Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
GognonFrench, Occitan Nickname for an aggressive or belligerent man, from Old French Gagnon ‘ mastiff’, ‘guard dog’. Possibly from Occitan ganhon ‘young pig’, applied as an offensive nickname. See also Gonyeau.
GombertFrench, German French and German: from Gundbert, a Germanic personal name composed of the elements gund ‘battle’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’... [more]
GonzeFrench My family surname originated in southern French-speaking Belgium. There is a tiny village called Gonzeville in northern France near the Belgian border which you can find on Wikipedia. Many surnames from French speaking Belgium have 5 or 6 letters and end in -ze, such as Gonze and Meeze... [more]
GooseEnglish, Norman Occupational name for a goose-herd (a person who tends to geese) or a medieval nickname for a person who resembled a goose in some way. It could also be a English (of Norman French origins) cognate of Gosse.
GoudeauGermanic (Rare, Archaic), French Possible variant of the surname Goethe. It also possibly derives from the diminutive Old French of "gode", meaning "happy-go-lucky, debauched".
GouletFrench (Quebec), French Of uncertain origin and meaning. Theories include a derivation from Old French goule "mouth" (combined with a diminutive suffix), in which case this name would have been a nickname for a glutton.
GoupilFrench nickname for someone with red hair or for a cunning person from Old French goupil "fox" Late Latin vulpiculus a diminutive of classical Latin vulpes a distant cognate of Wolf . This was replaced as a vocabulary word during the Middle Ages by Renard originally a personal name.
GoussetFrench It is derived from the Old French word gousset, which means "purse" or "wallet". It is likely that this surname was originally given to someone who was a purse maker or a merchant who dealt in small items.
GrandjeanFrench, French (Swiss) Derived from French grand meaning "tall, large" and the given name Jean 1, hence possibly a nickname for a tall or large person.
GrandpierreFrench Derived from French grand meaning "tall, large" and the given name Pierre.
GrangeEnglish, French From Old French grange "granary, barn", denoting someone who lived or worked in a granary, or who came from any of several places in France called Grange... [more]
GranierFrench French for a grain merchant (from Latin granarius), a topographic name for someone who lived by a granary (from Latin granarium) or a metonymic role name for someone who monitors or owned one.
GravelotteFrench Derived from a commune (town) in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, near Metz.
GravesFrench Topographic or habitational name derived from Old French grave "gravel".
GravesEnglish, French, German Derives from someone who had an occupation as a grave digger or a caretaker for a graveyard.
GreeleyEnglish, Norman English (of Norman origin): nickname for someone with a pock-marked face, from Old Northern French greslé ‘pitted’, ‘scarred’ (from gresle ‘hailstone’, of Germanic origin).
GrenardFrench, Walloon, English (British) Some characteristic forenames: French Andre, Henri, Armand, Emile, Jacques, Marielle, Michel, Monique, Olivier, Pierre, Remi, Serge.... [more]
GrenierFrench Occupational name for a grain merchant (from Latin granarius), or a topographic name for someone who lived by a granary (from Latin granarium) or a metonymic occupational name for someone who supervised or owned one.
GriffonFrench From a diminutive of Old French griffe "claw", hence a nickname for a grasping or vicious person, or perhaps for someone with a deformed or otherwise remarkable hand.
GrignonFrench From French 'grignard' meaning "angry" and "contemptuous", and Old French (of Germanic origin) 'grignier' "to grit the teeth" or "curl the lips".
GrindyGerman (Modern), French I have seen elsewhere explanations about this name being German or French in origin. Sorry, I do not have the sources to hand
GriselFrench, French (Swiss) Derived from the Old French adjective grisel, a variant of gris meaning "grey". It was a nickname for a person with grey hair a grey complexion or who habitually wore grey.
GrosjeanFrench, French (Belgian) Derived from French gros "large" and the given name Jean 1. As a nickname, it is sometimes applied to a person who is perceived as stupid.
GrullonDominican, Mexican, French Possibly from a derivative of Spanish grulla "crane (bird)" presumably applied as a nickname for tall thin person; in Mexico however grulla denotes a crafty person
GuéroultFrench Old French form of an uncertain Ancient Germanic given name, possibly composed of Old Germanic warōną "to watch, protect, guard", gredaz "desire, hunger" or gernaz "eager, willing", or Old High German ger "spear" combined with either wolf "wolf" or walt "power, authority".
GuerryFrench From the Germanic given name Wigric derived from the elements wig "battle" and ric "powerful".
GuertinFrench A French surname that evolved from the Old Germanic given name Warin meaning "to guard" or "protection". This surname was often given as an occupational name for a guard, or someone who served as a protector in their community.
GuetFrench French - From Old French guet "lookout, watchman".
GuidryFrench (Cajun), Louisiana Creole Derived from the given name Witeric. This surname is particularly associated with Cajuns in Louisiana, United States, who seem all to be descended from Claude Guédry dit Grivois, who arrived in Acadia before 1671.
GuillotinFrench From a diminutive of Guillaume and a variant of Guillot. A notable user is Joseph-Ignace Guillotin whom the guillotine was named after.
GuitryFrench Derived from the given name Witeric. A famous bearer of this name was Sacha Guitry (1885-1957), a French actor, playwright, screenwriter and director.
GulletteFrench Comes from Guillemme or William of Normandy. Reference 1066: The Battle of Hastings.
GurneyEnglish, French, Norman Originated from the region Normandy in France, is also a biospheric name from Gournay-en-Bray, a commune in France. It is also a fictional character's maiden name, Jacqueline "Jackie" Bouvier from the animated sitcom show, The Simpsons.
GuyEnglish, French From a French form of the Germanic personal name Wido, which is of uncertain origin. This name was popular among the Normans in the forms Wi, Why as well as in the rest of France in the form Guy.
HamelFrench topographic name for someone who lived and worked at an outlying farm dependent on the main village Old French hamel (a diminutive from an ancient Germanic element cognate with Old English ham "homestead"); or a habitational name from (Le) Hamel the name of several places in the northern part of France named with this word.
HässliGerman (Swiss), French (Rare) Swiss German diminutive form of Haas. This is a French surname via Alsace-Lorraine. A notable bearer is French footballer (soccer player) Eric Hassli (1981-).
HasteEnglish, French Derived from Old French haste meaning "(roasting) spit" (ultimately from Latin hasta "spear, lance, pike"), an occupational name for a seller of roast meat or a servant who turned the spit to cook meat.
HazardEnglish, French Nickname for an inveterate gambler, a crafty person, or a brave or foolhardy man prepared to run risks, from Middle English hasard via Old French hasart "dice game, game of chance", later used metaphorically of other uncertain enterprises... [more]
HerbarthGerman, Norman References Old Norse Deity "Odin" being one of the "Son's of Odin". Remember that the Geats became the Ostrogoths through the Denmark pass--referenced in Beowulf. Or, it means "Warrior of the Bearded One", perhaps a King... [more]
HermèsFrench Either a topographic name for someone who lived in a deserted spot or on a patch of waste land from Occitan erm "desert waste" (from Greek erēmia) and the topographic suffix -ès, or from the given name Hermès.
HeronFrench, Caribbean Either derived from the given name Heron, or given to someone who resembled a heron bird.
HervéFrench, Breton From the Breton given name Hervé or from the ancient Germanic personal name Hariwig, composed of the elements hari "army" and wig "battle"... [more]
HeureauxFrench (Caribbean) Possibly from French heureux "happy, lucky, good". Ulises Heureaux (1845-1899) was the 22nd, 26th, and 27th president of the Dominican Republic
HildrethNorman English (Durham): of Norman origin, a variant of the male personal name Hildred (ancient Germanic Hild(i)rad, from hild 'battle' and rād 'counsel'). German: from the ancient Germanic personal name composed of hild 'fight, battle' + rāt 'counsel'.
HollierEnglish, French Occupational name for a male brothel keeper, from a dissimilated variant of Old French horier "pimp", which was the agent noun of hore "whore, prostitute". Hollier was probably also used as an abusive nickname in Middle English and Old French.... [more]
HommeNorwegian, French Habitational surname "small valley" from Old Norse hvammr, variant of French Hommet
HoudinFrench Variant of Bodin , a pet form of Bodo, a short form of any of various ancient Germanic personal names with the element bod ‘messenger’.... [more]
HoudiniFrench Originated as a stage name. He chose it as an homage to the French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin.
HugoFrench Victor Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. He was also the writer of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and 'Les Misérables'.
HuguenotFrench Meaning uncertain. It could be denoted as a French Protestant who held the Reformed tradition of Protestantism, possibly derived from Middle French eiguenot "Swiss confederate", from Swiss republican Besançon Hugues, or a diminutive form of Hugues, from the same person... [more]
HuvalFrench (Cajun) The Huval name has historically been labeled German or Acadian (Cajun), however, recently more information has been discovered that shows the Huvals came directly from France.... [more]
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.
ImbertFrench From the medieval French personal name Imbert, of Germanic origin and meaning literally "vast-bright".
JardelFrench Of debated origin and meaning; theories include a derivation from Old French jardel, a diminutive of jard (jardin in Modern French), meaning "garden".
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.
JeanpetitFrench Means "little Jean" from Old French petit "small" and the given name Jean 1, originally a nickname for a small man called Jean (or applied ironically to a large man), or a distinguishing epithet for the younger of two men named Jean.... [more]
JereFrench Derived from the personal name Jerome, which is derived from the Greek name Hieronymos, meaning “sacred name.” Jerome was a saint who was known for translating the Bible into Latin.
JeterFrench (Huguenot), German Jeter is a French and German surname. It is the last name of former New York Yankees baseball player, Derek Jeter. It's also the last name of Carmelita Jeter, an American sprinter who specializes in the 100 meter sprint.
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]
JolicoeurFrench (Quebec), Haitian Creole From Old French joli "joyful, cheerful" and cuer "heart". It was originally a nickname for a cheerful person. This was a frequent French Canadian secondary surname (or dit name).
JupinFrench from a diminutive of Old French jupe a term denoting a long woolen garment hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller (or a nickname for a wearer) of such garments. This word ultimately derives from Arabic.
KellnerGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, French Means "waiter, cellarman" in German, ultimately derived from Latin cellarium "pantry, cellar, storeroom". This was an occupational name for a steward, a castle overseer, or a server of wine.
KerbowFrench Possibly derived from the French word 'corbeau', meaning "raven".
KerouacFrench (Quebec) Variant form of Kirouac. This name was borne by the American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), who was a pioneer of the Beat Generation, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
KirouacFrench (Quebec) From an unidentified place name in Brittany, France, derived from Breton kaer, caer, ker meaning "fortified settlement" and an unknown given name.
LabontéFrench (Quebec), Haitian Creole, Mauritian Creole From French la bonté meaning "(the) kindness, (the) goodness", originally used as a soldier's name and perhaps also as a nickname for a benevolent person. This surname is rare in France.
LabordeFrench Derived from the French word borde meaning "small farm" (from Frankish bord meaning "plank") with the definite article la. This is an occupational surname for a tenant farmer.
LabossiereFrench Norman habitational name from a common village name La Boissière, meaning 'wooded area', from bois 'wood'. possibly a metronymic, from a feminine derivative of Bossier 'cooper', denoting the 'wife of the cooper'.
LabrieFrench Topographic name from l’abri meaning "the shelter", or a habitational name from a place named with this word.
LaBrieFrench Referred to a person who came from various places named Brie in France, for example Brie-sous-Matha, a commune in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.