Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
CantEnglish Means "singer in a chantry chapel", or from a medieval nickname for someone who was continually singing (in either case from Old Northern French cant "song").
CantellowEnglish Means "person from Canteleu, Canteloup, etc.", the name of various places in northern France ("song of the wolf").
CanterburyEnglish Habitational name from Canterbury in Kent, named in Old English as Cantwaraburg "fortified town (burgh) of the people (wara) of Kent".
CaradineEnglish, German (Anglicized) Americanized form of German Gardein, itself a Germanized spelling of French Jardin. It could also denote someone from the village and civil parish of Carden in Cheshire, England.
CarawayEnglish Probably means "spice merchant" (from Middle English carewei "caraway").
CardEnglish English: metonymic occupational name for someone who carded wool (i.e. disentangled it), preparatory to spinning, from Middle English, Old French card(e) ‘carder’, an implement used for this purpose... [more]
CardwellEnglish From the traditionally British surname, which is a variant of the British surname Caldwell, a from the Old English cald "cold" and well(a) "spring, stream".
CareEnglish Occupational name for a locksmith, Middle English keyere, kayer, an agent derivative of keye.
CarisbrookEnglish Carisbrooke is a village on the Isle of Wight; the name is thought to mean "Carey's brook". When in 1917 the British royal family changed its name from the "House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" to the "House of Windsor" and renounced all German titles, the title of Marquess of Carisbrooke was created for the erstwhile German Prince Alexander of Battenberg.
CarmichaelScottish, English From the name of a village in Scotland meaning "fort of Michael", from Welsh caer meaning "fortress" and the given name Michael.
CarradineEnglish, German (Anglicized) Variant spelling of Caradine. This name is borne by members of the Carradine family of actors, notably the American actor John Carradine (1906-1988).
CarrellEnglish English: from Old French carrel, ‘pillow’, ‘bolster’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of these. In some cases perhaps an altered spelling of Irish Carroll... [more]
CarrenderEnglish (American) Probably from Scottish kerr meaning "rough, wet ground" combined with ender (possibly related to the end of something). It probably denoted someone who lived between rough, wet ground and normal ground.
CarrierEnglish An occupational name meaning someone who transports goods.
CarringtonEnglish, Scottish English: habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Carrington, probably named with an unattested Old English personal name Cara + -ing- denoting association + tun ‘settlement’.... [more]
CarrowEnglish English: habitational name from either of two places: Carrow in Norfolk or Carraw in Northumberland. The first is thought to be named from Old English carr ‘rock’ (a Celtic loan word) + hoh ‘spur of a hill’, while the last may be named either from an Old British plural of carr, or from carr + Old English raw ‘row’... [more]
CartmellEnglish Denoted a person from Cartmel, a village in Cumbria, England (formerly in Lancashire). It is the site of a famous priory, inland from Cartmel Sands. The place name is derived from Old Norse kartr meaning "rocky ground" and melr meaning "sandbank".
CasselEnglish, French, German A surname derived from the Latin military term castellum "watchtower, fort". A variant spelling of the word castle. Denoted someone hailing from the commune of Cassel in the Nord départment in northern France or the city of Kassel (spelled Cassel until 1928) in Germany... [more]
CassellEnglish Either (i) "person from Cassel", northern France, or "person from Kassel", Germany ("fort"); or (ii) a different form of Castle ("person who lives by or lives or works in a castle")... [more]
CastonEnglish A habitational name from a place named Caston, which is from the unattested Old English personal name Catt or the Old Norse personal name Káti + Old English tūn meaning ‘farmstead, settlement’.
CaswellEnglish Habitational name from places in Dorset, Northamptonshire, and Somerset named Caswell, from Old English cærse '(water)cress' + well(a) 'spring', 'stream'.
CatchpoleEnglish Meant "bailiff, especially (originally) one who could seize domestic animals in lieu of tax or debt" (from Anglo-Norman cachepol, from cacher "to chase" + pol "chicken").
CaterEnglish Comes from the English word "caterer".
CatesEnglish English patronymic from the Old Norse byname Káti (from káti ‘boy’).
CatesbyEnglish Derived from a civil parish with the same name, located in Northamptonshire, England. An infamous bearer was Robert Catesby (1572-1605), the leader of a group of English Catholics who attempted to assassinate King James VI and I in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
CattEnglish Nickname from the animal, Middle English catte "cat". The word is found in similar forms in most European languages from very early times (e.g. Gaelic cath, Slavic kotu). Domestic cats were unknown in Europe in classical times, when weasels fulfilled many of their functions, for example in hunting rodents... [more]
CatterallEnglish Derived from a town in England named "Catterall".
CattermoleEnglish Found mainly in Norfolk and Suffolk. Meaning uncertain; possibly from an east Anglian term meaning “dweller at the dyke”, or from Old French quatre moles “four mills”.
CattleyEnglish Means "person from Catley", Herefordshire and Lincolnshire ("glade frequented by cats"). It was borne by the British botanical patron William Cattley (1788-1835).
CattrallEnglish This surname is of Old Scandinavian origin, is an English locational name from Catterall, near Garstang in Lancashire, which appeared as "Catrehala" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and "Caterhale" in the Book of Fees of 1212... [more]
CaveNorman, French, English A name of various possible origins. As a Norman French name Cave can mean "bald" from cauf or it can mean "worker in a wine cellar" or "one who dwelt in or near a cave". As an English name Cave refers to a Yorkshire river whose fast current inspired the name meaning "swift".
CavellEnglish Nickname for a bald man, from a diminutive of Anglo-Norman French cauf.
CaverlyEnglish English surname, a variant of the English surname Calverley, itself derived from the Old English calf "calf" and leag "field, clearing".
CavillEnglish Derived from Cavil, a place located in the East Riding of Yorkshire in northern England, named from Old English ca meaning "jackdaw" and feld meaning "open country". It is borne by the British actor Henry Cavill (1983-).
CawoodEnglish Traditional English habitational surname meaning "jackdaw wood" from the Old English ca referring to 'jackdaw' (a member of the crow family), and wudu 'wood'.
CenaEnglish (American), English Cena is a prominently used English name. It is derived from the word "see", however it rather than referring to the ability to see it, what it actually refers to is the inability to see as the other half of the name ("-na") means "naw" a synonym for "no"... [more]
CestareEnglish (American, Modern) There is a similar name, Sastre, which is the Spanish form of the surname Sarto, meaning "tailor." The name CESTARE is phonetically similar to Sastre and could be a derivative of that name.... [more]
ChaffeyEnglish Possibly, Chaffcombe in Somerset or Chaffhay in Devon
ChaffinEnglish A diminutive that originated from the Old French word chauf, which itself is derived from Latin calvus, both meaning "bald". Originally used as an Anglo-Norman nickname for a bald man.
ChaissonFrench, English Variant of the French surname Chiasson originally denoting someone from the the municipality of Chiasso in Ticino, Switzerland, located along the Swiss/Italian border.... [more]
ChalaireAmerican (South, Rare, ?) Chalaire is a very rare surname, few people in the United States have the family name and might be raised in the United States. Around 99 people have been found who wears Chalaire as their family name... [more]
ChalcraftEnglish Surname of Anglo- Saxon origin. Topographical or locational surname... [more]
ChalkEnglish English: from Old English cealc 'chalk', applied as a topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of chalk soil, or as a habitational name from any of the various places named with this word, as for example Chalk in Kent or Chalke in Wiltshire.
ChallengerEnglish Probably from a medieval nickname for a touchy or quarrelsome person (from a derivative of Middle English chalangen "to challenge"). A fictional bearer is Professor George Challenger, irascible scientist and explorer, leader of the expedition to Amazonia in Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Lost World' (1912).
ChampionEnglish, French Derived from the Middle English and Old French words campion, champiun and champion all meaning "athlete" such as a wrestler or boxer; also "warrior hired to do battle in single combat on behalf of others" (from Late Latin campio genitive campionis a derivative of campus "plain field of battle")... [more]
ChantryEnglish Means "singer in a chantry chapel" or "one who lives by a chantry chapel". A chantry was a type of chapel, one endowed for the singing of Masses for the soul of the founder (from Old French chanterie, from chanter "to sing").
CharnockEnglish (Rare) The locational surname originates from two places, Charnock Richard and Heath Charnock, which are both located in Lancashire, England.... [more]
ChartersEnglish Scottish (Kirkcudbrightshire) and northern English, ultimately of Norman origin. This is a habitational name derived from the French town of Chartres, which is named from the Gaulish tribe recorded in Latin sources as the Carnutes.
ChatwinEnglish Old English given name CEATTA combined with Old English (ge)wind "winding ascent".
ChaucerEnglish Meaning a "worker who makes leggings or breeches". Notable bearer is author Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), most well known for his classic 'The Canterbury Tales'.
ChaunceyAmerican Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Norman French habitation names Chancé or an American adaptation of a German place name of Schanze located on the Upper Rhine. Could also be a short form of Chancellor.
CheesemanEnglish Occupational name for a maker or seller of cheese.
CheeverEnglish Means "goatherd", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a goat (e.g. in capriciousness) (in either case from Anglo-Norman chivere "goat"). It was borne by American author John Cheever (1912-1982).
CherryEnglish From Middle English chirie, cherye "cherry", hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of cherries, or possibly a nickname for someone with rosy cheeks.... [more]
CherrymanEnglish It is topographical or perhaps occupational and describes a person who lived or worked at a cherry orchard, or who lived by a house known by the sign of the cherry. In the days before house numbering, it was the tradition in almost all western countries to give the house a sign... [more]
ChestnutEnglish From Old French castan "chestnut tree" (Latin castanea), a name for someone who lived near a particular chestnut tree, or possibly a nickname for someone with chestnut-coloured hair (see Chastain).
ChestnuttEnglish "Chestnut." A notable bearer is Charles Waddel Chestnut, a novelist.
ChewEnglish Habitational name from a place in Somerset named Chew Magna, which is named for the river on which it stands, a Celtic name, perhaps cognate with Welsh cyw ‘young animal or bird’, ‘chicken’.
CheyneEnglish Locational or topographical surname derived from Old French chesne, chesnai "oak tree, oak grove", ultimately derived from medieval Latin casnetum.
ChiassonFrench, English French surname originally denoting someone from the the municipality of Chiasso in Ticino, Switzerland, located along the Swiss/Italian border.... [more]
ChildEnglish Nickname from Middle English child meaning "child", "infant".
ChildersEnglish Probably a habitational name from some lost place named Childerhouse, from Old English cildra "child" and hus "house". This may have referred to some form of orphanage.
ChoateEnglish, Dutch The names of Choate and Chute are believed to have been of common origin and derived from the residence of their first bearers at a place called Chute in Wiltshire, England. Certain historians, however, state that the name of Choate was of Dutch origin and was taken by its first bearers from their residence at a place of that name in the Netherlands.
ChoiceEnglish Derived from the personal names Josse or Goce, which are derived from the Latin word "gaudere" and is a cognate in origin with the word "joy."
CholmelyEnglish The Cholmely family lived in the township of Cholmondley in the parish of Malpas in Cheshire.
CholmondeleyEnglish An aristocratic surname derived from a place name in Cheshire which means "Ceolmund's grove" in Old English.
ChristmasEnglish Either an occupational name for someone who was responsible for arrangement of festivities for Christmas day, or it might a nickname for someone who was born on Christmas.
ChriswellEnglish Likely originated in England. Creswell seems to be the oldest spelling then gradually giving way to Criswell and Chriswell.
ChubbEnglish English (mainly West Country): nickname from Middle English chubbe ‘chub’ a common freshwater fish Leuciscus cephalus. The fish is notable for its short fat shape and sluggish habits and the word was used in early Modern English for a lazy spiritless person a rustic or a simpleton... [more]
ChurchillEnglish From English, meaning 'church hill'. Denoted one who lived by both a church and a hill. A famous bearer is Sir Winston Churchill, the famed Prime Minister of Britain during WW2.
ChurchyardEnglish It comes from when the family lived in or near the precincts of a church. Churchyard belongs to the large class of Anglo-Saxon topographic surnames, which were given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as "a hill", "stream", "church", or "type of tree".
CinnamondScottish, Irish, English Possibly originates from Scottish place name Kininmonth. Probably introduced to Northern Ireland by Scottish settlers where it remains in Ulster. Another origin is the French place name Saint Amand originated from French Huguenots settling in Ireland.
ClaypoolEnglish Derived from Claypole, a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, named from Old English cl?g meaning "clay" and pol meaning "pool".