Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
GeeIrish, Scottish, English, French Irish and Scottish: reduced form of McGee, Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Aodha ‘son of Aodh’ (see McCoy). ... [more]
GeesonIrish This unusual name is the patronymic form of the surname Gee, and means "son of Gee", from the male given name which was a short form of male personal names such as "Geoffrey", "George" and "Gerard"... [more]
GillanIrish The Gillan surname is a reduced Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaoláin, which means "son of the servant of St Faolán." While the name may have originated in Ireland, this line was extant by the beginning of the 17th century, only to find many of the family to return to Ireland about 100 years later with the Plantation of Ulster.... [more]
GillespieScottish, Irish Gillespie can be of Scottish and Irish origin. The literal meaning is "servant of bishop", but it is a forename rather than a status name. The Irish Gillespies, originally MacGiollaEaspuig, are said to to be called after one Easpog Eoghan, or Bishop Owen, of Ardstraw, County Tyrone... [more]
GlissenEnglish, Irish Possible British version of the Irish surname Glasson from the the Gaelic word O’Glasain. Meaning green from the counties of Tipperary.
GodolphinCornish From Godolphin, in Cornwall; alternatively, a patronymic from the rare given name Dolfin.
GormleyIrish (Anglicized) Anglicised form of Ó Gormghaile meaning "descendant of Gormghal," Gormghal, a personal name, being derived from gorm meaning "noble, (dark) blue" and gal meaning "valour, ardour."
GourkuñvBreton Breton combination of gour and kuñv meaning "a charming, affable, gentle or conciliatory man". The digraph -ff was introduced by Middle Ages' authors to indicate a nasalized vowel.
GribbenIrish This surname is of Old Gaelic origin, and is a variant of "Cribben", which itself is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "MacRoibin", meaning "son of (mac) Robin", a patronymic from the Anglo-Norman French given name "Robin"... [more]
GriffinIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized (part translated) form of Gaelic Ó Gríobhtha "descendant of Gríobhtha", a personal name from gríobh "gryphon".
GriscomWelsh from phrase gris-y-cwm, welsh for 'steps of the valley'. Root word 'grisiau' meaning steps or stairs. A place name from an extant village in Wales.
GroganIrish Derived from the native Gaelic O'Gruagain Sept that was initially located in County Roscommon but which became widely dispersed. The name is derived from a Gaelic word meaning 'fierceness'.
GuinanIrish The surname Guinan comes from the Irish surname O Cuanain (O'Conein and MacConein) and is derived from the Irish Cuinin for "rabbit", son of Dugal. They claim descendancy through the Donnelly line of the native Irish.
GuthrieScottish, Irish As a Scottish surname, this is either a habitational name for a person from the village of Guthrie near Forfar, itself from Gaelic gaothair meaning "windy place" (a derivative of gaoth "wind") and the locative suffix -ach, or alternatively it might possibly be an Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mag Uchtre meaning "son of Uchtre", a personal name of uncertain origin, perhaps related to uchtlach "child".... [more]
GuynesWelsh Welsh. Derivitive of Gwynn. Modified in the 19th century when the family came to the United States.
GwennBreton From the given name Gwenn, also "Gwenn" mean white in breton
HaganIrish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÁgáin "descendant of Ógán", a personal name from a diminutive of óg "young".
HaganIrish Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAodhagáin "descendant of Aodhagán", a personal name formed from a double diminutive of Aodh meaning "fire".
HallinanIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÁilgheanáin "descendant of Áilgheanán", a pet form of a personal name composed of old Celtic elements meaning "mild, noble person".
HamillIrish According to MacLysaght, a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÁdhmaill "descendant of Ádhmall", which he derives from ádhmall "active".
HamnerWelsh Variant spelling of "Hanmer", parish in Flintshire.
HanafinIrish Shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAinbhthín (modernized as Ó hAinifín) ‘descendant of Ainbhthín’, a personal name derived from ainbhíoth ‘non-peace’, ‘storm’.
HaneyIrish Derived from the Gaelic name Ó hEighnigh
HanleyIrish Means “descendant of Áinle.” Derived from “O’Hanley,” an anglicized form of “Ó hÁinle,” ultimately from Gaelic “ainle” meaning “beauty, grace.”
HanlonIrish Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAnluain "descendant of Anluan", a personal name from the intensive prefix an- and luan "light", "radiance" or "warrior". Occasionally it has been used to represent Hallinan.
HanmerWelsh A Welsh topographical surname, deviring from 'Hand', a cock, and 'Mere', a lake. A parish in Flintshire, now Wrexham.
HareIrish (Anglicized), English (American) Irish (Ulster): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÍr, meaning ‘long-lasting’. In Ireland this name is found in County Armagh; it has also long been established in Scotland.... [more]
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]
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]
HennahCornish From a Cornish place name which possibly means "easeful valley" from Middle Cornish *hueth "easeful" and *tnou "valley".
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".
HerrickIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó hEirc "descendant of Erc", a byname meaning "speckled, spotted".
HestonEnglish, Irish Derived from Heston, a suburban area in West London (historically in Middlesex), or Histon, a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. It is either named with Old English hǣs meaning "brushwood" and tūn meaning "farmstead, settlement, estate", or from hyse "shoot, tendril, son, youth" and tūn... [more]
HewtonIrish I can only date it back to Armagh County, Ireland in the early 1800s.
HilleryEnglish, Irish Variant of Hillary. This surname has long been established in the county of Clare in Ireland. It was borne by the Irish president Patrick Hillery (1923-2008).
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]
HowleyEnglish, Irish English habitational name from Howley in Warrington (Lancashire) or Howley in Morley (Yorkshire). The Lancashire name also appears as Hooley and Wholey while the Yorkshire placename comes from Old English hofe "ground ivy... [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.
JudgeEnglish, Irish occupational name for an officer of justice or a nickname for a solemn and authoritative person thought to behave like a judge from Middle English Old French juge "judge" (from Latin iudex from ius "law" and dicere "to say") which replaced the Old English term dema... [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"
KewishScottish, Manx The surname Kewish was first found in on the Isle of Uist, in the Hebrides in Scotland, which is named for the Irish King, Colla Uais who was deposed in Ireland by Muedach Tireach and was banished with 300 of their principal chiefs to the Hebrides in 327 A.D. They became known as the kingdom of Ailech and gave birth to the kindred of St... [more]
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 Reduced anglicisation of Gaelic Ó Laithimh, itself derived from the earlier form Ó Flaithimh, ultimately from flaitheamh meaning "ruler". It could also be a variant of Leahy.
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".
LallyIrish A shortened form of Mullally, an anglicised form of Ó Maolalaidh. A famous bearer includes James Lally, an Irish landowner and politician from Tuam, County Galway.
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]
Le BrasBreton Altered form of Breton Ar Brazh meaning "the great, the imposing" or "the big, the fat", ultimately from Proto-Celtic *brassos "great, violent".
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.
LeducFrench, Breton From the Old French title of rank duc "duke" (from Latin dux "leader" genitive ducis) with the French masculine definite article le used as a nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces or else as a metonymic occupational name for a servant employed in a ducal household.