BonsallEnglish (British) This is a locational name which originally derived from the village of Bonsall, near Matlock in Derbyshire. The name is Norse-Viking, pre 10th Century and translates as 'Beorns-Halh' - with 'Beorn' being a personal name meaning 'Hero' and 'Halh' a piece of cultivated land - a farm.
BroderickIrish, Welsh, English Surname which comes from two distinct sources. As a Welsh surname it is derived from ap Rhydderch meaning "son of Rhydderch". As an Irish surname it is an Anglicized form of Ó Bruadair meaning "descendent of Bruadar"... [more]
RowleyEnglish Anglo Saxon Name- locational, comes from several places in England such as in Devonshire, Yorkshire, County Durham and Staffordshire. It means ' rough wood or clearing', from the Old English 'run' meaning rough and 'leah', meaning clearing in a wood.
TurnbowEnglish, German (Americanized) Americanized spelling of German Dürnbach, from a habitational name from any of several places so named or from places in Austria and Bavaria named Dürrenbach (meaning "dry stream").
MarvelEnglish Either (i) from a medieval nickname (often ironic) for someone regarded as a prodigy; or (ii) "person from Merville", the name of two places in northern France ("smaller settlement" and "settlement belonging to a man with a Germanic name beginning with Meri-, literally 'famous'")... [more]
FurlowEnglish (British), Irish the warrens came over to America on the Mayflower. they made settlements and went through the revolutionary war. the name changed to Baughman then Furlow. the furlows fought in the cival war and were slave owners... [more]
DareEnglish This 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"... [more]
PeaseEnglish English: from Middle English pese ‘pea’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of peas, or a nickname for a small and insignificant person. The word was originally a collective singular (Old English peose, pise, from Latin pisa) from which the modern English vocabulary word pea is derived by folk etymology, the singular having been taken as a plural.
WrayeEnglish Variant of the habitational name Wray or Ray, from any of various minor places in northern England named Wray, Wrea, or Wreay, from Old Norse vrá ‘nook’, ‘corner’, ‘recess’.
SpoonEnglish Apparently a metonymic occupational name either for a maker of roofing shingles or spoons, from Old English spon "chip, splinter" (see also Spooner).
EtheringtonEnglish (British) An Old English surname from Kent, the village of Etherington, which derives from the Old English "Ethel"red' ing (meaning people of, coming from) and "ton" a town/village.
PortugalSpanish, Portuguese, English, Catalan, French, Jewish Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, English, French, and Jewish surname meaning ethnic name or regional name for someone from Portugal or who had connections with Portugal. The name of the country derives from Late Latin Portucale, originally denoting the district around Oporto (Portus Cales, named with Latin portus ‘port’, ‘harbor’ + Cales, the ancient name of the city)... [more]
MetcalfeEnglish An occupational name from Northern England, from Old English mete, 'food' and calf, 'calf', i.e calfs being fattened for consumption in late summer. Thus, making this surname an occupational name for either a slaughterer or herdsman... [more]
CorriganEnglish Traditionally an Irish surname meaning "spear". From the Irish Gaelic corragán which is a double diminutive of corr 'pointed'.
HaylockEnglish English surname of uncertain origin, possibly from the Old English given name Hægluc, a diminutive of the unrecorded name *Hægel, found in various place names... [more]
EveleighEnglish From an unknown location, possibly from the village of Everleigh in Wiltshire, England (see Everleigh).
TilsleyEnglish Derived from the place name Tyldesley, which in turn derives from Old English personal name Tīlweald with the suffix lēah “clearing, meadow”. Notable bearers of this name include Canadian salvationist and writer Bramwell Tillsley, as well as Welsh poet and Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales Gwilym Tilsley known under his bardic name of "Tilsli".... [more]
ButterEnglish, German 1. English: nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a bittern, perhaps in the booming quality of the voice, from Middle English, Old French butor ‘bittern’ (a word of obscure etymology)... [more]
EcclesEnglish From the name of a town in Greater Manchester, England or another town or village named Eccles, derived from Latin ecclesia via Romano-British ecles meaning "church".
CleaveEnglish From an English topographical name meaning "cliff".
TwyfordEnglish English habitational name from any of the numerous places named Twyford, for example in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Derbyshire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Middlesex, and Norfolk, from Old English twi- ‘double’ + ford ‘ford’.
MoltenEnglish The surname Molten refers to one who melts lead.
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.
DoubledayEnglish Possibly 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".
VicaryEnglish (British) There are a number of theories as to the origins of the name, Spanish sailors shipwrecked after the Armada and French Huguenots fleeing the Revolution are two of the more romantic ones. It is more likely to have come as someone associated with the church - the vicar, who carried out the pastoral duties on behalf of the absentee holder of a benefice... [more]
MontfordEnglish As a Shropshire name believed to mean "from a communal ford or water crossing" while the Norfolk origin is "from Munda's ford," Munda being an old English personal name meaning "protector, guardian," as seen in names such as Edmund.
HayEnglish, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Frisian Scottish and English: topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosure, Middle English hay(e), heye(Old English (ge)hæg, which after the Norman Conquest became confused with the related Old French term haye ‘hedge’, of Germanic origin)... [more]
FrettEnglish English from Middle English frette, Old French frete ‘interlaced work (in metal and precious stones)’ such as was used for hair ornaments and the like, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such pieces.
WillScottish, English, German Scottish and northern English from the medieval personal name Will, a short form of William, or from some other medieval personal names with this first element, for example Wilbert or Willard... [more]
GrangeEnglish, French English and French topographic name for someone who lived by a granary, from Middle English, Old French grange (Latin granica ‘granary’, ‘barn’, from granum ‘grain’)... [more]
EdgeEnglish Topographic name, especially in Lancashire and the West Midlands, for someone who lived on or by a hillside or ridge, from Old English ecg "edge".
HenwoodEnglish Habitational name from any of various places so named, as for example Henwood in Cornwall, in Linkinhorne parish, which is named from Old English henn 'hen', 'wild bird' + wudu 'wood', or Hen Wood in Wootton, Oxfordshire
FulcherEnglish English (chiefly East Anglia): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements folk ‘people’ + hari, heri ‘army’, which was introduced into England from France by the Normans; isolated examples may derive from the cognate Old English Folchere or Old Norse Folkar, but these names were far less common.
TippettsEnglish (American) Tippetts Recorded as Tipp, Tippe, diminutives Tippell, Tippets, Tipping, patronymics Tippett, Tipples, Tippins, and possibly others, this is a medieval English surname. ... [more]
CattleyEnglish Means "person from Catley", Herefordshire and Lincolnshire ("glade frequented by cats"). It was borne by the British botanical patron William Cattley (1788-1835).
SidwellEnglish From an English surname of uncertain origin, possibly originally a habitational name from an unidentified place with a second element from Old English well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’, but on the other hand early forms are found without prepositions... [more]
CabellCatalan, English, German As a Catalan name, a nickname for "bald" from the Spanish word cabello. The English name, found primarily in Norfolk and Devon, is occupational for a "maker or seller of nautical rope" that comes from a Norman French word... [more]
WoodsonEnglish From a location in Yorkshire, England earlier spelled Woodsome and meaning "from the houses in the wood" or possibly a patronymic meaning "descendant of a wood cutter or forester."
TerseEnglish This name means literally curt, short or stiff. Similar to Stiff (surname) (see Stiff under user submitted names) Not very commonly used. If you're looking for a name for a fictional character who is either an antagonist or just likes to stir things up, you could probably use this.
BloomEnglish Metonymic occupational name for an iron worker, from Middle English blome ‘ingot (of iron)’.
SnowdenEnglish Habitational name from Snowden, a place in West Yorkshire named from Old English snāw ‘snow’ + dūn ‘hill’, i.e. a hill where snow lies long.
ValletFrench, English French topographic name from a diminutive of Old French val "valley" (see Val ) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallet the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France and French and English occupational name for a manservant from Old French and Middle English vallet "manservant groom".
PatemanEnglish The name Pateman is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It is a name for someone who worked as a boatman. The surname Pateman is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word bat, which means a boat.
GillardEnglish, French, Swiss English and French from an assimilated form of the personal name Gislehard, a compound of Old High German gisel ‘hostage’, ‘pledge’, ‘noble youth’ (see Giesel) + hard ‘hardy’... [more]
LansingEnglish Derived from the name of Lancing, a place in West Sussex, which was composed of the Old English personal name Wlanc and -ingas meaning "family of" or "followers of".
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".
LeavisEnglish Possibly from the Gallo-Roman name Laevius meaning "left", related to Levy.
SyrettEnglish Either (i) from the medieval male personal name Syred (from Old English Sigerǣd, literally "victory-counsel"); or (ii) from the medieval female personal name Sigerith (from Old Norse Sigfrithr, literally "victory-lovely").
GoodenoughEnglish From a medieval nickname probably applied either to someone of average abilities or to an easily satisfied person; also, perhaps from a medieval nickname meaning "good servant".
SpoorsEnglish, Dutch Metonymic occupational name for a maker of spurs, a lorimer, from Middle Dutch spore, Middle English spore, spure ‘spur’.
HolladayEnglish English: from Old English haligdæg ‘holy day’, ‘religious festival’. The reasons why this word should have become a surname are not clear; probably it was used as a byname for one born on a religious festival day.
OberleyEnglish Of debated origin and meaning; theories include an Anglicized form of Oberle.
MardellEnglish Of debated origin and meaning. Theories include a variant of Marden.
RushenEnglish Originally denoted a person who lived near a marsh, noted for its rushes (see Rush). A famous bearer of this surname is the American singer Patrice Rushen (b. 1954).
PurdomEnglish English: metathesized variants of Prudhomme; the -ru- reversal is a fairly common occurrence in words where -r- is preceded or followed by a vowel.
DeathridgeEnglish Name given to someone who lived near a cemetery on a ridge.
LinneyEnglish From an Old English female personal name Lindgifu, Lindgeofu, composed of the elements lind ‘lime (wood)’, i.e. ‘shield’ (a transferred sense) + gifu, geofu ‘gift’.
MasseterEnglish Perhaps means "brewery worker" (from Middle English mash "fermentable mixture of hot water and grain" + rudder "rudder-shaped stirrer").
BattersbyEnglish Derives from the place of Battersby in North Yorkshire, which is composed of Old Norse personal name Bǫðvarr and the Old Norse suffix býr "farm, settlement"... [more]
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.
AllisEnglish From the Middle English and Old French female personal name Alis (Alice), which, together with its diminutive Alison, was extremely popular in England in the Middle Ages. The personal name is of Germanic origin, brought to England from France by the Normans; it is a contracted form of Germanic Adalhaid(is), which is composed of the elements adal "noble" and haid "brilliance, beauty".
PoplarEnglish Nickname for someone living by a poplar tree.
HeadleeEnglish (Rare) The Anglo-Saxon name Headlee comes from when the family resided in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Headley in Hampshire is the oldest. The surname Headlee belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
KleberGerman, English (American) Derived from German kleben "to bind, to stick", hence an occupational name for someone who applied clay daub or whitewash on buildings.
GattonEnglish Gat means "goat" and ton from tun means "enclosure".