire meaning "valley brook", from Old English broc "brook" and denu "valley".
Brogdon English
Variant of Brogden The valley of the brook a rural place now in Lancanshire, England.
Broglin English
Corruption of Brogden.
Broker English
Name given to someone who worked as a broker, an agent for the sale and purchase of goods and services. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Anglo-French word brocour, which has the same meaning as the English word broker
Brolin English (Anglicized, Rare)
In the case of American actors James and Josh Brolin, it seems to be derived form Burderlin, an anglicized form of Brüderlin.
Bromley English
Habitational name from any of the many places so called in England. Most of them derived from Old English brom "broom" and leah "woodland clearing".
Bromwell English
Habitational name from Broomwell in Herefordshire named in Old English with brom ‘broom’ + wella ‘spring’, ‘stream’.
Bron English
Variant of Brown (See also Bronson).