Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
BeckleyEnglish This surname was taken from an English habitational name from any of the various places, in Kent, Oxfordshire, and Sussex, named Beckley whose name was derived from the Old English byname Becca and the Old English lēah "woodland clearing".... [more]
BecksonEnglish (British) The name comes from having lived in an enclosed place, means dweller at the old enclosure or dwelling. The surname Aldeman was first found in Essex, Suffolk and Yorkshire at Aldham. In all cases, the place name meant "the old homestead," or "homestead of a man called Ealda," from the Old English personal name + "ham."
BeckwithEnglish (African) Habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire named Beckwith, from Old English bece "beech" + Old Norse viðr "wood" (replacing the cognate Old English wudu).
BecraftEnglish (American) English, variant of Beecroft. topographic name for someone who lived at a place where bees were kept, from Middle English bee ‘bee’ + croft ‘paddock’, ‘smallholding’.
BedellEnglish This place name derives from the Old English words byde, meaning "tub," and "well," meaning a "spring," or "stream." As such, Bedell is classed as a habitational name.
BedfordEnglish From the English county Bedfordshire and its principal city or from a small community in Lancashire with the same name. The name comes from the Old English personal name Beda, a form of the name Bede and the location element -ford meaning "a crossing at a waterway." Therefore the name indicates a water crossing once associated with a bearer of the medieval name.
BedwellEnglish Derived from the town of Bidwell, Hertfordshire, England, from Old English words "Byde", which meant tub, and "Well", meaning fountain or spring. The surname is classified as a habitational name. The name Bedwell is most common in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, England, and the state of Indiana in the USA.
BedworthEnglish An English habitational surname from a place so named near Nuneaton, in Warwickshire, derived most likely from the Old English personal name Baeda (see Bede), suffixed with worþ, 'enclosure', denoting an enclosed area of land belonging to Baeda.
BeeEnglish From Middle English be meaning "bee", Old English beo, hence a nickname for an energetic or active person or a metonymic occupational name for a beekeeper.
BeedenEnglish (British) Probably means "from Beeden", a village near Newbury in Berkshire. Ultimately coming from either Old English byden, meaning "shallow valley", or from the pre 7th century personal name Bucge with the suffix dun, meaning "hill of Bucge".
BeerEnglish, German, Dutch, German (Swiss) Habitational name from any of the forty or so places in southwestern England called Beer(e) or Bear(e). Most of these derive their names from the West Saxon dative case, beara, of Old English bearu ‘grove’, ‘wood’ (the standard Old English dative bearwe being preserved in Barrow)... [more]
BelgraveEnglish Aristocratic surname from French, meaning "beautiful grove"; comes from a place name in Leicestershire. A famous namesake is British polar explorer Belgrave Ninnis, who perished in Antarctica on a 1912 expedition.
BelladonnaEnglish (Rare), Popular Culture Named after an extremely poisonous plant (Atropa belladonna; also known as the deadly nightshade). One fictional bearer of this surname is Blake Belladonna, a main character from the popular web series RWBY.
BellersEnglish Name came from the son of a French Noble born in Leicestershire, England. Hamon Bellers took his last name after the Kirby Bellers (Bellars) which was the name of the land given to him by his father.
BellewEnglish, Irish Of Norman origin: habitational name from any of the various places in northern France, such as Belleu (Aisne), named in Old French with bel ‘beautiful’ + l(i)eu ‘place’, or from Belleau (Meurthe-et-Moselle), which is named with Old French bel ‘lovely’ + ewe ‘water’ (Latin aqua), or from Bellou (Calvados), which is probably named with a Gaulish word meaning ‘watercress’... [more]
BellmanSwedish, English Swedish and English form of Bellmann. A notable bearer was Swedish composer, poet and entertainer Carl Michael Bellman (1740-1795).
BellmanEnglish Occupational name for someone who worked as a bell-ringer.
BelmontEnglish English surname of Norman origin, a variant of the surname Beaumont, which was derived from place names meaning "lovely hill" in Old French (from beu, bel "fair, lovely" and mont "hill").
BenedictEnglish Of Latin origin. Due to an early association as a saint's name and a papal name, often said to mean "blessed." Originally the Latin elements are 'bene-' meaning "good" or as an adverb "well" plus '-dict,' meaning "spoken." Thus, the literal meaning is "well spoken." ... [more]
BensenEnglish Related to Benson, meaning "Son of Ben"
BenthamEnglish Habitational name from any of various places named Bentham, from Old English beonet "bent grass" + ham "homestead" or hamm "enclosure hemmed in by water".
BeresfordEnglish English: habitational name from a place in the parish of Alstonfield, Staffordshire named Beresford, from Old English beofor ‘beaver’ (or possibly from a byname from this word) + Old English ford ‘ford’... [more]
BerlinGerman, English Habitational name from the city in Germany, the name of which is of uncertain meaning. It is possibly derived from an Old Slavic stem berl- meaning swamp or from a West Slavic word meaning "river lake".
BerminghamEnglish (Modern, Rare) Bermingham is the Gaelicised version of 'De Birmingham' and is descended from the family of Warwickshire, England. The Irish version of the name MacFeorais/MacPheorais is derived from Pierce de Bermingham.
BernerEnglish, Norman From the Norman personal name Bernier from Old English beornan ‘to burn’, hence an occupational name for a burner of lime (compare German Kalkbrenner) or charcoal... [more]
BessEnglish Popularly grown surname from the diminuative form of "Elizabeth" during any time of a Queen Elizabeth
BesteFrench, English Nickname from Middle English beste Old French beste "beast animal" (especially those used for food or work) applied either as a metonymic occupational name for someone who looked after beasts such as a herdsman or as a nickname for someone thought to resemble an animal... [more]
BethanyEnglish Possibly a topographic name derived from the Old English plant name betonice meaning "betony". The form of the name has been altered by folk association with the New Testament place name.
BethencourtFrench, English, Portuguese (Rare) Bettencourt and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
BettanyEnglish Variant of Betteley in the West Midlands and variant of Beatley in East England with /n/ substituted for /l/.
BettencourtFrench, English, Portuguese (Rare) Bettencourt and Bethencourt are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
BexleyEnglish Habitational name from Bexley (now Bexleyheath in Greater London), which was named from Old English byxe ‘box tree’ + leah ‘woodland clearing’.
BickermanEnglish The toponym Bickerton is derived from the Old English beocere, which means bee-keeper, and tun, which originally denoted a fence or enclosure.
BickhamEnglish Habitational name from places so named in Devon and Somerset, most of which are most probably named with an Old English personal name Bicca and Old English cumb "valley". The first element could alternatively be from bica "pointed ridge".
BiddleEnglish, Irish Variant of English BEADLE or German BITTEL. The name is now popular in the north east region of America, where it was brought by English and Irish immigrants.
BiddulphEnglish From the name of a town in Staffordshire, England, derived from Old English bī meaning "beside" and dylf meaning "digging" (a derivative of delfan "to dig").
BierceEnglish, Welsh English variant and Welsh form of Pierce. A famous bearer was the American author, journalist and poet Ambrose Bierce (1842-c. 1914), who wrote The Devil's Dictionary and other works... [more]
BiggersScottish, English Possibly related to the Scottish place name Biggar in South Lanarkshire or the English place name Biggar in Cumbria
BigginsEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places in England named with northern Middle English bigging "building" (from Old Norse). This word came to denote especially an outbuilding, and is still used in and around Northumberland and Cumbria.
BiglinEnglish (British) German origin, settled by a single farmer in East Yorkshire in 1750. The name comes from the phrase "big land" meaning someone who owns alot of land.
BillinghurstEnglish It indicates familial origin within the eponymous village in West Sussex.
BillingsEnglish It comes from the old English bil, meaning "sword or halberd", though the word later came to refer to a pruning hook used to harvest fruit. It's also possible that the name comes from a location in ancient England called Billing, which would've gotten its name from the same source.
BillingslyEnglish Habitational name from a place in Shropshire named Billingsley, from Old English Billingesleah, probably 'clearing (Old English leah) near a sword-shaped hill'
BingerEnglish Derived from the Old English name Binningas, which was a name for someone who lived near stables.
BinghamEnglish Ultimately deriving from the toponym of Melcombe Bingham in Dorset. The name was taken to Ireland in the 16th century, by Richard Bingham, a native of Dorset who was appointed governor of Connaught in 1584... [more]
BingleyEnglish Habitational surname for someone originally from the town of Bingley in West Yorkshire, England. The name is either derived from the given name Bynna combined with the suffix -inga meaning "the people of" or from the Old English elements bing meaning "hollow" and leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
BinkEnglish Topographic name for someone living by a bink, a northern dialect term for a flat raised bank of earth or a shelf of flat stone suitable for sitting on. The word is a northern form of modern English bench.
BirchEnglish, German, Danish, Swedish (Rare) From Middle High German birche, Old English birce, Old Danish birk, all meaning "birch". This was likely a topographic name for someone living by a birch tree or a birch forest... [more]
BirchallEnglish Probably a habitational name from Birchill in Derbyshire or Birchills in Staffordshire, both named in Old English with birce "birch" + hyll "hill".
BirkinEnglish The surname "Birkin" comes from a village in Yorkshire of the same name, first recorded as "Byrcene" in the Yorkshire charters of 1030, and as "Berchine" and "Berchinge" in the Domesday Book. The first known person with the surname "Birkin" was Jon de Birkin, a baron who lived in the late-11th century.
BirneEnglish, German, Jewish Means "pear" in German, making it the German equivalent of Perry 1, perhaps originally referring to a person who harvested or sold pears... [more]
BirneyEnglish Scottish: habitational name from a place in Morayshire, recorded in the 13th century as Brennach, probably from Gaelic braonach 'damp place'.
BishEnglish Comes from the old English word bis meaning "dingy" or "murky". Was given to someone who dressed in drab or murky colors.
BisleyEnglish (British) Bisley is a locational surname from the village of Bisley in Surrey. It comes from the words biss meaning “water” and leah meaning “farm”.
BitencourtBrazilian, Portuguese (Brazilian), French (Rare), English BITENCOURT, derives from Bittencourt, Bettencourt and Bethencourt; They are originally place-names in Northern France. The place-name element -court (courtyard, courtyard of a farm, farm) is typical of the French provinces, where the Frankish settlements formed an important part of the local population... [more]
BittakerEnglish Possibly an altered spelling of Whitaker. A infamous bearer was the American serial killer and rapist Lawrence Bittaker (1940-2019).
BlacksmithEnglish Occupational name for a blacksmith, a smith who work with iron. The name is rare in England and mostly found in North America, suggesting that it's a translation of a non-English name meaning "blacksmith" (see Kowalski, Raudsepp and Lefèvre for example).
BlakestoneEnglish (British) The surname Blakeston was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Blaxton, a township in the parish of Finningley, union and soke of Doncaster.... [more]
BlakewayEnglish Literally means "black way", thus referring to a black road near which the original bearer must have lived. A famous bearer of this surname was Jacob Blakeway (b. 1583-?), the biological father of Mayflower passenger Richard More (1614-1696).
BlameyEnglish From blaidh-mez, the wolf's meadow; or pleu-mez, the parish meadow.
BlanchflowerEnglish From a medieval nickname applied probably to an effeminate man (from Old French blanche flour "white flower"). This surname was borne by Northern Irish footballer Danny Blanchflower (1926-1993).
BlandEnglish Bland is a habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire called Bland, the origin of which is uncertain. Possibly it is from Old English (ge)bland ‘storm’, ‘commotion’ (from blandan ‘to blend or mingle’), with reference to its exposed situation... [more]
BlandfordEnglish Habitational name from Blandford Forum and other places called Blandford in Dorset (Blaneford in Domesday Book), probably named in Old English with bl?ge 'gudgeon' (genitive plural blægna) + ford 'ford'.
BlankenshipEnglish Variant of Blenkinsop, a surname derived from a place in Northumberland called Blenkinsopp. The place name possibly derives from Cumbric blaen "top" and kein "back, ridge", i.e. "top of the ridge", combined with Old English hōp "valley" (compare Hope).
BlaxtonEnglish There are two possible origins for this surname; one- from the name of the village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster (part of South Yorkshire, England) on the border of Lincolnshire, or two- from the Old English personal name Blaecstan, meaning "black stone"
BlaylockEnglish The surname of James P. Blaylock (1950-), an early steampunk author. His surname may mean "black lock" from Middle English blakelok, originally referring to a person with dark hair.
BlennerhassettEnglish The Blennerhassett surname comes from someone having lived in Cumberland, on the Borderlands between Scotland and England. ... [more]
BlesseEnglish (British), Filipino, Indian, French The last name Blesse was first discovered in Oxfordshire and held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. In the Philippines, Blesse means "a blessing in the family." In India, Blesse means "bless you."
BlessedEnglish From a medieval nickname for a fortunate person. This surname is borne by British actor Brian Blessed (1936-).
BlewettEnglish From a medieval nickname for a blue-eyed person or one who habitually wore blue clothing (from Middle English bleuet "cornflower" or bluet "blue cloth").
BlissettEnglish A different form of Blessed. A bearer of this surname is Luther Blissett (1958-), a Jamaican-born English footballer ("Luther Blissett" has been used since 1994 as a cover name for activists engaging in anti-cultural establishment polemics and spoofs on the internet and elsewhere).
BloodEnglish Evidently from Old English blod ‘blood’, but with what significance is not clear. In Middle English the word was in use as a metonymic occupational term for a physician, i.e. one who lets blood, and also as an affectionate term of address for a blood relative.
BloodEnglish Derived from the Old English byname Blīþa (meaning "happy, blithe").
BloodgoodEnglish (American), Dutch (Americanized) Anglicized form of Dutch Bloetgoet. The progenitor of the American Bloodgood family was Francis Bloodgood, a 17th-century Dutch emigrant to Flushing, Queens, New York, originally named Frans Jansen Bloetgoet.
BloomfieldEnglish This interesting surname is of early medieval English origin, and is a locational name from either of the two places thus called in England, one in Staffordshire, and the other in Somerset, or it may be a dialectal variant of Blonville (-sur-Mer) in Calvados, Normandy, and hence a Norman habitation name... [more]