IrelandEnglish, Scottish Ethnic name for someone from Ireland, Old English Iraland. The country gets its name from the genitive case of Old English Iras "Irishmen" and land "land". The stem Ir- is taken from the Celtic name for Ireland, Èriu, earlier Everiu... [more]
IretonEnglish Habitational name from either of two places in Derbyshire called Ireton, or one in North Yorkshire called Irton. All of these are named from the genitive case of Old Norse Íri ‘Irishmen’ (see Ireland) + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.... [more]
IronmongerEnglish From Middle English ire(n)mongere, er(n)mongere meaning "ironmonger; dealer in household goods".
IronsEnglish English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Airaines in Somme, so named from Latin harenas (accusative case) ‘sands’. The form of the name has been altered as a result of folk etymology, an association of the name with the metal... [more]
IronsideEnglish Possibly from Middle English irenside (Old English iren ‘iron’ + side ‘side’), a nickname for an iron-clad warrior.
IshamEnglish The name of a village in Northamptonshire, England from the Celtic name of a local river Ise and the Anglo-Saxon term for a small settlement or homestead -ham.
IvesEnglish Means "son of Ive", a medieval male personal name, brought into England by the Normans but ultimately of Germanic origin, a shortened form of any of a range of compound names beginning with īv "yew" (cf... [more]
IveyAnglo-Saxon, English Anglo-Saxon: Ivey is a variant of the Anglo-Saxon baptismal name Ive. It is the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of "Son of Ive".... [more]
IvoryEnglish Habitational name from Ivry-la-Bataille in Eure, northern France.
JacksEnglish Possibly derived as a diminutive of the given name Jack. A famous bearer is Canadian singer-songwriter Terry Jacks, best known for his 1974 single 'Seasons in the Sun.'
JacobiJewish, English, Dutch, German From the Latin genitive Jacobi ‘(son) of Jacob’, Latinized form of English Jacobs and Jacobson or North German Jakobs(en) and Jacobs(en).
JadwinEnglish "Jadwin" is said to mean "friend of a stonecutter" (Anglo-Saxon jad "stonecutter" + win or "friend.")
JaggardEnglish The name Jaggard is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It was originally a name for someone who worked as a person who tends draughthorses.
JanewayEnglish Derived from Middle English Janaways, the name for someone from the city of Genoa, Italy. A notable fictional bearer is Kathryn Janeway, the captain of starship USS Voyager on the TV-series 'Star Trek: Voyager' (1995-2001).
JanneyEnglish Derived from a diminutive of the Medieval English given name Jan 3. A famous bearer is American actress Allison Janney (1959-).
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.
JaycoxEnglish A patronymic surname from a pet form of the given name Jack.
JaydenEnglish Surname of the fictional character Norman Jayden, a character from the video game Heavy Rain.
JaynesEnglish (British) The Jaynes surname is a patronymic name created from the personal name Jan, which was a Middle English variant of the name John, or as "son of Jan.
JebsonEnglish Meaning "son of Jeb" of uncertain origin but likely English.
JeffreyEnglish From a Norman personal name that appears in Middle English as Geffrey and in Old French as Je(u)froi. Some authorities regard this as no more than a palatalized form of Godfrey, but early forms such as Galfridus and Gaufridus point to a first element from Germanic gala "to sing" or gawi "region, territory"... [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.
JesselEnglish From a pet-form of Jessop (a medieval male personal name - a different form of Joseph). A literary bearer is Miss Jessel, the governess who has charge of the two troubled and enigmatic children in Henry James's ghost story 'The Turn of the Screw' (1898).
JessieEnglish Possibly a variant of Jessey, an occupational name for someone making jesses (a short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry).
JewsonEnglish (British) A patronymic (also potentially matronymic) surname that means "the son of Jull", coming from the element Jull, a diminutive form of the personal name Julian or Juette from Iovis, the Roman god of thunder and the sky combined with the suffix of son.
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]
JocelynEnglish Another of the names brought to England in the eleventh century by the Normans, and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a masculine name only.
JollyEnglish From the English word jolly, which is ultimately from Old French joli# ("merry, happy"). Originally a nickname for someone of a cheerful or attractive disposition.
JoplinEnglish Possibly derived from a Middle English diminutive of Geoffrey, a nickname from Middle English joppe "fool", or from the Biblical name Job... [more]
JordisonEnglish Possibly meaning son of Jordan. This name is surname of American drummer Joey Jordison.
JowettEnglish From the medieval male personal name Jowet or the female personal name Jowette, both literally "little Jowe", a pet-form of Julian... [more]
JoyEnglish Either derived directly from the word, indicating a nickname for a joyous person, or a variant of Joyce.
JoysonEnglish Metronymic of the name Joy from the female given name Joia, deriving from the Middle English, Old French "joie, joye" meaning "joy". It may also be a nickname for a person of a cheerful disposition.
JunkinsEnglish Derived from the Middle English given name Jenkin, which was in turn created from a diminutive of the name John, with the suffix "kin," added to the name.
KeelEnglish English habitational name from Keele in Staffordshire, named from Old English cy ‘cows’ + hyll ‘hill’, or from East and West Keal in Lincolnshire, which are named from Old Norse kjolr ‘ridge’... [more]
KeelerEnglish English: occupational name for a boatman or boatbuilder, from an agent derivative of Middle English kele ‘ship’, ‘barge’ (from Middle Dutch kiel). Americanized spelling of German Kühler, from a variant of an old personal name (see Keeling) or a variant of Kuhl.
KeetonEnglish Habitational name from a place called Ketton in Durham or one in Rutland or from Keaton in Ermington, Devon. The first is named from the Old English personal name Catta or the Old Norse personal name Káti and Old English tūn "settlement"; the second is probably from an old river name or tribal name Cētan (possibly a derivative of Celtic cēd "wood") and Old English ēa "river"; and the last possibly from Cornish kee "hedge, bank" and Old English tūn.
KemptonEnglish From the name of a place in Shropshire meaning "Cempa's town" or "warrior town", from a combination of either the Old English word cempa "warrior" or the byname derived from it and tun "farmstead, settlement".