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. Ashkenazi Jewish surname.
• Abbott, Abbot, Abbett,: Commonly believed to have been derived from the Syriac term "abba," or Aramaic "aba," both meaning "father."
• Anders(s)on: son of Anders/Andrew. Scandinavian and English surname.
• Baxter (English) "baker", especially a female baker.
• Boyer: when German, can be a modification of "Bauer," farmer.
• Balshemnik, Balshemennik, Bolshemennikov: from Baal Shem Tov: The Holder of a Good Name. A Jewish surname from Belarus.
• Blevins: Welsh. Means "little wolf." Related to Blethyn.
• Crum - from the German Krumm, meaning Bent. Scottish and northern Irish: reduced form of McCrum. Scottish: reduced form of Macilchrum, an Americanized form of Gaelic Mac Gille Chruim ‘son of the servant of the cripple’. Americanized spelling of German Krumm or of Dutch and Jewish Krom.
• Cummins, Comyn or Comines - a village in former Flanders believed to have a Celtic, or Gaulish, origin. Possible origins: the herb [Cumin]; [Comminus], Latin; Hand-to-hand, or close combat. Commius was a historical king of the Belgic nation of the Atrebates in the 1st century BC. There is an ancient Irish personal name, Cuimin which would attest to a Celtic origin.
• Dixon or Dickson - son of Richard (Dick is diminutive of Richard) as also Welsh Pritchard from ap Richard - son of Richard.
• Duncan - named after Duncan, the Scottish King of Cumbria, installed in 1018. From Gaelic donn "brown" and cath "warrior". Sources: Clan Donnachaidh Society. Behind the Name.
• Drohan, Draughn, Druhan: from druach: Irish: reduced, Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Druacháin, descendant of Druachán, a byname representing a diminutive of druach or ‘wise man’. Source: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
• Ferguson*Origin: Scottish

The western coast of Scotland and the desolate Hebrides islands are the ancient home of the Ferguson family. Their name is derived from the Scottish surname MacFergus, which means "son of Fergus." Spelling variations include: Ferguson, Fergusson, Farguson, Fargerson, Fargusson and many more.First found in Galloway where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Daniel Ferguson who settled in New England in 1651; Duncan Ferguson settled in Virginia in 1716; Robert Ferguson settled in Virginia in 1716; Thomas Fergusson settled in Barbados in 1678.Motto Translated: By Virtue.....

Some noteworthy people of the name FergusonAlex Ferguson Scottish soccer managerAdam Ferguson (1723-1816) Scottish philosopherHarry George Ferguson (1884-1960) Irish engineerJames Ferguson (1710-1776) Scottish astronomerJohn Ferguson (1832-1907) Scottish statesmanPatrick Ferguson (1744-1780) Scottish soldierRobert Ferguson (c.1637-1714) Scottish conspiratorSamuel Ferguson (1810-1886) Irish poetFergie Ferguson (1959-) British ex-wife of Prince AndrewSarah Ferguson (1959-) British ex-wife of Prince Andrew

• Hans(s)on, Hans(s)en: son of Hans. Scandinavian surname.
• Holmberg: "Holm" comes from "holme", which means islet. "Berg" means hill or mountain. Scandinavian surname.
• Howell: Many believe from Hywel Dda, "King Howell The Good" who ruled much of Wales in the early 900's. Many of his subjects adopted the name in his honor.
• 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, 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.
• MacInnes: Gaelic MacAonghais, "sons of Angus".
• MacLachlan: Gaelic, "son of Norway". Variously spelled.
• MacThomas: anglicized form of Gaelic, MacThomaidh ("son of Tommy"). Other variants due to phonetic renderings include: MacOmish, McOmie, MacComie, McComas, McComb, etc.
• Malone: servant of Saint John.
• Marković: son of Mark.
• McDonald, MacDonald: son of Donald.
• Moreau: From dark or black horse. [1] has the etymology as "French,

derived from the nickname for the dark-skinned man, perhaps a Moor."

• Mulder: Windmill Keeper or Miller (Dutch origins)
• O'Donald: grandson of Donald (O' is an anglicisation of "ua", meaning grandson).
• Ol(e)sen, Olson: Son of Ole/Ola. Scandinavian surname.
• 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.
• Shah: India, originally from Persian meaning "King."
• 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).
• Thweatt: Anglicized from thwait (meadow, clearing), from Danish immigrants (Vikings) in the British Isles between 800-1066 AD.
• Vujinović: son of Vujin.
• Walker: English (especially Yorkshire) and Scottish: occupational name for a fuller, Middle English walkere, Old English wealcere, an agent derivative of wealcan ‘to walk, tread’. This was the regular term for the occupation of a fuller during the Middle Ages in western and northern England.
• Wolfgang: A wolves' cave (gang), a German family name.

See also

• Family name affixes

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