Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
HOSMER EnglishFrom the Old English name Osmaer, a combination of the Old English elements
oss, meaning "god", and
maer, meaning "fame".
HOTALING English (American)Americanized spelling of Dutch Hoogteijling, an indirect occupational name for a productive farmer, from hoogh ‘high’ + teling ‘cultivation’, ‘breeding’.
HOUGH EnglishEnglish: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Cheshire and Derbyshire, so named from Old English hoh ‘spur of a hill’ (literally ‘heel’). This widespread surname is especially common in Lancashire...
[more] HOUGHTON EnglishEnglish habitational name from any of the various places so called. The majority, with examples in at least fourteen counties, get the name from Old English
hoh ‘ridge’, ‘spur’ (literally ‘heel’) +
tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’...
[more] HOWARTH English"From a hedged estate", from Old English
haga ("hedge, haw") and
worð ("farm, estate"). Likely originating from the Yorkshire village of the same name. Common in Lancashire and recorded from at least 1518, as
Howorthe, with an earlier version of
Hauewrth in Gouerton dated 1317 recorded in the Neubotle charters.
HOY EnglishMetonymic occupational name for a sailor, from Middle Dutch
hoey "cargo ship".
HOYT EnglishGenerally a topographical name for someone who lived on a hill or other high ground. As such Hoyt is related to words such as heights or high. Hoyt is also possibly a nickname for a tall, thin person where the original meaning is said to be "long stick".
HUBBARD EnglishVariant of
Hubert. "Old Mother Hubbard" is a traditional nursery rhyme. This was additionally borne by American author and religious leader L. Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986), the founder of the Church of Scientology.
HUBBLE EnglishFrom the Norman personal name
Hubald, composed of the Germanic elements
hug "heart, mind, spirit" and
bald "bold, brave".
HUCK English, DutchFrom the medieval male personal name
Hucke, which was probably descended from the Old English personal name
Ucca or
Hucca, perhaps a shortened form of
Ūhtrǣd, literally "dawn-power".
HUCKABY EnglishMeans "person from Huccaby", Devon (perhaps "crooked river-bend"), or "person from Uckerby", Yorkshire ("Úkyrri's or Útkári's farmstead").
HUFFINGTON EnglishMeans "Uffa's town". A famous bearer is Arianna Huffington, born Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου
HUMBLE EnglishNickname for a meek or lowly person, from Middle English, Old French
(h)umble (Latin
humilis "lowly", a derivative of
humus "ground").
HUNGATE EnglishA habitational name from Old English hund,'hound', and Old Norse gata, 'gate'.
HUNTINGTON EnglishEnglish: habitational name from any of several places so called, named with the genitive plural
huntena of Old English
hunta ‘hunter’ +
tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’ or
dun ‘hill’ (the forms in -ton and -don having become inextricably confused)...
[more] HUNTLEY English, ScottishHabitational name from a place in Gloucestershire, so named from Old English hunta 'hunter' (perhaps a byname (see Hunt) + leah 'wood', 'clearing'). Scottish: habitational name from a lost place called Huntlie in Berwickshire (Borders), with the same etymology as in 1.
HURLEY English, IrishMeaning is "from a corner clearing" in Old English. Also an anglicized form of an Irish name meaning "sea tide" or "sea valor".
HURRELL English, NormanEnglish (of Norman origin) from a derivative of Old French
hurer ‘to bristle or ruffle’, ‘to stand on end’ (see
Huron).
HURRY EnglishFrom a Norman form of the Middle English personal name Wol(f)rich (with the addition of an inorganic initial H-).
HUSSEY English, IrishAs an English surname, it comes from two distinct sources. It is either of Norman origin, derived from
Houssaye, the name of an area in Seine-Maritime which ultimately derives from Old French
hous "holly"; or it is from a Middle English nickname given to a woman who was the mistress of a household, from an alteration of
husewif "housewife"...
[more] HUTCHINS EnglishSouthern English patronymic from the medieval personal name
Hutchin, a pet form of
Hugh.
HUTTON English, ScottishScottish and northern English habitational name from any of the numerous places so called from Old English
hoh ‘ridge’, ‘spur’ +
tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.
HUXFORD EnglishHabitational name from a place in Devon called Huxford (preserved in the name of Huxford Farm), from the Old English personal name Hōcc or the Old English word hōc ‘hook or angle of land’ + ford ‘ford’.
HYATT EnglishEnglish (mainly London and Surrey): possibly a topographic name from Middle English hegh, hie ‘high’ + yate ‘gate’. ...
[more] HYDE EnglishTopographic name for someone living on (and farming) a hide of land, Old English
hī(gi)d. This was a variable measure of land, differing from place to place and time to time, and seems from the etymology to have been originally fixed as the amount necessary to support one (extended) family (Old English
hīgan,
hīwan "household")...
[more] IDDENDEN English (Rare)Iden as a village name is to be found in both the counties of Kent and Sussex, and describes a pasture, or strictly speaking an area within a marsh suitable for pasture. The origination is the pre 6th century phrase
ig-denn with
ig meaning an island...
[more] IDDON EnglishFrom the Old Norse female personal name
Idunn, literally probably "perform love" (cf.
Idony).
IDEN EnglishHabitational name from a place called Iden Green in Benenden, Kent, or Iden Manor in Staplehurst, Kent, or from Iden in East Sussex. All these places are named in Old English as meaning "pasture by the yew trees", from ig meaning "yew" + denn meaning "pasture".
ILES English (British), FrenchEnglish (mainly Somerset and Gloucestershire): topographic name from Anglo-Norman French isle ‘island’ (Latin insula) or a habitational name from a place in England or northern France named with this element.
IMPEY EnglishFrom
Impey, the name of various places in England, derived from Old English *
imphaga, *
imphæg "sapling enclosure". Alternatively it could have indicated a person who lived near an enclosure of young trees.
INCHBALD EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Ingebald, brought into England by the Normans but ultimately of Germanic origin and meaning literally "brave Ingel" (
Ingel was a different form of
Engel - a shortened form of various Germanic compound personal names (e.g.
Engelbert and
Engelhard) that begin with
Engel-; the two main sources of that were
Angel "Angle" (the name of the Germanic people) and
Ingal, an extended form of
Ing (the name of a Germanic god)).
INGOLDSBY EnglishHabitational name from Ingoldsby in Lincolnshire, named from the Old Norse personal name Ingjaldr + bý meaning "farmstead", "settlement".
INMAN English (British)Anglo-Saxon in Origin. Occupational surname given to a person who "tended a lodge or an inn". Surname first found in Lancashire, England.
IREDELL EnglishAn English name originating in Anglo-Saxon England. Originally found in an area that was referred to as Airedale, which refers to those who lived in the valley of the river Aire in the counties of Yorkshire and Cumberland.
IRELAND English, ScottishEthnic name for someone from Ireland, Old English
Iraland. The country gets its name from the genitive case of Old English
Iras "Irishmen" and
land "land". The stem
Ir- is taken from the Celtic name for Ireland,
Èriu, earlier
Everiu...
[more] IRETON EnglishHabitational name from either of two places in Derbyshire called Ireton, or one in North Yorkshire called Irton. All of these are named from the genitive case of Old Norse
Íri ‘Irishmen’ (see Ireland) +
tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’....
[more] IRONS EnglishEnglish (of Norman origin): habitational name from Airaines in Somme, so named from Latin harenas (accusative case) ‘sands’. The form of the name has been altered as a result of folk etymology, an association of the name with the metal...
[more] ISHAM EnglishThe name of a village in Northamptonshire, England from the Celtic name of a local river
Ise and the Anglo-Saxon term for a small settlement or homestead
-ham.
ISLEY EnglishOf Old English origin, derived from a place named
Hesli, meaning "a hazel wood or grove".
IVES EnglishMeans "son of
Ive", a medieval male personal name, brought into England by the Normans but ultimately of Germanic origin, a shortened form of any of a range of compound names beginning with
īv "yew" (cf...
[more] IVORY EnglishHabitational name from Ivry-la-Bataille in Eure, northern France.
JACKS EnglishPossibly derived as a diminutive of the given name
Jack. A famous bearer is Canadian singer-songwriter Terry Jacks, best known for his 1974 single 'Seasons in the Sun.'
JACOBI Jewish, English, Dutch, GermanFrom the Latin genitive Jacobi ‘(son) of Jacob’, Latinized form of English Jacobs and Jacobson or North German Jakobs(en) and Jacobs(en).
JADWIN English"Jadwin" is said to mean "friend of a stonecutter" (Anglo-Saxon jad "stonecutter" + win or "friend.")
JAGGER EnglishEnglish (West Yorkshire): occupational name from Middle English jagger ‘carter’, ‘peddler’, an agent derivative of Middle English jag ‘pack’, ‘load’ (of unknown origin). ...
[more] JANEWAY EnglishDerived from Middle English
Janaways, the name for someone from the city of Genoa, Italy. A notable fictional bearer is Kathryn Janeway, the captain of starship USS Voyager on the TV-series 'Star Trek: Voyager' (1995-2001).
JASON EnglishProbably a patronymic from
James or any of various other personal names beginning with
J-.
JASPERS EnglishDerived from the given name
Jasper. A famous bearer is the German existential philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969).
JAY English, FrenchNickname from Middle English, Old French
jay(e),
gai "jay (the bird)", probably referring to an idle chatterer or a showy person, although the jay was also noted for its thieving habits.
JAYDEN EnglishSurname of the fictional character Norman Jayden, a character from the video game Heavy Rain.
JEFFREY EnglishFrom a Norman personal name that appears in Middle English as
Geffrey and in Old French as
Je(u)froi. Some authorities regard this as no more than a palatalized form of
Godfrey, but early forms such as
Galfridus and
Gaufridus point to a first element from Germanic
gala "to sing" or
gawi "region, territory"...
[more] JENNESS EnglishEnglish surname, a patronymic from the Middle English personal name
Jan.
JESSEL EnglishFrom a pet-form of
Jessop (a medieval male personal name - a different form of
Joseph). A literary bearer is Miss Jessel, the governess who has charge of the two troubled and enigmatic children in Henry James's ghost story 'The Turn of the Screw' (1898).
JESSIE EnglishPossibly a variant of
Jessey, an occupational name for someone making
jesses (a short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry).
JEW EnglishEthnic name for a Jew, from Middle English jeu meaning "Jew" from Old French giu.
JOB English, French, German, HungarianEnglish, French, German, and Hungarian from the personal name
Iyov or
Job, borne by a Biblical character, the central figure in the Book of Job, who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him...
[more] JOCELYN EnglishAnother of the names brought to England in the eleventh century by the Normans, and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a masculine name only.
JOHN EnglishFrom the given name John. A famous bearer is Elton John.
JOWETT EnglishFrom the medieval male personal name
Jowet or the female personal name
Jowette, both literally "little
Jowe", a pet-form of
Julian. This was borne was British theologian and classical scholar Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893).
JUMP EnglishPerhaps from the English word
jump. A notable namesake was American scientist Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941).
KARKUS EnglishAnyone with information about this last name please edit.
KEEL EnglishEnglish habitational name from Keele in Staffordshire, named from Old English
cy ‘cows’ +
hyll ‘hill’, or from East and West Keal in Lincolnshire, which are named from Old Norse
kjolr ‘ridge’...
[more] KEELER EnglishEnglish: occupational name for a boatman or boatbuilder, from an agent derivative of Middle English kele ‘ship’, ‘barge’ (from Middle Dutch kiel). Americanized spelling of German Kühler, from a variant of an old personal name (see
Keeling) or a variant of
Kuhl.
KEETON EnglishHabitational name from a place called Ketton in Durham or one in Rutland or from Keaton in Ermington, Devon. The first is named from the Old English personal name
Catta or the Old Norse personal name
Káti and Old English
tūn "settlement"; the second is probably from an old river name or tribal name
Cētan (possibly a derivative of Celtic
cēd "wood") and Old English
ēa "river"; and the last possibly from Cornish
kee "hedge, bank" and Old English
tūn.
KELHAM EnglishDerived from the village of Kelham, near Newark-upon-Trent, Nottingham.
KEMPTON EnglishFrom the name of a place in Shropshire meaning "Cempa's town" or "warrior town", from a combination of either the Old English word
cempa "warrior" or the byname derived from it and
tun "farmstead, settlement".
KENDREW EnglishVariant of
Andrew, possibly influenced by
McAndrew. Notable namesake is Nobel Prize winning chemist John Kendrew (1917-1997).
KENNAWAY EnglishFrom the medieval personal name
Kenewi, from Old English
Cynewīg, literally "royal war", or
Cēnwīg, literally "bold war".
KENSLEY EnglishThis surname might derive from the surname
Kinsley or from the locational surname
Kelsey (denoting someone who is from either North or South Kelsey in Lincolnshire).
KENTIE Scottish, English, DutchOrigin and meaning unknown. The name Kentie was spread in the Netherlands when a Scottish soldier, Alexander Kenti, settled at Woudrichem, the Netherlands around 1650. Alexander Kenti was born and raised in the Scottish highlands...
[more] KENYON English, WelshKenyon is a surname from Wales meaning "a person from Ennion's Mound"
KETLEY EnglishMeans "person from Ketley", Shropshire ("glade frequented by cats").
KIDDER EnglishEnglish: possibly an occupational name from early modern English kidd(i)er ‘badger’, a licensed middleman who bought provisions from farmers and took them to market for resale at a profit, or alternatively a variant of
Kidman...
[more] KIDMAN EnglishEnglish: occupational name, probably for a goatherd (from Middle English kid(e) ‘young goat’ + man ‘man’), but possibly also for a cutter of wood used for fuel. (from Middle English kidde ‘faggot’ (an archaic English unit for a bundle of sticks)).
KIDWELL Welsh, EnglishThe origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be derived from Middle English
kidel "fish weir", denoting a person who lived by a fish weir or made his living from it, or from an English place called
Kiddal, probably meaning "Cydda's corner of land" from the Old English given name
Cydda and
halh "nook or corner of land".
KIFF Englishthe origin of the name KIFF could have come from a variation of KITH as in "kith and kin". The O.E.D. definition of the word KITH is that of a native land, familiar place or home so "kith and kin" meant your home and your relations...
[more] KILVERT EnglishProbably from an Old Norse personal name
Ketilfrith, literally "cauldron peace". The surname was borne by British clergyman and diarist Francis Kilvert (1840-1879).
KIND English, German, Jewish, DutchGerman and Jewish (Ashkenazic) from Middle High German
kint, German
Kind ‘child’, hence a nickname for someone with a childish or naive disposition, or an epithet used to distinguish between a father and his son...
[more] KINGSFORD EnglishEnglish habitational name from any of various places named Kingsford, for example in Essex, Devon, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. The name ostensibly means ‘the king’s ford’, but the one in Worcestershire is named as Ceningaford ‘ford of Cena’s people’.
KIPPS EnglishFrom Middle English Kipp, perhaps a byname for a fat man, from an unattested Old English form Cyppe, which according to Reaney is from the Germanic root kupp 'to swell'.
KIRKLAND English, ScottishDerived from the Scottish 'kirk', meaning church, and land. This name denoted one who lived near or tended to the land belonging to or surrounding a church. A famous /fictional/ bearer is Arthur Kirkland, a main character in the highly popular anime/webmanga Axis Powers Hetalia...
[more] KIRKMAN EnglishA name originally found in both Scotland and England. From
Kirk- meaning "church" and
-man for someone who lived near or worked at a church.
KIRKSEY EnglishEnglish: probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place. This surname is also common in the American South.
KITCHENER English (British), ScottishVariant spelling of Kitchen. A famous bearer was senior British Army officer and colonial administrator, Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850-1916).
KITCHENHAM EnglishOccupational surname for a person who was in charge of the kitchen in a royal or noble house, or a monastery. From the Anglo Saxon
cycene (German:
Küche Dutch:
kjøkken Latin:
cocina Italian:
cucina)
KITLEY EnglishDerived from a place name in Devonshire, England, and was first recorded in the form of Kitelhey in 1305....
[more] KNAPP EnglishTopographic name for someone who lived by a hillock, Middle English "
nappe, Old English
cnæpp, or habitational name from any of the several minor places named with the word, in particular Knapp in Hampshire and
Knepp in Sussex.
KNIGHTON EnglishEnglish surname which was derived from a place name composed of the Old English elements
cnihta meaning "servant, retainer" (genitive plural of
cniht) and
tun "enclosure, settlement".
KNIPE EnglishThe lineage of the name Knipe begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived on the peak of a hill or highland. The surname Knipe is primarily familiar in the regions of Lancashire and Westmoreland....
[more] KNOCK EnglishTopographic name for someone living by a hill, from Middle English
knocke "hill" (Old English
cnoc).
KNOLL English, German, JewishEnglish and German topographic name for someone living near a hilltop or mountain peak, from Middle English
knolle ‘hilltop’, ‘hillock’ (Old English
cnoll), Middle High German
knol ‘peak’...
[more] KNOTT EnglishEither from the Middle English personal name
Knut, or denoting a person who lived "at the knot", which is the summit of a rocky hill.
KNOWLES English, IrishAs an English surname it is derived from a genitive or plural form of Middle English
knolle meaning "hilltop, hillock", denoting a person who either lived at the top of a hill or near a hillock, or hailed from one of the many places in England named with this word....
[more] KNOWLTON EnglishHabitational name from either of two places so named, one in Dorset and the other in Kent.