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.
BonetCatalan, French, Italian From a medieval personal name, a diminutive of bon 'good' or the corresponding nickname. French variant of "Bonnet", and Italian variant of Bonneto
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.
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".
BurdickAnglo-Norman, English, Dutch (Americanized) English (Middlesex) nickname from an unrecorded Middle English burre-dokke ‘burdock’ the name of a prickly plant with burrs and dock-like leaves (usually Arctium lappa) common on waste ground. It may have been given to someone of a prickly temperament or perhaps to someone with a hoarse voice.... [more]
BurelFrench metonymic occupational name for a worker in the wool trade or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in brown from Old French burelborel a diminutive of boure "frieze" a type of coarse reddish brown woolen cloth with long hairs (from Late Latin burra "coarse untreated wool").
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’.
BusDutch Possibly derived from Middle Dutch busse meaning "firelock" or "round box, tin", an occupational name for someone who made containers or firearms.