95 surnames on this site, with what each one means.
BaileyOccupation · rank 73English or Scottish occupational surname from Anglo-Norman bailli, a bailiff or administrative officer.
BakerOccupation · rank 45A baker of bread (or keeper of a communal oven).
BaldwinParent’s name · rank 411From the Germanic personal name Baldwin, “bold friend.”
BallNickname · rank 420A nickname associated with a bald or rounded appearance, with other regional origins possible.
BallardNickname · rank 574An English or French nickname surname from “bald-headed man” or the Germanic personal name Balhard.
BanksPlace · rank 297An English topographic surname for someone living by a bank, hillside, or riverbank.
BarajasPlace · rank 777A Spanish habitational surname from places named Barajas in the provinces of Cuenca and Madrid.
BarberOccupation · rank 430An occupational surname for a barber, from words connected with shaving the beard and cutting hair.
BarkerOccupation · rank 369An occupational surname for a leather tanner or shepherd, with later immigrant variants.
BarnesPlace · rank 116A multi-origin English surname linked to a barn or barn-side dwelling, with older personal-name theories.
BarnettPlace · rank 337An English surname from places such as Barnet, whose name is associated with land cleared by burning; it also developed from Bernard forms.
BarrPlace · rank 785A multi-origin Scottish, Irish, and English surname from Gaelic barr, “height, hill,” from places named Barr, or from Norman and English barrier/gateway senses.
BarreraPlace · rank 557A Spanish or Catalan topographic or habitational surname from barrera, “barrier,” “gate,” or “fence.”
BarrettNickname · rank 325An English and Irish surname of Norman origin, probably a nickname for a quarrelsome or troublesome person.
BarronNickname · rank 679A surname from the title baron used as a status nickname, with Scottish and Irish patronymic routes.
BarryPlace · rank 708A surname with Anglo-Norman and Welsh habitational routes from Barry, alongside Irish patronymic, nickname, and other regional origins.
BartlettParent’s name · rank 807An English surname from the Middle English and Old French pet form Bertelot/Bartelot of the personal name Bartholomew.
BartonPlace · rank 506An English habitational surname from places named Barton, usually “barley farm” or “barley enclosure.”
BassNickname · rank 601An English and French surname with nickname routes meaning “low” or “short,” and a separate fish or fisherman association.
BatesParent’s name · rank 339An English patronymic surname meaning “son of Bate,” with Bate a medieval short form of Bartholomew.
BauerOccupation · rank 527A German occupational surname for a farmer or peasant, from German Bauer.
BautistaParent’s name · rank 554A Spanish surname from the personal name Bautista, “Baptist,” the epithet of Saint John the Baptist.
BaxterOccupation · rank 712An English occupational surname from Middle English baxter, “baker.”
BeanNickname · rank 973An English nickname from Middle English bēne, “friendly,” also a bean-grower name, and sometimes an Anglicized Mac Beathain or Ó Beachain form.
BeardNickname · rank 738An English descriptive surname for a person distinguished by a beard, with place-name and regional routes also possible.
BeasleyPlace · rank 746An English habitational surname from Beasley or related place-names, with spelling overlap with Beazley.
BeckPlace · rank 333A surname often denoting someone who lived beside a stream or brook, with German baker and other regional origins also documented.
BeckerOccupation · rank 367A German or Dutch occupational surname for a baker.
BellOccupation · rank 76English and Lowland Scottish surname, often occupational for a bell maker or ringer; some lines are bynames or habitational.
BeltranParent’s name · rank 677A Spanish patronymic from the personal name Beltrán, ultimately a Germanic “bright raven” name.
BenderOccupation · rank 900A German occupational surname for a cooper, short for Fassbender; also English for an archer/bow-maker, plus Hungarian curly-hair nickname and Jewish habitational Bender(y).
BenitezParent’s name · rank 631A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son or descendant of Benito,” the Spanish form of Benedict.
BenjaminParent’s name · rank 855A Jewish, English, French, and other surname from the Hebrew personal name Binyāmīn, “son of the south” or “son of the right hand.”
BennettParent’s name · rank 90English surname from the medieval personal name Benedict, via forms such as Beneit and Benoit; Benedictus means “blessed.”
BensonParent’s name · rank 378A patronymic surname meaning “son of Ben,” with Ben used as a personal-name form.
BentleyPlace · rank 860An English habitational surname from places named with Old English beonet, “bent grass,” plus lēah, “woodland clearing.”
BentonPlace · rank 954An English habitational surname from places named Benton, from Old English bēan “beans” or beonet “bent grass” plus tūn “settlement.”
BergPlace · rank 720A German, Scandinavian, and Dutch topographic surname from berg, “mountain,” “hill,” or elevated ground.
BergerPlace · rank 806Usually a German, Dutch, Swedish, or Ashkenazi Jewish topographic name from Berg, “mountain” or “hill”; also French occupational for a shepherd.
BernalParent’s name · rank 883A Spanish surname from the personal name Bernal, a variant of Bernaldo, itself an adaptation of Bernard (Germanic ber “bear” + hard “brave/strong”).
BernardParent’s name · rank 908A widespread European and Caribbean surname from the personal name Bernard (Germanic ber(n) “bear” + hard “brave, strong”), popularized by medieval saints.
BerryPlace · rank 231A mixed English surname with place-name and topographic proposals, including Berry/Bury localities and other regional streams.
BestNickname · rank 934An English and northern Irish nickname from Middle English best(e), either “best/finest person” or “beast,” sometimes occupational for a herdsman; also German short form of Sebastian.
BishopOccupation · rank 272English occupational or status surname for a bishop’s servant, household member, or someone who played the role.
BlackNickname · rank 175A nickname surname from Middle English blak, referring to dark colouring or hair, though a contrasting “pale” sense also existed.
BlackburnPlace · rank 915An English habitational surname from places called Blackburn, especially in Lancashire, from Old English blæc “dark” + burna “stream.”
BlackwellPlace · rank 759An English habitational or topographic surname from places named Blackwell, or for someone by a “dark well or stream” (Old English blæc + wæll/well).
BlairPlace · rank 428From a Scottish place or landscape described by Gaelic blàr, an open plain or field.
BlakeNickname · rank 450A nickname surname associated with a pale or dark complexion or hair, from competing Old English color terms.
BlanchardParent’s name · rank 937A French and Norman English surname from the medieval personal name Blanchard, Germanic blank “white, shining” + hard “strong, brave”; also a Blanc derivative.
BlancoNickname · rank 847A Spanish nickname for someone with white or fair hair or a pale complexion, from blanco, “white”; also a Sicilian variant of Bianco.
BlankenshipPlace · rank 824An English northern surname, a variant of Blenkinsop, habitational from Blenkinsopp in Northumberland.
BlevinsParent’s name · rank 940A Welsh surname, an Anglicized form of Blethen (from Middle Welsh Blethyn / Old Welsh Bledgint) with a later excrescent -s; also “son of Blethyn.”
BondOccupation · rank 657An English occupational surname from Middle English bond, a farmer, husbandman, or customary tenant.
BonillaPlace · rank 602A Spanish surname from places named Bonilla, associated with “good” or “good little one.”
BookerOccupation · rank 965An English occupational name from Middle English bokere, “scholar” or “scribe,” also a variant of Bowker and an Americanized form of German Bucher.
BoonePlace · rank 644A surname with Norman habitational links to Bohon, Old French bon “good” nickname routes, and Dutch regional alternatives.
BoothPlace · rank 714An English topographic or habitational surname for someone living by a booth, hut, or temporary dwelling.
BowenParent’s name · rank 423Son of Owen, from Welsh ab Owain; an Irish Buadhacháin route also occurs.
BowersPlace · rank 525A surname chiefly from Bower, referring to a cottage, chamber, or dwelling, with occupational Bowyer routes also possible.
BowmanOccupation · rank 309An English occupational surname for an archer or bowman, a person who used a bow.
BoydNickname · rank 182A Scottish and Irish surname from Gaelic buidhe, “yellow” or “fair,” probably describing hair or complexion.
BoyerOccupation · rank 690A French occupational surname from bouvier, “herdsman,” with Bowyer, Bayer, and habitational routes also possible.
BoyleParent’s name · rank 905An Irish surname from Ó Baoighill, “descendant of Baoigheall”; Scottish Boyle can also be Norman habitational from Biéville near Caen.
BradfordPlace · rank 636An English habitational surname from places named Bradford, “broad ford,” especially Bradford in West Yorkshire.
BradleyPlace · rank 218English habitational surname from Old English elements meaning “broad wood” or “broad clearing,” with an Irish Ó Brolacháin route.
BradshawPlace · rank 828An English habitational surname from places called Bradshaw in Lancashire, Yorkshire, or Derbyshire: Old English brād “broad” + sceaga “thicket.”
BradyParent’s name · rank 465An Irish surname anglicized from Ó Brádaigh or Mac Brádaigh, “descendant/son of Brádach,” a personal name meaning “proud” or “spirited.”
BrandtPlace · rank 980A German and Swiss German topographic name for someone on land cleared by fire (Middle High German brant), also a Brand personal-name variant.
BravoNickname · rank 803A Spanish and Portuguese nickname from bravo, “fierce,” “violent,” or “courageous,” from Latin barbarus.
BrennanParent’s name · rank 697An Irish patronymic from Ó/Mac Branáin, “descendant or son of Branán,” with Ó Braonáin as another route.
BrewerOccupation · rank 313An English occupational surname for a person who brewed ale or beer.
BridgesPlace · rank 643An English topographic or occupational surname for someone near a bridge or involved with a bridge crossing.
BriggsPlace · rank 590An English, especially northern English, surname from brig or brigg, “bridge,” for someone near a bridge or from a place named Brigg.
BrockNickname · rank 566A multi-origin surname including a badger nickname, Brook variant, marshland place-name, and personal-name forms.
BrooksPlace · rank 85English topographic surname for someone living by a brook or stream; some lines have other immigrant origins.
BrownNickname · rank 4A person noted for brown hair, complexion, or clothing.
BrowningParent’s name · rank 814An English surname from the Middle English personal name Brouning (Old English Brūning), a derivative of the byname Brūn (“brown”).
BrucePlace · rank 652A Scottish surname of Norman origin, usually linked with a place in Normandy such as Brix, with other Norman and French place routes.
BryanParent’s name · rank 598An English and Irish surname related to Bryan or Brian, with patronymic Ó Briain and Norman place-name routes.
BryantParent’s name · rank 135A patronymic surname meaning “son of Brian” or “son of Bryan,” with an added -t in the English form.
BuchananPlace · rank 511A Scottish habitational surname from Buchanan in Stirlingshire, traditionally interpreted as “house of the canon.”
BuckNickname · rank 822Usually an English nickname from Middle English buc(ke), “male goat” or “male deer”; also beech-tree topographic and German personal-name streams.
BuckleyPlace · rank 840Usually English habitational from places named Buckley (often bucc/bucca “buck/goat” + lēah “clearing”); also Irish Ó Buachalla, “descendant of Buachaill” (cowherd).
BuiPlace · rank 974Chiefly Vietnamese Bùi, from the Chinese surname Pei (裴); also Cantonese Bei (貝), a Mei (梅) romanization, or Italian Bue.
BullockNickname · rank 790An English surname from Middle English bullok, “young bull,” used as a nickname or, less often, for a keeper of bullocks.
BurchPlace · rank 994Usually an English variant of Birch (by a birch tree or wood); also a German/Dutch variant of Burg (fortified place).
BurgessOccupation · rank 456An English status surname for a freeman or citizen of a borough, from Middle English burgeis.
BurkePlace · rank 256Anglo-Norman and Irish habitational surname from places named Burgh or Bourc.
BurnettNickname · rank 568A Scottish and Irish surname from Old French burnete, “brown,” with a possible cloth-making occupational route.
BurnsPlace · rank 162A multi-origin surname linked to Scottish burn or stream place-names, with Irish Ó Broin and other routes.
BurtonPlace · rank 292An English habitational surname from places called Burton, meaning a settlement or farm associated with a fortified or manor estate.
BushPlace · rank 393An English or Germanic topographic surname for someone living near a bush, shrub, or bushy area.
ButlerOccupation · rank 112An occupational surname for a household servant responsible originally for wine or drink stores.
ByrdNickname · rank 346An English and Irish spelling variant of Bird, from the word for a bird and probably used as a nickname.