HoughtonEnglish Habitational name derived from any of several locations across England, usually derived from Old English hoh "heel, hough, point of land" and tun "town, settlement, enclosure"... [more]
HousemanEnglish Referred to a man who lived or worked in a house, as opposed to a smaller hut (see House). Famous bearers of this name include Romanian-British-American actor John Houseman (1902-1988; real name Jacques Haussmann), Argentine soccer player René Houseman (1953-2018) and Canadian actor Tyson Houseman (1990-).
HowarthEnglish "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.
HowcroftEnglish Means "enclosed field on a hill". Derived from the words haugr "hill", of Norse origin, and croft "enclosed field"
HowesEnglish Pronounced to rhyme with hose, a variant of Howe with plural or post-medieval excrescent -s. Hose (Leicestershire), recorded as Howes in 1086, is named with the plural of Old English hōh ‘hill spur’.... [more]
HowlettEnglish The name Howlett was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Norman personal name Hugh. Howlett was a baptismal name which means the son of Hugh... [more]
HowleyEnglish, Irish English habitational name from Howley in Warrington (Lancashire) or Howley in Morley (Yorkshire). The Lancashire name also appears as Hooley and Wholey while the Yorkshire placename comes from Old English hofe "ground ivy... [more]
HoxieEnglish They were first found in the settlement of Hawkshaw in the county of Lancashire. The surname Hoxie belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
HoylandEnglish, Norwegian English (South Yorkshire): habitational name from any of various places in South Yorkshire named with Old English hoh ‘hill spur’ + land ‘(cultivated) land’. ... [more]
HoyleWelsh, English Derived from Old English holh meaning "hole". It is thought to have originally been a name for someone who lived in a round hollow or near a pit.
HoytEnglish Generally 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".
HubbleEnglish From the Norman personal name Hubald, composed of the Germanic elements hug "heart, mind, spirit" and bald "bold, brave".
HuckEnglish From the medieval personal name Hucke, which was probably descended from the Old English personal name Ucca or Hucca, perhaps a shortened form of Uhtræd influenced by a medieval form of Hugh... [more]
HuckabeeEnglish This surname originated as a habitational name, derived from Huccaby in Devon, England; this place name is derived from two Old English elements: the first, woh, meaning "crooked"; the second, byge, meaning "river bend".... [more]
HuckabyEnglish Means "person from Huccaby", Devon (perhaps "crooked river-bend"), or "person from Uckerby", Yorkshire ("Úkyrri's or Útkári's farmstead").
HuckleberryEnglish From the name of the variety of shrubs (genus Vaccinium) or the berries that grow on them. This is also the anglicized form of the German surname Hackelberg.
HulbertEnglish 1 English and German: from a Germanic personal name, Holbert, Hulbert, composed of the elements hold, huld ‘friendly’, ‘gracious’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.... [more]
HulkeEnglish a nickname for a person who literally "towed" ships and barges
HullerEnglish Topographical name for a 'dweller by a hill', deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century 'hyll' a hill, or in this instance 'atte hulle', at the hill.
HungateEnglish Habitational name from any of several places in England called Hungate, derived from Old English hund "hound, dog" and Old Norse gata "street, road".
HungerfordEnglish From the name of a settlement in Berkshire, England, derived from Old English hungor "hunger, famine" and ford "ford, river crossing".
HunleyEnglish (American) English: variant of Hundley, which also has English origins (Worcestershire and Herefordshire): possibly a variant of Huntley or a habitational name from a lost Hundley, and Hanley.... [more]
HuntingtonEnglish English: 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]
HuntleyEnglish, Scottish Habitational 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.
HusseyEnglish, Irish As 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]
HutchEnglish From the medieval personal name Huche, a pet form of Hugh.
HuttonEnglish, Scottish Scottish and northern English habitational name from any of the numerous places so called from Old English hoh ‘ridge’, ‘spur’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’.
HuxEnglish Means "insult, scorn" in Old English. This is used in Popular Culture by First Order General Armitage Hux, played by Domhnall Gleeson in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
HuxfordEnglish Habitational 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’.
IbbotsonEnglish Diminutive form ("son of" or little) of Hibbs, itself a patronymic, from a diminutive of Hibbert, which derives from a Norman personal name, "Hil(de)bert", composed of the Germanic elements "hild", battle, and "berht" famous.
IdenEnglish Habitational 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".
IlesEnglish (British), French English (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.
IllingworthEnglish It indicates familial origin within the eponymous village in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
ImmerGerman, English German: habitational name for someone from a place named Immer near Oldenburg in Lower Saxony. ... [more]
ImpeyEnglish From 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.
IngEnglish From the name of a former district in Essex, possibly derived from Old English ing "meadow, water meadow", or from ge "district, region" combined with the suffix -ing. Alternatively, it could derive from the given name Inge.
IngersollEnglish Habitational name derived from Inkersall in Derbyshire, probably composed of a given name such as Ingvarr or the byname Hynkere (meaning "limper") combined with Old English hyll "hill" or Old Norse salr "hall, room"... [more]
InglebyEnglish From the names of either of two hamlets in England, derived from Old Norse Englar "Englishman" and býr "farmstead, village".
InglestonEnglish (British) Ingleston is an exceptionally rare surname and seems to be posessed by a single family who much grew larger in the 19th century. ... [more]
InglisEnglish (British), Scottish Originates from the Scots word for English as in a person of English origin. Around 1395 after a dual, the family name became connected to the Scottish clan Douglas as a sept, or a follower, of the clan... [more]
IngoldsbyEnglish Habitational name from Ingoldsby in Lincolnshire, named from the Old Norse personal name Ingjaldr + bý meaning "farmstead", "settlement".
InmanEnglish (British) Anglo-Saxon in Origin. Occupational surname given to a person who "tended a lodge or an inn". Surname first found in Lancashire, England.
IretonEnglish Habitational 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]
IronmongerEnglish From Middle English ire(n)mongere, er(n)mongere meaning "ironmonger; dealer in household goods".
IronsEnglish English (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]
IronsideEnglish Possibly from Middle English irenside (Old English iren ‘iron’ + side ‘side’), a nickname for an iron-clad warrior.
IshamEnglish The 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.
IvesEnglish Means "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]
IveyEnglish Could be a patronymic from the given name Ive, or a habitational name from Ivoy in Cher, northern France.
IvoryEnglish Habitational name from Ivry-la-Bataille in Eure, northern France.
IvyEnglish Variant of Ivey. In some cases, might instead be derived from the name of the plant.
JacksEnglish Possibly 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.'
JadwinEnglish "Jadwin" is said to mean "friend of a stonecutter" (Anglo-Saxon jad "stonecutter" + win or "friend.")
JaggardEnglish The name Jaggard is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It was originally a name for someone who worked as a person who tends draughthorses.
JanewayEnglish Derived 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).
JardinFrench, English Derived from Old French jardin meaning "enclosure, garden", hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a garden or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked as a gardener.
JayEnglish, French Nickname 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.
JaycoxEnglish A patronymic surname from a pet form of the given name Jack.
JaydenEnglish Surname of the fictional character Norman Jayden, a character from the video game Heavy Rain.
JaynesEnglish (British) The Jaynes surname is a patronymic name created from the personal name Jan, which was a Middle English variant of the name John, or as "son of Jan.
JeffreyEnglish From 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]
JenksEnglish, Welsh English (also found in Wales) patronymic from the Middle English personal name Jenk, a back-formation from Jenkin with the removal of the supposed Anglo-Norman French diminutive suffix -in.
JesselEnglish From 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).
JessieEnglish Possibly a variant of Jessey, an occupational name for someone making jesses (a short strap fastened around the leg of a bird used in falconry).
JewsonEnglish (British) A patronymic (also potentially matronymic) surname that means "the son of Jull", coming from the element Jull, a diminutive form of the personal name Julian or Juette from Iovis, the Roman god of thunder and the sky combined with the suffix of son.
JobEnglish, French, German, Hungarian English, 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]
JocelynEnglish Another of the names brought to England in the eleventh century by the Normans, and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Originally a masculine name only.
JollyEnglish From the English word jolly, which is ultimately from Old French joli# ("merry, happy"). Originally a nickname for someone of a cheerful or attractive disposition.
JoplinEnglish Possibly derived from a Middle English diminutive of Geoffrey, a nickname from Middle English joppe "fool", or from the Biblical name Job... [more]
JordisonEnglish Possibly meaning son of Jordan. This name is surname of American drummer Joey Jordison.