Browse Submitted Surnames

This is a list of submitted surnames in which the usage is English or American.
usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Brugger German, American
South German variant or Americanized spelling of North German Brügger (see Bruegger). habitational name for someone from any of various (southern) places called Bruck or Brugg in Bavaria and Austria.
Brumby English
English habitational name from a place in Lincolnshire named Brumby, from the Old Norse personal name Brúni or from Old Norse brunnr "well" + býr "farmstead, village".
Bruney English
First found in Languedoc, France, possibly meaning "brown."
Brunswick English, German
English habitational name from the city in Saxony now known in German as Braunschweig. ... [more]
Brunton English (Rare)
From Old English burna meaning "stream" and tun, settlement; hence, "settlement by a stream".
Bryley English
Variant of Briley.
Brynn English
Derived from the given name Brynn.
Buck English
From the given name Buck.
Bucke English
Variant of Buck
Buckingham English
Habitational name from the former county seat of the county of Buckinghamshire, Old English Buccingahamm "water meadow (Old English hamm) of the people of (-inga-) Bucc(a)".
Buckland English
Habitational name from any of the many places in southern England (including nine in Devon) named Buckland, from Old English bōc "book" and land "land", i.e. land held by right of a written charter, as opposed to folcland, land held by right of custom.
Buckler English
Occupational name for a maker of buckles, derived from Old French bouclier. Could also be a name for someone who used a buckle, a kind of small shield.
Buckman English
Occupational name for a goatherd (Middle English bukkeman) or scholar (Old English bucman "book man"). It could also be a shortened form of Buckingham or a variant of BUCKNAM.
Bucknell English
From locations in Oxfordshire and Shropshire, England.
Bucks English
Variant of "Buck"; a deer.
Buckson English
Either a patronymic from Buck, or possibly an altered form of Buxton.
Buckwalter English (American)
Americanized spelling of German Buchwalder.
Bucsis English (Canadian)
Perhaps of Hungarian origin, but the original surname is not known.
Budd English
Originated from the Old English personal name Budda, from the word budda, which means "beetle" or "to swell." Specifically of Celtic Welsh origin.
Budge English
Nickname from Norman French buge "mouth" (Late Latin bucca), applied either to someone with a large or misshapen mouth or to someone who made excessive use of his mouth, i.e. a garrulous, indiscreet, or gluttonous person... [more]
Buelter German, English
Middle European variant of Butler, also meaning "a vat or large trough used to contain wine." The name originated in southern Germany in the mid-seventeenth century.
Buffett French (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.
Bufford English
Meaning unknown.
Buford English, French (Anglicized)
English: most probably a variant of Beaufort.... [more]
Bugg English
From the Old Norse nickname Buggi, literally "fat man", or from a medieval nickname for an eccentric or strangely behaved person (from Middle English bugge "bogeyman, scarecrow").
Buggly English
Variant of Bugg.
Buggs African American (Anglicized, Modern)
I do not know much about this surname except to say that an employee at my job has Buggs as their surname.
Buglass English
Possibly from the Booklawes region near Melrose, Roxburgshire, originally spelt "Buke-Lawes" (lit. "buck/stag" combined with "low ground"); otherwise from the Gaelic words buidhe - "yellow" and glas - "green".
Bukater Irish, English (British)
From Fictional Titanic character: Rose DeWitt Bukater.
Bulkeley English
From the place name of Bulkeley in Cheshire, related to Buckley 1.
Bullivant English
From a medieval nickname for a "good chap" or amiable companion (from Old French bon enfant, literally "good child").
Bulstrode English
Locational surname referring to the medieval village of Bulstrode in Berkshire. ... [more]
Bumpus English
(i) from a medieval nickname for a vigorous walker (from Old French bon "good" + pas "pace"); (ii) perhaps "person who lives by a place through which travel is easy" (from Old French bon "good" + pas "passage")
Bunch English
English: nickname for a hunchback, from Middle English bunche ‘hump’, ‘swelling’ (of unknown origin).
Bundy English
Variant of Bond and Bandy.
Bunting English
Nickname derived from the name of the bird bunting (Emberiza).
Burbage English
English: habitational name from places in Wiltshire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire, so named with Old English burh ‘fort’ + bæc ‘hill’, ‘ridge’ (dative bece).
Burbridge English
English: perhaps a variant of Burbage, altered by folk etymology, or possibly a habitational name from a lost place so named.
Burch English
Variant of Birch.
Burchell English
An English surname derived from the village of Birkehill (also known as Biekel or Birtle). It means "birch hill".
Burdock English
Meaning unknown.
Burdon English
From 'bur' meaning "fort" and 'don' meaning "hill"
Burgen English
Habitational name for someone from Burgundy, France.
Burger English, 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.
Burghersh English
The surname of the burghersh family. Several people had it, Including Bartholomew Burghersh the Elder and Younger, and Henry Burghersh. They also married into the Badlesmere bloodline. It seems to have descended from the village of Burghersh, now known as Burwash
Burk English, Irish
Variant of Burke
Burken English
English variant of Birkin (see Burkins).
Burkett English
English: from an Old English personal name, Burgheard, composed of the elements burh, burg ‘fort’ (see Burke) + heard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’... [more]
Burkins English
English variant of Birkin, Burkin, a habitational name from the parish of Birkin in West Yorkshire, so named with Old English bircen ‘birch grove’, a derivative of birce (see Birch).
Burks English
English variant spelling of Birks.
Burl English
Old English occupational name originally meaning "cup bearer" or "butler" for one who dispensed wine and had charge of the cellar. Eventually the name came to mean the chief servant of a royal or noble household and was replaced by the French language inspired named 'Butler,' akin to the world "bottler".
Burley English
English habitation name from the elements burh meaning "stronghold or fortified settlement" and leah meaning "field or clearing".
Burlingame English
means "Burling's homestead".
Burlington English
Habitational name from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, from Old English Bretlintun meaning Berhtel's town.
Burn English
Variant of Burns 1.
Burney English, Irish
Form of the French place name of 'Bernay' or adapted from the personal name Bjorn, ultimately meaning "bear".
Burnley English
English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): habitational name from Burnley in Lancashire, so named with the Old English river name Brun (from brun ‘brown’ or burna ‘stream’) + leah ‘woodland clearing’... [more]
Burr English, Scottish, German
Nickname for a person who is difficult to shake off, derived from Middle English burr meaning "bur" (a seedhead that sticks to clothing). It could also be a derivation from Old English bur meaning "small dwelling, building", or a German topographic name derived from burre meaning "mound, hill"... [more]
Burridge English
Derived from an English place name, derived from Old English burg "fortress, fortification, castle" and Old English hrycg, Old Norse hryggr "ridge" or from the name Burgric.
Burris English
Variant of English Burrows or German BÖRRIES.
Burrow English
Used to describe someone who lives in a burrow, which makes this surname’s meaning “he whom lives in a burrow.”
Burt English
From the given name, which is a short form of Burton.
Burtram English (American)
American form of the German surname Bertram.
Burtsell English (American)
Habitational name from Burshill in East Yorkshire, so named with Old English bryst ‘landslip’, ‘rough ground’ + hyll ‘hill’.
Busbee English
Variant of Busby.
Busby English
Habitational name from a place in North Yorkshire, recorded in Domesday Book as Buschebi, from Old Norse buskr "bush, shrub" or an Old Norse personal name Buski and býr "homestead, village", or from some other place so called.
Busfield English
This is a locational surname and originates from the hamlet of 'Bousfield', eight miles from the town of Appleby in Cumberland. This hamlet was controlled by Norse Vikings for several centuries until the Norman invasion of 1066... [more]
Bushe English
Variant of Bush.
Bussard English (Australian)
Variant of Bosshart
Busse German, English
German: variant of Buss. ... [more]
Butter English, German
1. English: nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a bittern, perhaps in the booming quality of the voice, from Middle English, Old French butor ‘bittern’ (a word of obscure etymology)... [more]
Butterfield English
Topographic name for someone who lived by a pasture for cattle or at a dairy farm, or a habitational name from a place named Butterfield (for example in West Yorkshire), from Old English butere ‘butter’ + feld ‘open country’.
Butterfly English
From the insect Butterfly this Surname is borne by Star Butterfly from Star Vs. the forces of evil.
Butterworth English (British)
From places called Butterworth in England. Derived Old English butere ‘butter’ + worð ‘enclosure’.
Buttery English (British)
The baker in Old English.
Buttram English (American, Rare), English (British, Rare)
Possibly derived from the German cognate Bertram, from the Germanic elements beraht (meaning "bright"), and hrabn (meaning "raven")... [more]
Buxton English
1. A habitational name for someone from Buxton in Derbyshire, from the Middle English Buchestanes or Bucstones (meaning "bowing stones"), from Old English būgan meaning "to bow" and stanes, meaning "stones".... [more]
Byam English
Probably means "person from Bytham", Lincolnshire ("homestead in a valley bottom"). Glen Byam Shaw (1904-1986) was a British theatre director.
Bycraft English (American, Rare, ?)
Found mostly in the American Great Lakes region and Canada, likely a singular extended family. Likely of 6th century English descent, though there are very few English natives who bear the name. Name either refers to the occupation running some sort of mill machine, the original holder living near a croft (enclosed pasture or tillage) or implies "craftiness" of its original holder.
Byers Scottish, English
Scottish and northern English topographic name for someone who lived by a cattleshed, Middle English byre, or a habitational name with the same meaning, from any of several places named with Old English b¯re, for example Byers Green in County Durham or Byres near Edinburgh.
Byfield English
Either a habitational name from a place named Byfield, or a topographic name for someone who lived near a field.
Byre English
Probably derived from Old English bȳre "farm, barn".
Byron English
An English place name, earlier Byram, from byre, meaning "farm" and the suffix -ham meaning "homestead". Famously borne by the aristocratic poet, Lord Byron.
Byrum English
Variant of Byron.
Bythesea English (British)
Habitational name for someone who lived near the sea, this name is nearly extinct in England today.
Bythewood English (British)
A nearly extinct habitational surname for one who lived near, by or around a wooded (forested) area.
Bywater English
The surname Bywater came from the Anglo-Saxon origin and means ’dweller by the water‘
Cabell Catalan, English, German
As a Catalan name, a nickname for "bald" from the Spanish word cabello. The English name, found primarily in Norfolk and Devon, is occupational for a "maker or seller of nautical rope" that comes from a Norman French word... [more]
Cable English
English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of rope, especially the type of stout rope used in maritime applications, from Anglo-Norman French cable ‘cable’ (Late Latin capulum ‘halter’, of Arabic origin, but associated by folk etymology with Latin capere ‘to seize’).... [more]
Cabucos English
Decended from Old English meaning "leader."
Cadbury English
Derived from Norman French
Caesar Ancient Roman, English
An Ancient Roman political title that indicated a military leader. A famous bearer was Julius Caesar, Roman general, dictator, and politician. In modern times, the surname is used to refer to an individual with a tyrannical attitude, which references the connotative meaning of the word "caesar", meaning "a dictator".
Cain English
Habitational name from the city of Caen in France, or a variant form of Cane.
Caine French, English
Originally from a French derogatory nickname for someone with a bad temper.
Cake English
From the Middle English cake denoting a flat loaf made from fine flour (Old Norse kaka), hence a metonymic occupational name for a baker who specialized in fancy breads. It was first attested as a surname in the 13th century (Norfolk, Northamptonshire).
Cakebread English
From Middle English cakebrede, bread made in flattened cakes, or of the finer and more dainty quality of cake.
Cal English
Possibly from the given name Cal.
Calaway English
Variant spelling of Callaway.
Calderwood English
From the lordship of Calderwood in Lanarkshire, Scotland
Caleb American
Caleb norwood
Callander Scottish, English, Swedish (Rare)
Habitational name from various places so named in Scotland. ... [more]
Callen English (Rare)
From the forename Callen
Callender English
Occupational name for a person who finished freshly woven cloth by passing it between heavy rollers to compress the weave. From Old Franch calandrier, calandreur.
Calloway English
Derived from the place name Caillouet-Orgeville, from Norman caillou "pebble". Alternately, a variant of Galloway.
Calwell English
I guess a differently spelled form of Caldwell. I don't know.... [more]
Cambre English (American)
Americanization of Kamper.
Camden English
From a place name perhaps derived from Old English camp meaning "enclosure" and denu meaning "valley".
Camerons English
A form of the last name Cameron
Camm English
English (of Norman origin): habitational name for someone from Caen in Normandy, France.English: habitational name from Cam in Gloucestershire, named for the Cam river, a Celtic river name meaning ‘crooked’, ‘winding’.Scottish and Welsh: possibly a nickname from Gaelic and Welsh cam ‘bent’, ‘crooked’, ‘cross-eyed’.Americanized spelling of German Kamm.
Camoys English
From a medieval nickname for someone with a snub nose (from Old French camus "snub nose").
Camp English
Cognate of Kemp.
Camper English
Respelling of German Kamper or Kämpfer (see Kampfer). The surname Camper is recorded in England, in the London and Essex area, in the 19th century; its origin is uncertain, but it may have been taken there from continental Europe.
Camping English
The English form of Campana, means bells.
Camrose English (Rare), Welsh (Rare)
From the village of Camrose in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The surname itself is derived from Welsh cam meaning "crooked, bent", and rhos meaning "moor, heath."
Canada French, English
It derives from the Middle English "cane", a development of the Old French "cane", meaning cane, reed.
Candlin English
Derived from the medieval English, male first name Gandelyn, of unknown meaning.
Candy English
Unexplained.There was a family of this name in Roussillon, France, descended from a partisan of James II named Kennedy, who was exiled in France in the 17th century. The family died out in France in 1868, but may have had an American branch.
Candy English
perhaps from Middle English candi "crystallized cane sugar" (via French from Persian qand "sugar") and used as a metonymic occupational name for a sugar merchant... [more]
Cane English
Derived from the Old English byname Cana.
Cane English
From the English word meaning "cane, reed", a nickname for someone tall and thin, or perhaps an occupational name for someone who gathered reeds.
Canning English, Irish (Anglicized), Scottish
Habitational name from a place so named in England. From the Old English byname Cana and -ingas meaning "people of".... [more]
Cannington English
Likely refers to a place of the same name.
Cannock English
From from the town of Cannock in Staffordshire, England. The surname itself might be derived from Old English cnocc, meaning "hillock."
Cant English
Means "singer in a chantry chapel", or from a medieval nickname for someone who was continually singing (in either case from Old Northern French cant "song").
Cantellow English
Means "person from Canteleu, Canteloup, etc.", the name of various places in northern France ("song of the wolf").
Canterbury English
Habitational name from Canterbury in Kent, named in Old English as Cantwaraburg "fortified town (burgh) of the people (wara) of Kent".
Cantwell Irish, English
A surname used in the South of England.... [more]
Cape French, English (British)
French and English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of capes and cloaks, or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore a cloak or cape, from Middle English and Old Norman French cape ‘cape’, ‘cloak’, ‘hooded cloak’ (in French also ‘hood’ or ‘hat’), from Late Latin cappa, capa, probably a derivative of caput ‘head’ (see Capp)... [more]
Capel English
From the Domesday Book of 1086, from the old French word 'capele' meaning chapel.
Caplin English
Means "singer in a chantry chapel" (from Old Northern French capelain, a variant of standard Old French chapelain (cf. Chaplin)).
Capshaw English
Unexplained. Perhaps a habitational name from Cadshaw near Blackburn, Lancashire, although the surname is not found in England.
Capulet English
This is the last name of Juliet from William Shakepeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.
Caradine English, German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of German Gardein, itself a Germanized spelling of French Jardin. It could also denote someone from the village and civil parish of Carden in Cheshire, England.
Caraway English
Probably means "spice merchant" (from Middle English carewei "caraway").
Carbonell English
From a medieval nickname for a dark-haired or swarthy person, from Anglo-Norman carbonel, literally "little charcoal".
Card English
English: metonymic occupational name for someone who carded wool (i.e. disentangled it), preparatory to spinning, from Middle English, Old French card(e) ‘carder’, an implement used for this purpose... [more]
Cardinal English, French
from Middle English, Old French cardinal "cardinal", a church dignitary (Latin cardinalis, originally an adjective meaning "crucial")... [more]
Cardinale Italian, Italian (Tuscan), French, English
Italian cognate of Cardinal, as well as an English and French variant. A known bearer is the Italian actress Claudia Cardinale (1938-).
Cardwell English
From the traditionally British surname, which is a variant of the British surname Caldwell, a from the Old English cald "cold" and well(a) "spring, stream".
Care English
Occupational name for a locksmith, Middle English keyere, kayer, an agent derivative of keye.
Cargill Scottish, English
Habitational name from a place so named in Scotland.
Carisbrook English
Carisbrooke is a village on the Isle of Wight; the name is thought to mean "Carey's brook". When in 1917 the British royal family changed its name from the "House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha" to the "House of Windsor" and renounced all German titles, the title of Marquess of Carisbrooke was created for the erstwhile German Prince Alexander of Battenberg.
Carleton English
English: variant spelling of Carlton.
Carling English (American)
Americanized form of German Garling or Gerling.
Carls English
From the given name Carl.
Carmack English
Anyone with information about this last name please edit.
Carmical Scottish, English
Variant spelling of Carmichael.
Carmichael Scottish, English
From the name of a village in Scotland meaning "fort of Michael", from Welsh caer meaning "fortress" and the given name Michael.
Carmine Italian (Rare), English (Rare)
Derived from the given name Carmine, which in turn was derived from the color of a vivid form of red.
Carnell English
A crossbowman or archer who protected castles and fortresses.
Carner German, English
Americanized spelling of German Karner or Körner (see Koerner).... [more]
Caroso English (American)
Surname of Panther Caroso from the Star Fox 64 series.
Carpus English (Rare, ?)
Possibly from the given name Carpus.
Carradine English, German (Anglicized)
Variant spelling of Caradine. This name is borne by members of the Carradine family of actors, notably the American actor John Carradine (1906-1988).
Carraway English (British)
The name Carraway belongs to the early history of Britain, and its origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of one having lived on a road near a field or piece of land that was triangular in shape... [more]
Carrell English
English: from Old French carrel, ‘pillow’, ‘bolster’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of these. In some cases perhaps an altered spelling of Irish Carroll... [more]
Carrender English (American)
Probably from Scottish kerr meaning "rough, wet ground" combined with ender (possibly related to the end of something). It probably denoted someone who lived between rough, wet ground and normal ground.
Carrier English
An occupational name meaning someone who transports goods.
Carrington English, Scottish
English: habitational name from a place in Greater Manchester (formerly in Cheshire) called Carrington, probably named with an unattested Old English personal name Cara + -ing- denoting association + tun ‘settlement’.... [more]
Carrow English
English: habitational name from either of two places: Carrow in Norfolk or Carraw in Northumberland. The first is thought to be named from Old English carr ‘rock’ (a Celtic loan word) + hoh ‘spur of a hill’, while the last may be named either from an Old British plural of carr, or from carr + Old English raw ‘row’... [more]
Carstairs English (British)
From the manor or barony of the same name in the parish of Carstairs (= 1170 Casteltarres, 'Castle of Tarres').
Carsten English
Could mean son of Carsten.... [more]