Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
CRENSHAW EnglishThe derivation of this surname is from the Old English pre 7th Century "Crawa", a crow, with "sceaga" a grove, thus "Crowswood". The earliest recording of this placename is in the Lancashire Inquests of 1324 and appears as "Croweshagh".
CRIBBS English (Rare)Unknown origin. Likely either from the Old English given name Crispin, which derives from a Latin nickname meaning "curly-haired", or from the place Cribbis near Lauder, England.
CROAKER EnglishMeant "person from Crèvecoeur", the name of various places in northern France ("heartbreak", an allusion to the poverty of the local soil).
CROCK EnglishMeaning "barrel," signifying one who made or worked with barrels.
CROCKETT English, ScottishNickname for someone who affected a particular hairstyle, from Middle English
croket ''large curl'' (Old Norman French
croquet, a diminutive of
croque "curl", "hook").
CROFTER EnglishA surname of Scottish origin used in the Highlands and Islands and means “an owner or a tenant of a small farm”. The
Old English word croft seems to correspond with the
Dutch kroft meaning “a field on the downs”.
CROMWELL EnglishHabitational name from places in Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire named Cromwell, from Old English
crumb "bent, crooked" and
well(a) "spring, stream".
CROOK Scottish, EnglishPossible origin a medieval topographical surname, denoting residence from the Middle English word "crok" from the Old NOrse "Krokr". Possibly a maker or seller of hooks. Another possibility is meaning crooked or bent originally used of someone with a hunch back.
CROW EnglishFrom Middle English
crow, Old English
crawa, applied as a nickname for someone with dark hair or a dark complexion or for someone thought to resemble the bird in some other way.
CROWLEY Irish (Anglicized), EnglishIrish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Cruadhlaoich ‘descendant of Cruadhlaoch’, a personal name composed of the elements cruadh ‘hardy’ + laoch ‘hero’. ... [
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CROWNER EnglishMeans "coroner" (from Anglo-Norman
corouner "coroner", a derivative of Old French
coroune "crown").
CROWTHER EnglishOriginally meant "person who plays the crowd (an ancient Celtic stringed instrument)". It was borne by British entertainer Leslie Crowther (1933-1996).
CROZIER English, FrenchEnglish and French occupational name for one who carried a cross or a bishop’s crook in ecclesiastical processions, from Middle English, Old French
croisier.
CRUMP EnglishOriginally a nickname for a crippled or deformed person, from Middle English
cromp,
crump meaning "bent, crooked, stooping" (from Old English
crumb).
CRUSOE English (Rare)According to Reaney and Wilson this name was taken to England by John Crusoe, a Huguenot refugee from Hownescourt in Flanders, who settled in Norwich.
CULBERT Anglo-Saxon, Irish, English, ScottishMeaning and origin are uncertain. Edward MacLysaght (The Surnames of Ireland, 1999, 6th Ed., Irish Academic Press, Dublin, Ireland and Portland, Oregon, USA) states that this surname is of Huguenot (French Protestant) origin, and found mainly in Ireland's northern province of Ulster... [
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CULLIMORE English (Rare)Apparently a habitational name from an unidentified place. There is a place called Colleymore Farm in Oxfordshire, but it is not clear whether this is the source of the surname, with its many variant spellings
CULLY EnglishFrom an Irish surname which was derived from
Ó Colla meaning "descendant of Colla". The Old Irish name Colla was a variant of Conla (perhaps the same
CONNLA).
CULPEPER EnglishVariant of
CULPEPPER. Known bearers of this surname include: Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1664), an English herbalist, physician and astrologer; and English colonial administrator Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper (1635-1689), governor of Virginia 1680-1683... [
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CULPEPPER EnglishMeans "person who collects, prepares and/or sells herbs and spices" (from Middle English
cullen "to pick" +
pepper).
CULVER EnglishMeans "person who keeps or looks after doves", or from a medieval nickname for someone thought to resemble a dove (e.g. in mild disposition) (in either case from Middle English
culver "dove")... [
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CUMBERBATCH EnglishName for someone from Comberbach in North Cheshire. May come from etymological elements meaning "stream in a valley."
CUMBERLAND EnglishRegional name for someone from Cumberland in northwestern England (now part of Cumbria).
CUNDALL EnglishThis is an English surname, deriving from the village so-named in North Yorkshire. The village takes its name from the Cumbric element
cumb meaning 'dale' (cognate with Welsh
cwm, 'valley') and Old Norse
dalr meaning 'valley', forming a compound name meaning 'dale-valley'.
CUNLIFFE EnglishOriginally meant "person from Cunliffe", Lancashire ("slope with a crevice" (literally "cunt-cliff")).
CURRIER EnglishOccupational surname meaning "a worker who prepared leather".
CUTTER EnglishThis surname is derived from an occupation. 'the cutter,' i.e. cloth-cutter
CYPRESS EnglishTranslation of German Zypress, a topographic name for someone living near a cypress tree or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a cypress, Middle High German zipres(se) (from Italian cipressa, Latin cupressus), or possibly of any of various Greek family names derived from kyparissos ‘cypress’, as for example Kyparissis, Kyparissos, Kyparissiadis, etc.
CYPRIAN EnglishPossibly an altered spelling of French Cyprien, from a medieval personal name, from Latin Cyprianus (originally an ethnic name for an inhabitant of Cyprus), or a shortened form of Greek Kyprianos, Kyprianis, Kyprianidis, ethnic names for an inhabitant of Cyprus (Greek Kypros), or patronymics from the personal name Kyprianos (of the same derivation)... [
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CYRUS EnglishFrom the given name
CYRUS. A notable bearer is American singer and songwriter, Miley Cyrus (1992-).
DAFT EnglishThis is an English surname which was especially associated with the Midland counties of the country. It derived from the Old English word of the pre-7th century "gedaeft" meaning "meek" or "mild", and as such it was a pre-Medieval personal name of some kind of popularity.
DAGGETT EnglishDerived from the Old French word "Dague", meaning knife or dagger, and as such was a Norman introduction into England after the 1066 Conquest. The name is a medieval metonymic for one who habitually carried a dagger, or who was a manufacturer of such weapons.
DAINTITH EnglishFrom a medieval nickname (roughly equivalent to "precious") applied to a dearly loved person (from Middle English
deinteth "pleasure, titbit", from Old French
deintiet).
DAINTRY EnglishMeans "person from Daventry", Northamptonshire ("Dafa's tree"). The place-name is traditionally pronounced "daintry".
DAINTY EnglishFrom a medieval nickname meaning "handsome, pleasant" (from Middle English
deinte, from Old French
deint(
i)
é). This was borne by Billy Dainty (1927-1986), a British comedian.
DAKE EnglishThe origins of the name Dake are from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the personal name David. Daw was a common diminutive of David in the Middle Ages. The surname is a compound of daw and kin, and literally means "the kin of David."
DALLIMORE EnglishAn English surname probably derived from the French de la mare, meaning "of the sea", though some contend that "mare" springs from the English word moor. This surname probably arose after the Norman conquest of Britain.
DALLOWAY EnglishMeant "person from Dallaway", West Midlands (perhaps from a Norman personal name, "person from (
de) Alluyes", northern France). A fictional bearer of the surname is Mrs Dalloway, central figure of the eponymous novel (1925) by Virginia Woolf.
DAME French, EnglishFrom the old French
dame, "lady" ultimately from Latin
domina, "mistress".
DAMON English, ScottishFrom the personal name
Damon, from a classical Greek name, a derivative of
damān "to kill". Compare
DAMIAN.
DANFORTH EnglishProbably a habitational name, perhaps from Darnford in Suffolk, Great Durnford in Wiltshire, or Dernford Farm in Sawston, Cambridgeshire, all named from Old English dierne ‘hidden’ + ford ‘ford’.
DANGER English (Rare), Popular CultureThis has been seen in records of the most uncommon American surnames. It has also been used in popular culture, in the show Henry Danger. Although, it's not the character's actual last name.
DANGERFIELD EnglishHabitational name, with fused preposition
d(e), for someone from any of the various places in northern France called Angerville, from the Old Norse personal name
Ásgeirr (from
áss "god" and
geirr "spear") and Old French
ville "settlement, village"... [
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DANVERS Irish, EnglishFor someone from Anvers, which is the French name of a port called Antwerp, located in what is now Belgium.
DARDEN EnglishA habitation name in Northumberland of uncertain origin.
DARE EnglishThis interesting surname has two possible derivations. Firstly, it may derive from the Olde English pre-7th Century personal name "Deora", Middle English "Dere", which is in part a short form of various compound names with the first element "deor", dear, and in part a byname meaning "Beloved"... [
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DARK EnglishNickname for someone with dark hair or a dark complexion, from Middle English
darke, Old English
deorc "dark". In England, the surname is most frequent in the West Country.
DARLEY EnglishMeans "person from Darley", Derbyshire ("glade frequented by deer").
DARLINGTON EnglishFrom Old English Dearthington believed to be the settlement of Deornoth's people (unclear root + ing a family group + ton an enclosed farm or homestead).
DARTON EnglishDerived from the location name of Darton, a village on the River Dearne near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, UK.
DAUGHTRY English, NormanEnglish (of Norman origin) habitational name, with fused French preposition d(e), for someone from Hauterive in Orne, France, named from Old French
haute rive ‘high bank’ (Latin
alta ripa).
DAVENPORT EnglishHabitational name from a place in Cheshire named Davenport, from the Dane river (apparently named with a Celtic cognate of Middle Welsh
dafnu "to drop, to trickle") and Old English
port "market town".
DAVEY English, WelshDerived from the given name
DAVID. Alternately, it may be a variant spelling of Welsh
DAVIES or
DAVIS, which could be patronymic forms of
DAVID, or corrupted forms of
Dyfed, an older Welsh surname and the name of a county in Wales.
DAX EnglishEither derived from the town of Dax in France or from the Old English given name
Dæcca (of unknown meaning).
DEACON EnglishOriginally for someone who worked as a deacon or was the son of one.
DEARDEN EnglishMeant "person from Dearden", Lancashire ("valley frequented by wild animals"). It was borne by British film director Basil Dearden (original name Basil Dear; 1911-1971).
DEARTH EnglishFrom a medieval nickname apparently based on Middle English
derth "famine".
DEARY EnglishNickname for a noisy or troublesome person, from Anglo-French
de(s)rei ‘noise’, ‘trouble’, ‘turbulence’ (from Old French
desroi). topographic for someone who lived by a deer enclosure, from Old English
deor ‘deer’ +
(ge)hæg ‘enclosure’.
DE ATH EnglishProbably a deliberate respelling of
DEATH (i), intended to distance the name from its original signification.
DEATH English(i) "death" (perhaps from the figure of Death as personified in medieval pageants); (ii) "person who gathers or sells wood for fuel" (from Middle English
dethe "fuel, tinder")
DEBLE EnglishThis surname is of French derivation and was introduced to Britain by the Normans. It has two possible derivations, the first from the Roman (Latin) 'debil-is', which means literally "poorly" or "weak", and may have been a metonymic for a doctor or healer, whilst the second possible origin is a nickname derivation from the old French 'Theodore' to Tibald and Tibble or Dibble, Deble.
DEEN English (American)The History of the Name Deen Derives from England, over time spelling variations have existed. The name Deen is used by mostly American English people.
DEETZ English (American)Surname of the characters, Delia, Charles and gothic daughter, Lydia from the movie and TV series, Beetlejuice.
DE LARA EnglishMeans "from Lara", a Spanish and French habitational name.
DELEVINGNE French, EnglishMeans "of the vine" in French. It is the surname of Poppy Delevingne and Cara Delevingne, both English actresses and models; it is also the surname of French-born photojournalist Lionel Delevingne
DELISLE EnglishFrom De L'Isle, "of the Isle, from the Isle" in French.
DEMAR French, EnglishCombination of the French word
de, meaning "from" and the Old French word
maresc, meaning "marsh".
DEMMA EnglishPossibly an Anglicization of the Italian surname
Demma, a metronymic from the personal name
EMMA.
DEMPSTER Manx, English, ScottishThe name for a judge or arbiter of minor disputes, from Old English dem(e)stre, a derivative of the verb demian ‘to judge or pronounce judgement’. Although this was originally a feminine form of the masculine demere, by the Middle English period the suffix -stre had lost its feminine force, and the term was used of both sexes... [
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DENBY EnglishMeans "person from Denby", Derbyshire or Yorkshire ("farmstead of the Danes").
DENHAM EnglishFrom the name of various places in England, most of which meant "farm in the valley" (from Old English
denu "valley" +
ham "homestead"). Notable bearers of the surname included John Denham (1615-1669), an English poet; British Labour politician John Denham (1953-); and British actor Maurice Denham (1909-2002).
DENLEY EnglishApparently a habitational name from an unidentified place, probably so named from Old English denu 'valley' + leah 'woodland clearing'.
DENNINGTON EnglishHabitational name from a place in Suffolk, recorded in Domesday Book as Dingifetuna, from the Old English female personal name Denegifu (composed of the elements Dene meaning "Dane" + gifu meaning "gift") + Old English tūn meaning "enclosure", "settlement".
DENVER EnglishEnglish surname, composed of the Old English elements Dene "Dane" and fær "passage, crossing," hence "Dane crossing."
DERRICOTT EnglishHabitational name, possibly a variant of Darracott, from Darracott in Devon. However, the present-day concentration of the form Derricott in the West Midlands and Shropshire suggests that this may be a distinct name, from a different source, now lost.
DERRY Irish, EnglishEnglish variant of
DEARY, or alternatively a nickname for a merchant or tradesman, from Anglo-French
darree ‘pennyworth’, from Old French
denree... [
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DEVALL French, EnglishDevall (also DeVall) is a surname of Norman origin with both English and French ties.Its meaning is derived from French the town of Deville, Ardennes. It was first recorded in England in the Domesday Book.In France, the surname is derived from 'de Val' meaning 'of the valley.'
DEVON EnglishRegional name for someone from the county of Devon. In origin, this is from an ancient British tribal name, Latin Dumnonii, perhaps meaning "worshipers of the god Dumnonos".
DEVOY EnglishAnglicized form of Gaelic surname
Ó Dubhuidhe ‘descendant of
Dubhuidhe’, a name probably derived from
dubh "dark, black" and
buidhe "sallow".
DIAMOND EnglishEnglish variant of
Dayman (see
DAY). Forms with the excrescent d are not found before the 17th century; they are at least in part the result of folk etymology.
DICKENSHEETS English (American)Americanized spelling of German Dickenscheid, a habitational name from a place named Dickenschied in the Hunsrück region. The place name is from Middle High German dicke ‘thicket’, ‘woods’ + -scheid (often schied) ‘border area’ (i.e. ridge, watershed), ‘settler’s piece of cleared (wood)land’.
DICKER EnglishEither an occupational name for a digger of ditches or a builder of dikes, or a topographic name for someone who lived by a ditch or dike, derived from Middle English
dike or
dik meaning "dyke.
DILL EnglishNickname from Middle English
dell,
dill,
dull "dull, foolish".
DINN EnglishFrom a short form of the personal name Dinis, a variant of Dennis.
DOBB EnglishFrom a nickname of Robert, a variant is Dobbs.
DOBBE EnglishFrom the medieval personal name
Dobbe, one of several pet forms of
ROBERT in which the initial letter was altered. Compare
HOBBS.
DOBBINS EnglishMeans "son of Dobbin," which is a medieval diminutive of the name Dob, a medieval short form of the personal name
ROBERT.
DOBELL English (Australian)Sir William. 1899–1970, Australian portrait and landscape painter. Awarded the Archibald prize (1943) for his famous painting of Joshua Smith which resulted in a heated clash between the conservatives and the moderns and led to a lawsuit.
DOBY EnglishFrom a diminutive of the given name
Dob or
Dobbe, itself a medieval diminutive of
ROBERT (one of several rhyming nicknames of Robert in which the initial letter was altered; compare
HOBBS).
DOCKER EnglishDocker is a locational surname from Docker, Westmoreland and Docker, Lancashire. May also refer to the occupation of dockers.
DODDS EnglishFrom
dod, meaning "something rounded" in German.
DODGE EnglishPossibly a nickname from Middle English
dogge "dog" (Old English
docga,
dogga).
DOE EnglishAn English nickname for a gentle person from the word for a female deer. Originally a female first name transferred to use as a surname. Well known in American law as a hypothetical surname for a person unnamed in legal proceedings, as in Jane Doe or John Doe.
DOGG EnglishFrom the word dog this is the stage surname of American rapper Snoop Dogg born Calvin Broadus Jr. (b. 1971)
DOLE English, Irish (Anglicized)English: from Middle English dole ‘portion of land’ (Old English dal ‘share’, ‘portion’). The term could denote land within the common field, a boundary mark, or a unit of area; so the name may be of topographic origin or a status name... [
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DOME EnglishOccupational name from the Old English root doma, dema ‘judge’, ‘arbiter’. Compare Dempster.
DOOLITTLE EnglishFrom a medieval nickname applied to a lazy man (from Middle English
do "do" +
little "little"). It was borne by the American poet Hilda Doolittle (1886-1961). A fictional bearer is Eliza Doolittle, the flower seller in Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion' (1913); and a variant spelling was borne by Dr Dolittle, the physician who had the ability to talk to animals, in the series of books written by Hugh Lofting from 1920.
DORCHESTER EnglishDerived from either the village in Oxfordshire, or the county town of Dorset, England (both of which have the same name). Both are named with a Celtic name, respectively
Dorcic and
Durnovaria combined with Old English
ceaster meaning "Roman fort, walled city".
DORMAN EnglishFrom the Old English personal name Deormann, composed of Old English deor (see Dear) + mann 'man'. This surname became established in Ireland in the 17th century; sometimes it is found as a variant of Dornan.
DOSSAT English, ScottishPossibly from French origins (used predominantly in Louisiana in the United States).
DOSSETT EnglishRecorded in several forms including Dowsett, Dosset, and Dossit, this is an English surname. ... [
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DOUBLEDAY EnglishPossibly from the nickname or byname
do(u)bel meaning "the twin", or a combination of the given name
Dobbel (a pet form of
ROBERT) and Middle English
day(e) meaning "servant".
DOUGHTY EnglishDoughty. This interesting surname of English origin is a nickname for a powerful or brave man, especially a champion jouster, deriving from the Middle English "doughty", Olde English pre 7th Century
dohtig dyhtig meaning "valiant" or "strong"... [
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DOWELL English, Scottish, IrishDerived from the Gaelic name
Dubhgall, composed of the elements
dubh meaning "black" and
gall, "stranger". This was used as a byname for Scandinavians, in particular to distinguish the dark-haired Danes from fair-haired Norwegians.
DOWNARD EnglishDownard comes from England as a diminutive of Downhead in Somerset and Donhead in Wiltshire.
DOWNS EnglishThis surname is derived from the Old English element
dun meaning "hill, mountain, moor." This denotes someone who lives in a down (in other words, a ridge of chalk hills or elevated rolling grassland).
DOWSON EnglishEither a patronymic surname derived from the given name
Dow, a medieval variant of
DAW (which was a diminutive of
DAVID), or else a metronymic form of the medieval feminine name
Dowce, literally "sweet, pleasant", from Old French
dolz,
dous (cf... [
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DRAGON French, EnglishNickname or occupational name for someone who carried a standard in battle or else in a pageant or procession, from Middle English, Old French
dragon "snake, monster" (Latin
draco, genitive
draconis, from Greek
drakōn, ultimately from
derkesthai "to flash")... [
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DRAKEFORD EnglishThe first element of this locational surname is probably derived from the personal name
Draca or
Draki (see
DRAKE), while the second element is derived from Old English
ford meaning "ford"... [
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DRAY EnglishFrom Middle English
dregh, probably as a nickname from any of its several senses: "lasting", "patient", "slow", "tedious", "doughty". Alternatively, in some cases, the name may derive from Old English
drýge "dry, withered", also applied as a nickname.
DRAYTON EnglishI had a maternal grandfather with the surname Drayton who came from Shrewsbury, Shropshire but cannot find any reference.
DRIVER EnglishOccupational name for a driver of horses or oxen attached to a cart or plow, or of loose cattle, from a Middle English agent derivative of Old English drīfan ‘to drive’.