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.
Ciccone English
A diminutive of Francesco. A famous bearer is American singer Madonna Ciccone (1958-), better known as simply Madonna.
Cingeswell English
Meaning "Lives at the King's spring"
Cinnamond Scottish, 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.
Cinwell English
Meaning "Lives at the King's spring"
Claeson English
Means "Son of Claes". Possibly an English phonetic elaboration of Clayton, but also a Swedish variant of Claesson.
Clagett English
One who came from a town named "claygate".
Clairmont English
Means "bright hill."
Clare English
From the given name Clare
Clarence English
From the given name Clarence.
Clarks English
Variant of Clark.
Clason English (American)
Americanized spelling of Dutch Claasen.
Clattenburg English (?)
Most likely something to do with a fortress. Meaning currently unknown.
Claver English, Catalan
occupational name from Old French clavier Catalan claver "keeper of the keys doorkeeper" (from Latin clavarius from clavis "key").
Clavero English, Catalan
1 English: occupational name from Old French clavier ‘doorkeeper’ (from Latin clavis ‘key’).... [more]
Claw English
The surname Claw is a very rare English surname.
Clawson English
Means "son of Claus"
Clayberg English
Meaning is unknown, but it most likely means "clay mountain", from surnames Clay "clay" and Berg "mountain".
Claypool English
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".
Clayson English
Patronymic from the personal name Classe, a short form of Nicholas.
Cleave English
From an English topographical name meaning "cliff".
Cleaveland English
Spelling variant of Cleveland.
Cleburne English
Cleburne is a surname of Northern English and Southern Scottish Anglo-Saxon origin.
Cleese Scottish, Irish, English
Variant spelling of McCleese. A famous bearer is English actor and comedian John Cleese (1939-).
Clegg English
From Old Norse kleggi 'haystack'
Clem English, Dutch
From the given name Clem.
Clements English
Means "son of Clement".
Clemmons English
Derived from the Latin first name Clement, Clemmons means "merciful".
Clemo English
From a Cornish form of the personal name Clement.
Clemons English
Means "son of Clement". Variant of Clement.
Clemson English
Means "son of Clem".
Clerk English
Variant spelling of Clark.
Clester English (American)
Probably an Americanized form of Dutch Klooster .
Cleveland English
English regional name from the district around Middlesbrough named Cleveland ‘the land of the cliffs’, from the genitive plural (clifa) of Old English clif ‘bank’, ‘slope’ + land ‘land’... [more]
Clevenger English, Anglo-Saxon
The surname is derived from the Old English word cleofan which means to cleave or split.
Cleverley English
Probably means "person from Cleveley", Lancashire ("woodland clearing by a cliff").
Cleverly English
From a nickname for an intelligent or quick-witted person.
Clift English
Topographic name for someone who lived by a crevice in rock, derived from Middle English clift meaning "cleft". The American actor Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) was a famous bearer of this name.
Clinger English (American)
Americanized spelling of German Klinger.Possibly a variant of Clinker. an English occupational name for a maker or fixer of bolts and rivets.
Clisby English
Surname originating in the village of Cleasby in North Yorkshire's Richmondshire district.
Clive English
English surname meaning "cliff" in Old English, originally belonging to a person who lived near a cliff.
Clooney English, Irish
From Gaelic Ó Cluanaigh meaning "descendant of Cluanach". Cluanach was a given name derived from Irish clauna "deceitful, flattering, rogue".
Clopton English
Habitational name from any of various places, for example in Essex, Suffolk, and Warwickshire, named Clopton from Old English clopp(a) meaning "rock", "hill" + tūn meaning "settlement".
Clore English (American)
Americanized spelling of German Klor (from a short form of the medieval personal name Hilarius (see Hillary) or Klar).
Clotts English
Found in the United States, most likely either an English spelling of Klutz, meaning "awkward, clumsy," or as a plural form of the English surname Clot, meaning "cloth ."
Cloud English
Topographic name for someone who lived near an outcrop or hill, from Old English clud "rock" (only later used to denote vapor formations in the sky).
Clow English
Variant of Clough.
Clue English
Variant of Clough, traditionally found in Devonshire.
Cluff English
Derived from pre 7th century word "cloh" meaning a ravine or steep-sided valley.
Clutterbuck English, Dutch (Anglicized, ?)
English surname of unknown origin, possibly a corrupted form of a Dutch surname derived from Dutch klateren "to clatter" and beek "brook". The original surname may have been brought to England by Flemish weavers whom Edward III brought to England in the 14th century to teach their techniques to the English, or by Huguenots who fled the Netherlands in the 16th century to escape religious persecution... [more]
Cluxton English
Altered form of English Claxton.
Coard English, Northern Irish
Derived from Old French corde "string", a metonymic occupational name for a maker of cord or string, or a nickname for an habitual wearer of decorative ties and ribbons.
Coates English
Name for a cottager or a person who lived in a humble dwelling, derived from Old English cote meaning "cottage, hut". It could also be used as a habitational name for someone from any of numerous locations with this name.
Coath English
Derived from the Cornish word for smith, goff.
Coatney English
The initial bearer of this surname lived in a little cottage.
Cobalt English
Name given to a person who mined cobalt.
Cobbold English
From the medieval male personal name Cubald (from Old English Cūthbeald, literally "famous-brave").
Cobbs English
Variant of Cobb.
Coberley English
Possibly from a village in England called Coberley
Cocke English
nickname from Middle English cok ‘cock’, ‘male bird or fowl’ (Old English cocc), given for a variety of possible reasons. Applied to a young lad who strutted proudly like a cock, it soon became a generic term for a youth and was attached with hypocoristic force to the short forms of many medieval personal names (e.g. Alcock, Hancock, Hiscock, Mycock)... [more]
Cocker English, German (Anglicized)
Originally a nickname for a bellicose person, from Middle English cock "to fight". Also an anglicized form of Köcher.
Codrington English
Habitational name from Codrington in Gloucestershire.
Coe English
English (Essex and Suffolk): nickname from the jackdaw, Middle English co, Old English ca (see Kay). The jackdaw is noted for its sleek black color, raucous voice, and thievish nature, and any of these attributes could readily have given rise to the nickname.
Coffield English
Derived from the town of Cockfield in Suffolk.
Coggeshall English
Habitational name from Coggeshall in Essex, England, which was derived from Cogg, an Old English personal name, and Old English halh meaning "nook, recess".
Coggill English
Recorded in several forms as shown below, this is a surname of two possible nationalities and origins. Firstly it may be of Scottish locational origins, from the lands of Cogle in the parish of Watten, in Caithness, or secondly English and also locational from a place called Cogges Hill in the county of Oxfordshire... [more]
Coish Anglo-Saxon, English, English (Australian), English (American)
Derived from Old English cosche and cosshe (c.1490), meaning "small cottage" or "hut". The medieval Coish family held a seat in Cambridgeshire.
Coit Medieval Welsh, French, English
The surname Coit was first found in Carnarvonshire, a former country in Northwest Wales, anciently part of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and currently is divided between the unitary authorities of Gwynedd and Conwy, where they held a family seat... [more]
Cokayne English
Medieval English nickname which meant "idle dreamer" from Cockaigne, the name of an imaginary land of luxury and idleness in medieval myth. The place may derive its name from Old French (pays de) cocaigne "(land of) plenty", ultimately from the Low German word kokenje, a diminutive of koke "cake" (since the houses in Cockaigne are made of cake).
Coker English
Variant of Cocker.
Colbath English
Means "cold".
Colbourn English
English: variant spelling of Colburn .
Colburn English
Habitational name from a place near Catterick in North Yorkshire.
Colden English, Scottish
English: habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Colden, from Old English cald ‘cold’ col ‘charcoal’ + denu ‘valley’.... [more]
Coldman English
Probably a variant of Coleman with intrusive 'd'.
Coles English, Scottish, Irish, German (Anglicized), English (American)
English: from a Middle English pet form of Nicholas.... [more]
Coleson English
Means "son of Nicholas".
Coley English
With variant Colley can mean "dark" or "blackbird" or it can be a nickname for Nicholas.
Colfax English
From a medieval nickname for someone with dark or black hair, from Old English cola "charcoal" and feax "hair".
Colgate English
habitational name from Colgates in Kent named with Old English col "charcoal" and gaet "gate" indicating a gate leading into woodland where charcoal was burned... [more]
Collard English, French
English and French: from the personal name Coll + the pejorative suffix -ard.
Collen English
Variant of Colin.
Colley English
With variant Coley, can mean "dark" or "blackbird" or it can be a nickname for Nicholas. Colley was used as a surname for generations of students from the same family taught by a teacher over many years in James Hilton's sentimental novel "Goodbye, Mr... [more]
Collier English
This name is derived from Middle English cole, from Old English col meaning "coal", combined with the agent suffix (i)er, which denotes someone who does/works with something. Thus, the surname was originally used for a burner, gatherer or seller of coal.
Collinsworth English
Variant spelling of Collingsworth, itself a variant of Collingwood.
Collis English
A variant of Collins, itself a patronymic of given names Collin or Colin, both ultimately nicknames for Nicholas.
Collison English
A variant of Collinson, which is a variant of Collins.
Colonel American
From a French word for a military rank of an officer who led a column of regimental soldiers. Could be a nickname for someone with a military bearing or demeanor.
Colston English
Colston means “Coal town settlement.” It is also a variant of Colton.
Coltonson English
Means "Son of Colton".
Colville Scottish, English
Derived from the place Colleville in Normandy, France. With the Scandinavian name Koli and French ville "town, village".
Comeau French, French (Acadian), Louisiana Creole
French: from a Gascon diminutive of Combe.
Comer English
Occupational name for a maker or seller of combs, or to someone who used them to prepare wool or flax for spinning, derived from Middle English combere, an agent derivative of Old English camb meaning "comb"... [more]
Compton English
Habitational name from any of the numerous places throughout England (but especially in the south) named Compton, from Old English cumb meaning "short, straight valley" + tūn meaning "enclosure", "settlement".
Conatser English (Anglicized)
A variant of the German last name Konitzer.
Coney English
Means "seller of rabbits", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a rabbit (in either case from Middle English cony "rabbit").
Congdon Irish, English
A variant of Irish "Condon". In English usage: a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place; probably Devon or Cornwall, where the modern surname is most frequent.
Connington English
This name means "The king's manor, the royal estate," from the Old Scandinavian word "konunger" + the Old English word "tun." It was listed twice in the Domesday Book of 1086, once as Coninctune and secondly as Cunitone.
Conquest English
Probably from a medieval nickname, perhaps applied to a domineering person. This surname is borne by the British poet, historian and critic Robert Conquest (1917-).
Constance English, French
From the given name Constance
Constant French, Dutch, English
From the given name Constant or from the word "constant"
Converse English
Originally a nickname for a Jew converted to Christianity or an occupational name for someone converted to the religious way of life, a lay member of a convent, from Middle English and Old French convers "convert".
Conwell English
Russell Cornwell Hoban was a children's book writer.
Coolidge English
Probably an occupational name for a college servant or someone with some other association with a university college, for example a tenant farmer who farmed one of the many farms in England known as College Farm, most of which are or were owned by university colleges.
Coot English
“an early member was a person who seemed to exhibit some of the characteristics of birds.”
Cooter English
A Sussex, England surname of uncertain meaning. Could be a local pronunciation of Cotter, meaning "cottage dweller" for a serf in the feudal system allowed to live in a cottage in exchange for labor on the cottage owner's estate.
Copeland English
Some sources say that Copeland is English: "one that is good at coping". Another says Copeland is Northern English and Scottish, from Cumberland and Northumberland meaning "bought land". Old Norse, kaupa-land for‘bought land’.
Coppins English
From a reduced diminutive of Jacob.
Copus English
For full analysis of the origin for the name Copus/Copas I would refer you to my family website copusfamily.co.uk
Corbett English, Scottish, Welsh
Nickname from Norman French corbet meaning 'little crow, raven'. This surname is thought to have originated in Shropshire. The surname was taken by bearers to Scotland in the 12th Century, and to Northern Ireland in the 17th Century.... [more]
Corbin English, French
Derived from French corbeau meaning "raven," originally denoting a person who had dark hair.
Corbyn English
Variant of Corbin, notably borne by current Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (1949-).
Cordell English
Means "maker of cord" or "seller of cord" in Middle English.
Corden English
Derives from Old French Cordon meaning "a seller of ribbon" or from Cordoan, a locational job description for a worker in fine kid leather. Originally associated with the city of Cordova in Spain... [more]
Corder French (Anglicized, Archaic), English (American)
Linked to both English, French and Spanish origin. Cordier, Cordero, Corder- one who makes cord. Can refer to both the act of making cords (rope), cores of fire wood, or actual location names.... [more]
Cordray English
From a medieval nickname for a proud man (from Old French cuer de roi "heart of a king").
Core English (American), German (Anglicized)
Core is the anglicized form of the German surname Kohr, also spelled Kürr. Alternately, it is an English name of Flemish origin.
Cork English
Metonymic occupational name for a supplier of red or purple dye or for a dyer of cloth, Middle English cork (of Celtic origin; compare Corkery).
Corke English
Variant of Cork.
Corliss English
Derived from Old English carleas "free from anxiety; unconcerned", cognate to Old Norse kærulauss. This was a nickname given to a carefree person.
Cornet English
Variant of Cornett, meaning Horn.
Corney English
A habitational surname from places in Cumbria and Hertfordshire named Corney, from Old English corn "grain", a metathesized form of cron, cran 'crane' + eg 'island'. It seems possible, from the distribution of early forms, that it may also derive from a lost place in Lancashire.
Cornwell English
Habitational name from Cornwell in Oxfordshire, named from Old English corn, a metathesized form of cron, cran ‘crane’ + well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’.variant of Cornwall.
Coronado Spanish (Latin American), American (Hispanic), Spanish (Philippines)
Means "crowned." This was possibly a nickname for one resembling a clergyman who has received the tonsure.
Corrie English
Habitational name from places in Arran, Dumfries, and elsewhere, named Corrie, from Gaelic coire "cauldron", applied to a circular hanging valley on a mountain.
Corrigan English
Traditionally an Irish surname meaning "spear". From the Irish Gaelic corragán which is a double diminutive of corr 'pointed'.
Corry English, Irish
Derived from the Gaelic word “coire”, meaning “cauldron”
Corso Italian, English (American), Spanish (Latin American), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Either derived from the given name Bonaccorso or taken from Italian and Spanish corso, denoting someone who lived in Corsica.
Corson English
Nickname from Old French 'corson', a diminutive of curt ‘short’
Cortright English
Habitational surname from the Dutch Kortrijk for a person from a place of this name in Flanders. Perhaps also a respelling of English Cartwright.
Cosgrove English
Habitational name from Cosgrove in Northamptonshire, named with an Old English personal name Cof + Old English graf "grove", "thicket".
Coss English
English short form of Cossio.
Cossart English, French
From French, referring to "a dealer of horses" (related to the English word "courser"). This surname was brought to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066, and became one of the many Anglo-Norman words that made up Middle English.
Costain English, Scottish, Manx
When originating in Scotland Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man the surname is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Austain, meaning "son of Austin"... [more]
Coster English
Metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of costards (Anglo-Norman French, from coste 'rib'), a variety of large apples, so called for their prominent ribs.
Costic English (American)
Americanized form of Polish, Ukrainian and Rusyn Kostyk, Slovak and Czech Kostik and in some cases possibly also of Serbian Kostić or Croatian and Serbian Koštić.
Cott English
From the Old English personal name Cotta. Possibly an altered spelling of French Cotte, a metonymic occupational name for a maker of chain mail, from Old French cot(t)e ‘coat of mail’, ‘surcoat’... [more]
Cotter English
Derived from the Old English elements cot "cottage, hut" and the suffix -er. In the feudal system a cotter held a cottage by service (rather than by rent). Reaney gives the surname deriving from the Old French cotier "cottager" (see: villein)... [more]
Cotton English, French
English: habitational name from any of numerous places named from Old English cotum (dative plural of cot) ‘at the cottages or huts’ (or sometimes possibly from a Middle English plural, coten)... [more]
Cottonwood English
The name of a person who lived among cottonwood trees.
Cottrell English, French
First found in Derbyshire where the family "Cottrell" held a family seat and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege lord for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings, 1066CE... [more]
Coullson Scottish Gaelic (Anglicized, Rare), English
All origins of the name are patronymic. Meanings include an Anglicized version of the Gaelic MacCumhaill, meaning "son of Cumhall", which means "champion" and "stranger" and an Anglicized patronymic of the Gaelic MacDhubhghaill, meaning "son of Dubhgall." The personal name comes from the Gaelic words dubh, meaning "black" and gall, meaning "stranger."... [more]
Coulson English
Means "son of Cole".
Council English, German
1 English: nickname for a wise or thoughtful man, from Anglo-Norman French counseil ‘consultation’, ‘deliberation’, also ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ (Latin consilium, from consulere ‘to consult’)... [more]
Countryman English
Translation of German Landmann, Landsmann or Dutch Landman, Landsman, which means ‘countryman’ or ‘fellow countryman’.
Court English, French, Irish
A topographic name from Middle English, Old French court(e) and curt, meaning ‘court’. This word was used primarily with reference to the residence of the lord of a manor, and the surname is usually an occupational name for someone employed at a manorial court.... [more]