Origin
Human : 1: English: from the Middle English personal name Hugheman also spelled Hugeman Hiweman Howeman and Huweman a Middle Dutch pet form of Hugh with the hypocoristic suffix -man. The name was probably introduced to Britain by Flemings after the Norman Conquest. Compare Hugh.2: English: occupational name denoting a ‘servant of Hugh’ (see Hugh).3: Perhaps an altered form of German Homann.
Adam : 1: English Scottish German French Walloon Breton Dutch Flemish Romanian Polish Czech Slovak Slovenian Croatian and Assyrian/Chaldean; Hungarian (Ádám): from the Biblical personal name Adam which was borne according to Genesis by the first man. It is the generic Hebrew term for ‘man’ which is probably a derivative of Hebrew adama ‘earth’ (compare the classical Greek legend that Zeus fashioned the first human beings from earth). Adam was very popular as a personal name among non-Jews throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Jews however did not use this personal name except in recent times under Polish and English influence.2: Spanish: variant of Adán ‘Adam’ (see Adan).3: Muslim: from the personal name Ādam Arabic variant of Adam. Compare Adem.4: American shortened form of Scottish and Irish McAdam and also of cognates from other languages (see examples 5 below and at Adams).5: American shortened (and altered) form of Armenian Atamian or Adamian.
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.
Bok : 1: Dutch: from an ancient Germanic personal name Bocco or Bucco possibly developed from Burkhard see Burkhart.2: Dutch: from bok in the sense ‘he-goat’ a nickname for a goatherd or for someone associated with the character or appearence of a he-goat. Alternatively it may be a topographic or habitational name referring to a house with the word bok in its name e.g. In de Witte Bok (‘At the White He-Goat’). Compare Bock.3: Czech: from the Old Czech personal name Bok a short form of names such as Bohuslav and Bohumil (see Bocek).4: Swedish: ornamental name from bok ‘beech’.5: Slovenian and Croatian: nickname from German Bock ‘he-goat’ (see Bock) or a nickname or a topographic name from bok ‘side (of the human body)’ also ‘hillside’.6: Jewish: variant of Bock.7: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 莫 possibly based on its Hokkien pronunciation see Mo 1.8: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 卜 see Bu 2.
Celik : 1: Turkish (Çelik): from çelik ‘steel’ applied as an ornamental name a nickname for a very strong man or a metonymic occupational name. This is the fifth most frequent surname in Turkey.2: Bosniak Croatian and Serbian (Čelik): nickname or metonymic occupational name from Bosnian Croatian and Serbian čelik ‘steel’ a word of Turkish origin (see above).3: Slovenian (Čelik): topographic name derived from čelo ‘forehead’ in the sense ‘slope right below the peak of a hill resembling human forehead’ or an old habitational name for someone from a place Čelo named with this word.
Dipper : 1: probably mostly a variant of Diaper (from the Anglo-Norman surname d'Ypre) with the vowel shortened in Middle English but some bearers listed below may belong at (2). 2: perhaps in some instances from Middle English dip(p)er recorded as a term for some kind of diving bird (maybe the dabchick or the water ousel now commonly called the dipper) and possibly used of a human diver one who dives to harvest oysters or to mend boats weirs or fishing nets. Compare Diver. Alternatively it might be an unrecorded agent derivative of Middle English dippen ‘to immerse (something)’ possibly therefore an occupational name for a dyer of cloth. For potential medieval bearers in SW and W England see Diaper although none have the tell-tale definite article.
Exler : German: variant of Öchsler from Middle High German ochse ‘ox’ + -(l)er suffix denoting human activity; an occupational name for someone who tended cattle or for a cattle dealer or a nickname for a farmer who used oxen for plowing.
Gropper : 1: German: occupational name for someone who fished for grouper from Gropp + -er suffix denoting human agency.2: North German (Gröpper): Westphalian occupational name for a maker of metal or earthenware vessels from Middle Low German grope ‘pot’ + agent suffix -er.
Hercules : 1: Hispanic West Indian Guyanese and South African: from the personal name Hercules which is the Latin form of classical Greek Hēraklēs meaning ‘glory of Hera’ (Hera was the queen of the gods). It was the name of a demigod in classical mythology who was the son of Zeus king of the gods by a human woman; his outstanding quality was his superhuman strength.2: English (Lancashire): variant by folk etymology of Argles a nickname from Middle English (originally Norman) orguillous erguleis Old French orgoillos orguilleus ergoillose ‘proud arrogant showy’ (in manner or dress). Compare Orgill and Argyle. A derivation from the personal name Hercules (see 1 above) is implausible as this was not used as an English personal name until the 16th century and then only among families with an education in Classics who would already possess hereditary surnames.
Lunar : Spanish (mainly southern): nickname from lunar ‘mole’ (a spot or blemish on the human skin) ‘also patch of gray hair’.
Noe : 1: German Dutch and English (London); French and Spanish (Noé); Catalan (Noè): from the Biblical personal name Noach ‘Noah’ which means ‘comfort’ in Hebrew. According to the Book of Genesis Noah having been forewarned by God built an ark into which he took his family and representatives of every species of animal and so was saved from the flood that God sent to destroy the world because of human wickedness. The personal name was not common among non-Jews in the Middle Ages but the Biblical story was an extremely popular subject for miracle plays. In many cases therefore the surname probably derives from a nickname referring to someone who had played the part of Noah in a miracle play or pageant rather than from a personal name. The usual English form of the surname is Noy.2: French (Noë): habitational name from La Noë the name of several places in the northern part of France derived from the Gaulish word nauda ‘water meadow boggy place’; it is a cognate of Noue (see Lanoue) and in North America possibly also an altered form of this.3: French (Noé): variant of Noël (see Noel).4: French (Noé): habitational name from any of several places so named ultimately from Latin nucarius ‘walnut tree’.
Spano : 1: Italian (Sardinia): nickname from Sardinian spanu (from Latin spanus) ‘chestnut light gray’ a term primarily used with reference to horses cattle and goats but also to describe the color of human hair and beards.2: Italian (Sardinia): descriptive nickname from spanu ‘having thinning hair’ from medieval Greek spanos from classical Greek spanios ‘scarce’ (see Spanos).3: Slovak (mainly Špaňo also Špano): from a Slavicized derivative of Hungarian ispán (itself a derivative of Slavic župan; see Zupan) in old Hungary a title denoting the highest royal official standing at the head of the manor.
Tail : 1: from Middle English tail ‘tail’ (Old English tægl ‘tail’). The reference may be to horsehair: compare Old Scandinavian tagl 'horse's tail' and note Peter Taylmonger 1332 in Fransson (Norfolk) apparently ‘seller of (horses’) tails'. A lewd connotation is also possible as the word was jocularly applied to human genitalia both male and female. Some of the early bearers may belong with (2). 2: from Middle English tail ‘tail’ (Old English tægl) denoting either a projecting piece of land or the part of a mill race leading away from the waterwheel for someone who lived by such a feature.
Trunk : 1: German: nickname for a heavy drinker from Middle High German trunc ‘drink’ from trinken ‘to drink’. It is also found in Slovenia.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name or nickname from German Trunk ‘drink’ (see 1 above).3: English (Durham): nickname from Middle English trunk tronk ‘trunk of a tree or human body; storage chest coffer’. This surname is rare in Britain and Ireland.
Vlasak : Czech (Vlasák): nickname for a man with thick or long hair from Czech vlas ‘hair’ + -ák suffix denoting a human agent. It may also have been an occupational name for a buyer of hair.
Wenn : 1: English (East Anglia): nickname or topographic name from Middle English wen ‘wen wart’ which was used in Middle English to denote a small hill or barrow as well as a physical disfigurement on the human body.2: English (East Anglia): alternatively it may be a topographic name from Middle English wend(e) ‘bend turn’.3: German: unexplained.
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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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