Swiss
names are used in the country of Switzerland in central Europe.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Pecchia ItalianMeans "bee" in Italian, probably a nickname for a hard-working or industrious person.
Pechman German"Pechman" means "man with bad luck" in many European languages (Polish, German, and Dutch predominantly), though in German, it originally referred to one who prepared, sold, or used pitch.
Pechtold German, Dutch, JewishFrom the Old German given name
Pechtholt, which is composed of the elements
pecht "rotation" and
holdt "hero". As a Dutch-language surname, it is derived from the Middle Dutch given name
Pechte combined with Old High German
walt "power, authority"... [
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Peik GermanFrom Middle Low German
pek ‘sharp, pointed tool or weapon’.
Pelagatti ItalianProbably derives from an old expression meaning "cheat, scoundrel", literally a combination of
pela "to skin" and
gatti "cats".
Pelissier FrenchFrom Old French "Pelicier", (Meaning "Furrier", from an agent derivative of pelice, meaning "Fur cloak", from Late Latin "pellicia", from "pellis", meaning "skin fur". An occupational name of someone likely in the fur and hide trade.
Pelle GermanFrom Middle Low German
pelle "precious purple silk cloth", presumably an occupational name for a maker or seller of such cloth or for a maker of official and church vestments.
Pelle ItalianMeans "skin, hide; leather" in Italian, an occupational name for a tanner, or a nickname for someone with notable skin.
Pellicano Italian, Siciliannickname from dialect
pelecanò pelicanò "woodpecker" from modern Greek
pelekanos "green woodpecker" (cognate with
pelekan "pelican"; both come from
pelekys "axe" the pelican because its beak is shaped like an axe the woodpecker because it uses its beak like an axe).
Peloso ItalianMeans "hairy, shaggy, furry" in Italian, a nickname for someone with long or unkempt hair and beard, or with thick body hair.
Peltz German, JewishOccupational name for a furrier, from Middle High German
bellez, (modern German
pelz) "fur", "animal skin".
Peluso m ItalianPeluso is a surname derived from the Italian word "peloso", meaning 'hairy' or 'furry,'
Pelzer GermanOccupational name for a furrier, from an agent derivative Middle High German
bellez "fur".
Penna ItalianPossibly from Italian
penna "feather, pen", a nickname for a scribe.
Pensa ItalianPossibly from Italian
pensa "think", indicating the bearer was known for being thoughtful or intelligent.
Pense FrenchPense is, quite literally, a French word meaning "to think" or "thought", but is also a surname. Sometimes confused with the surname Pence, which is German.
Pépin FrenchFrom the Old French name
Pepis, itself a form of the given name
Pépin. Alternatively, it may be derived from French
pépin meaning "(fruit) seed", thus making it an occupational name for a gardener or someone who grew fruit-bearing trees.
Peppe ItalianFrom a short form of the personal name
Giuseppe.
Perche FrenchDerived from a former province of the south of Normandy, and extending into Orleanois.
Perdue English, Irish, FrenchEnglish 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... [
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Perlman GermanOccupational name for a person who makes or sells pearls.
Perna ItalianMeaning uncertain, possibly from the dialectic word
perna "leg", denoting someone with a deformed or missing leg, or a variant of
Perla.
Pernier ItalianA famous bearer is the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier (1874 - 1937), who discovered the mysterious Phaistos disc on the Greek island of Crete.
Persia Italian, SpanishEthnic name or regional name for someone from Persia (modern-day Iran) or some other country with Persian-speaking peoples or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with one of these countries (see the given name
Persis)... [
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Petitjean FrenchNickname for a small or little man, or ironically a large or tall man, derived from Old French
petit meaning "small, little" combined with the given name
Jean 1... [
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Petito Italian, Judeo-ItalianNickname for a small person, derived from a dialectal word ultimately from French
petit meaning "small, little".
Petrillo ItalianFrom the given name
Pietro. A famous user of this name is Sophia Petrillo, one of the main characters on the sitcom, The Golden Girls.
Petrosino ItalianHabitational name from
Petrosino in Trapani, Sicily, derived from Sicilian
pitrusinu "parsley", a plant common to the area.
Petrosino ItalianFrom Neapolitan
petrosino "parsley", a nickname for an intrusive or meddling person.
Petzold GermanGerman. Derives from a pet form of a Slavic version of the given name
Peter.
Peureux FrenchIn the war there was a French resistance fighter named Maurice Peureux.
Peyron FrenchUnknown meaning. French surname. Famous bearer of this name is Bruno Peyron and the German princess Louise Peyron (1918-1989).... [
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Pezzimenti ItalianFrom
pezzimento "military baggage", a word from a Greek dialect in southern Italy. Probably an occupational name for a soldier, or someone who worked in the military in some way.
Pfarr GermanFrom Middle High German pfarr 'district' 'parish' or pfarre(r) 'parish priest', hence an occupational name for a parson.
Pfautz GermanIt was originally given as a nickname for a chubby person.
Pfeffer German, JewishOccupational name for a spicer, or a nickname for a person with a fiery temper, for a small man, or for a dark-haired person. Derived from German
Pfeffer "pepper".
Pfeil GermanFrom Middle High German pfil ‘arrow’ (from Latin pilum ‘spike’, ‘javelin’), either a metonymic occupational name for an arrowsmith or possibly a nickname for a tall thin man.
Pflug GermanMeans "plough, plow" in German, an occupational name for a plowman or plowwright.
Pflüger GermanOccupational name for a Ploughman, literally meaning "Ploughman/Plowman" in German.
Pfotenhauer GermanHigh German, carpenter's and woodworker's main occupation. Actual old German translation is "paw slapper" or "large paw" as in an animal (bear).
Pfuhl Germana topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp or pond, Middle High German phuol.... [
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Pfund Germanmetonymic occupational name for a sealer of weights, or for a wholesale merchant, from Middle High German pfunt ‘pound’ (as a measure of weight and a unit of currency).
Piaget French (Swiss)Of uncertain origin and meaning. This name was borne by Jean Piaget (1896-1980), a Swiss child psychologist noted for his studies of intellectual and cognitive development in children.
Piana ItalianTopographic name from piana ‘plain’, ‘level ground’, from Latin planus, or a habitational name from any of the places named with this word.
Piano ItalianTopographic name for someone who lived on a plain or plateau, Italian piano (Latin planum, from the adjective planus ‘flat’, ‘level’).
Pica Italian, CatalanNickname for a gossipy or garrulous person, from the central-southern Italian word pica ‘magpie’. Compare Picazo.Catalan: habitational name from any of the numerous places called Pica.Catalan: from either pica ‘pointed object’ (weapon, etc.) or a derivative of picar ‘to prick’.
Piccione ItalianMeans "pigeon" in Italian, denoting someone who resembles the bird or an occupational name for a pigeon keeper.
Pickenpaugh GermanThe surname Pickenpaugh is an Americanized version of the German name Beckenbach, meaning "from the river basin"... [
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Pickle GermanPickle is an Anglicized form of the North German word “pokel” and or the Dutch word “pekel”.
Picot FrenchFrom Old French
picot "pointed object pickaxe" a nickname for someone who used such an implement.
Picquet FrenchA variant of
Piquet of which it's meaning is of a military terminology of one soldier/small group of soldiers on a line forward of a postion to provide a warning of an enemy advance... [
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Piénoel French (Rare)French surname that possibly refers to the buckled shoes that the original bearer was wearing, in which case it is derived from Old French
pié meaning "foot" combined with Old French
noiel meaning "buckle"... [
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Pigue FrenchFrench family last name may have been changed from the original French
Piketty FrenchPerhaps related to the English surname
Pickett. A notable bearer is French economist Thomas Piketty (1971-).
Pili ItalianSardinian form of Italian
pelo "hair, hairy".
Pillot FrenchMeaning unknown, possibly derived from Middle French
pilot or
pillot both meaning "stake, pole". This is the name of a wealthy merchant family from Besançon, France.
Pin FrenchA topographic name for someone living by a pine tree or in a pine forest, or a habitational name from a place named with the Old French word
pin, meaning "pine, pine tree".
Pineau FrenchEither a diminutive of
Pin from Old French
pin "pine" or a habitational name from (Le) Pineau the name of several places in the western part of France of the same origin.
Pininfarina ItalianA combination of "pinin", Piedmontese for youngest/smallest brother, and
Farina, the Italian variant of
Miller. This is the name of the Italian coachbuilder, founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina, later Battista Pininfarina.
Pink English, GermanNickname, possibly for a small person, from Middle English pink
penkg ‘minnow’ (Old English pinc).English (southeastern): variant of
Pinch .Variant spelling of German
Pinck, an indirect occupational name for a blacksmith, an onomatopoeic word imitating the sound of hammering which was perceived as pink(e)pank... [
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Pinn English, GermanDerived from Middle English
pin and Middle Low German
pinne, both meaning "peg" or "pin". This was an occupational name from a maker of these things. The German name can in some cases be an occupational name for a shoemaker.
Pino Spanish, Galician, ItalianSpanish and Galician habitational name from any of the places in Galicia (Spain) named Pino from
pino "pine" or a topographic name for someone who lived by a remarkable pine tree. Italian habitational name from Pino d'Asti in Asti province Pino Torinese in Torino or Pino Solitario in Taranto all named with
pino "pine’... [
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Pinochet Basque, French, SpanishDerived from Basque
pinoche meaning "pine cone". Alternately, it could be derived from the name of the hamlet of
Pinouchet, located in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France... [
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Pinsker German, PrussianHabitational name from any of several places named near Posen (Polish Poznan) and in West Prussia.
Pinson FrenchFrom Old French
pinson "finch" a nickname applied to someone who whistles or sings like a finch or to a bright and cheerful person.
Pionke German, PolishGermanized form of Slavic Pinoek, which is a nickname from pionek ‘puppet’.
Piovasco Italian, LiteratureMeans "shower, brief fall of rain" in Italian, from Italian
piovere or
piova, both meaning "rain" with an added suffix. Cosimo Piovasco di Rondò is the protagonist in the Italian novel
The Baron in the Trees by
Italo Calvino, who inherited this surname from his father,
Arminio Piovasco.
Pipolo ItalianPossibly derived from a Latin word meaning "nothing, insignificant; a thing without value", perhaps a nickname for an unimportant or disliked person. Alternatively, it could be from a pet form of the given name
Pippo, a diminutive of
Filippo.
Piquet FrenchOccupational name for someone who dealt with picks from a diminutive of
pic ''pick, pickax''.
Pirovano ItalianProbably from a place in Lombardy, itself possibly deriving from Ancient Greek
πυρο- (
pyro-) "fire" and
-γενής (
-genes) "born of".
Pisa ItalianHabitational name from the city of Pisa in Tuscany. The city was probably founded by Greek colonists, but before coming under Roman control it was in the hands of the Etruscans, who probably gave it its name... [
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Pisoni Italianpatronymic "from Pisone", from a derivative of
Piso, from Latin pisum "pea"
Pitcher English, GermanFrom an agent derivative of Middle English
pich ‘pitch’, hence an occupational name for a caulker, one who sealed the seams of ships or barrels with pitch. English variant of
Pickard... [
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Pitsenbarger GermanProbably an altered spelling of
Bezzenberger, which is derived from
Boizenburg, a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
Pittler FrenchA surname which originally belonged to a person who lived by a pit or hollow. Meaning "King of the Pit" or "King of the Hollow".
Pizzuto ItalianItalian surname derived from a nickname meaning ‘malicious’.
Plain Frenchfrom Old French
plain an adjective meaning "flat" and a noun meaning "plain" hence a topographic name denoting e.g. a dwelling on a flat terrain.
Plass GermanFrom Middle Low German
plas meaning "place, open square, street". Can also derive from a medieval form of the given name
Blasius.
Platini ItalianOccupational name for a person who coats objects with platinum, derived from Italian
platinare literally meaning "to platinize, to coat with platinum". A notable bearer is the former French soccer star Michel Platini (1955-).
Plouffe FrenchAltered form of
Blouf, which is no longer found in France. It's meaning is unknown.
Plum English, GermanFrom Old Germanic
*plūmā "plum", used as a topographic name for someone who lived by a plum tree, a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or sold plums, or perhaps a nickname referring to a plum-coloured birthmark.
Plumer German, English, DutchNorth German (Plümer) and English: variant of
Plum, the suffix -er denoting habitation or occupation. Altered form of South German
Pflümer, an occupational name for a grower or seller of plums, from an agent derivative of Middle High German pflume ‘plum’... [
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Plumier French, BelgianPossibly an occupational name for a dealer in feathers and quills, from an agent derivative of Old French
plume "feather, plume" (compare English and Dutch
Plumer)... [
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Po ItalianDerived from
Po the longest river in Italy (651,8 km). It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps across the regions: Piemonte, Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto... [
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Pobanz GermanNickname for a braggart or bogeyman, of uncertain Slavic origin.
Podda ItalianFrom Sardinian
podda "flour", or
pudda "chicken".
Poehler GermanGerman (Westphalian): topographic name for someone who lived by a muddy pool, from an agent noun derived from Middle Low
pol ‘(muddy) pool’.