FirmanEnglish, French From a medieval personal name meaning "firm, resolute, strong man." Borne by early saints and bishops. First name variants Firman and Firmin... [more]
FlamelFrench Meaning unknown. Proposals include french flamme meaning "flame" or a description of origin, such as "Flemish", or the French term for the same word, Flamand.... [more]
GainesEnglish, Norman, Welsh English (of Norman origin): nickname for a crafty or ingenious person, from a reduced form of Old French engaine ‘ingenuity’, ‘trickery’ (Latin ingenium ‘native wit’). The word was also used in a concrete sense of a stratagem or device, particularly a trap.... [more]
GalletFrench Either a nickname for a cheerful companion a noun derivative of the Old French verb galler "to enjoy oneself to have fun". Or from a pet form of the personal name Gall.
GandinFrench From the French gandin, pronounced /ɡɑ̃dœ̃/, which is a word used for a dandy, an elegant young man with affected, quite often ridiculous, manners.
GarandFrench nickname or status name from the Old French legal term garant "guarantor". perhaps from a personal name based on the ancient Germanic element warin "protection shelter" or "guard".
GaudinFrench From the Old French personal name Gaudin Norman French Waldin Waudin a pet form of ancient Germanic names based on the element wald "rule power".
GentryFrench From the English word, which is in turn from French gentrie, referring to that which is "noble," or the "nobility." From earlier gentillece, which was originally from gentil, "refinement."
GermanEnglish, Norman, German, Jewish, Greek From Old French germain meaning "German". This sometimes denoted an actual immigrant from Germany, but was also used to refer to a person who had trade or other connections with German-speaking lands... [more]
GerwigGerman, French Derived from the Germanic given name Gerwig, ultimately from the elements gēr meaning "spear" and wīg meaning "battle, fight". This surname is also found in France (mainly in the region of Alsace)... [more]
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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
GuilesFrench Of uncertain origin; it could be a variant of French Guill or of English Guile or Giles .
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.
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.
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-).
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]
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.
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]
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.
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.
LafontFrench topographic name for someone living near a spring or well a variant of Font with fused feminine definite article la.
LahaieFrench Locational name for someone who lived near a hedge or large bush, from old French "La" the and "Haie" hedge.
LahayeFrench, Walloon topographic name with the definite article la from Old French haye "hedge" (see Haye ) or a habitational name from La Haye the name of several places in various parts of France and in Belgium (Wallonia) named with this word... [more]
LamourFrench From Old French l'amour "(the) friendship bond" used as a nickname for a kindly individual derived from the French word amour "love" (from Latin amor).
LançonFrench Can be a habitational name from any of several locations in France, a diminutive form of Lance, or possibly derived from Old French lançon "branch", a topographic name for someone living in a forested area or an occupational name for a woodcutter... [more]
LandonFrench Either from the given name Landon the French cognate of Lando. Or a habitational name from a place so named (from a diminutive of lande "heath") in Creuse.
LanierFrench, English Occupational name designating one who worked in the wool trade (see Lane 2), derived from Old French lanier (ultimately from laine) meaning "wool", or for a keeper of donkeys, from Old French asnier literally "donkey keeper, donkey driver"... [more]
LannesFrench From the French word landes meaning “heathlands” or “moorlands.” This was the surname of one of Napoleon’s marshals.
LaroseFrench Topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew; or a habitational name from a town house bearing the sign of a rose. It may also have been a nickname for a man with a ‘rosy’ complexion, as well as a nickname of a soldier... [more]
LatourFrench Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a tower usually a defensive fortification or watchtower from Old French tūr "tower"; or a habitational name from any of various places called Latour or La Tour named with this word.
LebleuFrench From French bleu "blue" with the masculine element le from a nickname for someone who wore blue clothes with blue eyes or a person with a bluish complexion.
LefilsFrench, Haitian Creole Derived from French le "the" and fils "son". This was originally a nickname to distinguish a son from his father with the same given name.
LefortFrench, Walloon Either a nickname from French le fort "the strong" (see Fort ). It is also found in Germany where it is probably of Alsatian origin (compare Lefor ) and in Haiti where it most likely originates from the nickname Lefort... [more]
Le GallFrench From a nickname which means “the Gaul”.
LemassFrench, Irish Meaning uncertain. It may be derived from Old French maistre meaning "master", ultimately from Latin magister (see Masterson). Another theory holds that it comes from Irish Gaelic Laighmheasa, a given name meaning "dispatch"... [more]
LemireFrench From Old French "Mire" (From Latin medicus, meaning physician), with French definite article "Le".
LenoirFrench Means "the black" in French, from noir "black", a variant of Noir combined with a definite article le. A famous bearer of the name was Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir (1822-1900), the inventor of the internal combustion engine.
LoiselFrench Derived from Old French oisel "bird" with fused definite article l' used as a nickname for a flighty individual or perhaps for a small birdlike person but possibly also as a metonymic occupational name for a bird-catcher.
LorainFrench Occupational name for a saddler, derived from the Old French word lorain, meaning "a leather strap used on a horse's breastplate".
LorangFrench Surname of uncertain origin. Might be derived from:... [more]
MaiselYiddish, German, French Predominantly seems to be a matronymic surname from the Yiddish feminine name Mayzl. Although it is believed that it derived from the Hebrew name Meïser, which means “representative of God”... [more]
MaisonFrench, Walloon Derived from Old French maison "residence", this name used to be given to someone who lived by an important house.
MaîtreFrench occupational name for the head of a craft or trade guild from Old French maistre "master" (from Latin magister)... [more]
MaitreFrench occupational name for one who was the head of a craft or trade guild, from Old French maistre ‘master’ (Latin magister).
MajorsNorman Based on the Norman given name Mauger. The name indicates one who is the son of Maugier, an Old French personal name, which is derived from the Old Germanic name Malger, which means council spear.
MalfoyFrench Malfoy is a French name roughly translating to "bad faith"
MalletAnglo-Norman, Medieval English, French, Catalan Originated in Norman France and spread to England following the Norman conquest of 1066. The surname comes from the given name Malle, an Old English diminutive of Mary or from the given name Malo, a popular form of the name of Saint Maclovius, a 6th-century Welsh monk who the church of Saint Maclou in Rouen is named for.... [more]
MancioFrench Mancio derives from the surname Venâncio and Amâncio, being an unusual French variation.
MantelEnglish, German, French, Dutch nickname for someone who wore a cloak in a particularly conspicuous way or with a striking design, from Middle English, Middle High German, Old French, and Middle Dutch mantel "cloak, coat" (from Late Latin mantellus)... [more]
MastinFrench, Flemish, Walloon occupational name for a household servant or guard from Old French mastin "watchdog, manservant" (from Latin mansuetudinus "domestic"). The Old French word had the further sense of a bad-tempered dog and was used as an adjective in the sense of "bad cruel".
MerceyFrench Derived from the name of the commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France.
MerlinEnglish, French, German From the given name Merlin as well as referred to the blackbird, that is named merle in French and merlo in Italian and Spanish... [more]
MeyliafFrench (Modern, Rare) Sound very similar to Mélia in French, with the addition of a “hey” in the middle, added by the Y after the E, giving an exotic touch.
MilletFrench, Catalan metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of millet or panic grass or a topographic name for someone who lived by a field of millet from French and Catalan millet (from Latin milietum a derivative of milium in Old French mil "millet").
MinionFrench French form of Miner, an occupational name for a someone working in a mine.
MolletFrench Topographic name for someone who lived in a muddy or boggy place from a diminutive of mol "marsh, bog".
MonierFrench, English, French (Huguenot) French variant of Monnier and occupational name for a moneyer from Middle English monier "moneyer" (Old French monier) or for a miller from Old French monier "miller".
MorantEnglish, French From the Old French personal name Morant, perhaps from a nickname meaning "steadfast", or alternatively of Germanic origin and meaning literally "courage-raven". A known bearer was the British-born Australian soldier and poet Breaker Morant, original name Edwin Henry Murrant (?1864-1902).
MoutonFrench Nickname from Old French mouton "sheep" used for a docile mild-mannered person for someone easily led or perhaps for a curly-haired man... [more]
NeugerGerman, French (?) Was popularized by the German community. Famous bearers include investors Win Neuger and Dan Neuger, author Christie Cozad Neuger.
NottetFrench, Belgian, Flemish Derived from given names using the French diminutive -otte, such as Ernotte.
NugentEnglish, Irish, French An English, Irish (of Norman origin) and French habitational surname derived from any of several places in northern France (such as Nogent-sur-Oise), From Latin novientum and apparently an altered form of a Gaulish name meaning "new settlement".
OdelinFrench Not to be confused with the similarly spelled Odelín, which is Spanish rather than French, though they could have similar origins in name.
PapierFrench, German, Jewish Means "paper" in French and German, denoting a paper maker or merchant, both derived from Old French papier.
PaquinFrench Originated in east France. This last name signified a freehold that permitted use of a cluster of land or pastures. The name became “he who possesses lands” and "he who is wise."
PardonFrench A nickname for someone who had received the royal clemency.
PasquaFrench Derived from Pasqua, a nickname for a person born during Easter (which itself is derived from Latin pascua). Famous beaters include Charles Victor Pasqua (1927-2015), a French businessman and a Gaullist politician.
PassetFrench (Huguenot) Derived from French pas "(geography) strait, pass" in combination with a diminutive suffix.
PeeveyNorman, English Means "a place with a fine view". Composed of the Old French roots beu, which means "fair" and "lovely", and voir, which means "to see".
PercheFrench Derived from a former province of the south of Normandy, and extending into Orleanois.
PerdueEnglish, Irish, French English and Irish from Old French par Dieu ‘by God’, which was adopted in Middle English in a variety of more or less heavily altered forms. The surname represents a nickname from a favorite oath... [more]