PniewskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name for someone from Pniewy in the district of Poznań, or from any of the many places in Poland named Pniewo.
PobedonostsevmRussian Derived from Russian победоносный (pobedonósnyj) meaning "victorious, triumphant". Konstantin Pobedonostsev (1827-1907) was a Russian jurist and statesman who served as an adviser to three Russian emperors.
PodriznikSlovene From the article of clothing of the same name worn by priests, possibly denoting a maker of them or perhaps a relative of a clergyman.
PoloskinRussian Derived from полоска (poloska), a diminutive of полоса (polosa) meaning "stripe, strip, streak". This may have been a nickname for a tall and thin person.
PolovetsUkrainian From Ukrainian половець (polovets), meaning "a Polovtsian (Cuman, Kipchak)". Polovtsians are an old ethnic group from Central Asia.
PolskiPolish, Jewish Nickname for a Polish person, originating in areas of mixed populations.
PoroshenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian порох (porokh) meaning "(gun)powder, dust", used as an occupational name for someone who made or sold gunpowder. A notable bearer is the former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (1965-).
PortnoyJewish, Belarusian, Ukrainian Occupational name for a tailor from Russian portnoj (an adjective derivative of port "uncut cloth").
PortnyaginRussian Derived from Russian портняга (portnyaga), a colloquial nickname derived from портной (portnoy) meaning "tailor, clothier".
PotemkinRussian A Russian surname which derives from the word "Потёмка" (Potyomka) meaning "dark". People bearing the name Potemkin rose to prominence in Muscovy from the 16th century onwards.
PotockiPolish This indicates familial origin within the Lesser Polish village of Potok, Gmina Szydłów.
PotulickiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 3 Greater Polish villages named Potulice.
PovarovRussian Derived from the Russian word "povar" meaning 'cook'.
PozharskyRussian Possibly from Russian пожар (požár) meaning "fire, conflagration". A famous bearer of the name was Russian prince Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky (1577-1642) known for his military leadership during the Polish–Muscovite War.
PoznanskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name from the city of Poznan in west-central Poland, or possibly from other places of this name, in Katowice and Siedlce voivodeships.
PridonovRussian The surname Pridonov is derived from a nickname. It contains an indication of the place of residence of the ancestor: "at the Don, i.e. on the Don River". The river named Don flows not only in the European part of Russia, but also in Scotland (the city of Aberdon is located on it) and in France (a tributary of the Vilena).
PrigozhinmRussian From Russian пригожий (prigozhiy), meaning "beautiful, pretty". Prigozhin was the last name of Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner PMC until 2023 when he died in a plane crash... [more]
PrincipBosnian, Serbian Probably derived from Latin princeps "leader, initiator, prince", which itself was ultimately derived from primus "first" and capere "to take". The surname may thus have originated as a nickname for someone with a princely appearance, or for someone who was the illegitimate offspring of a prince... [more]
ProkuskiPolish Polish in origin with history in America since at least the early 1900s
ProrokPolish The meaning of prorok is prophet. It was the maiden name of my maternal grandmother. It is not a common name. Her family was from the southeastern part of Poland.
PrusinowskiPolish (Rare) Habitational name for someone from any of various Polish places called Prusinow, Prusinowo, or Prusinowice, named with the ethnic name Prus, meaning 'village of the Prussians'.
PrůšovafCzech from a pet form of the personal name Prokop. Feminine name of Průša
PrytulyakUkrainian From Ukrainian притуляк (prytulyak), meaning "refugee" in Ukrainian, literally "shelter person, person who seeks shelter". It is not the common term for a refugee (біженець, bizhenets').
PrzespolewskiPolish This indicates familial origin within either of 2 Greater Polish villages in Gmina Ceków-Kolonia: Przespolew Pański or Przespolew Kościelny.
PudiwitrCzech Originally Pudivitr, or Pudivitrova(female only). V was switched to W when the family came to the U.S., though there are both names in the U.S.
PugachevRussian From the nickname Pugach which is probably derived from Ukrainian пугач (pugach) meaning "owl". Following this etymology, the nickname was most likely given to someone who was wise or sensible (attributing to the owl as a symbol of wisdom).
PuharSerbian (Modern, Rare) The last name of the contestant Mirjana Puhar from America's Next Top Model, who originally was born in Serbia. She died on February 24, 2015, aged 19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
PukhovmRussian From Russian пух (pukh), meaning "fluff".
PuntarSlovene, Croatian Derived from a 19th century phrase that denoted someone who supported the unification of the Kingdoms of Croatia and Dalmatia within Austria-Hungary.
PushkinRussian Derived from Russian пушка (pushka) meaning "gun, cannon". A notable bearer was Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), a Russian poet and writer.
RachlynJewish (Rare), Polish (Rare), Brazilian (Rare) Rachlyn is a Jewish surname derived directly from polish "Rachman". This surname is very rare and apparently only few members in Brazil, descendants of Polish survivors of Holocaust.... [more]
RakPolish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Jewish Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Hungarian (Rák), and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Slavic rak ‘crab’, ‘lobster’, or ‘crayfish’. This was applied as an occupational name for someone who caught and sold crayfish, crabs, or lobsters, or as a nickname to someone thought to resemble such a creature... [more]
RakhmaninovRussian From a nickname derived from Russian рахманный (rakhmannyy) meaning "lazy". A notable bearer was Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Rakhmaninov (1873-1943).
RakićSerbian From Serbian "rak" meaning 'crab', 'lobster', or 'crayfish'. It can also mean 'cancer'.