Family Names A–Z
Every family, alphabetical.
MacDonald, Tudor, O’Neill, Douglas. 497 documented family names across Europe, each with its meaning, its motto, the region it rose from and the stories it still carries. That includes 191 from the language trees of continental Europe, German and Spanish to Polish and Greek. Search a surname, or browse the alphabet.
A
- Aberffraw
The royal house of Gwynedd, Llywelyn the Great's line, ended at Cilmeri in 1282.
- Adams
Son of Adam.
- Allen
Son of Alain, the Breton first name carried to England by William's followers.
- Almeida
Of Almeida, an Arabic name on the Portuguese frontier.
- Andersen
Son of Anders, and the fairy-teller's name.
- AndersonStand sure
Son of Andrew, the saint that gave Scotland its flag, and the patronymic that crossed every shire.
- Andersson
Son of Anders, and the patronymic that filled a nation.
- Andrews
Son of Andrew, apostle, patron saint, common name.
- Angelopoulos
Descendant of Angelos, a messenger, or an emperor.
- Antoniou
Of Antonios, the father of monks.
- ArmstrongInvictus maneo
Strong-of-arm, the most feared of the Border riding clans.
- Atkinson
Son of Atkin, a name from the northern dales.
- Attenborough
From the East Saxon woman's fort, broadcasting dynast roots.
B
- Bailey
The steward of the bailey, castle administration in one syllable.
- BairdDominus fecit
Lawyers, soldiers, and statesmen of Lanarkshire and the north-east.
- Baker
The baker, oven smoke in every market town.
- Bakker
The baker, a guild trade of the towns.
- BaringProbitate et labore
Bankers and proconsuls, the sixth great power of Europe.
- Barnes
By the barn.
- Bates
Bartholomew's short name, northern genitive.
- Bauer
The farmer, and the German farmer was a name to court.
- Becker
The baker, and bread was the one thing no town could do without.
- Bélanger
The bear-spear, a Frankish name, fair-sounding.
- Bell
Of the bell, locative, occupational, or pseudonymous.
- Bennett
Blessed Benedict, Lancashire knots it tight.
- Berg
The crag, a Norwegian farm made a name.
- Bergeron
The shepherd-boy, a pastoral name, deep in Quebec.
- Bernard
Brave as a bear, a Frankish name made French.
- Bevan
ab Evan, the contracted patronymic that built the National Health Service.
- Bianchi
'The whites', Rossi's fair opposite.
- Bondarenko
Son of the cooper, the barrel-maker's line.
- Booth
From the herdsman's hut, the northern Norse-locative that gave the Salvation Army its founder.
- Bouchard
Strong as a fortress, a Frankish noble name.
- Boucher
The butcher, by way of the he-goat.
- Bowen
Son of Owen, the patronymic of the great Welsh princely name.
- BoydConfido
Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire's regents and rebels.
- Boyko
A Carpathian highlander, named for his people.
- BoyleHonor virtutis praemium
Two unrelated families, one Anglicisation, Donegal kings and the Earls of Cork.
- Bradley
The broad clearing in the wood.
- Brady
The spirited ones of Breifne, lords in Cavan.
- Braun
'The brown one', the German Brown, arrived at separately.
- Brennan
Of Idough and Corcachlann, and the highwayman of the ballad.
- Brontë
The howling moor, Haworth Parsonage in one breath.
- Brooks
By the brook, every wet valley had one.
- BrownFloreat majestas
Descriptive, the brown one, third most common surname in Scotland.
- BruceFuimus
Norman blood, Scottish crown, the line that won Bannockburn.
- Bruno
'The dark one', nickname and saint's name at once.
- BuchananClarior hinc honos
House of the canon, guardians of the Loch Lomond shore.
- BurkeUng roy, ung foy, ung loy
The de Burgo Lords of Connacht, Hibernis ipsis Hiberniores.
- Burnham
The homestead by the stream.
- Burns
By the burn, the small-stream surname the poet made into Scotland's own.
- Burton
The fortified farmstead, a name from a hundred villages.
- Bush
American political dynasty, four generations of senators, governors and presidents.
- ButlerComme je trouve
The cellarer's name, and the Earls of Ormond of Kilkenny.
- ByrneCertavi et vici
Of the Wicklow Mountains, the unconquered lordship at the back of the Pale.
C
- Callister
Son of Alexander, made Manx, the Mac worn down to a hard C.
- CameronAonaibh ri chéile
Sons of Lochiel, fierce in the Stewart cause.
- CampbellNe obliviscaris
From Argyll, the great political clan of the west.
- Carter
The carter, and the man who opened Tutankhamun's tomb.
- Carvalho
The oak, a name rooted by the tree.
- Casement
The Ulster Anglo-Norman line, and the humanitarian who became a republican.
- Castillo
The castle, the word at the root of Castile itself.
- CavendishCavendo tutus
Dukes of Devonshire, the Chatsworth dynasty.
- CecilCor unum, via una
Burghley and Salisbury, three centuries at the head of English government.
- Chapman
The merchant, fair and street.
- Chávez
Of Chaves, a Roman spa-town on the Galician march.
- Christensen
Son of Christen, son of the Christian.
- Christian
Mann's first family, mutineer, martyr and Deemster.
- Churchill
The church on the hill, a ducal surname the world recognises.
- Clark
The clerk, the literate man, when literacy was a profession.
- Clarke
Annalists of Tír Chonaill, and the surname of the 1916 Proclamation's first signatory.
- CockburnAccendit cantu
A border clan of jurists and queen's men.
- Cole
Coal-black or Saint Nicholas' pet form.
- Coleman
Columban saint-name or Nicholas' man.
- Collins
The man who beat the Empire, and the family of west Cork.
- Colombo
'The dove', and the name of Columbus.
- Connolly
Of Connemara and the Fews, and the founder of Irish socialism.
- Conti
'The counts', bearing, service, or pageant.
- Cook
The cook.
- Cooper
The cooper, cask and keg.
- Corlett
A Norse name in a Gaelic island, the Scandinavian thread in Manx blood.
- Costa
Of the slope or shore, a name shared with Portugal.
- Costain
Son of Augustine, a Manx parish name turned builder's byword.
- Côté
Of the slope, a founding name of the St Lawrence.
- Cox
The cock, youth and pride.
- CrawfordTutum te robore reddam
The ford of the crows, an upper-Clydesdale name.
- CromwellPax quaeritur bello
The chief minister of the Reformation, and the Lord Protector.
- Cruz
Of the Cross, a surname taken in devotion.
- CunninghamOver Fork Over
Earls of Glencairn and Ayrshire's milk-pail name.
- Curtis
The courteous one, Norman manners joke.
D
- Dąbrowski
Of the oak-grove, and the national anthem.
- Dahl
The dale, a valley-farm's name.
- DalyDeo fidelis et regi
Of Corca Adain, the bardic family that taught Gaelic Ireland to write.
- DalzielI Dare
Two-word motto, three centuries of soldiering.
- DavidsonSapienter si sincere
Sons of David, Clan Chattan of Strathspey.
- Davies
Son of David, born of the patron saint's name and densest in his own corner of Wales.
- Davis
Son of David, one spelling among England's commonest.
- Davitt
The Mayo cottier family that came back from Lancashire to found the Land League.
- Dawson
Son of Daw, a Yorkshire patronymic.
- Day
David, dairy, or daylight jest.
- De Boer
The farmer, and the root of 'Boer'.
- De Jong
'The young one', the commonest name in the Netherlands.
- De Luca
'Of Luke', the evangelist's name, southern-style.
- De Vries
'The Frisian', a man from the northern coast.
- Dekker
The thatcher, the man who covered the roof.
- Díaz
Son of Diego, and the name the Cid carried.
- Dickens
Son of little Richard, London fog in print.
- Dimitriou
Of Dimitrios, Demeter's name, made Christian.
- Dinefwr
Royal house of Deheubarth, the Lord Rhys.
- Dixon
Son of Dick, a Borders patronymic.
- DohertyAr nDúthchas
Lords of Inishowen, and the revolt that triggered the Plantation of Ulster.
- DouglasJamais arrière
One of the most powerful houses in medieval Scotland.
- DoyleFortitudine vincit
Dark stranger, the Hiberno-Norse families of the south-east coast.
- Dubois
Of the wood, France's commonest forest name.
- Duffy
The dark one, erenagh family of the Clogher diocese.
- DuncanDisce pati
The brown warrior, Duncan the king and the Robertson sept.
- DunneMullach Abú
Lords of Iregan, the great surname of Slieve Bloom.
E
- Edwards
Son of Edward, densest along the eastern marches where the name first crossed.
- Elgar
Malvern Hills in orchestration.
- ElliotFortiter et recte
One of the great riding clans of the Borders.
- Ellis
Son of Elijah, the prophet's name in Tudor English compression.
- Eriksson
Son of Erik, the patron-king's name.
- ErskineJe Pense Plus
Earls of Mar, and 'Bobbing John', who led the '15.
- Esposito
'The exposed', the foundling name of Naples.
- Evans
Son of John, by the Welsh road, the cousin name of Jones.
F
- FarrellCú re cú agus duine re duine
Lords of Annaly, and the family that gave Longford town its name.
- FergusonDulcius ex asperis
Sweeter from hardship, the descendants of Fergus across many countries.
- Fernandes
Son of Fernando, Lisbon's answer to Fernández.
- Ferrari
The smith, Italy's Smith, and a name that means speed.
- Ferreira
The ironworks, a name from the forge-village.
- Fischer
The fisherman, the name maps the German waters.
- Fisher
The fisher, and the Bishop of Rochester at Tower Hill.
- FitzGeraldCrom Abú
Hibernis ipsis Hiberniores, the Geraldines of Kildare and Desmond.
- FitzpatrickFortis sub forte fatiscet
The only Mac to become a Fitz, kings of Osraighe, by Tudor grant.
- FletcherDieu pour nous
Arrow-makers to the great clans, patriots in their own right.
- Flores
Son of Floro, or simply, the flowers.
- Flynn
The reddish one, across three Ó Floinn septs.
- ForbesGrace me guide
Lord Forbes, Scotland's senior baron, of Aberdeenshire.
- Ford
The crossing, stamped on Shakespearian country.
- Fortin
The sturdy one, strength in miniature.
- Foster
The forester's shortening.
- Fox
The fox, nickname that stuck.
- FraserJe suis prest
Of Lovat, 'I am ready'.
G
- Gagnon
A founding name of New France, from Perche.
- Gallagher
Of Tír Chonaill and the household cavalry of the O'Donnell.
- Gallo
'The rooster', for the proud and the lively.
- García
The bear-name of the Navarrese kings, now a surname for a continent.
- Gardner
The gardener, keeper of the manorial garden.
- Gauthier
Ruler of the army, the French Walter.
- Georgiou
Of Georgios, the farmer-saint, dragon and all.
- Gibson
Gib's son, industrial northeast.
- Giordano
'Jordan', a name carried home from the Crusades.
- Girard
Brave with the spear, the French Gerard.
- Glyndŵr
The last native-born Prince of Wales, and the longest revolt the Welsh would ever raise.
- Gomes
Son of Gome, the Portuguese Gómez.
- Gómez
Son of Gome, an old, plain name for 'man'.
- González
Son of Gonzalo, and Castile's first independent count.
- GordonBydand
The Cocks of the North, Earls and Dukes of Aberdeenshire.
- GowTouch not the cat bot a glove
Smiths of Clan Chattan, and the Prince of Scottish Fiddlers.
- GrahamNe oublie
Of Grægham, the Anglo-Norman knight who became one of Scotland's great houses.
- GrantStand fast
Stand fast, Craigellachie, the clan of Strathspey.
- Gray
The grey one, descriptive, aristocratic, or anatomical.
- Greco
'The Greek', Magna Graecia in a surname.
- Green
The green, the common before it was a party colour.
- Griffiths
Son of the strong lord, the patronymic of Llywelyn the Last.
- GrosvenorNobilitatis virtus non stemma character
Dukes of Westminster, the wealthiest landowners in Britain.
- GuinnessSpes mea in Deo
Earls of Iveagh, brewers and statesmen since 1759.
- Gustafsson
Son of Gustaf, the Vasa king's name.
- Gutiérrez
Son of Gutierre, a Gothic warrior-name.
H
- Hall
At the hall.
- HamiltonThrough
Dukes second only to the crown, and once heirs to it.
- HanoverNec aspera terrent
Royal house of Britain, 1714-1901, the dynasty of empire.
- Hansen
Son of Hans, the Dano-Norwegian John.
- Hanson
Son of Hann, a Pennine patronymic.
- Hardy
The bold one, a Norman nickname.
- Harris
Harry's son, the West Country spelling, and the Welsh chapel surname of Howell Harris.
- Harrison
Son of Harry.
- Hart
At the sign of the hart.
- Hartmann
'The strong man', an old knightly given name.
- Harvey
Breton battle-name, English orchard now.
- Haugen
The mound, a name from the farm on the knoll.
- HayServa jugum
Hereditary Constables of Scotland, second only to the crown.
- Hayes
The enclosure, hedged common.
- Haynes
Hainaut or hedged field, context splits.
- HealyVincere vel mori
The ingenious one, Donoughmore in mid-Cork.
- HendersonSola virtus nobilitat
Bodyguards of the chiefs of MacDonald of Glencoe.
- Henry
From Henry, the home-ruler Norman first name borne by nine English kings.
- HerbertUng je serviray
Marcher house of Pembroke and Raglan, the bridge between the Welsh gentry and the Tudor court.
- Hernández
Son of Fernando, the king-name of the Reconquista.
- Hill
On the hill, and the Penny Post and the National Trust.
- Hoffmann
The man of the farmstead, a holding of one's own.
- Hogan
The young ones of Ormond, a Dalcassian name.
- Holmes
The holme, dry ground in the wet country.
- Hopkins
Little Hodge, border favourite.
- HowardSola virtus invicta
Norman guardian-name, and Howard ducal house.
- Howells
Son of Hywel the Good, the surname of the great Welsh law-king.
- Huber
The full-holding farmer, and proof the German tree runs past the German state.
- Hudson
Son of Hudd, the Yorkshire patronymic carried into Hudson Bay.
- Hughes
Son of Huw / son of Aodh, Welsh patronymic and Irish Mac Aodha under one spelling.
- Hunt
The hunter, chase and warren.
J
- Jackson
Son of Jack, the industrial north's signature.
- James
From Jacob, through Latin Iacomus to Welsh Iago to Tudor English James.
- Jansen
Son of Jan, son of the Dutch Everyman.
- Jenkins
Little John, Welsh thumbprint on English registers.
- Jensen
Son of Jens, the Danish John.
- Jiménez
Son of Jimeno, a deep Basque name in a Castilian coat.
- Johansen
Son of Johan, the Norwegian John.
- Johansson
Son of Johan, the Swedish John.
- Johnson
Son of John, the most-Anglo-Saxon-sounding Norman name in the English census.
- JohnstoneNunquam non paratus
The fighting Johnstons of the Western Borders.
- Jones
Son of John, and roughly one in twenty Welsh-descended people in the world.
- Jørgensen
Son of Jørgen, the Danish George.
- JoyceMors potius macula
Of Iar Connacht and Galway city, one of the Tribes, and the family of James Joyce.
K
- Kaiser
'The emperor', Caesar's name worn as a nickname.
- Kamiński
Of the stone-place, a name from rocky ground.
- Karlsson
Son of Karl, son of the free man.
- KellyTurris fortis mihi Deus
Second most common Irish surname, the Uí Maine of Galway, and six other dynasties besides.
- KennedyAvise la fin
Of Ormond and the Dál Cais, Brian Boru's nephews.
- KerrSero sed serio
Late but in earnest, riding clan of the Roxburgh marches.
- Keswick
Six generations of stewardship over the British China trade, from Edinburgh to Hong Kong.
- King
When the village crowned someone 'king' for a day, and the jest lasted six centuries.
- Klein
'The small one', a plain word that became a great Jewish name.
- Kneale
Son of Niall, worn smooth into a Manx name.
- Knight
Servant of the knight, not the knight himself.
- Koch
The cook, the kitchen of the great house.
- König
'The king', the man who won the shooting-match.
- Konstantinou
Of Konstantinos, the City's first emperor and its last.
- Koval
The smith, the bare forge-name of the steppe.
- Kovalchuk
The smith's son, the forge in western -chuk.
- Kovalenko
Son of the smith, the forge in -enko.
- Kowalczyk
The smith's apprentice, Kowalski's young cousin.
- Kowalski
Of the smith, Poland's Smith, in the gentry's -ski.
- Kozłowski
Of the goat-village, a name from the herds.
- Krause
'The curly-haired one'.
- Kravchenko
Son of the tailor, the needle's line.
- Kristiansen
Son of Kristian, and of the kings who ruled the north.
- Krüger
The innkeeper, keeper of the village's one warm room.
L
- Lane
The lane, hedge-bottom dweller.
- Lange
'The tall one', the German Long.
- Larsen
Son of Lars, the northern Lawrence.
- Larsson
Son of Lars, the Swedish Lawrence.
- Laurent
For Saint Laurence, whose name the great river carries.
- Lavoie
By the road, a name from the wayside.
- Lawrence
Laurence of Rome, England's Registers repeat him.
- Leblanc
'The white', and the most Acadian name of all.
- Lee
The meadow, and a clearing-name stamped on dozens of villages.
- Lefebvre
The smith, Smith and Schmidt's French cousin.
- Lehmann
The liegeman, and one of the great names of the diaspora.
- LennoxI'll defend
An ancient earldom that bred a king consort.
- Leroy
'The king', the festival crown, not the throne.
- LeslieGrip fast
Soldiers of fortune, Scots field-marshals across Europe.
- Lévesque
'The bishop', service, bearing, or pageant.
- Lewandowski
Of Lewandów, and the great No. 9.
- Lewis
Llywelyn anglicised, a princely name carried into common use across the Marches and the south.
- Lindberg
Linden-mountain, a made name, to stand out.
- Lindström
Linden-stream, nature welded into a name.
- Llewellyn
Son of Llywelyn, the surname of the last Prince of Wales.
- Lloyd
Llwyd, the grey one, the great descriptive surname of the central Welsh ridge.
- Lombardi
'The Lombard', northerner, and medieval banker.
- Long
The long one.
- Lopes
Son of Lopo, son of the wolf.
- López
Son of Lope, son of the wolf.
- Lowe
Dweller by the mound, a Marches hill-name.
- Lucas
From Luke the Evangelist, a church name made surname.
- LynchSemper fidelis
Of the Tribes of Galway, and, by tradition, of the phrase 'Lynch law'.
M
- MacDonaldPer mare per terras
The largest of the Highland clans, Lords of the Isles.
- MacDonnellToujours Prêt
The Hebridean lordship in Ireland, the Glens of Antrim and the Route.
- MacDougallBuaidh no bas
Heirs of Somerled, lords of Lorn.
- MacGregor'S rioghal mo dhream
The persecuted clan, proscribed but never broken.
- MackayManu forti
Strathnaver and the Mackay country, the kindred of Cape Wrath.
- MackenzieLuceo non uro
Earls of Seaforth, masters of Ross and Cromarty.
- MackintoshTouch not the cat bot a glove
Captains of Clan Chattan, of Moy Hall.
- MacleanVirtue Mine Honour
Of Mull and Duart, Gillian of the Battle Axe's line.
- MacLeodHold Fast
Of Dunvegan, on Skye, keepers of the Fairy Flag.
- MacQuarrieTurris fortis mihi Deus
Of Ulva, and the Father of Australia.
- Madsen
Son of Mads, the Danish Matthew.
- MaguireJusti Ut Sidera Fulgent
Of Lough Erne, the lake-kingdom of Fermanagh.
- MahonyLasair Romham Abú
Sons of the bear, lords of the Mizen Head.
- Makris
'The tall one', a name from a man's height.
- MalcolmIn ardua petit
Disciples of Columba, admirals and aimers-high.
- Mancini
'The left-handed', a name with a wary edge.
- Marino
'Of the sea', and the saint who founded San Marino.
- Marshall
The stable office, court rank, surname for thousands.
- Martin
The saint's name, English and Norman registers alike.
- Martínez
Son of Martín, the soldier-saint who shared his cloak.
- Martins
Son of Martim, the soldier-saint, Lisbon-side.
- Mason
The operative mason.
- Mathrafal
Royal house of Powys, central kingdom of medieval Wales.
- Matthews
Matthew's son, March and Welsh edge.
- MaxwellReviresco
Caerlaverock and the Solway shore, the great Border clan of the south-west.
- McCarthyForti et Fideli Nihil Difficile
Of Desmond and Cashel, the line of the Eóganachta.
- McLaughlin
Sons of the Norseman, kings of Inishowen.
- Meijer
The estate-steward, and a Dutch-Jewish name.
- Mellon
Ulster Scot banking dynasty that ran America's Treasury under three presidents.
- Melnyk
The miller, Ukraine's commonest name.
- Mendoza
Cold mountain, and one of Castile's great houses.
- Meredith
Son of the great lord, princely surname of Deheubarth.
- Meyer
The steward of the manor, and, in another branch, a name that shines.
- Miller
The miller, water and wind before steam.
- Mills
By the mill, wheels on every river.
- MitchellBe traist
Of Michael, the diminutive that became its own surname in north-east Scotland.
- Moen
The meadow, a name from the flat ground.
- Moore
By the moor, or sons of Mórdha; English heath and Irish sept under one Anglicisation.
- Morales
Of the mulberry groves, the trees that fed the silk.
- Moreau
The dark one, a nickname turned name.
- Moretti
'The little dark one', Moreau's Italian cousin.
- Morgan
The name that named a kingdom, Morgannwg's enduring patronym.
- Morin
The little dark one, Moreau's cousin.
- Morris
Son of Maurice, the Norman name that took English root.
- MorrisonTeaghlach Phabbay
Of Pabbay and the Outer Hebrides, the brieves of Lewis, hereditary judges under the Lordship of the Isles.
- Mortensen
Son of Morten, and the Martinmas goose.
- Morton
The moor settlement, marcher villages.
- MuirDurum patientia frango
Dweller by the moor, the Mures of Rowallan.
- Mulder
The miller, and the windmill was Dutch power itself.
- Müller
The miller, and the mill was the village's first machine.
- MunroDread God
From the Roe to Foulis, the clan of the Black Isle's northern shore.
- MurphyFortis et hospitalis
The most common surname in Ireland, three independent dynasties, all 'sea warrior'.
- MurrayTout prest
Dukes of Atholl, and Jacobite generals.
- Myers
Dweller by the mire, or the steward at his post.
N
- NapierSans tache
Inventors of logarithms and Celtic earls of Lennox.
- Nelson
Son of Niel, Norfolk's victory surname.
- Neumann
'The new man', the stranger who stayed.
- Newman
The new man, the village byname that named a Cardinal.
- Newton
The new farm, half of England is a Newton.
- Nielsen
Son of Niels, the commonest name in Denmark.
- Nikolaou
Of Nikolaos, the sailors' saint.
- Nilsen
Son of Nils, the Norwegian Nicholas.
- Nilsson
Son of Nils, the Swedish Nicholas.
- Nolan
Inaugurators of Leinster, chiefs of Forth in Carlow.
- Nowak
The newcomer, the commonest name in Poland.
O
- O'BrienLámh Láidir an Uachtar
Of Thomond and the Dál Cais, the line of Brian Boru.
- O'CallaghanFidus et audax
Eóganacht Cashel, kings of Munster, Anglicised as Callaghan.
- O'Carolan
The blind harper, the bridge between Gaelic bardic and European baroque.
- O'CarrollIn fide et in bello fortis
Ely O'Carroll, kings of north Tipperary into the Tudor age.
- O'ConnellCiall agus neart
The family of Daniel O'Connell, The Liberator, and the most influential Catholic of 19th-century Britain.
- O'ConnorÓ Dia gach an cabhair
The royal house of Connacht, the last high kings of Ireland.
- O'DonnellIn Hoc Signo Vinces
Tír Chonaill, Red Hugh's escape, and the Flight of 1607.
- O'NeillLámh Dhearg Éireann
The royal house of Tír Eoghain, Hugh O'Neill's earldom and the Flight of the Earls.
- O'Shea
Stately ones, lords of Iveragh.
- O'SullivanLámh Foistineach an Uachtar
The third most common Irish surname, and the family of Donal Cam's march.
- Oliveira
The olive tree, a name from the grove.
- Oliynyk
The oil-presser, sunflower-oil's maker.
- Olsen
Son of Ole, the patron-king Olav's name.
- Olsson
Son of Olof, a first-Christian-king's name.
- Ortiz
Son of Fortún, a fortunate, Basque-rooted name.
- Ouellet
A near-vanished Norman name, reborn whole in Quebec.
- Owen
The princely name, Owain in Welsh, the surname of the last revolt and the first Tudor.
P
- Palmer
The palm-bearer, pilgrimage turned patronymic.
- Papadakis
The priest's son, but this one is Cretan.
- Papadopoulos
The priest's descendant, Greece's commonest name.
- Pappas
The priest, the bare root of the Papa- names.
- Parker
The parker.
- Parnell
The Cheshire-Parnells of Avondale, and the uncrowned king of Ireland.
- Parry
Son of Harry, the Welsh ap-Harry compressed into a single syllable.
- PatersonPro rege
Son of Patrick, the Lowland patronymic of Scotland.
- Payne
The villager's joke, worn with honour now.
- Pearce
From Piers, the Norman face of Peter.
- Pearse
The surname of the first signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
- Pedersen
Son of Peder, the old Danish Peter.
- Pelletier
The furrier, and fur was the wealth of New France.
- PercyEsperance en Dieu
Earls and Dukes of Northumberland, seven hundred years at Alnwick Castle.
- Pereira
The pear tree, and a name of the Sephardim.
- Pérez
Son of Pedro, son of the rock.
- Perry
Pear-orchard or Peter's kin.
- Persson
Son of Per, the Swedish Peter.
- Peters
Son of Peter, the rock-name made patronymic.
- Petersen
Son of Peter, the formal twin of Pedersen.
- Phillips
Son of Philip, Welsh ap Phylip and Norman patronymic under one spelling.
- PlantagenetDieu et mon droit
Royal house of England, 1154-1485, the longest dynasty in English history.
- PlunkettFestina lente
Of the Pale and the saint, Saint Oliver Plunkett, the last Catholic martyr in England.
- Polishchuk
A man of the Polissya woods.
- Porter
The gate, the burden, same spelling.
- Powell
ap Hywel, the contracted patronymic that descends from Hywel Dda, the king who wrote Welsh law.
- PowerPer crucem ad coronam
The Decies of Waterford, Norman barons since 1170, still resident.
- Price
ap Rhys, the Welsh contraction working on the name of a king.
- Pritchard
ap Richard, the contraction is the mechanism, written into the name.
- Pugh
ap Hugh, the Welsh contraction working on a Norman name.
Q
- Quayle
Son of Paul, contracted Manx-style, the island's signature surname.
- Quilliam
Son of William, and the Manx hand at Nelson's wheel at Trafalgar.
- Quine
Son of Conn, Manx on the island, scattered through the diaspora.
- QuinnQuae sursum volo videre
Of Conn the Hundred-Battler, three distinct lordships, one Anglicised name.
- Quirk
Old Gaelic Mac Cuirc, clipped to a single Manx syllable.
R
- Ramírez
Son of Ramiro, a name from the dawn of the Reconquista.
- Ramos
The branches, for Palm Sunday.
- Rasmussen
Son of Rasmus, son of Erasmus.
- Reed
The marsh edge, or ruddy jest.
- Rees
From Rhys, the name of the most consequential prince of 12th-century Wales.
- ReidVirtutis gloria merces
The red one, descriptive Scots surname, dense in the Lothians and the Borders.
- ReillyFortitudine et prudentia
Kings of East Bréifne, and the family that gave English the phrase 'the Reilly money'.
- Reyes
The Kings, for the Three Magi of the Epiphany.
- Reynolds
Son of Reynold, the counsel-ruler Norman first name.
- Ricci
'The curly-haired', and the hedgehog's name.
- Richards
Son of Richard, the -s patronymic that crossed the Marches.
- Richardson
Son of Richard.
- Richter
The judge, local justice, eastern roots.
- Rivera
Of the riverbank, a name born by the water.
- Rizzo
'The curly-haired', Ricci's southern cousin.
- Roberts
Strong in the north, the patronymic of Robert, second to Williams in Caernarfonshire.
- RobertsonGarg 'n uair dhuisgear
Children of Duncan, fierce when roused.
- Robinson
Son of Robin, the Danelaw's favourite -son, and the first woman President of Ireland.
- Rodrigues
Son of Rodrigo, the Portuguese -es, not the Castilian -ez.
- Rodríguez
Son of Rodrigo, the name of the last king of Gothic Spain.
- Rogers
Son of Roger, the famous-spear Norman first name.
- Romano
'The Roman', citizen, descendant, or pilgrim.
- RoseConstant and true
Of Kilravock, Norman roots in the Highlands.
- RossSpem successus alit
The promontory clan, earls of the North.
- Rossi
'The reds', the commonest surname in all Italy.
- RothschildConcordia, Integritas, Industria
Bankers of empire, peerage 1885.
- Roy
'King' without the article, and a pillar of Quebec.
- Ruiz
Son of Ruy, the short road to Rodrigo.
- Ruskin
Victorian conscience of craft.
- RussellChe sara sara
Norman nickname for the red-haired; Dukes of Bedford and ten thousand leaseholds.
- Russo
'The red one', the south's answer to Rossi.
- RyanMalo mori quam foedari
Of Owney and Aherlow, the densest Tipperary surname.
S
- Sánchez
Son of Sancho, 'the holy one', and a name of kings.
- Santos
Of the saints, for the feast of All Saints.
- Saunders
Alexander's son, Cornish and Wessex thick.
- Schmidt
The forge surname of the German lands, Smith's cousin by meaning, not by blood.
- Schneider
The cutter of cloth, the needle that helped clothe a continent.
- Schröder
The northern tailor, the cutter of the Low German plain.
- Schulz
The village headman, small-town authority, eastern roots.
- Schwarz
'The dark one', the German Black, and a great Jewish name.
- ScottAmo
Of the Borders, Buccleuch, Walter Scott, and the Antarctic.
- Shakespeare
Stratford tradesmen before troubadours, the world's best-known syllables on a modest guildman's signboard.
- Sharp
The keen one, a nickname kept.
- Shaw
The copse-edge, Lancashire loves it.
- Shevchenko
Son of the shoemaker, and the name of the Bard.
- Silva
Of the wood, the commonest name in the Lusophone world.
- Simpson
Simon's son, Tyne to Tees, and the Edinburgh obstetrician of chloroform.
- SinclairCommit thy work to God
Earls of Orkney and Caithness, and builders of Rosslyn.
- Smit
The smith, Smith and Schmidt's Dutch cousin.
- Smith
The forge surname, the most common occupational name in Scotland and the world.
- Sørensen
Son of Søren, a name with no English door.
- Sousa
Of the river Sousa, and a great medieval house.
- SpencerDieu défend le droit
The steward, from pantry to peerage.
- StanleySans changer
Earls of Derby, kingmakers at Bosworth, two Prime Ministers.
- Stevens
Stephen's line, southwestern -ens spelling.
- StewartVirescit vulnere virtus
From High Stewards to the throne, the royal name of Scotland.
- Stone
The stone, boundary-mark name.
- SutherlandSans peur
Sudr-land, the southern land of the Norse, and the clan that took its name.
- Sutton
The south farmstead.
- Svensson
Son of Sven, son of the young Swede.
- SweeneyBuaidh no bas
Hebridean gallowglass, household cavalry of Tír Chonaill.
- Swift
The Yorkshire-Swift attorney's son, Dean of St Patrick's, Drapier, Gulliver.
- Szymański
Of Szymon's place, the Polish Simon, landed.
T
- Taylor
The tailor, Norman-French occupational, Scots and English in parallel.
- Thatcher
The roof thatcher's craft, straw and laths long before politics borrowed the name.
- Thomas
The fifth Welsh surname, son of Thomas, on the same Tudor-era road as Jones and Williams.
- Thompson
The northern Thomases.
- ThomsonDeo juvante invidiam superabo
Son of Thomas, the Lowland Scots form, no 'p', distinguishing it from English Thompson.
- Tice
The German, a Norman byname for an incomer.
- Tkachenko
Son of the weaver, the loom in -enko.
- Torres
By the towers, a name from the frontier of castles.
- Tremblay
The aspen grove, and the commonest name in Quebec.
- TudorBeth bynnag a fynno Duw, a fydd
Welsh in origin, English in destiny, the line that took the throne at Bosworth.
- Turner
The lathe.
V
- Van den Berg
Of the 'mountain', the highest ground in a flat land.
- Van Dijk
Of the dike, the wall against the sea.
- Vance
Of the valleys, a Norman name on the Scots-Irish road.
- VaughanNon revertar inultus
Fychan, the younger, the descriptive surname that marks a son.
- Visser
The fisherman, herring was the Dutch gold.
- Vlachos
The Vlach, a shepherd of the Pindus.
- Vos
'The fox', for the red-haired and the sly.
W
- Wagner
The wagon-maker, the trade that built the wagons that won the West.
- Walker
The cloth-fuller, the foot trade that thickened the medieval weave.
- WallacePro Libertate
For liberty, the patriot's family.
- WalshTransfixus sed non mortuus
The fourth most common Irish surname, the families the Irish called 'the Welsh'.
- Walton
The settlement of strangers, England mapped it eighty times.
- Ward
The watchman.
- Watkins
Son of little Walter, the Norman first name that took Welsh root.
- WatsonInsperata floruit
Son of Wat, the Lowland patronymic that produced both the steam engine and Sherlock Holmes's friend.
- Webb
The weaver.
- Weber
The weaver, from the loom-towns that clothed Europe.
- Webster
She wove, northern -ster craft name.
- Wells
By the springs, the southern-English locative that named the War of the Worlds.
- Werner
'The defending warrior', a name from the age of knights.
- WestJour de ma vie
The west.
- Weston
The western farm, toponym epidemic.
- Wheeler
The wheelwright at his bench.
- White
The fair one.
- Wilde
The Roscommon planter line, the surgeon-archaeologist, and the writer who lost his name to a trial.
- Wilkinson
Son of little William, the northern patronymic that bored Watt's cylinders.
- Williams
Son of William, second only to Jones in Welsh density, and first in the north.
- WilsonSemper vigilans
Son of Will, second most common surname in Scotland, behind Smith.
- WindsorDieu et mon droit
Royal house of Britain, 1917 to today (and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1901).
- Wiśniewski
Of the cherry-village, a name 'of' the land.
- Wójcik
The headman's boy, son of the village bailiff.
- Wolf
The wolf, a Germanic name-word with a Hebrew twin.
- Wood
By the wood.
- Woźniak
The beadle's man, usher, or carter.
- Wright
The maker, every guild town shaped one.
- WynnTra môr, tra Brython
Wynn of Gwydir, dominant North Wales gentry.
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