HeeDanish, Norwegian, Dutch A Danish habitational name from any of several places named from a word meaning ‘shining’ or ‘clear’, referencing a river.... [more]
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 Either 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]
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.
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.
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.
HeuvelDutch Means "hill" in Dutch, the name of several locations.
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.
HoebekeDutch, Flemish A habitational name meaning "high brook", from Old Dutch hō "high" and beke "brook, stream, creek".
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".
HolleDutch Derived from a short form of given names containing the element hold "friendly, gracious, loyal".
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]
HoogendoornDutch From any of several place names derived from either hoog "high" or haag "hedge" combined with doorn "thorn bush".
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.
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".
KalkGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a lime burner from Middle High German kalc and Middle Dutch calk "lime" (both a loanword from Latin calx).
KampGerman, Dutch, Danish From the Germanic element kamp "field", derived from Latin campus "open space, battlefield".
KamphuisDutch Topographic name for someone who lived near a field, derived from Dutch kamp "enclosed field" and huis "house, home, building".
KanDutch Means "jug, teapot, can" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch kanne "pitcher, tankard, flagon", a metonymic occupational name for a potter, pewterer, or tinsmith.
KapelDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Means "chapel" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived near a chapel (or in a place named after one), or an occupational name for a chaplain.
KatDutch, Frisian, South African, Jewish Means "cat", a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a cat, or a nickname for someone who somehow resembled a cat, perhaps in agility or an independent nature.
KellnerGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, French Means "waiter, cellarman" in German, ultimately derived from Latin cellarium "pantry, cellar, storeroom". This was an occupational name for a steward, a castle overseer, or a server of wine.
KemperGerman, Dutch From Kamp "field, piece of land", an occupational name denoting a peasant farmer. It could also indicate someone from a place named using the element. Alternatively, a variant of Kempf meaning "fighter".
KernGerman, Dutch, Jewish Means "kernel, grain, core" in Dutch, German, and Yiddish (as קערן), an occupational name for a farmer or a nickname for a physically small person. As a Jewish name, it is ornamental.
KesselDutch Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in the Netherlands named Kessel, ultimately derived from Latin castellum "fortress, stronghold, castle". Could possibly also be a variant of German Kexel.
KielDutch From Middle Dutch kidel, kedel "smock", hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who make such garments or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore one. Also a Dutch habitational name from a place so named in Antwerp or from the German city Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein.
KinDutch, Flemish Means "chin", a nickname for someone with a pointed or jutting chin. Alternatively, from kinne "relative, family".
KindGerman, Jewish, Dutch From Middle High German kint, German Kind "child", hence a nickname for someone with a childish or naive disposition, or an epithet used to distinguish between a father and his son. In some cases it may be a short form of any of various names ending in -kind, a patronymic ending of Jewish surnames.
KlaverDutch Means "clover" in Dutch, a topographic name for someone who lived by a field of clovers or a sign depicting them, or an occupational name for a clover farmer.
KlingDutch Occupational surname meaning "blade" in Dutch, referring to a person who made knives. A Dutch cognate of Messer.
KlokDutch From Middle Dutch clocke "bell", an occupational name for someone who made or rang bells, or perhaps for a clockmaker. Compare Van Der Klok and Kloek.
KlompDutch, Low German Means both "lump, block, compact heap" and "clog, wooden shoe" in Dutch, often an occupational name for someone who made such shoes. It could also be a nickname for a stocky or clumsy person, or a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a clog.
KloostermanDutch Derived from Dutch klooster "cloister, monastery" and man "person, man", given to someone who worked for a monastery or lived near one.
KloppGerman, Dutch Habitational name from a place called Kloppe.
KnechtGerman, German (Swiss), Dutch Means "servant, assistant" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a journeyman or male servant derived from Old Germanic kneht meaning "servant, knight" or "youth, boy"... [more]
KnickerbockerDutch (Americanized) Americanized spelling of the Dutch occupational name Knickerbacker "marble baker", i.e., a baker of children's clay marbles. This lowly occupation became synonymous with the patrician class in NYC through Washington Irving's attribution of his History of New York (1809) to a fictitious author named Diedrich Knickerbocker... [more]
KnolDutch Derived from Middle Dutch knolle "tuber, turnip, lump of earth", a nickname for a fat or clumsy person, or an occupational name for a farmer.
KoenenDutch Patronymic from the given name Koen, a short form of names beginning with the element kuoni "brave, bold".
KoopmeinersDutch, German Perhaps derived from koop "purchase, buy" and meiners "mine." An alternate interpretation is that "meiners" could be derived from the German word miner.
KoopsDutch, Low German Patronymic from the given name Koop, a diminutive form of Jakob. Alternatively, a variant of German and Dutch Koop.
KootDutch Possibly derived from Middle Dutch kuut "coot (bird)".
KortDutch Means "short" in Dutch, a nickname for a short person.
KorverDutch Derived from Dutch korf meaning "basket", an occupational name for someone who either made baskets or used them, such as a fisherman.
KrabbeGerman, Dutch, Danish Means "crab, shrimp", either a metonymic occupational name for someone who caught or sold shellfish, or a nickname based on someone’s way of walking.
KroesDutch, Low German Means "chalice, cup, jug" in Dutch, an occupational name for someone who made drinking vessels, such as a potter. Could also be a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a cup.
KrollGerman, Dutch Nickname for someone with curly hair, from Middle High German krol "curly", Middle Low German krulle "ringlet, curl", Middle Dutch croel, crul.
KruisDutch, Flemish Means "cross" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived near a crossroads, a sign depicting a cross, or a place where people were executed. Could also denote someone who made crosses, either the religious symbol or the instrument of torture.
KuesGerman, Dutch (Rare) Habitational name from Cues, now part of Bernkastel-Kues in the Rhineland Palatinate.
KuesDutch (Rare) From Middle Dutch cuse "club, cudgel, knobstick".
KulGerman, Dutch Derived from Old High German kol meaning "coal", perhaps an occupational name for a miner or coal seller.
LakemanDutch Either a topographic name for someone who lived by a lake or pond, from Middle Dutch lake "lake, pool; stream, marshland" and man "person, man", or an occupational name from laken "broadcloth".
LamDutch, North Frisian Means "lamb" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a lamb or a place named for them. In some cases, it may derive from the name of a ship.
LavenderEnglish, Dutch Occupational name for a washerman or launderer, Old French, Middle Dutch lavendier (Late Latin lavandarius, an agent derivative of lavanda "washing", "things to be washed"). The term was applied especially to a worker in the wool industry who washed the raw wool or rinsed the cloth after fulling... [more]
LentEnglish, German, Dutch Nickname from either Old English lencten meaning "spring season, springtime" or from Germanic langa-tinez meaning "long days" which refers to the increasing daylight of spring. Likely a nickname for someone who was born or baptized during springtime.
LichtGerman, Dutch, Yiddish Means "light" or "candle". Could be an occupational name for a chandler, a topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing (see Lichte), or a nickname for someone who had light hair, or who was agile and slender.
LiemDutch Habitual surname for Lieme in Eastphalia, which is from lim meaning "mire".
LiemanDutch From a Germanic personal name composed of liut "people", or possibly liob "dear, beloved", combined with man "person, man" (see Liutman, Liefman).
LindeGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Derived from Middle Hugh German, Dutch linde or Scandinavian lind "lime tree". Almost exclusively ornamental in Swedish, otherwise probably habitational. There are also a number of feminine names containing the element lind, for example Linda, Dietlinde and Gerlinde, and it's possible that the surname is derived from any of those names.
LindenbergGerman, Jewish, Dutch As a German and Jewish name, it is derived from any of numerous places called Lindenberg in Germany, composed of Middle High German linde meaning "lime tree" and berg meaning "mountain, hill"... [more]
LindersDutch Patronymic form of Leonard, or possibly of a Germanic name composed of linta "linden tree, shield, spear" and heri "army".
LindtGerman, Dutch Derived from given names containing the elements lind "tender, mild, gentle hearted" or lind "linden tree, shield"... [more]
LustigSwedish, German, Jewish, Dutch A nickname for a cheerful person, derived from Swedish and German lustig "humorous, funny, enjoyable" or Middle High German lustig "merry, carefree". Usually ornamental as a Jewish surname.
MakerDutch (Rare) An occupational name for someone who makes or repairs things, from Dutch maken "to make, mend, create".
MalinFrench, Flemish From the masculine given name Madalin, a short form of names composed of the Germanic element mahal "council, assembly, meeting" such as Madalbert.
MantelEnglish, German, French, Dutch nickname for someone who wore a cloak in a particularly conspicuous way or with a striking design, from Middle English, Middle High German, Old French, and Middle Dutch mantel "cloak, coat" (from Late Latin mantellus)... [more]
MarkEnglish, German, Dutch Topographic name for someone who lived on a boundary between two districts, from Old High German marka "border, boundary, march". The German term also denotes an area of fenced-off land (see Marker) and, like the English word, is embodied in various place names which have given rise to habitational names.
MarsmanDutch Derived from Middle Dutch marsch, mersch (Southern Dutch meers), meaning "marsh". In some cases, however, it can also be a variant of Meersman.
MasseDutch Derived from Middle Dutch masse "clog; cudgel", this name might have been a metonymic occupational name for someone who wielded a club. In some cases, however, it may also have been a patronymic of Maas.
MastGerman, Dutch Derived from Middle High German and Middle Dutch mast "mast (fodder made of acorns and beechnuts); the process of fattening livestock", an occupational name for a pig farmer or a swineherd. In some cases, however, the German name may also have been derived from Middle High German mast, mastic "fat, stout".
MastDutch Derived from Middle Dutch mast "(ship's) mast; pole", a nickname for a tall, lanky man. Alternatively, it can derive from the homonym mast "pig fodder, animal fodder".
MastinFrench, Flemish, Walloon occupational name for a household servant or guard from Old French mastin "watchdog, manservant" (from Latin mansuetudinus "domestic"). The Old French word had the further sense of a bad-tempered dog and was used as an adjective in the sense of "bad cruel".
MattenFlemish Could derive from a short form of a given name such as Matthias or Mathilde, or be a toponym derived from either Middle High German mata "meadow" or French motte "clod, mound of earth".
MeersmanFlemish An occupational name for a travelling salesman, from Middle Dutch merseman "itinerant merchant, peddler".
MeesterDutch, Flemish, German Occupational name for a teacher, lecturer or a master craftsman, or a nickname for someone who had a bossy demeanor, derived from Dutch meester meaning "master". A famous bearer of this surname is the American actress, singer and model Leighton Meester (1986-).
ModdermanDutch Derived from Middle Dutch modder "mud", this name used to denote a dustman, a garbage man.
MoesDutch Derived from Middle Dutch moes "stew, mush, vegetables, food", either on its own as a nickname for a cook or vegetable farmer, or as a shortened form of a longer name, such as the toponym Moespot "vegetable pot".
MolDutch Means "mole (animal)" in Dutch. Could be a nickname for someone with poor eyesight or who was known for digging, an occupational name for a mole catcher, or a habitational name for someone from Mol in the Antwerp province, Belgium.
MotteFrench, Walloon, Flemish, German from old French motte "motte" a word of Gaulish origin denoting a man-made protective mound or moat surrounding a castle or other fortified strongholds; or a habitational name from any of the various places in France and in Belgium named with this word.... [more]
MullensFlemish A name referring to someone who lived at or by a mill.
MunkGerman, Scandinavian, Dutch, English From Middle High German münich Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish munk Middle Dutch munc "monk" a nickname for someone thought to resemble a monk or a metonymic occupational name for someone in the service of a monastery... [more]
MünsterGerman, Dutch habitational name from any of the places called Münster (in Germany) or Munster derived from Latin monasterium "monastery" or a topographic name for someone living near a monastery.
NanningaFrisian, Dutch, German Derived from the given name Nanne, a short form of Germanic names containing the element nand meaning "daring, brave, courage"... [more]
NassauGerman, Dutch, Jewish From the name of the town of Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (formerly the seat of an independent duchy in the 19th century), derived from Old High German naz meaning "damp, wet" and ouwa meaning "water meadow"... [more]
NeveEnglish, Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish Ultimately derived from Old Germanic nefo "nephew, grandson". In Middle English, it also became a term meaning "wastrel, spendthrift".
NevelsDutch Possibly a variant of Nevens. Coincides with Dutch nevel "fog".
NevensFlemish Derived from Middle Dutch neve "male cousin, nephew, grandson".
NieboerDutch Dutch cognate for Neubauer. epithet for a farmer who was new to an area from nie "new" and bur "farmer".
NiemanDutch Means "new man", a cognate of German Neumann. Can also derive from Middle Dutch nieman "no one, nobody", a byname for an unknown or otherwise nameless person... [more]
NippleAnglo-Saxon, German, Dutch, Germanic, English (American) It could relate to someone who lived near a small hill or mound, as nipple in English can colloquially describe a rounded hilltop. It could also be a variation or corruption of a German or Dutch surname, such as Knippel, Nippel, or Nippold... [more]
NolfFlemish, German Derived from a short form of the personal names Arnolf or Nodolf (a variant of Odolf), or possibly another name ending in wolf "wolf".
NoppeFlemish Possibly related to Middle Dutch noppe "tuft of wool, tassel", a metonymic name for someone who worked with cloth, or a nickname for someone with a slight stature. Alternatively, from a childish form of the given name Norbert.