Family name etymology
This is a collection of family name etymologies. For German names, see German family name etymology.
- Aaronovitch, Aronowitz, etc. son of Aaron. Jewish surname.
- Anders(s)on: son of Anders/Andrew. Scandinavian and English surname.
- Boyer: when German, can be a modification of "Bauer," farmer.
- Balshemnik, Balshemennik, Bolshemennikov: from Baal Shem: Wizard. A Jewish surname from Belarus.
- Dixon or Dickson - son of Richard (Dick is diminutive of Richard) as also Welsh Pritchard from ap Richard - son of Richard.
- Holmberg: "Holm" comes from "holme", which means islet. "Berg" means hill or mountain. Scandinavian surname.
- Huber: the German name is derived from Huober, a farmer holding a fief. It has also been explained as an abbreviation of Hubert or as a derivation of Heber, the Hebrew Patriarch. It may occur in the following variations: Hiver, Hivar, Hubbar, Hupper, Huper, Hobar, Hibber, Kuber, Cooper, Kubri, Kivri, Heber, Eber, Hever, Ever.
- Johans(s)on, Johns(s)on, Jons(s)on: son of Johan/John. Scandinavian and English surnames.
- Karls(s)on, Carls(s)on, Karlsen, Carlsen: son of Karl. Scandinavian surname.
- Kolikov: son of Kolek. Russian surname.
- Lars(s)on, Larsen: Son of Lars (Lawrence). Scandinavian surname.
- Lindberg: "Lind" means lime/linden and "berg" means hill or mountain. Scandinavian surname.
- MacLachlan: Gaelic, "son of Norway." Variously spelled.
- Malone: servant of Saint John
- Marković: son of Mark
- McDonald, MacDonald: son of Donald.
- O'Donald: grandson of Donald (O' is an anglicisation of "ua", meaning grandson).
- Moreau: From dark or black horse. [1] has the etymology as "French, derived from the nickname for the dark-skinned man, perhaps a Moor."
- Pers(s)on, Petters(s)on: son of Per/Petter (Peter). Scandinavian surname.
- Plotkin: from Plotki. Jewish surname from Belarus.
- Rabinowitz, Rabinovitch, Rabinowich: Son of a rabbi. Jewish surname. (This surname has the owitz ending, meaning "son of"). Poland, Russian Empire, other Eastern European countries.
- Rambo. "Raven's nest". Swedish-American surname from New Sweden taken by a settler from Ramberget (Raven's Hill) near Gothenburg.
- Spector: From the Russian Spectorski, meaning inspector. Jews who registered as inspectors with the Russian or Ukraine governments received a favored status with respect to travel, although those who collected taxes were generally resented in the shtetls (Jewish ghettos).
- Walker: One who walks on grapes to get the juices for wine-making
- Wolfgang: A wolves' cave (gang), a German family name