English Submitted Surnames

English names are used in English-speaking countries. See also about English names.
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Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
RICKMAN English
Means "son of Rick". A famous bearer was American Alan Rickman (1946-2016).
RIDDELL Scottish, English
From a Norman personal name, Ridel. Reaney explains this as a nickname from Old French ridel ‘small hill’ (a diminutive of ride ‘fold’, of Germanic origin), but a more probable source is a Germanic personal name derived from the element rīd ‘ride’.
RIDEOUT English
Means "outrider (a municipal or monastic official in the Middle Ages whose job was to ride around the country collecting dues and supervising manors)".
RIDGEWAY English
Comes from Middle English 'riggewey', hence a topographic name for someone who lived by such a route or a habitational name from any of various places so named, for example in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, and Staffordshire.
RIDGWAY English
Variant spelling of Ridgeway.
RIDOUT English
A variant of the other surname Rideout.
RIGHT English
Variant spelling of Wright.
RINGER English
Derived from the occupation of "ringer" as in a bell ringer or a person who makes rings.
RIPPER English
Means "maker, seller or carrier of baskets" (from a derivative of Middle English rip "basket").
RITCH English, German, German (Swiss)
1. English: variant spelling of Rich. ... [more]
RITCHINGS French, German, English
This surname has at least three distinct separate origins. ... [more]
RITTMAN German, English
From Middle High German "riet" and "mann", riet meaning reed.
RIVET French, English
French: from a diminutive of Old French rive ‘(river) bank’, ‘shore’ (see Rives).... [more]
RIVETT English, French
English (East Anglia): metonymic occupational name for a metalworker, from Middle English, Old French rivet ‘small nail or bolt’ (from Old French river ‘to fix or secure’, of unknown origin).... [more]
RO English
Possibly a variant of Rowe.
ROBBS English
This possibly means "Son of Rob(ert)".
ROBERTSSEN English
English variant of Robertsson.
ROBESON English
This is possibly a variant of Robson.
ROBEY English
From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert.
ROBINS English
Southern English patronymic from the personal name Robin.
ROBY English
From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Robert.
ROCHESTER English
Means "person from Rochester", Kent (probably "Roman town or fort called Rovi"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Mr Rochester, the Byronic hero of Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' (1847).
ROCK English
Topographic name for someone who lived near a notable crag or outcrop, from Middle English rokke "rock" (see Roach), or a habitational name from a place named with this word, as for example Rock in Northumberland.
ROCKFORD English
An altered spelling of English Rochford; alternatively it may be an Americanized form of French Rochefort or Italian Roccaforte.
ROCKWELL English
Means "person from Rockwell", Buckinghamshire and Somerset (respectively "wood frequented by rooks" and "well frequented by rooks"). Famous bearers include American illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) and Utah pioneer Porter Rockwell (1813-1878).
RODHAM English
From Roddam in Northumberland. The name is thought to have derived from Germanic *rodum, meaning 'forest clearing'.
RODMAN English
The surname Rodman is an ancient English surname, derived from a trade name, "men who were by the tenure or customs of their lands to ride with or for the lord of the manor about his business". The most famous bearer of this name is the basketball player Dennis Rodman.
RODWELL English
Rodwell, a name of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational surname deriving from any one of various places in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Kent, England. In English, the meaning of the name Rodwell is "Lives by the spring near the road".
ROE English
Nickname for a timid person, derived from the Middle English ro meaning "roe"; also a midland and southern form of Ray.
ROEL English, Spanish, Dutch, German
From the name Roeland, meaning "famous country".
ROFFEY English
There are two small villages named "Roffey". One in England, near Horsham, and one in France, Burgundy. The name is of Norman orgin. First mentioned in (surviving English documents) in 1307 when a George Roffey buys a house... [more]
ROLF English
From the Middle English personal name Rolf, composed of the Germanic elements hrōd "renown" and wulf "wolf". This name was especially popular among Nordic peoples in the contracted form Hrólfr, and seems to have reached England by two separate channels; partly through its use among pre-Conquest Scandinavian settlers, partly through its popularity among the Normans, who, however, generally used the form Rou(l) (see Rollo).
ROLFE English
Variant of Rolf.
ROLL Upper German, German, English
German: from Middle High German rolle, rulle ‘roll’, ‘list’, possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a scribe.... [more]
ROLLE English
Variant of Roll.
ROLLIN English, German
English: variant of Rolling.... [more]
ROLLS English
Possibly derived from the Latin word rotus, meaning "wheel". It would indicate one who built wheels as a living. A famous bearer was American inventor and entrepreneur Charles Rolls (1877-1910), founder of the Rolls-Royce Ltd along with Henry Royce (1863-1933).
ROLSTON English
English habitational name from any of various places, such as Rowlston in Lincolnshire, Rolleston in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire, or Rowlstone in Herefordshire, near the Welsh border... [more]
ROMAN Catalan, French, Polish, English, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Belorussian
From the Latin personal name Romanus, which originally meant "Roman". This name was borne by several saints, including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen.
ROMINE English, Dutch
From Rome
ROMNEY English
English: habitational name from a place in Kent, so called from an obscure first element, rumen, + Old English ea ‘river’ (see Rye).
ROMP English, German
Likely a variant of Rump.
RONSON English
Means "son of RON"
ROOK English
From a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a rook (e.g. in having black hair or a harsh voice).
ROOME English
Variant of Rome.
ROOT English, Dutch
English: nickname for a cheerful person, from Middle English rote ‘glad’ (Old English rot). ... [more]
ROPER English
English: occupational name for a maker or seller of rope, from an agent derivative of Old English rāp ‘rope’. See also ROOP.
ROSELAND English
Americanized form of Norwegian Røys(e)land; a habitational name from about 30 farmsteads, many in Agder, named from Old Norse reysi ‘heap of stones’ + land ‘land’, ‘farmstead’.
ROSEMAN English
From the Norman feminine name Rosamund.
ROSEVEAR Cornish, English
From the name of a Cornish village near St Mawgan which derives from Celtic ros "moor, heath" and vur "big".
ROSEWOOD English
Denoting someone who came from a rose wood or grove.
ROSSIE English
Possibly a variant of Rossi.
ROTHWELL English
An English surname meaning 'Lives by the red spring"
ROUBICHOU English
Diminutive of Robert.
ROUGH English
A topographic name referring to a dwelling with uncultivated ground, ultimately deriving from Olde English ruh meaning "rough".
ROUSE English
nickname for a person with red hair, from Middle English, Old French rous ‘red(-haired)’
ROVER English, German (Anglicized)
This surname is derived from Middle English roof (from Old English hrof) combined with the agent suffix (i)er, which denotes someone who does/works with something. Thus, the surname was originally used for a constructor or repairer of roofs.... [more]
ROWELL English
From a diminutive of Rowland or Rolf or a location name meaning "rough hill".
ROWETT English
English from a medieval personal name composed of the Germanic elements hrod ‘renown’ + wald ‘rule’, which was introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers in the form Róaldr, and again later by the Normans in the form Rohald or Roald... [more]
ROWLEY English
Anglo Saxon Name- locational, comes from several places in England such as in Devonshire, Yorkshire, County Durham and Staffordshire. It means ' rough wood or clearing', from the Old English 'run' meaning rough and 'leah', meaning clearing in a wood.
ROWLING English
From diminutives for the given names Rollo or Rolf. Famous bearer is the author of the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling whose initials stand for Joanne Kathleen.
ROWSON English (British, Anglicized)
The ancestors of the Rowson family first reached the shores of England in the wave of migration after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Their name is derived from the Norman given name Ralph. This name, which also occurs as Ralf, Rolf, and Raoul, is adapted from the Old French given name Raol.... [more]
ROYAL English
From the given name Royal.
RUDD English
A famous bearer is political activist Mark Rudd.
RUFF English
Variant of Rolf.
RUFFIN English
From the medieval French male personal name Ruffin, from Latin Rūfīnus, a derivative of Rūfus (literally "red-haired one"). A known bearer of the surname is US soul singer Jimmy Ruffin (1939-).
RUGBY English
From Rugby, Warwickshire. Originally named *Rocheberie, from Old English *Hrocaburg, 'Hroca's fort', the name was altered due to influence fort Danish settlers, with the second element being replaced with Old Norse byr, 'farm'.... [more]
RULE Scottish, English
Scottish name from the lands of Rule in the parish of Hobkirk, Roxburghshire. The derivation is from the River Rule which flows through the area, and is so called from the ancient Welsh word "rhull" meaning "hasty or rushing".... [more]
RUMBELOW English
Means "person from Rumbelow", the name of various locations in England ("three mounds").
RUMBLE English
Descended from the personal name Rumbald/Rombold, which is composed of the Germanic elements hrom "fame, glory" and bald "bold, brave".
RUMNEY English
Variant of Romney.
RUMPOLE English
A different form of Rumbold (from the Norman personal name Rumbald, of Germanic origin and probably meaning literally "fame-bold"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Horace Rumpole, the eccentric QC created by John Mortimer (originally for a 1975 television play).
RUNCIE English, Scottish
Derived from Latin runcinus, and related to the Old French "roncin", for a horse of little value. Middle English, Rouncy, as in Chaucer's Cantebury Tales.... [more]
RUSBY Scottish, English
Alternative spelling of Busby, a parish in Renfrewshire. A name well represented in the Penistone, and Cawthorne districts of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
RUTH English, German (Swiss)
English: from Middle English reuthe ‘pity’ (a derivative of rewen to pity, Old English hreowan) nickname for a charitable person or for a pitiable one. Not related to the given name in this case.... [more]
RUTLEDGE English, Scottish
Origin unknown
RUTT English, German
English: variant of Root.... [more]
RUTTER English
Either (i) "player of the rote (a medieval stringed instrument played by plucking)"; or (ii) from a medieval nickname for a dishonest or untrustworthy person (from Old French routier "robber, mugger")... [more]
RYALL English
From any of several places in England named from Old English ryge "rye" + hyll "hill".
RYALS English
English occupational surname.
RYCROFT English
Derived from Rycroft, in the parish of Birstall, Yorkshire
RYDELL Swedish, English
Swedish: ornamental name composed of the place name element ryd ‘woodland clearing’ + the common suffix -ell, from the Latin adjectival ending -elius.... [more]
RYERSON English (American)
Americanized spelling of Swedish Reierson or of any of its cognates, for example Dutch Ryerse, Ryersen or Norwegian and Danish Reiersen.
RYLE English
Habitational name from Royle in Lancashire (see Royle).
RYSER English
Variant of Reiser based on the English word riser.
SAFFEELS English (Rare), German (Rare)
Used as a last name a minimum of 82 times in (USA, Germany).
SAGE English (Modern)
From the English word sage (see Sage).
SAILER English
Variant spelling of Saylor.
SAILOR English
Variant of SAYLOR.
SAINT English, French
Nickname for a particularly pious individual, from Middle English, Old French saint, seint "holy" (Latin sanctus "blameless, holy"). The vocabulary word was occasionally used in the Middle Ages as a personal name, especially on the Continent, and this may have given rise to some instances of the surname.
SALE English, French
English: from Middle English sale ‘hall’, a topographic name for someone living at a hall or manor house, or a metonymic occupational name for someone employed at a hall or manor house. ... [more]
SALISBURY English
Habitational name from the city in Wiltshire, the Roman name of which was Sorviodunum (of British origin). In the Old English period the second element (from Celtic dun ‘fortress’) was dropped and Sorvio- (of unexplained meaning) became Searo- in Old English as the result of folk etymological association with Old English searu ‘armor’; to this an explanatory burh ‘fortress’, ‘manor’, ‘town’ was added... [more]
SALLIS English
A name for someone who lives where sallows grow - sallows being a type of willow, from the Middle English 'salwe'.
SALLOW English (Rare)
Sallow comes from the medieval word for willow tree. It is a location surname.
SALT Anglo-Saxon, English
Of Anglo-Saxon origin, from the town in Staffordshire.
SALTER English
Occupational name for an extractor or seller of salt (a precious commodity in medieval times), from Middle English salt 'salt' + the agent suffix -er.
SALTHOUSE English
"Salthouse" and other variants come from the place name in Northumberland.
SALTMARSH English
Last name of cricket player Ian Saltmarsh (1901-1970).
SAMWAYS English
From a medieval nickname for a fool (from Middle English samwis "foolish", literally "half-wise").
SAND English, Scottish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Jewish
Topographic name for someone who lived on patch of sandy soil, from the vocabulary word sand. As a Swedish or Jewish name it was often purely ornamental.
SANDEMAN English
Scottish surname of famous merchant family engaged in banking in Scotland and London and in the Port Wine trade in London. The same family were earlier the founders of an obscure Protestant sect the Sandemanians.
SANDLER English
Norman origin. Habitational name from Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët in La Manche, which gets its name from the dedication of its church to St. Hilary, or alternatively from either of the places, in La Manche and Somme, called Saint-Lô... [more]
SANDWELL English
From a place called SANDWELL.
SANGWIN English
From Middle English sanguine (blood) ,one of the four humours.
SANKEY English, Irish
Habitational name from a place in Lancashire, which derived from the name of an ancient British river, perhaps meaning "sacred, holy." ... [more]
SARD English, French, Spanish, Italian
In the book "Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary by Henry Harrison and Gyda (Pulling) Harrison 1912 - Reprinted 1996.... The Sard surname (which has been in England, Italy and Europe for a long time) is defined thus on page 136...... [more]
SARRÉ English
“apologetic”
SARVER English, Jewish
English and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) occupational name from Old French serveur (an agent derivative of server ‘to serve’), Yiddish sarver ‘servant’.
SATTERTHWAITE English
From a place in England named with Old English sætr "shielding" and Old Norse þveit "pasture".
SAVELL English
English variant of Saville.
SAVILLE English
A habitational name from an uncertain place in Northern France. This is most likely Sainville, named from Old French saisne, 'Saxon' and ville, indicating a settlement.
SAWTELL English (British)
A dialectal variant of Sewell, which was first recorded in early 13th-century England. The later addition of the 't' was for easier pronunciation.... [more]
SAX English, Norwegian
English from an Old Norse personal name, Saxi meaning ‘sword’.
SAXBY English (British)
Saxby is the surname of the character Stella Saxby from the book Awful Auntie, by David Walliams. Saxby means "Grand" .
SAXTON English
Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, possibly also one in Cambridgeshire, both so named from Old English Seaxe "Saxons" and tūn "enclosure, settlement".
SAYWARD English (Rare)
English surname which was a variant of Seward.
SCAGGS English
Variant of Skaggs both of English origin and unknown meaning. Famous bearer is singer Boz Scaggs (1944-) of the Steve Miller Band and the band Toto.
SCARBOROUGH English
Habitational name from Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, so named from the Old Norse byname Skarði + Old Norse borg "fortress", "fortified town".
SCHADE German, Dutch, Scottish, English
German and Dutch: from schade ‘damage’, a derivative of schaden ‘to do damage’, generally a nickname for a thug or clumsy person, or, more particularly, a robber knight, who raided others’ lands.... [more]
SCHRAM German, English, Yiddish
Derived from German Schramme (Middle High German schram(me)) and Yiddish shram, all of which mean "scar".
SCOGINGS English, Old Danish
A surname of Scandinavian origin from the old Norse and old Danish by-name "Skeggi" or "skoggi", meaning 'the bearded one'. Common in areas invaded and settled by Scandinavians in the 8th and 9th Centuries.
SCOTFORD English
Derived from Scotforth, the name of a village near Lancaster (in Lancashire) in England. The village's name means "ford of the Scot(s)" and is derived from Old English Scott "Scot" combined with Old English ford "ford".
SCOTLAND English
(i) "person from Scotland"; (ii) "person from Scotland or Scotlandwell", Perth and Kinross; (iii) from the Norman personal name Escotland, literally "territory of the Scots"
SEAGER English, German (Modern)
English: from the Middle English personal name Segar, Old English S?gar, composed of the elements s? ‘sea’ + gar ‘spear’.... [more]
SEAGLE English (American)
Americanized form of Jewish Segal or German Siegel.
SEAGRAVE English
Habitational name from a place in Leicestershire, recorded in Domesday Book as Satgrave and Setgrave; probably named from Old English (ge)set meaning "fold", "pen" (or sēað meaning "pit", "pool") + grāf meaning "grove" or græf meaning "ditch".
SEAN English
The stage Surname of English singer Jay Sean (born Kamaljit Singh Jhooti)
SEARS English
Version of Sayer. Used in the United States. Famous bearer of the name is Richard Warren Sears, one of the founders of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
SEASON English
Likely a corruption of the surname Searson, meaning "son of Saer".
SEDDON English
"Broad hill" in Old English. A surname that most occurs in Merseyside, and Lancashire.
SEDON English
Variant of "Seddon"
SEE English, German
Topographic name for someone who lived by the sea-shore or beside a lake, from Middle English see meaning "sea", "lake" (Old English sǣ), Middle High German sē. Alternatively, the English name may denote someone who lived by a watercourse, from an Old English sēoh meaning "watercourse", "drain".
SEEKINS English (British)
Probably a variant of English Seekings, a Cambridgeshire name of unexplained etymology.
SEGALE English, Italian
Respelling of SEGAL. A famous bearer is Mario A. Segale, the inspiration for Nintendo's video game character Mario
SEGER Swedish, English, Dutch
Means "victory" in Swedish. It is also a variant of the English surname SEAGER or derived from the Germanic given name SIGIHERI "victory army".
SELF English
East Anglian surname, from the medieval English masculine name Saulf which was derived from the Old English elements sǣ "sea" and wulf "wolf".
SEVERN English
From the name of the River Severn, which is of unknown meaning. The Severn is Great Britain's longest river, flowing from Wales through much of western England to the Bristol Channel. It is one of Britain’s most ancient river names, recorded as early as the 2nd century AD in the form Sabrina; its original meaning may have been "slow-moving" or "boundary".
SEVERN English
From a medieval personal name derived from Severinus (Latin).
SEVIER English
Occupational name for a sieve-maker, Middle English siviere (from an agent derivative of Old English sife "sieve").
SEVILLE Spanish, English
a city in southwestern Spain; a major port and cultural center; the capital of bullfighting in Spain. Synonyms: Sevilla Example of: city, metropolis, urban center. a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts... [more]
SEWALL English (British, Modern)
Dates back at least to Middle English (1500s or earlier); many believe it is Saxon in origin; "may mean "sea" and "victory" or "war""
SEWELL English
English from the Middle English personal names Siwal(d) and Sewal(d), Old English Sigeweald and Seweald, composed of the elements sige ‘victory’ and se ‘sea’ + weald ‘rule’... [more]
SHACKLADY English
Perhaps from a medieval nickname for a man who had had sexual relations with a woman of higher social class (from shag "to copulate with" (not recorded before the late 17th century) and lady).... [more]
SHACKLEFORD English, Medieval English
Locational surname deriving from the place called Shackleford in Surrey, near the town of Farnham. The origin of "shackle" is uncertain. It could be derived from Old English sceacan "to shake"... [more]
SHADE English, German, Dutch, Scottish
Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary, from Old English scead ‘boundary’.nickname for a very thin man, from Middle English schade ‘shadow’, ‘wraith’.... [more]
SHADOW English
Origin unidentified. The name Shadue, Schadewe is recorded in England in the 12th and 13th centuries, from Middle English shadwe ‘shadow’, Old English sceadu (see Shade). However, there is no evidence of its continuation into modern times in this form.
SHADWELL English
English surname meaning "By the shed spring"
SHAKESHAFT English (British)
Similar in origin to surnames such as Shakesheave, Shakespeare and Wagstaffe.
SHALLCROSS English
Means "person from Shallcross", Derbyshire ("place by the Shacklecross", an ancient stone cross in the High Peak, its name perhaps denoting a cross to which people could be shackled as a penance).
SHANDY English (Rare)
Shandy appears as a rare surname, mostly found in English-speaking countries going back to the 1600s. This name may originate from the English dialect adjective meaning "boisterous" or "empty headed; half crazy", of which the earliest record dates to 1691, though any further explanation for its origins are unknown... [more]
SHANKS English (Modern)
Possibly a diminutive of LONGSHANKS, which would be given to a tall or gangly person.
SHARPE English
Variant of Sharp.
SHARPIN English
Variant of Sharp.
SHARPTON English
Habitational name from Sharperton in Northumberland, possibly so named from Old English scearp "steep" and beorg "hill", "mound" and tun "settlement".
SHASTEEN English (American, Modern)
A derivative Chastain.... [more]
SHATTUCK English
A locational name from a family in Chaddock, a hamlet in the parish in Lancashire, England. Also a variant of Chadwick.
SHEARD English
English surname which was originally from a place name meaning "gap between hills" in Old English.
SHEEN English
Meaning unknown, though possibly a variant of Sean. A famous bearer of the surname is actor Charlie Sheen.
SHEFFIELD English, English (British)
A surname which named after an city in England.... [more]
SHELDON English
From an Old English place name meaning "valley with steep sides".
SHELDRAKE English
From a medieval nickname for a dandyish (showy) or vain man, from Middle English scheldrake, the male of a type of duck with brightly-coloured plumage (itself from the East Anglian dialect term scheld "variegated" combined with drake "male duck").
SHELLEY English, Irish
From the given name Shelley. It means "wooded clearing" in Irish.
SHENBERGER English (?)
The name Shenberger comes from a common mix up with the archaic Austrian-German surname Schoenberg; meaning "Beautiful Mountain."
SHENTON English
"Beautiful town" in Old English. Parishes in Leicestershire, and Cheshire.
SHERLOCK English, Irish
Nickname for someone with "fair hair" or "a lock of fair hair."
SHERRARD English
Probably from a medieval nickname based on Middle English shere "bright, fair", with the derogatory suffix -ard.
SHERWIN English
English: nickname for a swift runner, from Middle English schere(n) ‘to shear’ + wind ‘wind’.
SHERWOOD English
Means bright wood.... [more]
SHIELD English
Metonymic occupational name for an armorer, from Middle English scheld "shield" (Old English scild, sceld).
SHINGLER English
An occupational name for someone who laid wooden tiles, or shingles on roofs, from an agent derivative of Middle English schingle ‘shingle’. ... [more]
SHINN English
Metonymic occupational name for a Skinner, from Old English scinn, Middle English shin ‘hide’, ‘pelt’. In Middle English this word was replaced by the Norse equivalent, skinn.
SHIPLEY English (Rare)
English: habitational name from any of the various places, for example in Derbyshire, County Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire, Sussex, and West Yorkshire, so called from Old English sceap, scip ‘sheep’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.