Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
HarrisWelsh A combination of the Welsh adjective 'hy', meaning 'bold' or 'presumptuous' and the common Welsh personal name 'Rhys'. This surname is common in South Wales and the English West Country and has an official Welsh tartan... [more]
HavardWelsh Meaning uncertain. It may be derived from the name of the city of Hereford in England or the port city of Le Havre in France.
HaverfordWelsh, English Haverford's name is derived from the name of the town of Haverfordwest in Wales, UK
HayEnglish, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Frisian Scottish and English: topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosure, Middle English hay(e), heye(Old English (ge)hæg, which after the Norman Conquest became confused with the related Old French term haye ‘hedge’, of Germanic origin)... [more]
HealyIrish Southern Irish: reduced form of O’Healy, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÉilidhe ‘descendant of the claimant’, from éilidhe ‘claimant’, or of Gaelic Ó hÉalaighthe ‘descendant of Éaladhach’, a personal name probably from ealadhach ‘ingenious’.
HenceGerman, English, Welsh An American spelling variant of Hentz derived from a German nickname for Hans or Heinrich or from an English habitation name found in Staffordshire or Shropshire and meaning "road or path" in Welsh.
HenleyEnglish, Irish, German (Anglicized) English: habitational name from any of the various places so called. Most, for example those in Oxfordshire, Suffolk, and Warwickshire, are named with Old English héan (the weak dative case of heah ‘high’, originally used after a preposition and article) + Old English leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’... [more]
HennellyIrish From the Irish Ó'hIonnghaile, itself "descendant of (a variation of) Fionnghal" (fionn, "white, fair"; gall, "stranger")... [more]
HennesseeIrish A variant of the traditionally Irish surname Hennessey or Hennessy, an Anglicization of Ó hAonghusa meaning "‘descendant of Aonghus".
HestonEnglish, Irish Derived from Heston, a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England (historically, it was located in the county of Middlesex). It is named with Old English h?s meaning "brushwood" and tun meaning "farmstead, settlement"... [more]
HewtonIrish I can only date it back to Armagh County, Ireland in the early 1800s.
HoodEnglish, Scottish, Irish English and Scottish: metonymic occupational name for a maker of hoods or a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive hood, from Middle English hod(de), hood, hud ‘hood’. Some early examples with prepositions seem to be topographic names, referring to a place where there was a hood-shaped hill or a natural shelter or overhang, providing protection from the elements... [more]
HoyleWelsh, English Derived from Old English holh meaning "hole". It is thought to have originally been a name for someone who lived in a round hollow or near a pit.
HusseyEnglish, Irish As an English surname, it comes from two distinct sources. It is either of Norman origin, derived from Houssaye, the name of an area in Seine-Maritime which ultimately derives from Old French hous "holly"; or it is from a Middle English nickname given to a woman who was the mistress of a household, from an alteration of husewif "housewife"... [more]
HussieEnglish, Irish Variant of Hussey. A notable bearer is American webcomic author/artist Andrew Hussie (1979-).
JagoCornish A patronym, Jago is the Cornish for James/Jacob but is most commonly found as a surname. It’s use as a surname dates back to the early 13th Century.... [more]
JenksEnglish, Welsh English (also found in Wales) patronymic from the Middle English personal name Jenk, a back-formation from Jenkin with the removal of the supposed Anglo-Norman French diminutive suffix -in.
JoinesWelsh While the ancestors of the bearers of Joines came from ancient Welsh-Celtic origins, the name itself has its roots in Christianity. This surname comes from the personal name John, which is derived from the Latin Johannes... [more]
KaneIrish, Norwegian From the anglicized Irish surname Cathan, meaning "warlike." In Norway, it's used as a noble name.
KarterBreton Breton form of Carter. This was the birth surname of Breton-French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), who is known for discovering the gulf of St. Lawrence.
KeirnanIrish Gaelic form of Keirnan is Mac Thighearnain, which is derived from the word tighearna, meaning "lord." First found in County Cavan, Ireland.
KeirseyIrish Topographic name of Norman origin name dating back to the 13th century.
KelleherIrish From Gaelic Ó Céileachair meaning "son of Céileachar". The Irish given name Céileachar means "companion-dear", i.e., "lover of company".
KenwynCornish (Rare) This surname is derived from the name of a town and river in Cornwall, England (called Keynwynn in Cornish). It is said that the name is derived from Cornish keyn meaning "back, keel, ridge" and gwynn meaning "white, fair, blessed."
KenyonEnglish, Welsh Kenyon is a surname from Wales meaning "a person from Ennion's Mound"
KidneyIrish Surname translated from Irish surname Duane to English Kidney Mainly found in County Cork. Original Irish clan name is Ó Dubháin.
KidwellWelsh, English The origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be derived from Middle English kidel "fish weir", denoting a person who lived by a fish weir or made his living from it, or from an English place called Kiddal, probably meaning "Cydda's corner of land" from the Old English given name Cydda and halh "nook or corner of land".
KilcommonIrish Indicated a person who was from Kilcommon, Erris, County Mayo in Ireland. The place name Kilcommon derives from the Gaeltacht phrase Cill Chomáin, meaning "church of St. Comán."
KileyIrish, English Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic "O' Cadhla" meaning "son of Cadhla". Cadhla means meaning graceful or beautiful; hence, "descendant(s) of 'the graceful one'".
KilgallenIrish Kilgallen comes from the Irish name Mac Giolla Chaillin, meaning the son of a servant or devotee of St. Caillin.
KilleenIrish From the Gaelic name Ó Cillín meaning "descendant of Cillín".
KirwanIrish From Gaelic Ó Ciardhubháin meaning "descendant of Ciardhubhán", a given name composed of the elements ciar "dark" and dubh "black" combined with a diminutive suffix.
KneenManx Manx cognate of the Gaelic surname Mac Niadháin, itself derived from the Gaelic personal name Nia meaning "champion." It may also be a corruption of the surname McNiven (Anglicized form of Mac Cnáimhín).
KnowlesIrish As an Irish surname it is an anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Tnúthghail meaning "descendant of Tnúthgal", a given name composed of the elements tnúth "desire, envy" and gal "valor".
KyneIrish From Gaelic Ó Cadháin meaning "descendant of Cadhán", a byname meaning "barnacle goose".
LackeyIrish Lackey was originally a name for a horse servant.
LaffeyIrish, Scottish Reduced anglicisation of Gaelic Ó Laithimh, which is derived from the earlier form Ó Flaithimh, and from flaitheamh meaning "ruler".
LaheyIrish Lahey and Leahy originate from two different Gaelic surnames. Lahey, Lahy, Lahiff, Lahiffe, Laffey, and Lahive all originate from the Gaelic surname O Laithimh, which itself is a variant of O Flaithimh... [more]
LahiffeIrish (Rare) From Irish Ó Laochdha meaning "descendant of the hero" or "descendant of the heroic", ultimately from laoch "warrior, hero".
LalorIrish Lalor is an Irish surname derived from the Irish Ó Leathlobhair, from leath- “leper; weak, ailing person”
LaveryIrish, Northern Irish From the Gaelic Ó Labhradha, "descendants of Labhradha" (speaker, spokesman, the father of Etru, chief of the Monagh of the Irish over-kingdom of Ulaid); the name of an ancient family originating from Magh Rath (present-day Moira, County Down, Northern Ireland)... [more]
LawlerIrish, Scottish This Irish surname is of Gaelic language origin. The surname derives from the original Gaelic 'O'Leathlobhair' meaning 'descendant of leathlobhair'. Leathlobhair derives from 'Leath' meaning 'Half' and 'Lobhar' meaning 'leper'.... [more]
LeckeyScottish, English, Irish Originally Scottish, but also found in England, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Possibly derives from the barony of Leckie (meaning "place of flagstones", from Gaelic leac, "flagstone") in Stirlingshire.
LehaneIrish Lehane (Irish: Ó Liatháin) is an uncommon Irish surname, typically from County Cork. Ó Liatháin is more frequently anglicized as Lane or Lyons. The surname is also found in County Donegal where it was also anglicized from the Ulster branch of O'Liathain into Lehane, Lane, Lyons,and Lawn.
LehighGerman, Irish Derived from a Native American word "Lechauwekink", meaning "where there are forks in the stream". Variant of Lechau .
Le PenBreton Le Pen is a Breton surname meaning "the head", "the chief" or "the peninsula".
Le TallecBreton Tallec derives from talek which means someone with a large forehead in Breton.
LeydonIrish (Anglicized, Modern) His name was commemorated in numerous place-names, such as Lugdunum (Celtic *Lugudūnon, "fort of Lugus"; modern Lyon, France), capital of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis... [more]
LivingstoneScottish, Irish, Jewish Scottish: Habitational name from a place in Lothian, originally named in Middle English as Levingston, from an owner called Levin (Lewin), who appears in charters of David I in the early 12th century.... [more]
LlewysWelsh Original Welsh form of "Lewis" used by the former Royal Family of Wales. Most people with the surname "Lewis" derive from the Royal Family. Very few people still have the surname "Llewys," but it is not unheard of.
LomasEnglish, Scottish, Scottish Gaelic Variant spelling of "Lomax", meaning a steam pool devoted from Lumhalghs, Lancs. Also variant spelling of "Lennox", meaning Elmwood in Gaelic.
LomasneyIrish From Gaelic Ó Lomasna meaning "descendant of Lomasna", a byname from lom "bare" and asna "rib".
LoughreyIrish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Luachra "descendant of Luachra", a personal name derived from luachair "light". The name is often translated, Rush from a Gaelic homonym, luachair meaning "rush".
MacConallScottish (Anglicized, Rare), Irish (Anglicized, Rare) Anglicized form of Scottish and Irish Gaelic Mac Conaill 'son of Conall', the personalized name composing of the elements con, which is an inflected form of cú 'wolf' + gal 'valor'. Giving the ultimate meaning due to variegated spellings of this specified name, is "Battle-Wolf of High Valor."
MacduffScottish Gaelic From the ancient Scottish Gaelic Mac duib meaning "son of the black/dark man." This name may have originated as a ethnic term about the native Scots used by Viking conquestors during the later half of the First Millenium... [more]
MacgintyIrish Patronymic surname from the original Irish Gaelic form 'mac an tsaoi' meaning "son of the scholar". Notable namesake is Irish rugby player AlanLeon "AJ" MacGinty.
Mac Giolla ChudaIrish Meaning ‘son of the servant of (Saint) Chuda’, a personal name of unexplained origin. This was the name of a 7th-century abbot-bishop of Rathin in County Westmeath.... [more]
Mac Giolla IasachtaIrish Means "son of the strange youth", from Irish Gaelic iasachta "loan" "foreign", hence denoting to a boy who transferred to another family for fosterage, a common custom in ancient Ireland.
MacgrathIrish First found in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.... [more]