Last Names
Most surnames were once plain descriptions. A medieval village might have two men called John, so one became John the smith, the other John son of William — and centuries later we have Smith and Williamson. Hereditary last names spread across England after the Norman Conquest, took hold in Ireland even earlier, and weren’t required by law in places like Japan until the Meiji era.
Nearly every surname falls into one of four families: occupational (Baker, Cooper), patronymic (Johnson, O’Brien, Fernández), locational (Hill, Brooks, Lincoln) and nickname (Brown, Young, Armstrong). Below are 90 examples with meanings, grouped by type. Looking for something specific? Jump to the most common last names, cool last names for characters, or surnames by country such as Irish last names.
Last Names: browse all lists
Occupational last names
Trades were the easiest way to tell people apart, which is why Smith is the most common surname in the US, UK and Australia. Many of these also make great last names that are first names.
| Surname | Original job | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Smith | Metalworker, blacksmith | English |
| Miller | Grain miller | English |
| Taylor | Tailor | English / Norman French |
| Baker | Baker | English |
| Cooper | Barrel maker | English |
| Fletcher | Arrow maker | Norman French |
| Carter | Cart driver | English |
| Thatcher | Roof thatcher | English |
| Mason | Stoneworker | Norman French |
| Turner | Wood-lathe worker | English |
| Chandler | Candle maker | Norman French |
| Wright | Craftsman, builder | English |
| Fisher | Fisherman | English |
| Hunter | Huntsman | English |
| Sawyer | Wood sawyer | English |
| Schmidt | Smith | German |
| Müller | Miller | German |
| Ferrari | Smith | Italian |
| Herrera | Blacksmith’s workshop | Spanish |
| Kowalski | Smith | Polish |
Patronymic last names (“son of”)
These surnames record a father’s name. The same idea appears in almost every language — -son in English, Mac/Mc in Scottish and Irish, -ez in Spanish, -sen in Danish and -ov in Russian.
| Surname | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson | Son of John | English |
| Williams | Son of William | English / Welsh |
| Jones | Son of John | Welsh |
| Davis | Son of David | Welsh |
| Wilson | Son of Will | English |
| Anderson | Son of Andrew | Scottish / Scandinavian |
| Robinson | Son of Robin (Robert) | English |
| Garcia | Possibly from Basque “young” or “bear” | Spanish |
| Rodriguez | Son of Rodrigo | Spanish |
| Fernández | Son of Fernando | Spanish |
| Martinez | Son of Martín | Spanish |
| MacDonald | Son of Donald, “world ruler” | Scottish |
| O’Brien | Descendant of Brian | Irish |
| O’Connor | Descendant of Conchobhar, “lover of hounds” | Irish |
| Fitzgerald | Son of Gerald | Norman / Irish |
| Jensen | Son of Jens (John) | Danish |
| Petrov | Son of Pyotr (Peter) | Russian |
| Hansen | Son of Hans | Norwegian / Danish |
Last names from places and landscapes
Topographic surnames describe where someone lived — by the hill, the brook or the wood — while locational ones name a town. Check British last names for many more.
| Surname | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Hill | Lived on a hill | English |
| Brooks | Lived by a stream | English |
| Wood | Lived near a wood | English |
| Hale | Nook, hollow | English |
| Lincoln | From the city of Lincoln | English |
| Sinclair | From Saint-Clair, Normandy | Scottish / Norman |
| Ashford | Ford by the ash trees | English |
| Rivera | Riverbank | Spanish |
| Costa | Coast, slope | Portuguese / Italian |
| Nakamura | Middle village | Japanese |
| Yamamoto | Base of the mountain | Japanese |
| Van der Berg | From the mountain | Dutch |
| Dubois | Of the wood | French |
| Lindqvist | Linden twig | Swedish |
| Atwood | At the wood | English |
| Holloway | Sunken road | English |
| Kim | Gold | Korean |
| Stein | Stone | German |
Nickname and descriptive last names
Some surnames began as teasing or flattering nicknames — for hair color, height, strength or character. A few were clearly jokes; see funny last names.
| Surname | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Brown | Brown-haired or tanned | English |
| Young | The younger of two | English |
| Armstrong | Strong in the arm | Scottish / English |
| Russell | Little red one | Norman French |
| White | Fair-haired | English |
| Little | Small (or ironically, big) | English |
| Swift | Fast runner | English |
| Blanc | White, fair | French |
| Rossi | Red-haired | Italian |
| Klein | Small | German |
| Fox | Cunning like a fox | English |
| Goodman | Good man, head of household | English |
| Gray | Grey-haired | English |
| Kennedy | Ugly or helmeted head | Irish |
| Cameron | Crooked nose | Scottish |
| Campbell | Crooked mouth | Scottish |
| Doyle | Dark stranger | Irish |
| Leblanc | The white one | French |
Surnames from around the world
Surnames work differently across cultures. Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese families put the surname first; Spanish speakers often carry two. Explore Chinese last names, Hispanic last names and Italian last names.
| Surname | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Wang | King | Chinese |
| Li | Plum tree | Chinese |
| Nguyen | From the Nguyen dynasty | Vietnamese |
| Patel | Village headman | Indian (Gujarati) |
| Singh | Lion | Indian (Punjabi) |
| Cohen | Priest | Hebrew |
| Haddad | Blacksmith | Arabic |
| Okafor | Born on Afọ market day | Nigerian (Igbo) |
| Silva | Forest | Portuguese |
| Öztürk | Pure Turk | Turkish |
| Tanaka | Middle of the rice field | Japanese |
| Bianchi | White, fair-haired | Italian |
| Novak | Newcomer | Czech / Slovak |
| Kaya | Rock | Turkish |
| Popescu | Son of the priest | Romanian |
| Nowak | Newcomer | Polish |
How to research your own last name
- Start with spelling variations. Clerks wrote names as they heard them, so Smyth, Smythe and Smith may all be the same family.
- Look at the region. Where a surname clusters today often points to where it began — Hale in southern England, Campbell in Argyll.
- Check immigration records. Ship manifests and naturalization papers often show the original spelling before a name was anglicized.
- Don’t trust a single meaning. Many surnames arose independently in several places, so one family’s Hill may be a hill, another’s a nickname for Hilliard.
- Writing fiction? Match the surname to the character’s heritage and era — our fantasy last names and medieval last names can help.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common last name in the US?
Smith, according to the 2010 US Census, followed by Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones. Garcia, Rodriguez and Martinez are also in the top ten.
When did people start using last names?
It varied by country. In England hereditary surnames became common between the 12th and 14th centuries; Ireland used clan names earlier, while Japan and Turkey only required surnames in the 1870s and 1934 respectively.
What are the four types of surnames?
Occupational (Baker), patronymic (Johnson), locational or topographic (Hill, Lincoln) and nickname or descriptive (Brown, Armstrong).
What does “Mc” or “O’” mean in a last name?
Mac or Mc means “son of” in Scottish and Irish Gaelic; O’ means “grandson” or “descendant of” in Irish.
Why do Spanish speakers have two last names?
Traditionally a person takes their father’s first surname followed by their mother’s first surname, so both family lines are kept.