Browse Submitted Surnames

This is a list of submitted surnames in which the usage is American; and the source is Location.
usage
source
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Prestwood English
habitational name from any of several places called from Middle English prest priest "priest" and wode "wood" (Old English preost wudu) meaning "dweller by the priest's wood"
Priestland English
From Middle English prest priest "priest" and land "landed property land" (Old English preost land) meaning "land that belonged to priests"... [more]
Privett French, English, Welsh (?)
French, from the given name Privat (see Privatus). Also an English habitational name from a place so named in Hampshire, derived from Old English pryfet "privet".
Providence English
From the name of the capital city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, derived from Middle English providence meaning "divine guidance, care", ultimately from Latin providentia.
Puett English (American)
Americinized form of Pütt.
Purinton English
One who came from Puriton, England.
Pursley English
Habitational name from Pursley Farm in Shenley, Hertfordshire, England.
Pusey English
Habitational name from Pusey in Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire), so called from Old English peose, piosu ‘pea(s)’ + ēg ‘island’, ‘low-lying land’, or from Pewsey in Wiltshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Pevesie, apparently from the genitive case of an Old English personal name Pefe, not independently attested + Old English ēg ‘island’.
Putney English
habitational name from Putney in Surrey (now Greater London) named in Old English from the personal name Putta (genitive Puttan) and hyth "landing place quay".
Pyburn English (?)
Apparently from some lost or minor place so named. 1881 British census has 109; KH.
Pyle English
From the Middle English word pile, meaning "stake" or "post", which is derived via Old English from Latin pilum, meaning "spike" or "javelin". This was a topographic name for someone who lived near a stake or post serving as a landmark, a metonymic occupational name for a stake maker, or a nickname for a tall, strong man.
Pyne English
Means "pine" from the Old French pin. This was originally given as a topographical name for someone who lived by a conspicuous pine tree or in a pine forest.
Quarry English
From Middle English quarey "quarry", a topographic name for someone who lived near a stone quarry, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in one. ... [more]
Quenby English
English: of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Quarmby, a habitational name from a place so called in West Yorkshire.
Quimby English
Perhaps a variant of Quenby.
Quinton English
From a place name meaning "queen's town" in Old English.
Rachel English, German
From the English female given name Rachel or derived from German rau "rough".
Rackham English
Means "person from Rackham", Sussex ("homestead or enclosure with ricks"). This surname was borne by British watercolourist and book illustrator Arthur Rackham (1867-1939).
Radford English
Habitational name from any of the various places so named, for example in Devon, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Hereford and Worcester. Most are named from Old English read "red" + ford "ford", but it is possible that in some cases the first element may be a derivative of Old English ridan "to ride", with the meaning "ford that can be crossed on horseback".
Radley English
From rēadlēah meaning "red clearing". Radley is a village and civil parish in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England.
Rafford Scottish, English
From a village called Rafford in Moray, Scotland. The surname itself is derived from Gaelic rath meaning "fort, dwelling", and ford reffering to a river crossing.
Ragsdale English
Apparently an English habitational name from Ragdale in Leicestershire, which is probably named from Old English hraca "gully", "narrow pass" + dæl "valley", "dale".
Raider English
Taken from a village called "Rait".
Rainwater English (American)
Americanized form of the German family name Reinwasser, possibly a topographic name for someone who lived by a source of fresh water, from Middle High German reine ‘pure’ + wazzer ‘water’.
Raisbeck English
Raisbeck is a hamlet in the civil parish of Orton, in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. The surname Raisbeck originates from the hamlet. The name of the hamlet derives from Hrridarr, a personal name and beck, a stream or river.
Raish English (American)
Americanized spelling of German Raisch.
Raisor English (American), German (Americanized)
Possibly a variant of Rasor, or an Americanized form of German Röser or Reiser.
Raleigh English
English habitation name in Devon meaning "red woodland clearing".
Rampling English
Originally indicated a person who lived in a thickly wooded area, derived from Latin ramus meaning "branch" (see Ramos). Famous bearers include English actress Charlotte Rampling (1946-) and her father, athlete and British Army officer Godfrey Rampling (1909-2009).
Ramsbottom English
Habitational name from a market town called Ramsbottom in Greater Manchester, England (historically in Lancashire), derived from Old English hramsa meaning "wild garlic" or ramm "ram", and bothm meaning "bottom, bottom valley".
Ranger English, German, French
English: occupational name for a gamekeeper or warden, from Middle English ranger, an agent derivative of range(n) ‘to arrange or dispose’.... [more]
Rasberry English
Possibly a habitational name from Ratsbury in Lynton, Devon.
Rashleigh English
From a location in Devon, derived from Old English "roe buck" + léah "clearing".
Raspberry English
Variant spelling of Rasberry.
Raspberry English
Variant of Rasberry influenced by the name of the fruit but has no connection to it.
Ratchford English
habitational name from Rochford (Worcestershire) from Old English ræcc ‘hunting dog’ (genitive ræcces) and ford "ford"... [more]
Ratcliff English
Habitational name from any of the places, in various parts of England, called Ratcliff(e), Radcliffe, Redcliff, or Radclive, all of which derive their names from Old English rēad meaning "red" + clif meaning "cliff", "slope", "riverbank".
Rathbone English
Of unknown origin, but might denote a person with short legs. From Olde English rhath, meaning "short, and bon, "legs".
Raven English, Dutch
From a variety of sources all ultimately derived from the name of the bird. Could be a patronymic form of a given name such as Raven, Hraban, or Walraven; from a nickname referring to dark hair or thieving tendencies; or from a toponym derived from a given name.
Ravencroft English (Rare)
Probably a variant of Ravenscroft.
Ravenel English, French
Habitational name from Ravenel in Oise or a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of horseradish, from a diminutive of Old French ravene ‘horseradish’ (Latin raphanus)... [more]
Ravenscroft English, English (British)
Habitational name from a minor place in Cheshire, England. The place name means "Hræfn's croft", from an Old English personal name Hræfn (itself from Old English hræfn meaning "raven", possibly a byname) and Old English croft meaning "enclosed field".
Reach Scottish, English
Scottish: Nickname For Someone With Streaks Of Gray Or White Hair From Gaelic Riabhach ‘Brindled Grayish’. English And Scottish: Habitational Name From Either Of Two Places Called Reach In Bedfordshire And Cambridgeshire Recorded As Reche In Medieval Documents From Old English Rǣc ‘Raised Strip Of Land Or Other Linear Feature’ (In The Case Of The Cambridgeshire Name Specifically Referring To Devil's Dyke A Post-Roman Earthwork)... [more]
Reading English
Habitational name from the county seat of Berkshire, which gets its name from Old English Readingas "people of Read(a)", a byname meaning "red".
Redden English
Location name meaning "clearing or cleared woodland." Communities called Redden include one in Roxburghshire, Scotland and another in Somerset, England. A notable bearer is actor Billy Redden who played the dueling banjoist Lonnie in the 1972 film 'Deliverance.'
Reddick English
Habitational name from Redwick in Gloucestershire, named in Old English with hrēod "reeds" and wīc "outlying settlement".
Redding English
Variant spelling of Reading.
Reddington English
From a place name derived from an uncertain first element (perhaps the Old English given name Rēada) combined with the suffix ing meaning "belonging to" and tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
Reddish English
This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Reddish,' a village near Stockport, Cheshire.
Redford English
Variant of Radford. A famous bearer is American actor Robert Redford (1936-).
Redgate English
Habitational name from any of several places called Redgate such as Redgate in Uppingham (Rutland) recorded as le Redegate in 1290... [more]
Redgrave English
From the name of a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England, derived from Old English hrēod meaning "reed" or rēad "red", and græf meaning "pit, ditch" or grāf "grove"... [more]
Redmayne English, Irish
Derived from Redmain, a small hamlet in Cumbria, England. It is named with Old English rēad meaning "red" and Welsh main meaning "rock, stone". The name could also be derived from the given name Réamonn, which is an Irish form of Raymond... [more]
Redpath Scottish, English
Habitational name from a place in Berwickshire, probably so called from Old English read ‘red’ + pæð ‘path’. This name is also common in northeastern England.
Rendall Scottish, English
Variant of Randall. Habitational name from Rendall in Orkney. Possibly also an Americanization of Swedish Rendahl.
Renshaw English, Scottish
A habitational surname from any of the so-called or like-sounding places in the United Kingdom. These include Renishaw in Derbyshire, Ramshaw in Durham, the lost Renshaw in Cheshire and Radshaw in Yorkshire... [more]
Reston English
Location name from northern England meaning "brush wood settlement" or place where brush wood, also known as rispe, grew.
Revere English, French, Judeo-Italian
French: variant of Rivière, Rivoire, or Rivier, topographic name for someone living on the banks of a river, French rivier ‘bank’, or habitational name from any of the many places in France named with this word.... [more]
Rex English, German (Latinized)
English: variant of Ricks. ... [more]
Rexford American
American form of German 'Rexforth' thought to mean "kings crossing".
Rexley English
Supposedly meaning "king's clearing" from Latin rex and Old English leah.
Rhine German, French, English, Irish
A habitational name for an individual whom lived within close proximity of the River Rhine (see Rhein). The river name is derived from a Celtic word meaning 'to flow' (Welsh redan, 'flow').... [more]
Rial English
Variant of Royle.
Ribchester English
From the name of a village in Lancashire, derived from the River Ribble and Old English ceaster "fortress, fort" (derived from Latin castrum).
Rich English
Derived from the name of a (former) village in Lincolnshire, England named with the Old English element ric "stream, drainage channel".
Richmond English
Habitational name from any of the numerous places so named, in northern France as well as in England. These are named with the Old French elements riche "rich, splendid" and mont "hill"... [more]
Ridges English
Variant of Ridge.
Ridgeway English
Comes from Middle English 'riggewey', hence a topographic name for someone who lived by such a route or a habitational name from any of various places so named, for example in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, and Staffordshire.
Ridgway English
Variant spelling of Ridgeway.
Riding English
From Old English rydding "cleared land, assart".
Rilo English
Transferred use of the surname derived from the Old English elements ryge (rye) and lēah (wood, clearing, meadow). See also Riley 1.
Rimes English
Originally denoted one who came from the city of Reims in the Grand Est region of France, or a topographic name for someone who lived in a thickly wooded area, derived from Old French ramel (a diminutive of raim) meaning "branch", ultimately from Latin ramus... [more]
Ripple English
From the word ripple. Could mean that they live near a river, lake, brook, stream, or ocean.
Riseborough English
Denoted a person hailing from any of the various places called Risborough, Riseborough or Risbury in England, derived from Old English hrīs meaning "brushwood" and beorg meaning "hill, mound", or from hrīs and burh meaning "fortification"... [more]
Risley English
It means "brushwood clearing".
Ritchings French, German, English
This surname has at least three distinct separate origins. ... [more]
Rivet French, English
French: from a diminutive of Old French rive ‘(river) bank’, ‘shore’ (see Rives).... [more]
Rivette French, English (American, Rare), English (Canadian, Rare)
Topographic name derived from a diminutive of Old French rive, meaning "(river) bank, shore"; see also Rivet.
Robertshaw English
From a lost place derived from the given name Robert and Old English sceaga "thicket, copse".
Rochelle French, English
habitational name from La Rochelle the name of several places in various parts of France especially that in Manche from a diminutive of Old French roche "rock cliff promontory"... [more]
Rochester English
Means "person from Rochester", Kent (probably "Roman town or fort called Rovi"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Mr Rochester, the Byronic hero of Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' (1847).
Rochester English
Habitational name from one of three places in Northumberland called Rochester, with names whose early spellings are very similar and sometimes difficult to distinguish from each other... [more]
Rockwell English
Means "person from Rockwell", Buckinghamshire and Somerset (respectively "wood frequented by rooks" and "well frequented by rooks"). Famous bearers include American illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) and Utah pioneer Porter Rockwell (1813-1878).
Rodd English
Locational name for someone "at the rod" of land, from Middle English rodde. Also could come from the given name Rod, or the parish of Rodd in Herefordshire, England.
Rodham English
From Roddam in Northumberland. The name is thought to have derived from Germanic *rodum, meaning 'forest clearing'.
Rodwell English
Rodwell, a name of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational surname deriving from any one of various places in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Kent, England. In English, the meaning of the name Rodwell is "Lives by the spring near the road".
Rohrlach German (Rare), American
Form a place name, e.g., Rohrlach (Kreis Hirschberg) in Silesia (now Trzcińsko, Poland)
Rollin English, German
English: variant of Rolling.... [more]
Rolston English
English habitational name from any of various places, such as Rowlston in Lincolnshire, Rolleston in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire, or Rowlstone in Herefordshire, near the Welsh border... [more]
Romney English
From a village in Kent derived from Latin rumen "gullet, throat" and Old English ea "river, stream". A famous bearer of the name is American businessman Mitt Romney (1947-).
Romsey English
From the town of Romsey in Hampshire, England. The surname itself is derived from Old English rum meaning "broad", and ey meaning "area of dry land in a marsh."
Rood English
Designating someone who lived near a cross, rood in Middle English
Roome English
Variant of Rome.
Rosco English
Variant of Roscoe.
Roseland English
Americanized form of Norwegian Røys(e)land; a habitational name from about 30 farmsteads, many in Agder, named from Old Norse reysi ‘heap of stones’ + land ‘land’, ‘farmstead’.
Rosemary English
From the plant, meaning "dew of the sea".
Rosemont English
From rose "rose" + mont "mount". Also the name of a town in central California, near Sacramento. In 1880, there were 6 Rosemont families in Indiana.
Rosevear Cornish, English
From the name of a Cornish village near St Mawgan which derives from Celtic ros "moor, heath" and vur "big".
Rosewood English
Denoting someone who came from a rose wood or grove.
Rothwell English
An English surname meaning 'Lives by the red spring"
Roundtree English
Variant spelling of Rowntree.
Routh English
From the village and civil parish of Routh in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England (recorded in the Domesday book as Rutha). The place name may derive from Old Norse hrúedhr meaning "rough shaly ground"... [more]
Rowley English
Anglo Saxon Name- locational, comes from several places in England such as in Devonshire, Yorkshire, County Durham and Staffordshire. It means ' rough wood or clearing', from the Old English 'run' meaning rough and 'leah', meaning clearing in a wood.
Rudel English
Derived from the location of Ryedale or Rydal
Rudyard English
From the location Rudyard (Staffs) which is recorded as Rudegeard in 100 The place-name probably derives from Old English rude "rue" and geard "enclosure yard".
Rugby English
From Rugby, Warwickshire. Originally named *Rocheberie, from Old English *Hrocaburg, 'Hroca's fort', the name was altered due to influence fort Danish settlers, with the second element being replaced with Old Norse byr, 'farm'.... [more]
Rugeley English
From the name of a town in Staffordshire, England, derived from Old English hrycg "ridge" and leah "woodland clearing".
Rule Scottish, English
Scottish name from the lands of Rule in the parish of Hobkirk, Roxburghshire. The derivation is from the River Rule which flows through the area, and is so called from the ancient Welsh word "rhull" meaning "hasty or rushing".... [more]
Rumbelow English
Means "person from Rumbelow", the name of various locations in England ("three mounds").
Rumford English
From the parish of Romford in Essex, England. The name means "the wide ford" from Old English rúm "wide".
Rusby Scottish, English
Alternative spelling of Busby, a parish in Renfrewshire. A name well represented in the Penistone, and Cawthorne districts of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Rushe English, Irish
Variant of Rush
Rushen English
Originally denoted a person who lived near a marsh, noted for its rushes (see Rush). A famous bearer of this surname is the American singer Patrice Rushen (b. 1954).
Rushton English
From the name of various places in England or similar, all derived from Old English risc "rush plant" and tun "enclosure, town".
Ruthven English, Scottish
From the name of a barony in Perthshire, Scotland, which comes from Scottish Gaelic Ruadhainn "Dun uplands".
Rutledge English, Scottish
Origin unknown
Rutt English, German
English: variant of Root.... [more]
Ryall English
From any of several places in England named from Old English ryge "rye" + hyll "hill".
Rycroft English
Derived from Rycroft, in the parish of Birstall, Yorkshire
Ryle English
Habitational name from Royle in Lancashire (see Royle).
Rylo English
Variant of the surname Rilo.
Sainsbury English
Habitational name from the village of Saintbury in Gloucestershire, from the Old English given name Sæwine and burg "fortress, fortification, citadel".
Sale English, French
English: from Middle English sale ‘hall’, a topographic name for someone living at a hall or manor house, or a metonymic occupational name for someone employed at a hall or manor house. ... [more]
Salisbury English
Habitational name from the city in Wiltshire, the Roman name of which was Sorviodunum (of British origin). In the Old English period the second element (from Celtic dun ‘fortress’) was dropped and Sorvio- (of unexplained meaning) became Searo- in Old English as the result of folk etymological association with Old English searu ‘armor’; to this an explanatory burh ‘fortress’, ‘manor’, ‘town’ was added... [more]
Salk English (American)
Likely the English form of Schalk, which means "dweller near a willow tree".
Sallis English
A name for someone who lives where sallows grow - sallows being a type of willow, from the Middle English 'salwe'.
Sallow English (Rare)
Sallow comes from the medieval word for willow tree. It is a location surname.
Salt English
From the name of a town in Staffordshire, derived from Old English sealt "salt" due to its historical mining for salt and alabaster. In some cases, an occupational name for a maker or seller of salt, of the same origin (see Salter).
Salthouse English
From the name of any of the various places in England so-called or somebody who lived or worked in a salthouse, all derived from Old English sealthus "salt facility, storehouse for salt".
Sambourne English
From the name of a hamlet in Warwickshire, England.
Sand English, Scottish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Jewish
From the vocabulary word sand. As a Swedish and Jewish name, often ornamental. Otherwise topographic.
Sandhurst English (Rare)
From Sandhurst, the name of places in the English counties of Kent, Gloucestershire and Berkshire, all of which come from the Old English elements sand "sand" and hyrst "hillock, copse".
Sandwell English
From a place called SANDWELL.
Sankey English, Irish
Habitational name from a place in Lancashire, which derived from the name of an ancient British river, perhaps meaning "sacred, holy." ... [more]
Sappingfield American (Anglicized, Rare)
From the German name "Sappenfeld," a small town in Bavaria, Germany. (Pop. 380.) The town itself is named after an early resident named "Sappo;" in English, the name means "Sappo's Field." The name "Sappo" may mean noble (unconfirmed)... [more]
Sard English, French, Spanish, Italian (Rare)
Denoted a person from Sardinia, Italy.
Satterthwaite English
From a place in England named with Old English sætr "shielding" and Old Norse þveit "pasture".
Saxton English
From the name of a village in West Yorkshire or Cambridgeshire, both derived from the Old Norse given name Saxi or Old English seaxa "Saxon" and tun "enclosure, settlement".
Scales English
Name for a person who lives in a shed.
Scarborough English
From the name of a town in North Yorkshire, derived from the Old Norse byname Skarði and borg "fortress, fortification, citadel".
Scargill English
This ancient surname is of Old Norse origin, and is a locational name from a place called Scargill in Northern Yorkshire, deriving from the Old Norse bird name "skraki", a diving duck, plus the Old Norse "gil", valley or ravine.
Scholes English
Habitational name from any of the places called Scholes or similar in England, all derived from Old Norse skáli "hut, shed".
Scotford English
Derived from Scotforth, the name of a village near Lancaster (in Lancashire) in England. The village's name means "ford of the Scot(s)" and is derived from Old English Scott "Scot" combined with Old English ford "ford".
Scotland English
(i) "person from Scotland"; (ii) "person from Scotland or Scotlandwell", Perth and Kinross; (iii) from the Norman personal name Escotland, literally "territory of the Scots"
Scroggins English
Derived from Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood", given to someone who lived near a bushy area, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a prickly personality.
Scroggs English
From Middle English scrogge meaning "brushwood".
Seaborg English, Swedish (Americanized)
English cognate of Sjöberg, as well as the Americanized form. Glenn T. Seaborg (1912-1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements.
Seabridge English
It means "sea bridge".
Seaforth English
The name of a projection of the sea on the east coast of Lewis, on the Long Island, Scotland. Means "the forth of the sea".
Seagrave English
Habitational name from a place in Leicestershire, recorded in Domesday Book as Satgrave and Setgrave; probably named from Old English (ge)set meaning "fold", "pen" (or sēað meaning "pit", "pool") + grāf meaning "grove" or græf meaning "ditch".
Seamark English
Derived from any of several places in France called Saint-Marc.
Seddon English
"Broad hill" in Old English. A surname that most occurs in Merseyside, and Lancashire.
Sedgwick English
Habitational name from Sedgwick in Cumbria, so named from the Middle English personal name Sigg(e) (from Old Norse Siggi or Old English Sicg, short forms of the various compound names with the first element "victory") + Old English wic "outlying settlement", "dairy farm"; or from Sedgewick in Sussex, named with Old English secg (sedge) + wic.
Sedon English
Variant of "Seddon"
See English, German
Topographic name for someone who lived by the sea-shore or beside a lake, from Middle English see meaning "sea", "lake" (Old English sǣ), Middle High German sē. Alternatively, the English name may denote someone who lived by a watercourse, from an Old English sēoh meaning "watercourse", "drain".
Selbey English
Variant of Selby.
Selden English
Habitational name derived from Seldon in Hatherleigh, Devon, and possibly also Selden Farm in Patching, Sussex. The former likely derives from Old English sele "great hall, dwelling, house" (see saliz) and dun "hill, mountain".
Selfridge English
habitational name from an unidentified minor place called with Old English scelf "shelf" and hrycg "ridge".
Semer English
From the village of Semer in Suffolk.
Sensabaugh American
Americanized form of German Sensenbach, a topographic name formed with an unexplained first element + Middle High German bach ‘creek’.
Sercombe English
Derived from Sharracombe, a former settlement in Devon, England, derived from Old English cumb "valley, hollow" and an uncertain first element – possibly scir "shire, district" or the related scīrgerēfa "sheriff".
Settle English
From the town of Settle in Yorkshire, England.
Severn English
From the name of the River Severn, which is of unknown meaning. The Severn is Great Britain's longest river, flowing from Wales through much of western England to the Bristol Channel. It is one of Britain’s most ancient river names, recorded as early as the 2nd century AD in the form Sabrina; its original meaning may have been "slow-moving" or "boundary".
Sewell English
Habitational name derived from any of several places called Sewell, Showell, Sywell, Sowell, or Seawell, all derived from Old English seofon "seven" and wille "well, spring".
Sewick English
Derived from Sedgwick.
Seymer English
Variant of Seymour, or from the village of Semer in Suffolk.
Shackleford English, Medieval English
Locational surname deriving from the place called Shackleford in Surrey, near the town of Farnham. The origin of "shackle" is uncertain. It could be derived from Old English sceacan "to shake"... [more]
Shackleton English
The place name probably means "valley by a point of land," from the Old English scacol + denu. Another source claims the word scacol, describes a "tongue of land."
Shade English, Scottish
Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary, from Old English scead "boundary".
Shadwell English
English surname meaning "By the shed spring"
Shallcross English
Means "person from Shallcross", Derbyshire ("place by the Shacklecross", an ancient stone cross in the High Peak, its name perhaps denoting a cross to which people could be shackled as a penance).
Sharpton English
Habitational name from Sharperton in Northumberland, possibly so named from Old English scearp "steep" and beorg "hill", "mound" and tun "settlement".
Shattuck English
A locational name from a family in Chaddock, a hamlet in the parish in Lancashire, England. Also a variant of Chadwick.
Shear English
From Middle English schyre "pure, bright, fair", denoting someone who was beautiful or with fair hair. It could be a habitational name for someone from Shere in Surrey, of the same origin.
Sheard English
English surname which was originally from a place name meaning "gap between hills" in Old English.
Sheffield English, English (British)
A surname which named after an city in England.... [more]
Sheldon English, English (American)
From an Old English place name meaning "valley with steep sides".
Shelley English, Irish (Anglicized)
Habitational name from any of the three places called Shelley (Essex Suffolk Yorkshire) or from Shelley Plain in Crawley (Sussex)... [more]
Shenton English
"Beautiful town" in Old English. Parishes in Leicestershire, and Cheshire.
Sherrell English
This surname is of English locational origin, from the place in Devonshire called Shirwell. The placename is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sirewelle, and by 1242 as Shirewill... [more]
Sherwood English
From a place name meaning "bright forest", derived from Old English scir meaning "bright" and wudu meaning "tree, wood".
Shewell English
Variant of Sewell, possibly influenced by the Middle English word shewel "scarecrow".
Shipley English (Rare)
English: habitational name from any of the various places, for example in Derbyshire, County Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire, Sussex, and West Yorkshire, so called from Old English sceap, scip ‘sheep’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
Shipton English
From Old English scip "sheep", and tun "enclosure; settlement".
Shircliff English
Habitational name from Shirecliff in Sheffield (Yorkshire) from Old English scir "bright" and clif "cliff bank".
Shoat English (American)
Variant of Choate
Shockley English
(i) perhaps "person from Shocklach", Cheshire ("boggy stream infested with evil spirits"); (ii) perhaps an anglicization of Swiss German Schoechli, literally "person who lives by the little barn"
Shore English
From the Old English word scora meaning "the land along the edge of an ocean, sea, lake, or river; a coast."