ABOUTFrench It is a french surname that comes from the french word 'about', meaning "an extremity of a metallic or wooden element or piece." This surname is notably born by the French novelist Edmond François Valentin About... [more]
ABREOFrench, Italian Abreo or its variant Abreu comes from the French Alfred (alf = Elf; fred = conseil). The meaning is wise counselor.... [more]
ALBINETFrench Derived from the medieval French masculine given name Albinet, which was a diminutive (as the -et suffix indicates) of the given name ALBIN.... [more]
ANOUILHFrench From Catalan anull, meaning "slow worm". It is originally a nickname given to a spineless and slow person. The French author Jean Anouilh is a famous bearer of this surname.
ARCHEAMBEAUFrench The name Archambeau is derived from the Latin personal name 'Arcambaldus'. In turn the name 'Arcambaldus', is derived from the Germanic word 'Ercan', which means precious in Germanic, and 'bald', meaning bold and daring.... [more]
ARIESEnglish, French The name means either a person who worked in a fashion of the "Arras" cloth, as in the quotation "one bede Coveringe of Aries" (1562), or someone who was a former inhabitant of Arras in France, or Arras in Yorkshire; the latter being a particularly popular source of the name.
ARMAND PILONFrench Armand is the original surname, and it is a French modification from a German surname. The original being Hartmann, that spelled by a francophone becomes Armand.... [more]
AROUETFrench A famous bearer was French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778), whose birth name was François-Marie Arouet.
ARQUETTEFrench From arquet meaning "little bow" or "little arch" (diminutive of arche, from Latin arcus). It was originally an occupational name for an archer, but the French word arquet(te) is also found in the sense 'market trader' (originally, perhaps, one with a stall underneath an arch)... [more]
ATENFrisian, Dutch The Frisian name Aten means "Noble Wolf". The name was probably given to lesser lords. As noble would mean nobility. As wolf was always a symbol of a warrior, or hunter. Usually Nobles who were also warriors, were lesser lords... [more]
AUBINEFrench (Rare) Derived from the medieval French feminine given name Aubine, which was the French form of ALBINA. But in other words, you could also say that Aubine was the feminine form of AUBIN.
AUBINETFrench (Rare) Derived from the medieval French masculine given name Aubinet, which was a diminutive (as the -et suffix indicates) of the given name AUBIN.... [more]
AUBUCHONFrench (Modern, ?) The Aubuchon name is French, but of uncertain origin. It is probably from the patronymic prefix au + buchon, a dialect term for a woodcutter (Standard French bûcheron).
AUCLAIRFrench Patronymic from the personal name CLAIR or the nickname Leclair (‘the cheerful one’): (fils) à Leclair ‘(son) of Leclair’. It has also absorbed cases of Auclerc (from LeClerc).
AUDELINFrench Variant of ODELIN, which is not to be confused with ODELÍN as it is Spanish while the other one is French, though they could have similar origins in name.
AUDETFrench Southern French nickname from Gascon dialect audet "bird", variant of standard Occitan ausèl (modern French oiseau).
AUTRYEnglish, French A habitational name from any of the places in France named Autrey or Autry. French: from the Old French personal name Audry, from Germanic Aldric ‘ancient power’.
AYOTTEFrench It means 'small hedge' or 'small woody plot of land' in Old French.
BAACKNorth Frisian, Dutch Either from a reduced form of the Germanic personal name Baldeke (a short form of any of the compound names with the first element bald ‘bold’, for example Baldewin) or from Middle Low German baec, bake ‘pork’, ‘bacon’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a butcher or pig farmer.
BABELFrench Either (i) from the medieval French personal name Babel, apparently adopted from that of St Babylas, a 3rd-century Christian patriarch of Antioch, the origins of which are uncertain; or (ii) an invented Jewish name based on German or Polish Babel "Babylon".
BACONEnglish, French, Norman An occupational surname for someone who sold pork, from Middle English and Old French bacun or bacon, meaning 'bacon', which is ultimately of Germanic origin. Can also be derived from the Germanic given names Baco, Bacco, or Bahho, from the root bag-, meaning 'to fight'... [more]
BALLOUHaitian Creole, French (Caribbean), French The Ballou name comes from that Medieval landscape of northwestern France known as Brittany. The name Ballou was originally derived from the family having lived in Brittany, where this distinguished family was established from ancient times... [more]
BARILFrench During the middle ages, when people were named after their given job, Baril was what winemakers and brewers were named. Baril simply means "Barrel" or "Keg"
BARNOItalian, Ukrainian, French, Ancient Aramaic, Russian The surname Barno was first found in the north of Italy, especially in Tuscany. The name occasionally appears in the south, usually in forms which end in "o," but the northern forms ending in "i" are much more common... [more]
BARONEnglish, French From a title of nobility derived from Old French baron of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly from Frankish barō meaning "servant, man, warrior". It was used as a nickname for someone who worked for a baron or for a peasant with ideas above their station.
BARREAUFrench Possibly a variant of Barreur, an agent derivative of barrer ‘to bar’, ‘to close or block off’, hence possibly an occupational name for a jailer or doorkeeper.
BARRIEREFrench Occupational name for a gatekeeper, from Old French barier.
BARRINEAUFrench The history of the Barrineau family goes back to the Medieval landscape of northern France, to that coastal region known as Normandy. Barrineau is a habitation name, derived from the place name Barrault, in Normandy.... [more]
BARZILAIJDutch, Jewish Dutch form (or "dutchization", if you will) of BARZILAI via BARZILAY. This name is found exclusively in the Dutch-Jewish community, and is considered quite rare: there were only 112 bearers in 1947 and only 51 bearers in 2007.
BASCÖURTFrench The Bascourt or Bascur surname is from France, from that place dates the beginning of the surname, however the French of previous centuries had no records of that surname. ... [more]
BASTIATFrench Meaning of this name is unknown. Possibly derived from SEBASTIAN The surname Bastiat was first found in Poitou, where this family held a family seat since ancient times.
BAUDRICFrench (Rare) Derived from the medieval French given name Baudric, which was a variant form of Baldéric, the French form of Baldric.
BAUDRYFrench Derived from the medieval French given name Baudry, which was a variant form of Baudric, a given name that itself was a variant form of Baldéric (see Baldric)... [more]
BAUMFREEDutch, American, African American This name is clearly derived from Sojourner Truth, a former African-American slave who was born as Isabella Bomefree (but at some point the surname was changed to the more German-looking Baumfree). Although Sojourner's original owners - James and Elizabeth Bomefree/Baumfree - were apparently of Dutch descent, it is questionable whether the surname is really of Dutch origin... [more]
BAYEnglish, French, Dutch Derived from Middle English and Old French bay, bai and Middle Dutch bay, all meaning "reddish brown". It was originally a nickname for someone with a hair color similar to that.
BEAUCHAMPEnglish, French From the name of various places in France, for example in Manche and Somme, which was derived from Old French beu, bel meaning "fair, lovely" and champ, champs "field, plain".
BEAUFAYFrench (Rare) In most cases, this surname is a locational surname that most likely took its name from the village of Beaufay, which is nowadays located in the Sarthe department of France. The village was called Bello Faeto, Bellofaido and Belfaidus during the Early Middle Ages, ultimately deriving its name from Latin bellus fagus (or bellum fagetum) meaning "beautiful beech tree(s)" or "beautiful beech woodland"... [more]
BEAUREGARDFrench Habitational name from any of various places in France named Beauregard for their fine view or fine aspect, for example in Ain, Dordogne, Drôme, Lot, and Puy-de-Dôme, from beau "fair, lovely" and regard "aspect, outlook".
BEAUREGARDEFrench Variant of BEAUREGARD used by one of the main characters in Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as well as its film and broadway adaptations.
BEAUSÉJOURFrench (Rare) Literally means "beautiful sojourn", derived from French beau "beautiful, nice, fine" and French séjour "sojourn, short stay". As such, this surname is most likely a locational surname, in that it originally referred to a scenic place to sojourn in... [more]
BEAUVAISFrench From French place names derived from "beautiful sight".
BECQUERELFrench A notable bearer was French scientist Henri Becquerel (1852-1908) who discovered radioactivity. A becquerel (Bq), the SI unit for radioactivity, is named after him.
BEEREnglish, German, Dutch, German (Swiss) Habitational name from any of the forty or so places in southwestern England called Beer(e) or Bear(e). Most of these derive their names from the West Saxon dative case, beara, of Old English bearu ‘grove’, ‘wood’ (the standard Old English dative bearwe being preserved in Barrow)... [more]
BEETHOVENDutch, Flemish Combination of beeth 'beetroot' and hoven, the plural of Hof, meaning 'farm'. Beethoven is therefore 'beetroot farms'. There is a village named Betthoven in the province of Liège.
BÉGONFrench Probably from French béguin "(male) Beguin", referring to a member of a particular religious order active in the 13th century, and derived from the surname of Lambert le Bègue, the mid-12th-century priest responsible for starting it... [more]
BEIJERINGDutch The name Beijering Probably comes from the other but wider spread Dutch surname, Meijering. There is'nt much info I was able to find about both surnames except that there are many diferent forms of the surname like: Beije, Beijerink, Beijeringh, Beijer, Meijer, Meijerink, Meijeringh, etc... [more]
BERGSMADutch The surname Bergsma had orinally been German. It was then taken over to Holland possibly in the sixteenth century.... [more]
BERNADOTTEFrench, Swedish Possibly from the name of a historical province in Southern France named Béarn. This was originally a French non-noble surname. French general Jean Baptise Bernadotte (1763-1844) became the king of Sweden as Charles XIV John (Swedish: Karl XIV Johan) in 1818 and founded the current royal house in Sweden, House of Bernadotte.
BERNOULLIFrench French patronymic surname that was derived from the first name Bernoul (which was probably derived from Bernold or Bernolf).
BÉRUBÉFrench Habitational name from some minor place named with Old French belru "beautiful stream", with the subsequent pleonastic addition of bé, variant of bel "beautiful".
BETHENCOURTFrench, English, Portuguese (Rare) BETTENCOURT and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
BETTENCOURTFrench, English, Portuguese (Rare) Bettencourt and BETHENCOURT are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
BEVIERFrench (Germanized) From Old French bevier, meaning "a measure of land". This was probably a nickname for someone who owned or worked such a piece of land. This surname was first found in Austria, where the name Bevier came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging medieval society.
BITENCOURTPortuguese (Brazilian), French (Rare), English BITENCOURT, derives from Bittencourt, Bettencourt and Bethencourt; They are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
BLACHERFrench Mainly used in Southern France. Topographic name for someone who lived by an oak grove, originating in the southeastern French dialect word blache ‘oak plantation’ (said to be of Gaulish origin), originally a plantation of young trees of any kind.
BLANKDutch Dutch and German nickname for a man with white or fair hair or a pale complexion, from Middle Low, Middle High German blanc "bright", "shining", "white", "beautiful", Middle Dutch blank "fair", "white".... [more]
BLANKENBILLERDutch Habitational name from a place called Blankenbijl or similar.
BLASIUSGerman, Dutch, Scandinavian From the Latin personal name Blasius. This was a Roman family name, originating as a byname for someone with some defect, either of speech or gait, from Latin blaesus "stammering" (compare Greek blaisos "bow-legged")... [more]
BLAZERDutch from Middle Dutch blaser ‘blower’, hence an occupational name for a player of the trumpet or other wind instrument, or a nickname for a braggart or boaster
BLEECKERDutch Occupational name for a bleacher of textiles, a launderer, or the owner of a public bleaching ground.
BLEEKERDutch Occupational name for a bleacher of textiles, from Middle Dutch ble(e)kere.
BLEIBERGDutch Habitational name from a place so named in Luxembourg province, Belgium.
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.
BOLLARDFrench From a personal name composed of the Germanic elements boll "friend", "brother" + hard "hardy", "strong".
BONFrench, Hungarian As a French surname, it is derived from Old French bon meaning "good", or occasionally from the Latin given name BONUS (borne by a minor 3rd-century Christian saint martyred at Rome with eleven companions under the Emperor Vespasian... [more]
BONALFrench This is a surname formed from the Latin root "bonus" (= good) and the Germanic "wald" (waldan = govern). Bonwald meaning good governor.
BONNEMAISONFrench Literally means "good house", derived from French bonne "good" and French maison "house". As such, this surname is most likely a locational surname, in that it originally either referred to someone who lived in a good house (probably more like a mansion) or to someone who was born in (or lived in) the place Bonnemaison, which is nowadays located in the Calvados department of France... [more]
BONNINFrench Derived from a diminutive of BON, it is also found in the island of Mallorca and Turin, Italy.
BONSORFrench Bonsor is from French origin mean good day Bon soir
BONUSFrench, German, Dutch Humanistic Latinization of vernacular names meaning ‘good’, for example French Lebon or Dutch de Goede
BOOMHOUWERGerman, Dutch Boomhouwer, means "Cutter of Trees", or "The one who hews trees", having Boom translating into "tree", houw meaning to "hew" or to "cut", and er meaning "the one who".... [more]
BOOTEnglish, Dutch, German English: metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of boots, from Middle English, Old French bote (of unknown origin).... [more]
BOOTSEnglish, Dutch, German A variant of BOOT meaning "shoemaker" in English or "boatman" in Dutch or German.
BOOTZDutch A Dutch surname meaning a "nickname for a ridiculous person" or a variant of BOOT
BOSWELLFrench (Anglicized) "The name Boswell is an Anglicization of the name of a French village: Boseville (Beuzeville)". This was a village of 1400 inhabitants near Yvetot, in Normandy. (from “A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames”, by Charles W. Bardsley, New York, 1901)... [more]
BOUDREAUXFrench Variant of BEAUDREAU. Originated in ancient area known as Languedoc, where the family was established. Comes from having lived in Languedoc, where the name was found since the early Middle Ages.
BOURBONFrench The Bourbons were one of the most important ruling houses of Europe . Its members were descended from Louis I, duc de Bourbon from 1327 to 1342, the grandson of the French king Louis IX (ruled 1226-70)... [more]
BOURGUIGNONFrench Derived from Bourgogne, the French word for Burgundy, a historical territory and a former administrative region of east-central France. It originally denoted a person from Burgundy.
BOUVIERFrench Occupational name for a herdsman, from Old French bouvier, Late Latin boviarus, a derivative of bos, genetive bovis "ox."
BOVARYFrench It is the surname of the famous fictional character Emma Bovary protagonist of Gustave Flaubert's novel.
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.
BOYERFrench Means "Ox Gaurd," "Ox Leader", and/or "Boy". Origin is French.
BRAILLEFrench Braille is a writing system used by people with vision impairment. It was named after its inventor LOUIS Braille (1809-1852).
BRANCHEFrench From Old French branche meaning ‘branch’ (which is from Late Latin branca meaning ‘foot’, ‘paw’), the application of which as a surname is not clear. Compare BRANCH.
BRAQUEFrench Surname of cubist artist Georges Braque.
BRASDutch, Low German Dutch and North German: from Old French and Middle Dutch bras ‘arm’. This was probably a descriptive nickname for someone with some peculiarity of the arm, but the word was also used as a measure of length, and may also have denoted a surveyor.
BRASSEURFrench French and English (of both Norman and Huguenot origin): occupational name for a brewer, from Old French brasser ‘to brew’. See also BRASHER.
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
BRIGGSEnglish, Flemish This surname is a variant of the more common name BRIDGES, which, contrary to appearances, has two possible origins, one the perhaps obvious English topographical or occupational one, and the other locational, from Belgium... [more]
BROOKGerman, Dutch Topographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, from Low German brook, Dutch broek (cf. BRUCH).... [more]
BRUGMANDutch, Swiss Dutch: topographic name for someone who lived near a bridge or a metonymic occupational name for a bridge keeper, from Dutch brugge ‘bridge’ (see BRIDGE); in some cases, it is a habitational name for someone from the Flemish city of Bruges (or Brugge), meaning ‘bridges’... [more]
BRUINDutch From a medieval Dutch nickname meaning "brown", from Middle Dutch bruun "brown", making this a cognate of German BRAUN, English BROWN and Italian BRUNO... [more]
BRUNSFrench Bruns was first found in Poitou where this noble family held a family seat since ancient times. The Bruns surname derives from the French word "brun," meaning "brown"; possibly a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in the color brown.
BRUSSEFrench Topographic name for someone living in a scrubby area of country, from Old French broce meaning "brushwood, scrub". It is also occupational name for a brush maker, from Old French brusse meaning "brush".
BURGEREnglish, German, Dutch Status name for a freeman of a borough. From Middle English burg, Middle High German burc and Middle Dutch burch "fortified town". Also a German habitational name for someone from a place called Burg.
BURNETTEFrench Descriptive nickname from Old French burnete ‘brown’ (see BURNETT). Possibly also a reduced form of Buronet, from a diminutive of Old French buron ‘hut’, ‘shack’.
CABANISSFrench Variant spelling of Cabanis, a habitational name from any of various places in Gard named Cabanis, from Late Latin capannis ‘at the huts’, ablative plural of capanna 'hut'... [more]
CADEROUSSEFrench, Literature A character in the classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. In the novel, Caderousse is a tailor and inkeeper who aids in the arrest of Dantès.
CADILLACFrench From the name of a city in France, of origin I am not sure of (anyone who knows the name's etymology edit this). This is most notably the name of the car company of the same name, named after Detroit, Michigan founder Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac.
CAMPIONNorman, French English (of Norman origin) and French: status name for a professional champion (see CHAMPION, KEMP), from the Norman French form campion.
CARAMELLEFrench Name given to a chalumeau player, derived from the old French chalemel, calamel or chalemie, which in turn were derived from the Latin word calamus meaning "reed". Italian variations of the surname are: CARAMELLA, Caramelli, Caramello (diminutive: Caramellino) and Caramelo.
CARREFrench French (Carré): from Old French carré "square", applied as a nickname for a squat, thickset man.
CARRELFrench French: from Old French quar(r)el ‘bolt (for a crossbow)’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of crossbow bolts or a nickname for a short, stout man. The word also meant ‘paving slab’, and so it could also have been a metonymic occupational name for a street layer... [more]
CARTIERFrench, Norman Original Norman French form of CARTER. A notable bearer was Breton-French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), who is known for discovering the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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]