SpeerGerman, Dutch, English from Middle High German Middle Dutch sper "spear" hence a nickname for a tall thin person or else for a skilled user of the hunting spear... [more]
SpoorsEnglish, Dutch Metonymic occupational name for a maker of spurs, a lorimer, from Middle Dutch spore, Middle English spore, spure ‘spur’.
SpringerGerman, English, Dutch, Jewish Nickname for a lively person or for a traveling entertainer. It can also refer to a descendant of Ludwig der Springer (AKA Louis the Springer), a medieval Franconian count who, according to legend, escaped from a second or third-story prison cell by jumping into a river after being arrested for trying to seize County Saxony in Germany.
SpruijtDutch Means "sprout" in Dutch, originally a nickname for a young person or a descendant of a wealthy, powerful or important family.
SpruytDutch Variant of Spruijt. This surname is especially common in Belgium.
StaalDutch (Modern) From Middle High German stal meaning "steel". May have been a occupational name, for a steelworker or blacksmith.
StaleyBelgian From Old French estalee "fish trap", hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman, or topographic name for someone who lived near where fish traps were set.
StarGerman, Dutch, Jewish, English German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from German Star, Middle High German star, ‘starling’, probably denoting a talkative or perhaps a voracious person.... [more]
St AubinFrench Either a habitational name from any of several places in France called Saint-Aubin (from the dedication of their churches to Saint Albinus), or else a nickname with Saint as an (ironic) prefix to the personal name or surname Aubin.
StekelenburgDutch Derived from Middle Dutch stekel meaning "prickle, stickle, spine, spike" and burg meaning "fortress". A famous bearer is the retired Dutch soccer goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (1982-).
SteketeeDutch Dutch (Zeelandic) surname, from the biblical Greek word στήκετε (stekete) meaning "stand (firm)", reportedly referring to a religious (Protestant or French Huguenot) background of the first bearer(s).
SterkenDutch, English Means "strong". Derived either from the Old English term sterċan, meaning "to make rigid", or from the Old Saxon sterkian and Old High German sterken, both meaning "to strengthen."
StevenScottish, English, Dutch, Low German From the personal name Steven, a vernacular form of Latin Stephanus, Greek Stephanos "crown". This was a popular name throughout Christendom in the Middle Ages, having been borne by the first Christian martyr, stoned to death at Jerusalem three years after the death of Christ... [more]
StockardScottish Gaelic, Dutch Scottish: occupational name for a trumpeter, Gaelic stocaire, an agent derivative of stoc ‘Gaelic trumpet’. The name is borne by a sept of the McFarlanes.... [more]
StormEnglish, Low German, Dutch, Scandinavian Nickname for a man of blustery temperament, from Middle English, Middle Low German, storm, Old Norse stormr "storm".
StrickerGerman, Low German, Dutch Occupational name for a rope maker or knitter (of hose, for example), from an agent derivative of Middle High German, Middle Low German stricken ‘to tie’.
StrijbisDutch It means noble and kind hearted. Someone with the last name Strijbis is usually someone who frequently does good deeds.
StryckerDutch From Dutch de Strycker, an occupational name for someone responsible for measuring out cloth or grain. See also Stryker.
StrykerDutch From Dutch Strijker, an occupational name for someone whose job was to fill level measures of grain by passing a flat stick over the brim of the measure, thus removing any heaped excess... [more]
SubercaseauxFrench, Spanish (Latin American) The Subercaseaux family is a Chilean family of French descent. They became well known during the 19th century due to their wealth amassed in Norte Chico. They have played a very significant role in Chilean mining, winemaking, politics and arts.
SullyFrench, Haitian Creole from any of the various places called Sully for example in Calvados Loiret Saone-et-Loire and Oise. The first of these is recorded in 1180 as Silleium from the Gallo-Roman personal name Silius or Cilius and the Latin locative element acum... [more]
SysBelgian (Modern) No actual idea as to origin except it is Belgian from Flanders region.
TabakDutch Occupational name for a butcher or hog breeder, from Middle Dutch tucbake, from tucken meaning "to pull, push, or strike" + bake meaning "hog".
TalbertEnglish, French From a continental Germanic personal name composed of the elements tal "valley" and berth "bright".
TallonEnglish, Irish, Norman, French English and Irish (of Norman origin), and French from a Germanic personal name derived from tal ‘destroy’, either as a short form of a compound name with this first element (compare Talbot) or as an independent byname... [more]
TanguayFrench, English From a personal name, a contraction of Tanneguy, from Breton tan meaning 'fire', and ki meaning 'dog', which was the name of a 6-th century Christian saint associated with Paul Aurelian.
TaponFrench From the old French word tapon, meaning "cork". Hence this surname was first given to corks makers.
TardifFrench, French (Quebec) From Latin tardivus, "slow". Given its unusually frequency as a family name and derivatives like Tardieu or Tardivel, it may have been a medieval given name.
TautouFrench, Occitan Derived from French tatou meaning "armadillo". It may have originally been given to a person who resembled an armadillo in some way. A famous bearer is the French actress and model Audrey Tautou (1976-).
TellinghuisenDutch Unexplained; possibly a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place.
TempleEnglish, French Occupational name or habitational name for someone who was employed at or lived near one of the houses ("temples") maintained by the Knights Templar, a crusading order so named because they claimed to occupy in Jerusalem the site of the old temple (Middle English, Old French temple, Latin templum)... [more]
TemplierFrench French cognitive and variant of Temple given to someone who wa a member of the Templar order.
Ten BoomDutch Means "at the tree" in Dutch. A notable bearer of this surname was Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983), a German woman who helped Jewish people take refuge into her home during the Second World War.
TeneyckDutch Topographic name for someone who lived by a prominent oak tree, Middle Dutch eyk. This has been a prominent family name in Albany, NY, area since the 1630s.
TerrienFrench Topographic name from an adjectival derivative of terre "land", denoting someone who lived and worked on the land, i.e. a peasant. It is Americanized frequently as Landers, and occasionally as Farmer.
TessierFrench Occupational Name For A Weaver, From Old French Tissier (From Late Latin Texarius, A Derivative Of Texere ‘To Weave’). It Is Also Found In England As A Surname Of Huguenot Origin. Compare Tacey.
TimmGerman, Dutch, English English: probably from an otherwise unrecorded Old English personal name, cognate with the attested Continental Germanic form Timmo. This is of uncertain origin, perhaps a short form of Dietmar... [more]
ToupinFrench, Breton, Norman nickname from Old French toupin "spinning-top". in rare instances in the south probably from Old Occitan toupin "small earthenware pot" used as a metonymic occupational name for a potter.
TourvilleFrench The name Tourville is a very old, and in one case, very famous name. One of the Marshall's of France was named Anne Hilarion de Cotentin de Tourville. This reads: Anne Hilarion of/from Cotentin, Comte (Count) of Tourville... [more]
ToussaintFrench Derived from the given name Toussaint, which in turn is derived from Toussaint, the French name for the Christian feast day All Saints' Day (celebrated on November 1st every year)... [more]
TrezeguetFrench Meaning uncertain, possibly an occupational name derived from Old French treize, treze meaning "thirteen" and guet (itself from Old French gué) meaning "look-out, watch, vigil"... [more]
TubervilleFrench Tuberville May be related to the surname Turbeville which is a derivation of the original de’ Turberville which derives from old French Thouberville, ville meaning town, place or residence (from Latin villa).
UytdehaageDutch Means "from The Hague", a city in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It could also mean "from the hedge". Both etymologies are derived from Dutch uit meaning "out, of, from" and Middle Dutch hage meaning "hedge, bush"... [more]
ValléeFrench topographic name for someone who lived in a valley from Old French valee "valley" (from Latin vallis) or a habitational name from (La) Vallée the name of several places in various parts of France... [more]
ValleraFrench French: habitational name from Vallery in Yonne, once a Romano-Gallic estate, recorded in 1218 as Valerianus. The surname is also found in the British Isles and may be of Norman origin, from the same place.
ValletFrench, English French topographic name from a diminutive of Old French val "valley" (see Val ) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallet the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France and French and English occupational name for a manservant from Old French and Middle English vallet "manservant groom".
ValoisFrench topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, or a habitational name from any of the various places called Val(l)ois, or regional name from the district in northern France so called, which was once an independent duchy... [more]
Van AgtDutch Means "from Acht", a small village within the city of Eindhoven in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch acht, achte meaning either "eight" or "preserve, lordly possession, legal district"... [more]
Van AmerongenDutch Means "from Amerongen", a town in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Van ArkDutch Habitational name from a place called Ark in Gelderland.
Van BeekDutch Like Verbeek and Van de(r) Beek, the family name Van Beek can indicate a place of residence on a certain stream, the name for a narrow and shallow (clear and sometimes erratic) water stream, or in a village or hamlet that leads to a stream... [more]
Van BeethovenFlemish Means "from the beet fields". A famous bearer of this name was German Clasical composer Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827).
Van BlankenbergDutch, Belgian Habitational name from any of various places so called, in particular in Hennef and Gelderland, or from Blankenberge in West Flanders, Belgium.
Van BoxtelDutch The family name Van Boxtel indicates origin from the North Brabant place Boxtel, written around 1110 Buchestelle, and later in the Middle Ages, among others, Bucstelle and Boextel.... [more]
Van BreukelenDutch Means "from Breukelen", a town in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, itself derived from Old Dutch bruoc meaning "marsh, marshland, wetland" and lētha meaning "excavated, canalised watercourse"... [more]
Van BronckhorstDutch Means "from Bronckhorst", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, itself derived from Dutch brink meaning "edge, slope, village green" and horst meaning "overgrown hillock" or "higher located brushwood"... [more]
Van BurgenDutch Comes from the Middle Dutch word "burch," or "burg," meaning a fortified town. The prefixes "Van" and "den" mean "from" and "the" respectively. Thus this surname means "from the hill". As such, it may have been topographic name for someone who lived by a citadel or walled city; or, it may have been a habitational name
Van BuskirkDutch The name is made up of two Dutch words: "bos," meaning "woods," and "kerk," meaning "church." The characteristic Dutch prefix "van" literally means "from," and thus the surname indicates "one from the church in the woods."
Van De KerkhofDutch Means "from the churchyard", derived from Middle Dutch kerke meaning "church" and hof meaning "court, garden, yard". Famous bearers of this surname include twin brothers René and Willy Van De Kerkhof (1951-), both retired Dutch soccer players.
Van De LeestDutch Possibly an allusion to the shoemaker's profession, whether or not through a house name 'De Leest', which may have been the name of a shoemaker's building. A last is a (wooden) shape over which shoes are formed.
Van De MarkDutch Topographic name for someone who lived by a border or boundary, from Middle Dutch marke, merke meaning "boundary", "borderland".
Van Den BroekDutch The family name Van den Broek is derived from a toponym with the component Broek, for example a farm name that owes its name to its location near a Broek, a name for a swampy terrain.
Van Der GraafDutch Dutch toponymic surname. Although graaf is a Dutch noble title similar to "count", here it refers to an old term for a canal with the same origin in the verb graven ("to dig") as gracht and grave.
Van Der HeijdenDutch The family name Van der Heijden indicates that the original name bearers inhabited a settlement or a farm located near an area or a heathland that was known as 'de Heide'.
Van Der KooiDutch name for someone from either of two places, De Kooi in South Holland or De Kooy in North Holland.
Van Der LeijDutch Derived from Dutch lei meaning "slate" (effectively meaning "from the slate"), indicating that the original bearer of this name may have come from a place where slate was produced.
Van Der LoopDutch Topographical name for someone who lived by a waterway, Middle Dutch lo(e)pe, in particular a waterway called De Loop in North Brabant.
VandermastDutch Topographic name for someone from a place rich in animal fodder, for example acorns.
Van Der MerweDutch, South African While the name is currently very common in South Africa, it originates in Holland, literally meaning "From the Merwe". The first van der Merwes hail from the Merwede river. The name went to South Africa with the Dutch settlers in 1652.
van der MostDutch Topographic name for someone who lived in a place where moss grew.
VanderpanDutch Means "of the bannner" meaning most likely indicates ancestry of high-ranking occupation.
VanderpoolDutch Means, from the pool. It was a topographic name for someone who lived by a pool or pond, derived from the Dutch word POL. The name is also spelt POHL, POL, POLL, POLS, Van den POLL and POLMAN.
Van Der SteenDutch, Belgian Habitational name for someone from any of various minor places called Steen or Ten Stene (from steen meaning "stone"), for example in the Belgian provinces of East Flanders and Brabant.
Van Der VeldeDutch Meaning "of the field" from Dutch van -"Of"- der - "The"- and veld - "field".
Van Der WaalDutch Toponymic surname of Dutch origin. The original bearer of the name may have lived or worked at or near a "wal": a river embankment, quay, or rampage.
Van Der ZandenDutch Literally means 'From the sand', most likely given to someone who lived near sand grounds. It originated in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.
Van DeusenDutch Habitational name for someone from the German town of Deusen, north of Dortmund, in North Rhine-Westphalia near the Dutch border.
Van de VeldeDutch A toponymic name meaning "from the field" in Dutch.
VandykeDutch Topographic name for someone living near a dyke or levee. Dykes are common structures for keeping lands dry in the low lying Netherlands. ... [more]
Van DyneDutch Habitational name for someone from Duinen in Gelderland.
Van EckDutch Means "from Eck", a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.