DornfeldGerman topographic name for someone who lived by a field where thorn bushes grew from Middle High German Middle Low German dorn "thorn" and feld "open country".
DreilingGerman From Middle High German drīling, meaning “third (part),” possibly denoting a service or tax obligation and hence a status name or a triplet.
DreilingGerman Habitational name from Drelingen near Uelzen, Lower Saxony.
DrescherYiddish, German German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a thresher, German Drescher, Yiddish dresher, agent derivatives of Middle High German dreschen, Yiddish dresh(e)n 'to thresh'.... [more]
DreyfussGerman, Jewish Means "three feet" in German. This surname originates from the German city of Trier. The Latin name for the city was "Treveris," whose pronunciation eventually developed into Dreyfuss. The spelling variants tend to correspond to the country the family was living in at the time the spelling was standardized: the use of one "s" tends to be more common among people of French origin, while the use of two tends to be found among those of German descent
DubosqueFrench DuBosque means 'of the forest' in french and was a surname given typically to someone from a rural treed area.
DubreuilFrench Topographic name derived from Old French breuil meaning "marshy woodland" (also derived from Late Latin brogilum, of Gaulish origin). In French the term later came to mean "enclosed woodland" and then "cleared woodland", and both these senses may also be reflected in the surname.
DucheminFrench Either a topographic name with fused preposition and definite article du "from the" for someone who lived beside a path from chemin "path way" (from Late Latin caminus a word of Gaulish origin); or a habitational name for someone from Le Chemin the name of several places in various parts of France.
DutertreFrench Means "of the hillock, of the mound" in French.
DuvernayFrench Means "from the alder grove," from Gaulish vern meaning "alder" combined with Latin -etum, whence Modern French -aie, forming names of orchards or places where trees/plants are grown)... [more]
EggimannGerman (Swiss) Denotes someone from the Emmental valley, a valley in Switzerland.
EhlingerGerman Habitational name for someone from Ehlingen in the Palatinate.
EhrhardtGerman From a Germanic personal name composed of Old High German ēra, meaning ‘honor’, and hard, meaning ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, or ‘strong’.
EichhornGerman, Jewish, Belgian German topographic name for someone who lived on or near an oak-covered promontory, from Middle High German eich(e) ‘oak’ + horn ‘horn’, ‘promontory’. German from Middle High German eichhorn ‘squirrel’ (from Old High German eihhurno, a compound of eih ‘oak’ + urno, from the ancient Germanic and Indo-European name of the animal, which was later wrongly associated with hurno ‘horn’); probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal, or alternatively a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a squirrel... [more]
EickhoffGerman From Middle Low German eke "oak" and hof "manor farm."
EiermannGerman Occupational name for an egg collector or dealer in eggs, from Middle High German ei 'egg' + man 'man'.
EllenderGerman Respelling of German Elender, a nickname for a stranger or newcomer, from Middle High German ellende ‘strange’, ‘foreign’, or a habitational name for someone from any of twenty places named Elend, denoting a remote settlement, as for example in the Harz Mountains or in Carinthia, Austria.
EpshteynGerman, Jewish This surname may be derived from a German town known as Eppstein in Hesse. Epp probably came from Gaulish apa which means water or river and stein translates into English as stone.
FacchiniItalian Occupational name for a porter (a carrier of objects), derived from Italian facchino meaning "porter, carrier of goods". The word facchino was originally from Sicilian facchinu meaning "jurist, scribe, clerk, theologian" (ultimately from Arabic فَقِيه (faqīh) meaning "jurisconsult, expert on law"), but was later modified to mean "porter".
FaloticoItalian From southern Italian falotico ‘eccentric’, ‘strange’, Greek kephalōtikos, a derivative of Greek kephalē ‘head’.
FantasiaItalian From Italian fantasia meaning "imagination", possibly a nickname for a person who had a vivid imagination, or from the personal name Fantasia, the feminine form of Fantasio. Known bearers include American sociologist Rick Fantasia and Australian footballer Orazio Fantasia (1995-).
FantuzziEmilian-Romagnol, Italian A surname derived from the medieval name "Fantino", which is a diminutive of "Fante", usually meaning "infant" or "child", but it was also used to refer to a "foot soldier".
FaragunaCroatian, Italian Derived from Istro-Romanian fară gună, meaning "without a shepherd's goat-skin cloak".
FarragutBreton, French, Catalan, American A Breton-French surname of unknown origin. A notable bearer was American naval flag officer David Farragut (1801-1870), who is known for serving during the American Civil War. His father was of Catalan ancestry... [more]
FeldhausGerman habitational name from a place called Feldhaus after a "house standing in open country", derived from the elements feld "field" and hus "house"... [more]
FerrandoItalian, Spanish This surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a nickname (thus making it a descriptive surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval masculine given name Ferrando, which was in use in both Italy and Spain during the Middle Ages... [more]
FerranteItalian This surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a nickname (thus making it a descriptive surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval masculine given name Ferrante... [more]
FerrantiItalian Derived from the Latin word ferrum, which means "iron". Originally an occupational name for a blacksmith or a worker in iron.
FerrignoItalian Derived from the Italian adjective ferrigno meaning "made of or resembling iron" (a derivative of Latin ferrum meaning "iron"), applied as a nickname to someone who was very strong or thought to resemble the metal in some other way... [more]
FichtnerGerman The Fichtner family name first began to be used in the German state of Bavaria. After the 12th century, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules, and names that were derived from locations became particularly common
FiorelliItalian The surname Fiorelli was first found in Bolgna (Latin: Bononia), the largest city and the capital of Emilia-Romagna Region. The famous University of Bolgna was founded in the 11th century, by the 13th century the student body was nearly 10,000... [more]
FlaugherGerman (Anglicized) Americanized spelling of German Flacher, itself a variant of Flach, or of Flaucher, a nickname derived from an agent derivative of Middle High German vluochen meaning "to swear".
FlavignyFrench French form of Flavinius. The Flavigny Abbey, in the French region of Burgundy, became famous because of the candies made by its Benedictine monks, called the anise of Flavigny... [more]
FoucaultFrench Derived from the Germanic given name Folcwald, which was composed of the elements folk "people" and walt "power, leader, ruler"... [more]
FracassoItalian Means "din, uproar, fracas; crash, ruin" in Italian, a nickname for a rowdy, destructive person, or for a noisy braggart. Alternatively, it could derive from the Roman cognomen Fraucus.
FreiburgGerman Derives from the German words, frei, which means free, and berg, which means hill, and is the name of a city in Germany.
FreidhofGerman Topographical name from the German Fredihof 'graveyard', 'cemetery' (from Middle Low German, Middle High German vrithof 'enclosed farmstead or courtyard', later 'cemetery').
FreimannGerman German cognate of Freeman. from Middle High German vriman "free man" status name in the feudal system for a free man as opposed to a bondman or serf derived from the elements fri "free" and man "man".
FrigerioItalian Possibly from the Lombard name for hackberry.
FromagerFrench Occupational name for someone who makes or sells cheese.
FrühlingGerman (Rare) Nickname from Middle High German vrüelinc German frühling "spring" in some cases for an early-born child from früh "early" and the suffix -ling denoting affiliation.
FrutigermGerman Frutiger is a German surname that is a habitational name for someone from the place called Fruttigen.
GaglianoItalian Habitational name from any of several places in Italy, most of which derive from the Latin personal name Gallius (see Gallus). Alternatively, it could derive directly from the given name Gallius, or from a similar name such as Galianus or Galenus.
GalliardFrench It resembles the French word "galliard," meaning "brave, cheerful, spirited." Marcel and Porco Galliard from Attack on Titan are known bearers of this name.
GartmannGerman (Swiss) Derived from Middle High German garte "garden; yard" and German Mann "man", this was occupational name for a gardener. In some cases it may have been a status name referring to the owner of a small (enclosed or fenced) farm or an occupational name for a worker at a deer preserve.
GassawayGerman From the word gasse meaning "alley, street".
GassmannGerman, Jewish From German Gasse or Yiddish גאַס (gas), both from Middle High German gazze, meaning "street", denoting someone who lived in a street of a city, town or village.... [more]
GenerosaItalian, Portuguese, Spanish Means "generous" in several languages, derived from Latin generosus "well-born, noble". It could also be from the given name Generoso, of the same origin.
GentilisItalian (Latinized) Latinized form of Gentili. The Italian-born Oxford professor and jurist Alberico Gentili (1552-1608) was known as Albericus Gentilis in Latin.
GiamattiItalian (Anglicized) Americanized form of Giammattei. Famous bearers include brothers Paul Giamatti (1967-) and Marcus Giamatti (1961-), both American actors.
GilliardFrench, Swiss French and Swiss French from a derivative of Gillier, from the Germanic personal name Giselher, composed of gisil ‘hostage’, ‘pledge’, ‘noble offspring’ (see Giesel) + heri ‘army’.
GingrichGerman (Americanized) Potentially from German “junge” and “reich,” meaning “rich at a young age.” Anglicized by immigrants as either Gingrich or Guengerich.
GinsburgGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone who came from Gunzberg in Bavaria, Günsburg in Swabia, or Gintsshprik (Königsburg) in East Prussia. Its origin is from the name of the river Günz, written in early Latin documents as Guntia, which was probably of Celtic origin, and Old High German burg meaning "Fortress, walled town".
GoebbelsGerman, History Originally an occupational name for a brewer. Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.
GoettemsGerman, Brazilian Brazilian adaptation of the German surname Goedems; altered for easier comprehension by the Portuguese-speaking population of Brazil. All members of the Goettems family in Brazil are descendants of Johann Goedems, born in Oberlöstern, Saarland, on September 17, 1798.
GohrbandGerman (Rare) Contained in a Latin land deed granted to a German for a castle-keep dated February 21, 1308. It is believed to be the first written record and original spelling of the name, generally understood to mean in German, "he who lives by the marsh"... [more]
GoldmannGerman, Jewish occupational name for someone who worked with gold denoting anything from a gold-miner to a maker of gold jewelry or a gilder (someone skilled in decorating surfaces with a very thin layer of gold leaf)... [more]
GraupmanGerman Occupational name for someone who produced or dealt with grits and legumes, from early modern German graupe "pot barley" (bohemian krupa) and man "man".
GrosjeanFrench, French (Belgian) Derived from French gros "large" and the given name Jean 1. As a nickname, it is sometimes applied to a person who is perceived as stupid.
GrumbachGerman (Swiss), Alsatian From the name of various places in Switzerland and Germany, for example the municipality of Grumbach in Rhineland-Palatinate.
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]
GuéroultFrench Old French form of an uncertain Ancient Germanic given name, possibly composed of Old Germanic warōną "to watch, protect, guard", gredaz "desire, hunger" or gernaz "eager, willing", or Old High German ger "spear" combined with either wolf "wolf" or walt "power, authority".
HabsburgGerman This surname may have been used by someone whose descendants originated from the House of Habsburg, which was one of the most important royal houses in Europe. It is assumed that the surname is derived from High German Habichtsburg meaning "hawk castle," but some historians and linguists believe that it may actually be derived from Middle High German hab/hap meaning "ford", as there is a river with a ford nearby.
HeimburgGerman German for "home". Originates in the German village of Heimburg (not to be confused with Hamburg) and the nearby castle of the same name.
HeimlichGerman Nickname for a secretive person from Middle High German heimelich German heimlich "confidential secret".
HerbarthGerman, Norman References Old Norse Deity "Odin" being one of the "Son's of Odin". Remember that the Geats became the Ostrogoths through the Denmark pass--referenced in Beowulf. Or, it means "Warrior of the Bearded One", perhaps a King... [more]
HerbsterGerman Occupational name for a grape picker or vintner from Middle High German herbest "(grape) harvest".