RevereEnglish, French, Judeo-Italian French: variant of Rivière, Rivoire, or Rivier, topographic name for someone living on the banks of a river, French rivier ‘bank’, or habitational name from any of the many places in France named with this word.... [more]
PlunketEnglish Either an occupational name for someone who sold plunket, a "coarse white woollen cloth", or a location in France with the name Planquette or Planquenet.
SpeakmanEnglish English (chiefly Lancashire) nickname or occupational name for someone who acted as a spokesman, from Middle English spekeman ‘advocate’, ‘spokesman’ (from Old English specan to speak + mann ‘man’).
NarramoreEnglish Earliest progenitor is Reginald Bynorthemore, living 1318 inbetween Bovey Tracy and Moretonhampstead, in Dartmoor, Devonshire, England. By the 16th century, the surname was being used interchangeably as Narramore/Northmore within the same generation, as in the case of Walter Narramore/Northmore... [more]
LighthallEnglish A habitational name from a place called Lightollars in Lancashire, so named from Old English leoht ‘light-colored’ + alor ‘alder’. The surname, however, is not found in current English sources.
BaltimoreEnglish (American) From the name of the American city of Baltimore, and an anglicisation of Irish Gaelic Baile an Tí Mhóir meaning "town of the big house".
LawtonEnglish Habitational name, common in Lancashire and Yorkshire, from Buglawton or Church Lawton in Cheshire, or Lawton in Herefordshire, named in Old English as ‘settlement on or near a hill’, or ‘settlement by a burial mound’, from hlaw ‘hill’, ‘burial mound’ + tun ‘enclosure’, ‘settlement’... [more]
PettEnglish The name Pett has a history dating as far back as the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person who was referred to as Peat. The surname Pett was originally derived from the Old English word which meant a spoiled or pampered child.
BagnallEnglish From a place in England, derived from the Old English name "Badeca", a short form of any name beginning from beadu "battle", and halh "nook, recess".
SegaleEnglish, Italian Respelling of SEGAL. A famous bearer is Mario A. Segale, the inspiration for Nintendo's video game character Mario
DelevingneFrench, English Means "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
HoughEnglish English: 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]
RamsbottomEnglish Habitational name from a market town called Ramsbottom in Greater Manchester, England (historically in Lancashire), derived from Old English hramsa meaning "wild garlic" or ramm "ram", and bothm meaning "bottom, bottom valley".
NuteAnglo-Saxon, English Derived from the given name Cnute. Alternatively, it may be of nickname origin, from the Old English word hnutu, which meant brown, and would have been given to someone with a brown complexion.
PeeleEnglish This surname was given topographically to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. A famous bearer of this surname is actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director Jordan Peele.
OaksEnglish English variant spelling of Oakes and Americanized form of Jewish Ochs.
WalwynEnglish Either (i) from the Old English personal name Wealdwine, literally "power-friend"; or (ii) perhaps from the medieval personal name Walwain, the Anglo-Norman form of Old French Gauvain (cf... [more]
MudieEnglish Possibly from Old English 'modig', meaning "brave", or "reckless".
AthertonEnglish Habitational name from a place near Manchester named Atherton, from the Old English personal name Æðelhere + Old English tun meaning "settlement".
GrimshawEnglish A habitational surname originating from the hamlet of Grimshaw in Lancashire, derived from Old English elements grīma "mask" and sċeaga "copse". Famous bearers of this surname include , English Victorian-era artist John Atkinson Grimshaw and Irish writer Beatrice Grimshaw, as well as the Grimshaw family in Coronation Street.
GladneyEnglish Probably means "bright island", from the Old English element glæd "bright" (cf. Glædwine) and the English element ney "island" (cf.... [more]
HurryEnglish From a Norman form of the Middle English personal name Wol(f)rich (with the addition of an inorganic initial H-).
CarnellEnglish A crossbowman or archer who protected castles and fortresses.
DeardenEnglish Meant "person from Dearden", Lancashire ("valley frequented by wild animals"). It was borne by British film director Basil Dearden (original name Basil Dear; 1911-1971).
CaveNorman, French, English A name of various possible origins. As a Norman French name Cave can mean "bald" from cauf or it can mean "worker in a wine cellar" or "one who dwelt in or near a cave". As an English name Cave refers to a Yorkshire river whose fast current inspired the name meaning "swift".
PrivettFrench, English, Welsh (?) French, from the given name Privat (see Privatus). Also an English habitational name from a place so named in Hampshire, derived from Old English pryfet "privet".
CaverlyEnglish English surname, a variant of the English surname Calverley, itself derived from the Old English calf "calf" and leag "field, clearing".
WriothesleyEnglish (British) Name is of unknown origin, deriving from older Wrotteslega, who were a family that held estates in Staffordshire in the late 1100s. Possibly a combination of wrot "snout" and leah "meadow, cleaning", suggesting it's origin as a pig farm.
WellerEnglish, German Either from the Olde English term for a person who extracted salt from seawater, or from the English and German "well(e)," meaning "someone who lived by a spring or stream."... [more]
BowerEnglish, Scottish Scottish: occupational name for a bow maker, Older Scots bowar, equivalent to English Bowyer. ... [more]
MagnumEnglish Possibly derived from the given name Magnus. It is borne by the fictional character Thomas Magnum, the protagonist on the American television series Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988).
WhartonEnglish Derived from an Olde English pre 7th Century river name Woefer.
BarnabyEnglish Either (i) means "person from Barnaby", Yorkshire ("Beornwald's settlement"); or (ii) from the medieval male personal name Barnaby, the English form of Barnabas, a biblical name ultimately from Aramaic Barnabia "son of Nabia".
ThynneEnglish Either a nickname meaning “thin”, from Old English þynne, or the designation “of th’Inne” for someone who lived at the Inn of Court.
CoolidgeEnglish Probably an occupational name for a college servant or someone with some other association with a university college, for example a tenant farmer who farmed one of the many farms in England known as College Farm, most of which are or were owned by university colleges.
SummersetEnglish Regional surname for someone from Somerset, an area in England. The name is derived from Old English sumer(tun)saete meaning "dwellers at the summer settlement".
WigmoreEnglish habitational name from Wigmore in Herefordshire so named from Old English wicga in the sense "something moving quaking unstable ground" and mor "marsh".
ThoreauEnglish Last name of famous American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, sage writer and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau.
EadeEnglish (British, ?) Originally derived from the Old English Eadwig, which meant "prosperity / fortune in war." Surname found mainly in Scotland and northern England... [more]
WastieEnglish Derived from “gehaeg” meaning “hedge” in Old English which was later changed to Weysthagh then Wastie
OrchardEnglish, Scottish English: topographic name for someone who lived by an orchard, or a metonymic occupational name for a fruit grower, from Middle English orchard.... [more]
JaspersEnglish Derived from the given name Jasper. A famous bearer is the German existential philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969).
TemplerEnglish Templer is an Old English surname denoting either a servant of one of the Knights Templar, or a person living near or serving at a church. The meaning is “church attendant”.
ZellerGerman, Dutch, English, Jewish Originally denoted someone from Celle, Germany or someone living near a hermit's cell from German zelle "cell". It is also occupational for someone employed at a zelle, for example a small workshop.
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.
ReedusEnglish, Scottish An English and Scottish name of uncertain origin. Possibly a reduced form of English Redhouse, a habitational name from any of the numerous places named Redhouse, including over ninety farms.
LowesEnglish Patronymic from of Low derived from Middle English lowe meaning "hill, mound".
LeatherEnglish, Scottish A metonymic occupational name for a leatherworker or seller of leather goods, and derived from Middle English and Old English lether meaning "leather".
CabucosEnglish Decended from Old English meaning "leader."
CoatesEnglish Name for a cottager or a person who lived in a humble dwelling, derived from Old English cote meaning "cottage, hut". It could also be used as a habitational name for someone from any of numerous locations with this name.
ElsegoodEnglish (British), English (Australian) Derived from an Old English given name, possibly *Ælfgod or *Æðelgod, in which the second element is god "god". (Another source gives the meaning "temple-god", presumably from ealh and god.)... [more]
LongfellowEnglish Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline.
GreasbyEnglish One who came from Greasby, a parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, now Merseyside.
GoldthwaiteEnglish Possibly derived from Guilthwaite in South Yorkshire, which is named from Old Norse gil meaning "ravine" and þveit meaning "clearing". However, the modern surname is associated with Essex, suggesting some other source, now lost.
CarrawayEnglish (British) The name Carraway belongs to the early history of Britain, and its origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of one having lived on a road near a field or piece of land that was triangular in shape... [more]