1000 Most Common Last Names in France

English, Scottish, Irish, French, Dutch, German, Czech, Slovak, Spanish (Martín), Italian (Venice), etc.: from a personal name (Latin Martinus, a derivative of Mars, genitive Martis, the Roman god of fertility and war, whose name may derive ultimately from a root mar ‘gleam’). This was borne by a famous 4th-century saint, Martin of Tours, and consequently became extremely popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. As a North American surname, this form has absorbed many cognates from other European forms. English: habitational name from any of several places so called, principally in Hampshire, Lincolnshire, and Worcestershire, named in Old English as ‘settlement by a lake’ (from mere or mær ‘pool’, ‘lake’ + tun ‘settlement’) or as ‘settlement by a boundary’ (from (ge)mære ‘boundary’ + tun ‘settlement’). The place name has been charged from Marton under the influence of the personal name Martin.

English, French, Dutch, Polish, Czech, and Slovenian: from a Germanic personal name (see Bernhard). The popularity of the personal name was greatly increased by virtue of its having been borne by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c.1090–1153), founder and abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux. Americanized form of German Bernhard or any of the other cognates in European languages; for forms see Hanks and Hodges 1988.

English, French, German, Dutch, Hungarian (Róbert), etc: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hrod ‘renown’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. This is found occasionally in England before the Conquest, but in the main it was introduced into England by the Normans and quickly became popular among all classes of society. The surname is also occasionally borne by Jews, as an Americanized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.

English, French, German, and Dutch: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ric ‘power(ful)’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’.

English and French: variant of Durant. Americanized form of Hungarian Durándi, a habitational name for someone from a place called Duránd, in former Szepes county.

French and English (Norman and Huguenot): topographic name for someone who lived in a wood, from the fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’ + French bois ‘wood’ (see Bois). In both England and America the name has been translated as Wood.

French: from a derivative of More 4 or 5.

English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish (Simón), Czech and Slovak (Šimon), Slovenian, Hungarian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the personal name, Hebrew Shim‘on, which is probably derived from the verb sham‘a ‘to hearken’. In the Vulgate and in many vernacular versions of the Old Testament, this is usually rendered Simeon. In the Greek New Testament, however, the name occurs as Simon, as a result of assimilation to the pre-existing Greek byname Simon (from simos ‘snub-nosed’). Both Simon and Simeon were in use as personal names in western Europe from the Middle Ages onward. In Christendom the former was always more popular, at least in part because of its associations with the apostle Simon Peter, the brother of Andrew. In Britain there was also confusion from an early date with Anglo-Scandinavian forms of Sigmund (see Siegmund), a name whose popularity was reinforced at the Conquest by the Norman form Simund.

French: from a vernacular form of the Latin personal name Laurentius (see Lawrence).

French, German, and Dutch: from the personal name Michel (see Michael). Basque: variant from the personal name Mitxel, equivalent of Michael. Polish: from a variant of the personal name Michal (see Michael). Greek: shortened form of any of various patronymic derivatives of Michael, for example Michelakis, Michelakakis, or Michelakos.

Spanish (García) and Portuguese: from a medieval personal name of uncertain origin. It is normally found in medieval records in the Latin form Garsea, and may well be of pre-Roman origin, perhaps akin to Basque (h)artz ‘bear’.

English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, and South Indian: from the medieval personal name, of Biblical origin, from Aramaic t’om’a, a byname meaning ‘twin’. It was borne by one of the disciples of Christ, best known for his scepticism about Christ’s resurrection (John 20:24–29). The th- spelling is organic, the initial letter of the name in the Greek New Testament being a theta. The English pronunciation as t rather than th- is the result of French influence from an early date. In Britain the surname is widely distributed throughout the country, but especially common in Wales and Cornwall. The Ukrainian form is Choma. It is found as a personal name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. is used as a family name among families from southern India.

French: from Old French rey, roy ‘king’ (from Latin rex, genitive regis), with the definite article le. It may have been an occupational name for someone in the service of the king, or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal fashion or who had earned the title in some contest of skill or by presiding over festivities. The name is associated with Huguenots in British America, having been brought by them to MA from La Rochelle.

Jewish, Welsh, Scottish, English, French, Portuguese, German, Czech, Slovak (Dávid) and Slovenian: from the Hebrew personal name David ‘beloved’, which has been perennially popular among Jews, in honor of the Biblical king of this name, the greatest of the early kings of Israel. His prominence, and the vivid narrative of his life contained in the First Book of Samuel, led to adoption of the name in various parts of Europe, notably Britain, among Christians in the Middle Ages. The popularity of this as a personal name was increased in Britain, firstly by virtue of its being the name of the patron saint of Wales (about whom very little is known: he was probably a 6th-century monk and bishop) and secondly because it was borne by two kings of Scotland (David I, reigning 1124–53, and David II, 1329–71). Its popularity in Russia is largely due to the fact that this was the ecclesiastical name adopted by St. Gleb (died 1015), one of two sons of Prince Vladimir of Kiev who were martyred for their Christian zeal.

French, Occitan, Catalan, and English: from the medieval personal name Morel, a diminutive vernacular form of Latin Maurus (see Moore 3), with the hypocoristic suffix -el. Compare Morrell. German: from the personal name and saint’s name Maurelius.

French: nickname for someone with red hair, from Old French rous ‘red’ (Latin russ(e)us).

French: variant of Gérard (see Gerard).

French: occupational name for a baker, Old French fournier (Latin furnarius), originally the man responsible for cooking the dough in the fourneau ‘oven’ (see Baker). This surname is frequently Americanized as Fuller.

English, French, Dutch, and German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements land ‘land’, ‘territory’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. In England, the native Old English form Landbeorht was replaced by Lambert, the Continental form of the name that was taken to England by the Normans from France. The name gained wider currency in Britain in the Middle Ages with the immigration of weavers from Flanders, among whom St. Lambert or Lamprecht, bishop of Maastricht in around 700, was a popular cult figure. In Italy the name was popularized in the Middle Ages as a result of the fame of Lambert I and II, Dukes of Spoleto and Holy Roman Emperors.

French: variant of Lefèvre. The -b- occurs in this form of the name by reason of hypercorrection influenced by the Latin word faber ‘craftsman’.

English and French: occupational name for a trader, from Old French mercier (see Mercer).

French and Catalan: descriptive nickname for a man with white or fair hair or a pale complexion, from Old French, Catalan blanc ‘white’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German blank ‘bright’, ‘shiny’.

French: topographic name for someone ‘from the bridge’, French pont (see Pont), with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’.

Southern French: occupational name for an ironworker or smith, Old French fevre (Latin faber ‘craftsman’). This surname is associated with Huguenot emigration.

English and French: variant of Bertram.

English and French: from a diminutive of the medieval nickname and personal name More (see Moore). Italian: Venetian variant of Morini. Spanish (Morín): possibly a derivative of Moro. Dutch: from a short pet form of a Germanic compound personal name beginning with Maur-, Mor- (see More 4).

French: from a Germanic personal name, Warinhari, composed of the elements war(in) ‘guard’ + hari, heri ‘army’. English: variant of Garner 1.

Spanish (Nicolás), French, Dutch, Greek, etc: from the personal name Nicolas, the usual spelling of Greek Nikolaos in many languages (see Nicholas). English (common in Wales): variant spelling of Nicholas.

French and English: from the popular medieval female personal name, Latin Maria. This was the name of the mother of Christ in the New Testament, as well as several other New Testament figures. It derives from Aramaic Maryam (Biblical Hebrew Miryam), but the vernacular forms have been influenced by the Roman family name Marius (which is of uncertain origin). The Hebrew name is likewise of uncertain etymology, but perhaps means ‘wished-for child’, from an Egyptian root mrj with the addition of the Hebrew feminine diminutive suffix -am. St. Jerome understood it as a compound of mar ‘drop’ + yam ‘sea’, which he rendered as Latin stilla maris, later altered to stella maris ‘star of the sea’, whence the medieval Christian liturgical phrase. French (Marié): nickname for a man newly married, from the past participle of marier ‘to marry’.

French: nickname for someone with red hair, from a diminutive of Roux.

French: from the medieval personal name Bonettus, a diminutive of Latin bonus ‘good’. French: occasionally, a Gascon variant of Bonneau. English and French: metonymic occupational name for a milliner, or a nickname for a wearer of unusual headgear, from Middle English bonet, Old French bon(n)et ‘bonnet’, ‘hat’. This word is found in medieval Latin as abonnis, but is of unknown origin. In Germany the name was borne by Waldensians, of French origin.

English and French: from a medieval personal name (Latin Vincentius, a derivative of vincens, genitive vincentis, present participle of vincere ‘to conquer’). The name was borne by a 3rd-century Spanish martyr widely venerated in the Middle Ages and by a 5th-century monk and writer of Lérins, as well as various other early saints. In eastern Europe the name became popular in honor of Wincenty Kadlubek (died 1223), a bishop of Kraków and an early chronicler. Irish: the English surname has been established in the south of Ireland since the 17th century, and has also been adopted as an English equivalent of Gaelic Mac Dhuibhinse ‘son of the dark man of the island’.

English and French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements haim, heim ‘home’ + ric ‘power’, ‘ruler’, introduced to England by the Normans in the form Henri. During the Middle Ages this name became enormously popular in England and was borne by eight kings. Continental forms of the personal name were equally popular throughout Europe (German Heinrich, French Henri, Italian Enrico and Arrigo, Czech Jindrich, etc.). As an American family name, the English form Henry has absorbed patronymics and many other derivatives of this ancient name in continental European languages. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988.) In the period in which the majority of English surnames were formed, a common English vernacular form of the name was Harry, hence the surnames Harris (southern) and Harrison (northern). Official documents of the period normally used the Latinized form Henricus. In medieval times, English Henry absorbed an originally distinct Old English personal name that had hagan ‘hawthorn’. Compare Hain 2 as its first element, and there has also been confusion with Amery. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hInnéirghe ‘descendant of Innéirghe’, a byname based on éirghe ‘arising’. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Éinrí or Mac Einri, patronymics from the personal names Éinrí, Einri, Irish forms of Henry. It is also found as a variant of McEnery. Jewish (American): Americanized form of various like-sounding Ashkenazic Jewish names.

Scottish (Aberdeen): variant of Mason, or possibly an assimilated form of Manson 1 . French: from a pet form of Thomas. French: occupational name for a stonemason, Old French mas(s)on.

Scottish, English, French, and German: from the personal name Robin, a pet form of Robert, composed of the short form Rob + the hypocoristic suffix -in. Slovenian: unexplained. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Rubin or Rabin.

Spanish (Martínez): patronymic from the personal name Martin.

Altered spelling of German Bayer or Beyer. German: habitational name for someone from Boye (near Celle-Hannover). English: variant of Bowyer. Danish: habitational name from a place so named. The surname is also found in Norway and Sweden, probably from the same source.

German (Müller) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): see Mueller. Dutch: variant of Mulder.

French: from Old French chevalier ‘knight’ (literally ‘horseman’, ‘rider’, from Late Latin caballarius, a derivative of caballus ‘horse’). In the Middle Ages only men of comparative wealth were able to afford the upkeep of a riding horse. It is likely that in the majority of cases the surname was originally a nickname, or an occupational name for a knight’s servant, rather than a status name, for most men of the knightly class belonged to noble families which had more specific surnames derived from their estates.

French, Spanish (Denís), and Portuguese: from the personal name Denis (Spanish Denís), variant of Dennis. Ukrainian: from the personal name Denys (see Dennis).

German and Dutch: from Middle High German meier, a status name for a steward, bailiff, or overseer, which later came to be used also to denote a tenant farmer, which is normally the sense in the many compound surnames formed with this term as a second element. Originally it denoted a village headman (ultimately from Latin maior ‘greater’, ‘superior’). Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish personal name Meyer (from Hebrew Meir ‘enlightener’, a derivative of Hebrew or ‘light’). Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Meidhir, from meidhir ‘mirth’. Danish: variant spelling of Meier 3.

French and English: from the French medieval personal name Blancard, Blanchard, from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements blank ‘white’, ‘shining’ + hard ‘strong’, ‘brave’.

French: status name for a local magistrate or official (see Maire), with the definite article le.

French: occupational nickname for a baker, from du four ‘(the man) from the oven’.

French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements wald ‘rule’ + hari, heri ‘army’ (see Walter). This name is also found in Switzerland and may have been brought to the U.S. from there.

Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, northern Italian, French, and English: from the personal name, a derivative of the Latin personal name Vitalis (see Vitale).

Spanish (Pérez) and Jewish (Sephardic): patronymic from the personal name Pedro, Spanish equivalent of Peter. Jewish: variant of Peretz.

English and French: from the Middle English, Old French personal name Perrin, a pet form of French Pierre (see Peter).

Northern and central French: topographic name for someone who lived near a spring or well, Old French fontane, Late Latin fontana, a derivative of classical Latin fons (see Font).

French: variant spelling of Jolly.

French: from the personal name Jean, French form of John. English: variant of Jayne.

French: variant of Gauthier. In this spelling, the name has been established in both Italy (Turin) and Germany (Brunswick) since about 1700.

Irish (of Norman origin): see Roache. This is the name of various important families in Munster (counties Cork, Wexford, and Limerick). French: topographic name for someone who lived by a rocky outcrop or crag, Old French roche. German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name, Rocco, based on hrok, of uncertain origin, or hrod ‘renown’.

Scottish: nickname for a person with red hair, from Gaelic ruadh ‘red’. English (of Norman origin): variant of Ray 1, cognate of 3. French: from Old French rey, roy ‘king’ (from Latin rex, genitive regis), a nickname for someone who lived in a regal fashion or who had earned the title in some contest of skill or by presiding over festivities. Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi: variant of Rai.

Portuguese, Galician, and Jewish (Sephardic): topographic name from Portuguese pereira ‘pear tree’, or a habitational name from a place named with this word in Portugal and Galicia. The surname is also common in western India, having been taken there by Portuguese colonists.

French: from the personal name Mathieu, vernacular derivative of Latin Mathias or Matthaeus (see Matthew).

French: variant of Rousseau. Compare English Russell.

French: topographic name from Old French du val ‘from the valley’ (from Latin vallis). English: variant of Duvall 1.

French (Guérin): from the Germanic personal name Warin, a short form of various compound names beginning with war(in) ‘guard’. This is found as a Huguenot name, established in Ireland (County Limerick).

Spanish (López): patronymic from the medieval personal name Lope (from Latin lupus ‘wolf’). This is one of the commonest of all Spanish surnames.

Spanish (Rodríguez) and Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name Rodrigo.

French: from a reduced pet form of the personal name Nicolas (see Nicholas). English: variant spelling of Collin.

French and English (of Norman origin): from the Old French personal name Aubert, a variant of Albert. German (Swabian): variant of Albert.

French (Lefèvre): occupational name for an ironworker or smith, Old French fevre. One of the most common names in France from an early date, this was taken to Britain and Ireland by the Normans, by the French to Canada, and by the Huguenots (with the variant form Lefebre) to colonial America and elsewhere. In Canada, there were so many bearers of this name that many nicknames and epithets (secondary surnames or ‘dit’ names) were employed to distinguish between one family and another. Thus, for example, the Lefevre called Descoteaux became Hill by translation, and the Lefevre called Boulanger became Baker. Since fevre ‘smith’ had ceded as a general vocabulary word to forgeron in French, the meaning of the name was no longer understood; in some cases it was reconstructed as Lafeve (Latin faba) and translated as Bean.

French and English: occupational name for a buyer and seller of goods, from Old French, Middle English march(e)ant, Late Latin mercatans, from Latin mercari ‘to trade’, from merx ‘commerce’, ‘exchange’, ‘merchandise’. In the Middle Ages the term was used mainly to denote a wholesale dealer.

South German: variant spelling of Schmidt.

French, Scottish, and German: from Old French Picard ‘Picard’, a regional name for someone from Picardy in northern France. French: from a pejorative derivative of pic ‘pick’, ‘pike’, cognate of Pike 3 and 4. Jewish (western Ashkenazic): Frenchification of the German name Bickhart.

French: from a personal name of Gaulish origin, represented in Latin records in the form Caraunus. This name was borne by a 5th-century Breton saint who lived at Chartres and was murdered by robbers; his legend led to its widespread use as a personal name during the Middle Ages. English (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name for someone from Cairon in Calvados, France. English and French: metonymic occupational name for a carter, or possibly a cartwright, from a Norman and Picard form of Old French c(h)arron ‘cart’.

Spanish (Sánchez): patronymic from the personal name Sancho.

French: occupational name for a miller, meunier (Old French mounier, from an agent derivative of Latin molina ‘mill’).

French: from the personal name Louis, derived from a Germanic personal name (the name of the founder of the Frankish dynasty) composed of the elements hlod ‘fame’ + wig ‘war’. This is recorded in Latin chronicles as Ludovicus (see Ludwig), and Chlodovechus, which became Old French Clovis, Clouis, Louis, a name borne by many French kings.

Vietnamese (Nguy[ecirctilde]n): unexplained. This was the family name of a major Vietnamese royal dynasty.

English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, etc.: from the Latin personal name Lucas (Greek Loukas) ‘man from Lucania’. Lucania is a region of southern Italy thought to have been named in ancient times with a word meaning ‘bright’ or ‘shining’. Compare Lucio. The Christian name owed its enormous popularity throughout Europe in the Middle Ages to St. Luke the Evangelist, hence the development of this surname and many vernacular derivatives in most of the languages of Europe. Compare Luke. This is also found as an Americanized form of Greek Loukas. Scottish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Lùcais (see McLucas).

French: topographic name, from Old French du mont ‘from the mount’.

English, French, and Dutch: from the Latin personal name Clemens meaning ‘merciful’ (genitive Clementis). This achieved popularity firstly through having been borne by an early saint who was a disciple of St. Paul, and later because it was selected as a symbolic name by a number of early popes. There has also been some confusion with the personal name Clemence (Latin Clementia, meaning ‘mercy’, an abstract noun derived from the adjective; in part a masculine name from Latin Clementius, a later derivative of Clemens). As an American family name, Clement has absorbed cognates in other continental European languages. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988.)

French: from the medieval personal name Arnaldus (see Arnold).

French: from a vernacular form of Gérald (see Gerald).

French: occupational name for a barber-surgeon (see Barber), Old French barbier (from Late Latin barbarius, a derivative of barba ‘beard’).

Scottish, English, and French: variant spelling of Roland.

French, Welsh, and English: from the French form of the Germanic personal name Carl ‘man’ (which was Latinized as Carolus). In France the personal name was popular from an early date, due to the fame of the Emperor Charlemagne (?742–814; Latin name Carolus Magnus, i.e. Charles the Great). The Old French form Charles was briefly introduced to England by the Normans, but was rare during the main period of surname formation. It was introduced more successfully to Scotland in the 16th century by the Stuarts, who had strong ties with France, and was brought by them to England in the 17th century. Its frequency as a Welsh surname is attributable to the late date of Welsh surname formation. Old English Ceorl ‘peasant’ is also found as a byname, but the resulting Middle English form, Charl, with a patronymic in -s, if it existed at all, would have been absorbed by the French form introduced by the Normans. Compare Carl. English variants pronounced with initial k- for the most part reflect the cognate Old Norse personal name Karl, Karli. Swedish: ornamental form of a Frenchified form of the Old Norse personal name Karl.

German, Dutch, English, French, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hug ‘heart’, ‘mind’, ‘spirit’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. The name was borne by an 8th-century bishop of Maastricht who was adopted as the patron of hunters, and helped to increase the popularity of the personal name, especially in the Low Countries.

Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name Fernando. This is one of the most common surnames in Portugal. This surname is also common in Goa and elsewhere on the west coast of India, having been taken there by Portuguese colonists.

Southern French and Catalan: occupational name for a smith (see Faber).

French: topographic name from Old French molin ‘mill’, Latin molina (see Mill). This was normally a metonymic occupational name for a miller or mill worker.

French: nickname for a person with red hair, from Old French rous ‘red(-haired)’ (Latin russ(e)us), with the definite article le. This name is associated with the Huguenots in British America; notably, with silversmiths in SC and NY.

topographic name for someone ‘from the well’ (Old French puis). variant spelling of Dupuy 1.

French: from the personal name Guillaume, French form of William.

Scottish, English, North German, French, and Catalan: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hrod ‘renown’ +gar, ger ‘spear’, ‘lance’, which was introduced into England by the Normans in the form Rog(i)er. The cognate Old Norse Hróðgeirr was a reinforcing influence in Normandy. Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Ruaidhrí (see Rorie).

French, English, and German: from the medieval personal name Paris, which is actually an Old French variant of Patrice (see Patrick), but which became associated with the name of the Trojan prince Paris in Homer’s Iliad. French, English, and German: habitational name from the French city of Paris or a nickname denoting someone who had Parisian connections, for example through trade. Catalan (París): from a reduced form of the personal name Aparici, which was given to children born on the Feast of the Epiphany, 6th January (see Aparicio). Hungarian (Páris): from the personal name Páris or Párizs.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Guille, itself a short form of Guillaume.

topographic name for someone who lived on or near a hill with a rounded summit, Occitan puy (from Latin podium), with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’, or from any of various places called Le Puy. variant spelling of Dupuis 1.

Spanish (Fernández): patronymic from the personal name Fernando. The surname (and to a lesser extent the variant Hernandez) has also been established in southern Italy, mainly in Naples and Palermo, since the period of Spanish dominance there, and as a result of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century, many of whom moved to Italy.

French: Norman, Picard, or Provençal variant of Charpentier.

Galician and Portuguese: common topographic name for someone who lived by a forge or iron workings, from Latin ferraria ‘forge’, ‘iron working’.

French: variant of Oliver.

French: from the personal name Philippe (see Philip).

French: topographic name for someone ‘from the fields’, French champs (see Champ).

French: topographic name for someone who lived near a cross set up by the roadside or in the marketplace, from French la croix ‘the cross’ (Latin crux, crucis). In some cases the surname may have denoted one who carried the cross in church processions. Compare the English equivalent, Cross. It is a very frequent French Canadian secondary surname, perhaps for a person who swore by the cross, and has also been used independently since 1670.

French: from the personal name Jacquet, a pet form of Jacques.

Spanish and southern French (Occitan): from Spanish and Old French rey ‘king’ (from Latin rex, genitive regis), which could have been applied any of in numerous ways: it may have denoted someone in the service of a king; it may have been from the title of someone in a brotherhood; or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal fashion or who had earned the title in some contest of skill or by presiding over festivities. English: variant spelling of Ray 1, cognate with 1. German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed with ragin ‘counsel’. German: nickname for a leader of dancing or singing, from Middle Low German rei(e) ‘(line) dance’, ‘(satirical) song’.

German, Dutch (also de Klein(e)) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German, Dutch, German klein ‘small’, or Yiddish kleyn. This was a nickname for a person of small stature, but is also often found as a distinguishing name for a junior male, usually a son, in names such as Kleinhans and Kleinpeter. This name is common and widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ragin ‘counsel’ + wald ‘rule’ (equivalent to English Reynold).

This surname is derived from an official title. or nick, 'a baron,' or a man who put on an air of dignity such as might become a baron. Middle English baron and barun.Osbert le Barun, Close Roll, 2 Edward I.Richard le Baron, Devon, 1273.

French: from le clerc ‘the clerk’, occupational name for a scribe or secretary (see Clerc, Clark). North American spelling variant of Leclair, Leclere.

English and French: occupational name for a wheelright, from Old French roier, rouwier, rouer, roer. French: from a Germanic personal name composed of hrod ‘renown’ + hari, heri ‘army’. Respelling of German Rauer.

German, Dutch, Swedish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived in the mountains or hills (see Berg). As a Jewish name it is mainly ornamental. It is found as a surname throughout central and eastern Europe, either as a surname of German origin or as a German translation of a topographic name with similar meaning, for example Slovenian Gricar, Hribar, Gorjan or Gorjanc. Norwegian: habitational name from any of various farms so named with the plural of Berg ‘mountain’. French: occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French bergier (Late Latin berbicarius, from berbex ‘ram’).

French: status name from Old French burgeis ‘inhabitant and (usually) freeman of a (fortified) town’, ‘burgess’ (from bourg ‘fortification’).

French: from a pet form of Bert.

French, Catalan, and English (mainly Leicestershire): from Old French or Catalan petit ‘small’, hence a nickname for a small person (or an ironic nickname for a big man), or for the younger of two bearers of the same personal name. This name was common among Catalan Jews. It is also established in Ireland.

From the Biblical personal name Adam, which was borne, according to Genesis, by the first man. It is the generic Hebrew term for ‘man’, probably from Hebrew adama ‘earth’. Compare the classical Greek legend that Zeus fashioned the first human beings from earth. It was very popular as a personal name among non-Jews throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, and the surname is found in one form or another in most of the countries of Europe. Jews, however, have never used this personal name, except in recent times under Polish and English influence. Among Scottish and Irish bearers it is sometimes a reduced form of McAdam.

English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian (Dániel), Romanian, and Jewish: from the Hebrew personal name Daniel ‘God is my judge’, borne by a major prophet in the Bible. The major factor influencing the popularity of the personal name (and hence the frequency of the surname) was undoubtedly the dramatic story in the Book of Daniel, recounting the prophet’s steadfast adherence to his religious faith in spite of pressure and persecution from the Mesopotamian kings in whose court he served: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar (at whose feast Daniel interpreted the mysterious message of doom that appeared on the wall, being thrown to the lions for his pains). The name was also borne by a 2nd-century Christian martyr and by a 9th-century hermit, the legend of whose life was popular among Christians during the Middle Ages; these had a minor additional influence on the adoption of the Christian name. Among Orthodox Christians in Eastern Europe the name was also popular as being that of a 4th-century Persian martyr, who was venerated in the Orthodox Church. Irish: reduced form of McDaniel, which is actually a variant of McDonnell, from the Gaelic form of Irish Donal (equivalent to Scottish Donald), erroneously associated with the Biblical personal name Daniel. See also O’Donnell.

French: from Old French moine ‘monk’ (Latin monacus), with the definite article le, probably an occupational name for a servant at a monastery or a nickname for someone of monkish behavior or appearance.

from the French personal name Pierre (see Peter). from Old French pierre ‘stone’, ‘rock’ (Latin petra), a topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of stony soil or by a large outcrop of rock, or a metonymic occupational name for a quarryman or stonemason.

French (François): from the personal name François, originally an ethnic name meaning ‘Frenchman’, (see Francis).

Portuguese (Gonçálves): patronymic from a personal name of Visigothic origin, Gonçalo, formed with gunþ ‘battle’.

French (Benoît): from the personal name Benoit, French form of Benedict.

French: variant of Leconte.

French: see Levasseur.

French: variant of Brun (‘brown’), with the definite article le. This is a name associated with the Huguenots in the U.S.

French: variant of Blanc 1 (‘white’, ‘blond’, ‘pale’), with the definite article le.

French: variant spelling of Leclerc.

Southern French: nickname for a twin, from Occitan besson ‘twin’, a derivative of Latin bis ‘twice’.

French: occupational name for a worker in wood, from Old French charpentier (Late Latin carpentarius ‘cartwright’).

French: from the personal name Étienne, French vernacular form of Latin Stephanus (see Steven).

Jewish, English, German, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and southern Indian: derivative, via Latin Jacobus, from the Hebrew personal name ya‘aqobh (Yaakov). In the Bible, this is the name of the younger twin brother of Esau (Genesis 25:26), who took advantage of the latter’s hunger and impetuousness to persuade him to part with his birthright ‘for a mess of potage’. The name is traditionally interpreted as coming from Hebrew akev ‘heel’, and Jacob is said to have been born holding on to Esau’s heel. In English Jacob and James are now regarded as quite distinct names, but they are of identical origin (see James), and in most European languages the two names are not distinguished. It is used as a given name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. has come to be used as a surname among families from southern India.

French: from a variant of the personal name Michel (see Michael).

equivalent of Mailhot. from a Germanic personal name: according to Morlet, Magilhard, composed of the elements magil, an augmented form of magin, magan ‘strength’, ‘might’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. Debrabandere, however, derives it from the Germanic personal name Madelhard, from madal ‘council’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. There are Huguenot families bearing this name.

Southern French: topographic name, with fused preposition and definite article du, for someone who lived in an isolated dwelling in the country rather than in a village, from Occitan mas ‘farmstead’, from Late Latin mansum, mansus.

occupational name from Old French mon(n)ier ‘minter’, ‘money-changer’. from a dialect variant of Meunier.

from the medieval personal name Fleuri (Latin Florius, a derivative of the Roman family name Florus, from flos ‘flower’, genitive floris). This name was borne by a 3rd-century saint martyred in Nicomedia under the emperor Decius. There seems to have been some confusion with a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hlod ‘fame’ + ric ‘power’. habitational name from any of the various places in northern France which get their names from the Gallo-Roman personal name Florus (see above) + the locative suffix -acum. nickname from Old French fluri ‘flowered’, ‘variegated’ (a derivative of flur Flower). This could have denoted someone who dressed in an extravagant mixture of colors or perhaps one who had a blotchy complexion.

French form of Aubrey, also a variant spelling of this found in English. In French-speaking Canada, Aubry is found as a Frenchification of O’Brennan among the Irish who fought alongside the French against the English in the mid 18th century; they found it expedient to adopt a French identity after the defeat at the Plains of Abraham.

English, French, and Dutch: from the Norman personal name Hamo(n) (see Hammond, Hammen).

French: variant of Reynard.

French: variant of Chevalier.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Guy.

South German, Swiss German, southern French, and English: from the personal name Marty, a pet form of Martin.

Spanish (Gómez): from a medieval personal name, probably of Visigothic origin, from guma ‘man’. Compare Gomes.

English: variant spelling of Gillett. French: from a pet form of the personal name Giles 1.

French (André): from the personal name André, French vernacular form of Andreas, also found as a Huguenot name in England in the 17th and 18th centuries. German: shortened form of Andreae. Swedish: shortened form of Andree.

French: occupational name for a steward or official, from Old French baillis. Compare Bailey, Bayliss.

French, Occitan, Catalan (variant of Ponç), and Dutch: from a medieval personal name (see Ponce).

French: variant spelling of Renaud.

French: from the personal name, French form of Julian. English: variant spelling of Julian.

English: variant spelling of Hewitt 1. French: from a pet form of the Old French personal name Hue, Hughe (see Hugh).

French (Rivière): topographic name for someone who lived by the bank of a river or shore of a lake, from Old French rivière ‘river’, ‘shore’, or a habitational name from any of various places named (Le) Rivière, for example in Indre-et-Loire and Pas-de-Calais.

Spanish (González): patronymic from the personal name Gonzalo, a personal name of Visigothic origin, based on the Germanic element gunþ ‘battle’. Compare Portuguese Gonçalves (see Goncalves).

French: variant of Renaud.

French: from a pet form of Colle.

French: occupational name for a herdsman, Old French bouvier (Late Latin bovarius, a derivative of bos, genitive bovis, ‘ox’).

French: metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of millet or panic grass, from a diminutive form of Old French mil (Latin milium). In some cases it may have been a nickname for someone suffering from a skin disease, with blisters resembling grains of millet. Compare the English term miliary fever. French and English: from a pet form of the personal name Miles. Catalan: topographic name for someone who lived by a field of millet, Catalan millet (Latin milietum, a derivative of milium ‘millet’).

Portuguese: patronymic from the Germanic personal name Rodrigo. The surname is also common in the cities of the west coast of India, having been taken there by Portuguese colonists. Variant spelling of Spanish Rodriguez.

English (chiefly Lancashire) and French (Gérard): from the personal name Gerard, Gérard, introduced to Britain from France by the Normans; it is composed of the Germanic elements gar, ger ‘spear’, ‘lance’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a tailor, literally ‘cutter’, from Middle High German snider, German Schneider, Yiddish shnayder. The same term was sometimes used to denote a woodcutter. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

French: from the Old French personal name Germain. This was popular in France, where it had been borne by a 5th-century saint, bishop of Auxerre. It derives from Latin Germanus ‘brother’, ‘cousin’ (originally an adjective meaning ‘of the same stock’, from Latin germen ‘bud’, ‘shoot’). In the Romance languages, especially Italian, the popularity of the equivalent personal name has been enhanced by association with the meaning ‘brother (in God)’, and in Spanish the cognate surname is derived from the vocabulary word meaning ‘brother’ rather than from a personal name. The feminine form, Germaine, which occurs as a place name in Aisne, Marne, and Haute-Marne, is associated with a late 16th-century saint from Provençal, the daughter of a poor farmer, who was canonized in 1867. English: variant of German.

French: status name or occupational name from Old French maresc(h)al ‘marshal’. The term is of Germanic origin (from marah ‘horse’, ‘mare’ + scalc ‘servant’) and was originally applied to a man who looked after horses. In the Middle Ages it also came to be used on the one hand as an occupational name for a farrier, and on the other as a status name for an officer of state, in particular a member of a royal household with military responsibilities. Compare Marshall.

Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name Martim, vernacular form of Latin Martinus (see Martin). English and Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Martin.

French and English: ethnic name for a Breton, from Old French bret (oblique case breton) (see Brett).

English and French: nickname from Middle English, Old French co(u)sin, cusin (Latin consobrinus), which in the Middle Ages, as in Shakespearean English, had the general meaning ‘relative’, ‘kinsman’. The surname would thus have denoted a person related in some way to a prominent figure in the neighborhood. In some cases it may also have been a nickname for someone who used the term ‘cousin’ frequently as a familiar term of address. The old slang word cozen ‘cheat’, perhaps derives from the medieval confidence trickster’s use of the word cousin as a term of address to invoke a spurious familiarity. The patronymics constitute the most frequent forms of this name.

French: variant of Langlais.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Pierre, French form of Peter. Irish: variant of Parrott 1.

French and English: occupational name for a quarryman, from Old French perrier, an agent derivative of pierre ‘stone’, ‘rock’. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, from Middle English perie ‘pear tree’ + the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant.

English and French: nickname for someone who had some special connection with the Christmas season, such as owing the particular feudal duty of providing a yule-log to the lord of the manor, or having given a memorable performance as the Lord of Misrule. The name is from Middle English, Old French no(u)el ‘Christmas’ (Latin natalis (dies) ‘birthday’). It was also used as a given name for someone born during the Christmas period.

French: occupational name for a fur trader, from Old French pelletier (a derivative of pellet, diminutive of pel ‘skin’, ‘hide’).

French: from a pet form of the personal name Malo (see Malo 1). French: variant of Malette. French, Catalan and English: from French, English, and Catalan mallet ‘hammer’, Old French ma(i)let, diminutive of ma(i)l (Latin malleus) either a metonymic occupational name for a smith, or possibly a nickname for a fearsome warrior. French and English: nickname for an unlucky person, from Old French maleit ‘accursed’ (Latin maledictus, the opposite of benedictus ‘blessed’). English: from the medieval female personal name Malet, a diminutive of Mal(le) (see Mall). English: variant of Mallard 1.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a weaver, Middle High German wëber, German Weber, an agent derivative of weben ‘to weave’. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe, being found for example as a Czech, Polish, Slovenian, and Hungarian name.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: diminutive of Chauve, a nickname for a bald man, from Old French chauf ‘bald’ (Latin calvus).

French: nickname for a gloomy curmudgeon, from gronder ‘to mutter or grumble’ (Latin grundire).

French: from the personal name Antoine, French equivalent of Anthony.

English (of Norman origin), French, and North German: from Giselbert, a Norman personal name composed of the Germanic elements gisil ‘pledge’, ‘hostage’, ‘noble youth’ (see Giesel) + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. This personal name enjoyed considerable popularity in England during the Middle Ages, partly as a result of the fame of St. Gilbert of Sempringham (1085–1189), the founder of the only native English monastic order. Jewish (Ashkenazic): Americanized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.

German, Dutch, and French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hun ‘Hun’, ‘giant’ or hun ‘bear cub’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. This was particularly popular in the Netherlands and North Germany during the Middle Ages as a result of the fame of a 7th-century St. Humbert, who founded the abbey of Marolles in Flanders.

French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements wig ‘battle’, ‘combat’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘strong’.

English and French: from a pet form of English Coll 1, French Colle. Probably an altered spelling of German Kollin. Danish: variant of Colding. Swedish: ornamental name from an unexplained first element, probably from a place name, + the the suffix -in, from Latin -in(i)us ‘descendant of’.

French: occupational name for a weaver, Old French tissier (Late Latin texarius, a derivative of texere ‘to weave’).

French and English: from the Old French personal name Jacques, the usual French form of Latin Jacobus (see Jacob). The English surname is either a late introduction from France or a Frenchification of Jakes. In English this surname is traditionally pronounced as two syllables, jay-kwez.

French: nickname from Old French amis, ami ‘friend’, with the definite article l’. Compare Lamey 2.

French and Portuguese: from the personal name Alexandre (see Alexander).

French: from a pet form of the personal name P(i)erre, French form of Peter. English (Bristol): variant of Parrott

French: topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, poirier, from Old French perier.

French and English: from the personal name Pascal, Latin Paschalis, a derivative of pascha ‘Easter’, via Greek and Aramaic from Hebrew pesach ‘Passover’. Compare Italian Pasquale. possibly also an Americanized form of Greek Paskhales, which has the same origin as 1.

French: nickname for a large man, from Old French gros ‘big’, ‘fat’, Late Latin grossus, of Germanic origin. See also Legros. Jewish (Ashkenazic) and English: variant spelling of Gross. Slovenian spelling of German Gross.

French: topographic name for someone who lived near clump of bushes, buisson (a derivative of bois ‘wood’, ‘copse’), or in an area characterized by such vegetation.

English, French, North German, Danish, Catalan, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, etc.: from the personal name Albert, composed of the Germanic elements adal ‘noble’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. The standard German form is Albrecht. This, in its various forms, was one of the most popular of all European male personal names in the Middle Ages. It was borne by various churchmen, notably St. Albert of Prague, a Bohemian prince who died a martyr in 997 attempting to convert the Prussians to Christianity; also St. Albert the Great (?1193–1280), an Aristotelian theologian and tutor of Thomas Aquinas. It was also the name of princes and military leaders, such as Albert the Bear (1100–70), Margrave of Brandenburg. In more recent times it has been adopted as a Jewish family name.

Portuguese: patronymic from the medieval personal name Lopo (from Latin lupus ‘wolf’).

Spanish: patronymic from the personal name Ruy, a short formnof Rodrigo. DK, kh, RS

French: variant of Jeune (‘young’), with the definite article le. This name was also taken to Germany by Huguenot refugees. It is often translated as Young.

French and English: occupational name for a maker of cord or string, from an agent derivative of Old French corde ‘string’.

Spanish (Hernández) and Jewish (Sephardic): patronymic from the personal name Hernando (see Fernando). This surname also became established in southern Italy, mainly in Naples and Palermo, since the period of Spanish dominance there, and as a result of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century, many of whom moved to Italy.

French: variant of George. This name is also common in Germany, taken there by the Huguenots.

French: topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town (and often was in charge of them; thus in part a metonymic occupational name), from Old French porte ‘gateway’, ‘entrance’ (from Latin porta, ‘door’, ‘entrance’), with the definite article la. In French Canada it is a secondary surname, which has also been used alone since 1670.

French: southern variant of Pigeon. French: metonymic occupational name from a diminutive of Old French pic ‘pick’. Compare Pike 3. French: metonymic occupational name for a potter, from pichon ‘jug’, ‘pitcher’. French: nickname from pichon ‘little’. Spanish (Pichón): from a term of endearment, pichón ‘little dove’.

English (of Norman origin) and French: from Old French voisin ‘neighbor’ (Anglo-Norman French veisin) . The application is uncertain; it may be a nickname for a ‘good neighbor’, or for someone who used this word as a frequent term of address, or it may be a topographic name for someone who lived on a neighboring property.

French (Lemaître): from Old French maistre ‘master’, hence a nickname for someone who behaved in a masterful manner, or an occupational name for someone who was master of his craft.

French: nickname for a wise man, from Old French sage ‘wise’, ‘shrewd’, ‘prudent’ (Late Latin sapius, from sapere ‘taste’, ‘discern’, ‘discriminate’), with the definite article le.

French: Norman and Picard variant of Charlier.

Portuguese: from the medieval personal name Gomes, probably Visigothic in origin, from guma ‘man’. This name is also common on the west coast of India, where it was taken by Portuguese colonists.

French: nickname for someone with a snub nose, Old French camus.

French: variant of Coulombe.

Jewish: from Hebrew kohen ‘priest’. Priests are traditionally regarded as members of a hereditary caste descended from Aaron, brother of Moses. See also Kaplan.

French: variant of Carrier.

English, French, German, and Dutch: from the personal name Paul (Latin Paulus ‘small’), which has always been popular in Christendom. It was the name adopted by the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus after his conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus in about ad 34. He was a most energetic missionary to the Gentiles in the Roman Empire, and played a very significant role in establishing Christianity as a major world religion. The name was borne also by numerous other early saints. The American surname has absorbed cognates from other European languages, for example Greek Pavlis and its many derivatives. It is also occasionally borne by Jews; the reasons for this are not clear. Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Phóil ‘son of Paul’. Compare McFall. Catalan (Paül): habitational name from any of several places named Paül. Spanish: topographic name from paúl ‘marsh’, ‘lagoon’. Spanish: Castilianized form of Basque Padul, a habitational name from a town of this name in Araba province.

French: from the personal name (Latin Desiderius, a derivative of desiderium ‘desire’, ‘longing’, given either to a longed-for child as an expression of the Christian’s spiritual longing for God). The name was borne by a 3rd-century bishop of Langres and a 6th-century bishop of Vienne in the Dauphiné, both of whom were locally venerated as saints.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Guille, a short form of Guillaume (see William).

French (Rémy) and Swiss German: from a medieval personal name which represents a falling together of two distinct Latin names: Remigius (a derivative of remex, genitive remigis, ‘rower, oarsman’), and Remedius (from remedium ‘cure’, ‘remedy’). The former name was borne by a 6th-century bishop of Rheims; the latter was borne by various minor saints of the 8th to 10th centuries.

Southern French and English (of Norman origin): from a Germanic personal name of uncertain origin. The first element is probably the tribal name Gaut (see Joslin); the second is berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English (of Norman origin) and French: occupational name for a forester, Old French verdier (Late Latin viridarius, a derivative of viridis ‘green’). The medieval officials in charge of a forest were known as verdiers on account of their green costumes, which may be regarded as an early example of camouflage. Southern French: topographic name for someone who lived near an orchard or garden, or an occupational name for someone who was employed in one, from Occitan verdier ‘orchard’ (Late Latin virid(i)arium).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: variant of Brian 2.

Southern French and Catalan (Delmàs): topographic name for someone from a mas, a remote, outlying farmstead. Compare Dumas.

French: variant of Côte (see Cote).

French: from a diminutive of Blanc.

Spanish (Marín), French, English, Slovenian, Croatian, and Romanian: from the Latin personal name Marinus, borne by several minor early saints. Originally this was a Roman family name derived from Marius (compare Marie), but was often taken to mean ‘of the sea’. Italian (Venetia): variant of Marino. Serbian, Croatian, and Slovenian: from the personal name Marija or its short form Mara (see Maria). Galician and Spanish: habitational name from a place called Marín, in particular the one in Pontevedra, Galicia. French: occupational name for a sailor, Old French marin (Late Latin marinus, a derivative of mare ‘sea’). Asturian-Leonese (Marín): occupational name for a sailor in Asturies.

French: ethnic name for a Breton, a variant of Breton, with the definite article le.

French: nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces, from the Old French title of rank duc ‘duke’ (from Latin dux ‘leader’, genitive ducis), or else an occupational name for a servant employed in a ducal household.

English and German: from a medieval personal name, a pet form of Martin or Marta. English and French: metonymic occupational name for a smith or a nickname for a forceful person, from Old French martel ‘hammer’ (Late Latin martellus). Charles Martel, the grandfather of Charlemagne, gained his byname from the force with which he struck down his enemies in battle. Spanish and Portuguese: from Portuguese martelo, Old Spanish martel ‘hammer’ (Late Latin martellus), or an Iberianized form of the Italian cognate Martello.

French: from the Germanic personal name Waldo (from waldan ‘to govern’) or a derivative of gaut- ‘Goth’.

French: variant of Bon (‘good’), with the definite article le.

Italian: patronymic from Rosso. This is the commonest surname in Italy. It is also found as a family name in Greece.

African: unexplained.

French: from a short form of the personal name Amaury (see Emery). Southern French (Occitan): habitational name from Maury, in Basses Pyrénées. English: probably a variant of Morey 2.

Portuguese and Galician: habitational name from any of the numerous placed named Ribeiro, from ribeiro ‘stream’.

French (Ménard): variant of Maynard.

French: from the Old French personal name Teobaud, Tibaut (see Theobald).

French: from a reduced form of the personal name Nicolas (see Nicholas).

English and French: from the Norman personal name Raimund, composed of the Germanic elements ragin ‘advice’, ‘counsel’ + mund ‘protection’. Americanized spelling of German Raimund, a cognate of 1.

French: topographic name for someone who lived by an elm tree (see Orme).

French: topographic name, from a diminutive of pin ‘pine’. Compare Pine 2. This is found as a Huguenot name from the city of Lyon, France.

English, German, French, and Jewish: from the personal name, Hebrew Yosef ‘may He (God) add (another son)’. In medieval Europe this name was borne frequently but not exclusively by Jews; the usual medieval English vernacular form is represented by Jessup. In the Book of Genesis, Joseph is the favorite son of Jacob, who is sold into slavery by his brothers but rises to become a leading minister in Egypt (Genesis 37–50). In the New Testament Joseph is the husband of the Virgin Mary, which accounts for the popularity of the given name among Christians.

English, Scottish, and French: nickname for a brave or foolhardy man, from Old French, Middle English hardi ‘bold’, ‘courageous’ (of Germanic origin; compare Hard 1). Irish: in addition to being an importation of the English name, this is also found as an Anglicized form (by partial translation) of Gaelic Mac Giolla Deacair ‘son of the hard lad’. Scottish: variant spelling of Hardie 2.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Barthélemy (see Bartholomew) or possibly of any of the Germanic personal names mentioned at Bert. It is quite commonly found as a Huguenot name outside France.

French and English: from the Old French, Norman, and Middle English personal name A(i)llard. This is of Germanic origin, being found in the continental form Adelard and in Old English as Æ{dh}elheard, both meaning ‘noble hardy’.

French: habitational name from any of various places, in Ariège, Gers, Moselle, Vaucluse, for example, named in Old French with garde ‘watch’, ‘protection’, with the definite article la. This is found as a French Canadian secondary surname, which has also been used independently since 1733.

French: nickname for someone with gray hair, from Old French ferrand ‘iron gray’. Catalan: from a regional variant of the personal name Fernando. English: variant of Farrand.

French, northeastern Italian, Spanish (Valentín), German, Swedish, Danish, and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): from the Latin personal name Valentinus (see Valentine). The Jewish surname is an adoption of the Christian personal name.

French: nickname for a dark-haired or swarthy individual, from noir ‘black’ with the definite article le.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Scottish: nickname from Old Norse trani ‘crane’.

French: from the medieval personal name Bonellus.

French: occupational name for a scribe or secretary, or for a member of a minor religious order, Old French clerc, Latin clericus (see Clark).

English and French: variant spelling of Goddard.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

(French) Brown [= Brun, with diminutive suff. -el]

French: variant spelling of Giles. German: from the personal name Gilius, from Aegilius, a Late Latin variant of Aegidius (see Giles 1).

French and Catalan: from a Germanic personal name composed of a reduced form of ermen, irmin ‘immense’, ‘vast’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘shining’.

Southern French (Séguin): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements sigi ‘victory’ + wine ‘friend’.

English and French: variant of Jordan.

Portuguese: the usual Portuguese form of Alvares.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French and English: from an Old French personal name Bodin, a pet form of any of the various Germanic personal names beginning with the element Bod- ‘messenger’. Altered spelling of French Beaudoin. Swedish: variant of Bodén (see Boden). German: probably from a Germanic personal name, see 1, or from the habitational name Boddin, name of several places in Mecklenburg and Brandenburg.

regional name for someone from Morvan in Burgundy. from the old Breton personal name Morvan.

French, English, and Dutch: nickname for a courageous or robust person, from Old French vaillant ‘sturdy’, ‘brave’, Middle English vailaunt, valiaunt, Middle Dutch valiant (the latter two being from Old French).

French and English: from a pet form of Marie 1.

French: variant of Devault.

French, English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish: from the Old French personal name Maurice, Latin Mauritius (see Morris).

French: nickname for a refined person, sometimes no doubt applied ironically, from Old French curteis, co(u)rtois ‘refined’, ‘accomplished’.

French (also Prévost) and English: from Old French prevost ‘provost’ (from Latin praepositus, past participle of praeponere ‘to place in charge’), a status name for any of various officials in a position of responsibility. Prevost is a Huguenot name in Britain, while Le Prevost is a Guernsey surname.

French: occupational name for either a tailor (from an agent derivative of Old French cousture ‘seam’) or for a smallholder, from an agent derivative of Old French couture ‘small plot’ (see Couture).

English and French: from an Anglo-Norman French form of the Old Norse personal name þórfinnr, composed of the elements þórr, the name of the god of thunder in Scandinavian mythology (see Thor) + the ethnic name Finnr ‘Finn’. This may have absorbed another name, Turpius, Turpinus (from Latin turpis ‘ugly’, ‘base’), one of the self-abasing names adopted as a mark of humility by the early Christians. It was borne by the archbishop of Rheims in the Charlemagne legend.

French and English: from Old French fort ‘strong’, ‘brave’ (see Fort), with the definite article le.

French (western and southwestern): topographic name for someone living in or near a ravine, from la combe ‘the ravine’ (a word of Gaulish origin, related to English Combe).

Southern French and Swiss French: occupational name for a smith or ironworker, Occitan fevre (Latin faber ‘craftsman’). Compare Faber.

French: status name or occupational name for a maire, a title denoting a municipal magistrate or other local official (the role of the maire differed at different times at different places). It may also be a nickname for an officious or pompous person. French (Mairé): habitational name from Mairé in Vienne or from Mairé-l’Evescault in Deux-Sèvres.

French form of Allen. This is a common spelling of the surname, although the normal spelling of the French personal name is Alain.

French and English (also common in Ireland): ethnic name for someone from Lombardy in Italy. The region is named for the Germanic tribe which overran the area in the 6th century ad. Their name is attested only in the Latinized form Langobardi, but is clearly a Germanic name meaning ‘long beards’. Early immigrants from Lombardy to London were often involved in banking and moneylending, and the name came to be used from the 14th century onward as a generic term for a financier.

French: habitational name from places in Saône-et-Loire, Seine-et-Marne, and Nièvre, named in Latin as Mariacum ‘estate of Marius’.

French: see Coste.

topographic name for someone who lived on a slope or river bank, or on the coast (ultimately from Latin costa ‘rib’, ‘side’, ‘flank’, also used in a transferred topographical sense), or a habitational name from any of numerous places named Costa or named with this word. of Greek origin (see Costas).

English and French: from the Germanic personal name Eberhard (see Everett).

French (also Thiéry): from the Old French personal name Thierri (see Terry 1).

French (also Levêque, Lévêque): variant of Levesque.

French: from oiseau ‘bird’, with the definite article l(e) (see Loisel).

Spanish, Italian, and Jewish (Sephardic) (of Basque origin): regional name denoting someone from Navarre (see Navarra).

French: habitational name from any of numerous places so named, from Old French roche ‘rocky crag’, ‘stony outcrop’, or a topographic name from the same word. In Canada it is a frequent secondary surname, which has also been used independently since 1683; it is often translated as Rock.

Geoffry, John, Arnald, Sylvester, Osbert, Ranulph Bordon, and others in Normandy, 1180-95 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae); William B. in Nortliants, Reginald and Roger in Gloucester 1199, RCR.

French (Carré): from Old French carré ‘square’ (Latin quadratus), applied as a nickname for a squat, thickset man.

Jewish (Ashkenazic and Sephardic): from the Biblical personal name Levi, from a Hebrew word meaning ‘joining’. This was borne by a son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29: 34). Bearers of this name are Levites, members of the tribe of Levi, who form a hereditary caste who assist the kohanim (see Cohen) in their priestly duties.

French: from a nickname or personal name composed of the elements tous ‘all’ (plural) + saints ‘saints’. The name was given to someone who was born on All Saints’ Day (1 November), or chosen as an invocation of the protection of all the saints of the calendar.

French: variant of Granier.

French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements wil(j)- ‘will’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.

French: reduced form of Charretier, an occupational name for a carter, from an agent derivative of Old French charette ‘cart’ (see Charette).

French: from a diminutive of Bon. This name is also found in Mallorca and Italy (Turin).

nickname from maillet ‘mallet’. habitational name from places so named in Allier and Indre.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Jacques.

French and English (of Norman origin): from the Old French personal name Auger or Alger (see Alger). German: variant of Auer, the g reflecting Frisian -oog contained in place names like Wangeroog.

French and English: occupational name for a manservant, Middle English, Old French vaslet, val(l)et (a diminutive of vassal ‘serf’). French: topographic name from a diminutive of val ‘valley’.

French: from the Old French title of rank conte ‘count’, either a nickname or an occupational name for a servant in the household of a count.

from a Germanic personal name, based on badu- ‘battle’. metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of (bom)basin, a kind of cheap cotton cloth (Italian bombagine).

German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a fisherman, from Fisch + the agent suffix -er. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

French (also Scottish): regional name for someone from Normandy (see Norman).

Variant of Pothier.

French: variant of Pelletier ‘fur trader’.

French: topographic name for someone who lived in a hamlet, from Old French hamel, a diminutive of ham ‘homestead’, with fused preposition and definite article du.

German (also Wägner) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a carter or cartwright, from an agent derivative of Middle High German wagen ‘cart’, ‘wagon’, German Wagen. The German surname is also well established in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, eastern Europe, and elsewhere as well as in German-speaking countries.

German and French: nickname, possibly for a good or habitual singer or whistler, from Middle High German, Old French merle ‘blackbird’ (Latin merula). See Merlo. German: from a pet form of a short form of a personal name formed with German mar, mer ‘famous’ as the first element.

French (Lorraine, Franche-Comté): variant of Fèvre, an occupational name for a smith (see Lefevre).

French: nickname for someone with a beard, Old French barbe (Latin barba). French: from the female personal name, French form of Barbara. German: from Middle High German barbe, the name of a species of fish resembling the carp; hence by metonymy an occupational name for a fisherman or fish dealer, or possibly a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish in some way.

Spanish and Jewish (Sephardic): nickname from pinto ‘colorful’, ‘painted’. Spanish: habitational name from Pinto in Madrid. Catalan (Pintó): Catalan variant of Pintor ‘painter’. Portuguese: from a nickname from pinto ‘chick’. This name is also common in western India, where it was taken by Portuguese colonists. Italian: from pinto ‘mottled’, ‘dotted’ (Late Latin pinctus, for classical Latin pictus ‘painted’), hence a nickname for a person with a blotchy or pock-marked complexion or pepper-and-salt hair, or in some parts of the south at least from the same word in the sense ‘lively or restless person’.

Italian and French: from a medieval personal name derived from the Latin personal name Maurinus, a derivative of Maurus (see Mauro), which was the name of a 6th-century martyr.

English and French: variant of Guy, from the subject case of the name in Old French.

English, French, and Italian (Venetia): from a personal name derived from the Latin personal name Vitalis (see Vitale). The name became common in England after the Norman Conquest both in its learned form Vitalis and in the northern French form Viel.

French (western): from a pet form of Martin 1. English: habitational name from Martineau in France. The name was also taken to England by Huguenot refugees in the 17th century (see below).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Variant of French Faucheux.

French (Burgundy, Charente, and Limousin): from the dialect word age ‘hedge’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived by or in a domain enclosed by hedges, or a habitational name for someone from any of various minor places named L’Age from this word.

English (of Norman origin) and French: from a French form of the Germanic personal name Wido, which is of uncertain origin. This name was popular among the Normans in the forms Wi, Why as well as in the rest of France in the form Guy. English: occupational name for a guide, Old French gui (a derivative of gui(d)er ‘to guide’, of Germanic origin).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French (Bart(h)élemy): from the personal name Bart(h)élemy, French form of Bartholomew. It is found chiefly in New England.

French: from a pet form of any of various Germanic personal names formed with folk ‘people’ (see for example German Volker), a cognate of English Foulks.

French: from a diminutive of Bout, which in some cases is derived from Old French bout ‘end’, ‘extremity’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived at the edge of a town or village, and in others from a Germanic personal name formed with bodo ‘messenger’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English and French: from the Middle English, Old French personal name Salmon, Saumon, a reduced form of Salomon (see Solomon). Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Zalmen, derived via a German form from Hebrew Shelomo (see Solomon). Irish: part translation of Gaelic Ó Bradáin ‘descendant of Bradán’, a personal name, probably from bradach ‘spirited’, but written the same as a word meaning ‘salmon’; this name is also sometimes translated Fisher. The English surname is also present in Ireland (chiefly in counties Leix and Kilkenny).

French: nickname for a person with a good singing voice, or ironically for a raucous person, from Old French rossignol ‘nightingale’ (Old Provençal rossinhol, from Late Latin lusciniolus).

French: from Old French neveu ‘nephew’ (Latin nepos, genitive nepotis), presumably denoting the nephew of some great personage.

French: from the personal name Bernier, from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements bern ‘bear’ + hari ‘army’. German (from Slavic): habitational name from a place so named in Mecklenburg.

French: variant of Lafont. Compare Laffoon.

Portuguese and Galician: habitational name from any of the places in Portugal and Galicia named Teixeira (written Teijeira in Castilian Spanish), from a derivative of Portuguese and Galician teixo ‘yew tree’ (Latin taxus).

Catalan: topographic name for someone who lived at a high place, from pujol, a diminutive of puig ‘hill’, ‘hillock’ (Latin podiolum), or habitational name from any of the numerous places in Catalonia named with this word (see Puig).

French: nickname for a vain, strutting man, from coq ‘rooster’ (from Old French coc), with the definite article le.

French: occupational or status name for a tenant farmer, from borde ‘small farm’ (from Frankish bord ‘plank’) + the definite article la.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French and English (East Anglia): variant of Grant. German: topographic name for someone who lived in a gravelly area, from Middle Low German grand ‘coarse gravel’. German: nickname from a southern word of uncertain origin meaning ‘frustration’, ‘anger’, ‘ire’. Danish: nickname from grand ‘pure’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: topographic name, with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’, from Old French clos ‘enclosure’ (from Late Latin clausum, past participle of claudere ‘to close’).

French: from a pet form of the personal name Martin.

French (Hébert) and Dutch: assimilated form of Herbert. German: variant of Heber 1. Dutch: from the personal name Egbert.

French: from the Norman personal name Gervase, of disputed etymology. The name was borne by a certain St. Gervasius, around whom a cult grew up following the discovery of his remains in Milan in 386.

Portuguese: patronymic from the medieval personal name Didacus (genitive Didaci). Compare Diego. This name is also common in the former Portuguese colony of Goa and elsewhere on the west coast of India, having been taken there by Portuguese settlers.

English and French: from Middle English, Old French parent ‘parent’, ‘relative’, hence a nickname for someone who was related to an important member of the community. English and French: nickname for someone of striking or imposing appearance, from Middle English, Old French parent ‘notable’, ‘impressive’.

English and French: variant of Jordan.

Muslim (widespread throughout the Muslim world): from the Arabic personal name ?Ali ‘high’, ‘lofty’, ‘sublime’. Al-?Ali ‘the All-High’ is an attribute of Allah. Abdul-?Ali means ‘servant of the All-High’. ?Ali ibn Abi ?Talib (c. 600–661), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, was the fourth and last of the ‘rightly guided’ khalifs (ruled 656–61) and the first imam of the Shiite Muslims. His assassination led to the appearance of the Shiite sect.

French (Régnier): from the personal name Régnier, of Germanic origin (see Rayner 1).

French and Catalan: from the personal name Marc (see Mark 1).

Spanish (Díaz): patronymic from the medieval personal name Didacus (see Diego).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: variant of Favre.

(French) One who came from beautiful Anger (ancient name combining Ans, a divinity and gari, (spear); one who came from Angre or Angres, in France; variants of Boulanger, q.v.

Galician, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, and Jewish (Sephardic): habitational name from any of the numerous places named Torres, all named with the plural of torre ‘tower’ (see Torre). Italian: habitational name from Torres in Belluno or Porto Torres in Sassari. In southern Italy the surname is sometimes a borrowing from Spanish (see 1). Dutch: from a short form of Victoris, from the Latin personal name Victorius.

French: topographic name from Old French breuil ‘marshy woodland’ (Late Latin brogilum, of Gaulish origin). In French the term later came to mean ‘enclosed woodland’ and then ‘cleared woodland’, and both these senses may also be reflected in the surname.

Dutch, German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a baker of bread, or brick and tiles, from backen ‘to bake’. English: occupational name for a maker or user of mattocks or pickaxes, from an agent derivative of Old English becca ‘mattock’.

French: nickname for a gentle-natured person, from Old French dolz, dous ‘sweet’, ‘pleasant’ (from Latin dulcis).

French: nickname for a stout person, from Old French cras ‘fat’ (from Latin crassus). Catalan: nickname for a stout person, from Latin crassus ‘fat’. German: variant of Grass 2.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from a derivative of the personal name Ricard, a variant of Richard.

Scottish, English, Welsh, French, German, Dutch, Hungarian (Sámson), and Jewish: from the Biblical name Samson (Hebrew Shimshon, a diminutive of shemesh ‘sun’). Among Christians it was sometimes chosen as a personal name or nickname with reference to the great strength of the Biblical hero (Judges 13–16). In Wales another association was with the 6th-century Welsh bishop Samson, who traveled to Brittany, where he died and was greatly venerated. His name, which is probably an altered form of an unknown Celtic original, was popularized in England by Breton followers of William the Conqueror, and to some extent independently from Wales.

English: variant of Mace 1. French (Picardy): metonymic occupational name from masse ‘mace’, ‘hammer’. French: habitational name from places called Masse (Allier and Cô-d’Or), or La Masse (Eure, Lot, Puy-de-Dôme, Saône-et-Loire). French (Massé): habitational name from a place called Massé in Maine-et-Loire, so named from Gallo-Roman Macciacum (from the personal name Maccius + the locative suffix -acum). Dutch: from Middle Dutch masse ‘clog’; ‘cudgel’, perhaps a metonymic occupational name for someone who wielded a club. Dutch: possibly a variant of Maas 1, or a patronymic from Mas.

North German and Dutch: from a short form of Thomas. Compare Maas 1 and Mass. Catalan and southern French (Occitan): topographic name for someone who lived in an isolated dwelling in the country, rather than in a village, from Catalan and Occitan mas ‘farmstead’ (Late Latin mansum, mansus).

French: diminutive of Fort.

Southern French: topographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood, from Late Latin bettia ‘birch wood’, a word of Gaulish origin.

English: variant spelling of Castle. Southern French: topographic name from Occitan castel, a derivative of Late Latin castellum ‘castle’ (a diminutive of Latin castrum ‘fort’, ‘Roman walled city’). This name is also found as a Jewish (Sephardic) name. Catalan: respelling of Castell.

French (Normandy and Picardy): occupational name for a weaver, Old French telier, tellier, with the definite article le.

English and French: variant of Richard.

Variant of French Benoit.

French: from poisson ‘fish’, a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or fish seller or a nickname for someone supposedly resembling a fish. In North America this name is sometimes translated as Fisher. North American variant of Poissant.

French and English: occupational name for a maker of facings and trimmings, Old French par(e)mentier. Compare Parmenter.

French: occupational name for a young servant, Old French page, with the definite article le. The word came from Italian paggio, apparently ultimately from Greek paidion, diminutive of pais ‘boy’, ‘child’.

French: from French grand ‘tall’, ‘large’ + Jean (French equivalent of John), hence a nickname (‘Big John’), or a distinguishing name for the older of two bearers of the same personal name. As a nickname it may have been applied in a literal or ironical sense, or as a means of distinguishing between members of the same family with a common personal name. This is a common name in Switzerland, and in some instances may have been brought to the U.S. from there.

French: from a medieval personal name (Latin Claudius, a Roman family name derived from claudus ‘lame’) which was popular as a result of having been borne by a 7th-century saint, bishop of Besançon.

Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name Mendo, a reduced form of Menendo (see Menendez).

French: nickname from Old French bon homme ‘good man’.

Catalan: habitational name from any of the places called Roques, from the plural of Roca. This name is also found in southern France, of Occitan origin.

French and Catalan: from a pet form of the personal name Hu(gh)e or Hugo (see Hugh).

regional name from Franche-Comté. habitational name from La Comté, Pas-de-Calais or numerous minor places named Comté.

French: topographic name for someone who lived by an apple tree or an apple orchard, from pommier ‘apple tree’.

French: topographic name for someone who lived in a royal forest or an occupational name for a forester or keeper, from an agent derivative of Old French forest ‘forest’ (see Foret).

French and English: from a medieval personal name (Latin Constans, genitive Constantis, meaning ‘steadfast’, ‘faithful’, present participle of the verb constare ‘stand fast’, ‘be consistent’). This was borne by an 8th-century Irish martyr. This surname has also absorbed some cases of surnames based on Constantius, a derivative of Constans, borne by a 2nd-century martyr, bishop of Perugia. Compare Constantine. English: perhaps also a nickname from Old French constant ‘steadfast’, ‘faithful’.

French: variant of Blond (‘blond’, ‘fair’), with the definite article le.

English, Scottish, and French: nickname for someone of a cheerful or attractive disposition, from Middle English, Old French joli(f) ‘merry’, ‘happy’.

French: variant of Braud. This is the more common spelling in Canada and New England, where it is most frequent. It is sometimes Americanized as Brow or Brown.

French: from a pet form of the Old French personal name Gosse.

French: topographic or occupational name for someone who lived at or was employed at a manorial court (see Court).

English, Scottish, French, and German: from the name of the flower, Middle English, Old French, Middle High German rose (Latin rosa), in various applications. In part it is a topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew, or a habitational name for someone living at a house bearing the sign of the rose. It is also found, especially in Europe, as a nickname for a man with a ‘rosy’ complexion. As an American surname, this name has absorbed cognates and similar-sounding names from other European languages. English: variant of Royce. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from the word for the flower (German Rose, Yiddish royz), or a metronymic name from the Yiddish female personal name Royze, derived from the word for the flower.

French: from a variant spelling of the personal name Geofroi (see Jeffrey).

English, Scottish, and Irish: variant spelling of Hamill. French: topographic name for someone who lived and worked at an outlying farm dependent on the main village, Old French hamel (a diminutive from a Germanic element cognate with Old English ham ‘homestead’). German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from the city of Hamlin, German Hameln, Yiddish Haml, where the Hamel river empties into the Weser. The name of the river probably derives from the Germanic element ham ‘water meadow’. Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a shepherd, from Middle Dutch hamel ‘wether’, ‘castrated ram’.

French: nickname from le doux ‘the sweet (one)’ (from Old French dolz, dous). This name is often translated as Sweet, and translations to Fresh are also attested. See also Ladue.

French: from a diminutive of Blond.

English and French: topographic name for someone who lived by a granary, from Middle English, Old French grange (Latin granica ‘granary’, ‘barn’, from granum ‘grain’). In some cases, the surname has arisen from places named with this word, for example in Dorset and West Yorkshire in England, and in Ardèche and Jura in France. The Marquis de Lafayette owned a property named Lagrange, and there used to be a place in VT so named in his honor.

variant of Morant. habitational name from places so called in Indre-et-Loire, Allier, Loire, and Haute-Saône.

French and English: from an Old French personal name Picot, Pigot, a diminutive of Pic (see Pike 6). Catalan: nickname from Valencian dialect picot ‘(sheep or goat) bell’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English, French, and Spanish (Merlín): from the Old French personal name Merlin, Latin Merlinus was derived from the Welsh personal name Myrddin. Merlinus was a Latinized form of Myrddin devised by Geoffrey of Monmouth and popularized in the Arthurian romances. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): metronymic from the Yiddish female personal name Merle, a pet form of Miryam (see Mirkin).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English and French: occupational name for a farm bailiff, responsible for overseeing the collection of rent in kind into the barns and storehouses of the lord of the manor. This official had the Anglo-Norman French title grainger, Old French grangier, from Late Latin granicarius, a derivative of granica ‘granary’ (see Grange).

German: distinguishing epithet, from Middle High German junc ‘young’, for the younger of two bearers of the same personal name, usually a son who bore the same name as his father. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German jung ‘young’, given to or assumed by people who were young at the time when surname became obligatory. Chinese , , : variant of Rong. Chinese , , : variant of Zhong. Korean: variant of Chong.

French: status name from Old French vasseor, a short form of vavasour, a term of the feudal system for a tenant ranking immediately below a baron. Such a tenant would have been a prosperous man, and the surname may have been used for someone in his service more often than for the man himself. The term is probably derived from medieval Latin vassus vassorum ‘vassal of vassals’, i.e. vassal-in-chief.

French: from the personal name Arman(d) or Harman(d), which is of Germanic origin, composed of the elements hardi ‘bold’, ‘hardy’ + man ‘man’, with excrescent -d. This surname is also found in Germany as a Huguenot name.

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Berold,' the French Berraud. This great surname appears as a personal name in Domesday: Baret, Yorkshire.Stephanus fil. Beroldi, Pipe Roll, 5 Henry II.Berard de Wattlesfeld, Suffolk, 1273.

French: nickname from Old French mouton ‘sheep’, doubtless used to denote a docile and unintelligent person, perhaps someone easily led.

English (of Norman origin) and French: status name for a professional champion, especially an agent employed to represent one of the parties in a trial by combat, a method of settling disputes current in the Middle Ages. The word comes from Old French champion, campion (Late Latin campio, genitive campionis, a derivative of campus ‘plain’, ‘field of battle’). Compare Campion, Kemp.

Spanish, Portuguese, and Jewish (Sephardic): nickname for someone with dark hair and a swarthy complexion, from Spanish and Portuguese moreno ‘dark-haired’, a word of uncertain origin, probably from Late Latin maurinus, a derivative of classical Latin Maurus ‘Moor’. Compare Moore 2.

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Buchard,' a form of Burchard.Robert Bakhard, rector of Gawsworth, Cheshire 1381: East Cheshire.Ralph Buchard, Oxfordshire, 1271. Hundred Rolls.Waller Buchard, Wiltshire, ibid.

German: from Middle High German kellaere ‘cellarman’, ‘cellar master’ (Latin cellarius, denoting the keeper of the cella ‘store chamber’, ‘pantry’). Hence an occupational name for the overseer of the stores, accounts, or household in general in, for example, a monastery or castle. Kellers were important as trusted stewards in a great household, and in some cases were promoted to ministerial rank. The surname is widespread throughout central Europe. English: either an occupational name for a maker of caps or cauls, from Middle English kellere, or an occupational name for an executioner, from Old English cwellere. Irish: reduced form of Kelleher. Scottish: variant of Keillor.

Someone who makes mistakes. In French bourde means 'mistake' or 'something a dumb person would do'. It also means 'donkey' in some places in the west of France.

French: variant of Chartier.

Spanish (Giménez): variant of Jiménez (see Jimenez).

French: from Old French vi(g)ne ‘vineyard’ (Latin vinea, a derivative of vinum ‘wine’), hence a topographic name for someone who lived near a vineyard; a metonymic occupational name for a vine dresser or the owner of a vineyard; or a habitational name from any of numerous places so named. In Canada, this is a frequent secondary surname, which has also been used alone since 1708.

English: variant of Coombs. French: habitational name from any of various places in southern France, for example in Hérault, named Combes, from Latin cumba ‘narrow valley’, ‘ravine’, a word of Gaulish origin.

Arabic and Jewish (Sephardic): variant of Sayed or Saeed.

French (Lelièvre): nickname for a fleet-footed or timid person, from Old French le levre ‘the hare’. It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a hunter of hares.

French and German: variant of Gilbert.

French: topographic name for someone who lived by a spring, Old French rai, with the definite article le.

Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Fearadhaigh ‘descendant of Fearadhach’, a personal name of uncertain origin, probably an adjective derivative of fear ‘man’. English: metonymic occupational name for a ferryman, or a topographic name for someone who lived by a ferry crossing on a river. Middle English feri ‘ferry’ is from Old Norse ferja ‘ferry’, ultimately cognate with the Old English verb ferian ‘to carry’.

English, French, and Catalan: nickname from Old French, Middle English, Catalan fort, ‘strong’, ‘brave’ (Latin fortis). In some cases it may be from the Latin personal name derived from this word; this was borne by an obscure saint whose cult was popular during the Middle Ages in southern and southwestern France. English and French: topographic name for someone who lived near a fortress or stronghold, or an occupational name for someone employed in one. Compare Fortier 1. Czech (Fort): variant of Forst.

French: from du moulin ‘from the mill’, applied as a topographic name for someone who lived at a mill, or, by extension, as an occupational name for a miller. In North America this name is particularly associated with Fonteneau (see Fontenot). See also Demoulin.

English: from Middle English provost ‘provost’, an occupational name for the head of a religious chapter or educational establishment, or, since such officials were usually clergy and celibate, a nickname for a self-important person. French: northern and western form of Prevost.

Nick 'the dwarf' = Old French basset, 'a dwarf, or very low man' (Cotgrave), a diminutive of basse. (2) Local, 'de Basset,' of Norman origin. It is probable that most of the existing Bassetts can claim a local descent.Golda Bassat, Cambridgeshire, 1273.

French: from Old French paper ‘to munch or eat’ (Late Latin pappare, in origin a nursery word); as a nickname its sense is uncertain, but possibly it referred to a glutton. The word papin also had the meaning ‘pap’, ‘pulp’. Dutch: from a pet form of an old Germanic personal name, Papo.

German, Swedish, and English: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements wald ‘rule’ + heri, hari ‘army’. The personal name was introduced into England from France by the Normans in the form Walt(i)er, Waut(i)er.

French (Normandy, Picardy): occupational name from Old French tel(l)ier ‘weaver’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Spanish (Muñoz): patronymic from the old personal name Muño.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Portugese and Spanish: habitational name from any of the towns called Ramos, in Portugal and Spain. Portuguese and Spanish: from the plural of ramo ‘branch’ (Latin ramus), a topographic name for someone who lived in a thickly wooded area.

French: from Old French pri(o)ur ‘prior’, a monastic official immediately subordinate to an abbot (from Latin prior ‘superior’), hence a nickname or occupational name, which probably most often originated as an occupational name for a servant of a prior.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: approbatory (or ironic) nickname, from Old French bon ‘good’ (Latin bonus). French: occasionally from the Latin personal name Bonus (likewise meaning ‘good’), which was borne by a minor 3rd-century Christian saint, martyred at Rome with eleven companions under the Emperor Vespasian. It was adopted as a personal name partly in his honor and partly because of the transparently well-omened meaning. Hungarian: from a short form of the old ecclesiastical name Bonifác (see Boniface).

English and French (Châtelain): status name for the governor or constable of a castle, or the warder of a prison, from Norman Old French chastelain (Latin castellanus, a derivative of castellum ‘castle’).

French: occupational name for a grain merchant (from Latin granarius), or a topographic name for someone who lived by a granary (from Latin granarium) or a metonymic occupational name for someone who supervised or owned one.

Scottish, English, Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a tall person, from Older Scots, Middle English, Middle Dutch, Middle German, and Danish lang ‘long’, Swedish lång. Hungarian: from láng ‘flame’, hence probably a nickname for a passionate person, or a man with a fighting spirit. Alternatively it may be an indirect occupational name for a smith or someone who worked with fire. Chinese : from the name of a place called Lang City in the state of Lu, founded during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc) by a grandson of the ruler. His descendants lived there and adopted Lang as their surname. Vietnamese (Lãng): unexplained.

Dutch: from Middle Dutch proo(f)st ‘provost’, an occupational name for the head of a religious chapter or educational establishment, or, since such officials were usually clergy and celibate, a nickname for a self-important person. German: reduced form of Probst. German (of Slavic origin) and Jewish (from Poland): nickname from Polish prosty ‘simple’, ‘common’.

Catalan and Occitan: topographic name from vernet ‘plantation or forest of alders’. Catalan: habitational name from any of the places named Vernet, especially a town in El Conflent district, in northern Catalonia.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Kiefer.

Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Dutch, and German: from the personal name Gil, from French Gille(s), from Latin Aegidius (see Giles). German: from Slavic gil ‘bullfinch’, probably a nickname for a simpleton.

French: from a diminutive of Jolly. This name occurs chiefly in LA and TX.

French (Vallée): topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, from Old French vallée.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Middle High German smit, German Schmied ‘blacksmith’. The German surname is found in many other parts of Europe, from Slovenia to Sweden.

African: unexplained.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with white hair or a remarkably pale complexion, from Middle High German wiz ‘white’, German weiss. German: variant of Weis. German: habitational name from any of various places named Weis(s) or Weissen. German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed with wig ‘battle’ or widu ‘wood’ as the first element.

French: from a diminutive of Tissier (see Tessier).

French: topographic or occupational name meaning ‘from the garden’, from Old French jardin ‘garden’, ‘enclosure’ (see Jardin), with fused preposition and definite article du.

Variant of Paine.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Southern French: nickname from Old Occitan cadet, ‘small dog’, or perhaps from Gascon capdet, a term designating the youngest member of a family (however, this term is not recorded in French until the 15th century).

English, Scottish, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Jewish: from the Hebrew personal name Gavriel ‘God has given me strength’. This was borne by an archangel in the Bible (Daniel 8:16 and 9:21), who in the New Testament announced the impending birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26–38). It has been a comparatively popular personal name in all parts of Europe, among both Christians and Jews, during the Middle Ages and since. Compare Michael and Raphael. It was the name of a famous patriarch and archbishop of Serbia (died 1659). In Russia it was the official Christian name of St. Vsevolod (died 1138). In the U.S. this name has absorbed cognate names from other European languages, for example the Greek patronymics Gabrielis, Gabrielatos, Gabrielidis, Gabrielakos, Gabrieloglou.

French: topographic or habitational name from any of the numerous places named with the Gaulish element ver(n) ‘alder’.

French: topographic name for someone living or working in a wood, from Old French bois ‘wood’ (Late Latin boscum ‘bush’, ‘shrub’, ‘undergrowth’, of Germanic origin). Compare the much more frequent form Dubois.

French: variant of Monnier.

Southern French: from a pet form of a personal name, a French form of Peter. Italian: from an augmentative of the personal name Pero. Spanish (Perón): possibly from a pet form of the personal name Pedro or a Castilianized form of Catalan Peró (see Pero).

Portuguese and Galician: habitational name from any of the numerous places named Oliveira, from Portuguese and Galician oliveira ‘olive grove’ (Late Latin olivarius, a derivative of Latin oliva ‘olive’), or a topographic name from this word.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from a pet form of the Old French personal name Hue (see Hugh).

French (Grégoire): from the personal name Grégoire, French form of Gregory.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French and English: from the medieval personal name Blaise, a vernacular form of Latin Blasius.

French: variant of Bourgoin.

topographic name for someone who lived on a street corner, from a derivative of corne ‘corner’. Compare Coin. from cornet, denoting either a rustic horn or an object made of horn, hence a metonymic occupational name for a hornblower or for a worker in horn.

French and Swiss French: compound name from gros ‘big’, ‘large’ + the personal name Jean (French form of John); it may have been applied as a nickname to distinguish between two bearers of the same personal name, denoting either the older or the larger, or simply to denote an exceptionally large (or small) man. Grosjean is also used in French as a nickname for a stupid fellow.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Northern Irish: reduced form of Scottish McLean. English: perhaps a variant spelling of Lane. Finnish: ornamental name from laine ‘wave’. This is one of the most common names among those that were derived from words denoting natural features when hereditary surnames were adopted in Finland in the beginning of the 20th century. This name is found chiefly in southern Finland. French: metonymic occupational name for a worker or dealer in wool, from Old French la(i)ne ‘wool’ (Latin lana).

French: from a diminutive of Boure, probably a nickname for someone who habitually dressed in brown, or a metonymic occupational name for a worker in the wool trade, from Old French b(o)ure, a type of coarse reddish brown woolen cloth with long hairs (Late Latin burra ‘coarse untreated wool’). However, the word had many other senses in Old French, among them ‘cushion’, ‘harness’, ‘collar’, ‘crest’, and ‘headdress’; the surname could equally have arisen as an occupational name for a maker or seller of any of these items, or as a nickname derived from one of these other senses. French: occupational name for a judicial torturer, from Old French bourreau, a derivative of bourrer, literally ‘to card wool’ and by extension ‘to maltreat or torture’. It may also be an occupational name for a wool carder, but the corresponding vocabulary word in Old French does not seem to be recorded in this sense. In some cases the name may be of English origin, a variant of the cognate Burrell. This name is found chiefly in LA and TX.

French: from Old French du pin ‘from the pine’ (from Latin pinus), hence a topographic name for someone who lived near a prominent pine tree, or a habitational name from any of the numerous minor places named Le Pin (‘the pine’).

Muslim: variant of Abdo.

An ancient French family, who embracing the doctrines of the Reformation, suffered much persecution, both in the XVI. and XVII. centuries. They resided for many generations at La Tremblade, in the province of Santonge. The first settler in Ireland was Monsieur Elie Tardy, who took up his residence at Dublin about 1760.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with black hair or a dark complexion, from Middle High German swarz, German schwarz, Yiddish shvarts ‘dark’, ‘black’. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

Altered form of German Hilgard, from the female personal name Hildegard, composed of the Germanic elements hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’ + gard ‘fortress’, ‘stronghold’.

English: topographic name for someone who lived in a narrow valley, Middle English combe or habitational name from a place named with this word (see Coombe). Irish: reduced form of McCombe (see McComb). French: topographic name from Gaulish cumba ‘(narrow) valley’, ‘combe’. Compare Lacombe.

Portuguese: topographic name for someone who lived by a conspicuous oak tree, carvalho, or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word. This name is also found in western India, where it was taken by Portuguese colonists.

Portuguese and Galician: occupational name for a hunter, moneiro. This name is also found in western India, where it was taken by Portuguese colonists.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a person with red hair, from Middle High German rot, German rot ‘red’. As a Jewish surname it is also at least partly ornamental: its frequency as a Jewish surname is disproportionate to the number of Jews who, one may reasonably assume, were red-headed during the period of surname adoption. German and English: topographic name for someone who lived on land that had been cleared, Old High German rod, Old English rod, roð. German: from a short form of any of the various Germanic personal names with the first element hrod ‘renown’. Compare Rode 1, Ross 3.

French: nickname from cocq ‘cock’, ‘cockerel’ (see Cocke), with the definite article le.

French: from a pet form of a Germanic personal name from bald ‘bold’, ‘brave’.

French: derivative of Mange. English and Irish: variant of Mangan, perhaps, in the case of the Irish name, of Manning.

Bruno, from the latin "prunum"—prunes, or prune tree.This surname should not be associated with the Germanic "brun" - dark complexion - but with "brunna, prunja" - breast plate, cuirass.

French and English: topographic name for someone who lived by the outer wall of a castle (see Bailey 2).

French: from a diminutive of Bon.

English (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name from any of the five places in Normandy or several others elsewhere in France so named. The place name comes from Old French beu, bel ‘fair’, ‘lovely’ + mont ‘hill’. There are also places in England so named under Norman influence (in Cumberland, Lancashire, and Essex, the last of which changed its name in the 12th century from Fulepet ‘foul pit’ to Bealmont ‘beautiful hill’); these may also have given rise to cases of the surname. The surname is now widespread throughout England, but most common in Yorkshire.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from the personal name Aubin (Latin Albinus, a derivative of albus ‘white’). This was the name of several minor early Christian saints, including a famous bishop of Angers (died c. 554). At an early date, this name became confused with the Germanic personal name Albuin (see Albin).

French: variant of Thierry.

French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements grim ‘mask’ + waldan ‘to govern’.

from Occitan l’abat ‘the priest’. Compare Labbe. topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, from Gascon dialect la bat ‘the valley’, equivalent of French Lavalle.

The surname 'Bonnefoy' is a traditional French surname. The name is derived from the French words 'bonne', meaning good, and 'foi' meaning faith.

French, German, English, and Scottish: from a Germanic personal name composed hrod ‘renown’ + -nand ‘bold’, assimilated to -lant ‘land’. Compare Rowland. Scottish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ruadháin (see Ruane, Rowan).

French: from Old French, Old Occitan bureau, burel ‘frieze’, ‘coarse woolen material’ (see Borel).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): status name for a peasant or nickname meaning ‘neighbor’, ‘fellow citizen’, from Middle High German (ge)bur, Middle Low German bur, denoting an occupant of a bur, a small dwelling or building. Compare Old English bur, modern English bower. This word later fell together with Middle High German buwære, an agent noun from Old High German buan ‘to cultivate’, later also (at first in Low German dialects) ‘to build’. The German surname thus has two possible senses: ‘peasant’ and ‘neighbor’, ‘fellow citizen’. The precise meaning of the Jewish surname, which is of later formation, is unclear. This surname is also found elsewhere in central and eastern Europe, for example in Slovenia, where it may also be a translation of Kmet.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: occupational name from Old French tavernier ‘innkeeper’ (Late Latin tabernarius from taberna ‘shop’, ‘inn’).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a carpenter, Middle High German zimbermann (a compound of zimber, zim(m)er ‘timber’, ‘wood’ + mann ‘man’), German Zimmermann.

Portuguese and Galician: habitational name from any of the numerous places in Portugal and Galicia called Moreira, from moreira ‘mulberry tree’.

German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Wolf.

French: topographic name for someone who lived on or near a hill, from Old French montaine ‘hill’, ‘(small) mountain’ (see Montagna); or a habitational name from any of the many places in France so called.

i)Bapt.; v. Goll and and Jolland. (a) Nick.; v. Gallant. A possible modification, but (1) is the probable origin, being a Lincolnshire surname.

French (Labbé): from Old French l’abe(t), ‘the priest’; an occupational name for someone employed in the household of a priest, or in some cases perhaps for the priest himself.

French: occupational name for a goatherd, from an agent derivative of chèvre ‘goat’ (Latin capra ‘nanny goat’).

French: from Old Norman French cardon ‘thistle’ (a diminutive of carde, from Latin carduus), hence a topographic name for someone who lived on land overgrown with thistles, an occupational name for someone who carded wool (originally a process carried out with thistles and teasels), or perhaps a nickname for a prickly and unapproachable person. French: possibly from a reduced form of the personal name Ricardon, a pet form of Richard. English: variant spelling of Carden, cognate with 1.

French (Chrétien): see Christian.

French: from a pet name derived from the personal name Babylas; it was the name of patriarch of Antioch who was beatified in the 3rd century. Jewish (from Belarus): metronymic from the personal name Babe. Jewish (from Belarus): habitational name from Babino, a village in Belarus. Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish (Babyn): metronymic or patronymic from baba ‘grandmother’, ‘old woman’, either meaning son of an old woman or a nickname denoting a fussy man. Serbian: nickname from baba ‘grandmother’ or babo ‘father’.

French: variant of Borde. Catalan: variant (plural) of Borda. German: from the genitive form of a personal name formed with Bord (Gothic baurd, Old Norse bordh ‘shield’), for example Herbord.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Jacques.

French: nickname for a handsome man (perhaps also ironically for an ugly one), from Old French beu, bel ‘fair’, ‘lovely’ (Late Latin bellus), with the definite article le. Compare Beau, Lebel.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French and English: nickname from Old French grand, grant ‘tall’, ‘large’ (occasionally used to denote seniority rather than size), with the French definite article le. It was taken to the U.S. also as Huguenot name.

French: topographic name for someone who lived by a granary, a variant of Grange, with the definite article la.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Pierre, French form of Peter.

Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name Pedro, Portuguese equivalent of Peter.

French: variant spelling of Lasalle. Jewish: Frenchified spelling of Lossal, a habitational name from Loslau, the German name of Wlodislaw Slaski in Silesia.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Paris.

Portuguese, Galician, and Jewish (Sephardic): habitational name from any of the many places called Silva, or a topographic name from silva ‘thicket’, ‘bramble’.

French: from the personal name Christophe, French form of Christopher.

French (Maître): occupational name for one who was the head of a craft or trade guild, from Old French maistre ‘master’ (Latin magister).

French and Channel Islands (Jersey): occupational name for a shoemaker or cobbler (rarely a tailor), from Old French sueur ‘one who sews’ (from Latin sutor), with the definite article le.

French (Prévôt) and English: variant of Prevost.

French Canadian form of Faucheux ‘mower’.

French: topographic name for someone living near a spring or well (see Font).

French, Catalan, and Occitan: from the personal name Sicard, from Germanic Sigihard (see Siegert).

This surname is derived from an official title. 'the sergeant' or Serjeant, an officer of the law, a policeman. Few surnames have undergone more varieties of spelling than this. Even in our latest dictionaries two forms are recognized. Agreeing with Old French sergant and serjant, Serjaunt is the commonest form in early rolls.

French: from an ancient Germanic personal name composed of the elements folk ‘people’ + wald ‘rule’.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Jacques.

Catalan: occupational name for a blacksmith or a worker in iron, from Latin ferrarius. This is the commonest Catalan surname. English: variant of Farrar.

French: from avril ‘April’ (Latin aprilis) (see April).

Portuguese: from correia ‘leather strap’, ‘belt’, ‘rein’, ‘shoelace’ (Latin corrigia ‘fastening’, from corrigere ‘to straighten’, ‘to correct’), applied as a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of such articles.

French: from Old French pel(l)erin, pelegrin ‘pilgrim’; a nickname for a person who had been on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land or to a famous holy site elsewhere. See also Pilgrim.

English: variant spelling of Forrest. It is also found in both French and Catalan as a surname in this spelling, with the same origin and meaning. Translation of French Laforêt (see Laforest).

Southern French: topographic name for someone living near an abadie, which means both ‘abbey’ and ‘family chapel’ (from Late Latin abbatia ‘priest’s house’). Americanized spelling of Hungarian Abádi, a habitational name for someone from a place called Abád in Heves county, Abádszalók in Pest county, or other places named after the ancient Aba clan.

Catalan (Pagès): occupational name for a peasant farmer or agricultural laborer, from pagès ‘peasant’ (Late Latin pagensis, a derivative of pagus ‘village’, ‘country district’).

Muslim: variant of Abdullah.

Spanish (Álvarez): from a patronymic form of the personal name Álvaro (see Alvaro).

Italian: patronymic or plural form of Ferraro.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from the Old French personal name Hue, variant of Hugues (see Hugh). Vietnamese: unexplained.

French: nickname from Old French guingnart ‘someone who winks’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English: variant spelling of Port. French: from Old French porte ‘gateway’, ‘entrance’ (from Latin porta), hence a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town (typically, the man in charge of them). Jewish (Sephardic): variant of Porta.

English: topographic name for someone who lived beside a stream, from northern Middle English bekke ‘stream’ (Old Norse bekkr). English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in northern France, for example Bec Hellouin in Eure, named with Old Norman French bec ‘stream’, from the same Old Norse root as in 1. English: probably a nickname for someone with a prominent nose, from Middle English beke ‘beak (of a bird)’ (Old French bec). English: metonymic occupational name for a maker, seller, or user of mattocks or pickaxes, from Old English becca. In some cases the name may represent a survival of an Old English byname derived from this word. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a baker, a cognate of Baker, from (older) South German beck, West Yiddish bek. Some Jewish bearers of the name claim that it is an acronym of Hebrew ben-kedoshim ‘son of martyrs’, i.e. a name taken by one whose parents had been martyred for being Jews. North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Low German Beke ‘stream’. Compare the High German form Bach 1. Scandinavian: habitational name for someone from a farmstead named Bekk, Bæk, or Bäck, or a topographic name for someone who lived by a stream.

French and Swiss French: from the Old French personal name Gontier, composed of the Germanic elements gund ‘battle’ + hari, heri ‘army’. Compare Gunter.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: habitational name from places so called in Gers and Haut-Pyrenées, a southern form of Lalande.

French, English, and Dutch: from the Germanic personal name Godin-, a pet form of any of various compound names beginning with god, got ‘god’. Compare Godbold, Goddard, and Godfrey.

French: from a pet form of Bert. Perhaps also a variant spelling of English Burton.

French: topographic name for someone who lived beside a path (rather than in a town), with fused preposition and article du ‘from the’ + French chemin ‘path’, ‘way’ (from Late Latin caminus, a word of Celtic origin).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Southern French: topographic name for someone who lived by an oak tree or oak grove, from Occitan garric (masculine) ‘kermes oak’ or garrique (feminine) ‘grove of kermes oaks’. English (Norfolk): variant of Geary 2.

German: from the German personal name Stephan, a vernacular form of Latin Stephanus (see Steven).

English, Welsh, French, South Indian, etc.: from the personal name George, Greek Georgios, from an adjectival form, georgios ‘rustic’, of georgos ‘farmer’. This became established as a personal name in classical times through its association with the fashion for pastoral poetry. Its popularity in western Europe increased at the time of the Crusades, which brought greater contact with the Orthodox Church, in which several saints and martyrs of this name are venerated, in particular a saint believed to have been martyred at Nicomedia in ad 303, who, however, is at best a shadowy figure historically. Nevertheless, by the end of the Middle Ages St. George had become associated with an unhistorical legend of dragon-slaying exploits, which caught the popular imagination throughout Europe, and he came to be considered the patron saint of England among other places. As an American family name, this has absorbed cognates from other European languages, including German Georg and Greek patronymics such as Georgiou, Georgiadis, Georgopoulos, and the status name Papageorgiou ‘priest George’. In English-speaking countries, this surname is also found as an Anglicized form of Greek surnames such as Hatzigeorgiou ‘George the Pilgrim’ and patronymics such as Giorgopoulos ‘son of George’. It is used as a given name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. has come to be used as a surname among families from southern India.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Portuguese ((da) Câmara) and Spanish (Cámara): from cámara ‘(main) room’ (from Latin camera), hence an occupational name for a courtier or servant who had access to the private living quarters of a king or noble.

French: variant of Henry 1.

French: see Lamothe.

This is an Italian surname of medieval origin. It is a derivative of the popular biblical personal name Jacob and the parallel form of James. The Dictionary of Italian Surnames suggests that the meaning of the surname may be "Beautiful James".

(French) One who gathered, or sold, salt.

French: topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of stony soil or by a large outcrop of rock, from Old French pierre ‘stone’, ‘rock’ (Latin petra, from Greek), with the definite article la, or a habitational name from various places named Lapierre or La Pierre, with the same meaning. It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a quarryman or stone carver. In the U.S. it is often translated as Stone.

French (Normandy and Picardy): from a Germanic name of uncertain origin. The first element is probably the tribal name Gaut (apparently the same as Old English Geatas, the Scandinavian people to which Beowulf belonged, and also akin to the name of the Goths); the second is berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.

southern French: from a southern pet form of the personal name Pierre, French form of Peter. This name is also established in England, taken there by the Huguenots. French: habitational name from places in Côte d’Or, Manche, Jura, and Mayenne named Perron or Le Perron, from pierre ‘stone’, ‘rock’. Spanish (Perrón): probably from an augmentative of perro ‘dog’. Italian: shortened form of Perrone.

possibly from a diminutive of Old French bisse ‘fine linen’ (see Bisset). (Normandy) topographic name for someone who lived in an area of scrub land or by a prominent clump of bushes, from Old French buisson ‘bush’, ‘scrub’ (a diminutive of bois ‘wood’).

Spanish: from Spanish clavel or Catalan clavell ‘clove’, earlier also ‘nail’, a derivative of Latin clavellus ‘nail’, applied as a metonymic occupational name for a spice trader or a nail maker. French: metonymic occupational name for a nail maker from a derivative of Latin clavellus, but in some cases possibly from the same word in the sense ‘smallpox’, ‘rash’.

Dutch, Danish, North German, English, Polish, etc.; Czech and Slovak (Ján): from the personal name Jan, a vernacular form of Latin Johannes (see John). Slovenian: from a pet form of the personal name Janez (see John). Muslim: unexplained. Chinese : variant of Zhan.

French: nickname for a wine drinker, from Old French bei(vre), boi(vre) ‘to drink’ + vin ‘wine’. This name is sometimes translated as Drinkwine.

French (Dupré): topographic name for someone ‘from the (du) meadow pré’ (Old French pred).

French: topographic name for someone who lived near a tower, usually a defensive fortification or watchtower, from Old French tur; or a habitational name from various places called Latour or La Tour. This is a French Canadian secondary surname, which has also been used independently since 1705.

French: from the personal name Charlet, a pet form of Charles.

English and French (Léonard): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements leo ‘lion’ (a late addition to the vocabulary of Germanic name elements, taken from Latin) + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’, which was taken to England by the Normans. A saint of this name, who is supposed to have lived in the 6th century, but about whom nothing is known except for a largely fictional life dating from half a millennium later, was popular throughout Europe in the early Middle Ages and was regarded as the patron of peasants and horses. Irish (Fermanagh): adopted as an English equivalent of Gaelic Mac Giolla Fhionáin or of Langan. Americanized form of Italian Leonardo or cognate forms in other European languages.

English: variant of Major 1. French: from the same personal name as 1, or from a short form of the personal name Amauger, from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements amal ‘strength’, ‘vigor’ + gar, ger ‘spear’. South German: dialect variant of Maunker, nickname for a morose person.

Armorially identified with Boun or Bohun. See Boon.

French (Château): from Old French chastel ‘castle’, ‘fortified building’, a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a castle or an occupational name for someone who worked in one.

Spanish and Catalan: habitational name from any of numerous places named Molina, in particular the one in Guadalajara province.

French: metonymic occupational name for a corn merchant or factor, one who measured grain, from Old French boisse(l), buissel, ‘bushel’, ‘measure of grain’, of Gaulish origin. The name may also have been applied to a maker of vessels designed to hold or measure out a bushel.

French: nickname from Old French tison ‘firebrand’ (see Tyson 2). Possibly an altered spelling of German Theisen.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Brès (see Brice).

French: topographic name for someone who lived beside a road, track, or pathway, Old French rue (Latin ruga ‘crease’, ‘fold’), with the definite article la.

African: unexplained. Compare Bah. Arabic: from a shortened form of Aba, accusative case of Abu ‘father’. Vietnamese: unexplained. Chinese : from the name of the kingdom of Ba, which existed in Sichuan during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Descendants of some of the ruling class adopted the name of the kingdom as their surname. This character still has as one of its meanings an ancient name for Sichuan province. Researchers believe that another branch of the Ba clan came from Shanxi province during the Han dynasty (206 bc–220 ad). Additionally, when Manchus and Mongolians came from the north to China several hundred years ago, many adopted the surname Ba.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Portuguese: occupational name from soeiro ‘swineherd’, Latin suerius. English: patronymic from a nickname for someone with reddish hair, from Anglo-Norman French sor ‘chestnut (color)’.

French (Duchesne): topographic name from Old French chesne ‘oak’, with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’.

French: from a diminutive of Bland.

Spanish (León): habitational name from León, a city in northwestern Spain, named with Latin legio, genitive legionis ‘legion’, a division of the Roman army. In Roman times the city was the garrison of the 7th Legion, known as the Legio Gemina. The city’s name became reduced from Legion(em) to Leon(em), and in this form developed an unetymological association with the word for ‘lion’, Spanish león. Spanish: from the personal name León, from Greek leon ‘lion’ (see Lyon 2). Leon is also found as a Greek family name. Spanish: nickname for a fierce or brave warrior, from león ‘lion’. French (Léon) and English: variant of Lyon.

From Serez; a location name in Normandy. from the French, Serès; from the Flemish, Serruys; a personal name.

French (Lécuyer): from écuyer, originally meaning ‘shield-bearer’ (Latin scutarius, a derivative of scutum ‘shield’). This became a status name for a man belonging to the social rank immediately below that of knight. The surname came to America with the Huguenots. It is sometimes translated as Cook; the original term having lost transparency of meaning, it was taken as a derivative of cuire ‘to cook’.

French (Bérard): from a personal name of Germanic origin, formed with ber ‘bear’.

French: regional name denoting someone from Burgundy (Old French Bourgogne), a region of eastern France having Dijon as its center. The area was invaded by the Burgundii, a Germanic tribe from whom it takes its name, in about ad 480. The duchy of Burgundy, created in 877 by Charles II, King of the Western Franks, was extremely powerful in the later Middle Ages, especially under Philip the Bold (1342–1404; duke from 1363).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

German and English: from a medieval personal name, Godebert, composed of the Germanic elements god ‘good’ or god, got ‘god’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. The name was popularized in England by the Normans, and probably absorbed an Old English form Godbeorht. An Exeter moneyer named Godbryt is recorded in the reign of King Canute (1016–35).

French: diminutive of Hamel 2.

Baldwin, Ranulph, and William Buscart or Buschart occur in Normandy 1198, MRS; Henry Boscard in Salop 1203 (Rotulus Cancellarii). Leighton-Buzzard derives its name from this family.

(French) see under Barrat(t2 in Dict.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Scottish: occupational name for a smith, one who shoed horses, Middle English and Old French ferrier, from medieval Latin ferrarius, from ferrus ‘horseshoe’, from Latin ferrum ‘iron’. Compare Farrar. Scottish: possibly an occupational name for a ferryman. Black reports that lands called Ferrylands in Dumbarton, by a ferry across the Clyde, belonged to Robert Ferrier in 1512. Possibly southern French: occupational name for a smith, a variant of Ferrié (see Ferrie).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French and English: from the Old French personal name Maurice (see Morris).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements bald ‘bold’, ‘brave’ + win ‘friend’ (see Baldwin).

French: variant of Borel.

French and English (of Norman origin): variant of Archer, with the French definite article l(e).

French (Normandy and Picardy) and Dutch: variant spelling of Capel. Dutch and Belgian: occupational name for someone who worked in a chapel, from Middle Dutch kapel ‘chapel’, ‘church’. In some instances this may be a shortened form of van de Capelle, a topographic name for someone who lived by a chapel, or van Capelle, a habitational name for someone from any of various places named with this word, such as Kapelle-op-de-Bos or Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle, both in the Belgian province of Brabant.

The surname, Delpech, comes from the Occitan language, that was spoken (and still is by some people) in the southwest region of France. Del means 'from' and pech means 'hill', so it literally means 'from the hill'.

French: occupational name for a traveling boilermaker.

(English) One who came from Barden (valley where barley grew), in Yorkshire.

(French) One who tool care of cattle.

Variant of Spanish González (see Gonzalez).

French, also Hungarian: from the personal name Marcel (Latin Marcellus, a diminutive of Marcus (see Mark 1), which was borne by a 3rd-century missionary to Gaul who was martyred at Bourges with his companion Anastasius).

French (Prud’homme) and English (of Norman origin): nickname from Old French prud’homme ‘wise’, ‘sensible man’, a cliché term of approbation from the chivalric romances. It is a compound of Old French proz, prod ‘good’, with the vowel influenced by crossing with prudent ‘wise’ + homme ‘man’.

French and English: from a medieval personal name, derived from the distinguishing epithet of St. John the Baptist, who baptized people, including Jesus Christ, in the river Jordan (Mark 1:9), and was later beheaded by Herod. The name is from Latin Baptista (Greek baptistes, a derivative of the verb baptizein ‘to dip in liquid’, ‘to baptize’).

topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary, Old French marque (Germanic marca); or a habitational name from places named Lamarque or La Marque. metonymic nickname for someone with a noticeable birthmark or scar, or for someone who had been disfigured by branding (a relatively common medieval punishment), from Old French marque ‘mark’ (a transferred use of 1).

Spanish and Portuguese: from Spanish and Portuguese machado ‘hatchet’ (a derivative of Macho 2), probably a nickname, but possibly also a habitational name, as this word is also a common element of place names.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Dutch (De Vos): from Middle Dutch de vos ‘the fox’; a nickname for someone with red hair, or a crafty man. Respelling of the French topographic name Devault.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French and English: nickname for a heavy drinker, from Old French chopine, a large liquid measure (from Middle Low German schopen ‘ladle’). The derived Old French verb chopiner has the sense ‘to tipple’, ‘to drink to excess’. Possibly, though less likely, the surname may have been acquired as a metonymic occupational name for a maker of ladles or vessels used in the casting of metal, which were also called chopines. French and English: nickname for a pugnacious person, from Old French chopin ‘violent blow’ (in form a diminutive of chop ‘blow’, Latin colpus, from Greek kolaphos). Shortened and altered form, under French influence, of Polish Szopinski (see Szopinski).

English and French: from the personal name Coll + the pejorative suffix -ard.

from a reduced form of Robillet, itself a pet form of Robert. metonymic occupational name for a carpenter, from a diminutive of Old French bille ‘piece of wood’, ‘stick’ (a word of Gaulish origin). metonymic occupational name for a secretary, from a diminutive of Old French bulle ‘letter’. This sense of billet did not become established until the 15th century, however, rather late for surname formation. Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a banker or money changer, from German Billet ‘note’, ‘banknote’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

variant of Schaffer 1. variant of Schaefer.

French: from a pet form of Droue, an unattested variant of the personal name Dreue. This is from the Germanic personal name Drogo (see Drew 2).

Spanish (Jiménez): patronymic from the medieval personal name Jimeno, which is of pre-Roman origin.

French: from the personal name Janvier ‘January’ (see January 1).

French: nickname for someone with red hair or for a cunning person, from Old French goupil ‘fox’, Late Latin vulpiculus, a diminutive of classical Latin vulpes, a distant cognate of Wolf. This was replaced as a vocabulary word during the Middle Ages by renard, originally a personal name. Compare Reynard, the name borne by the fox in the popular beast tales.

French and English: from the medieval female personal name Catherine, Latin Caterina. This is of uncertain origin, being first attested in Greek in the form Aikaterine but later affected by folk etymological associations with Greek katharos ‘pure’. It was borne by various early Christian saints, and was popular throughout the Middle Ages.

topographic name for someone living by a shrine, from French chapelle ‘chapel’, ‘shrine’. variant of Chapel ‘hat maker’.

habitational name from any of several places called Chabot, from caput ‘head’, ‘summit’. from chabot ‘bull-head’, a species of fish with a large head, hence a nickname for someone with a big head and a small body.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English: status name for a mayor, Middle English, Old French mair(e) (from Latin maior ‘greater’, ‘superior’; compare Mayor). In France the title denoted various minor local officials, and the same is true of Scotland (see Mair 1). In England, however, the term was normally restricted to the chief officer of a borough, and the surname may have been given not only to a citizen of some standing who had held this office, but also as a nickname to a pompous or officious person. German and Dutch: variant of Meyer 1. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Meyer 2.

French and English: from Old French jardin ‘enclosure’, ‘garden’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a garden or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in one. Compare English Gardner.

Spanish (Félix), Portuguese, English, German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a medieval personal name (Latin Felix, genitive Felicis, meaning ‘lucky’, ‘fortunate’). This was a relatively common Roman family name, said to have been first adopted as a nickname by Sulla. It was very popular among early Christians and was borne by a large number of early saints.

religious byname from Portuguese vieria ‘scallop’ (Late Latin veneria, a derivative of the name of Venus; the goddess was often depicted riding on a scallop). The scallop was a symbol of the pilgrim who had been to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. habitational name from any of numerous minor places called Vieiria.

Possibly a variant of French Ferré (see Ferree). Catalan (Ferré): respelling of Catalan Ferrer, from ferrer ‘smith’, reflecting the pronounciation.

French: from Old French oisel ‘bird’, with the definite article l(e), probably a nickname for a small birdlike person, but possibly also a metonymic occupational name for a bird-catcher.

English: unexplained. French (Lorraine): according to Morlet, an Alemannic variant of Kühni (see Kuehn). Perhaps also in some cases an Americanized form of German Kühne (see Kuehn).

French: from the Old French female personal name Alix or Alis, short form of the Germanic personal name Adalhaidis (see Allis). from a short form of Alexander.

French: topographic name, from Old French haye ‘hedge’, with the definite article la.

French: topographic name for someone who lived near a sorb or service tree, Old French cormier (from corme, the name of the fruit for which the tree was cultivated, apparently of Gaulish origin).

Spanish: from the personal name Alonso, a cognate of Alfonso.

West African: probably a variant of the Muslim name Diab.

English, Portuguese, Galician, Spanish, Catalan, and French: occupational name for a shepherd, Anglo-Norman French pastre (oblique case pastour), Portuguese, Galician, Spanish, Catalan, pastor ‘shepherd’, from Latin pastor, an agent derivative of pascere ‘to graze’. The religious sense of a spiritual leader was rare in the Middle Ages, and insofar as it occurs at all it seems always to be a conscious metaphor; it is unlikely, therefore, that this sense lies behind any examples of the surname. German and Dutch: humanistic name, a Latinized form of various vernacular names meaning ‘shepherd’, for example Hirt or Schäfer (see Schafer). Americanized spelling of Hungarian Pásztor, an occupational name from pásztor ‘shepherd’.

French and Romanian: from the medieval personal name Constantin, French and Romanian form of Constantine. Shortened form of Greek Konstantinos, from the personal name (see Constantine).

English: from a medieval personal name, a survival of Old English Mæssa, which came to be taken as a pet form of Matthew. English: possibly a metonymic occupational name for a mace-bearer, from Old French masse ‘mace’. English: habitational name from Macé in Orne, France. French (Macé): variant of Massey; also a vernacular form of the personal name Mathieu (see Matthew).

French: habitational name from a place so named in Oise, or alternatively from any of numerous minor places throughout France named Beauvoir or Beauvir ‘lovely view’.

habitational name from El Soler, a town in El Rosselló district, northern Catalonia, or form any other place named El Soler or with Soler, from soler ‘ground’, ‘floor’ (Late Latin solarium, a derivative of solum ‘bottom’, ‘ground’). occupational name from Catalan soler, the person who makes or sells soles (of canvas sandals or shoes). This is a very common Catalan name.

French: variant of Constant.

Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): metronymic from the Yiddish female given name Henye, a pet form of Hanna. The initial G is due to Russian influence, since Russian has no H and alters H in borrowed words to G.

Vietnamese (Lý) and Hmong: unexplained. English: variant of Lye.

French: from the personal name, French form of Hillary 1.

French: patronymic from the personal name Jean, French equivalent of John.

Bastidon is a French word that means a 'small bastide', which is stone farmhouse in the south of the France.

French: from the Germanic personal name Milo (see Miles 1). English: variant spelling of Mill. Dutch: variant of Miele.

French: metonymic occupational name for a cartwright, from Old French charron ‘cart’ (Latin carro, genitive carronis, a derivative of carrum ‘cart’).

Catalan, French, English, German (also Romann), Polish, Hungarian (Román), Romanian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian: from the Latin personal name Romanus, which originally meant ‘Roman’. This name was borne by several saints, including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen. English, French, and Catalan: regional or ethnic name for someone from Rome or from Italy in general, or a nickname for someone who had some connection with Rome, as for example having been there on a pilgrimage. Compare Romero.

German: from a reduced form of Friedrich.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: topographic name for someone who lived on a piece of land overgrown with bushes or scrub, Old French barthe (a word probably of Gaulish origin). German: metonymic occupational name for someone who made (battle)axes, from Middle High German barte, Middle Low German barde ‘axe’.

Dutch and French: from a variant of the personal name Mathias (see Matthew). English: patronymic from a pet form of Matthew.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Jewish, German, Dutch, Danish, French, Spanish (Salomón), and Polish: the usual spelling in these languages of Solomon and a variant in others.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Middle High German bach ‘stream’. This surname is established throughout central Europe and in Scandinavia, not just in Germany. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Bach ‘stream’, ‘creek’. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Middle English bache. Welsh: distinguishing epithet from Welsh bach ‘little’, ‘small’. Norwegian: Americanized spelling of the topographic name Bakk(e) ‘hillside’ (see Bakke). Polish, Czech, and Slovak: from the personal name Bach, a pet form of Bartomolaeus (Polish Bartlomiej, Czech Bartolomej, Slovak Bartolomej (see Bartholomew) or possibly in some cases of Baltazar or Sebastian).

variant of Genest 1. from a reduced pet form of the personal name Eugène (see Eugene).

English, Scottish, and French: status name for a young servant, Middle English and Old French page (from Italian paggio, ultimately from Greek paidion, diminutive of pais ‘boy’, ‘child’). The surname is also common in Ireland (especially Ulster and eastern Galway), having been established there since the 16th century. North German: metonymic occupational name for a horse dealer, from Middle Low German page ‘horse’. (Pagé): North American form of French Paget.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Philippe.

French: nickname for a handsome man (perhaps also ironically for an ugly one), from Old French beu, bel ‘fair’, ‘lovely’ (Late Latin bellus). See also Bel.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Bosc is an old word for 'wood'; therefore could be a name associated with former peasant families. It is common in regions like the South of France, Spain and Italy, as various forms of the name and word appear in ancient dialects of these regions.

African: unexplained. Possibly from Arabic nadiy ‘generous’, ‘open-handed’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Déville in Seine-Maritime, France, probably named with Latin dei villa ‘settlement of (i.e. under the protection of) God’. This name was interpreted early on as a prepositional phrase de ville or de val and applied to dwellers in a town or valley (see Ville and Vale). English: nickname from Middle English devyle, Old English deofol ‘devil’ (Latin diabolus, from Greek diabolos ‘slanderer’, ‘enemy’), referring to a mischievous youth or perhaps to someone who had acted the role of the Devil in a pageant or mystery play. French: variant of Ville, with the preposition de.

English (London): patronymic from the personal name Piers (see Pierce). North German: patronymic from the personal name Pier, a variant of Peer, reduced form of Peter.

French: occupational name for a miller, from a regional variant of meunier ‘miller’.

French: nickname from a diminutive of More 4 or 5.

Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name António, a vernacular form of Antonius (see Anthony).

French: from a reduced pet form of Nicolas (see Nicholas). The concentration of the name in KY suggests that some other source may also be involved or that the surname was brought to North America via some other country.

French (also English): variant of Roman.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Indian (Andhra Pradesh); pronounced as two syllables: Hindu name of unknown meaning. English: variant spelling of Ann.

Dutch, German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle Dutch, Middle High German hase, German Hase ‘hare’, hence a nickname for a swift runner or a timorous or confused person, but in some cases perhaps a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a hare. As a Jewish name it can also be an ornamental name or one of names selected at random from vocabulary words by government officials when surnames became compulsory.

French: from a popular form of the personal name Mathieu, French equivalent of Matthew.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Middle High German koch, German Koch ‘cook’ (cognate with Latin coquus). The name in this sense is widespread throughout eastern and central Europe, and is also well established in Denmark. Czech and Slovak: from a pet form of any of several medieval personal names beginning with Ko-, for example Kochan, Kocián, Kojata, and Kosmas. Polish: nickname from kochac ‘to love’ (see Kochan).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

topographic name for someone who lived near an alder tree. hypercorrected form of Varnier, the form of Warner found in eastern France.

French: topographic name for someone who lived by a fish pond, from Latin vivarium, a derivative of vivus ‘alive’.

English, Scottish, German, Dutch, etc.: from the personal name Peter (Greek Petros, from petra ‘rock’, ‘stone’). The name was popular throughout Christian Europe in the Middle Ages, having been bestowed by Christ as a byname on the apostle Simon bar Jonah, the brother of Andrew. The name was chosen by Christ for its symbolic significance (John 1:42, Matt. 16:18); St. Peter is regarded as the founding head of the Christian Church in view of Christ’s saying, ‘Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church’. In Christian Germany in the early Middle Ages this was the most frequent personal name of non-Germanic origin until the 14th century. This surname has also absorbed many cognates in other languages, for example Czech Petr, Hungarian Péter. It has also been adopted as a surname by Ashkenazic Jews.

French (Leclère): metronymic from a female personal name from the dialect word clère ‘clear’ (modern French clair(e)), with the definite article le, which was feminine in the old Picard dialect. The surname may also be derived from a place in Seine-Maritime called Clère, which comes from the name of a river which rises there, La Clères ‘clear river’. North American spelling variant of Leclair or Leclerc.

French (Pélissier): from Old French pellice ‘fur cloak’ (Late Latin pellicia from pellis ‘skin’, ‘fur’), hence an occupational name for a maker of fur garments or a nickname for someone who wore furs. The surname was taken to Britain by Huguenot refugees; Reaney and Wilson mention a Huguenot, Abel Pelessier, who settled in Ireland.

Portuguese: from the personal name Duarte, Portuguese equivalent of Edward.

French: nickname meaning ‘love’.

French (also English, imported to Britain by the Normans): from the Germanic personal name Landric, a compound of land ‘land’ + ric ‘powerful’, ‘ruler’.

English: variant of Rolling.German: of Slavic origin, a habitational name from an unidentified place.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from a diminutive of Bon.

French and Dutch: from a pet form of Miche, a short form of the personal name Michel (see Michael).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: variant spelling of Raymond.

French: from a regional variant of the personal name Dominique. Compare Demanche.

French: variant of Salle 1. Catalan (Sallés): possibly variant of Sellés, or variant of Cellers, two habitational names from the so named Catalan towns. Catalan: plural variant of Salla, unexplained. This name is common in the Lleida region.

French (of Norman origin) and English: nickname for someone who behaved like a marquis or an occupational name for a servant in the household of a marquis, from Old Northern French marquis. The title originally referred to the governor of a border territory (from a Germanic word; compare March 1 and Mark 2). Marquises did not form part of the original French feudal structure of nobility; the title was first adopted by the Counts of Toulouse because of their possessions in the border region beyond the Rhône. Scottish: shortened form of McMarquis (Gaelic Mac Marcuis), a patronymic from the personal name Marcus (see Mark).

French: topographic name for someone who lived in the main market square of a town or village, Old French place (Late Latin platea (via) ‘broad street’, from Greek platys, feminine plateia ‘broad’, ‘wide’).

African (Touré) and Muslim: unexplained.

Chinese : from a character meaning ‘prince’. There are numerous unrelated Wang clans, descendants of various princes of the Shang (1766–1122 bc) and Zhou (1122–221 bc) dynasties, including in particular descendants of the Shang dynasty prince Bi Gan and descendants of Bi Gonggao, 15th son of the virtuous duke Wen Wang, who was granted the state of Wei (a different state of Wei than that granted the eighth son; compare Sun). Chinese : from the name of a state or area called Wang. From ancient times through the Xia (2205–1766 bc) and Shang (1766–1122 bc) dynasties there existed a state of Wang. Later, during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), there also existed an area named Wang in the state of Lu. Some descendants of the ruling class of both areas took the place name Wang as their surname. Korean: there is one Chinese character for the surname Wang. Some sources indicate that there are fifteen Wang clans, but only two can be identified: the Kaesong Wang clan and the Chenam Wang clan. The Kaesong Wang clan, which originated in China, ruled the Korean peninsula for almost five hundred years as the ruling dynasty of the Koryo period (918–1392). There are some indications that the Kaesong Wang clan was present in the ancient Choson Kingdom (?194 bc). When the Chonju Yi clan seized power in 1392 and established the Choson kingdom, many of the members of the Kaesong Wang clan changed their names and went into hiding to avoid being persecuted by the new ruling dynasty. The Chenam Wang clan is also of Chinese origin. The Chenam Wang clan is much smaller than the Kaesong Wang clan. German and Dutch: from Middle German wang, Middle Dutch waenge, literally ‘cheek’, but also in southern German having the transferred sense ‘grassy slope’ or ‘field of grass’. It was thus either a topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow or a descriptive nickname for someone with noticeable cheeks (for example, round or rosy). Jewish (Ashkenazic): either a borrowing of the German name (see 4), or else a regional name for a Jew from Hungary (compare Russian Vengria ‘Hungary’). Scandinavian: variant spelling of Vang 1.

French: ethnic name for an Englishman, from French anglais ‘English(man)’, with the definite article l’. This name is sometimes Americanized as Langley.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from German braun ‘brown’ (Middle High German brun), referring to the color of the hair, complexion, or clothing, or from the personal name Bruno, which was borne by the Dukes of Saxony, among others, from the 10th century or before. It was also the name of several medieval German and Italian saints, including St. Bruno, the founder of the Carthusian order (1030–1101), who was born in Cologne.

from the Germanic personal name Huard, composed of hug ‘heart’, ‘mind’, ‘spirit’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. Compare Howard. nickname from Old French huard ‘owl’ (a derivative of huer ‘to cry or howl’). There has probably also been some confusion with Houard.

French: from a pet form of the personal name Simon.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: variant of Lafont.

French: from a medieval personal name (Latin Delphinus, from delphis ‘dolphin’). This name was borne by a 4th-century saint who was bishop of Bordeaux, and from the early 12th century it was in use as a hereditary personal name in the family of the counts of Albon, so that it soon came to be used as a title and led to their territory (capital Grenoble) being known as the Dauphiné. When it became part of the Kingdom of France in 1349, the title of dauphin thereafter denoted the heir-apparent to the throne, and it is possible that in some cases this is the origin of the surname, either denoting a member of the Dauphin’s household or applied as a nickname in the sense of ‘prince’.

French: from Middle French claverie (a derivative of Latin clavis ‘key’), a term denoting a receiving office for coffer keys; by extension, this was probably an occupational name for the person who administered such an office.

Spanish (Río), Portuguese, and Italian: from río ‘river’, ‘brook’ (from Latin rivus), applied either as a topographic name or as a habitational name from a place named with this word. Southern French (Occitan): variant of Rioux.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: from olive ‘olive’ (see Oliva). English: usually an Americanized form of a Romance name such as Oliva, Olivo, etc. Catalan (Olivé): variant spelling of Oliver.

Southern French: occupational name for someone who had charge of keys, a chatelain, treasurer, or ceremonial official, from Old French clavier ‘doorkeeper’ (from Latin clavis ‘key’).

English and French: variant spelling of Vial. German: topographic name from vil, an old word for a swamp or bog. Italian (Venetia): from a pet form of Vito.

Bellec means 'abbot' or 'priest' in the Bretagne language.

(French) Descendant of George (farmer).

English and Irish: from the personal name Davy, a medieval French vernacular form of the Biblical name David which became common in England in the Middle Ages. Scottish: variant spelling of Davie 1. French: variant of David.

Irish: reduced form of McCartan or McCartney. Northern French: occupational name for a carter, charreton, charton. French: from Old French carton, a measure of cereals; hence a metonymic occupational name for a grain merchant.

Italian: from Bianco.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Scottish: from a Scottish vernacular form of Nicholas.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

German and French: from a Germanic personal name of uncertain origin. It may have been originally a byname meaning ‘crow’. Compare Old High German hruoh, Old English hroc, an imitative formation, but Dauzat derives it from a root hroc ‘rest’. The name was fairly common in the Middle Ages and was sometimes bestowed in honor of a 14th-century saint (Latinized name Rochus) of Montpellier, remembered for his miraculous healings during an outbreak of the plague in northern Italy. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Rauch.

Chinese : from name of the region of Chen (in present-day Henan province). After overthrowing the Shang dynasty and becoming the first king of the Zhou dynasty in 1122 bc, Wu Wang searched for a descendant of the great ancient emperors to guard their memory and offer sacrifices, to help retain the ‘Mandate of Heaven’, which was considered essential to remain in power. He found Gui Man, a descendant of the model emperor Shun (2257–2205 bc), and granted him the region of Chen, along with the title Marquis of Chen and one of his daughters in marriage. Gui Man was posthumously named Chen Hugong, and his descendants came to adopt the surname Chen.

Southern French: from Occitan la caze ‘the house’ (Latin casa), hence perhaps a status name for someone living or working in a distinguished house, as opposed to a mas ‘ordinary household’.

French: habitational name from a village in Allier, the site of the (now ruined) castle of Bourbon, or from another place so named, for example one in Saône-et-Loire. The place name is of uncertain origin, according to Dauzat derived from a ‘Celtic and pre-Celtic’ element borb- describing a well or hot spring. Many bearers of the surname claim a connection with the former French royal family, but the name is also derived from residence in these villages and from the Bourbonnais, a former province in central France around Bourbon in Allier.

English and southern French: from Middle English, Old French car(r)ier (Late Latin carrarius, a derivative of carrum ‘cart’, ‘wagon’, of Gaulish origin); in English an occupational name for someone who transported goods, in French for a cartwright. French: occupational name for a stonemason or quarryman, carrier.

New England variant of the French surname Gautier. Variant of German Gauch.

French: diminutive of Roche.

English and French: from a Germanic personal name, Emaurri, composed of the elements amja ‘busy’, ‘industrious’ + ric ‘power’. The name was introduced into England from France by the Normans. There has been some confusion with Amory.

French: habitational name from any of various places named Murat, in Allier, Cantal, Corrèze, Puy-de-Dôme, and Tarn.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

French: topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary mark, Old French fitte (Late Latin fixta petra ‘fixed stone’, from the past participle of figere ‘to fix or fasten’), or habitational name from any of several places in western France named with this word.

Portuguese or Galician: patronymic from the personal name Nuno.

English: from a personal name that has the same origin as Jacob. However, among English speakers, it is now felt to be a separate name in its own right. This is largely because in the Authorized Version of the Bible (1611) the form James is used in the New Testament as the name of two of Christ’s apostles (James the brother of John and James the brother of Andrew), whereas in the Old Testament the brother of Esau is called Jacob. The form James comes from Latin Jacobus via Late Latin Jac(o)mus, which also gave rise to Jaime, the regular form of the name in Spanish (as opposed to the learned Jacobo). See also Jack and Jackman. This is a common surname throughout the British Isles, particularly in South Wales.

Southwestern French: variant of Laforge. In Canada this is secondary surname for many primary names.

French: ethnic name for an inhabitant of France (i.e., of what is now the northern part of the country, where langue d’oïl was spoken). See also Lafrance. Czech (France): see Franc 4. Slovenian: from the personal name France, a vernacular form of Francišek, Latin Franciscus (see Francis). Possibly also an Americanized spelling of German Franz.

French: from the personal name, a compound of Jean (see John) and Baptiste. This saint’s name was especially frequent as a secondary surname in French Canada.

English (of Norman origin): metonymic occupational name for a hood maker, from Old Norman French caprun, Old French chaperon ‘hood or cap (worn by the nobility)’. French: from a Picard and southern form of chaperon (see 1, above).

French: nickname for a plump person, from a diminutive of Old French rond ‘round’ (Latin rotundus).

French: from a pet form of the personal name Paul. Catalan: probably from a diminutive of poll ‘chicken’.

from the Old French oblique case of the Germanic personal name Bodo meaning ‘messenger’, ‘herald’ (see Bothe). nickname for someone with a prominent wart, carbuncle, or boil, from Old French bo(u)ton ‘knob’, ‘lump’, ‘excrescence’ (from bo(u)ter ‘to thrust or strike’). metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of buttons, from Old French bo(u)ton, the same word as in 2, specialized to mean ‘button’.

French: from a diminutive of Old French rive ‘(river) bank’, ‘shore’ (see Rives). Northern French and English: metonymic occupational name for a maker of bolts (see Rivett).

Spanish (Cortés), Catalan (Cortès), and Portuguese (Cortês): from cortés ‘courteous’, ‘polite’, a derivative of corte (see Corte), a nickname for a refined person, sometimes no doubt given ironically. Spanish and Portuguese (Cortes): habitational name from any of numerous places in Spain and Portugal named with cortes, plural of corte ‘court’.

Catalan and Italian: topographic name from Latin casa ‘house’ + nova ‘new’, or a habitational name from any of the many places named with these words.

Portuguese, Galician, and Spanish: habitational name from any of numerous places with this name, denoting a place with an abundance of cardoons.

French: from a pet form of Gérard (see Gerard).

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Barry.' There can be little doubt that this was of Norman extraction; compare the French Du Barry. The Irish Barrys have made a large inroad in the American directories. I cannot say whether they are of the same parentage or not.

Spanish: nickname from romero ‘pilgrim’, originally ‘pilgrim to Rome’ (see Romeo).

German: status name for a free man, as opposed to a bondsman or serf, in the feudal system, from Middle High German vri ‘free’, ‘independent’.

English: variant spelling of Revell. French: habitational name from any of the places so named, for example in Isère and Haute-Garonne. French and southern French: nickname from Old French, Occitan reveau ‘rebel’.

Korean (Ho): there is only one Chinese character for the Ho surname. Some records indicate that there are fifty-nine Ho clans, but only four have been identified and documented. All four clans descend from the same founding ancestor. In ad 48, a sixteen-year-old Indian princess is said to have arrived by boat on the shores of Korea. The Karak Kingdom’s King Suro married the woman, and out of respect for her origins allowed the second of their ten children to retain his mother’s surname, Ho. The Ho surname is very common and is widely distributed throughout the Korean peninsula. Vietnamese (Hô`): unexplained. Chinese: variant of He.