Last names linked to EN

Origin

Alsop : English: habitational name from Alsop en la Dale in Derbyshire named with the genitive of the Old English personal name Ælle + Old English hop ‘enclosed valley’.

Bagshaw : English: habitational name from a place so named in Chapel en le Frith in Derbyshire. The first element of the placename is either the Old English personal name Bacga or an unattested Old English word bagga for a ‘bag-shaped’ object or creature; the second element is Old English sceaga ‘copse’.

Benes : 1: Czech (Beneš); Slovak (mainly Beneš): from a short form of the personal name Benedikt (see Benedict). This is one of the most common Czech surnames. The homonymous Sorbian cognates B'eńeš and Bjenješ are found in Germanized and Americanized forms only (see Benesch and Benesh).2: Croatian (Beneš): from a derivative of the personal name Benedikt (see Benedict). In part it is of Czech origin (see 1 above).

Benesch : 1: Germanized form of Czech Slovak and Croatian Beneš (see Benes).2: Germanized form of Sorbian B'eńeš and Bjenješ: Czech-influenced (see 1 above) variant of B'eniš and Bjeniš (see Benisch).

Benesh : Americanized form of Czech Slovak and Croatian Beneš (see Benes) Sorbian B'eńeš and Bjenješ or of their Germanized form Benesch.

Benis : 1: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): patronymic from the Yiddish male personal name Benye (a pet form of Beniamin; see Bien Benjamin) + the Yiddish possessive and patronymic suffix -s.2: Latvian: from a short form of the personal name Benedikts (see Benedict).3: Czech and Slovak (Beniš): from a short form of the personal name Benedikt (see Benedict). The homonymous Sorbian cognates B'eniš and Bjeniš are found in Germanized and Americanized forms only (see Benisch and Benish).

Benisch : 1: Germanized form of Czech and Slovak Beniš (see Benis) a cognate of 2 below.2: Germanized form of Sorbian B'eniš and Bjeniš: from a short form Lower Sorbian B'eniš Upper Sorbian Bjeniš of the personal name Benedikt (see Benedict) or Old Sorbian Benisław.

Benish : Americanized form of Czech and Slovak Beniš (see Benis) Sorbian B'eniš and Bjeniš or of their Germanized form Benisch.

Benke : 1: German: shortened form of Beneke.2: Germanized form of Sorbian B'enk B'enka and B'enko: from a pet form of the personal name Benedikt (see Benedict) Bernat (see Bernard) or Old Sorbian Benisław.3: Hungarian: from a pet form of the personal name Benedek (see Benedict).

Bens : 1: Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Benne a short form of Bernhard + possessive -s.2: German: variant of Bense and Benz.3: Czech (Benš): from a shortened variant of the personal name Beneš (see Benes). The homonymous Sorbian cognates B'eńš and Bjenš are found in Germanized forms only (see Bensch).4: French: variant of Bence.

Bensch : Germanized form of Sorbian B'eńš Bjenš and Czech Benš: from a shortened variant of the personal name Lower Sorbian B'eniš Upper Sorbian Bjeniš (see Benisch) and Czech Beneš (see Benes).

Bloemendaal : Dutch: habitational name from any of several places called Bloemendaal ‘valley of flowers’ the name of farms in De Lutte Elsen Delden Doetinchem en Meppel all in the East Netherlands but also the name of villages and hamlets near Gouda and Vianen in South-Holland Halsteren in North Brabant and Haarlem in North Holland. Compare Bloomingdale.

Cendejas : Spanish: habitational name from Cendejas de en Medio or Cendejas de la Torre both in Guadalajara province. Compare Sendejas and Zendejas.

De Neui : East Frisian: cognate of Dutch De Neu itself a variant of De Nooij a habitational name from any of several places called Neude for example in Utrecht en Wageningen from Middle Dutch neude ‘gully’. The surname De Neui is very rare in Germany.

Ehn : 1: Swedish: ornamental name from ehn ornamental spelling of en ‘juniper’.2: German: from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name reflected in Old High German ecka ‘point or blade of a sword’.

Enberg : 1: Swedish: probably an ornamental name composed of the elements en ‘juniper’ + berg ‘mountain hill’.2: Norwegian: habitational name from a farmstead so named from Old Norse einir ‘juniper’ + berg ‘mountain hill’.3: German: habitational name from a place so named in Allgäu.

Endo : Japanese (Endō): written 遠藤 ‘far wisteria’ designating Fujiwara of Tōtōmi. En ‘far’ is a Sino-Japanese pronunciation of the tō element in the placename Tō-tsu-umi ‘farther lake’ (now part of Shizuoka prefecture) which refers to Lake Hamana and was shortened by usage to Tōtōmi. The name is found mainly in eastern Japan where it is borne by several families descended from the Taira and southern Fujiwara clans although it is also found in the Ryūkyū Islands. It is also spelled Endoh and Endow in America.

Engard : 1: Finnish (of Swedish origin; Engård): habitational name from a farm named Engård in Lapinjärvi in southern Finland composed of the Swedish elements en ‘juniper’ + gård ‘farm’. Adopted as a hereditary surname in the early 20th century.2: Americanized form of Danish Enggård: unexplained.3: Probably also an Americanized form of German Engert or of some other similar (like-sounding) surname.

Enquist : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements en ‘juniper’ + quist an old or ornamental spelling of kvist ‘twig’.

Enstrom : Swedish (Enström): ornamental name composed of the elements en ‘juniper’ + ström ‘river’.

Eren : a derivative of er ‘man hero’ apparently + en ‘best’.

Fant : 1: English: from Middle English infaunt(e) ‘baby child’ (Old French enfant) hence a nickname for someone of a childish (or childlike) disposition. This name arose when in medieval England Anglo-Norman French l'enfant was wrongly understood as le fant.2: Italian (Veneto): variant of Infante.

Gain : 1: English and Scottish (of Norman origin): nickname for a cunning person from Engaine which is based on Old French engaigne ‘ingenuity cunning trickery’.2: English: habitiational name from any of various places called after the Engain family including Colne Engaine and Gaynes Park (Essex) d'Engaine's Farm (Cambridgeshire) and Aston Ingham (Hereford). Engaine (see 1 above) was the name of a powerful Norman family with lands in several counties. The original form of the surname has since died out surviving as Gain and its variants. There has also been considerable confusion with Ingham.3: French: nickname from a noun derivative of Old French gaainier ‘to obtain gain win’.

Halen : 1: Swedish (Halén): variant of Hallén (see Hallen).2: Dutch (Van Halen): habitational name for someone from the villages Hoog en Laaghalen in the province of Drenthe or Halen near Hasselt in Belgian Limburg.3: Irish: variant of English Hallen.

Haley : 1: English: habitational name from Hailey (Oxfordshire) Heylee in Chapel en le Frith (Derbyshire) Haley in Northowram (Yorkshire) or one or other of the places called Highley in Parracombe and Upottery (Devon). All the placenames derive from Old English hēg ‘hay’ + Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing’ except Highley in Upottery whose first element may be Old English hēah ‘high’.2: English (southeastern): aspirated pronunciation of Ayley a variant of Aylett.3: Irish: adopted form of Mac Céile see McHale.

Hawthorne : 1: English: habitational name from Hawthorne (Hill) in Bray (Berkshire) an altered form of Hothorne earlier Horethorn (Old English hār + thorn ‘boundary thorn(-tree)’. A common variant of the surname in 17th-century Bray and neighboring Binfield was Hathorne.2: English (Gloucestershire): topographic name for someone who lived by a hawthorn tree (Middle English hawthorn).3: English (Staffordshire): variant of Hordern a habitational name from Hordern (in Rainow Cheshire) Horderns in Chapel en le Frith (Derbyshire) Hordron in Langsett (Yorkshire) Little Hordern in Bolton le Moors (Lancashire) and perhaps from Hardhorn in Poulton le Fylde (Lancashire). All the placenames derive from Old English hord-ærn ‘storehouse’. By the early 17th century the surname had arrived in Staffordshire where it was sometimes re-interpeted as Hawthorne.4: Scottish (Wigtownshire): habitational name from Hawthorn in Easington (Durham) which derives from Old English haguthorn ‘hawthorn (tree)’. From Scotland it was taken to Ireland where this form of the surname is now found primarily in northern Ireland (Down).

Heskey : 1: variant of Haskey or a variant of Eskey with prosthetic H-; see Askey. 2: variant of Hesketh. Compare Martha Hesketh Martha Heskey 1712 in IGI (Church Minshull Cheshire); Tho. Hesketh 1731 Thomas Heskey 1759 in IGI (Chapel en le Frith Derbys).

Holehouse : probably from Hole House in Chapel en le Frith Hole House in Chisworth Holehouse Farm in Wirksworth or Holehouse Farm in Killamarsh (all Derbys) though this cannot be certain as medieval forms for these place-names have not been found. The place-names may derive from Old English hol ‘hole hollow’ + hūs ‘house’.

Hordern : from Hordern (in Rainow Cheshire) Horderns in Chapel en le Frith (Derbys) Hordron in Langsett (WR Yorks) Little Hordern in Bolton le Moors (Lancs) and perhaps from Hardhorn in Poulton le Fylde (Lancs). All the place-names derive from Old English hord-ærn ‘storehouse’.

Ingrao : Italian (southern): from a shortened form of Ingarao composed of an ancient Germanic personal name equivalent to Gerald which was imported from Catalonia and Aragon in the form Garau and either the southern Italian prefix in- ‘belonging to the family of’ or Catalan en ‘lord’ (form of address).

Krummen : German and Swiss German: variant of Krumm especially in Rhineland and northern Germany where an inflected adjective form is used frequently instead of the basic form (dat is en krummen).

Lanclos : French: variant of Lenclos a habitational name from L'Enclos the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France. This surname is very rare in France.

Langenberg : German Dutch and Flemish: habitational name from any of various places in Germany and one in the province of Antwerp so named from Old High German lang ‘long’ + dative ending en + berg ‘mountain hill’.

Langendorf : German: habitational name from any of several places so called from Old High German lang ‘long’ + dative ending en + dorf ‘village’.

Laughton : English:: 1: habitational name from Laughton en le Morthen in Yorkshire Laughton in Leicestershire or Laughton in Lincolnshire (near Gainsborough) . The places are named with Old English lēac ‘leek’ + tūn ‘enclosure’ meaning ‘village or farm where leeks are grown’. It may sometimes have alternated with Leighton which is mostly from placenames with the same etymology.2: occasionally perhaps a habitational name from Loughton in Essex. The placename denoted ‘Luh(h)a's estate’ (Old English Luh(h)a + the connective infix -ing- + Old English tūn). English surnames from the placename usually occur as Loughton but the placename is also recorded as Lufton in 1512 and Laughton in 1586 and it is these variants that gave rise to the forms of the surname that were taken to the US; see Loftin.3: variant of Lawton.

Ma : 1: Chinese: Mandarin or Cantonese form of the surname 馬 which means ‘horse’: (i) from the first element of Mafu (馬服) the name of a fief (located in Handan in Hebei province) or an honorific title that was granted to Zhao She a prince of the state of Zhao during the Warring States period (475–221 BC). The name Mafu (馬服) was later acquired as a surname and shortened to Ma (馬). (ii) from the adopted name of Xi-Li Ji'en (習禮吉恩) an official in the Jin dynasty (1115–1234 AD) who changed his original name to Ma Qingxiang (馬慶祥) when he moved from Central Asia to Lintao (in present-day Gansu province). (iii) from the adopted name of Yue Naihe (月乃和) a commander-in-chief in the late Jin dynasty who changed his original name to Ma Zu Chang (馬祖常). (iv) this surname is also borne by Muslims of the Hui ethnic group located mainly in northwestern China.2: Chinese: Mandarin or Cantonese form of the surname 麻 which denotes a herbaceous plant such as hemp or flax: (i) from the placename Ma (麻) the name of a fief (located in Macheng in Hubei province) that was granted to an official of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) from the first element of the personal name of Ma Ying (麻婴) an official in the state of Qi (located mainly in present-day Shandong province) during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).3: Korean: written 마 in Chinese characters 馬 meaning ‘horse’. There are actually two Chinese characters for the surname Ma only one of which is frequent enough to be treated here. Two clans use the character 馬: the Mokch’ŏn clan and the Changhŭng clan. The character is borne by the descendants of Ma Ryŏ (馬 黎) who migrated to Korea from China during the Han Commanderies period (1st century BC) and attended King On Cho when he left Koguryŏ to found the Paekche Kingdom in 18 BC and by the descendants of Ryŏ's brother Ma Shin (馬 信) who stayed behind in Koguryŏ. The Ma family disappears from the historical record after these events but reappears during the reign of the Koryŏ king Chŏngjo (reigned 1776–1800 AD) when a high court official Ma Sun-hŭng (馬 順興) was enfeoffed with Mokch’ŏn County in Ch’ungch’ŏng South Province. Mokch’ŏn became the clan seat of the Ma Family. Another clan seat appeared eleven generations later when Ma Ch’ŏn-mok (馬 天牧) was enfeoffed with Changhŭng County. Compare Mah 2.4: Burmese: from a form of address for a young woman akin to English ‘miss’ used as part of the female name proper. — Note: Since Burmese do not have hereditary surnames this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.5: Cambodian: written ម៉ា probably of Chinese origin but unexplained etymology (compare above). It corresponds to the Khmer word borrowed from dialects of southern China (particularly Teochew Hokkien and Hakka) meaning ‘grandmother’.6: Vietnamese (Mã): from the Chinese surname 馬 see 1 above. It is also found among the Cham people in southern Vietnam.

McKeith : from the male given name Keith which is originally from a Scottish locative surname for which see Keith. Although Mac may have been used with some non-Gaelic personal names compare McAndie this is the less likely explanation.from Mac Shìthich 'son of Sìtheach' a personal name meaning 'enchanted' or 'peaceful' or as suggested by Black a Gaelic euphemism for 'wolf'. Compare Irish Sheehy.

Neve : 1: English Dutch North German Danish and Swedish: relationship name from Middle English Middle Dutch Middle Low German neve ‘nephew’. The word was also used in later Middle English for a wastrel spendthrift or parasite. Compare Dutch Neef German Neff and English Nephew; see also 4 below.2: Italian Portuguese and Galician: from neve ‘snow’ (from Latin nix genitive nivis) applied as a nickname for a white-haired or very pale-complexioned person and also used as a personal name (compare 3 below).3: Italian: from a short form of the Marian title Madonna della Neve ‘Mary of the Snows’ (see Nieves).4: French (mainly Nord; Nève): relationship name of Flemish origin from Middle Dutch neve ‘nephew’ (see 1 above).5: French (Nève): habitational name from the placename En Nève which is from a misdivision of En ève ‘in water’ (modern standard French en eau).

Ollerenshaw : from Ollerenshaw Hall in Chapel en le Frith (Derbys) which is recorded as Alreuessawe in 1251 and Olrynshagh in 1285. The place-name derives from Old English *alren ‘growing with alders’ (from alor ‘alder’ with the adjectival suffix -en) + sceaga ‘small wood copse’.

Penk : 1: German: habitational name from any of various places so named in Bavaria.2: German: from a pet form of the personal name Benignus (see Benigno).3: German: from an Old Prussian personal name.4: Sorbian (P'eńk): from a diminutive of Lower Sorbian p'eń ‘tree stump trunk’ (see Penn) probably a nickname for a short stocky person or for a fool; compare 5 below.5: Germanized form of Sorbian Pjeńk: cognate of 1 above from Upper Sorbian pjeńk ‘tree stump trunk’ by extension also ‘blockhead fool’.

Penn : 1: English: habitational name from either of two places called Penn (in Buckinghamshire and Staffordshire) both of which are named with Brittonic penn ‘head’ often used in hill-names.2: English: topographic name or metonymic occupational name from Middle English pen(n) ‘enclosure animal pen fold’ (Old English penn) for someone who lived by or worked at a fold. Examples of this surname are formally difficult to distinguish from those in 1 above.3: English: from a pet form of the female personal name Pernel see Parnell.4: English: variant of Pinn.5: Cornish: shortened form of Penna.6: South German: unexplained.7: Germanized form of Sorbian P'eń: from Lower Sorbian p'eń ‘tree stump trunk’ probably a nickname for a short stocky person.8: Breton (mainly Finistère; also Le Penn): variant of Pen and in North America (also) an altered form of this.9: Americanized form of some similar (like-sounding) Jewish surname.10: In some cases probably also an Americanized form of Slovenian Pen.11: Americanized form of the Chinese surname 彭 see Peng 1.

Pink : 1: English: nickname for a chirpy person from Middle English pink(e) pinch (Old English pinc(a)) ‘chaffinch’.2: English: possibly a nickname for a physically small person from an unrecorded Middle English pink.3: German: nickname for a blacksmith from an onomatopoeic word imitating the sound of hammering which was perceived as pink(e)pank.4: Sorbian: probably a variant of P'eńk and Pjeńk (see Penk).

Qi : Chinese:: 1: Mandarin form of the surname 齊 meaning ‘neat’ or ‘identical’ in Chinese: (i) from Qi (齊) the name of a state (originally located mainly in Shandong province) that was granted to Jiang Ziya (also known as Jiang Tai Gong; c. 11th century BC) during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). (ii) from the first element of the personal name Qi Zi (齊子) style name of an official in the state of Wey during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) traced back to the Qi (齊) family from the Di ethnic group in Wudu (located in present-day Gansu province) in ancient China.2: Mandarin form of the surname 祁 meaning 'enormously' in ancient Chinese: (i) said to be borne by descendants of one of the sons of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (ii) from the placename Qi (祈) the name of a fief (located in Shanxi province) granted to Xi an official in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) from the first element of Qi Fu (祈父) the name of an official during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC); also the name of an official post in charge of weapons during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC).3: Mandarin form of the surname 戚 meaning ‘grief’ in ancient Chinese and also denoting a type of weapon: from Qi (戚) the name of a fief (located in Henan province) granted to Sun Lin Fu an official in the state of Wey during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).4: Mandarin form of the surname 漆 meaning ‘paint’ in Chinese: (i) shortened form of the Chinese compound surname Qi-Diao (漆雕) said to be descendants of Qi-Diao Kai (漆雕開) a pupil of Confucius (551–479 BC). (ii) said to be from the Sou Man ethnic group (found mostly in present-day Shandong province). (iii) from the placename Qi (漆) the name of a fief (located in Shandong province) granted to an official in the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iv) possibly from Qi (漆) the name of a river in Shaanxi province.5: Mandarin form of the surname 亓: shortened form of the Chinese compound surname Qi-Guan (亓官) the name of an official post in charge of the marriage of women in ancient China.6: Mandarin form of the surname 蕲: (i) from Qi (蕲) the name of an ancient state (located in Anhui province) during Warring States Period (475– 221 BC) which was annexed by the state of Chu. (ii) from Qi Chun (蕲春) the name of a state (located in Qichun in present-day Hubei province) during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).7: Mandarin form of the surname 啓 meaning ‘open’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from Qi (啓) style name of the second king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (ii) from the personal name Qi (啓) style name of a prince in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).

Ranch : 1: Americanized form of German and Swiss German Rentsch 1 or of its rare German variant Rantsch and of Sorbian Rjenč R'entš and Rentš or their Germanized form Rentsch 2.2: Danish: from a short form of ancient Germanic personal names like Rangwic.

Rench : 1: English: nickname from Middle English wrench ‘trick wile deceit’ (Old English wrenc) perhaps used for a deceitful person.2: Americanized form of German and Swiss German Rentsch 1 and of Sorbian Rjenč R'entš and Rentš or their Germanized form Rentsch 2.

Rensch : 1: German: from an East Central German shortened form of any of the ancient Germanic compound personal names with the first element ragin ‘counsel’ for example Reinhold or Reinhard (see Reinhardt).2: German: from an East Central German shortened and altered form of the personal name Laurens or Lorenz (see Lawrence).4: Germanized form of Sorbian Rjeńš and also of Rjenč R'entš and Rentš (see Rentsch) all cognates of 1 or 2.3: German: variant of Renschler.

Rentsch : 1: German and Swiss German: variant of Rensch. Compare Rench.2: Germanized form of Sorbian Rjenč R'entš and Rentš and also of Rjeńš: from a pet form of Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian variants of any of various German personal names beginning with Rein- (compare German Reinisch 1 and Rensch 1) and also of a Sorbian cognate of the German personal name Lorenz (compare German Rensch 2).

Renz : 1: German: from the personal name Renz a short form of Reinhard (see Reinhardt) or Lorenz (see Lawrence).2: German: habitational name from any of several places called Renz or Rentz in Pomerania and the former East Prussia.3: Germanized form of Sorbian R'enc a cognate of 1 above (compare Rentsch 2).

Serra : 1: Italian Portuguese and Catalan: topographic name from Italian Portuguese Catalan serra ‘ridge or chain of hills; mountain range’ (from Latin serra ‘saw’) or a habitational name from any of various places called with this word in Italy e.g. Serra d'Aniello and Serra Pedace (Cosenza) Serra San Bruno (Vibo Valentia) and Serracapriola (Foggia) in Valencia and Catalonia (Spain) e.g. Serra d'Almos or Serra d'en Galceran.2: Catalan (Serrà): topographic name for someone who lived by a sierra from Catalan serrà an adjective derived from serra (see 1 above) the same as Castilian Serrano.

Standeven : hypercorrect form of Standen. Citing Nicholas Standen or Standeven 1561–81 in Subsidy Rolls (Slaidburn WR Yorks) Redmonds rightly infers that Standen was re-interpreted by folk etymology as though it were a vulgar pronunciation of stand even as stand e'en.

Wallenberg : Swedish: ornamental name composed of the elements Wall + the plural suffix - en (originally German) + berg ‘mountain hill’.

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Last name frequency

Geographic distribution of the 689,863 individuals with the name EN on Geneanet.

This last name in the family trees

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