GuillotinFrench From a diminutive of Guillaume and a variant of Guillot. A notable user is Joseph-Ignace Guillotin whom the guillotine was named after.
GuimondFrench from the medieval French name Guimond from the Germanic name Wigmund composed of the ancient Germanic elements wig "battle combat" and mund "protection".
GuinFrench From the given name Guin the French form of Wino a short form of names with the element win "friend".
GuitryFrench Derived from the given name Witeric. A famous bearer of this name was Sacha Guitry (1885-1957), a French actor, playwright, screenwriter and director.
GuldenDutch, German Means "golden, gilded" or "guilder, florin (coin)", possibly an occupational name for a goldsmith, or a habitational name derived from a house.
GulletteFrench Comes from Guillemme or William of Normandy. Reference 1066: The Battle of Hastings.
GullitDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Possibly derived from Old Dutch golt meaning "gold", most likely referring to a person who worked with gold. The former Dutch soccer player Ruud Gullit (1962-; birth name Rudi Dil) is a famous bearer of this name.
GurneyEnglish, French, Norman Originated from the region Normandy in France, is also a biospheric name from Gournay-en-Bray, a commune in France. It is also a fictional character's maiden name, Jacqueline "Jackie" Bouvier from the animated sitcom show, The Simpsons.
GuyEnglish, French From a French form of the Germanic personal name Wido, which is of uncertain origin. This name was popular among the Normans in the forms Wi, Why as well as in the rest of France in the form Guy.
HagemanDutch Combination of Middle Dutch haghe "hedge, enclosure" and man "man".
HagenGerman, Dutch, Danish from the ancient Germanic personal name Hagen a short form of various compound names formed with hag "enclosure protected place" as the first element.
HagerDutch, North Frisian From a Germanic personal name, either Hager, composed of hag "hedge, enclosure" and heri "army", or Hadegar, from hadu "battle, combat" and gar "spear" or garu "ready, prepared".
HamelDutch Means "wether, castrated ram" in Dutch, an occupational name for a shepherd.
HamelFrench topographic name for someone who lived and worked at an outlying farm dependent on the main village Old French hamel (a diminutive from an ancient Germanic element cognate with Old English ham "homestead"); or a habitational name from (Le) Hamel the name of several places in the northern part of France named with this word.
HarmenszoonDutch Means "son of Harmen" in Dutch, the Dutch form of Herman. This was the other surname for the Dutch painter Rembrandt (1606-1669), the other being Van Rijn.
HässliGerman (Swiss), French (Rare) Swiss German diminutive form of Haas. This is a French surname via Alsace-Lorraine. A notable bearer is French footballer (soccer player) Eric Hassli (1981-).
HazardEnglish, French Nickname for an inveterate gambler, a crafty person, or a brave or foolhardy man prepared to run risks, from Middle English hasard via Old French hasart "dice game, game of chance", later used metaphorically of other uncertain enterprises... [more]
HeeDanish, Norwegian, Dutch A Danish habitational name from any of several places named from a word meaning ‘shining’ or ‘clear’, referencing a river.... [more]
HeemskerkDutch From the name of a small town in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands, possibly derived from the personal name Hemezen (itself possibly a diminutive form of the element heim) combined with kirke "church".
HeerkensDutch Derived from a diminutive form of a given name containing the element heri "army". Alternatively, a variant form of Eerkens.
HegemanDutch Toponymic name derived from Middle Dutch hage "hedge, bush".
HeldGerman, Jewish, Dutch Means "hero" in German, ultimately derived from Middle High German helt. This name was bestowed upon a person either in its literal meaning or else in an ironic sense.
HelderDutch, German, Upper German, English 1. Dutch and German: from a Germanic personal name Halidher, composed of the elements haliò “hero” + hari, heri “army”, or from another personal name, Hildher, composed of the elements hild “strife”, “battle” + the same second element... [more]
HelmEnglish, Dutch, German from Old English helm "protection covering" (in later northern English dialects "cattle shelter barn"). The name may be topographic for someone who lived by or worked at a barn or habitational from a place so named such as Helme in Meltham (Yorkshire)... [more]
HengstGerman, Dutch metonymic occupational name for someone who worked with or bred horses or a nickname for a brave strong man from Middle High German and Middle Dutch hengest "stallion" also "gelding" derived from Old Germanic hangist "stallion"... [more]
HennardFrench From the ancient Germanic personal name Haginhard composed of the elements hag "enclosure protected place" and hard "strong hardy".
HerdDutch Comes from Middle Dutch hert, herte ‘hart’, ‘stag’; probably a nickname for someone who was fleet of foot, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a deer; variant of Heard.
HermèsFrench Either a topographic name for someone who lived in a deserted spot or on a patch of waste land from Occitan erm "desert waste" (from Greek erēmia) and the topographic suffix -ès, or from the given name Hermès.
HeroldEnglish, Dutch, German From the given name Herold. This was the surname of David Herold, one of the conspirators in the Abraham Lincoln assassination plot.
HeronFrench, Caribbean Either derived from the given name Heron, or given to someone who resembled a heron bird.
HerringGerman, English, Dutch, Scottish Occupational name for a fisherman, someone who caught or sold herring, or perhaps someone known for eating herring. It could have also been a nickname from the medieval phrase "to like neither herring nor barrel", meaning something of little value.
HervéFrench, Breton From the Breton given name Hervé or from the ancient Germanic personal name Hariwig, composed of the elements hari "army" and wig "battle"... [more]
HeuvelDutch Means "hill" in Dutch, the name of several locations.
HexspoorDutch Derived from Middle Dutch hicken "to pick, to chop" and spoor "spur", a nickname for a rider who often spurred on their horse.
HeyerGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a grower or reaper of grass for hay, from Middle High German höu "grass, hay" and the agent suffix -er. Could also be a variant spelling of Heier.
HeyerDutch From Middle Dutch heiger "heron", a nickname for someone with long legs. Alternatively, from a Germanic personal name composed of hag "enclosure, hedge" and heri "army".
HickDutch From a variant of the Germanic personal name Hilke, such as Icco or Hikke, a pet form of names beginning with the element hild "strife, battle".
HiemstraWest Frisian, Dutch Derived from West Frisian hiem "home" or the related Dutch Low Saxon hiem "farmstead, homestead" combined with the habitational suffix -stra.
HijnenDutch Either deprived from Heine this short form for Heinrich means "home ruler"... [more]
HoebekeDutch, Flemish A habitational name meaning "high brook", from Old Dutch hō "high" and beke "brook, stream, creek".
HoedDutch Means "hat, cover", an occupational name for a hatmaker.
HoenDutch, German From Middle Dutch hoen "chicken, hen", perhaps a nickname denoting a silly or foolish person, or an occupational name for someone who raised chickens.
HoenDutch, German From the personal name Huno, a short form of names containing the element hun "bear cub, offspring".
HofstedeDutch Means "farmstead, property; farmhouse with land" in Dutch, a compound of Old Dutch hof "yard, court" and stat "place, location, abode, town".
HollierEnglish, French Occupational name for a male brothel keeper, from a dissimilated variant of Old French horier "pimp", which was the agent noun of hore "whore, prostitute". Hollier was probably also used as an abusive nickname in Middle English and Old French.... [more]
HolmanDutch Topographic or habitational name from Dutch hol "hollow, hole" or Middle Dutch heule "arched bridge, weir". It can also derive from the given name Holle, a short form of names containing the element hold "loyal, faithful, gracious".
HoogenboomDutch Means "high tree" in Dutch, from hoog "high" and boom "tree", a topographic name for someone living by a tall tree, or a habitational name from places called Hoogboom and Hogenboom in the Belgian province of Antwerp... [more]
HoogendijkDutch Derived from Dutch hoog meaning "high, elevated" and dijk meaning "dike, ditch, levee", referring to someone who lived near a high dyke or embankment.
HoogendoornDutch From any of several place names derived from either hoog "high" or haag "hedge" combined with doorn "thorn bush".
HoogeveenDutch From any of several places called Hoogeveen, derived from Dutch hoog "high, elevated" and veen "peat bog, marsh".
HooglandDutch A toponoymic or habitational surname meaning "highland", derived from Middle Dutch hooch "high" and lant "land".
HoogteijlingDutch Habitational name from Hoogteilingen, derived from hoogh "high" and the toponym Teijlingen, from Old Dutch *tagla "tail, narrow ridge".
HooijkaasDutch Meaning uncertain, spelling possibly altered by folk etymology.
HopDutch Variant form of Hopp. Alternatively, an occupational name derived from Dutch hop referring to the common hop (Humulus lupus), a kind of plant traditionally used to preserve and flavour beer.
HugoFrench Victor Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. He was also the writer of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and 'Les Misérables'.
HuguenotFrench Meaning uncertain. It could be denoted as a French Protestant who held the Reformed tradition of Protestantism, possibly derived from Middle French eiguenot "Swiss confederate", from Swiss republican Besançon Hugues, or a diminutive form of Hugues, from the same person... [more]
HuismanDutch Literally "houseman", an occupational name for a farmer, specifically one who owned his own farm.
HuitemaDutch Possibly a patronymic form of Hoite, a pet form of names containing the element hugu "mind, thought, spirit", using the Frisian suffix -ma "man of".
HuizingaWest Frisian, Dutch Habitational name from Huizinge, a town in Groningen, Netherlands, possibly derived from Old Frisian hūs "house" and dinge "newly cultivated lands"... [more]
HulshofDutch Habitational name derived from Middle Dutch hul "holly" and hof "court, garden, farmstead".
IlesEnglish (British), French English (mainly Somerset and Gloucestershire): topographic name from Anglo-Norman French isle ‘island’ (Latin insula) or a habitational name from a place in England or northern France named with this element.
ImbertFrench From the medieval French personal name Imbert, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "vast-bright".
JanisseFrench Possibly a respelling of French Janisset, from a pet form of Jan, a variant spelling of Jean, French equivalent of John.
JanmaatDutch Possibly from janmaat, a slang term for a sailor or the collective nautical community, derived from a combination of the common given name Jan 1 and maat "shipmate, sailor; mate, buddy".
JaponFilipino, Spanish, French Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Japan or who had connections with Japan.
JardelFrench Of debated origin and meaning; theories include a derivation from Old French jardel, a diminutive of jard (jardin in Modern French), meaning "garden".
JardinFrench, English Derived from Old French jardin meaning "enclosure, garden", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a garden or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked as a gardener.
JayEnglish, French Nickname from Middle English, Old French jay(e), gai "jay (the bird)", probably referring to an idle chatterer or a showy person, although the jay was also noted for its thieving habits.
JeanpetitFrench Means "little Jean" from Old French petit "small" and the given name Jean 1, originally a nickname for a small man called Jean (or applied ironically to a large man), or a distinguishing epithet for the younger of two men named Jean.... [more]
JereFrench Derived from the personal name Jerome, which is derived from the Greek name Hieronymos, meaning “sacred name.” Jerome was a saint who was known for translating the Bible into Latin.
JobEnglish, French, German, Hungarian English, French, German, and Hungarian from the personal name Iyov or Job, borne by a Biblical character, the central figure in the Book of Job, who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him... [more]
JongbloedDutch Nickname for a young person, derived from Middle Dutch jonc meaning "young" and bloet meaning "blood". A famous bearer of this surname was the Dutch soccer goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed (1940-2023).