greatquestionsur's Personal Name List

From Old English wyrhta meaning "wright, maker", an occupational name for someone who was a craftsman. Famous bearers were Orville and Wilbur Wright, the inventors of the first successful airplane.

Originally denoted one who lived in or worked in a forest, derived from Old English wudu "wood".

Originally from the name of an English town, meaning "white island" in Old English.

Occupational name for a weaver, derived from Old English wefan "to weave".

Occupational name meaning "wagon maker, cartwright", derived from Old English wægn "wagon". A famous bearer was the American actor John Wayne (1907-1979).

Patronymic derived from the Middle English given name Wat or Watt, a diminutive of the name Walter.

Occupational name for a person who walked on damp raw cloth in order to thicken it. It is derived from Middle English walkere, Old English wealcan meaning "to move".

From Middle High German wagener meaning "wagon maker, cartwright". This name was borne by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883).

Derived from the Old English place name wæd meaning "a ford".

Occupational name for one who worked with a lathe, derived from Old English turnian "to turn", of Latin origin. A famous bearer is the American musician Tina Turner (1939-2023), born Anna Mae Bullock.

Occupational name for a fuller of cloth, derived from Old English tucian meaning "offend, torment". A fuller was a person who cleaned and thickened raw cloth by pounding it.

Derived from Old French tailleur meaning "tailor", ultimately from Latin taliare "to cut".

Occupational name for an administrative official of an estate or steward, from Old English stig "house" and weard "guard". The Stewart family (sometimes spelled Stuart) held the Scottish crown for several centuries. One of the most famous members of the Stewart family was Mary, Queen of Scots.

From one of the many places named Stanton or Staunton in England, derived from Old English stan meaning "stone" and tun meaning "enclosure, town".

Derived from various English place names meaning "stone ford" in Old English.

Occupational name for a person who dispensed provisions to those who worked at a manor, derived from Middle English spense "larder, pantry".

Means "tailor", derived from Middle English snithen "to cut", an occupational name for a person who stitched coats and clothing.

Occupational name derived from Middle High German smit "smith, metalworker", a cognate of Smith.

Occupational name meaning "sawer of wood, woodcutter" in Middle English, ultimately from Old English sagu meaning "saw". Mark Twain used it for the main character in his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Spanish form of Rosário.

From a diminutive of the given name Roland.

Occupational name meaning "doorkeeper", ultimately from Old French porte "door", from Latin porta.

Means "keeper of the park" in Middle English. It is an occupational name for a person who was a gamekeeper at a medieval park.

Means "pilgrim", ultimately from Latin palma "palm tree", since pilgrims to the Holy Land often brought back palm fronds as proof of their journey.

Means "son of Otto".

From the given name Otto.

Anglicized form of Irish Ó Murchadha meaning "descendant of Murchadh". This is the most common Irish surname.

From the Irish Ó Maoláin meaning "descendant of Maolán". The given name Maolán meant "devotee, servant, tonsured one".

Derived from the given name Morgan 1.

Originally indicated a person who lived on a moor, from Middle English mor meaning "open land, bog".

From Spanish monte meaning "mountain", and rosa meaning "pink, rose".

Derived from the given name Michael.

Occupational surname meaning "miller", referring to a person who owned or worked in a grain mill, derived from Middle English mille "mill".

From Gaelic Mac Cormaic meaning "son of Cormac".

Derived from Middle English mareschal "marshal", from Latin mariscalcus, ultimately from Germanic roots akin to Old High German marah "horse" and scalc "servant". It originally referred to someone who took care of horses.

From the name of various places in Scotland and northern England, derived from Scottish Gaelic cnoc "round hill".

Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

From the Irish name Ó Cinnéidigh meaning "descendant of Cennétig". This surname was borne by assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).

Variant of Kelly 1.

Means "cellar" in German, an occupational name for one in charge of the food and drink.

From the name of a Scottish town, which meant "John's town".

Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

Derived from the given name Henry.

Means "son of Hendry".

From various place names meaning "fenced wood" in Old English.

Means "son of Hans". This is the most common surname in Norway, and the third most common in Denmark.

From an English place name, derived from Old English hamel "crooked, mutilated" and dun "hill". This was the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists).

Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).

From the name of an English town meaning "hay clearing", from Old English heg "hay" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Occupational name for a steward, derived from Middle English greyve, related to the German title Graf.

Variant of Gardener.

Variant of Forester.

Cognate of Fischer.

Means "son of Dye".

Means "son of Dick 1".

From the name of various towns in England, derived from Old Norse kross "cross" (a borrowing from Latin crux) and býr "farm, settlement".

Means "barrel maker", from Middle English couper.

Means "son of Col".

Means "son of Colin 2".

Originally a name for someone from Cantrell in Devon, from an unknown first element and Old English hyll meaning "hill".

Means "bush" in German, a name for someone who lived close to a thicket.

Means "brown" in Middle English, from Old French brunet, a diminutive of brun.

Possibly from the name of the town of Brix in Normandy, which is of unknown meaning. It was brought to Scotland in the 12th century by the Anglo-Norman baron Robert de Brus. It was later borne by his descendant Robert the Bruce, a hero of the 14th century who achieved independence from England and became the king of Scotland.

Patronymic form of Brown.

From Old French bois meaning "wood", originally given to someone who lived by or in a wood.

Derived from the given name Blanchard.

From an English place name meaning "black wood".

Variant of Bellerose.

Probably derived from the Middle English word barat meaning "trouble, deception", originally given to a quarrelsome person.

From Middle English bark meaning "to tan". This was an occupational name for a leather tanner.

Derived from the given name Andries.

Means "son of Andrew".

Means "son of Alan" or "son of Alexander" (as well as other given names beginning with Al).

Derived from the given name Alan.