Last Name Meanings

A family can be traced back to its origins with the help of a last name or the surname. It is the legal identification tag that we inherit from our parents and gift to our children. Surnames across the world are adopted via different means.

The sources of the surname are:

• Father’s name
• Individual’s locality
• Individual’s profession
• A nickname given to the person

Last Name Meanings

Here are the meanings of the some of the more common last name:

• Aldwin – a protector or an old friend.
• Alymer – the name is traced to Ailmer who was the Earl of Cornwall during the reign of King Ethelred.
• Barnes – is a distinguished family of Scotterly, England.
• Brown – is a very common name which could have been derived from complexion, hair color or garments.
• Capel - is a very old name that means a strong horse.
• Carter – was used to refer to people who were in the trade of pulling carts.
• Decker – was probably used to refer to the tenth child. It was also used to refer to people who helped deck boats and ships.
• Dillon – was the term used to refer to people who were handsome and brave.
• Eaton – this name contains two separate words, ‘ea’ meaning water and ‘ton’ meaning town. Hence, it could refer to people staying in a town close to a water body. Further, parishes in London were also named Eaton.
• Evans – is derived from ‘Evan’ meaning fearless and bold.
• Fabian – is derived from the Latin term ‘Fabius’ which refers to people who cultivate beans.
• Farrar – has been derived from the name Farrier which is a trade.
• Garnet – refers to a precious stone and is also a place for Druid worship.
• Gillian – is derived from Julius, which is a Greek word to refer to females with soft hair.
• Hagar – in Hebrew, the term Hagar is used to refer to a stranger, while in Welsh, it means amiable and pleasing.
• Hanna – figuratively, Hanna means a leader or the chief. The name could also have originated from ‘Hanan’ which was a city in Germany.
• Incledon – is derived from the word Ingleton meaning the hill of alarm. Fires were lit here to warn the people of an invasion in the city.
• Ives - is derived from the name of the town St. Ives, which was located in the city of Huntingdon, England.
• Jewett – means the little Jew or the son of Jew.
• Jones – is of Hebrew origin and is the same as John which means gracious.
• Kay – signifies a close, fortified place.
• Kennedy – this famous surname is a Celtic word which means chief of a tribe.
• Lent – named after the festival Lent.
• Larkins – named after the bird Lark, the musical bird.
• Myers – is a very common name in Germany and is the same as Meyers, which means a magistrate of a city or town.
• Martin – this name probably owes its origin to the Latin word Martius for the planet Mars and could imply that the individual was a warrior.
• Nott - was used to refer a person with short hair.
• Norris – was a title that was used to refer to the third king at arms in England.
• Oliver – has been derived from the Latin word Olivia for the Olive tree.
• Orvis – This name was used to address a fair offspring.
• Pratt – while the Latin word for the origin of this word is Pratum, which means meadow, the Dutch origin of the name signifies that the person is cunning and arrogant.
• Page – was used to address young children between the age of 11 and 16 who were in the process of receiving education for knighthood.
• Ryder – this term was used to refer to horse mounted officers who supervised a large area.
• Raleigh – is a Welsh term used to refer to a Vicar
• Saxton – was the term used to address an under officer of a church.
• Staines – is an old word that means stones. This word was probably used to address people who worked with stones.
• Tyson – this infamous surname is implies that the person is the son of Tys. Tys is the abbreviation for Matthias used by the Dutch.
• Tiffany – was used to refer to the makers and vendors of silk.
• Usher – was used to refer to an officer of the court who introduced strangers.
• Ulmer – has been derived from the word ‘Allmer’ meaning famous.
• Van Dam – this name was used to refer to people from the city of Dam located in Holland.
• Weld – was uses to refer to people belonging to a woody part of the country.
• Wakeman – was probably used to refer to watchmen.
• Yarrow – means a plant with a thousand leaves.
• Zachary – is a Hebrew word which means the memory of the God.

Genealogists have always been fascinates with surnames. If you too are fascinated about your origin and ancestors, the best place for you to start is with the meaning of your surname. All the best!