Origin
Coin : 1: English (northern) and Scottish: variant of Coyne.2: French: from coin ‘corner’ a topographic name for someone who lived on a street corner.3: American shortened form of French Cointreau: nickname from Old French cointerel ‘gallant vain sly’.4: Spanish (mainly Málaga; Coín): habitational name from the town of Coín in Málaga province probably of Arabic origin.5: Italian (Veneto; Coìn): nickname from the dialect word coìn ‘pigtail’.
Aucoin : French (northern and southwestern): from an Old French personal name Alcuin of ancient Germanic origin composed of the elements alh ‘temple’ and win ‘friend’ and borne by a famous English scholar and theologian (c. 735–804) an influential figure at the court of Charlemagne. The surname has been assimilated by folk etymology to the French phrase au coin ‘at the corner’. Compare Ocoin and O'Quinn.
Batz : 1: South German: from Alemannic Swabian Batz ‘pile large quantity’ possibly applied as a nickname either for a man of large physical proportions or for a man of wealth. The term also denoted a coin and may have been used metonymically for a coiner. The name of the coin is believed to have been derived from its imprint of a bear known in folklore as Betz or Petz.2: South German (Bätz): variant of Betz. Compare Baetz.3: Germanized or Americanized form of Polish and Slovenian Bac.4: Amerindian (Guatemala): Mayan name from b'atz' ‘black howler’ a kind of monkey.
Batzel : South German (also Bätzel): from a diminutive of Batz (the coin).
Bayuk : 1: Ukrainian: nickname from a derivative of bayaty ‘to narrate’ (compare 2 below).2: Americanized form of Slovenian Bajuk: nickname from a derivative of bajati ‘to narrate (unbelievable stories)’ also ‘to cast a spell’. Alternatively a nickname denoting a poor or small insignificant person from bajuk the name of an old small coin (of Italian origin).3: Turkish: variant of Bayık which is an ornamental name or nickname from regional bayık ‘honest’.
Bec : 1: Slovenian: nickname from an archaic name for a small (Venetian) coin. Compare Betz.2: Polish: unexplained.3: French: nickname from bec ‘beak’ probably denoting a garrulous individual or someone with a prominent nose.
Bessent : English (Hampshire): from Middle English besant besand the name of a gold coin first minted at Byzantium (Old French besan plural besanz Latin byzantius) probably used to denote a moneyer.
Boc : 1: Polish (Boć): derivative of bok ‘side’ or boczyć się ‘to sulk’.2: Romanian: nickname from the interjection boc ‘boom! bang!’ or from Old Slavic bokъ ‘side (of the human body)’.3: Slovenian and Croatian: probably a nickname from an altered form of German Batz(en) the name of an old small coin (see Batz). Alternatively perhaps from German Botz.4: Slovak (Bóc): probably from German Botz.5: Filipino: unexplained.
Carlin : 1: Irish (North Ulster; now also common in Scotland): from Ó Cearbhalláin ‘descendant of Cearbhallán’ a diminutive of the personal name Cearbhall (see Carroll).2: English: variant of Carling.3: Italian (Veneto): from a pet form of the personal name Carlo Italian form of Charles.4: French: nickname from carlin denoting a coin of Italian origin.5: French: from a pet form of the personal name Carle(s) a regional variant of Charles or from Italian Carlini; compare 6 below.6: Altered form under the French influence in LA of Italian Carlini; compare 5 above.7: Swedish and German: variant of Karlin and in North America (also) an altered form of this.8: German: habitational name from Carlin in Brandenburg.9: Americanized form of Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) Polish and in some cases Slovenian Karlin.
Carlino : Italian: from a pet form of the personal name Carlo an equivalent of Charles. Carlino was also a term denoting a medieval Italian coin and it is possible that in some cases the surname arose as a nickname possibly for a worthless fellow since it was a coin of low value or as an occupational name for a moneyer.
Cianflone : Italian:: 1: unflattering nickname from Spanish chanflón ‘rough crude coarse’.2: from Calabrian cianfruni the name of an old gold coin applied possibly as a metonymic occupational name for a moneyer or as a nickname for a rich or miserly man.
Cinquegrana : Italian (Campania): nickname composed of cinque ‘five’ + grana ‘coins’ probably used in a figurative sense; the term is a variant of cinquegrani which was a coin in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Cone : 2: Irish (Roscommon): possibly a shortened form of McCone.1: English (Suffolk): from Middle English coin cone ‘wedge corner’; the reasons for its adoption as a surname are unclear.3: Americanized form of North German Kohn or Köhn or Kuhn.
Coyner : English: occupational name for a moneyer from an agent derivative of Middle English coin ‘piece of money’ (see Coyne).
Cuin : 1: Spanish (Málaga; Cuín): variant of Coín (see Coin). This surname is very rare in Spain.2: Amerindian (Mexico): Tarascan name from a Castilianized form of kuin ‘bird’.
Cvengros : Slovak (Cvengroš): apparently a nickname from cveng ‘clink of coins’ and groš a name of a small coin from the beginning of 14th century.
Denier : 1: French: from Old French denier originally the name of a copper coin later a term for money in general hence probably a metonymic occupational name for a moneyer or minter. It is also found in Switzerland.2: English: variant of Denyer. This form of the surname is rare in Britain.
Dreyer : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname derived from German drei ‘three’ Middle High German drī(e) with the addition of the suffix -er. This was the name of a medieval coin worth three hellers (see Heller) and it is possible that the German surname may have been derived from this word. More probably the nickname is derived from some other connection with the number three too anecdotal to be even guessed at now.2: North German and Scandinavian: occupational name for a turner of wood or bone from an agent derivative of Middle Low German dreien dregen ‘to turn’. See also Dressler.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Yiddish dreyer ‘turner’ or a nickname from a homonym meaning ‘swindler cheat’.4: English: variant of Dryer.
Dukat : Polish; Hungarian (Dukát): nickname from dukat from Italian ducato the name of a gold or silver coin first minted c. 1140 in the Duchy of Apulia and named from Late Latin ducatus ‘duchy’. Compare Ducat.
Dutka : 2: Polish Ukrainian Rusyn Slovak Czech and Hungarian: from dutka the name of a coin of a small value used in the 17th century probably applied as a nickname for a poor person.1: Polish Ukrainian Rusyn Slovak and Czech: variant of Dudka ‘small bagpipe’.
Farthing : English:: 1: from the Middle English personal name Farthein Farthing Ferthing (Old Norse Farthegn late Old English Færthegn) composed of the elements far ‘ship passage’ + thegn ‘warrior nobleman or retainer’.2: habitational name from a place called in Middle English with ferthing (Old English fēorthing ‘fourth part quarter’). Until 1960 when it was withdrawn this was the name of the smallest British coin worth one quarter of a penny. The same word was also used to denote a measure of land normally one quarter of a virgate or other larger unit. The term is frequent in minor placenames in Sussex and is also found in Somerset and Devon.
Fehring : 1: German (Holstein Hamburg): patronymic from the Old Frisian personal name Fero.2: North German: nickname or status name alluding to a tax obligation from Middle Low German verdinc a term denoting a quarter of a weight or coin (‘farthing’).
Florin : 1: Swedish: ornamental name from Latin flos genitive floris ‘flower’ + the adjectival suffix -in a derivative of Latin -in(i)us ‘relating to’. Compare Floren.3: Spanish (Florín): possibly a nickname from florín ‘florin’ (the coin).2: German and Flemish: from the personal name Florin from Latin Florinus or Florentius derived from flos genitive floris ‘flower’ (see Florence).
Gros : 1: French: nickname for a large or fat man from Old French gros ‘big fat’ from Late Latin grossus of ancient Germanic origin. Compare Legros.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic) and English (Middlesex of Norman origin): variant of Gross.3: Slovenian Polish Czech Slovak and Croatian: from German Gross often applied as a translation into German of corresponding Slavic nicknames or surnames.4: Croatian and Czech (Groš): nickname from groš ‘groschen’ the name of a medieval thick silver coin and later e.g. in Austria of a coin of a small value (see Grosh).
Grosch : 1: German: metonymic occupational name for a moneyer or possibly a nickname for an avaricious person from Middle High German Middle Low German grosche ‘groschen’ a medieval thick silver coin its name ultimately derived from medieval Latin (denarius) grossus literally ‘thick coin’. Compare Grosh.2: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): Germanized form of Grosz.
Grosh : 1: Americanized form of German Grosch Polish and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) Grosz Croatian and Czech Groš (see Gros 4): nickname from local spellings of the name of a medieval thick silver coin and later e.g. in Poland of a coin of a small value itself ultimately from medieval Latin (denarius) grossus literally ‘thick coin’.2: Ukrainian: cognate of 1 above.
Grosz : 1: Polish and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): nickname from Polish grosz ‘groschen’ a coin of small value (see Grosh). As a Polish name it may also be an adaptation of German Grosch.2: Polish: from a pet form of the personal name Groch.3: Hungarian and Jewish (from Hungary): from German Gross a nickname meaning ‘large’.4: German: archaic variant of Gross.
Groszek : Polish and Jewish (from Poland): from groszek a diminutive of grosz a copper coin hence a metonymic occupational name for a moneyer or a nickname for a wealthy or money-conscious individual.
Grote : 1: North German: nickname for a large man from Low German grot(h) ‘large corpulent’. Compare Gross and Groth.2: Dutch: variant of Groot a cognate of 1 above.3: English: nickname from Middle English grot ‘groat a denomination of coin’ from Middle Dutch groot ‘great’ being an elliptical use of the adjective i.e. ‘thick (coin)’. In English use from the 14th to 17th centuries a groat was a silver coin equivalent to four pence.4: English: nickname from Middle English grot ‘fragment speck trifle tiny thing’ (Old English grot grota).5: English: topographic name perhaps from Middle English grot grut (Old English grēot) ‘gravel’ or a habitational name from a place called from this such as Gourt in Molland (Devon).
Gulden : 1: Dutch and German (also Gülden): from gulden ‘golden’ derived from vergulden vergolden ‘to gild’ a metonymic occupational name for a craftsman who gilds objects; compare Guldner.2: Dutch: from gulden the name of the coin (English guilder) applied as a topographic or habitational name referring to a house name such as In den silvren Gulden (‘In the Silver Guilder’) or from related verb meaning ‘to gild’ applied as a topographic or habitational name referring to a house name such as De Gulden Hoeve (‘The Gilded Farmhouse’) or De Gulden Zwaan (‘The Gilded Swan’).3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Gulden Yiddish guldn or Polish gulden ‘guilder’ (see 1 above).4: English: variant of Golden.
Heller : 1: German: nickname from the small medieval coin known as the häller or heller because it was first minted (in 1208) at the Swabian town of (Schwäbisch) Hall. Compare Hall.2: German: topographic name for someone living by a field named with a word meaning ‘hell’ (see Helle 1).3: Dutch: variant of Helder.4: English: variant of Hillier.5: English: in some cases a topographic name from Middle English heller ‘dweller on the hill’ a term that belongs to southern England especially Surrey Kent Sussex and Hampshire. See Hiller and Huller.6: Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name for someone from Schwäbisch Hall.7: Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a person with fair hair or a light complexion from an inflected form used before a male personal name of German hell ‘light bright’ Yiddish hel.
Hundertmark : German: nickname for a wealthy man or someone who pretends to be from Middle High German hundert ‘hundred’ + marke marc a denomination of a coin.
Inga : 1: Amerindian and Hispanic (mainly Peru and Ecuador): from a variant of inca ‘Inca’ applied either as an ethnic name or as a topographic name or nickname since the same term also denotes a kind of tropical tree and an old Peruvian coin.2: Italian: perhaps from Sicilian inga ‘ink’ a metonymic occupational name for a scribe.
Kreutzer : 1: German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived near a cross set up by the roadside or in a marketplace from Middle High German kriuz(e) ‘cross’ + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.2: German: habitational name for someone from a place called Krögis (recorded as Creuz in 1186) or from some other place similarly named.3: German: in some cases possibly from Middle High German kriuzære kriuzer a term denoting a crusader or Teutonic Knight an allusion to the symbol of the cross worn on the tunic by such knights.4: German: possibly also a metonymic occupational name for a coiner from the same word denoting a small coin marked with the symbol of a cross (in full kriuzerpfenninc).5: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from Kreutzer the name of the coin (see 4 above).
Kritzer : 1: South German: probably an occupational name for a coiner from krüzer ‘kreutzer’ (the coin) a dialect variant of Kreutzer. Compare Critzer.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kretzer.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kratzer from Yiddish kritsn ‘to scratch’.
Maille : 1: French Canadian (Maillé): altered form of Breton Maguet from maget ‘nourished’ used as a nickname for a child found and raised by a nurse.2: French: from maille the name of a small coin and by extension a feudal levy of this amount hence possibly a nickname for someone who paid or collected this tax.3: French: from mail ‘blacksmith's hammer’ hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked with such an implement.
Ocoin : Altered form (also O'Coin) of French Aucoin.
Pac : 1: Polish: from a pet form of a personal name beginning with Pa- for example Pakosław (composed of the Old Slavic elements pak ‘again more’ + slav ‘glory’ or ‘famous’) or Paweł (see Pawel).2: Czech and Slovak (Pač Czech mainly Páč): from a short form of the Old Slavic personal name Pačeslav (composed of the Old Slavic elements pač from pak ‘again more’ + slav ‘glory’ or ‘famous’) or from a pet form of any other personal name beginning with Pa- for example Czech Pavel. Compare Patch 2.3: Czech (Pác): nickname from pác the name of a small coin.4: Spanish (Aragon): topographic name from pac ‘farmstead’.5: Amerindian (Guatemala): Mayan name from a Castilianized form of pak' ‘wooden spoon’.
Palange : Italian (Molise): variant of Palanga a nickname from palanca ‘large wooden beam; footbridge’ which is also the name of an ancient coin.
Patak : 1: Hungarian: either a topographic name from patak ‘creek’ or a habitational name from any of several places called with this word which is of Slavic origin (from potok).2: Czech and Slovak (Paták): nickname from Czech paták the name of an old small coin (literally ‘fiver’; it was at one time worth five groschen).
Penny : English:: 1: from Middle English peni peny ‘penny’ (Old English pening penig) applied as a nickname possibly for a person of some substance or for a tenant who paid a rent of one penny. This was the common ancient Germanic unit of value when money was still an unusual phenomenon. It was the only unit of coinage in England until the early 14th century when the groat and the gold noble were introduced and was a silver coin of considerable value. There is some evidence that the word was used in Old English times as a byname. This surname is also found in Ireland. Compare Halfpenny Farthing Grote and Shilling.2: alternatively a variant of Penning or Penn.
Pieniazek : Polish (Pieniążek): from the word pieniążek ‘small coin small change dump’ a diminutive of pieniądz ‘money’.
Pinard : French:: 1: nickname from Old French pinard a small medieval coin so named from pin ‘pine’ because it bore the device of a pine cone.2: habitational name from Pinard the name of several places in various parts of France named from pin ‘pine’.
Plappert : South German: nickname from Middle High German blaphart the name of a silver coin worth one-twentieth of a gulden (florin).
Poltorak : Polish (Półtorak); Ukrainian; Jewish (from Poland and Ukraine; also Półtorak): nickname from Polish półtorak Ukrainian pivtorak (Russified to poltorak) ‘(anything measuring) one and a half’. In Polish this word also has a narrower sense denoting a coin of the value of one and half grosz. It can also be a nickname for an exceptionally large or tall person. Compare Pultorak.
Pont : 1: English (mainly Sussex) Scottish French and Catalan: topographic name for someone who lived near a bridge Middle English Old French Catalan pont (from Latin pons genitive pontis). Compare French Dupont.2: Catalan: habitational name from any of numerous places called with pont ‘bridge’.3: Dutch: either from pond ‘pound’ (a measure of weight and a coin) probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for a controller of weights and measures or a variant of Punt.4: Swedish: unexplained.
Praeger : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) (Präger): occupational name for a coiner from an agent derivative of Middle High German præch(en) bræchen German prägen ‘to coin or mint’. Compare Prager 2.2: Jewish: variant of Prager 1.
Raboin : 1: French: nickname from an Old French name of a small coin.2: French: in some cases possibly also a habitational name from a place so named in Loire.3: Altered form of French Rabouin a variant of 1 above or a habitational name from a place so named in Dordogne.
Rendel : 1: German: habitational name from Rendel in Hesse.2: South German: variant of Reindl.3: English: variant of Rendall.4: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from Yiddish rendl ‘ducat (gold coin)’.
Scherf : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German Middle Low German scherf a coin worth half a penny possibly applied as a nickname for a poor person.2: German: nickname from Middle High German scharpf scherf ‘sharp rough’.3: German: habitational name from any of the places in the Rhineland named Scherf.
Sedmak : 1: Slovenian and Croatian: nickname for a child born as a seventh child derived from sedmi ‘seventh’.2: Slovak (Sedmák): perhaps a nickname from sedmák the name of an old coin worth seven kreutzers (see Kreutzer).
Sestak : 1: Czech and Slovak (Šesták): from šesták the name of an old coin (literally ‘sixer’; it was at one time worth six kreuzers). The surname would have been acquired by someone who had to pay rent of this amount or for some other anecdotal reason.2: Croatian (Šestak): nickname denoting a child born as a sixth child from a derivative of šesti ‘sixth’. Compare Shestak.3: Rusyn (from Slovakia; mainly Šesták): nickname for a child born as a sixth child (see Shostak compare 2 above) or from the name of an old coin (see 1 above). Compare Shestak.4: Americanized form of Hungarian Seszták: of Slovak or other Slavic origin (see above).
Shilling : 1: English: nickname from the Middle English coin name schilling ‘shilling’ (Old English scilling) probably referring to a fee or rent owed or paid. In addition the name may also arise from an unrecorded Middle English personal name Shilling (Old English Scilling) from the word above. Compare Farthing Grote Halfpenny and Penny.2: English: perhaps sometimes a variant of Sellen.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Schilling.4: Americanized form of German and Dutch Schilling.
Shostak : 1: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) Ukrainian Rusyn and Belorussian: nickname from Ukrainian shostak Belorussian shastak ‘six-fingered person’ also the name of an old coin worth six groschens derived from Ukrainian shist Belorussian shests ‘six’ or a nickname (an old personal name) for a child born as a sixth child derived from Ukrainian and Belorussian shosty ‘sixth’. Compare Shestak.2: Americanized form of Polish Rusyn (from Poland) and Jewish (from Poland) Szóstak; see Szostak.
Siclari : Italian (southern):: 1: occupational name for a maker of buckets from an agent derivative of Greek sikla ‘bucket’ from Semitic (Hebrew) shekel ‘unit of weight roughly 0 4 ounces’.2: occupational name for a money coiner from medieval Latin siclarius from siclus from Hebrew shekel used as a coin for the corresponding amount of weight in silver.
Skufca : Slovenian (Škufca): from archaic škuf(i)ca denoting a kind of small coin probably used as a nickname for a poor or avaricious or small insignificant man.
Soldo : 1: Italian: nickname from soldo ‘penny cent’ also ‘military pay wage’ (from Latin solidus ‘solid’ the name of a gold Roman coin). See also 3 below.2: Italian: from a short form of a compound personal name ending with -soldo such as Ansoldo.3: Croatian: nickname for a soldier either from a hypocoristic form of soldat ‘soldier’ (from Italian soldato) or from soldo an Italian word which came to mean ‘military pay’ in the Middle Ages (see 1 above).
Steever : Possibly from Middle Low German stüver 'small coin (which came east from the Netherlands in the 15th century).
Sterling : 1: Scottish: variant of Stirling.2: English: from the Middle English personal name Starling Sterling (Old English Stærling) itself from the bird-name whose use as a nickname may also be another source of the surname. Compare Stare 2.3: German: from Middle High German sterlinc the name of a coin hence probably a nickname for someone who paid that amount in rent.
Stuver : North German (Stüver):: 1: variant of Stuve.2: from Middle Low German stuver the name of a coin hence perhaps a nickname for someone who owed this amount in rent or taxes.
Szostak : Polish Rusyn (from Poland) and Jewish (from Poland) (Szóstak): nickname from Polish szóstak ‘six-fingered person’ also the name of an old Polish coin derived from sześć ‘six’ or a nickname (an old personal name) for a sixth-born child derived from szósty ‘sixth’. Compare Shostak.
Tarin : 1: Spanish (Tarín): habitational name from a place called Tarín in Teruel.2: French: from tarin ‘siskin’ (a small songbird similar to the goldfinch) hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble the bird in some way (e.g. for someone who liked to sing) or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a bird dealer or catcher.3: French: possibly also a metonymic occupational name for a moneyer from tarin a medieval coin from Late Latin tarinus probably a derivative of Tarentum (see Taranto) where the coins were first minted.
Terpenning : Dutch: habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a coin Middle Dutch penninc (cognate with English penny German Pfennig).
Tolar : 1: Czech: nickname from tolar denoting a silver coin named in German Thaler after the silver mines at Joachimsthal (‘Joachim's valley’; Czech name: Jáchymov) in Bohemia. Compare Thaler and Dollar.2: Slovenian: from German Thaler which was partly applied as a translation of Slovenian Dolar.
Trilling : German: nickname from Middle High German drīlinc ‘one of three one third’ which was also the name of a medieval coin.
Winpenny : from Middle English winnen win ‘to win’ + peni ‘money coin penny’ (Old English winnan + pening penig) perhaps for a gambler. Compare John Wynnegold 1327 in Subsidy Rolls (Suffolk) 1365 in London Pleas.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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