Mereon

(very rare) A surname, recorded for three families in the USA and Canada.


Wesley

Several places in England, from Old English west (“west”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to west + -ley (“lea”).

A habitational surname from Old English.


Hamilton

en-proper noun

Hamilton (countable and uncountable, plural Hamiltons)

Translingual: ℍ

From Old English Hameldūne, from hamel (“blunt, flat-topped”) + dūne (“hill”). The Scottish surname is from the place in Leicestershire.

咸美頓

name of various cities in English-speaking countries


Darlington

/ˈdɑːlɪŋtən/

-ɑː(ɹ)lɪŋtən

From Middle English Dearnington, Derlinton, from Old English Dearthingtun, supposedly “the settlement of Deornoth's people”, from an unclear root + -ing + -tun. The transistor configuration is named for its inventor, Sidney Darlington.


Maurice

From Middle English Maurice, from Late Latin Mauritius, derived from Maurus (“Moor; dark, swarthy”). Popularized by a 3rd-century Roman soldier martyr.

A surname originating as a patronymic, equivalent to English Morris.


Jerome

From the Old French vernacular form of the saint's name Hieronymus, from Ancient Greek Ἱερώνυμος (Hierṓnumos). Doublet of Hieronymus.


Gary

Gary (countable and uncountable, plural Garys)

Medieval short form of Germanic compound names beginning with gari (“spear”)/geri (“spear”), such as Gerard, Gerald, or Gerbert. Cognate with the Scottish and Irish Gaelic name Garaidh.
* The last-century popularity of the given name is due to the American actor Gary Cooper (1901–1961), whose stage name was invented by his agent, a native of Gary, Indiana.

A surname from Middle English [in turn originating as a patronymic].


Stewart

Stewart (countable and uncountable, plural Stewarts)

A Scottish surname originating as an occupation.


Stanley

From places in England, Old English stān (“stone”) + lēah (“meadow”). Equivalent to stone + -ley (“lea”).
* The given name has also been used as an anglicisation of Stanisław, Stanislav and related names.
The coastal town in Hong Kong is named after Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby.


Donald

en-proper noun

Donald (countable and uncountable, plural Donalds)

⇒ Translingual: donaldtrumpi

Name of Scottish kings and an early saint, from Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall and reinforced by Medieval Latin Donvaldus ~ Donaldus, from Old Irish Domnall, from Proto-Celtic *Dubnowalos (“prince / chief of the world”). Doublet of Domhnall.


Kawasaki

en-proper noun

Kawasaki (countable and uncountable, plural Kawasakis)

Transliteration of Japanese 川崎 (Kawasaki).


Hastings

The placename in England is derived from the Old English tribal name Hæstingas (“Hæsta's people, the family/followers of Hæsta”), which was later transferred to their settlement.
The family name has two possible sources:
* from the place name
* a patronymic surname derived from the Anglo-Norman personal name Hasten(c), Hastang
The later place names in other countries are named either after people with that family name, or after the town of Hastings in England.


Adrian

From Latin Hadrianus (“from the Roman harbor Hadria”) a place name ultimately from Etruscan 𐌇𐌀𐌕𐌓𐌉𐌀 (hatria). Doublet of Hadrian. See Adria.


Friedrich

en-prop

Friedrich (plural Friedrichs or Friedriches)

Friedrichs (plural)
Friedriches (plural)

It has been learned that mr. blair maintains a second savings account, under the name george friedrich, at Leclair & Cie of Geneva, Switz. […] A search of the photo files showed of the George Friedriches in the United States who hold passports, none bears the remotest physical resemblance to Mr. Blair.

1979, Tony Chiu, Port Arthur Chicken, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc., →ISBN, pages 107 and 139:

We met our landlords-to-be, Frau and Herr Friedrich, themselves émigrés from the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. […] When my mother arrived and we brought her to our attic home, she immediately made friends with our landlords and was able to converse in a form of German that the Friedriches easily understood.

2015, Joel M. Levin, Our Beguine: The Dance of Life, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN:


Yoder

The family name is from German Joder, the name of a clan in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland; which is in turn from the given name Theodor, after St Theodorus, an early Christian religious leader in Switzerland.


Hughes

A Welsh and English surname originating as a patronymic derived from the given name Hugh.


Rog

Two possible origins:
* Borrowed from Polish Róg, a metonymic occupational surname for a horn blower, from róg (“horn”).
* Borrowed from Dutch Rog, a topographic or habitational surname from rog (“ray”).


Richmond

From Middle English Rychemund, from a name cognate to French Richemont (“town in Normandy”). Equivalent to rich + mound.

Be cheerful, Richmond; for the wronged souls
Of butcher'd princes fight in thy behalf:
King Henry's issue, Richmond, comforts thee.

c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:

A surname derived from the English place name.


Herbert

→? Cebuano: Herbert

From Old French Herbert, from Frankish *Hari-bercht, from a Proto-Germanic source *Harjaberhtaz, from *harjaz (“army”) + *berhtaz (“bright”).

And you, Sir Walter Herbert, stay with me.


Rolf

From Old Norse Hrólfr, and from its Old French equivalent, cognates of Rudolph. Brought to England by the Normans, survived in surnames and was revived in the 19th century, partly due to its modern Scandinavian cognate.


Champagne

Borrowed from French Champagne. Doublet of Campania.


Wilhelm

Borrowed from German Wilhelm. Doublet of William.


O'Reilly

A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic] from Reilly.


Reilly

From Irish Ó Raghallaigh, a surname meaning "descendants of Raghallach".


Bernard

From Middle English Bernard, from Old French Bernard, Bernart, from Medieval Latin Bernardus, probably from Frankish *Bernhard (compare Old High German Bernhart, Old English Beornheard), from Proto-Germanic *Bernuharduz, equivalent to bear + -ard. Popularized by medieval European saints.


Ness

en-proper noun

Ness (countable and uncountable, plural Nesses)

Named after the River Ness, of Celtic/Pictish origin, from a Proto-Celtic word *Nesta describing great currents, according to MacBain, from the same Proto-Indo-European root that gave the river Νέστος (Néstos), possibly *ned- (“water”).


Hugh

From the Old French aristocratic and saint's name Hughe, brought to England by Normans, from a short form of Germanic names beginning with Proto-Germanic *hugiz (“heart, mind”), such as Hubert. Cognate with Old English hyġe (“mind, spirit, intellect”). More at high, how.

cog

(rare compared to given name) A surname originating as a patronymic.


Laplace

en-proper noun

Laplace (countable and uncountable, plural Laplaces)

(countable) A surname from French, famously held by:

(mathematics) Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician 1749-1827, used attributively in the names of various mathematical concepts named after him (see "Derived terms" below)


Ludlow

Ludlow (countable and uncountable, plural Ludlows)

Ludlow
Ludlow (disambiguation)
River Teme

From the Old English rivername Hlūde, now the River Teme, + hlǣw (“mountain, hill, mound”).

(countable) A habitational surname from Old English.


Mach

From Czech Mach, Slovak Mach, Polish Mach and related languages, from pet forms produced by truncation of personal names beginning with Ma- and the addition of the Slavic suffix -ch. Less commonly, a respelling of Hungarian Mács. In some cases, from Vietnamese or Cambodian.


Marte

Borrowed from Spanish Marte. This surname is mostly found in the Dominican Republic.


Irving

Variant of the Scottish habitational surname Irvine, probably from a Celtic word cognate with Welsh ir, yr (“fresh”) + afon (“river”).


Sunderland

From sunder + -land (see Wikipedia article for further etymological information).


Neal

A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic] derived from Niall.


Robinson

Robinson (countable and uncountable, plural Robinsons)


Neil

Anglicized form of Goidelic/Irish Niall. Doublet of Niall.

A surname from Irish derived from the given name.


Wayne

An occupational surname for a cartwright, Old English wægen (“wagon”).


Beckwith

From Old English bēċe ("beech") + Old Norse viðr (“wood”) 'Beechwood'

A surname from Old English of Old English origin.


Foucault

Foucault (countable and uncountable, plural Foucaults)

1997: Chris Horrocks, Introducing Foucault, page 5 (Totem Books, Icon Books; →ISBN
There are many “Foucaults” — whether they are all texts, or features in a network of institutional power, a régime of truth and knowledge, or the discourse of the author and his works.

Jean Bernard Léon Foucault, French physicist (1819–1868)


Lloyd

Lloyd (countable and uncountable, plural Lloyds)

a ... young saxophonist named Charles Lloyd

1967 June 9, Richard Saltonstall Jr., “New Surge for a Tired Old Idiom”, in LIFE:

A surname from Welsh, from a nickname for someone with grey hair.


Keith

Keith (countable and uncountable, plural Keiths)

* As a Scottish surname, from the placename in Moray, Scotland, from Scottish Gaelic Cèith, meaning "wood" or "from the battleground," which is probably borrowed from Pictish *ᚉᚓᚈ (cēt) meaning "wood", or a forest, from Proto-Brythonic *koɨd.
* As a German surname, from Middle High German kit (“sprout, offspring”) (compare kint).


Kelly

en-proper noun

Kelly (countable and uncountable, plural Kellies)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-Kelly.wav

A better and more straightforward appeal, though less cool, was made to him by Hugh Kelly, - - - The play was so successful, and Garrick said so much of it that Lord Pembroke was eager to be back from Paris to see it, though he said, with true aristocratic pride, that he could expect very little from such a name as "Kelly", especially if there be an "O'" before it.

1867, Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald, The Life of David Garrick, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, published 1899, page 319:

A surname from Irish, Anglicised from the Irish Ó Ceallaigh.


Ann

Habitational surname from Abbotts Ann in Hampshire, named for the stream that runs through it, which is most probably named with an ancient Welsh word meaning "ash tree stream". Compare Welsh onn (“ash tree”).


Antonio

Borrowed from Italian Antonio and Spanish Antonio. Doublet of Anthony.


Heine

A surname from German, notably of Heinrich Heine, a German poet.


Hansard

PIE word
 *ḱóm
From Middle English hansard (“merchant or citizen of a Hanseatic town; member of a merchant guild; a surname”), from hanse, hansze, hanze, haunse (“merchant guild; the Hanseatic League; member of the Hanseatic League; membership fee for a merchant guild; payment in general”) + -ard (suffix forming adjectives and nouns). Hanse is derived from Old French hanse (“merchant guild; membership fee for a merchant guild”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by; with; along”) + *sed- (“to sit”). The English word is analysable as Hanse (“merchant guild; the Hanseatic League”) + -ard (suffix forming agent nouns, especially pejorative ones).

suffix

The Armes of a very ancient Family, ſettled at Kelſey in the County, which came to them by the Marriage of the Heireſs of Hanſard.

1726, Samuel Kent, “Of Whole-footed Beasts”, in The Banner Display’d: Or, An Abridgment of Guillim: Being a Compleat System of Heraldry, in All Its Parts. […] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for Thomas Cox, […], →OCLC, section III, pages 328–329:

Walworth, (Durham,) near Heighington, was anciently the ſeat of the Nevils; from whom it paſſed by marriage to the Hanſards, one of the baron-families of the Bpk [bishoprick].

1751, Stephen Whatley, “Walworth”, in England’s Gazetteer; or, An Accurate Description of All the Cities, Towns, and Villages of the Kingdom. […], volume II, Printed for J. and P. Knapton, D. Browne, A[ndrew] Millar, J. Whiston and B[enjamin] White, →OCLC, column 1:

Composition Inking-rollers came in with cylinder printing-machines. The success of the new machines depended on the rollers. According to Hansard, they were first made by Forster of Weybridge, England, who derived his knowledge of the value of a mixture of glue and molasses as a receiver and transferrer of ink from the Staffordshire potteries, where it was used as an aid in the decoration of crockery.

1896 August, Joseph Moxon, Theo[dore] L[ow] De Vinne, “Notes”, in Moxon’s Mechanick Exercises, or, The Doctrine of Handy-works Applied to the Art of Printing: A Literal Reprint in Two Volumes of the First Edition Published in the Year 1683, volume II, New York, N.Y.: The Typothetae of the city of New-York, →OCLC, paragraph 319, page 427:


Kenneth

en-proper noun

Kenneth (countable and uncountable, plural Kenneths)

Anglicized form of two Goidelic names, Old Irish Cináed, the name of Scottish kings derived from Pictish *ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇ (Ciniod), and the saint's name Cainnech (literally “handsome”) (modern Scottish Gaelic Coinneach), as in the surname Mackenzie.


Gregory

Gregory (countable and uncountable, plural Gregorys)

→ French: Grégory

→ Hawaiian: Kelekolio

→ Maori: Kerekori

Via Latin Grēgorius, from post-classical Ancient Greek Γρηγόριος (Grēgórios, “watchful, vigilant”), from Ancient Greek ἐγείρω (egeírō, “awaken, arouse”).


Richie

A surname transferred from the given name derived from the given name Richard.


Ernest

Borrowed in the 18th century from Ernst, a medieval royal name in Germany, from Old High German ernust (“vigor, strife”), only remotely related to modern German ernst or English earnest.


Shane

Anglicized form of the Northern Irish pronunciation of Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God is gracious”).
Doublet of John, Jack, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Ian, Evan, Ivan, Sean, Shaun, and Giovanni as a male name.
Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena as a female name.

doublet

A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic].


Dennis

From Middle English Denis, from Old French saint's name Denis, brought to England by Normans; from Latin Dionysius, "follower of (the wine god) Dionysus".


Allison

en-prop

Allison (countable and uncountable, plural Allisons)

From a Middle English diminutive form of Alan, Alexander or Alice + -son.

While Rapinoe has acknowledged her white privilege, said Allison, the sociology professor, she received outsize attention for her racial activism without experiencing the harsh consequences that Black athletes historically receive for protests.

2023 August 6, Jeré Longman, “For Megan Rapinoe, an Ending Not Even She Could Have Imagined”, in The New York Times:

(countable) A surname originating as a patronymic.


Raymond

en-proper noun

Raymond (countable and uncountable, plural Raymonds)

From Old French, from Frankish, from Proto-Germanic *raginą (“advice”) + *mundō (“protection”).


Arnold

From a French version of a Germanic name, from Proto-Germanic *arô (“eagle”) + *waldą (“power”). For the first part of the word doublet of erne, -ornis, and ornitho-.
Compare the Latin male given name and cognomen Aquila, and female given name Aquilīna (whence Russian Акули́на (Akulína)), related to aquila (whence eagle).


Jonathan

Jonathan (countable and uncountable, plural Jonathans)

/ˈd͡ʒɒnəθən/

/ˈd͡ʒɑnəθɪn/

Borrowed from Hebrew יְהוֹנָתָן (iehonatán), יוֹנָתָן (ionatán, literally “God has given”), apparently with influence from Aramaic [Term?].


Malthus

A rare surname from Middle English derived from the Middle English word for malthouse.


Heinz

Three weeks after the couple and their young daughters, Amelia and Jane, had moved into the home, the Heinzs began to suspect their dream house contained the stuff that nightmares are made of.

2010, Carolyn Molnar, Compassionate Messenger: True Stories from a Psychic Medium, page 151:


Alder

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived by alder trees.


Acton

en-proper noun

Acton (countable and uncountable, plural Actons)

From Old English āc (“oak”) + tūn (“farm, town, homestead”); compare the doublet Aughton.

A habitational surname from Old English.


Ante

Various origins:
* As a Spanish and Catalan surname, perhaps from ante (“elk; suede”).
* As a Dutch and North German surname, from Ente (“duck”).


Abend

Jewish and German surname, borrowed from German Abend (“evening”).


Gold

An English surname originating as an occupation for a goldsmith or a rich man.


Alda

Borrowed from Spanish Alda, a habitational surname from Basque. Borrowed also from Odia ଆଲଡା (ālaḍā).


Anda

A surname from Spanish [in turn from Basque].


Backer

* As a German (Bäcker) and occasionally Danish surname, variant of Becker. Compare also Baecker.
* As a Dutch and occasionally Norwegian surname, variant of Bakker. Compare also DeBacker.
* As an English surname, variant of Baker.


Auger

* As a French surname, borrowed from French Auger.
* As a German surname, a variant of Auer, with the -g- said to reflect a West Frisian influence.


Ash

Ash (countable and uncountable, plural Ashes)

Ash (deity)
Ash (disambiguation)#Places
Ash (name)

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived near ash trees.


Al

Borrowed from Dutch Al, a short form of the personal name Adelhard.


Archer

A surname from Anglo-Norman [in turn originating as an occupation] for a bowman.


Banner

A surname originating as an occupation for a standard-bearer.


Beadle

A surname originating as an occupation for a court official.


Barnet

Barnet (countable and uncountable, plural Barnets)

From Old English bærnet (“place cleared by burning”).


Battle

Capitalization of battle. Doublet of Battaglia.

A habitational surname from Middle English from places in England that have been sites of a battle.


Berk

* As a Dutch, Czech, and Polish surname, from a Germanic personal name stemming from Proto-Germanic *berô (“bear”). Also see Bernhard.
* As a Dutch and north German surname, from the word for birch tree, from Proto-West Germanic *berku.
* As a Jewish surname, spelling variant of Berg.


Amor

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese Amor. This surname was introduced in England by the Normans.


Besser

From the German surname, from Middle High German bezzerære, agent noun from Old High German bezzern (“to collect fines”).


Blower

From blower, an occupational surname for someone who operated a bellows, or alternatively for someone who blew a horn.


Bean

Probably an occupational surname for a bean farmer, from bean.


Baron

* As a French, English, Jewish, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Czech, German, Spanish (Barón), Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, and Breton surname, all from the noun baron. Compare Barron, Lebaron.
* Also as a French surname, from several places in France Le Baron.
* As an Italian (Veneto) surname, variant of Barone.
* Also as a Czech surname (Baroň), from a pet form of Bartoloměj.
* As an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Bearáin; see Barnes.
* General Slavic surname: Anglicization of Polish Baran (“Aries”), Ukrainian Баран (Baran), etc.


Adel

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *aþalaz. The female name is a rare variant of Adele. The surname is borrowed from German Adel.


Amber

From amber, from Middle English ambre, from Old French ambre, from Latin ambar, from Arabic عَنْبَر (ʕanbar, “ambergris”).

Amber, the half, generally waltzed round our forwards, and when he secured he passed the ball on to Aspinall.

1901, Frederick Swainson, Acton's Feud: A Public School Story, BiblioBazaar, LLC, published 2007, →ISBN, page 14:


Bogart

From the Dutch surname Bogaert, derived from bogaard, contraction of boomgaard (“orchard”), from boom (“tree”) + gaard (“garden”). Doublet of Baumgart, Bangert, and Bungert, all from German.

doublet

An English surname from Dutch, most famously borne by American actor Humphrey Bogart.


Bois

A surname from French, related to Dubois.


Amen

Multiple origins, including a respelling of German Ammann or a variant of Amin from Arabic أَمِين (ʔamīn).


Bliss

An English surname transferred from the nickname originating as a nickname.


Baz

Two main origins:
* Borrowed from Persian باز (bâz, “falcon”).
* Borrowed from Spanish Baz.


Baby

Two main origins:
* Borrowed from Malayalam ബേബി (bēbi), a surname typically found in Kerala.
* Borrowed from French Baby.


Barak

A surname transferred from the given name, often representing a transliteration of a modern Israeli name.


Blunt

en-prop

Blunt (countable and uncountable, plural Blunts)

Two possible origins:
* From Anglo-Norman blunt (“blond”), a nickname for someone with fair hair or a light complexion.
* From Middle English blunt (“dull, stupid”), a nickname for a stupid person.

A surname transferred from the nickname.


Begum

Ultimately from Classical Persian بیگم (bēgum).


Bright

As an English surname, from the root of bright. As an Anglicized German surname, from Brecht and Breit.


Bridge

An occupational surname for a bridgekeeper

A habitational surname for someone living near a bridge or at a location called Bridge or Bridges

A toponymic surname for someone from Bruges


Bolt

en-proper noun

Bolt (countable and uncountable, plural Bolts)

* As an English surname, from the noun bolt, for a maker of bolts, or a nickname for a short and heavy person.
* Also as an English surname, variant of Bold.
* As a Dutch, north/Low German and Danish surname, from the old Germanic name Baldo, derived from the adjective bold and related to the above. Compare Boldt.


Bunting

From bunting, a nickname for someone who resembled the songbird.


Bloom

English and Jewish surname converged from several origins:
* Middle English blom (“ingot”), from Old English blōma (“lump of iron”)
* Swedish Blom
* Dutch Bloem, see bloem (“flower”)
* Spelling variant of Blum


Ask

Borrowed from Swedish Ask, from ask (“ash tree”), ultimately also from askr (“ash tree”). Doublet of Ash.


Bailey

An English surname from Anglo-Norman [in turn originating as an occupation] for a steward or official.

An English topographic surname from someone who lived by a bailey (the outer wall of a castle).

An Irish surname originating as an occupation, an anglicization of Báille (“bailie”).


Bell

Bell (countable and uncountable, plural Bells)

A surname of Scottish and northern English origin for a bell ringer, bellmaker, or from someone who lived "at the Bell (inn)."


Bonus

Bonus (countable and uncountable, plural Bonuses)


Au

Borrowed from Cantonese 歐／欧 (ou1) or 區／区 (ou1), or from German Au.


Axel

From Danish Aksel, first used for the bishop and statesman Absalon Hvide (1128–1201), from biblical Absalom. Some sources suggest that the bishop was originally named Áskell, from Old Norse "god" + "cauldron, helmet", and Absalon was chosen as the nearest-sounding Christian equivalent, leading to the exchange of the middle consonants.


Cater

Occupational surname, from cater, obsolete form of caterer.


Block

Block (countable and uncountable, plural Blocks)

* A Germanic surname (German, Dutch and English), from German Block and Dutch blok respectively. As an English surname from the same cognate, block.
* As a Jewish surname, Americanized from Bloch. Also see Vlach.

A surname.
A surname from the Germanic languages
A surname from German

A surname.
A surname from the Germanic languages
A surname from Dutch

A surname.
A surname from the Germanic languages
An English surname

The major themes in Francesca Lia Block's books include the necessity of love and the acceptance of and celebration of racial and sexual difference.

1994, Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast, Gay & Lesbian Literature: Introduction to gay male literature, page 37:


Ale

* As a Spanish surname, from Ale, probably a shortening of Alejandro.
* As an Italian surname, likely a variant of Aleo.
* As an English surname, from Middle English Ale, shortened from several names such as Alice, Allison, etc.
* Also as an English surname, variant of Hale.
* As a Dutch surname, from the personal name Aal, also shortened from names such as Alewijn, Albert.
* As a Nepali surname, from आले (āle). This surname is mostly found in Nepal.
Compare Al.


Angelo

Borrowed from Italian Angelo. Doublet of Angel.


Brook

Audio (US)

* As an English surname, from the noun brook.
* As a north German surname, from Low German Brook (“swamp, marsh”), related to the above.
* As a Dutch surname, Americanized from Broek, from broek, also related to the above.
* As a Jewish and German surname, Americanized from Bruck, Bruch (from Bruch (“wetland, marsh”)).

A habitational surname from Middle English for someone living by a brook.

A surname from Hebrew, a transliteration and normalization of Hebrew ברך (barúkh, “blessed”).


Blue

From the German surname, Americanized from Blau or its French cognate Bleu.

A surname from German. An anglicization of German Blau.


Brewer

A surname originating as an occupation for a brewer of ale.


Bora

Various origins:
* Borrowed from Assamese বৰা (bora), a surname of unclear origin.
* Borrowed from Romanian Bora, a feminine hypocoristic form of the personal name Boris.
* Borrowed from Polish Bora, a pet form of Borzyslaw or Bolebor.
* Borrowed from Hungarian Bora, a variant of Bara.


Churchward

An occupational family name, a contraction of churchwarden, in turn from Old English cyrce weard a "churchwarden" or "sacristan".


Boot

* As an English surname, from the noun boot.
* As a Dutch and German surname, from Bote (“messenger”), compare Bode. Also an occupational surname for a boatman, from boot.


Browning

From Old English Brūning, a patronymic for a person nicknamed Brūn (“brown”) (see Brown).
For the first half-century of their manufacturer, the majority of semi-automatic handguns in Europe were designed by John M. Browning.


Cleaver

Occupational surname for someone who split wood, from Middle English clevere (“one who cleaves”).


Cliff

The given name is from shortenings of the diminutives. The surname is from the noun cliff.


Commons

Commons (disambiguation)#People
House of Commons


Butter

Various origins:
* From butter, a metonymic occupational surname for a dairyman or seller of butter.
* From Old French butor (“bittern”), a nickname for someone who resembled a bittern, perhaps because of his voice.
* Borrowed from Dutch and German Butter, possibly a short form of various compound names.


Carr

en-prop

Carr (countable and uncountable, plural Carrs)

* As an English and Scottish surname, variant of Kerr.
* As an Irish surname, from the root of the surname Keary, from ciar (“black”); compare Carey.
* Also as an Irish surname, named after a priest Cathair (compare cathair (“fort”))
* Also as an Irish surname, from a personal name derived from corr (“pointed, projected point”).

A northern English habitational surname from Old Norse derived from Old Norse kjarr (“brushwood”).

A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic, a variant of Kerr.

A surname from Irish, anglicized from Irish Ó Carra, Ó Cairre.


Coulomb

A surname from French, notably held by Charles-Augustin de Coulomb.


Box

Box (surname)
Box, Gloucestershire
Box, Wiltshire

The 10-inch increase forecast in the new study, which does not give a timeline, could be much higher if temperatures continue to rise, as they almost certainly will, said Jason Box, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland who was the paper’s lead author.

2022 August 29, Elena Shao, “New Research Forecasts More Dire Sea Level Rise as Greenland’s Ice Melts”, in The New York Times:


Collier

Derived from the name of occupation - collier (“charcoal burner”).


Bill

Hypocorism of William. It is unclear how the initial W became a B; this could have been part of the medieval trend of swapping letters, similar to Dick for Rick.


Cole

Cole (countable and uncountable, plural Coles)

The surname is variously from:
# A nickname from Old English col (“coal, coal-black”),
# A patronymic from Nicholas (see also Coles, Colson, Colle).
# A variation of Cowell (which itself has several origins).
# As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McCool.
# As a German surname, Americanized from Kohl.
# As a Dutch surname, Americanized from Kool.
# As a French surname, Americanized/calqued from Charbonneau, influenced by the first sense.

A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas.

A male given name transferred from the surname.

A few years later when Doug and I got married, Cole, Ella, and I agreed that we didn’t like the term “stepmom.” Instead they came up with the name “Momala.”

2024 July 21, Kamala Harris, “Kamala Harris on Being ‘Momala’”, in ELLE:

A surname, variant of Cowell. from Cowell

A surname transferred from the given name.


Court

* As an English and French surname, from the noun court. Also from the French adjective court (“short”).
* As an Irish surname, reduced from McCourt.

A surname from Middle English for someone who worked or lived in a court.


Cox

en-proper noun

Cox (countable and uncountable, plural Coxes)

The surname has converged from several different origins; see Cox.

An English surname from Middle English for either son of, or servant of someone named Cocke or Cook.


Cardigan

Anglicized from Welsh Ceredigion (“Ceredig's land”)


Butler

Butler (countable and uncountable, plural Butlers)

Butler (surname)
en:Butler (disambiguation)

* (English surname): From Middle English Butler.
* (Anglicized surname): From French Boutilier, Boutillier, Bouthillier.
* (placename): From the surname

der

An English and Irish surname from Middle English [in turn originating as an occupation], for someone who was a butler or wine servant.

An Anglicized form of the French Boutilier, Boutillier, Bouthillier surname from French of similar derivation.


Cousin

From Middle English Cosyn, a surname from Norman terminology. From Anglo-Norman, from Old French cusin, cosin, cousin (“cousin”) (French cousin, cousine). Literally, “familial relative”.

gloss

French <i class="Latn mention" lang="fr">cousin, cousine</i>


Chase

en-proper noun

Chase (countable and uncountable, plural Chases)

en:Chase
en:Chase (surname)
en:Chase#Places

A surname transferred from the nickname from a Middle English nickname for a hunter.


Cardinal

From Canadian French Cardinal, from French cardinal, from Latin cardinālis.

A surname from French common among French Canadians as well as Cree and Métis indigenous peoples in Canada.


Beaver

Beaver (countable and uncountable, plural Beavers)

* As an English surname, capitalization of beaver. This sense is also translated from several Native American names such as Cheyenne homa'e and Creek Echaswvlke of the same meaning. Doublet of Bieber and Bever.
* Also as an English surname, from the placename Belvoir in Leicestershire.


Alba

From Spanish Alba, ultimately from the same origin as Etymology 1 and 2.

A habitational surname from place names of obscure origin.


Cook

Cook (countable and uncountable, plural Cooks)

Audio (US)

Audio (AU)

some speakers from Northern England and Ireland

cuck (most accents without the foot-strut split)

(countable) An English surname originating as an occupation for a cook or seller of cooked food. Famously held by James Cook, English captain and explorer of the Pacific Ocean, and for whom the Cook Islands, Cook Strait and Mount Cook were named.


Darling

Richard and David Darling, founders of Codemasters, a multimillion-pound computer game company, dropped out of school aged 15 and 16 to write computer games […]

2005, Michael Dowling, Jürgen Schmude, Dodo zu Knyphausen-Aufsess, Advances in Interdisciplinary European Entrepreneurship Research:

An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname from darling.


Borg

* As a Danish and Norwegian surname, from various places derived from Old Norse borg (“stronghold”).
* As a north/Low German surname, this is the Low German form of the surname Burg.
* As a Jewish surname, from Yiddish בורג (burg, “credit”), from Middle High German borgen (“to lend, borrow”), from Old High German borgēn.
* As a Maltese surname, from the noun borġ (“tower, stronghold”), distantly related to the first two senses above.


Baker

An English surname originating as an occupation for a baker, or owner of a communal oven


Diamond

Diamond (disambiguation)#Places
Diamond (surname)


Alan

From Old Breton Alan, name of early Breton saints, of disputed origin and meaning; brought to England by Normans. It may have been the name of a Celtic deity, the brother of Bran, Welsh Alawn, Celtic Alun, ‘harmony’. As an early Irish name, perhaps connected with ail (“noble”). Compare French Alain.


Boxer

Named Boxers by the West, since their official title was "The Fist of Righteous Harmony" (義和拳／义和拳 (Yìhéquán)) and their symbol was a clenched fist.


Day

This surname has multiple origins. Besides the ones listed below, Norman origin has also been suggested from De Haie", or "a corruption of the Normandy French D'Ossone, from the town of Ossone, in Normandy".

A surname originating as a patronymic derived from a medieval diminutive of David.

An English surname originating as an occupation from day as a word for a "day-servant", an archaic term for a day-laborer, or from given names such as Dagr, Daug, Dege, and Dey, cognate with Scandinavian Dag.

A surname from Irish can be found as both Day and O'Day from Ó Deághaidh (“descendant of a person named Good Luck”).


Benedict

en-proper noun

Benedict (countable and uncountable, plural Benedicts)

From Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine Order, from Late Latin benedictus (“blessed, well spoken of”), from Latin benedīcō (“I bless, I speak well of”). Doublet of Bennett, Benoit, and Benito.


Blanche

From Old French blanc (“white”). The surname originated as a nickname, or as a matronymic.


Apple

en-proper noun

Apple (countable and uncountable, plural Apples)

From apple. As a surname, also an Americanized form of Appel or Apfel.


Chinchilla

Habitational surname borrowed from Spanish Chinchilla. This surname is mostly found in Costa Rica.


Cross

* As an English surname, from the noun cross, as in crossroads. Also a calque of this word in various European languages, such as French Lacroix, German Kreutz, Serbo-Croatian Križ. Compare Crouch, Crozier, Kriz.
* As an Irish surname, shortened from McCrossen.
* As a German surname, Americanized from Kross, from Middle Low German krus (“pitcher, vessel”), which is possibly an old Germanic borrowing of Ancient Greek κρωσσός (krōssós, “pitcher, pail, urn”). Also a variant of Kress.

der

Max Cross cut a fine figure as the Colonel, Percy Penny was a somewhat unducal Duke, while Edgar McHale gave a particularly good rendering of the Major.

1922, Musical News and Herald, volumes 62-63, page 780:

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived near a stone cross on a road.


Conner

An English surname originating as an occupation from Middle English connere, cunnere "inspector (of weighs and measures)".

An Irish and Scottish surname from Irish, a variant of Connor.


Bush

Either the family name for those who live near a bush or a thicket of bushes, or the family name for those living at or near a bush (in the archaic sense of wine merchant or tavern).

George H. W. Bush, 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993

George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009


Bank

Various origins:
* Borrowed from Dutch and German Bank (“bench”), a metonymic occupational surname for someone who worked with a bench or counter, like a money changer.
* Borrowed from Danish and Swedish Bank, a topographic surname from bank (“sandbank”) or, alternatively, a nickname for a loud an noisy person, from bank (“noise”).

Bank and Monument stations
Bank, Hampshire


Dodge

en-proper noun

Dodge (countable and uncountable, plural Dodges)

From a Middle English diminutive form of Roger.

(countable, chiefly US) A surname transferred from the given name.


Bath

From Middle English Bathe, from Old English Baþan, from the dative case of bæþ.


Dando

English habitational surname of Norman origin, from one of the two villages named Aunou, in France.


Dow

Dow (countable and uncountable, plural Dows)

Variant of Daw from David or daw, and of Duff from Scottish Gaelic.

(countable) A surname transferred from the given name.


Brody

A surname from Scottish Gaelic, a variant of Brodie.


Dove

* As an English surname, from the noun dove.
* As a Scottish surname, calque of Scottish Gaelic (mac) Calmáin (“(son of the) dove”). Compare Coleman.
* Also as a Scottish surname, variant of Duff.
* As a north German surname, from the Low German adjective doof (“deaf”); see deaf.


Doll

* As a south German surname, from toll (“mad, foolish”).
* Also as a German surname, spelling variant of Thiel.
* As an English surname, from the adjective dull, cognate with the first German derivation. Also compare Dill.


Dick

Rhyming nickname for Rick, pet form of Richard.


Dirk

Borrowed from Dutch and North German Dirk.


Corrie

en-proper noun

Corrie (countable and uncountable, plural Corries)

From Scottish Gaelic coire (“cauldron, boiler; corrie”), which denotes a bowl-shaped geographical feature similar to a cirque.

der

A habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic.


Dock

* As an English surname, possibly from the noun duck.
* As a Norwegian surname, from Old Norse dǫkk (“pit, depression”), from Proto-Germanic *dankwaz (“dark”).
* As a German surname, spelling variant of Docke, related to the noun Tuch (“cloth, piece of fabric”).


Dryden

An English and Scottish habitational surname from Old English, from Old English drȳġe (“dry”) + denu (“valley”).


Dean

en-proper noun

Dean (countable and uncountable, plural Deans)

The surname or given name is of multiple origins, depending on context:
* As an English surname, from Middle English dene (“valley”).
* Also as an English surname, from the noun dean. Cognate to Deacon.
* Also as an English surname, from the personal name Deyne, a rhyming form of Reynald (see Reginald).
* As an Irish surname, variant of Deane.
* As a Scottish surname, from Dean Castle in Kilmarnock, itself from the noun meaning valley.
* Old English Dene (“Dane, Norseman”)
* Hebrew דין (“law, judgment”) and Arabic دين (“way of life, creed”)

(countable) A habitational surname from Middle English from Middle English dene “valley”.


Drake

* As an English surname, from both senses of the noun drake meaning "male duck" and "dragon."
* As a German surname, from Low German drake (“dragon”), related to the above.
* As a Dutch surname, Americanized/West Flemish variant of Draak, also related to the above.

An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a byname from Old English draca or Old Norse draki, both meaning “dragon”.

Francis Drake (1540-1596), English sea captain, pirate, and explorer of the Elizabethan era.

An Irish surname, anglicized from Drach, itself a Hiberno-Norman name English Drake.


Burke

Burke (countable and uncountable, plural Burkes)

From an Anglo-Norman pronunciation of burg.

A topographical surname from Anglo-Norman for someone who lived in a fortified place.


Dollar

From Scottish Gaelic Dolair (in Scotland).


Dickens

From Dicken, a medieval diminutive form of Dick + the patronymic suffix -s.

A surname originating as a patronymic, notably borne by Charles Dickens, English novelist.


Dale

A surname from Middle English for someone living in a dale.


Down

From Irish dún (“fortress, stronghold”).


Brand

Brand (countable and uncountable, plural Brands)

* As an English, Scottish, north German, Dutch, French, and North Germanic surname, from a Germanic personal name derived from Proto-Germanic *brandaz (“sword, firebrand, torch”), as in the second element of Hildebrand.
* Also as a German surname, variant of Brandt.
* As a Swedish and Danish surname, from brand (“fire”).
* As a Jewish surname, from German Brand (“fire”).


Berg

From German Berg or Swedish berg, either term meaning "hill/mountain".

A surname from German common in the US, associated with German or Scandinavian ancestry.


Corse

An uncommon surname originating in Europe, specifically the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.


Abraham

Etymology tree
Hebrew אַבְרָהָםbor.
Ancient Greek Ἀβραάμ (Abraám)bor.
Latin Ābrahāmbor.
Old English Abraham
Middle English Abraham
English Abraham
From Middle English Abraham, from Old English Abraham, from Late Latin Ābrahām, from Ancient Greek Ἀβρᾱᾱ́μ (Abrāā́m), from Hebrew אַבְרָהָם ('aḇrāhām, “Abraham”). Glossed as אַב (aḇ, “father of”) + הֲמוֹן (hăˈmōn, “multitude of”) in Genesis 17:4–5; or from Hebrew אַבְרָם ('aḇrām, “Abram”). Doublet of Ibrahim and Avraham.


Dike

From Middle English (see the noun dike). Compare Dyke.

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone living near a dike.


Candy

Suddenly, to his horror, Mr Candy found himself in what Ma would have called a terrible two-and-eight.

1963, H. E. Bates, Oh! To be in England:

The phone was then handed over to the other perpetrating programmer of SPECTACLE who described himself as 'the other Simon' who talked me through some of the program's low spots while Robin Candy punched the buttons on the Spectrum.


Diamant

Borrowed from German Diamant, a Jewish Ashkenazi ornamental surname.


Brett

Related to Breton, Brittany, and more distantly Briton.

A surname transferred from the nickname meaning "Breton, an inhabitant of Brittany".


Deutsch

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Deutsch.wav

PIE word
 *tewtéh₂
Borrowed from German Deutsch (“German”). Doublet of Dutch and Doitsu.


Evert

Borrowed from Dutch and North German Evert.


Beck

en-proper noun

Beck (countable and uncountable, plural Becks)

* As a German surname, from Beck (“stream, brook”), see also Old Norse bekkr. Also a spelling variant of Becker (“baker”).
* As a Hebrew surname, shortened from בני (B'nei) קדושים (Kdoshim, “sons of the martyrs”).

Beck (disambiguation)#Places
Beck (surname)


Fay

An Anglo-Irish surname transferred from the nickname, Anglicized from de Fae a Norman family that settled in Ireland.

A surname from Irish, anglicized from Ó Fiaich and Ó Fathaigh. (see Fahey.)


Bianca

Bianca (countable and uncountable, plural Biancas)

From Italian Bianca, equivalent of English Blanche.


Chi

From the Wade-Giles romanization of the Mandarin Chinese 齊／齐 (Qí).


Ball

Multiple theories and origins.
* From a short form of the Middle English given name Baldwin.
* A toponymic surname for a person that lives near a knoll or rounded hill (i.e. somewhere shaped like a ball).
* From the Old Norse given name Balle.
* A habitational surname for a person from Ball, Cornwall, from Cornish Pelen.


Else

* As an English surname, spelling variant of Ell.
* As a north German surname, of Low German origin, from Proto-West Germanic *aliʀu (“alder”), comparable to Dutch els.


Fern

From fern; in the case of the surname, it was given to someone who lived in a place where there was an abundance of these plants.


Dexter

A surname originating as an occupation for a female dyer.


Crow

Crow (surname)
Crow Nation
Crow language

* From Middle English Crowe, as an Old English surname, related to crow.
* As an Irish surname, from mac Conchradha. See McEnroe.
* Also as an Irish surname, calque of Irish fiach (“crow, raven”) (see also Fee).


Daisy

Three possible origins:
* Americanized form of a French habitational surname, from either of two places called Aisy.
* Variant of the Irish surname Dacey.
* From the flower name, probably used as a nickname.


Duke

Duke (countable and uncountable, plural Dukes)

(countable) A surname originating as an occupation for service in the household of a duke, or from a nickname.


Castello

Borrowed from Italian Castello and Catalan Castelló.


Faith

Faith (countable and uncountable, plural Faiths)


Chin

As a Chinese surname, a variant romanization of various Chinese characters, typically in local dialects. As a name for China, see China.


First

* As a German surname, variant of Fürst, Furst.
* As a Jewish surname, from Yiddish פֿירשט (firsht, “prince”), a rendition of the above.
* As a Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, from the noun firšt (“prince”), a loanword from German and thus related to the above.


Fletcher

Fletcher (countable and uncountable, plural Fletchers)

English occupational surname from the noun fletcher (“arrow-maker”). Sometimes confused with Flesher.

A surname originating as an occupation, from the profession of fletcher.


Fife

From Scottish Gaelic Fìobha, said to date back to the eponym Fib, one of the seven sons of the legendary Pictish king Cruithne. From Scottish Gaelic fiùbhaidh (“hero, valiant warrior”) from fiù (“worth”).


Elk

Perhaps a reduced form of Dutch van Elk.


Foot

Michael Foot (1913–2010) was a British politician.


Fermi

Fermi (countable and uncountable, plural Fermis or Fermies)


Fender

From German, a variant of Fenrich or Fendler.


Fero

* As a German surname, variant of Fiero.
* As a Hungarian surname, from Feró, pet form of Ferenc (“Francis”).


Barca

From Latin Barca, from Punic 𐤁𐤓𐤒 (Baraq), from Phoenician 𐤁𐤓𐤒 (baraq, “lightning”), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *baraḳ-.

Hamilcar Barca; Hannibal Barca

A surname from Punic, particularly (historical) a dynasty of Carthaginian leaders.


Foster

Foster (countable and uncountable, plural Fosters)

English surname, reduced from Forster; also from the noun foster.

An English surname originating as an occupation, variant of Forster


Fick

* As a North/Low German surname, from a pet form of the name Friedrich.
* As an English surname, perhaps from an adjective meaning "to move quickly," see the verbs fidge, fig. Compare Figg.
* Alternatively as an English surname, from a nickname derived from Old English gefic (“deceitful”), compare the adjective fickle. See Ficker.
* As an English surname of Norman origin, from Old French fike, a northern variant of fiche (“pointed implement”), presumably related to the verb ficher (“to drive in”). See Fitch.


Fuller

A surname originating as an occupation for a person who fulls cloth.


Fowler

From fowler. The medical term is named after Dr. George Ryerson Fowler, the German surgeon developer of the position.

A surname originating as an occupation for a hunter of birds.


Earl

A surname originating as an occupation for service in the household of an earl, or from a nickname.


Farmer

Farmer (countable and uncountable, plural Farmers)

فلاح

Equivalent surnames of "farmer" in other languages


Grim

Probably derived from Old English *Grīm, Old Norse Grímr (literally “masked person”).


Gay

An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for a cheerful or lively person.


Eagle

* As an English surname, from the noun eagle.
* As an English surname of Norman origin, from L'aigle in Orne, first attested in 1055 and from Latin aquila, itself meaning "eagle."
* Also translated from names in other languages meaning "eagle," such as German Adler, Polish Orzeł, Orzel, Slovene Orel, Lakota waŋbli (compare Eagleman, Redeagle, Whiteeagle).
* The name of the English village is believed to be from Old English āc (“oak”) + lēah: compare with Acle.

A surname transferred from the nickname, from the name of the bird as a byname. See eagle.


Fell

* As an English surname, from the noun fell (“crag, rocky highland”).
* As an English, Jewish, and German surname, from Fell (“pelt, fur”) or its Yiddish equivalent. Compare Pilcher.


Frost

Frost (countable and uncountable, plural Frosts)


Drew

From Irish, adopted from the English surname above, and also reduced from an Druaidh, Ó Druaidh, Ó Draoi, "son of the Druid," from draoi (“druid”).


Gast

* As a German surname, from Gast (“guest”) (see below).
* As an Alemannic German surname, shortened from the personal Germanic names Arbogast and Gastolf (compare German Gasthof).
* As a French surname, from Old French gast (“wasteland”).


Friend

English surname, from the noun friend, or adaptations of it in other languages such as German Freund, Dutch Vriend, Slovene Prijatelj.

A surname transferred from the common noun.


Braun

From German Braun (“brown”). Doublet of Brown.


Harp

A surname originating as an occupation for a player of the harp.


Head

A surname from Middle English, from residence near a hilltop or the head of a river, or a byname for someone with an odd-looking head.


Gage

Gage (countable and uncountable, plural Gages)

An occupational surname from Middle English gage, guage (“measure”) for an assayer, or gage (“pledge”) for a moneylender.


Finger

English, German, and Jewish surname, from the noun finger.


Gray

Gray (surname)
Gray, Haute-Saône
Graye-sur-Mer
Grey (disambiguation)

* As an English, Irish, Scottish, and Norman surname, from the placename Graye-sur-Mer in Calvados, from Late Latin Graecus (“Greek”).
* Also as an English surname, from the adjective gray. Compare the Irish calque McGreevy.
* As a French surname, from Gray, Haute-Saône in France, from the personal name Gradus, a Gallo-Roman/Celtic pronunciation of Gratus, from the name Gratius.

A surname transferred from the nickname; originally a nickname for someone with a gray beard or hair.


Dai

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 戴 (Dài).


Grange

Grange (countable and uncountable, plural Granges)


Fore

From the German surname, Americanized from Fahr, from the noun Fähre (“ferry”).


Garland

Garland (countable and uncountable, plural Garlands)

English surname, from the noun garland. Also derived from Garland in Devon, from an ancestor of the noun gore (“triangular piece of land”) + land.

A surname originating as an occupation for a maker or seller of garlands.


Grove

* As an English surname, from the noun grove.
* As a French surname, Americanized from Le Groux, Le Greux, reduced from Gréoul, of Germanic origin, from *grēduz (“hunger”) + *wulfaz (“wolf”).
* As a north German surname, from the Low German noun Graf (“ditch, grave”) (see grave). Also a Dutch and Low German form of Grub.
* As a German surname, variant of Graf.

A habitational surname from Middle English for someone who lived near a grove.


Hickey

From Irish Ó hÍcidhe (“descendant of a healer”), from ící (“healer”).


Cruz

From Romance ( Portuguese Cruz and Spanish Cruz ).


Griffin

A surname from Welsh [in turn originating as a patronymic].


Creek

* As an English surname, from Creake in Norfolk, a variant of the noun crag (“steep rugged cliff”).
* Also as an English surname, from the archaic noun cratch (“crib, manger”).
* As a German surname, Americanized from Krieg (“war, warfare”), Krück, Kruck (see Krug (“jug”) and Krücke (“crutch”)), Krick.
* As a Dutch surname, Americanized from Kreek (from the noun kreek (“creek”), see creek) and Kriek (from kriek (“cherry”)).
* The Native American tribe name is likely shortened from Ocheese Creek.


Hast

Various origins:
* Borrowed from German Hast, probably a habitational surname.
* Borrowed from Swedish Hast, a nickname from hast (“haste, hurry”).
* Reduced form of the English surname Hayhurst.


Grey

en-proper noun

Grey (countable and uncountable, plural Greys)

A surname transferred from the nickname, alternative spelling of Gray


Hole

Various origins:
* English topographic surname for someone who lived by a depression, from Old English holh (“hole”), from Proto-West Germanic *hulwī, from Proto-Germanic *hulwiją.
* Borrowed from Norwegian Hole, a habitational surname from Old Norse hóll (“round hill, mound”).
* Shortened form of Dutch van Hole, a habitational surname from hol (“hole, depression, cavity”).


Homme

Three possible origins:
* Borrowed from Norwegian Homme, a habitational surname from several farmsteads so named from Old Norse hvammr (“small valley”).
* Borrowed from French Homme, a nickname from Old French homme (“man”), or a status surname for a vassal or feudal tenant.
* Borrowed from Northern French Hommé, a patronymic surname from the local form of Frankish *Audamār, which consists of Proto-Germanic *audaz (“treasure”) and *mēraz (“fame”).


Haw

From Old English haga (“enclosure”). Also a back-formation from Middle English Hawkin, a diminutive of Harry or of a given name meaning "a hawk". Doublet of Haig.

A topographic and patronymic surname transferred from the given name.


Glen

A Scottish habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic for someone who lives in a valley.


Hobby

An English surname transferred from the given name.


Gran

Borrowed from Norwegian and Swedish Gran. Borrowed also from Tagalog Gran.


Dier

* As an English surname, variant of Dyer.
* As a German surname, from Tier (“wild animal”).


Holly

Breakfast at Tiffany's
Holly (disambiguation)
Holly (name)

* As an Irish surname, calque of mac cuilinn (“holly”) (see McCullen) and sometimes McQuillan.
* As an English surname, variant of Holley.
* As a Czech and Slovak surname, variant of Holý, Holy.
* Also as a locational English surname, from Old English hol leah (“wood, clearing, meadow”), compare Hollywood.
* Also as an English surname, short form of Holiday.
* Also as an English surname, after the holly tree.
* As a feminine given name popularized by Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's (especially the 1961 film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn).

A topographic surname from Middle English.


Grande

Grande (countable and uncountable, plural Grandes)

Borrowed from Romance (either Spanish Grande or Italian Grande).


Handy

Originating as a nickname for a handy person.

A surname transferred from the nickname.


Hart

* As an English and north/Low German surname, from the noun hart (“stag”).
* As a German surname, variant of Hardt.
* As a Jewish/Yiddish and Dutch surname, from derivatives of *hertā (“heart”), *hard(ī) (“hard”), or *herut (“stag”), or converged senses of them. These senses are also translated from other languages such as French Francoeur, Jolicoeur, Vadeboncoeur, and Native American (Cheyenne) Homa'ehesta, from homa'e (“beaver”) + hesta (“heart”).
* As an Irish surname, from Ó hairt (“descendant of Art”), from the noun art (“bear”). Compare Hartin.

An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname from Middle English hert (“stag, hart”).

A surname from Irish anglicised from the Irish Ó hAirt (“descendant of a person named Bear or Champion”) (see Old Irish art (“bear”))


Gill

* As an English surname, converged from variants of Giles (sometimes through Dutch), Julian, and William.
* As a northern English surname, from Middle English gil (“ravine, glen”), from Old Norse gil. The Old Norse is also a source of the Norwegian surname.
* As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McGill.
* Also as an Irish surname, variant of Gall.
* As a Jewish/Israeli surname, from Hebrew גיל (“joy”).
* As a German surname, variant of Gilger.
* As an Indian/Sikh/Punjabi surname, from ਗਿੱਲ (gill, “moisture”).

A Scottish and Northern English habitational surname from Old Norse for someone who lived near a gill.

A Scottish and Irish surname from Scottish Gaelic [in turn originating as a patronymic], an alternate anglicization of Mac an Ghoill (McGill).

ਗਿੱਲ ਗਿੱਲ#Punjabi

A surname from Punjabi from ਗਿੱਲ (gilla).


Honor

Shortened from Honoria and Honora; later also interpreted as a virtue name by Puritans.


Hazel

en-proper noun

Hazel (countable and uncountable, plural Hazels)

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived near a hazel tree.


House

House (countable and uncountable, plural Houses)

* As an English surname, from the noun house.
* Also as an English surname, variant of Howes.
* Also as a topographic English surname, from a derivative of Old English hyse (“place overgrown with water plants”), from hos (“bramble, thorn, sprout”). This may have also made its way into Hose, Huss.
* As a German surname, calqued from the surname Haus.

der

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone residing in a house (as opposed to a hut) or in a religious house.


Gallo

en-proper noun

Gallo (countable and uncountable, plural Gallos or Galloes)

* As an Italian and Spanish surname, from the noun gallo (“rooster”).
* Also as an Italian surname, from the personal name Gallo, from Latin gallus (“a Gaul”). This is sometimes Americanized from Greek Γάλλος (Gállos). Compare Gallia.
* As a Breton surname, shortened from Le Gallo, a diminutive of Le Gall; compare Legall.
* (language): From Breton gall (“a Gaul or a foreigner”), from being a language found in eastern Brittany of the non-Celts, from Latin gallus.


Hockey

Apparently a habitational surname from a lost or unidentified place in southern England.


Heather

From heather; the given name is one of the plant names taken up in the 19th century. The surname is habitational, also meaning someone living on a heath.


Bari

Borrowed from Italian Bari, ultimately from Latin Barium.


Hardy

* As an English, Scottish, and French surname, from Middle English hardy, hardi, from Old French hardi (“hardy, daring, stout, bold”).
* As an Irish surname, via mac giolla deacair (“son of the hard lad”) as a calque of the above.
* Also as a Scottish surname, variant of Hardie.

der

A common surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for a hardy person.


Hunt

en-proper noun

Hunt (countable and uncountable, plural Hunts)

An English surname originating as an occupation for a hunter (for game, birds etc).


Home

A habitational surname from Old English.


Hacker

en-proper-noun

Hacker (countable and uncountable, plural Hackers)

English, Dutch, German and Jewish occupational surname, all from the noun hacker (“one who hacks”). The Jewish form probably arrives via Yiddish העקער (heker), from צעהאַקן (tsehakn) (see German hacken).


Grace

en-proper noun

Grace (countable and uncountable, plural Graces)

From the noun grace, first used by Puritans in the 16th century. In Roman Catholic use it may refer to Our Lady of Graces, cognate with Italian Grazia.


He

From several Chinese surnames, especially 何 (Hé) and 賀／贺 (Hè).

The story of Ms. He and her mother began in the early 1960s, shortly before the Cultural Revolution shook China.

2014 January 20, Didi Kirsten Tatlow, “‘She. Herself. Naked.': The Art of He Chengyao”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-08-16, Sinosphere:


Hill

* As an English surname, from the noun hill, shortened from Hilary, and from Old English hild (“battle”).
* As a German surname, shortened from Hildebrand, related to the last sense above.
* As a Finnish surname, calque of Finnish Mäki (“hill”).

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived on or by a hill.


Gabe

Various origins:
* Borrowed from German Gabe, from a short form of several personal names beginning with the Proto-Germanic element *gabį̄ (“wealth, riches”).
* Borrowed from French Gabe, perhaps a nickname from Old French gabe (“joke”), from the verb gaber (“to tell jokes”).
* English surname, from a pet form of the personal name Gabriel, or alternatively a nickname from Middle English gabbe (“falsehood, deceit, lie”).


Brown

en-prop

Brown (countable and uncountable, plural Browns)

From Middle English Broun, originally a nickname for someone with brown hair or a dark complexion. In the United States, sometimes an anglicization and translation of German Braun. Doublet of Bruno and Braun.

بْرَاوْن

transliterations of the English name "Brown"

de Bruyn

surname meaning "brown", or indicating a dark complexion

An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname.

An Irish surname of Anglo-Norman origin, a translation of de Brún.

(The Browns gave the Obamas an ornate penholder made from the timber of a Victorian antislave ship.)

2009 March 4, Helene Cooper, “Obama’s Star Turn at Summit Gets Mixed Results”, in The New York Times:

After 170 years this is the closest Auckland has come to having a brown mayor. Sure he's a Palagi. But his name is Brown, he's run Manukau for a long time and there's heaps of brown people there so he's gladly owned by many in the Pacific Community.

2010 October 10, Oscar Kightley, New Zealand Herald:


Gross

* As a Jewish and German surname, from groß (“great, large”). The Jewish surname was influenced by Hebrew גדול (“big, large”), hence the Hebraicization Gadol.
* As an English surname, from the noun and adjective gross, a doublet of above.
The village is named after Ben Gross, who kept a general store there.

A surname from Middle English, originally a nickname for a big man, from Middle English gros (“large”).


Hale

* As an English surname, Old English dative form of halh (“hollow, nook”).
* Also as an English surname, from Old English hæle (“hero”). Compare Hain.
* As an Irish surname, from mac céile; see McHale.
* As a Jewish surname, variant of Halle.


Dill

* As a German surname, from Diele (“floorboard”).
* As an English surname, from the noun dill and also the adjective dull.
* As a Scottish/Scottish Gaelic surname, reduced from McDill, itself a variant of McDowell.


Hunter

en-proper noun

Hunter (countable and uncountable, plural Hunters)

An English and Scottish surname originating as an occupation for a hunter.


East

East (countable and uncountable, plural Easts)

The civil parish is named for its geographical location. Coined by British-Dutch surveyor Samuel Holland.


Ivy

From ivy, the name of a plant. An ivy branch used to be hung outside an establishment to advertise that it sold alcohol, so it may originally been an occupationational surname for the proprietor of such an establishment.


Green

en-proper noun

Green (countable and uncountable, plural Greens)

English surname, a topographic name for someone who either lived near a village green, or was just fond of the colour. This name is also translated from other surnames, such as German Grün and Gruen, Dutch Groen, Irish Ó huainí (from uaine, see Honan), etc. The Irish surname was also erroneously translated from Ó Fathaidh, Ó Fathaigh, from faithche (“lawn”).

A common English surname from Middle English.


Gunter

From German Gunther, from Proto-West Germanic *Gunþihari, from Proto-Germanic *Gunþiharjaz.


Acre

Probably a variant of Acker or Acree/Ackary, though also possibly Americanization of Norwegian Aakre or Low German Egger.


Imam

Occupational surname, borrowed from Arabic إمام (ʔimām). This surname is mostly found in Afghanistan and Bangladesh.


Holt

Holt (countable and uncountable, plural Holts)

English, Dutch, north German, Norwegian and Danish surname, all from the noun holt (“copse, woodland”).

A surname An English and north-west European topographic surname for someone who lived by a small wood.


Fang

The county sense is from Mandarin 房 (Fáng). The surname sense could be from Mandarin 方 (Fāng), 房 (Fáng), 芳 (Fāng), 仿 (Fǎng) or 放 (Fǎng).


Angel

At last when nothing else would do he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went, mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel.

1891 [September, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Adventure III.—A Case of Identity.”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume II (July to December), number [9], London: […], page 250, column 2:

A surname transferred from the nickname originating as a nickname or, rarely, as a patronymic.


Joy

From the noun joy, first used by Puritans in the 17th century.


Heaven

(uncommon) A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Evan


Junio

From Spanish Junio and Portuguese Junio. This surname is mostly found in the Philippines.


Ali

From Arabic عَلِيّ (ʕaliyy, literally “high, exalted”), from the Arabic root ع ل ي (ʕ-l-y).


Grant

en-proper noun

Grant (countable and uncountable, plural Grants)

From Scottish Gaelic Grannd, from Anglo-Norman graunt (“big, large”), from Old French grant, from Latin grandis. Doublet of grand.

An English surname transferred from the nickname and a Scottish clan name, from a nickname meaning "large".


Gad

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew גָּד (gad), a son of Jacob.


Helm

en-proper noun

Helm (countable and uncountable, plural Helms)

Two main origins:
* English topographic surname for someone who lived by or worked at a temporary shelter for animals, from Middle English helm (“helmet; protection”).
* Borrowed from German Helm (“helmet”), metonymic occupational surname for a maker of helmets.


Knight

From Middle English knyghte, from Old English cniht (“youth; servant”).

An English surname originating as an occupation for someone who was a mounted soldier.


Hope

en-proper noun

Hope (usually uncountable, plural Hopes)

Nadine f (from Nadia (pet form from Надежда) + -ine)

An English and Scottish topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived in a hope, a small enclosed valley.


Hull

Hull (countable and uncountable, plural Hulls)

French: Hull, Hullois, hullois

The town in England is Inherited from Middle English Hull, Hul, Hulle, traditionally derived from Proto-Brythonic *hʉl, from Proto-Celtic *soulos, from Proto-Indo-European *sew- (“to press”); Breeze instead suggests derivation from hula, plural of hulu (“hut”). Chaucer's Hulle (for expected *Hul, *Hule) is presumably a hypersouthernism.
The surname is either from the English town or Middle English hulle, western variant of hylle (“hill”); many other place names are ultimately from the surname.


Hall

Hall (countable and uncountable, plural Halls)

* As an English, Scottish, Irish, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish surname: all from the noun hall. The name was likely reinforced by similar sounding words such as Swedish häll (“rock slab”).
* As a Chinese surname, variant Romanization of 何, 賀／贺 (hè), see He.
** (locomotive): The locomotives were named after English and Welsh country houses with 'Hall' in their titles.
** (British and Scandinavian surnames): From the buildings, halls

Hall (disambiguation)#Places
Hall (surname)

A British and Scandinavian topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived in or near a hall.

A surname from German for someone associated with a salt mine.


Khan

As a surname via Hindi खान (khān), Persian خان (xân), among others. As a title, a proper noun form of khan.


Langer

From German Langer (“a surname”, literally “a tall man”).


Essen

From the German city and surname, often confused with essen (“eating”), but this is not related. The city's oldest name, Astnide, could be related to Old High German asc (“ash tree”). The surname is from the city.


Gras

Several etymologies:
* Borrowed from French Gras, a nickname for a stout person, from gras (“fat”)
* Borrowed from Catalan Gras, from gras (“fat, stout”)
* Borrowed from German Gras, variant of the surname Grass


Lance

The surname is derived from a medieval given name Lanzo, short form of names beginning with the Germanic element *land; see land. Doublet of Lanzo.


Hummer

From the German and West Frisian surname, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hugô, *hugiz (“mind”) + *mērijaz (“famous”). Related to Hugh and the first element of Merovingian.


Joh

Various origins:
* Borrowed from German Joh.
* Variant of Cho, a Korean surname.


Last

Various origins:
* English metonymic occupational surname for a cobbler, from last (“a tool for shaping shoes”). Compare Laster.
* Also as an English surname, from the adjective last.
* Borrowed from Dutch and German Last, an occupational surname for a porter (see the German entry below).


Kay

A surname from Middle English derived from several Old and Middle English words; also adopted by immigrants whose surnames began with a K.


Heck

English, Dutch and south German surname, all from words meaning "hedge," "enclosure," "fence," from *haggju. Compare Van Heck, Hatch.


Kirk

en-proper noun

Kirk (countable and uncountable, plural Kirks)

From kirk (“church”). Doublet of Church.

A habitational surname from Middle English.


Don

* As an English and Scottish surname, variant of Dunn.
* Also as an English and Scottish surname, from Dun, a place in Scotland.
* As an Italian surname, variant of Dono.
* As a Galician surname, from a nickname derived from don (“kindness, favor”).
* As a Hungarian surname, variant of Donát, Donath.
* As a French surname of Germanic origin, from the old name Dodo, see Dodier.
* Also as a French surname, from the place Don in Nord.
* As a Jewish surname, from a variant of Dan.
* As a Chinese surname, Romanized from 曾, see Zeng.
* As a Vietnamese surname Đôn, possibly from Chinese 敦, see Dun.

en:Don (disambiguation)
en:Don River (disambiguation)


Aries

Two main origins:
* Scottish habitational surname from either of two minor places in Kirkcudbrightshire.
* Borrowed from French Ariès, from the medieval personal name Yrieix.


Hammer

Shortened West Ham + -er, with a pun on hammer.


Koala

en-proper-noun

Koala (countable and uncountable, plural Koalas)


Kelvin

Of Celtic/Scottish Gaelic origin, possibly from caol (“narrow”) or coille (“wooded”) + abhainn (“river”). The surname is derived from the river.
The surname was also possibly influenced by Calvert (Middle English calfhirde).


Ko

From Mandarin 柯 (Kʻo¹), 葛 (Ko²), Cantonese 高 (gou1), Korean 고 (Go), etc.


Lark

A surname transferred from the nickname, from lark as a byname or for a catcher and seller of larks.

A surname originating as a patronymic shortened from Larkin, a medieval diminutive of Laurence.


Lose

* As a north/Low German surname, from a pet form of Lodewig, Ludwig.
* As a south German surname, from a pet from of Nikolaus.


Landen

Borrowed from Swedish Landén, an ornamental surname composed of the element land (“land”).


Line

From the Middle English surname, derived from the Anglo-Norman suffix -line found in names such as Adeline and Madeline.


Lui

Borrowed from Cantonese 雷 (leoi4) or 呂／吕 (leoi5).


Jay

en-prop

Jay (countable and uncountable, plural Jays)

(countable) An English surname transferred from the nickname from Old French jai (“jay (bird)”), a nickname for a chatty or showy person.


Lynne

A surname from Scottish Gaelic, a rare spelling variant of Lynn.


Lane

As an English surname, from lane; as an Irish surname, from several origins, including Laighin. See Lane.

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived in a lane.

A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic] anglicised from various Irish surnames.


Lutz

en-proper noun

Lutz (countable and uncountable, plural Lutzes)


Gut

* As a German, Alemannic German, and Jewish surname, variant of Guth. Also compare Gutmann.
* As an English surname, from the noun gut. See Gott.


Mace

Mace (countable and uncountable, plural Maces)

* As an English surname, from the personal name Masse, probably shortened from Matthew. Compare Massey, Massett.
* As a French and Breton surname, from Macé, vernacular form of Mathieu. Compare Maze.
* Also as a French surname, from Macé in Orne, from Late Latin Macciacum, from the personal name Maccius.
* Also as a French surname, variant of Massé; see Masse.

An English surname transferred from the given name.

(countable) A surname.
A surname from Norman.


Ho

Borrowed from Chinese 何 (Mandarin: Hé, Cantonese: ho⁴, Hakka: Hò, Min Nan: Hô), or from Vietnamese Hồ.


Kern

The unincorporated community in Missouri is named after Robert Kern. The Kern River is named after Edward Kern.


King

King (countable and uncountable, plural Kings)

→ Japanese: キング (Kingu)

An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for someone who either acted as if he were a king or had worked in the king's household.


Hamlet

François de Belleforest
Hamlet
Hamlet (disambiguation)#Places
Hamlet (name)
Saxo Grammaticus

From Latin Amlethus, as written by 13th-century Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, and borrowed into English by way of François de Belleforest's French Hamlet, originally rendered as Hamblet in English. Ultimately from Old Danish Amlethæ, corresponding to Old Norse Amlóði (“fool”), claimed to be suggestive of the way that Hamlet acts in the play, from ama (“to annoy”).


Kan

Borrowed from Japanese 菅 (Kan) or かん (Kan).


Lai

From Chinese 賴／赖 (lài) (Mandarin: lài, Cantonese: laai⁶, Hakka: lai).


Bach

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der.
Proto-Germanic *bakiz
Proto-West Germanic *baki
German Bachbor.
English Bach
From German Bach. The surname was brought to the Anglo-Saxon world by immigrants from other Germanic countries. Doublet of Beach.


Bach

Borrowed from Vietnamese Bạch. Doublet of Bai.


Lamb

en-proper noun

Lamb (countable and uncountable, plural Lambs)

1. From Middle English lamb as a nickname.
2. From a short form of Lambert.
3. Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Luain.
4. Possibly also a translation of French agneau.


Lade

* As a Norwegian surname, from Old Norse hlaða (“to stack, pile”).
* As a north German surname, variant of Ladwig, Ludwig.
* Also as a German surname, from the archaic noun Lade (“chest”).
* As an English surname, from Old English lad (“waterway”).


Logan

From Scottish Gaelic lag (“little hollow”).

A Scottish habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic, from the town in Ayrshire.

A surname from Irish, a variant of Lohan.


Guy

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Old French Gui, a form of Proto-Germanic *Wido, a short form of names beginning with the element *widuz (“wood”), such as Witold and Widukind. Cognate with Italian Guido and thus a doublet of Guido. More at wood.


Guy

From the Hebrew name גַּיְא (gáy, literally “valley”), with the spelling influenced by the existing English name.


Laster

* As an English surname, variant of Lester.
* Also as an English occupational surname, from the noun laster.


Male

* As a Welsh surname, from the personal name Mael, from Middle Welsh mael (“prince”).
* As an English surname of Norman origin, contaminated from many Old French sources, such as mail (“hammer”), maille (“chainmail”), maille (“denier”), or esmal (“enamel”). Compare Mailer.
* Also as an English surname, from Middle English male (“bag, pouch”).
* Also as an English surname of Norman origin, from the source of male (“male, male adult”).
* Also as an English surname, from Middle English mele (“meal, flour”) (compare Millman) or from Old Norse melr (“sandhill”). Compare Meil.
* As a Slovene surname, from the adjective mal (“small, little”), from Proto-Slavic *malъ. Compare Mal, Mahle.
* As a Norwegian surname, from a farm in Romsdal derived from Old Norse mǫl (“layer of pebbles”). Also Americanized from Mæle, Mæhle, itself related to the Norse word melr.
Compare Mele.


Love

Love (countable and uncountable, plural Loves)


Harry

Medieval English spoken form of Old French Henri.

(rare compared to given name) A surname originating as a patronymic.


Jenny

→ Dutch: Jenny

→ Faroese: Jenný

→ Finnish: Jenny

→ German: Jenny

→ Spanish: Jenny

→ Swedish: Jenny

From Jen + -y, historically as a hypochoristic form of Janet, Jane, etc. or (rarely) Eugenia, Virginia, etc. but now more often used as a diminutive of Jennifer.
Doublet of Ivanka, Jan, Janelle, Janet, Janey, Janine, Jeanette, Jeanie, Jeannette, Jeannine, Jen, Jenna, Jenny, Jessie, Jo, Jody, Juanita, Shanae, Sinead, and Vanna in derivations from Jane etc.
In senses related to inanimate objects, partially derived from the generic senses of Jane and partially an informal pronunciation of engine.

doublet

Mrs Wreford Brown died in 1946 and the house passed to Colonel and Mrs Jenny. […] From the Jennys it fell into the hands of developers and from them it passed to Colonel and Mrs Bryant and thence to us.

2003, Roy Strong, “The Inheritance”, in The Laskett: The Story of a Garden, London: Bantam Books, published 2005, →ISBN, page 25:


Hack

* As a German and Dutch surname, from the old Germanic name Hacco, shortened from names derived from *hakkju (“enclosure, hedge”).
* Also as a German and Dutch surname, occupational surname for a butcher or woodcutter, see Hacker.
* As a north/Low German surname, variant of Haack.
* Also as a north/Low German surname, variant of Heck.
* Also as a north/Low German surname for someone who lived by a marsh, from hach, hack (“boggy water”).
* As an English surname, from the Middle English personal name Acke with a prosthetic H-, itself of North Germanic origin and a pet form of Old Norse Áskell, see Haskell.
* Also as an English surname, from Middle Dutch Hakke, denasalized from Hanke, a West Flemish and Picard form of John.
* Also as an English surname, from the Middle English adjective hak (“ruthless, unsparing”).
* As a Jewish surname, from Yiddish האַק (hak, “axe”).


Flora

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Flora.wav

From Latin Flōra (Roman goddess of flowers).


Mais

* As an English surname (Durham), variant of Mayes.
* As a German surname, from the obsolete Middle High German meiz (“cleared land”).


Melody

From the noun melody; in regular use since the 20th century.


Lahti

en-proper noun

Lahti (countable and uncountable, plural Lahtis)


Lang

en-prop

Lang (countable and uncountable, plural Langs)

An English surname transferred from the nickname from Old English lang (“long”), a nickname for a tall person.

A surname from German, a variant of Lange.

A surname from Dutch, a variant of de Lange.

ᠨᡳᠣᡥᡠᡵᡠ ᠨᡳᠣᡥᡠᡵᡠ#Manchu

A Manchu surname from Chinese, anglicized from Chinese 郎 (Láng), used as a translation of Manchu ᠨᡳᠣᡥᡠᡵᡠ (niohuru, “Niohuru”, literally “wolf”) for its homophony with 狼 (láng, “wolf”).


Ham

en-proper noun

Ham (countable and uncountable, plural Hams)

* As an English and German surname, variant of Hamm.
* As a Dutch surname, from the noun ham (“bend in a river”). Compare Van Ham, Vanderham.
* As a French surname, from several placenames, from the Frankish source of the Dutch word above.
* As a Serbo-Croatian, Slovak and Hungarian surname (Hám), from the noun hám (“harness”), and sometimes from the German sense above.
* As a Slovene surname, possibly from the "harness" or German senses above, or from ham (“grab, bite”).
* As a Czech surname, shortened from Abraham.
* As a Korean surname, from the name 함 (ham) (more at Ham). Compare Hahm.
* As a Chinese surname, from several names such as 咸 (xián) (see Xian), 闞／阚 (see Kan), 范 (fàn) (see fan), 譚／谭 (tán) (see Tan), and possibly 涵 (hán, “contain”).
* In some English surnames, from Old English hām, probably reduced from a name using it as a suffix -ham.


Long

Long (countable and uncountable, plural Longs)

Huey Long

A surname transferred from the nickname. Originally a nickname for a tall man.


Long

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation for 隴／陇 (Lǒng).


Mills

An English and Scottish surname from Middle English [in turn originating as an occupation] for mill owners and workers.

A habitational surname from Irish, an anglicization of an Mhuilinn (“of the mill”).


Leto

en:68 Leto
en:Leto
en:Leto (disambiguation)
en:Leto (surname)

Leto (countable and uncountable, plural Letos)


List

* As a Dutch and German surname, from the noun list (“wisdom, ingenuity”).
* Also as a Dutch surname, from the placename Ter List, from lis (“iris flag”).
* As a Hungarian surname, Americanized from Lizst, from the noun liszt (“flour”).
* As a Slovene and Serbo-Croatian surname, from list (“leaf”), or Slavicized from the Hungarian surname above.


Merry

A surname transferred from the nickname. Originally a nickname for a merry person.


Maxim

* (machine guns): After the inventor Sir Hiram Maxim (1840-1916).


Loch

Two main origins:
* Borrowed from German Loch, a topographic surname for someone who lived by a hollow or valley.
* From Scottish Gaelic loch (“loch, lake”), a Scottish topographic surname.


Matt

A British surname originating as a patronymic, a rare variant of Matthews.


Horn

Horn (countable and uncountable, plural Horns)


Miles

Miles (countable and uncountable, plural Miles or Mileses)

From Old French given name Milo, of problematic origin, possibly from an unknown Germanic element, or a short form of Slavic names beginning with mil- "grace, favor". The English form is associated by folk etymology with Latin mīles (“soldier”).
As a surname, it is also derived from a Middle English [Term?] form of Michael.


Kuna

* As a Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian/Bosnian, Hungarian and Jewish surname, from Kuna, from kuna (“marten”), nickname for a quick-tempered or aggressive person.
* Also as a Czech surname, from the personal name Kuna, a pet form of Kunrat, medieval form of Konrad.


Dan

Traditionally held to be derived from Hebrew דָּן (Dan), although recent scholars instead link the name to Denyen, the Sea Peoples.


Naff

South German and Alemannic German surname (Näff), variant of Neff.


Kama

Various origins:
* Borrowed from Hindi काम (kām), a typical surname of Andhra Pradesh.
* Borrowed from Polish Kama, a surname of unexplained origin.
* Borrowed from Turkish Kama, a metonymic occupational surname from kama (“wedge”).


Ladino

Borrowed from Spanish Ladino. This surname is mostly found in Colombia.


Mount

Mount (countable and uncountable, plural Mounts)


Monarch

Monarch (countable and uncountable, plural Monarchs)


Mole

From Latin mola (“mill”), or otherwise a back-formation from Molesey (“Mul's Island”).


Mast

* As a Dutch surname, from the noun mast.
* Also as a Dutch surname, from the noun mast (sense 2) (“fodder”).
* As a German and Alemannic German surname, from the noun Mast (“fat”), itself related to the sense of "fodder" above.


Minus

unk

Unexplained


Canton

The surname is of French or Galician origin.


Ford

en-proper noun

Ford (countable and uncountable, plural Fords)

Ford (disambiguation)#People
Ford (disambiguation)#Places

A topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived near a ford.


Malin

The surname is from a Middle English diminutive of the given name Mary.

An English surname originating as a matronymic.


Mason

A surname originating as an occupation for a stonemason.


Lu

As editor-in-chief of the pro-communist Kuangming News (光明報), Lu He-ruo (呂赫若) became a wanted man after the newspaper was raided by the authorities in August 1949. While many of his friends were arrested and executed, he managed to elude capture by hiding in the mountains of today’s New Taipei City’s Shihding District (石碇).
Lu never made it out of the mountains, and his death remained a mystery for decades.

2023 March 12, Han Cheung, “Taiwan in Time: A multi-talented dissident”, in Taipei Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-13, Features, page 13:

(countable) A Chinese surname from Mandarin.

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 呂／吕 (Lǚ).

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 盧／卢 (Lú).

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 陸／陆 (Lù).

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 魯／鲁 (Lǔ).

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 路 (Lù).

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 蘆／芦 (Lú).

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 祿／禄 (Lù).

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 逯 (Lù).

A Chinese surname from Mandarin from 鹿 (Lù).


Morris

Morris (countable and uncountable, plural Morrises)

* The surname has converged from several origins; see Morris.

An English and Scottish surname originating as a patronymic.

A surname from Irish, an anglicization of Irish Ó Muirghis (“descendant of Maurice”).

A surname from Welsh [in turn originating as a patronymic], an anglicization of Welsh Meurig (“Maurice”).


Ni

* (Chinese surname): Borrowed from Chinese 郳 (Ní), 倪 or 妮 (nī).


Maria

From Latin Maria, from Ancient Greek Μαρία (María), Μαριάμ (Mariám), from Aramaic מרים (Maryām), corresponding to the Hebrew מרים (Miryām). Doublet of Mary, Marie, and Miriam.


Magnus

From Latin magnus (“great”), taken from the title of Carolus Magnus "Charlemagne" by an eleventh century king of Norway, and brought to Scotland in medieval times.


Mai

Chinese surname with several origins:
* from Mandarin 麥／麦 (“wheat”),
* from Mandarin and Cantonese 買／买 (maai⁵, “buy”)
* Cantonese form of 米 (see Mi).
* Romanized from 马 (mǎ) (see Ma)
* Romanized from 梅 (méi) (see Mei)
As a German surname, variant of May.

A surname from Chinese of Chinese or German origin.


Nadir

Unknown. It has been suggested that it is from Arabic نَزِير (nazīr, “rare, trivial”), but if it is Arabic, perhaps more likely would be نَذِير (naḏīr, “auspicious, boding well (?)”). Represents the word 'rare' in Hebrew.


Jean

A French surname from the male given name, or an English surname which originated as a variant spelling of Jayne or as a toponymic surname referring to Genoa, Italy.


Moment

unk

Unexplained


Nutter

From nutter, the occupation of nut-gatherer.


Hand

* As a Dutch, German, and English surname, from the noun hand, or used to translate surname for hand in other languages.
* Also as an English surname, possibly from a pet form of Randall or names like Johan and Henry.


Ode

Borrowed from North German and Swedish Ode.


Or

Borrowed from Cantonese 柯 (o1) or from Hebrew אור ('ór). This surname is mostly found in Hong Kong.


Mona

Anglicized from Irish and Scottish Gaelic Muadhnait, from Middle Irish múad (“noble”). In northern Europe, where the name is much more popular, Mona is interpreted as a diminutive of Monica or, rarely, of Ramona, and sometimes associated with the title of da Vinci's painting Mona (=madonna) Lisa.
The Arabic and Persian name مُنىٰ (munā) is sometimes Romanised as Mona.


Pain

Various origins:
* A variant of Paine.
* Borrowed from Spanish Paín.


Macintosh

From Scottish Gaelic Mac-an-tòisich, meaning "son of the thane (Old Irish toísech (“leader”))".

A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.


Mia

Borrowed from Bengali মিয়া (miẏa). This surname is mostly found in Bengal.


Limerick

en-proper noun

Limerick (countable and uncountable, plural Limericks)


More

More (countable and uncountable, plural Mores)

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

* As a Scottish and English surname, variant of Moore.
* As a French surname, from Old French more (“Moor”), respelled from Latin Maurus. Compare Mauro.
* As a Scottish Gaelic surname, from mór (“big”).
* As an Indian (Maharashtra) surname, from Marathi मोर (mor, “peacock”), from Sanskrit मयूर (mayūra).


Nest

Two possible origins:
* Welsh metronymic surname, from a diminutive of the personal name Agnes.
* Borrowed from German Nest (“nest”), probably a topographic surname.


North

North (countable and uncountable, plural Norths)

English surname, from the adjective north. This is also translated from other surnames of the same meaning, such as Irish Mac an Ultaigh (“son of the Ulsterman”), Ulster being the northern part of Ireland.


Ola

Various origins:
* Borrowed from Yoruba Ọlá. Ọlá is an extremely common prefix for Yoruba names (and serves as a common form of shortened names), coming from ọlá (“honor”)
* Borrowed from Spanish Ola, a habitational surname from Basque ola (“forge”).


Lincoln

Lincoln (countable and uncountable, plural Lincolns)

From Old English Lindcoln, Lindcylene, from Latin Lindum Colonia, from Proto-Brythonic *llɨnn (“pool”), from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”), in reference to the Brayford. In the United States, many of the places established since 1865 are named after Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States during the Civil War.


Olive

Medieval form of the Latin saint's name Oliva "olive"; revived in the 19th century when flower and plant names became fashionable. The surname is topographical, often representing an Anglicization of continental European surnames such as Spanish Oliva.


Palm

From Middle High German palme, balme, related to palm (“palm tree”).

A surname mainly of Scandinavian origin.


Pearl

Pearl (countable and uncountable, plural Pearls)

From pearl.
* (river in China): From Chinese 珠江 (Zhūjiāng, Zyu1 Gong1, “Pearl River”); calque of Chinese 珠 (zhū, zyu1, “pearl”).
* (haven in Hawaii): From Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”); calque of Hawaiian momi (“pearl”).


Morgan

en-prop

Morgan (countable and uncountable, plural Morgans)

A surname from Welsh [in turn originating as a patronymic].

A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic], an anglicization of Morgán, itself from the Welsh name.

A surname from Irish, a variant anglicization of Ó Muireagáin (Merrigan).

A surname from Irish, an adopted anglicization of Ó Murcháin (Morahan).


Pagan

Borrowed from Latin pāgānus (“rustic, rural”).

Mrs Pagan was delivered of a posthumous child, and thereafter along with the infant (a girl), she brought a process of aliment against John Pagan, who was a hosier in Dumfries, and alleged to be wealthy,[…]

1838, Scotland. Court of Session, Cases Decided in the Court of Session, Teind Court, Court of Exchequer and House of Lords, page 399:


Peach

* As an English surname, from French péché (“sin”). Compare Peachey, Petch.
* As a German surname, Americanized from Pietsch.


Nickel

One of the variant spellings of Nichol, a Middle English vernacular form of the given name Nicholas.


Oda

Borrowed from Japanese 織田 (Oda), Japanese 小田 (Oda) or Japanese 尾田 (Oda).


Ora

en-proper noun

Ora (countable and uncountable, plural Oras)

* (given name): First appeared in the 19th century when similar sounding names like Cora, Dora and Nora were in fashion. Possibly shortened from Aurelia, sometimes spelled Ora Lee, or, Aura Lea, in the American civil war song.
* (Italian commune): Borrowed from Italian Ora


Henry

From Middle English Henry, from Old French (and Anglo-Norman) Henri, from Frankish *Haimrik, from Proto-Germanic *Haimarīks. Cognate with German Heinrich, Dutch Hendrik, Estonian Hendrik, and Old Norse Heimríkr (Danish Henrik).

A French and English surname originating as a patronymic.


Henry

A surname from Irish, an anglicization of Ó hInneirghe (“descendant of Inneirghe”).

A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic], an alternate anglicization of Mac Éinrí, Mac Hannraoi, Mac Annraoi (“son of Henry”) (McHenry)


Main

en:Main (disambiguation)
en:Main (surname)

* As a Scottish surname, reduced from the North Germanic name Magnus. Also from the adjective main.
* As a Scottish, English, French and Norman surname, from personal names derived from Proto-West Germanic *magan (“to be able”), similar to Mein.
* As a Scottish, English and Norman surname, from the French province of Maine. Compare Mansell.
* As a Scottish, English, and Norman surname, from the Anglo-Norman adjective maine (“great, large”), from Old French magne.
* As a Scottish, English, Norman and French surname, from the noun main (“hand”).


Page

en-proper noun

Page (countable and uncountable, plural Pages)

(countable) An English and Scottish surname originating as an occupation for someone who was a servant.


Newton

Inherited from Middle English Neweton, from Old English nēowa tūn (“new town”). Compare same construction in Italian Napoli (“Naples”) and in Arabic نَابُلُس (nābulus, “Nablus”).

Vilanova

surnames derived from the equivalents of “new town”

A habitational surname for someone from any of these places.

Ньюто́н

Sir Isaac's surname is traditionally stressed on the last syllable


Han

An early romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 韓／韩 (Hán), an ancient Chinese placename.

In May 2019, former Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) proposed adopting the Hanyu Pinyin system for the city's street signs at an estimated cost of NT$73 million (US$2.54 million), though the plan was ultimately delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Han left office after losing a recall vote on June 6.

2020 October 14, Wang Shu-fen, Matthew Mazzetta, “Kaohsiung nixes proposal to adopt Hanyu Pinyin street signs”, in Focus Taiwan, archived from the original on 2020-10-16, Society:


Han

From Korean 한(韓) (han). Cognate with English Han (from Mandarin).


Plough

From plough, a metonymic occupational surname for a plowwright or plowman.


Land

After the success of Secret of Monkey Island (1990), composer Michael Land longed for a more flexible system to integrate his music into a game.

2012, Peter Moormann, Music and Game: Perspectives on a Popular Alliance, page 82:


Organ

Organ (countable and uncountable, plural Organs)

From organ, a metonymic occupational surname for a player of a musical instrument.


Pere

Various origins:
* Borrowed from French Péré, a habitational surname.
* Borrowed from Catalan Pere, a personal name equivalent of Peter.
* Borrowed from Hungarian Pere.


Primrose

The surname derives from a place name in Fife, Scotland, from Brythonic words meaning "tree" + "moor", changed by folk etymology because of phonetic resemblance to primrose. The given name is one of the 19th-century flower names.


Atlas

Atlas (countable and uncountable, plural Atlases)

From Latin Ā̆tlās, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), either from ἁ- (ha-, copulative prefix) + Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“bear, undergo, endure”) or of Pre-Greek origin.


Price

en-proper noun

Price (countable and uncountable, plural Prices)

A surname from Welsh [in turn originating as a patronymic], anglicized from ap Rhys.


Provost

A surname originating as an occupation for a provost.


Eve

Either a variant of Eaves or a matronymic from the given name.


Prior

From Middle English Prior, Priur (surname), from Middle English prior, priour (“prior”). More at prior.

A surname originating as an occupation for someone employed by a prior.


Nix

From Nick, diminutive of the given name Nicholas + patronymic suffix -s.


Mayo

Derived from Irish Maigh Eo
* (surname): Possibly instead derived from Old French, “Maiheu” from Hebrew, “Matthew”


Lee

Lee (countable and uncountable, plural Lees)

An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived near a meadow (the Anglo-Saxon for meadow being ley or leag).


Lee

From Chinese:
* Mandarin: 李 (Lǐ), and other less common surnames such as 黎 (Lí).
* Cantonese: 李 (lei5), and other less common surnames such as 利 (lei6).
* Hokkien: 李 (Lí), Teochew: 李 (li2).
* Hakka: 李 (Lí).

A surname from Chinese.
A surname from Cantonese.

A surname from Chinese.
A surname from Hokkien.

A surname from Chinese.
A surname from Teochew.

A surname from Chinese.
A surname from Mandarin.

A surname from Chinese.
A surname from Hakka.


Lee

Transcription of Korean 이(李) (I) and 리(李) (Ri).

A surname from Korean; alternative form of Rhee.


Frank

The surname derives from the medieval tribal name. The given name is also a form of Francis, with formal given name status since the 19th century.

A surname transferred from the nickname.


Pat

Various origins:
* Borrowed from Yucatec Maya Pat. This surname is mostly found in Yucatán.
* Borrowed from Khmer.


Park

Park (disambiguation)
Park River (Connecticut)


Park

From Korean 박(朴) (Bak), under influence from Park and originally spelled and read from the perspective of the pronunciation of non-rhotic (e.g. British) English speakers.

Centring on the tension between the Kims, a basement-dwelling family of “dirt spoons” in Seoul, and the Parks, a family at the opposite end of the social spectrum, Parasite’s plot is predicated on the widening gap between the haves and the have nots in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy.

2020 February 16, Justin McCurry, Nemo Kim, “Parasite: how Oscar triumph has exposed South Korea’s social divide”, in The Observer:

A surname from Korean. Alternative form of Bak.


Read

English and Scottish surname, variant of Reed.

A surname from Old English, a less common spelling variant of Reid.


Johnson

Johnson (countable and uncountable, plural Johnsons)

⇒ Translingual: johnsoni, johnsonii

A patronymic surname from John + -son, literally “son of John”.
* In the U.S. the name Johnson has been adopted by numerous European immigrant families originally named Johansson, Johnsson, Johansen, Jonsson, etc.
* Doublet of Johansson, Johansen, Jansen, and Hansen.

doublet

A common surname transferred from the given name. The second most common surname in the United States.


Polka

Borrowed from Czech, Slovak and Polish Polka.


Pike

The surname is of multiple origins, including Middle English pike.


Rector

en-proper noun

Rector (countable and uncountable, plural Rectors)


Lent

Two main origins:
* Reduced form of Dutch van Lent, a habitational surname for someone from Lent, in Gelderland.
* Perhaps an Americanized spelling of German Lenth, from a personal name related to the noun Land.


Pope

From pope; also used in Ireland/Scotland as a surname meaning "papa, father."

An English surname transferred from the nickname originating as a nickname.


Li

A surname from Korean, a variant of Lee and Rhee


Pint

Borrowed from Dutch Pint, a metonymic occupational surname for an official who controlled measures.


Perse

A rare surname transferred from the given name.


Proctor

The soil test was originally developed by Ralph R. Proctor.


Raven

William King, Daniel Giles, and Samuel Raven, the other defendants in the bill named, who were described as the trustees nominated by the parties, of the fifth part.

1833, “Easter term 1833”, in The Law Journal for the Year 1832-1833, page 155:

Mr. F. Haydon said he was an undertaker at Stockwell. He conducted the funeral of W. Raven, the registry of whose death was proved by Mr. Booth

1855 November 14, “A narrative of law and crime”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Household Narrative of Current Events, page 246:

Several senior railway engineers reached the IMechE pinnacle of being appointed president: Sir Vincent Raven (1912), [...].

2019 November 20, Philip Haigh, “A prestigious institution”, in Rail, page 69:


Rich

From Richard. The surname also derives from rich as a nickname.

A surname transferred from the given name.


Reed

* As an English and Scottish surname, from the adjective red.
* Also as an English surname, from Old English rēodan (“to clear out”), from Proto-West Germanic *reudan.
* Also as an English surname, from several places in England, such as Reed, Lancashire (from Old English ra (“roe deer”) or Rede, Suffolk (see Rede).
Compare Rider, Reader.

A surname from Old English, a spelling variant of Reid.


Pullman

Ellipsis of Pullman car, after the Pullman Palace Car Company, named after American engineer and industrialist George Pullman (1831–1897).

named-after

A surname, notably that of George Pullman.


Ridley

Place names in England, Old English hrēad (“reeds”) or rydde (“cleared land”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Thus, equivalent to reed or rid + -ley (“lea”).


Rana

en-proper-noun

Rana (countable and uncountable, plural Ranas)

Various origins of surname:
* Borrowed from Hindi राणा (rāṇā), a Rajput surname which probably is a back-formation from रानी (rānī, “queen”).
* Borrowed from Italian and Spanish Rana, a nickname for someone with bulging eyes or a croaky voice, from rana (“frog”).
* Borrowed from Galician Raña, a habitational surname from a village in the province of A Coruña.


Que

Borrowed both from Hokkien 郭 (Keh) and Catalan Qué. Doublet of Quek, Guo, and Kwok.

(Philippines) A Chinese surname from Hokkien.