BergenGerman, Dutch, Flemish, Jewish Originally denoted a person from any of the various places named Bergen in Germany and the Netherlands. It is also a variant of Berg. Famous bearers include the Americans Candice Bergen (1946-), an actress, and Polly Bergen (1930-2014), an actress, singer and television host.
BergeronFrench Diminutive of French berger meaning "shepherd".
BergkampDutch, German From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, derived from Old Dutch and Old High German berg meaning "mountain" and kamp meaning "field". This name is borne by Dutch former soccer player Dennis Bergkamp (1969-).
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.
BerthiaumeFrench French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’ + helm ‘helmet’.
BertinFrench From the given name Bertin a diminutive of the ancient Germanic personal name Berhto a short form of various compound names formed with berht "bright famous".
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".
BesançonFrench Habitational name for a person from the eponymous capital city of Doubs in France, ultimately from Latin Vesontiō, derived from Proto-Celtic *ves "mountain". Folk etymology states that it is associated with the place name with Old French bison "wisent".
BessonFrench, Provençal, Occitan Southern French nickname from Occitan besson "twin" (from Latin bis) or from the various places (Le) Besson in southern France.
BesteFrench, English Nickname from Middle English beste Old French beste "beast animal" (especially those used for food or work) applied either as a metonymic occupational name for someone who looked after beasts such as a herdsman or as a nickname for someone thought to resemble an animal... [more]
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.
BiesheuvelDutch From Biesheuvel, the name of a small village in the north of the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch bies meaning "bulrush, club rush" (a grasslike plant that grows in wetlands and damp locations) and heuvel meaning "hill"... [more]
BigotFrench Either from Old French bigot possibly meaning "beggar" or from the Norman interjection bî got ("by God"), used as a pejorative nickname for the Normans... [more]
BijlDutch Means "axe" in Dutch, a metonymic name for someone who used an axe in their work, such as a woodcutter, shipwright, or butcher. Alternatively, a metronym derived from a short form of Amabilia or Sibilia.
BitencourtBrazilian, Portuguese (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]
BizetFrench Derived from the name “Byset or Bisset”
BlaauwDutch, South African Archaic spelling of Dutch blauw "blue", a nickname referring to the bearer’s eye colour, clothes, or possibly a pale and sickly complexion. It could also be an occupational name for someone who made blue dye, or bluing for laundry.
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.
BlankGerman, Dutch, Jewish Means "white, pale, bright", a nickname for a person with white or fair hair or a pale complexion. As a Jewish name, it’s ornamental.
BlankeGerman, English, Dutch Nickname for someone with a fair complexion. From Old High German blanc meaning "white".
BlankenbijlDutch Means "white axe", from blanken "white, pale; bare" and bijl "axe". Possibly a toponymic name, or perhaps an occupational name for a woodcutter or carpenter.
BlaseyFrench The 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.
BlasiusGerman, French 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, lisping", itself from Ancient Greek βλαισός (blaisos) "bent, crooked; bow-legged".
BlayFrench From Old French bloi 'blond', or a habitational name from a placename, perhaps by metanalysis from Blois in Loir-et-Cher, France. Usually someone with the lastname 'Blay' is a gentle or merry person.
BlazerDutch From Middle Dutch blaser "blower", from blâsen "to blow, to sound (a wind instrument); to brag", hence an occupational name for a player of the trumpet or other wind instrument, or a nickname for a braggart or boaster.
BleauFrench Roughly translated into " blue water".
BleeckerDutch Old form of Dutch bleker "bleacher", an 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.
BlemkerDutch (Americanized) Possibly an Americanized form of an occupational name for a bleacher of textiles, derived from Middle Dutch bleker.
BlesseEnglish (British), Filipino, Indian, French The last name Blesse was first discovered in Oxfordshire and held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. In the Philippines, Blesse means "a blessing in the family." In India, Blesse means "bless you."
BlinkDutch Topographic name from blink "bare hill, white dune".
BlochJewish, German, French Regional name for someone in Central Europe originating from Italy or France, from Polish "Włoch" meaning "Italian" (originally "stranger / of foreign stock"), ultimately derived – like many names and words in various European languages – from the Germanic Walhaz.
BloemDutch Means "flower, bloom" or "flour (of wheat, corn)" in Dutch. Could be a nickname for a pretty or cheerful person, a metonymic occupational name for a florist, gardener, baker or miller, or a habitational name for a person who lived near flowers or a sign depicting them... [more]
BloemenDutch, Flemish Means "flowers, blooms" or "flour" in Dutch. Can be a nickname denoting beauty or a cheerful disposition, an occupational name for a gardener, miller, or baker, or a habitational name for someone who lived near flowers, or a sign depicting them... [more]
BloemendaalDutch Means "valley of flowers", the name of several places in the Netherlands, derived from bloem "flower" and dal "valley, dale". Cognate to German Blumenthal.
BlokDutch Means "block" in Dutch. This could be a nickname for someone with a heavy build, a metonymic occupational name for someone who used a block of wood in their work, such as a shoemaker, a milliner, or an executioner, or a toponymic surname for someone living on an enclosed piece of land.
BlondFrench Nickname from Old French blund, blond meaning "blond, fair-haired", a word of ancient Germanic origin.
BlydenburghFlemish Derived from a habitational name from Blijenberg (formerly Bleidenberg) in Brabant, Belgium. (Also Van Blydenbergh)
BlylevenDutch (Anglicized) Americanized form of Blijleven. Dutch-American former baseball player Bert Blyleven (1951-), born Blijleven, is a famous bearer of this surname.
BodeGerman, Dutch, English, Danish Means "messenger, deliverer, herald; prophet, omen", ultimately from Old Germanic budą. This can be an occupational name, or a patronymic derived from a given name containing the element (see Bothe).
BolDutch From Dutch bol "ball, sphere" or "bun, roll, round piece of bread or pastry", possibly an occupational name for a baker, a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a ball or globe, or a nickname for a bald man, or perhaps a ball player.
BolDutch Derived from the given name Baldo, a short form of names beginning with the element bald "bold, brave”.
BollandFrench, German, English From the Ancient Germanic name Bolland. Alternatively it derive from the place name Bowland from the Old English boga meaning "bow" and land meaning "land".
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.
BonamyEnglish, French Derived from Old French bon ami meaning "good friend".
BonaparteItalian (Rare), French (Rare), Judeo-Italian (Rare), American, Caribbean Variant and French form of Buonaparte, later adopted as a Jewish surname. It has also been adopted in parts of America and the Caribbean by admirers of the notable bearer Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1820), who ruled as Emperor of France from 1804 through 1814 and again briefly in 1815, who was of Italian (Tuscan) ancestry.
BonnefoyFrench The name is derived from the French words bonne, meaning good, and foi meaning faith.
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
BontempsFrench Derived from Old French bon temps meaning "good time". One popular bearer of the name is the American poet and novelist Arna Wendell Bontemps (1902-1973).
BoodaDutch (Rare) Possibly derived from a French surname or place name.
BoomDutch From Old Dutch bom "tree", a nickname for someone tall or robust, or a toponymic surname for someone who lived by a notable tree. It could also be an occupational name for someone who operated a boom barrier
BoomgaardenEast Frisian, Dutch From Dutch boomgaard "orchard", literally "tree garden", an occupational name for an orchard worker or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by an orchard.
BoonstraWest Frisian, Dutch Denoted someone who cam from the town of Oldeboorn, named for the nearby De Boarn river, related to Middle Dutch borne "well, spring, source".
BootGerman, Dutch Metonymic occupational name for a boat builder, sailor, or a ship’s carpenter, from Dutch boot "boat, ship".
BootDutch, German Patronymic form of Bode, derived from either Old High German boto "messenger, envoy" or the related bot "command, order".
BorneDutch Shortened form of the Dutch surname van den Borne, derived from Middle Dutch borne "well, spring, source". A habitational name for someone from Born in the province of Limburg (Netherlands) or from a place associated with the watercourse of the Borre river in French Flanders.
BorneFrench From Old French borgne "one-eyed, blind", a nickname for someone with only one eye, or who had other problems with their vision, such as a squint or cross-eyes.
BornemanDutch Variant of Borne "well, spring, source", with the addition of man "man, person".
BoschmanDutch From Middle Dutch bosch "wood, forest" and man "person, man", a name for someone who lived or worked in a forest.
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 Habitational name for a person mainly from the lordship of Bourbon-l'Archambault in Allier, now a spa town, derived from the Celtic god Borvo, from Proto-Celtic *borvo "froth, foam". It could be from other places containing Bourbon of the same origin.
BouteillerFrench occupational name for a wine steward or butler usually the chief servant of a medieval household or for a maker of bottles from bouteiller an agent derivative of bouteille "bottle"... [more]
BoutetFrench from a pet form of the ancient Germanic personal name Boto a short form of any of various names composed with the element bod "messenger"... [more]
BraafheidDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Means "braveness" in Dutch, derived from braaf meaning "brave, well-behaved, obedient" and the suffix -heid denoting a condition or state of being. This was originally a nickname for a strong or brave person... [more]
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.
BrandhorstGerman, Dutch Possibly derived from brant "fire, torch, sword" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
BrandsDutch, German Patronymic from the given name Brand, derived from Old Dutch brand "fire, sword, torch" or a name containing the element.
BraqueFrench Surname of cubist artist Georges Braque.
BrasFrench, Dutch 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.
BrassardFrench Derivative of bras "arm" most likely applied as a nickname denoting a person with strong arms or perhaps a pugilist.
BrasseurFrench French and English (of both Norman and Huguenot origin): occupational name for a brewer, from Old French brasser ‘to brew’. See also Brasher.
BrettonEnglish, French habitational name from any of the places called from Bretton in Derbyshire and Yorkshire, both of which mean "settlement of the Britons", from Old English brettas "Briton" and tun "enclosure, settlement"... [more]
BrevardFrench French: nickname from Old French bref ‘small’ + the derogatory suffix -ard.... [more]
BridonFrench (Rare) Patronymic surname derived from French bride "bridle, harness", this name used to denote a maker or merchant of bridle, harness or horse-gear and more generally a saddler.
BrieuxFrench From the name of the Brieux commune in the Orne department of northwestern France.
BrinkLow German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish Means "village green" or "hill, slope, edge of a field or steep place". As a Swedish name, it’s ornamental.
BrinkerGerman, Dutch Derived from brink "edge, slope" or "village green", indicating that the bearer of the surname lived near a prominent slope of land or next to the centre of a village.
BrionFrench Refers to any of several places of the same name. Derived from Gaulish briga "height, hill" and the suffix -one.
BrizendineFrench, English, Jewish Derived from a personal name, probably of Celtic origin (Latinized as Britus), which was borne by a 5th century saint, who succeeded St. Martin as bishop of Tours.
BroedersDutch From Middle Dutch broeder "brother, colleague" or "friar, monk, clergyman". Compare the German surname Bruder.
BrueghelDutch, Flemish From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium, for example the village of Breugel in North Brabant. Their names mean "enclosed area, hunting preserve" in Dutch. This was the surname of a Dutch-Flemish family of artists who were influential during the Renaissance period in the Low Countries... [more]
BruggemanDutch, Flemish Means "bridgeman" in Dutch, an occupational name for someone who operated, guarded, or otherwise worked on a bridge. It could also denote someone who lived near a bridge, or who came from the Flemish city of Bruges, which also derives from Old Dutch brugga "bridge".
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".
BudeGerman, Dutch Means "booth, stall" or "hut, small house".
BuffetFrench Occupational name for a maker of furniture, derived from Old French buffet meaning "table, cupboard". It could also be a nickname for an angry and violent man, from Old French buffet meaning "slap in the face"... [more]
BuffettFrench (Anglicized), English Americanised form or a variant of French Buffet, or probably an English variant of Bufford. Famous bearers of this name include the Americans Warren Buffett (1930-), a businessman, investor and philanthropist, and Jimmy Buffett (1946-), a musician.
BuijsDutch Patronymic form of Boso. Alternatively, could derive from Dutch buis "gambeson, jacket" as a nickname for someone who made or wore jackets, or from buis "herring buss, fishing boat" as a nickname for a fisherman.
BuisDutch Means "buss, fishing vessel" in Dutch, a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman. Alternatively, a variant of the patronymic surname Buijs.
BuissonFrench, Haitian Creole (Rare) Topographic name for someone who lived in an area of scrub land or by a prominent clump of bushes from (Old) French buisson "bush scrub" (a diminutive of bois "wood"); or a habitational name from (Le) Buisson the name of several places in various parts of France named with this word.
BuitenhuisDutch Means "country house, building outside of the city" in Dutch, derived from buiten "outside, out of; in the country" and huis "house, home, residence".