Belgian
names are used in the country of Belgium in western Europe.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ABOUT FrenchIt 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] ABREO French, ItalianAbreo or its variant Abreu comes from the French Alfred (alf = Elf; fred = conseil). The meaning is
wise counselor....
[more] ALBINET FrenchDerived from the medieval French masculine given name
Albinet, which was a diminutive (as the
-et suffix indicates) of the given name
ALBIN....
[more] ALDERINK DutchA personal name from an ancient Germanic personal name
Aldheri.
ALNEMY FlemishOnly know relation claims birth in East Flanders. Arabic speakers believe it may be of Syrian or Saudi Arabian origin.
ANOUILH FrenchFrom 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.
APPELMAN DutchOccupational name from Middle Dutch
apelmanger "apple seller".
ARABIE FrenchEthnic name denoting someone from Arabia or an Arabic-speaking person.
ARCHEAMBEAU FrenchThe 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] ARIES English, FrenchThe 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 PILON FrenchArmand 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] AROUET FrenchA famous bearer was French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778), whose birth name was François-Marie Arouet.
ARQUETTE FrenchFrom 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] ATEN Frisian, DutchThe 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] AUBERJONOIS FrenchA French last name meaning "armourer". Actor René Murat Auberjonois is a notable bearer.
AUBINE French (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.
AUBINET French (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] AUBUCHON French (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).
AUCLAIR FrenchPatronymic 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).
AUDELIN FrenchVariant 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.
AUDET FrenchSouthern French nickname from Gascon dialect audet "bird", variant of standard Occitan ausèl (modern French oiseau).
AUKERMAN DutchAmericanized form of Dutch
ACKERMAN. This was a frequent name in New Netherland in the 17th century.
AUTRY English, FrenchA 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’.
AX Dutchoriginally French, used to be
de Ax, meaning "from Ax", several possible places called Ax or Aix or variants.
AXEL Dutch, FlemishHabitational name for someone from either of two places, Aksel in East Flanders or Axel in Zeeland.
AYOTTE FrenchIt means 'small hedge' or 'small woody plot of land' in Old French.
BAACK North Frisian, DutchEither 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.
BABEL FrenchEither (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".
BACON English, French, NormanAn 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] BALLOU Haitian Creole, French (Caribbean), FrenchThe 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] BARBE FrenchNickname for someone with a beard, Old French
barbe (Latin barba).
BARBEAU FrenchDerived from
barbeau meaning "barbel", a type of fish, hence a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman, or a nickname for a man with a sparse beard, the fish being distinguished by beardlike growths on either side of its mouth...
[more] BARIL FrenchDuring 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"
BARNO Italian, Ukrainian, French, Ancient Aramaic, RussianThe 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] BARON English, FrenchFrom 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.
BARREAU FrenchPossibly 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.
BARRIERE FrenchOccupational name for a gatekeeper, from Old French
barier.
BARRINEAU FrenchThe 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] BARZILAIJ Dutch, JewishDutch 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.
BASCÖURT FrenchThe 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] BASTIAT FrenchMeaning 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.
BAUDELAIRE FrenchA French surname, coming from the word "baudelaire", which is a short, broad, and curved sword used in heraldry.
BAUDRIC French (Rare)Derived from the medieval French given name
Baudric, which was a variant form of
Baldéric, the French form of
Baldric.
BAUDRY FrenchDerived 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] BAUMFREE Dutch, American, African AmericanThis 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] BAY English, French, DutchDerived 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.
BEAUCHAMP English, FrenchFrom 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".
BEAUFAY French (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] BEAUREGARD FrenchHabitational 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".
BEAUREGARDE FrenchVariant 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.
BEAUSÉJOUR French (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] BEAUVAIS FrenchFrom French place names derived from "beautiful sight".
BECQUEREL FrenchA notable bearer was French scientist Henri Becquerel (1852-1908) who discovered radioactivity. A becquerel (Bq), the SI unit for radioactivity, is named after him.
BEER English, 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] BEETHOVEN Dutch, FlemishCombination 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.
BÉGON FrenchProbably 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] BEIJERING DutchThe 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] BELLEGARDE FrenchDerived from a toponym, meaning "beautiful watch-tower, look-out".
BERGSMA DutchThe surname Bergsma had orinally been German. It was then taken over to Holland possibly in the sixteenth century....
[more] BERNADOTTE French, SwedishPossibly 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.
BERTHIAUME FrenchFrench: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’ + helm ‘helmet’.
BÉRUBÉ FrenchHabitational name from some minor place named with Old French
bel ru "beautiful stream", with the subsequent pleonastic addition of
bé, variant of
bel "beautiful".
BETHENCOURT French, 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] BETJEMAN DutchOne of the earliest surnames, it derives from the Roman personal name "Benedictus", meaning blessed.
BETTENCOURT French, 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] BEVIER French (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.
BILLEAUD FrenchFrom a personal name composed of the Germanic elements
bil "sword" (or possibly
bili "gentle") +
wald "ruler".
BITENCOURT Portuguese (Brazilian), French (Rare), EnglishBITENCOURT, 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] BLACHER FrenchMainly 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.
BLANK DutchDutch 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] BLASEY FrenchThe name may have been associated with a 4th century (316) French saint Blasius of Armenie (Armienes,) and later introduced into and adopted by Yorkshire people as their saint of wool-combers from a Norman noble.
BLASIUS German, Dutch, ScandinavianFrom 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] BLAZER Dutchfrom 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
BLEECKER DutchOccupational name for a bleacher of textiles, a launderer, or the owner of a public bleaching ground.
BLEEKER DutchOccupational name for a bleacher of textiles, from Middle Dutch ble(e)kere.
BLEIBERG DutchHabitational name from a place so named in Luxembourg province, Belgium.
BODI FrenchThe United State Version of Bodi is an alteration of the French name Baudin. The name also has roots from Hungary.
BOEN DutchOccupational name for a bean grower, from Middle Dutch
bone,
boene "bean".
BOLLAND French, German, EnglishFrom 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 FrenchFrom a personal name composed of the Germanic elements boll "friend", "brother" +
hard "hardy", "strong".
BON French, HungarianAs 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] BONAL FrenchThis is a surname formed from the Latin root "bonus" (= good) and the Germanic "wald" (waldan = govern). Bonwald meaning good governor.
BONNEMAISON FrenchLiterally 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] BONNIN FrenchDerived from a diminutive of
BON, it is also found in the island of Mallorca and Turin, Italy.
BONSOR FrenchBonsor is from French origin mean good day
Bon soir BONUS French, German, DutchHumanistic Latinization of vernacular names meaning ‘good’, for example French Lebon or Dutch de Goede
BOOMGARDEN German, Dutch (?)Either an occupational name for an orchard worker or a topographic name for someone who lives in or by an orchard.
BOOMHOUWER German, DutchBoomhouwer, 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] BOOT English, Dutch, GermanEnglish: metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of boots, from Middle English, Old French bote (of unknown origin)....
[more] BOOTZ DutchA Dutch surname meaning a "nickname for a ridiculous person" or a variant of
BOOT BOSSIER FrenchOccupational name for a cooper, from an agent derivative of Old French
bosse 'barrel'.
BOSWELL French (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] BOUDREAUX FrenchVariant 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.
BOULIER FrenchOccupational name for a maker of balls or the organizer of a game of boules, from French
boule meaning "ball".
BOURBON FrenchThe 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] BOURGUIGNON FrenchDerived 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.
BOUVIER FrenchOccupational name for a herdsman, from Old French
bouvier, Late Latin
boviarus, a derivative of
bos, genetive
bovis "ox."
BOVARY FrenchIt is the surname of the famous fictional character Emma Bovary protagonist of Gustave Flaubert's novel.
BOWDLER Flemish, EnglishOriginally de Boelare it evolved to Bowdler or Bowdle after Baldwin de Boelare came to England in 1105 & was given a lordship over Montgomery, Wales.
BOYER FrenchMeans "Ox Gaurd," "Ox Leader", and/or "Boy". Origin is French.
BRAILLE FrenchBraille is a writing system used by people with vision impairment. It was named after its inventor
LOUIS Braille (1809-1852).
BRANCHE FrenchFrom 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.
BRAS Dutch, Low GermanDutch 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.
BRASSEUR FrenchFrench and English (of both Norman and Huguenot origin): occupational name for a brewer, from Old French
brasser ‘to brew’. See also
BRASHER.
BRAUNERSHRITHER German, Dutch, EnglishThis name mean Leather (Tanned) Knight, or a fighter of leather armor, or in Dutch, Leather writer, one who branded print on leather
BRETON French, EnglishFrench and English: ethnic name for a Breton, from Old French
bret (oblique case
breton) (see
BRETT).
BREVARD FrenchFrench: nickname from Old French bref ‘small’ + the derogatory suffix -ard....
[more] BRIGGS English, FlemishThis 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] BRINK Low German, Dutch, Swedish, DanishThe Dutch and Low German meaning is "village green". In Danish and Swedish, the name is thought to be a borrowing of Middle Dutch brinc / brink, meaning "grassy edge" or perhaps "slope",, and the Danish word now means "where the water runs deep".
BROOK German, DutchTopographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, from Low German
brook, Dutch
broek (cf.
BRUCH)....
[more] BROUWER DutchDutch occupational name for a brewer of beer or ale, Middle Dutch
brouwer.
BROUWERS DutchPossibly means "brewer; brewers" relating to one who brews beer.
BRUGMAN Dutch, SwissDutch: 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] BRUIN DutchFrom a medieval Dutch nickname meaning "brown", from Middle Dutch
bruun "brown", making this a cognate of German
BRAUN, English
BROWN and Italian
BRUNO...
[more] BRUNEAU FrenchDerived from a diminutive form of French
brun "brown", a nickname for a person with brown hair or skin.
BRUNS FrenchBruns 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.
BRUSSE FrenchTopographic 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".
BURGER English, German, DutchStatus 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.
BURNETTE FrenchDescriptive nickname from Old French
burnete ‘brown’ (see
BURNETT). Possibly also a reduced form of
Buronet, from a diminutive of Old French
buron ‘hut’, ‘shack’.
CABANISS FrenchVariant 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] CADEROUSSE French, LiteratureA 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.
CADILLAC FrenchFrom 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.
CAINE French, EnglishOriginally from a French derogatory nickname for someone with a bad temper.
CAMPION Norman, FrenchEnglish (of Norman origin) and French: status name for a professional champion (see
CHAMPION,
KEMP), from the Norman French form
campion.
CANADA French, EnglishIt derives from the Middle English "cane", a development of the Old French "cane", meaning cane, reed.
CANTELOUP FrenchName of several places in France. The surname means "Song of the Wolf" from canta and loup as in "place where the wolves howl".
CAPON FrenchA name for a person who worked as a poultry farmer.