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]
BraininJewish Means "son of Brayne", Brayne being a short form of the Yiddish feminine name Brayndl, literally "little brown one" (cf. Breindel).
BickelGerman, German (Swiss), Jewish German: from bickel ‘pickaxe’ or ‘chisel’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who made pickaxes or worked with a pickaxe or for a stonemason. South German: from a pet form of Burkhart... [more]
ZweigGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German zwīg "branch bough twig graft" German zweig applied perhaps as a nickname for a new member in a family offspring or as an occupational name for a horticultural expert... [more]
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]
ElmalehאלמלחJudeo-Spanish, Arabic From Arabic مَالِح (māliḥ) meaning "salty, savoury", probably used to refer to a salt trader.
PaleyJewish, Yiddish, Belarusian, Ukrainian Occupational name for a distiller, derived from an East Slavic word (Russian палить (palitʹ), Ukrainian палити (palyty)) meaning "to burn". A famous bearer was Princess Olga Valerianovna Paley (1865-1929), the morganatic second wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia.
SelaסֶלַעHebrew Means "rock" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a city, the capital of Edom. Famous bearer is the Israeli model, actress and television presenter Rotem Sela (born 1983)
YetiHebrew (Rare), English (American) Most common during the 1800s to 1900s. It has seen a large drop off since, but is not extinct as a last name.... [more]
ShultsשולץJewish (Anglicized, Rare) The name Shults comes from one of those ancient dukedoms, territories and states that would eventually form a part of present day Germany. At its birth in the Middle Ages, it was used to indicate someone who worked as a town-mayor derived from the medieval name "Schultheis" which has the same meaning.... [more]
TabakJewish Metonymic occupational name for a seller of tobacco, from German Tabak, Yiddish and Ukrainian tabik (all ultimately from Spanish tabaco, a word of Caribbean origin). Tobacco was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
GlückGerman, Jewish Originally denoted a fortunate person, derived from Middle High German gelücke "luck, success". As a Jewish name, it is ornamental, from Yiddish גליק (glik).
EpsteinGerman, Jewish A habitational name for someone from a place named Eppstein, which is from Old High German ebur meaning ‘wild boar’ and stein meaning ‘stone’.
AbulafiaאבולעפיהJudeo-Spanish From Arabic أبو العافية (abū l-ʿāfiya) meaning "father of health" from أبو (abū) meaning "father" and عافية (ʿāfiya) meaning "health, well-being".
HaikחיאקJudeo-Spanish From the name of a garment worn by Algerian women, derived from Arabic حاك (hak) meaning "to weave". It was used as an occupational name for a maker of these garments.
FanielHebrew It's believe to be an Hebrew origin that was carved from ochaniel, it consist of Fam meaning face and el God... [more]
BrizendineFrench, English, Jewish Derived from a personal name, probably of Celtic origin (Latinized as Britus), which was borne by a 5th century saint, who succeeded St. Martin as bishop of Tours.
HefnerGerman, Jewish Recorded in several spellings including Hafner, Haffner, and Hevner, this is as surname of early Germanic origins. ... [more]
WeilGerman, Jewish South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places so named in Baden, Bavaria, and Württemberg, from Latin villa ‘country house’, ‘estate’ (later used of a group of houses forming a settlement).
StraussGerman, Jewish From the German word strauß, meaning "ostrich." In its use as a Jewish surname, it comes from the symbol of the building or family that the bearer occupied or worked for in the Frankfurter Judengasse... [more]
ChouraquiשוראקיJudeo-Spanish Means "the one who comes from the east" from Arabic شَرْقِيّ (šarqiyy) meaning "eastern".
ArousiערוסיJewish, Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Arabic Yemenite Jewish and Arabic name possibly deriving from Arabic words aroosi, "bridal, relating to a wedding", rousi, "groom". El Aroussi, a variant, is found densely in Morocco and Francophone populations (France, Canada).
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]
AbitbolאביטבולJudeo-Spanish Means "father of drums" (figuratively referring to a drum maker) from Arabic أَبُو (abū) meaning "father" and طَبْل (ṭabl) meaning "drum".
EnglanderGerman, Jewish Ethnic name derived from German Engländer, meaning 'Englishman', thus denoting an incomer from England. In some cases, the Jewish name may be an ornamental adoption.
SnowEnglish, Jewish (Anglicized) Nickname denoting someone with very white hair or an exceptionally pale complexion, from Old English snaw "snow".... [more]
ZelnickJewish Occupational name for a tax collecter, comes from Yiddish tselnik which means haberdashery.
WredenGerman, Jewish Habitational name for any place in Germany or Denmark, of uncertain meaning. Famous bearers include Davey Wreden (1988-) is an American game designer known for his work in The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide as well as his brother, American internet personality, Douglas Scott Wreden (1991-), known by his pseudonym DougDoug.
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.
SteinhausGerman, Jewish topographic name for someone living in a stone-built house from Middle High German stein "stone" and hus "house" or a habitational name from any of the many places called Steinhaus for example near Fulda and near Wels in Austria... [more]
RochmanJewish Metronymic from the Yiddish given name Ruchel + suffix man "man".
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]
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".
SaengerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a chorister or a nickname for someone who liked singing, from Middle High German senger, German Sänger meaning "singer".
ZionHebrew Means "monument" or "raised up" in Hebrew.
FuttermanJewish Occupational name for a furrier, from Yiddish futer "fur, fur coat" and Yiddish man "man".
WaxmanEnglish, German (Americanized), Jewish (Americanized) Occupational name for a seller or gatherer of beeswax from wax "wax" plus Middle English man "man". According to the Oxford English Dictionary wax-man is an obsolete term for an officer of a trade guild who collected contributions from members for wax candles to be used in processions... [more]
TouatiטואטיArabic (Maghrebi), Judeo-Spanish Habitational name denoting someone who originally came from the region of Touat (or Tuat) in Algeria.
LowensteinJewish Combination of German Löwe "lion" and stein "stone". In some cases an ornamental name associated with the name Levi (see also Levy and Lew 2).
FeinפייןJewish German-style spelling of Yiddish fayn as in "fine"; "excellent"
SchuhGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a maker or repairer of shoes, derived from Middle High German schuoch meaning "shoe". In some cases, it may have denoted a person to a house distinguished by the sign of a shoe.
SonnenbergGerman, Jewish From various place names derived from Middle High German sunne meaning "sun" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
HaverbusהאַווערבוסYiddish, Dutch Means "blessed friend", from Hebrew חבר (haver) and ברוך (baruch) "blessed".
SilberbergJewish The meaning of the name is "silver mountain" and comes from Germany
OrnsteinJewish Ornamental name composed of a variant of Horn (in regions where Yiddish has no h) + stein ‘stone’.
LipschitzGerman, Jewish The name is derived from the Slavic "lipa," meaning "linden tree" or "lime tree." The name may relate to a number of different place names: "Liebeschitz," the name of a town in Bohemia, "Leipzig," the name of a famous German city, or "Leobschutz," the name of a town in Upper Silesia.
GarfunkelגאָרפֿינקלJewish, Yiddish From גאָרפֿינקל (gorfinkl), "carbuncle" in Yiddish, which in turns derives from German Karfunkel. A notable bearer of this surname is Art Garfunkel.... [more]
WinkelGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German winkel "corner, angle", a topographic name for someone who lived on a corner of land in the country or a street corner in a town or city. This word also came to denote a corner shop (see Winkelmann)... [more]
LevaiלֵוִיJewish Comes from the Levitic surnames of 'Levi' and 'Levy', signifying the descendants from the Tribe of Levi. All bearers today are of Hungarian–Jewish descent.
FingerEnglish, German, Jewish Probably applied as a nickname for a man who had some peculiarity of the fingers, such as possessing a supernumerary one or having lost one or more of them through injury, or for someone who was small in stature or considered insignificant... [more]
NissanנִיסָןHebrew, Jewish Ornamental name from the name of the Jewish month during which Passover takes place.
HimmelreichהימלרייךGerman, 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".
KernGerman, Dutch, Jewish Means "kernel, grain, core" in Dutch, German, and Yiddish (as קערן), an occupational name for a farmer or a nickname for a physically small person. As a Jewish name, it is ornamental.
BlausteinGerman, Jewish Ornamental name from German blau "blue" and Stein "stone", i.e. lapis lazuli.
YisraelיִשְׂרָאֵלHebrew Means "Israel" in Hebrew, from יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yiśrāʾēl).
GreenblattJewish Ashkenazi Jewish Surname incorporating Yiddish/German elements meaning “Greenleaf.” Writer and storyboard artist C. H. Greenblatt (born 1972) most known for SpongeBob SquarePants is a famous bearer of this name.
EggertGerman, Jewish Derived from the Proto-Germanic root agi meaning "edge".
SeligmanGerman, Jewish Derived from the given name Selig with the German suffix -man meaning "man" and it's originally a patronymic. The surname Seligman is originated in the Rhineland.
KowalewskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name for someone from places called Kowalew or Kowalewo, named with kowal "smith" or an occupational name for a blacksmith.
OsgoodEnglish, Jewish English: Old Norse personal name Asgautr, composed of the elements as'god'+the tribal name Gaul. This was established in England before the Conquest, in the late old English forms Osgot or Osgod and was later reinforce by the Norman Ansgot.... [more]
AtlanאטלןJudeo-Spanish From an Arabic word originally meaning "noble" but later taking on the pejorative meaning of "spoiled, worthless" or "crippled, infirm".
LinnGerman (Silesian), Jewish (Ashkenazi) Derived from the Slavic word lin "tench (fish)", a nickname for a fisherman, or for a person who somehow resembled a tench.
ChryslerGerman, Jewish From a German name referring to spinning or related to a Yiddish word, krayzl meaning "spinning top." The name can refer to a potter who spun a wheel to make utensils or to a person with curly hair or someone known for being continually active... [more]
Ben Nunבן נוןHebrew Joshua or Yehoshua Ben Nun functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Exodus and Numbers, and later succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelite tribes in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua
LizovichJewish I knew a family with this surname and they were Jewish.
ShatnerGerman (Anglicized), Jewish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Schattner. A notable bearer was Canadian actor William Shatner (1931-), who is known for his roles as Captain James T. Kirk in 'Star Trek', T.J. Hooker in 'T.J. Hooker', Denny Crane in 'Boston Legal', and the Priceline Negotiator in Priceline.com commercials.
EinhornאײנהאָרןGerman, Jewish Derived from German Einhorn (Middle High German einhorn) "unicorn", denoting someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a unicorn.
PerskeBelarusian, Lithuanian, Jewish Variant form of Persky. This was the real surname of American actress Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), who was born Betty Joan Perske.
GalickiJewish, Polish A Jewish and Polish surname for someone from a lost location called 'Galice'
BittonביטוןJudeo-Spanish From the medieval given name Viton or Vita, both derived from Latin vita meaning "life".
SeideGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German side, German Seide ‘silk’ (from Late Latin seta, originally denoting animal hair), hence a metonymic occupational name for a manufacturer or seller of silk.
DierדיירJewish the name allegedly means "dyer (of clothes)"
HambergGerman, Danish, Jewish German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name from any of several places named Hamberg. Jewish (Ashkenazic) variant of Hamburg.