Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
GrinerגרינערGerman (Anglicized), Jewish Americanised form of German Greiner. It could also denote a person who came from various German places called Grüna or Grünau. In Jewish, it is a topographic name for someone who lived in a green of leafy area, derived from Yiddish grin meaning "green" or Middle High German gruene meaning "greenery".
GrodskyPolish, Jewish Altered spelling of Polish Grodzki, a habitational name from Grodziec or Grodzie, places named with gród ‘castle’, ‘fortification’ (cognate with Russian grad)... [more]
GruberJewish A nickname from an inflected form of Yiddish dialect grub meaning ‘rude' or 'impolite’.
GrünGerman, Jewish from Middle High German gruoni "green fresh raw" hence a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in green a topographic name for someone who lived in a green and leafy place or a habitational name for someone from a place called with this word such as GrunaGrunau in Silesia... [more]
GrünbaumGerman, Jewish from Middle High German gruoni "green" and boum "tree" probably a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a tree in leaf... [more]
GrünfeldGerman, Jewish Habitational name from any of several places in northern and central Germany named Grünfeld named with elements meaning "green open country" derived from the elements gruoni "green" and feld "field"... [more]
GrunwaldGerman, German (Swiss), Jewish German and Swiss German (Grünwald): habitational name from any of various places named Grün(e)wald, from Middle High German gruene ‘green’ + walt ‘wood’, ‘forest’. ... [more]
GuggenheimerJewish Originally indicated a person from either Gougenheim in Alsace or Jugenheim in Hesse, perhaps meaning "home of Gogo(n)". Gogo(n) is a Germanic personal name
GunzenhauserGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from either of two places named Gunzenhausen, one in Württemberg and the other in Bavaria.
GuralnickJewish Occupational name from Ukrainian guralnyk, Yiddish guralnik "distiller".
GurewitzJewish Belarusian and Lithuanian variant of Horowitz, a habitational name from Horovice in central Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, which is named with a short form of a personal name formed with Hor, as for example Horimir, Horislav.
GursulturגרסלתרJewish (Latinized), Kurdish, Hebrew This name is a composition of the following words: GUR; Hebrew for "lion cub", SUL; which is an abbreviation of Suleman (Kurdish for king Solomon), TUR; this word is derived from the Arba'ah Turim. The Arbaáh Turim are often called simply the Tur, which is an important Halakhic code.... [more]
GuttenbergGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places, for example in Bavaria, called Guttenberg, from the weak dative case (originally used after a preposition and article) of Old High German guot ‘good’ + berg ‘mountain’, ‘hill’... [more]
HaferGerman, Jewish Metonymic occupational name for a grower of or dealer in oats, from German Hafer "oats". Compare Haber. As a Jewish surname, it is in many cases ornamental.
HaganJewish Hebrew, shortened from haganah which means soldier
HalbershtotהאַלבערשטאָטYiddish Yiddish form of Halberstadt. It was first adopted as a surname by Tzvi Hirsh, the rabbi of the eponymous Eastphalian town.
HaleviהלויHebrew Means "The Levite" in Hebrew, from the word ha which means "the", and the surname Levi.
HalperinJewish Variant of Heilprin, a Yiddish spelling of the city of Heilbronn, Germany.
HalpernJewish Habitational name for someone originally from the city of Heilbronn in Germany, derived from Old High German heil meaning "whole" or "holy" combined with brunno meaning "well".
HambergGerman, Danish, Jewish German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name from any of several places named Hamberg. Jewish (Ashkenazic) variant of Hamburg.
HambergerGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name for someone from any of various places named Hamberg. Jewish (Ashkenazic) variant of Hamburger.
HamburgGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name from the great city and port at the mouth of the river Elbe, named with the Germanic elements ham ‘water meadow’ + burg ‘fortress’, ‘fortified town’.
HamburgerGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name for someone from Hamburg.
HammerGerman, English, Jewish From Middle High German hamer, Yiddish hamer, a metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of hammers, for example in a forge, or nickname for a forceful person.
HassenfeldPolish, Jewish Notable beaters of this surname are the Hassenfeld brothers who founded the Hasbro, INC. an abbreviation of their surname and the word brother. Hasbro, INC. is an American multinational conglomerate with you, board game, and media assets, headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.... [more]
HassonחסוןHebrew (Modern) Means "sturdy" or "strong" in Hebrew, it is not related to the Arabic name Hasan.
HattendorfGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from places called Hattendorf, near Alsfeld and near Hannover. The element hatt, had means ‘bog’
HauserGerman, Jewish From Middle High German hus "house", German haus, + the suffix -er, denoting someone who gives shelter or protection.
HaverbusהאַווערבוסYiddish, Dutch From Yiddish/Hebrew Haver (חבר) and Baruch (ברוך), thus literally "blessed friend".
HeimburgerGerman, Jewish Status name for a village head, derived from Middle High German heim meaning "homestead, settlement" and bürge meaning "guardian". It could also be a habitational name for someone from numerous places called Heimburg or Heimberg in Germany.
HerbstGerman, Jewish Nickname from Middle High German herbest "harvest". The modern German word herbst has come to mean "fall" the time of year when the harvest takes place... [more]
HimmelreichGerman, Jewish humorous topographic name from a place so named as being at a high altitude from Middle High German himel "heaven" and riche "empire" meaning "kingdom of heaven, heavenly kingdom".
HimmelsteinGerman, Jewish topographic name for someone living by a feature so named from Middle High German himel "heaven, sky" and stein "rock, stone" meaning "stone in the sky, sky stone"
HirschbergGerman, Jewish Derived from many places named Hirschberg in the states of Thuringia and North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, or the historic city of Jelenia Góra in southwestern Poland. It is composed of Middle High German hirz meaning "deer, stag" and berg meaning "hill, mountain"... [more]
HirschfeldGerman, Jewish, Yiddish Ornamental name composed of German hirsch or Yiddish hirsh meaning "deer" and feld meaning "field". It is also a topographic name for someone who lived in an area of land frequented by deer or where millets grew.
HolderGerman, Jewish, English 1. German: topographic name for someone who lived by an elder tree. Middle High German holder, or from a house named for its sign of an elder tree. In same areas, for example Alsace, the elder tree was believed to be the protector of a house... [more]
JacobiJewish, English, Dutch, German From the Latin genitive Jacobi ‘(son) of Jacob’, Latinized form of English Jacobs and Jacobson or North German Jakobs(en) and Jacobs(en).
JacobowitzJewish Germanized spelling of a Slavic patronymic from the personal name Jacob.
JehleHebrew Jehle-Romanov surname was given name of monarchical leaders over the areas of eastern Eurasia known as Russia and all Russia's yet upon revolution family erroneously reported all dead. Most family of Alexander died while remaining in Russia, while those whom escaped circa 1880 survived... [more]
JüngerGerman, Jewish German (Jünger) distinguishing name, from Middle High German jünger ‘younger’, for the younger of two bearers of the same personal name, usually a son who bore the same name as his father... [more]
KaplanJewish, Turkish Means "tiger" in Turkish. This common Jewish surname has a spelling variation: Caplan. For an unknown reason, Jewish immigrants who passed through the port at Baltimore had their names changed to Caplan, while the Jewish immigrants who passed through Ellis Island retained the original K spelling.
KaplanJewish Surname used as a translation of Cohen, from German Kaplan or Polish kapłan "chaplain, curate".
KarchJewish 1 Jewish (Ashkenazic): Americanized spelling of Karcz .... [more]
KarivקריבHebrew Means "battle, fight, war" in Hebrew.
KarlinJewish Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) habitational name for someone from Karlin, a suburb of Pinsk in Belarus, in which the Jews formed the majority of the population until the Holocaust. A well-known Hasidic sect originated in Karlin and at one time it attracted so many followers that a (now obsolete) Russian word for ‘Hasid’ was Karliner (of Yiddish origin)... [more]
KatקאַטDutch, Frisian, Afrikaans, Jewish Means "Cat" in Dutch, Frisian, and Afrikaans, perhaps originally a nickname for someone who owned a cat or somehow resembled a cat.
KatsavקַצָּבHebrew Occupational name for a butcher, derived from Hebrew קַצָּב (qatzav) meaning "butcher, purveyor of meat". A famous bearer is former Israeli president Moshe Katsav (1945-), born Musa Qassab.
KatzJewish An abbreviation of the phrase kohen tsedek "righteous priest".
KedemקדםHebrew Either means "east" or "ancient" in Hebrew.
KeidarקידרHebrew Keidar is an ancient nickname given to the descendants of Ishmael.
KellnerGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, French German, Dutch and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational or status name from the Middle Low German kelner, the Middle High German kelnære, the Middle Dutch kel(le)nare and the German kellner#, all meaning "cellarman"... [more]
KernGerman, Dutch, Jewish from Middle High German kerne "kernel, seed pip"; Middle Dutch kern(e)keerne; German Kern or Yiddish kern "grain" hence a metonymic occupational name for a farmer or a nickname for a physically small person... [more]
KeshetקשתHebrew (Modern) From the given name Keshet which means "rainbow" in Hebrew, it is used more as a surname than a given name.
KeslerGerman, Dutch, Jewish It is an occupational name that means coppersmith. In alpine countries the name derived from the definition: the one living in the basin of a valley.
KhrzhanovskiyRussian, Jewish Khrzhanovskiy was the last name of Andrey and Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, both Soviet film directors. Ilya has made most of his career in the Russian Federation.
KienbaumGerman, Jewish from Low German kienbaum "Scots pine" originally denoting any species or variety of pine tree. Derived from kien "pine tree" and boum "tree".
KilJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) of uncertain origin; perhaps a nickname from Yiddish kil ‘cool’.
KillJewish Maybe a nickname derived from Yiddish kil "cool".
KimmelGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German kumin and German kümmel meaning "caraway" (related to Latin cuminum, a word of Oriental origin, like the plant itself), hence a metonymic occupational name for a spicer, literally a supplier of caraway seeds... [more]
KindEnglish, German, Jewish, Dutch German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) from Middle High German kint, German Kind ‘child’, hence a nickname for someone with a childish or naive disposition, or an epithet used to distinguish between a father and his son... [more]
KindermannGerman, Jewish occupational name for a schoolteacher literally "children man", from the elements kind "child" and man "man".
KnobelGerman, German (Swiss), Yiddish Derived from the Middle High German knübel probably a nickname for a fat person or in the sense "ankle". However the term also denotes a rounded elevation and may therefore also be a topographic name for someone who lived by a knoll... [more]
KnollEnglish, German, Jewish English and German topographic name for someone living near a hilltop or mountain peak, from Middle English knolle ‘hilltop’, ‘hillock’ (Old English cnoll), Middle High German knol ‘peak’... [more]
KochJewish Koch - which also has the meaning of Cook in German's origin was however not from that meaning. It origins are to be traced in the Jewish ancestory. The original meaning came from the word Star. Amongst the related surnames (with or without bar in front or a ba or similar appended) are: Koch, Kochba, Kok, Kock, Kuk, Coq, Coqui, Cook (as a translation from the perceived meaning of cook) and a host of others... [more]
KochaviכוכביHebrew From Hebrew כוכב (kokhav) meaning "star", commonly used as a replacement for Ashkenazi surnames containing the old German element stern "star". For example, it was adopted as a surname by the Romanian-born Israeli archaeologist and university professor Moshe Kochavi (1928-2008), whose birth surname was Stern.
KönigsbergJewish Associated with the Polish/Prussian/German/Russian town Königsberg, now called Kaliningrad. This surname was borne by the parents of American actor, writer, teacher, and director Walter Koenig (1936-) before they emigrated to the United States.
KorenSlovene, Hebrew Koren is a surname which has multiple origins. Koren may be a variant of the German occupational surname Korn, meaning a dealer in grain. Alternatively, it may be a variant of the Greek female name Kora... [more]
KotlarzPolish, Jewish Occupational name for a boilermaker or coppersmith, from the Polish word kotlarz meaning "boilermaker".
KowalewskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name for someone from places called Kowalew or Kowalewo, named with kowal "smith" or an occupational name for a blacksmith.
KreiselקרייסלGerman, Jewish Jewish family name and originally a nickname for an active or disorganized person, derived from German kreisel meaning "spinning top, top", ultimately from kreis "circle". Alternatively, it could've be used as a nickname for a person with curly hair in the context of "spiral" or "curl".
KrengelGerman, Jewish An occupational name for a pastry chef from Middle High German krengel German kringel "(cake) ring doughnut". As a Jewish name this may also have been adopted as artificial name.
KritzmanGerman, Jewish German (Kritzmann): topographic name for someone living near a cross.... [more]
KroneckerJewish, German (Austrian) Derived from the place name Kroneck in Austria. A famous bearer of this surname was Leopold Kronecker(1823~1891),the German mathematician who worked on number theory.
KrumholzJewish, German German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) from Krumbholz ‘bent timber’, ‘mountain pine’, hence probably a metonymic occupational name for a cartwright or wheelwright. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
KupferGerman, Jewish German (Küpfer) and Jewish (Ashkenazic) metonymic occupational name for a worker or trader in copper, Middle High German kupfer, German Kupfer ‘copper’... [more]
KupkaCzech, Polish, Ukrainian, Slovak, Sorbian, Jewish Nickname or topographic name from the Polish, Ukrainian, Czech and Sorbian word kupka, a diminutive of kupa meaning "heap, pile", in Upper Sorbian also "lump".... [more]
KurzbergקורזבערגGerman, Yiddish, Jewish From a location name meaning "short mountain" in German, from Middle High German kurz meaning "short" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
KushnerJewish This surname is a German Jewish given name. A notable bearer is Jared Kushner the son in law of President Donald J. Trump who became president in the year 2016.
LandeFrench, Norwegian, Jewish French: topographic name for someone living on a heath, lande (from Gaulish landa ‘space’, ‘land’), or a habitational name from any of numerous minor places named La Lande from this word.... [more]
LaskiPolish, Hungarian, Jewish Polish (Laski) and Jewish (from Poland): habitational name from Lasko (now Lask) in Sieradz voivodeship, named with laz, lazy ‘clearing in a forest’. ... [more]
LäuferGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from a place called Lauf, also an occupational name for a messenger or a nickname for a fast runner, from an agent derivative of Middle High German loufen, German laufen ‘to run’.