Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
HazlettEnglish (British) Topographic name for someone who lived by a hazel copse, Old English hæslett (a derivative of hæsel ‘hazel’). habitational name from Hazelhead or Hazlehead in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, derived from Old English hæsel ‘hazel’ + heafod ‘head’, here in the sense of ‘hill’; also a topographic name of similar etymological origin.
HeadleeEnglish (Rare) The Anglo-Saxon name Headlee comes from when the family resided in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Headley in Hampshire is the oldest. The surname Headlee belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
HealeyEnglish Habitational surname for a person from Healey near Manchester, derived from Old English heah "high" + leah "wood", "clearing". There are various other places in northern England, such as Northumberland and Yorkshire, with the same name and etymology, and they may also have contributed to the surname.
HeardEnglish Occupational name for a tender of animals, normally a cowherd or shepherd, from Middle English herde (Old English hi(e)rde).
HeathcoteEnglish English habitational name from any of various places called Heathcote, for example in Derbyshire and Warwickshire, from Old English h?ð ‘heathland’, ‘heather’ + cot ‘cottage’, ‘dwelling’.
HeatherEnglish Topographic name, a variant of Heath with the addition of the habitational suffix -er. This surname is widespread in southern England, and also well established in Ireland.
HebronEnglish (British) Habitational name from Hebron in Northumberland, which possibly derives from Old English hēah meaning “high” + byrgen meaning “burial place, tumulus.” See also Hepburn.
HedgeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a hedge, Middle English hegg(e). In the early Middle Ages, hedges were not merely dividers between fields, but had an important defensive function when planted around a settlement or enclosure.
HeirEnglish English: relationship name from Middle English heir(e), heier ‘heir’. Compare Ayre.... [more]
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]
HelliwellEnglish From various place names in United Kingdom. Derived from Olde English elements of "halig" meaning holy, and "waella", a spring.
HelmEnglish, Dutch, German 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]
HelmsleyEnglish This English habitational name originates with the North Yorkshire village of Helmsley, named with the Old English personal name Helm and leah, meaning 'clearing'.
HeltonEnglish (American) Habitational name from Helton in Cumbria, named in Old English probably with helde "slope" and tun "farmstead, settlement", or possibly a variant of Hilton... [more]
HemberEnglish From the West Country area near Bristol.
HemingwayEnglish Probably from the name of an unidentified minor place near the village of Southowram in West Yorkshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Hemma combined with weg meaning "way, road, path"... [more]
HemmingsEnglish Derived from the given name Hemming. It is the last name of the band member of Five Seconds of Summer (5sos), Luke Hemmings.
HemsleyEnglish English: habitational name from either of two places in North Yorkshire called Helmsley. The names are of different etymologies: the one near Rievaulx Abbey is from the Old English personal name Helm + Old English leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’, whereas Upper Helmsley, near York, is from the Old English personal name Hemele + Old English eg ‘island’, and had the form Hemelsey till at least the 14th century
HemsworthEnglish Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, England, meaning "Hymel's enclosure".
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]
HensleyEnglish Probably a habitational name from either of two places in Devon: Hensley in East Worlington, which is named with the Old English personal name Heahmund and Old English leah "(woodland) clearing", or Hensleigh in Tiverton, which is named from Old English hengest "stallion" (or the Old English personal name Hengest) and leah... [more]
HenwoodEnglish Habitational name from any of various places so named, as for example Henwood in Cornwall, in Linkinhorne parish, which is named from Old English henn 'hen', 'wild bird' + wudu 'wood', or Hen Wood in Wootton, Oxfordshire
HerefordEnglish Habitational name from Hereford in Herefordshire, or Harford in Devon and Goucestershire, all named from Old English here "army" + ford "ford".
HeritageEnglish (Rare) English status name for someone who inherited land from an ancestor, rather than by feudal gift from an overlord, from Middle English, Old French (h)eritage ‘inherited property’ (Late Latin heritagium, from heres ‘heir’).
HerndonEnglish Habitational name from a lost or unidentified place, possibly derived from Old English hyrne "corner, angle, nook" and dun "hill, mountain". Alternatively, it could derive from an older form of the toponym Harrowden, composed of hearg "temple, altar, pile of stones" and dun "hill".
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.
HerridgeEnglish habitational name from Herridges in Pauntley (Gloucestershire) or Highridge in King's Nympton (Devon). The Gloucestershire placename may derive from Old English hæg "fence enclosure" and hrycg "ridge" or while the Devon placename comes from an uncertain initial element and Old English hrycg.
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.
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]
HetheringtonEnglish Derived from Hetherington, a like-named place in Northumberland
HewEnglish English: variant of the name Hugh. This was at one time the usual form of the personal name in Scotland. English: occupational name from Middle English hewe ‘domestic servant’
HibbsEnglish This possibly derived from a medieval diminutive, similar to Hobbs for Robert.
HickEnglish From the medieval personal name Hicke, a diminutive of Richard. The substitution of H- as the initial resulted from the inability of the English to cope with the velar Norman R-.
HiddlestonEnglish, Scottish Habitational name from a place called Huddleston in Yorkshire, England. The place name was derived from the Old English personal name HUDEL.
HigginbothamEnglish Habitational name from a place in Lancashire now known as Oakenbottom. The history of the place name is somewhat confused, but it is probably composed of the Old English elements ǣcen or ācen "oaken" and botme "broad valley"... [more]
HigginsEnglish Patronymic from the medieval personal name Higgin, a pet form of Hick.
HigginsonEnglish Patronymic from the medieval personal name Higgin, a pet form of Hick.
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).
HillierEnglish Occupational name for a roof tiler or thatcher from Middle English helier "roofer, slater, tiler", ultimately derived from Old English helan "to hide, conceal, cover".
HinckleyEnglish From the name of a place in Leicestershire meaning "Hynca's wood", from the Old English byname Hynca, derivative of hún "bear cub", and leah "woodland, clearing".
HindEnglish, Scottish English (central and northern): nickname for a gentle or timid person, from Middle English, Old English hind ‘female deer’.... [more]
HindleEnglish Habitational name from a place in the parish of Whalley, Lancashire, so called from the same first element + Old English hyll 'hill'.
HindleyEnglish English (Lancashire): habitational name from a place near Manchester, so named from Old English hind ‘female deer’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’.
HineEnglish occupational name from Middle English Old English hine "servant member of a household" also "farm laborer" (such as a herdsman or shepherd)... [more]
HingstonEnglish From any of several towns named Hinxton or Hingston, varyingly meaning "Hengist’s hill" (from hengest "stallion" and dun "hill, mountain") or "hind’s stone" (from hind "female deer" and stan "stone").
HinshelwoodScottish, English Denoted a person from a lost place called Henshilwood near the village of Carnwath on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is derived from Scots hainchil obscurely meaning "haunch" and Old English wudu meaning "wood"... [more]
HintonEnglish (Archaic) Comes from Old English heah meaning "high" and tun meaning "enclosure" or "settlement." A notable person with the surname is female author S.E Hinton.
HitchinsEnglish Can be either a patronymic derived from the medieval given name Hitch, or a habitational name denoting someone from the town Hitchin, itself from Old English Hicce, the name of the Celtic tribe who originally resided in the area.
HoadleyEnglish Habitational name from East or West Hoathly in Sussex, so named from Old English hað / Middle English hoath "heath" + leah "wood, clearing".
HolbrookEnglish, German (Anglicized) English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Derbyshire, Dorset, and Suffolk, so called from Old English hol ‘hollow’, ‘sunken’ + broc ‘stream’. ... [more]
HolcombEnglish Habitational name from any of various places, for example in Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Oxfordshire, and Somerset, so named from Old English hol meaning "hollow", "sunken", "deep" + cumb meaning "valley".
HolderGerman, Jewish, English 1. German: topographic name for someone who lived by an elder tree. Middle High German holder, or from a house named for its sign of an elder tree. In same areas, for example Alsace, the elder tree was believed to be the protector of a house... [more]
HolladayEnglish English: from Old English haligdæg ‘holy day’, ‘religious festival’. The reasons why this word should have become a surname are not clear; probably it was used as a byname for one born on a religious festival day.
HollandsworthEnglish (British, Rare) Possibly an alternative spelling of Hollingsworth. Likely named after the town of Holisurde(1000s AD)/Holinewurth(1200s)/Hollingworth(Present) The town's name means "holly enclosure"
HolleyEnglish English (chiefly Yorkshire) topographic name from Middle English holing, holi(e) ‘holly tree’. Compare Hollen.
HollierEnglish, French Occupational name for a male brothel keeper, from a dissimilated variant of Old French horier "pimp", which was the agent noun of hore "whore, prostitute". Hollier was probably also used as an abusive nickname in Middle English and Old French.... [more]
HollifieldEnglish habitational name from a minor place called as "the holy field" (Old English holegn "holy" and feld "open country") perhaps Holyfield in Waltham Holy Cross (Essex) or less likely for linguistic reasons Hellifield (Yorkshire).
HollingsheadEnglish Habitational name from a lost place in County Durham called Hollingside or Holmside, from Old English hole(g)n "holly" and sīde "hillside, slope"; there is a Hollingside Lane on the southern outskirts of Durham city... [more]
HollingworthEnglish Habitational name for a person from the village in Greater Manchester and other villages as such, all derived from Old English holen "holly" and worþ "enclosure". Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1886-1939) was an American psychologist, educator, and feminist.
HollisEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived where holly trees grew.
HollisterEnglish An occupational name for a female brothel-keeper, a feminine form of Hollier.
HolloboneEnglish Common surname in the southeast England, predominantly Sussex
HollywoodEnglish Habitational name from any of various farms or hamlets in England called Hollywood such as one in Sandon and Burston (Staffordshire) perhaps named with Middle English holegn "holly" and wudu "wood".
HolmanEnglish Uncertain etymology. Could be a topographic name derived from Old English holh "hollow, hole" or holm, which can mean either "holly" or "small island" (see Holme), combined with man "man, person"... [more]