Swiss Submitted Surnames

Swiss names are used in the country of Switzerland in central Europe.
usage
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Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AACKER German
Variant spelling of the surname ACKER.
ABBRUZZESE Italian
Habitational name for someone originally from Abruzzo, a region in southern Italy.
ABEGG German, German (Swiss)
Topographic name for someone who lived near the corner of a mountain, from German ab meaning "off" and Egg, dialect form of Eck(e) meaning "promontory", "corner".
ABOUT French
It is a french surname that comes from the french word 'about', meaning "an extremity of a metallic or wooden element or piece." This surname is notably born by the French novelist Edmond François Valentin About... [more]
ABPLANALP German, German (Swiss)
Topographic name for someone living high on a mountainside, from German ab- "below", "off" + Planalp "high, flat mountain-meadow".
ABREO French, Italian
Abreo or its variant Abreu comes from the French Alfred (alf = Elf; fred = conseil). The meaning is wise counselor.... [more]
ABRESCH German, Dutch, Jewish
From a pet form of the Biblical name ABRAHAM.
ABRUZZESE Italian
Regional name for someone from the Abruzzi, a mountainous region of Italy east of Rome (cf. ABRUZZO).
ABRUZZO Italian
Regional name for someone from the Abruzzi, a mountainous region of Italy east of Rome (cf. ABRUZZESE).
ABSHER German
Absher comes from either the German surname Habich, which comes from the surname HAWK... [more]
ACAMPORA Italian, Medieval Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian)
Acampora is a variant of Acanfora, from the medieval personal name Canfora, from canfora ‘camphor’ (from Arabic kāfūr).
ACCOLA Romansh
From Latin accola ‘neighbor’, ‘inhabitant’ (from Latin accolere 'to live near'). Accola also meant 'tenant' or 'farmer' in Medieval Latin, which is likely the definition of the word that this name comes from.
ACH German
Topographic name for someone who lived by a spring or stream, from Old High German aha meaning "running water".
ACHARD French
From the given name ACHARD.
ACHENBACH German
Habitational name from places in Hesse and Westphalia named Achenbach, from the obsolete word Ach or Ache (from Middle High German ahe meaning "water", "stream") + Bach meaning "brook".
ACORN German
Origin uncertain; most probably an Americanized form of German EICHHORN.
ACQUAVIVA Italian
From an Italian place name meaning "running water, spring", literally "living water".
ACRI Italian
Habitational name from a place in Cosenza province named Acri.
ADIPIETRO Italian
meaning "to tell Peter"; "to appear before Peter"... [more]
ADOLF German
From the given name ADOLF.
ADORNO Italian
Southern Italian: from the personal name ADORNO, meaning ‘adorned’.... [more]
AEBIG German (Archaic)
Short form of Adalbert, used in the 16th century.
AERNI German (Swiss)
Variant spelling of ÄRNI.
AGAR Greek, Italian, French
From the personal name AGAR
AGASSI Armenian, Persian, Italian
The surname Agassi most likely evolved from a nickname for someone resembling a mappie, perhaps jokingly referred to as chattering or nagging person. ... [more]
AGIRMO Italian
two hypotheses: either from the Greek agyrmos meaning "symposium, meeting" which was the name of the first day of the Misteri Eleusini in Athens.... [more]
AGOSTINELLI Italian
The earliest known instance of this name AGOSTINELLI was St. Aurelius Augustinus, also known as Augustine of Hippo (354-430) the greatest of the Latin church fathers. He was born in Tagaste in Numidia which is modern Tunisia.... [more]
AGRESTE French
French cognate of AGRESTA.
AGUZZI Italian
Comes from an ancient Roman cognomen, Acutus.
AHLBORN German
From the old personal name Albern, from Germanic adal meaning "noble" and boran meaning "born".
ALBANESE Italian
Southern Italian : ethnic name from albanese ‘(an) Albanian’, applied to someone from Albania or from one of the Albanian settlements in Abruzzo, Apulia, Campania, and Sicily.
ALBER German
Alber family name was first found in Alsace. The nickname given to someone fair in complexion or blond haired is derived from Latin word Albanus, which means white.
ALBERTI Italian
From given name Alberto, the Latin translation of Germanic Albert.
ALBINET French
Derived from the medieval French masculine given name Albinet, which was a diminutive (as the -et suffix indicates) of the given name ALBIN.... [more]
ALBO Spanish, Italian, Jewish
It is derived from the name Albert, Alberto, Albino, and Alberico.... [more]
ALDINGER German
Habitational name for someone from Aldingen in Württemberg.
ALFANI Italian
(or Alfano) three possibilities: from the German word halfer ("helper"), from a place called Alfano, which is supposed to be from the Arab al fannan ("wild donkey"), and Alfana is the name of a race (as in type) of Arab horses, so could be someone related to horses.
ALFONSO Spanish, Italian
From the given name ALFONSO. It was sometimes adopted as a personal name by Jews.
ALGIERI Italian
Algieri is classified as a geographical surname. Specifically, it is a nation name, referring to the country of Algeria in northern Africa.
ALIGHIERI Italian
From the given name Alighiero, Italian form of Aldiger. A famous bearer of this surname is Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), author of the Divine Comedy.
ALLEMAN French (Cajun), Spanish (Canarian), German
From the French and Spanish word for "German". Believed to have originated in the Alsace-Lorraine region. Some holders of the name migrated to the Canary Islands and are part of the larger Isleños population that settled throughout the Americas... [more]
ALLEMAND French
Means "Germany" in French.
ALLEMANN German (Swiss)
Allemann (also spelled ALLEMAN, ALLEMAND, Aléman, Allamont, Allemagne, Alemaye, Alemán, and Allamán) is a surname that can be found primarily in Switzerland deriving from the Latin surname, Alemannus, which refers to someone of Germanic descent, specifically from the Alamanni tribe... [more]
ALLENBACH German, German (Swiss)
Habitational name from any of several places called Allenbach.
ALLENDORF German
Habitational name from any of ten or more places called Allendorf.
ALLEY English, French (Anglicized)
From a Middle English personal name, ALLI, Alleye, as forms such as Johannes filius Alli (Norfolk, 1205) make clear... [more]
ALLGEIER German
The harried officials at Ellis Island began to assign surnames based upon the pronunciation of the name by the immigrant, rather than attempting to ferret out the actual spelling. ... [more]
ALMENDINGER German, German (Swiss)
Habitational name for someone from a place called Allmendingen, of which there are two examples in Switzerland, in Bern canton, and one in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
ALPERT English, Jewish, German, Dutch
A variant of the Jewish surname Heilprin or HALPERN. In German and Dutch usage, it is derived from the given name ALBERT... [more]
ALPINI Italian
(or Alpino) possibly denoting a person from the Alpes.
ALSCHEID German
Probably originally a locational surname and a place name for a village which no longer exists. Alscheid (Luxembourgish: Alschent) is a village in the commune of Kiischpelt, in northern Luxembourg. As of 2001, the village had a population of 47.... [more]
ALT German, Jewish
From German alt ‘old’, typically applied as a distinguishing epithet to the older of two bearers of the same personal name.
ALTERS German
Shortened form of ALTERSTEIN.
ALTERSTEIN German
Means "old stone" in German.
ALTHOFF German
A surname predominantly found in Westphalia and the Rhineland region of Germany which is derived from German alt "old" and Hof (Hoff in the local dialects) "farmstead; farm; manor".
ALTMAN German
Said to mean "Wise man" of German origin
ALTMEYER German
Status name for an older steward, headman, or tenant farmer, as distinguished from a younger one, from Middle High German alt ‘old’ + meier ‘steward’, ‘headman’, ‘tenant farmer’
ALTRINGER German
Habitational name for someone from a place called Altringen or Aldingen, of which there are two in Württemberg.
ALWARDT German
From the personal name ADELWARD, composed of the Germanic elements adal ‘noble’ + ward ‘keeper’, ‘protector’.
AMADI Persian, Romanian, Italian, Maltese
Variant of AHMADI common in Romania and Italy. It is typical of Malta.
AMAURY French
From the given name AMAURY... [more]
AMBERG German, Jewish
German and possibly Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name from any of several settlements called Amberg (literally ‘by the mountain’), including a city in Bavaria. It could also be a topographic name of identical etymology... [more]
AMEGLIO Italian
There are two hypotheses: the first is it derived from the Latin name Amelius which came from Amius, name of Etruscan origin; the other is it derived from Amali, name of a mighty Ostrogothic family, which means "virgin of the forest".
AMELIN Russian, French
Russian feminine counterpart is Amelina (Амелинa)
AMES English, German
English: from the Old French and Middle English personal name AMYS, Amice, which is either directly from Latin amicus ‘friend’, used as a personal name, or via a Late Latin derivative of this, Amicius.... [more]
AMICO Italian
Means "friend".
AMISTADI Italian
From the Renaissance term amistade ("friendship").
AMMANN German
A contraction of Ambetmann, for a court official. If there is a double "M", the origin might be Swiss.
AMMAZZALORSO Italian
From the profession of bear hunter, meaning literally "slaughter the bear".
AMMER German, English (Rare)
This surname may be derived from Middle High German amer which means "bunting (as in the bird)." As such, it is used as a nickname for someone with a fine voice or someone who is a flamboyant dresser.... [more]
AMREIN German (Swiss)
Topographic name from am ‘at’ + Rain ‘edge of plowed land’.
AMSLER American, German (Swiss)
As a Swiss German surname it is from the Swiss place name Amslen.
AMSPACHER German
Habitational name for someone from a place called Amsbach
AMSTUTZ German (Swiss), German (Austrian)
Topographic name for someone living near or at the foot of a steep mountainside, German am Stutz ‘at the escarpment’.
AMY French
From the given name AMÉ or AIMÉ.
ANACKER German
Nickname for a day laborer, as opposed to someone who owned fields, from Middle High German āne meaning "without" + acker meaning "field".
ANDERS German, Scottish, Czech
Derived from the given name ANDERS.
ANDES German
Variant spelling of Anthes.
ANDREOZZI Italian, Sicilian
From a pet form of the personal name Andrea.
ANDRIEUX French
From the given name ANDRÉ.
ANDROS German (Swiss), Hungarian
Derivative of the personal name ANDREAS. Perhaps a reduced form of Greek Andronikos, Andronidis, or some other similar surname, all patronymics from ANDREAS.
ANGELA Italian
Derived from the given name Angelus (see ANGEL).
ANGELLOTTI Italian
Comes from a pet form of ANGELO, variant of ANGELOTTI.
ANGELO Italian
From a popular medieval personal name, Angelo, Latin Angelus, from Greek angelos "messenger, angel" (considered as a messenger sent from God).
ANGELONI Italian
Means "great angels" in Italian. It derives from Biblical Latin angelus meaning "angel", ultimately from Ancient Greek angelos, originally meaning "messenger", changing meaning in the Bible.
ANGELOTTI Italian
Comes from a pet form of ANGELO.
ANGELUCCI Italian
From a pet form of the personal name ANGELO.
ANGERHOFER German
Habitational name for someone from Angerhof in Bavaria.
ANGOTT Italian (Anglicized)
The origin of this surname is unknown but is most likely an anglicized version of the Italian surname 'Angotti'.... [more]
ANGRISANI Italian
From Angrisano, a habitational name for someone from Angri in Salerno province.
ANHEUSER German
Last name of EBERHARD Anheuser, founder of the Anheuser-Busch company.
ANNA English, Irish, Italian, Hungarian
Probably derived from the female first name ANNA.
ANOUILH French
From Catalan anull, meaning "slow worm". It is originally a nickname given to a spineless and slow person. The French author Jean Anouilh is a famous bearer of this surname.
ANSCHÜTZ German
Occupational name for someone whose job was to keep a dam or pool filled with water. (Anschützen "to fill up")
ANSELMO Portuguese, Italian, Spanish
From the given name ANSELMO.
ANTOINE French
From the given name ANTOINE.
ANZALONE Italian
The surname Anzalone was first found in Bolgna (Latin: Bononia).
APICELLA Italian
Southern Italian: from a diminutive of apa ‘bee’, probably applied as a nickname for an industrious person, or possibly as a metonymic occupational name for a beekeeper.
APOLLO Italian, Spanish
From the Greek personal name Apollo. There are several saints Apollo in the Christian Church, including an Egyptian hermit and monastic leader who died in 395 ad. The personal name derives from the name in classical mythology of the sun god, Apollo, an ancient Indo-European name, found for example in Hittite as Apulana "god of the gate" (from pula "gate", cognate with Greek pylē), therefore "protector, patron".
APOLLONI Italian
From the given name APOLLONIA, which is the Latin feminine form of APOLLONIOS, which in turn was derived from the name of the Greek god APOLLO.
APPEL German, Dutch, Jewish, Low German, Medieval Dutch, Yiddish
1. German: from the personal name APPEL, a pet form of APPRECHT (common especially in Thuringia and Franconia), itself a variant of ALBRECHT... [more]
APPLER German
Variant of EPPLER.
APT German, Yiddish
German: variant of Abt.... [more]
AQUILA Italian
Habitational name from L'Aquila in Abruzzo or from any of various smaller places called Aquila.
ARÀBIA Italian, Spanish
Ethnic name for someone from Arabia or some other Arabic-speaking country or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with one of these countries.
ARABIE French
Ethnic name denoting someone from Arabia or an Arabic-speaking person.
ARAGON Spanish, Catalan, French
A surname and an autonomous community of Spain.
ARALDI Italian
Means “heralds” in Italian. Famous bearers include Italian painters Alessandro Araldi (c. 1460 – c. 1529) and Paolo Araldi (18th century – after 1820).
ARBEITER German
Occupational name from Middle High German arbeiter ‘laborer’.
ARCANGELI Italian
Meaning "archangel" in Italian.
ARCHEAMBEAU French
The name Archambeau is derived from the Latin personal name 'Arcambaldus'. In turn the name 'Arcambaldus', is derived from the Germanic word 'Ercan', which means precious in Germanic, and 'bald', meaning bold and daring.... [more]
ARDOLINO Italian
Believed to have come from ARDUINO; is most common in the Campania area of Italy.
ARENALDI Italian (Rare)
Originally found in the Campania, Foggia area. Derived from the medieval name of Germanic origin Arenaldus or Arinaldus
ARENSBERG German
From Old High German arn 'eagle' and berg, 'mountain'.
ARFORD German
Derived from town of Erfurt, Germany
ARGENT French
Means 'silver' in French.
ARGENTI Italian
Patronymic or plural form of ARGENTO.
ARGENTO Italian
From argento "silver", perhaps sometimes applied as a nickname for someone with silvery gray hair, but more often a metonymic occupational name for a silversmith.
ARIES English, French
The name means either a person who worked in a fashion of the "Arras" cloth, as in the quotation "one bede Coveringe of Aries" (1562), or someone who was a former inhabitant of Arras in France, or Arras in Yorkshire; the latter being a particularly popular source of the name.
ARINALDI Italian (Rare)
Variant of ARENALDI. Originally found in the Campania, Foggia area. Derived from the medieval name of Germanic origin Arenaldus or Arinaldus
ARIOSTO Italian
From the Germanic given name Ariost, meaning "battle-ready". A famous bearer of this surname is Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533).
ARLINGHAUS German
Perhaps a habitational name from Oerlinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia.
ARMAND PILON French
Armand is the original surname, and it is a French modification from a German surname. The original being Hartmann, that spelled by a francophone becomes Armand.... [more]
ARMENIA Italian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese
Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Armenia or who had connections with Armenia. This surname is derived from the feminine form of Armenio, which is ultimately from Greek Αρμένιος (Armenios) meaning "Armenian"... [more]
ARMUIER French
French for "armorer."
ARNDT German
Derived from the personal name ARNDT.
ÄRNI German (Swiss)
From a much altered pet form of the personal name ARNOLD.
AROUET French
A famous bearer was French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778), whose birth name was François-Marie Arouet.
ARQUETTE French
From arquet meaning "little bow" or "little arch" (diminutive of arche, from Latin arcus). It was originally an occupational name for an archer, but the French word arquet(te) is also found in the sense 'market trader' (originally, perhaps, one with a stall underneath an arch)... [more]
ARRIGO Italian
Italian: from the medieval personal name Arrigo, a variant of Enrico.
ASCENCIO Spanish, Italian
From the personal name (Latin Ascensius), favored by the early Christians, by whom it was bestowed with reference to the ascension of Christ (Late Latin ascensio).
ASCHER German
Derived from German asche meaning "ash" (tanners worked with ash)
ASHEN German
The medieval name originated from the German dukedom of Swabia. It denoted that the original bearer of the name probably held land in Swabia. Otherwise it could have been a name given to somebody who was from or born in Swabia.
ASPERGES Italian
It means "you bless", and it is also the device used by priests to spread holy water over people or places
ASSANTI Italian
Derived from the Italian personal name ALESSANDRO.
AßMAN German
Derived from the given name ERASMUS + the... [more]
ASTONI Italian
It is the surname of the Home and Away family, The Astoni family, consisting of 4 members, Ben, Maggie, Coco and Ziggy.
ASTORE Italian
Derived from Italian astore meaning "goshawk", which is a bird of prey that was used for hunting in the Middle Ages. The surname had first started out as a nickname: either for a falconer, or for a person who had aquiline features or who was cunning by nature.
ATZERODT English, German
This was the surname of George Atzerodt, a conspirator in a plot to kidnap Abraham Lincoln.
AU Upper German, Swiss, German (Swiss), German (Austrian)
South German, Swiss, and Austrian topographic name from dialect Au ‘water meadow’, ‘stream’ (see AUE).
AUBERJONOIS French
A French last name meaning "armourer". Actor René Murat Auberjonois is a notable bearer.
AUBIN French
From the French given name AUBIN.
AUBINE French (Rare)
Derived from the medieval French feminine given name Aubine, which was the French form of ALBINA. But in other words, you could also say that Aubine was the feminine form of AUBIN.
AUBINET French (Rare)
Derived from the medieval French masculine given name Aubinet, which was a diminutive (as the -et suffix indicates) of the given name AUBIN.... [more]
AUBUCHON French (Modern, ?)
The Aubuchon name is French, but of uncertain origin. It is probably from the patronymic prefix au + buchon, a dialect term for a woodcutter (Standard French bûcheron).
AUCLAIR French
Patronymic from the personal name CLAIR or the nickname Leclair (‘the cheerful one’): (fils) à Leclair ‘(son) of Leclair’. It has also absorbed cases of Auclerc (from LeClerc).
AUDELIN French
Variant of ODELIN, which is not to be confused with ODELÍN as it is Spanish while the other one is French, though they could have similar origins in name.
AUDET French
Southern French nickname from Gascon dialect audet "bird", variant of standard Occitan ausèl (modern French oiseau).
AUDINO Italian
Derived from first name 'Alda' which means 'wise and experienced.'
AUERBACH German, Jewish
Topographical name for someone who lived by a stream (Middle High German bach) that was near a swamp or marsh (auer).
AUGELLO Italian
Italian (Campania) dialect variant of Uccello ‘bird’, hence either a nickname for a diminutive, birdlike person or an occupational name for a fowler. Compare Auciello.
AURIFABER German (Latinized)
Latinised form of GOLDSCHMIDT, meaning "gold smith".
AURORA Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Occitan, Portuguese
Means "dawn" in Latin (see the given name AURORA).
AUSLÄNDER German
Nickname given to a foreigner.
AUSSENDORF German
Originated in Germany. Means "Out of the Village". First used in the year 1135.
AUT Czech, German (Swiss), Russian, Catalan
Means "Hard Worker" in Czech.... [more]
AUTRY English, French
A habitational name from any of the places in France named Autrey or Autry. French: from the Old French personal name Audry, from Germanic Aldric ‘ancient power’.
AVALLONE Italian
Topographic name for someone who lived in a deep valley.
AVAMILANO Spanish, Italian
Of Spanish origin, but probably has its roots in Italy due to the word "milano" which means Milan in Italian.
AVARA Italian
Italian feminine form of Avaro.
AVEN Scandinavian, English, German, Dutch, French (Anglicized)
Scandinavian: unexplained.... [more]
AVENA Spanish, Italian
A traditionally Spanish and Italian occupational surname for a "grain grower or merchant", or the Italian habitation surname for Avena, Calabria. Means "oats". From the Latin avēna meaning 'oats, wild oats, straw'.
AYOTTE French
It means 'small hedge' or 'small woody plot of land' in Old French.
AZUAJE-FIDALGO Portuguese (Rare), Spanish, Italian
Fidalgo from Galician and Portuguese filho de algo — equivalent to "nobleman", but sometimes literally translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some (important family)"—is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility that refers to a member of the titled or untitled nobility... [more]
BABEL French
Either (i) from the medieval French personal name Babel, apparently adopted from that of St Babylas, a 3rd-century Christian patriarch of Antioch, the origins of which are uncertain; or (ii) an invented Jewish name based on German or Polish Babel "Babylon".
BACHECHI Italian
Comes from the Tuscan-Italian personal name BACCIO.
BACKMAN English, Swedish, German
Combination of Old English bakke "spine, back" and man "man". In Swedish, the first element is more likely to be derived from Swedish backe "hill", and in German the first element can be derived from German backen "to bake"... [more]
BACON English, French, Norman
An occupational surname for someone who sold pork, from Middle English and Old French bacun or bacon, meaning 'bacon', which is ultimately of Germanic origin. Can also be derived from the Germanic given names Baco, Bacco, or Bahho, from the root bag-, meaning 'to fight'... [more]
BAER German
Derived from Old High German bero "bear".
BAERTSCH German
Means "loyalty".
BAFFA Italian
The origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be from Italian baffo "mustache", with the Latinate feminine suffix probably due to the influence of the word famiglia "family". Alternatively it may be Albanian in origin, of unexplained meaning.
BAIN Scottish, French, English
Nickname for a hospitable person from northern Middle English beyn, bayn meaning "welcoming", "friendly".... [more]
BAIO Italian
From a nickname for someone with light brown or reddish-brown hair or beard, from baio meaning "bay horse", ultimately derived from Late Latin badius meaning "red-brown".
BALDACCHINO Maltese, Italian, Sicilian
Occupational name for an artisan who made the baldachin, also spelled baldaquin, a type of canopy used in cathedrals, from Italian baldacchino "baldachin". This word is derived from Italian Baldacca, a doublet of Bagdad "Baghdad", the city where the material originally came from.
BALDINGER German
German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name for someone from a place called Baldingen, either in Württemberg, Germany, or Aargau, Switzerland.
BALLERINI Italian
Occupational name or nickname for a dancer, Italian ballerino, an agent derivative of ballare "to dance".
BALLOU Haitian Creole, French (Caribbean), French
The Ballou name comes from that Medieval landscape of northwestern France known as Brittany. The name Ballou was originally derived from the family having lived in Brittany, where this distinguished family was established from ancient times... [more]
BALMA Italian
Perhaps a topographic name from the dialect word balma meaning ‘grotto’, ‘cave’, ‘jutting rock’.
BALSAM German
Occupational name for a seller of spices and perfumes.
BALSAN German
Variant of BALSAM.
BALSANO German (Austrian), Italian
The roots of the distinguished surname Balzano lie in Austria. The name derives itself from "Balthasar," the name of one of the three Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem, and was popular as both a first name and a family name during the 18th century.... [more]
BALSON German
Variant of BALSAM.
BALTHAZOR German, German (Austrian)
A Germanic Austrian form of Balthazar
BALZAK French
Variant of BALZAC.
BANDI Italian
Derived from Late Latin Bandus itself from the Germanic band and the Latin banda, all meaning "sign, emblem, banner". It can also derive from the Italian word bando meaning "announcement" from the Germanic bann.
BANDY German
This interesting surname of German and Ashkenazic origin is a diminutive of the metonymic occupational name Band, originally given to someone who made the wooden hoops with which wooden barrels were fastened together, deriving from the Germanic band meaning "hoop", "band"... [more]
BAPTIST German, English
From the given name BAPTIST, or an Anglicized form of BAPTISTE.
BARBE French
Nickname for someone with a beard, Old French barbe (Latin barba).
BARBE French
From the given name BARBE.
BARBE German
From Middle High German barbe, the name of a species of fish resembling the carp; hence by metonymy an occupational name for a fisherman or fish dealer, or possibly a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish in some way.
BARBEAU French
Derived from barbeau meaning "barbel", a type of fish, hence a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman, or a nickname for a man with a sparse beard, the fish being distinguished by beardlike growths on either side of its mouth... [more]
BARBERA Italian
Derogatory nickname from barbera ‘barber’s wife’, a term also used to denote a prostitute or dishonest woman. Catalan (Barberà): habitational name from a place in Tarragona province, named with Late Latin Barbarianum ‘place of Barbarius’, a derivative of Barbarus (see Barbaro)... [more]
BARBIN French
Diminutive of BARBE.
BÄRG German
Variant of BERG.
BARIL French
During the middle ages, when people were named after their given job, Baril was what winemakers and brewers were named. Baril simply means "Barrel" or "Keg"
BARISICH German
Likely a German version of BARUCH.
BARNETTE English, French (?)
Variant of BERNET and perhaps also a variant of English BARNETT, under French influence.
BARNO Italian, Ukrainian, French, Ancient Aramaic, Russian
The surname Barno was first found in the north of Italy, especially in Tuscany. The name occasionally appears in the south, usually in forms which end in "o," but the northern forms ending in "i" are much more common... [more]
BARON English, French
From a title of nobility derived from Old French baron of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly from Frankish barō meaning "servant, man, warrior". It was used as a nickname for someone who worked for a baron or for a peasant with ideas above their station.
BARONI Italian
Variant of BARONE.
BARREAU French
Possibly a variant of Barreur, an agent derivative of barrer ‘to bar’, ‘to close or block off’, hence possibly an occupational name for a jailer or doorkeeper.
BARRIERE French
Occupational name for a gatekeeper, from Old French barier.
BARRINEAU French
The history of the Barrineau family goes back to the Medieval landscape of northern France, to that coastal region known as Normandy. Barrineau is a habitation name, derived from the place name Barrault, in Normandy.... [more]
BARTEK Polish, Czech, Slovak, German
Polish, Czech, Slovak, and eastern German: from a pet form of a vernacular form of the personal name Bartolomaeus (Czech Bartoloměj, Polish Bartłomiej, German Bartolomäus)
BARTHÉLÉMY French
From the given name BARTHÉLÉMY.
BARTOLI Italian
Derived from the Italian name BARTOLO.
BARTOLOTTA Italian
Bartolotta was the name taken by the followers of Saint Bartholomew. Bartholomew was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. He is credited as bringing Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century.
BARWICK English, German
English: habitational name from any of various places called Barwick, for example in Norfolk, Somerset, and West Yorkshire, from Old English bere ‘barley’ + wic ‘outlying farm’, i.e. a granary lying some distance away from the main village.... [more]
BASCÖURT French
The Bascourt or Bascur surname is from France, from that place dates the beginning of the surname, however the French of previous centuries had no records of that surname. ... [more]
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