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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
BrinkLow German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish The 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".
BrinkerGerman, Dutch From the word brink "edge, slope". This indicated that the bearer of the surname lived near a prominent slope of land
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.
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]
BruneauFrench Derived from a diminutive form of French brun "brown", a nickname for a person with brown hair or skin.
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".
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.
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.
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.
CadoretFrench, Breton From an old Breton given name Catuuoret meaning "protector in combat".
CampionNorman, French English (of Norman origin) and French: status name for a professional champion (see Champion, Kemp), from the Norman French form campion.
CapeFrench, English (British) French and English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of capes and cloaks, or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore a cloak or cape, from Middle English and Old Norman French cape ‘cape’, ‘cloak’, ‘hooded cloak’ (in French also ‘hood’ or ‘hat’), from Late Latin cappa, capa, probably a derivative of caput ‘head’ (see Capp)... [more]
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.
CardinalEnglish, French, Dutch, Spanish English, French, Spanish, and Dutch: from Middle English, Old French cardinal "cardinal", a church dignitary (Latin cardinalis, originally an adjective meaning "crucial")... [more]
CardonFrench from the name of several places in southern France called (Le) Cardon. Or from Old Norman French cardon "thistle" (a diminutive of carde from Latin carduus) hence a topographic name for someone who lived on land overgrown with thistles an occupational name for someone who carded wool (originally a process carried out with thistles and teasels) or perhaps a nickname for a prickly and unapproachable person... [more]
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]
CarsinFrench Of debated origin and meaning; theories include a contracted form of Caorsin.
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.
CasanabeFrench CASANABE is a French name meaning New house.
CasavantesFrench, Spanish, Basque Topographic name composed of casa "house" + avant "ahead of forward" + the suffix -es, denoting one who lived in the house located at the beginning of a village. This surname has died out in France.
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]
CastaignèdeFrench Stéphane Castaignède is a French rugby player and coach.... [more]
CastelFrench Topographic name from a derivative of Late Latin castellum "castle" (a diminutive of Latin castrum "fort Roman walled city") or a habitational name from any of several places called (Le) Castel... [more]
CattellAnglo-Saxon, French, Old Norse Originated in Scandinavia as a patronym of the first name Thurkettle, a derivative of the Olde Norse name Arnkell, which is composed of arn meaning "eagle" and ketil meaning "a helmet" or "a helmeted warrior" as well as "cauldron", but helmet is the more likely translation... [more]
CauchonFrench, Norman, Picard Metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of slippers, derived from French chausson literally meaning "slipper".
CaveNorman, French, English A name of various possible origins. As a Norman French name Cave can mean "bald" from cauf or it can mean "worker in a wine cellar" or "one who dwelt in or near a cave". As an English name Cave refers to a Yorkshire river whose fast current inspired the name meaning "swift".
CaylusFrench Of debated origin and meaning; theories include a Southern French corruption of Latin castellum "castle, fort, citadel, fortress, stronghold".
CeriseFrench, Italian Italian habitational name from La Cerise or Torrent-La Cerise placenames in Valle d'Aosta from French cerise "cherry"; and French occupational name from cerise "cherry" (from Latin cerasus) applied as a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or sold cherries.
ChalametFrench Nickname for someone who played the reed or an occupational name for seller of torches, from a regional form of Old French chalemel meaning "reed" or "blowtorch". A notable bearer is American actor Timothée Chalamet (1995-).
ChallonerFrench, Welsh Derived from a town in France of the same name. This family derive their origin from Macloy Crum, of the line of chiefs in Wales, who resided several years in Challoner.
ChampagneFrench regional name for someone from Champagne, named in Latin as Campania (from campus 'plain', 'flat land'). This is also the name of various villages in France, and in some cases the family name may derive from one of these.
ChampionEnglish, French from Middle English Old French campionchampiunchampion "athlete" such as a wrestler or boxer; also "warrior hired to do battle in single combat on behalf of others" (from Late Latin campio genitive campionis a derivative of campus "plain field of battle")... [more]
ChamplainFrench Name given to those who live in or around fields. Known barrer of the name is Samuel de Champlain who founded Quebec, Canada and after whom the lake is named.
ChamplinBelgian, English Means Champion, was a family name in Belgium, a status and influence that was envied by the princes of the region.... [more]
ChapdelaineFrench Compound name derived from Old French chape meaning "hooded cloak, cape, hat" and de laine meaning "of wool", probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such apparel, or as a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive cloak or hat.
ChapelFrench Occupational name for a maker of cloaks or a nickname for a person who wore a distinctive cloak, from a diminutive of Old French chape meaning "cape, cloak".
ChapelleFrench Topographic name for someone who lived near a chapel from French chapelle "chapel" or from several places in France and Belgium called (La) Chapelle and variant of Lachapelle, Capelle, and Chappelle.
ChapinFrench, Spanish From a reduced form of French eschapin or Spanish chapín, a term for a light (woman's) shoe; perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore this type of footwear or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a shoemaker.
ChapuisFrench Occupational name from Old French chapuis "carpenter joiner" a derivative of chapuiser "to cut" (from Late Latin cappulare). Variant of Chappuis.
CharlierFrench, Walloon Occupational name for a cartwright wheelwright from Old French charrelier a derivative of charrel "cart" a diminutive of char "cart carriage".
ChaseFrench Topographic name for someone who lived in or by a house, probably the occupier of the most distinguished house in the village, from a southern derivative of Latin casa "hut, cottage, cabin".
ChâtelainFrench from châtelain "lord (of the manor)" Old French chastelain (from Latin castellanus a derivative of castellum "castle") applied either as a status name for the governor or constable of a castle or as an ironic nickname.
ChaumontFrench Habitational name from any of numerous places called Chaumont "bald mountain" from the elements chalscaux "bald" and mont "mountain" (ultimately from Latin calvusmons) for example in Cher Orne Jura Haute-Savoie.