greatquestionsur's Personal Name List

Derived from the given name Alan.

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

Means "son of Andrew".

Derived from the given name Andries.

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

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

Variant of Bellerose.

From an English place name meaning "black wood".

Derived from the given name Blanchard.

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

Patronymic form of Brown.

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.

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

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

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

Means "son of Colin 2".

Means "son of Col".

Means "barrel maker", from Middle English couper.

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

Means "son of Dick 1".

Means "son of Dye".

Cognate of Fischer.

Variant of Forester.

Variant of Gardener.

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

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

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

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

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

Means "son of Hendry".

Derived from the given name Henry.

Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

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

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

Variant of Kelly 1.

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

Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

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

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 Gaelic Mac Cormaic meaning "son of Cormac".

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

Derived from the given name Michael.

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

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

Derived from the given name Morgan 1.

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

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

From the given name Otto.

Means "son of Otto".

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

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

From a diminutive of the given name Roland.

Spanish form of Rosário.

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).

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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".

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

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

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

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

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

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.