Origin and popularity of the name HEAD

Origin

Head : English: from Middle English heved hed ‘head’ (Old English hēafod) applied as a nickname for someone with a peculiarity or disproportion of the head or else used as a topographic name for someone who lived at the top (‘head’) of a promontory or hill or near the source of a stream or river or the head of a valley. This surname has long been established in Ireland.

Ackrill : apparently a variant of Arkell with -r- metathesized. The head of the Birmingham (Warwicks) family in Census 1851 was born in Brattleby (Lincs) 12 miles from South Kelsey and 10 miles from Middle Rasen.

Akinola : West African (Nigeria): from the Yoruba personal name Akino̩lá from akin ní o̩lá ‘valor possesses dignity or honor’. Akin may be understood as personified so: ‘hero head of family’.

Alterman : 1: Jewish (Ashkenazic): elaborated form of Alter or Alt (from the inflected form).2: Americanized form of German Altermann: status name for the head of a craft guild or church congregation. Compare English Alderman which was also used in the former sense.

Ani : 1: Indian Bangladeshi and Pakistani: from the Sindhi adjectival suffix ani a derivative of Sanskrit ansh ‘descendant’ an honorific traditionally added after the name of the head of a family. Compare Advani.2: Muslim (Iraq and Syria): variant of Al-Ani (see Alani).3: Indonesian: from the female personal name Ani a variant of Ana with the female ending -i which is of Indian origin. — Note: This personal name was registered as a surname only after immigration of its bearers to the US.4: West African (Nigeria): Igbo name from Ani the name of the Igbo goddess of the earth fertility and creativity.5: West African (Nigeria): Igbo name from a short form of a personal name such as Aniekwe which is interpreted as ‘the earth agreed’.

Baba : 1: Japanese: written 馬場 ‘horse-riding ground race track’. This is a common placename. This surname is found mostly in west central Japan. One Baba family in Kai (now Yamanashi prefecture) were samurai vassals of the Takeda family.2: Muslim: from Arabic bābā a diminutive of abū ‘father’.3: Turkish: ornamental name nickname or status name from baba ‘father’ also ‘venerable man’.4: Hungarian (Bába): habitational name from any of several places called Bába in Abaúj Borsod Somogy and Vas counties of Hungary and Közép-Szolnok County now in Romania.5: Albanian: nickname or status name from baba or babë (definite form baba) ‘father’ also ‘religious head of a Bektashi congregation’ a word of Turkish origin (see 3 above).6: Czech Slovak Polish Hungarian Romanian and Sorbian: from the Slavic word baba ‘(old) woman grandmother’ figuratively (for a man) ‘coward’ hence an unflattering nickname for a man thought to resemble an old woman or for a coward. The Sorbian surname is found mainly in a Germanized form Babe. Compare Babik Babinec.7: Spanish: nickname from baba ‘slime’.8: In some cases probably also an American shortened form of Armenian Babaian or Babayan.

Ballett : 1: from the Norman personal name Balet a diminutive of Continental Germanic Ballo of uncertain origin perhaps a nickname from *bal(l)- ‘ball’. 2: from Middle English bal ball(e) ‘ball sphere’ + heved hed ‘head’ perhaps for a round-headed person or synonymous with Middle English balled ‘bald (of the head) hairless’ as suggested in MED at balled adj. Compare Bald (2).

Begnaud : French: variant of Bignaud a nickname derived from Old French buigne ‘bump on the head (inflicted by a blow)’.

Boender : Dutch: occupational name or nickname derived from boenen ‘to rub to polish’ for someone using a boender ‘scrubbing brush’ to clean the floor or making these brushes (this is the literal meaning of the surname Boendermaker) or perhaps a nickname for someone with a head compared to such a brush.

Boultwood : of uncertain meaning. It appears to be a compound of Middle English bolt ‘crossbow head arrow; bar bolt (for fastening a door or gate)’ also ‘bolt (of cloth) bundle’ (Old English bolt) + Middle English hod houd ‘hood’ (Old English hōd) but the sense is not obvious. The suggestion in Reaney and Wilson that Bolt- is a spelling of Middle English bult short for bult-cloth ‘a cloth for bulting or sifting flour’ is formally possible but the idea that the name denotes someone who wore a hood made of sieving-cloth is unconvincing.

Bowgen : from Old French bulzun bouzon bozon buzun boujon bougon ‘arrow crossbow bolt (with a large head)’ used as a heraldic device but perhaps also metaphorically of a person who bore some physical resemblance to a bolt. Compare Bolt. Of the two pronunciations of the name Boujon persisted in E Anglia while B(o)uzon may have survived as Busson in SW England.

Bredehoft : North German (Bredehöft): from Middle Low German brēd ‘broad’ + hovet ‘head’ a nickname for someone with a broad head a Low German equivalent of High German Breithaupt. Compare Bredehoeft.

Breithaupt : German: nickname for a man with a broad head from Middle High German breit ‘broad’ + houbet houpt ‘head’. Compare Bredehoft.

Buhl : 1: German: nickname for a male relative (i.e. a member of an important family who was not the head of it) from Middle High German buole ‘kinsman’ (Old High German buolo also used as a personal name).2: German: nickname for a lover or the (illegitimate) child of a lover from the same word in the later sense ‘paramour lover mistress’ (after 16th century).3: South German (Bühl): see Buehl.

Butt : 1: English: nickname from Middle English but(te) Old English butta ‘(something or someone) short and stumpy’ also used as a personal name up until c. 1200.2: English: topographic name for someone who lived near a mound from Middle English but(te). Alternatively possibly denoting someone who lived by a tree stump. According to the Oxford English Dictionary this sense is not recorded in English before 1601 but it may be much older.3: German: in Middle Low German the word but(te) denoted various types of marine fish originally a fish with a blunt head for example halibut (German Heilbutt) or turbot (German Steinbutt) and the surname may in some cases be a metonymic occupational name for a seller of fish or salt fish.4: Pakistani and Indian: variant of Bhatt.

Cabbage : 1: English (of Norman origin): from Old French caboche ‘head’ attested in Middle English as a name for the bullhead a small freshwater fish with a large head (Aspidophorus cataphractes). This surname is now extinct in Britain.2: English: variant of Cubbage. This variant is now extinct in Britain.3: In some cases possibly an Americanized form (translation into English) of German Kohl or perhaps of some other surname meaning ‘cabbage (head)’.

Cabeza : Spanish: from cabeza ‘head’ (from Late Latin capitia) either a nickname for someone with a big head or a topographic name from any of numerous minor places called with this word which was commonly used to denote a small hill.

Cadenhead : Scottish (Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire): habitational name for someone who lived at the head of Caddon Water in the parish of Stow (Scottish Borders).

Cap : 1: Polish Slovak Rusyn (from Slovakia and Poland) and Jewish (from Ukraine); Hungarian (Cáp): from Polish and Slovak cap Rusyn and Ukrainian tsap ‘he-goat’ and so probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a goatherd. Compare Czap.2: Czech (Čáp): nickname for a tall or long-legged man from čáp ‘stork’. Compare Chap and Czap.3: Americanized form of Ukrainian and Rusyn Tsap a cognate of 1 above.4: Breton (also Le Cap) and French: from Breton kab and Occitan cap (from Latin caput) ‘head’ or in the metaphorical sense ‘chief’ also ‘promontory’. This may have been a topographic name for someone living on a promontory or headland or a nickname for a stubborn person or for a person with something distinctive about his head or perhaps a status name for a village elder. This surname is found mainly in Finistère in Brittany. Compare Capp.5: English (North Yorkshire): variant of Capp.6: Americanized form of Dutch or German Kap a cognate/variant of German Kapp.

Capo : 1: Catalan (Capó): from capó ‘capon’ a nickname for an ineffectual man or a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in capons.2: Italian: from capo ‘head’ or ‘chief’ applied either as a nickname for someone with something distinctive about his head (in a literal or abstract sense) or as a status name for a boss or overseer.3: Slovak (Čapo Čapó): nickname derived from Hungarian csap ‘whip flick or feeler’.

Capoccia : Italian (southern): from a diminutive of capo ‘head’ (see Capo) applied as an occupational name for a farm overseer chief shepherd or herdsman or occasionally perhaps for the head of a family particularly in an immigrant community.

Capone : Italian:: 1: from an augmentative of capo ‘head’ applied as a nickname for someone with a big head probably in the sense ‘arrogant’ or ‘stubborn’ rather than in a strictly literal sense.2: from cappone ‘capon’ a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept poultry.

Caporaso : Italian: nickname for someone with a shaven (or bald) head from capo ‘head’ + raso ‘shaven’.

Caputo : Italian (southern): nickname from caputo ‘stubborn’ ‘obstinate’; also literally for someone with a large head.

Casado : Spanish and Portuguese: status name for a married man the head of a household from Spanish or Portuguese casado past participle of casar ‘to marry’ (a derivative of casa ‘house’).

Cefalo : Italian (Calabria):: 1: from Greek kephalē ‘head’ applied as a nickname probably for someone whose head was of a distinctive shape or size (compare Kefalas). The word also denotes a kind of mullet and may have been a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman.2: unflattering nickname for a stupid person from medieval Latin cephalus of the same etymology as 1 above.

Centrone : Italian: from cintrune in Calabrian dialect meaning ‘big hammer’ and probably applied as a nickname for a tall thin person or for someone with a big head and a small body.

Chabot : French:: 1: habitational name from any of several places called (Le) Chabot from caput ‘head summit’.2: from chabot ‘bull-head’ a species of fish with a large head hence a nickname for someone with a big head and a small body. Compare Jabaut Shepard and Sherbert.

Chavasse : typically eastern French name of obscure origin perhaps from an unlocated place-name derived from the regional verb chava ‘to dig’.perhaps a dialect variant of the surname Cabasse from a derivative of dialectal Old French cap ‘head’ for someone with a large head.

Chislett : 1: for someone with a fine head of hair (or perhaps an ironic name for a bald man) from Middle English chis chys ‘choice excellent’ + lok ‘(lock of) hair’. 2: from Chislet in Kent.

Chowdhury : Indian (West Bengal) and Bangladeshi: status name for the head of a community or caste based on Sanskrit čatus- ‘four-way all-round’ + dhurīya (from Sanskrit dhura ‘burden’) i.e. ‘undertaking a burden of all-round responsibility’. The title was originally awarded by the Mughal emperors to persons of eminence regardless of their religious affiliation. There is a Khatri clan called Chowdhury. In some traditions the term is believed to derive from a title for a military commander controlling four different fighting forces namely navy cavalry infantry and elephant corps but this is probably no more than folk etymology.

Cibulka : Czech: from a diminutive of cibule ‘onion’ most probably a nickname for someone with a head thought to resemble an onion or a metonymic occupational name for an onion seller.

Cipollone : 1: Italian: nickname for someone with a big head from an augmentative of cipolla ‘onion’.2: Italian (Sicily): nickname for a large coarse individual Sicilian cipudduni.

Coccia : Italian (southern):: 1: in Sicily and Calabria possibly a nickname from cuccìa denoting a gruel of boiled wheat mixed with oil milk and sugar or honey (from medieval Greek kokkion classical Greek kokkos ‘grain seed’) or alternatively an occupational name for a cereal grower from medieval Greek kokkias from kokkion ‘wheat’ + the occupational suffix -as.2: nickname for someone with a large hard or otherwise remarkable head from medieval Italian coccia ‘head’ (earlier ‘shell’).

Cong : 1: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 叢: (i) from the personal name of Cong Zhi (叢枝) said to be head of an ancient state called Zhi which was annexed by the legendary Emperor Yao (c. 24th century BC). (ii) from the placename Cong Jia Yan (叢家硯) (located in present-day Wendeng in Shandong province) where descendants of Jin Midi (金日磾) (134–86 BC) lived. Jin Midi was a prince of the King Xiutu of the Huns. He once made a gold statue for the worship of Heaven and for this reason was given the surname Jin 金 (meaning ‘gold’) by the Emperor Wu of Han (156–87 BC).2: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 從 meaning ‘follow’ in Chinese: (i) simplified form of Cong (樅) the name of an ancient state (located in Anhui province) granted to the youngest son of King Ping of Zhou (died 720 BC). (ii) said to be borne by the descendants of Cong Gong (樅公 or 從公 Duke Cong) a general killed by Xiang Yu (232–202 BC).3: Vietnamese (Công): from the Chinese surname 公 see Gong 4.

Coote : English: from Middle English co(o)te ‘coot’ applied as a nickname for a bald or foolish man. The bird was regarded as bald because of the large white patch an extension of the bill on its head.

Copp : 1: English (Devon): topographic name for someone who lived on the top of a hill from Middle English coppe Old English copp ‘summit’ (a transferred sense of copp ‘head bowl’ cognate with modern English cup). Alternatively a nickname for someone with a peculiarity of the head.2: German: variant of Kopp and in North America (also) an altered form of this.

Coppard : from a Middle English (from Old French Middle Dutch or both) personal name *Coppard an extended form of Cop a pet form of Jacob. Compare Coppin.perhaps from Middle English cop(e) coppe ‘top head’ + the pejorative suffix -ard perhaps for someone with a large head. Compare Testar.

Copper : 1: English (Kent and Surrey): occupational name either from Middle English copere a variant of cupere ‘cooper maker or seller of casks buckets and tubs’ found late as copper or from Middle English copper cupper ‘maker of cups and small vessels’ (Old Norse koppari).2: English: in Sussex and perhaps the adjacent counties probably also a variant of Coppard either from a Middle English (from Old French Middle Dutch or both) personal name Coppard (an extended form of Cop a pet form of Jacob) or perhaps from Middle English cop(e) coppe ‘top head’ + the pejorative suffix -ard perhaps for someone with a large head.3: Altered form of German Kopper.

Coster : 1: English: metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of costards (Anglo-Norman French from coste ‘rib’) a variety of large apples so called for their prominent ribs. In some cases it may have been a nickname (from the same word) for a person with an apple-shaped (i.e. round) head.2: Dutch and German: variant of Koster and in North America (also) an altered form of this.

Cozza : Italian:: 1: nickname for someone with a large or otherwise remarkable head from medieval Italian coccia ‘head’ (also a dialect term).2: from the feminine form of Cozzo.

Crown : 1: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Craon in Mayenne France.2: English: nickname from Middle English coroune croun(e) ‘crown garland chaplet’ also ‘crown of the head’ (Old French corone) perhaps with reference to the wearing of a garland at celebrations or to physical appearance (a tonsured or bald head perhaps) or to a state of the mind. One late 13th-century Nottinghamshire family called Croune is more fully named as Madythecroune ‘mad in the head’.3: English: occasionally a habitational name for someone who lived or worked at an inn called The Crown from Middle English coroune croun(e) ‘crown’.4: English: variant of Crone 2 pronounced to rhyme with grown.5: Irish (Leitrim): Anglicized form of Croghan perhaps adapted to the surname Crown or Crone.6: Americanized form (translation into English) of German and Swedish Kron ‘crown’ or cognates in other languages.

Cutri : Italian (southern): nickname for someone with a big or otherwise noticeable head from medieval Greek koutra ‘head’ (originally ‘forehead’ from Latin scutra ‘plate’) or pronounced Cutrì from Greek koutrias the suffix denoting a personal attribute.

Dada : 1: Indian (Maharashtra): name meaning ‘elder brother’ in various Indian languages and ‘(paternal) grandfather’ in Hindi and Urdu; also used as an honorific term of address. Bearers of this family are largely Muslims.2: Muslim: from a personal name based on Persian dāda ‘given’ (i.e. ‘gift of God’) or a nickname from Persian dada ‘wetnurse’.3: West African (Nigeria): from the Yoruba personal name Dàda a circumstance name traditionally given to a child retaining the hair knotted round the crown of the head before the ceremonial first cutting.4: Albanian: nickname from dadë (definite form dada) ‘wetnurse’ a word of Persian origin (see 2 above) or from a homonymous term used in baby talk as a pet name for the baby's female caretaker.5: Cornish: variant of Daddow perhaps from a Cornish pet form of the Middle English personal name Dodd(e) unrounded to Dadd(e) + the Cornish suffix -ow (see Dodd and for the Cornish suffix compare Kitto). Alternatively perhaps from a Cornish pet form of Middle English Dadde as a rhyming pet form of Adam.

Dawodu : from Dá(w)ódu the traditional Yoruba name for the eldest surviving son of a family head.

Dean : 1: English: topographic name from Middle English dene ‘valley’ (Old English denu) or a habitational name from any of several places in various parts of England named Dean or Dene from this word.2: English: nickname or occupational name for the servant of a dean or nickname for someone thought to resemble a dean. A dean was an ecclesiastical official the head of a chapter of canons or a church official with jurisdiction over a sub-division of an archdeaconry. Though no doubt some deans had illegitimate children they were officially celibate and in the main the surname is probably a nickname in origin similar to Bishop Prior Priest and Monk. The Middle English word deen dien dein is a borrowing of Old French d(e)ien doien from Latin decanus (originally a leader of ten men from decem ‘ten’) and thus is a cognate of Deacon.3: English: from the Middle English personal name Deyne (or Dene) a rhyming pet form of Reynald (see Reginald).4: Italian: occupational name cognate with 2 above from Venetian dean ‘dean’ a dialect form of degan from degano (Italian decano).5: Irish: variant of Deane.6: Scottish: habitational name from Den in Kildrummy Aberdeenshire or Dean in Kilmarnock Ayrshire.

Degollado : Hispanic (Mexico): possibly from Degollado ‘beheaded’ a Spanish title for Saint John the Baptist who was sentenced to death and subsequently beheaded by Herod Antipas. Alternatively a nickname from Spanish degollado a term denoting a kind of a bird living in North and Central America with black head and the upper part of the body.

Deng : Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 鄧: (i) from Deng (鄧) the name of a state (located in Dengxian in Henan province) granted to Man Ji uncle of Wu Ding (a king of the Shang dynasty; 1600–1046 BC). (ii) from Deng Bowen (鄧伯溫) head of an ancient state (located in present-day Shandong province) dating back to the reign of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (iii) from Deng (鄧) a fief (located in Hubei province) granted to descendants of Zhong Kang the 4th king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (iv) from Deng Cheng (鄧城 City of Deng) a town in the state of Cai (located in present-day Henan province) during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (v) from Deng (鄧) a title of Li Tianyi the 8th son of Li Yu (the last king of the state of Southern Tang (937–975 AD) during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960) periods). The state of Southern Tang was annexed by Emperor Taizong of Song (939–997 AD) in 975 AD and the royal families of South Tang were hunted down. Li Tianyi's son fled and changed the surname (Li) to Deng (鄧) his father's title.

Dodd : 1: English: from the Middle English personal name Dodd(e) Dudd(e) Old English Dodd(a) Dudd(a) a name of uncertain origin which remained in fairly widespread and frequent use from Lincolnshire to Devon and from Essex to Lancashire in England until the 14th century.2: English: nickname from Middle English dod a word of uncertain meaning possibly a ‘lumpish thickset person’ (compare modern English dialect dod ‘bunch or heap’) or by extension a ‘foolish person’ (compare Middle English dode-mused ‘stupid’) or perhaps a derivative of dodden ‘to shave (the head) to trim (hair)’ hence ‘the hairless or close-cropped one’.3: English: possibly a modern variant of Daud or Dowd the former arising from the Middle English personal name Daud(e) an extended form of Daw and the latter from the Middle English personal name Doude perhaps a side-form of either Dodde or of Daude a pet form of Ralph.4: Irish: of English origin (see 1 above) taken to Sligo in the 16th century by a Shropshire family; also sometimes adopted by bearers of the Gaelic name Ó Dubhda (see Dowd).

Drost : 1: German Dutch and Danish: occupational name or status name from drost title for the head of the court respectively a high ranked administrative functionary originally in the early Middle Ages a steward or head of the servants from Middle Low German drotsete drossete (cognate with Middle High German truhsæze). This surname is also found in Poland (see also 2 below). Compare Durost.2: Germanized form of Polish Drozd. In Poland it occurs almost exclusively in Upper Silesia Pomerania and Greater Poland regions that were strongly influenced by German language in the past.

Du : 1: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 杜 meaning ‘birchleaf pear’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by descendants of Du Kang (杜康) an official noted as a winemaker during the reign of the legendary Huang Di the ‘Yellow Emperor’ (c. 27th century BC). (ii) from the placename Du (杜) the name of a city (located in Shaanxi province) granted to Du Bo (杜伯 the Earl of Du) head of the state of Du (杜) who was eventually killed by King Xuan of Zhou (reigned 827–782 BC). After that the state of Du (杜) was annexed and the name of the state was adopted as a surname. (iii) adopted as a surname by the Du Gu Hun (獨孤渾) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD).2: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 都 meaning ‘capital’ in Chinese: (i) from the personal name Zi Du (子都) style name of Gong-Sun Yu an official in the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) shortened form of the compound surname Gong Du (公都) which is sometimes traced back to Tian a prince in the state of Chu who was granted the fief Du (都) or alternatively to Gong Du Zi (公都子) an official in the state of Qi.3: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 堵 meaning ‘wall’ in ancient Chinese: habitational name from the placename Du (堵) the name of a fief (located in present-day Henan province) granted to Xie Bo an official in the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).4: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 度 meaning ‘measurement of length’ in ancient Chinese: (i) traced back to the inhabitants in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC). (ii) borne by descendants of officials in charge of regularizing units of length measurement in markets in ancient China.(iii) said to be one of the seven surnames from the Bandun Man ancestors of today's Tujia ethnic group in China who in the third century BC lived in southwestern China.5: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 督 meaning ‘to supervise’ in Chinese: (i) from the second element of the personal name Hua Du (華督) style name of the grandson of the Duke Dai of Song (ruler of the state of Song died 766 BC). (ii) from the first element of the personal name Du Rong (督戎) an official in the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (iii) from the first element of the placename Du Kang (督亢) the name of a fertile land (located in present-day Henan province) in the state of Yan during Warring States Period (475– 221 BC). (iv) a surname from the minority ethnic groups in southwestern China during the Eastern Han dynasty (25 – 220 AD).6: Vietnamese (Dư): from the Chinese surname 余 see Yu 1.7: Vietnamese (Dũ): from the Chinese surname 俞 see Yu 3.8: Vietnamese: from the Chinese surname 游 see You 1.

Dupen : perhaps for someone who lived ‘at the end’ or ‘at the head’ of a particular settlement or topographical feature from Breton pen ‘end head top’ with fused French preposition and definite article du.

Egal : 1: Somali: from the personal name Egal based on a word denoting a kind of men's head gear. It is also found in Kenya and Djibouti. — Note: Since Somalis traditionally do not have hereditary surnames this name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.2: Americanized form of German or Jewish (Ashkenazic) Igel ‘hedgehog’.3: French: from Old Occitan égal from Latin aequalis ‘equal’ possibly applied as a nickname for a righteous person or used as a topographic name for someone who lived on a flat piece of land.

Engelhaupt : German: topographic or habitational name referring to a house named literally ‘Angel's Head’ from a sign depicting an angel's head.

Factor : 1: American shortened and altered form of Jewish (from Poland) Faktorowicz: patronymic from faktor an occupational name meaning ‘broker agent’ in Polish.2: German: humanistic surname a translation into Latin of any of various surnames meaning ‘steward’ or ‘agent’ for example Hoffmann or Meyer. In North America this surname may also be an altered form of the variant Faktor. Both forms of the surname are rare in Germany.3: Americanized form of Czech and Slovak Faktor: occupational name from faktor denoting an agent i.e. an intermediary between the employer and the workers or a head of the working group.

Fejes : Hungarian: from fej ‘head’ probably a nickname for someone with a big head. In modern Hungarian fejes means ‘stubborn’ but as this meaning dates back to the mid 18th century it probably did not contributed to the origin of the surname.

Ficker : 1: German: nickname for a restless person from an agent derivative of Middle High German vicken ‘to rub or fidget’.2: German: from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name composed with Old High German fridu ‘peace’ or frik ‘battle happy’.3: English: perhaps a nickname for a flatterer or deceiver from an unrecorded Middle English fikere fekere a derivative of Middle English fiken ‘to wag the head fawningly; to deceive by flattery’. Compare Middle English fikelere ‘flatterer deceiver’ (from the related verb fikelen). Alternatively perhaps from an unrecorded Middle English fikere fekere ‘beater’ (of metals or of wool cloth flax etc.). Compare Middle Dutch fikere with this sense a derivative of Middle Dutch ficken ‘to beat’.

Giebel : German:: 1: from Middle High German gebel gibel meaning ‘gable’ but also ‘head skull’ hence probably a topographic name for someone living at a house with prominent gables or a nickname for someone with a large or otherwise remarkable head. The personal name Giebold or Geb(w)alt from the ancient Germanic stem geb- ‘gift’ may have been the origin in some instances. Compare Gipple.2: variant of Geibel.

Gilde : 1: North German: habitational name from a place so named near Gifhorn in Lower Saxony.2: Dutch (also ‘t Gilde): from gilde ‘craft guild’ either a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or guildhall so named or a metonymic occupational name for a head or an employee of a guild.

Gildemeister : North German: occupational name for the head of a craft guild Middle Low German gildemēster ‘guild master’.

Glatz : German and Jewish (Ashkenazic):: 1: nickname for a bald man from Middle High German gla(t)z ‘bald head bald’ (a derivative of Middle High German Old High German glat ‘smooth shiny’ an equivalent of Glad) German Glatze ‘baldness’. In some cases the German surname may be topographic for someone living on a bare treeless hill.2: habitational name from Glatz the German name of Kłodzko in Lower Silesia Poland.

Glaub : German: from a Germanized form of Slavic glava ‘head’ a nickname for someone with a large or otherwise remarkable head.

Glawe : German:: 1: habitational name from Glave in Mecklenburg.2: nickname for someone with a large or otherwise remarkable head from Slavic glava ‘head’.3: (Gläwe): either a variant of 1 above or more probably from the personal name Klaus.

Godsmark : from Middle English Godes mark ‘God's mark’ which is recorded in 13th-century texts as a term for the symbolic tonsure or shaven head of a priest or monk.

Greathead : English: nickname for someone with a large head from Middle English gret(e) ‘big’ + he(ve)d ‘head’ (Old English grēat hēafod).

Grimshaw : 1: English (Lancashire): habitational name from either of two places in Lancashire named Grimshaw from the Old Norse personal name Grímr (see Grime) or Old English grīma ‘specter goblin’ + Old English sceaga ‘copse’.2: English: alternatively a habitational name from Green Shaw Head in Beamsley (Yorkshire) or another place similarly named with Middle English grene ‘green’ + shaghe ‘copse’ (Old English grēne + sceaga).

Gropp : German:: 1: from an ancient Germanic personal name formed with a cognate of Gothic hrōtheigs ‘victorious’.2: variant of Grob.3: from Gropp ‘grouper’ (the fish); possibly a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or a nickname for someone with a large head and wide mouth like a grouper.

Groppe : German:: 1: from a short form (Robbo) of an ancient Germanic personal name formed with (h)rod ‘fame victory’ as the first element for example Robert.2: nickname for someone who somehow resembled a fish called (in the south) Groppe known for its big head and mouth.

Guan : Chinese:: 1: Mandarin form of the surname 關 meaning ‘forts’ in ancient Chinese: (i) borne by descendants of Guan Long Feng (關龍逢) an official who lived during the reign of Xia Jie the last king of the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC). (ii) from the first element of the post name Guan Ling Yin (關令尹) or Guan Yin (關尹) said to have been held by a man called Xi who was in charge of garrisoning forts during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC).2: Mandarin form of the surname 管 meaning ‘manage administer’ in Chinese: (i) from Guan (管) the name of a state (located in Zhengzhou in Henan province) which was granted to Guan Shu Xian (管叔鮮) the third son of the virtuous King Wen of Zhou (1152–1056 BC). Guan Shu Xian was later killed because he participated in a rebellion against the king. The name of state was subsequently adopted as a surname. (ii) borne by descendants of Guan Zhong (管仲) also called Guan Yiwu (管夷吾) a famous politician in the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC).3: Mandarin form of the surname 官 meaning ‘official’ in Chinese: (i) from the first element of the post name Guan Shi (官師) head of officials hosted by Duke Ding of Liu an official during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). (ii) borne by the Guan Zu (官族) i.e. descendants of those officials who had made such great contributions to the state that their granted fiefs and titles would be kept forever.4: Mandarin form of the surname 灌 meaning 'irrigate' in Chinese: from the second element of Chen Guan (斟灌) the name of an ancient state (located in present-day Shangdong province) during the Xia dynasty (2070–1600 BC).5: variant Romanization of the surname 阮 see Ruan 3.6: Teochew or Hokkien form of the surname 顏 see Yan 4.7: variant Romanization of the surname 袁 see Yuan 1.

Gudgeon : English: nickname from the Middle English fish name gojon gogen Old French gougon (from Latin gobio genitive gobionis) ‘gudgeon’. The gudgeon is a species of small freshwater fish which has a large head and is easily caught. The vocabulary word gudgeon is recorded with the sense ‘gullible person’ from 1584.

Gurnett : English (southern): nickname from Middle English gurnard gurnade ‘gurnard gurnet’ a marine fish with a large spiny head mailed cheeks and three pectoral rays (genus Trigla) possibly named from French grognard ‘grumbler’ on account of the grunting noise it makes.

Haar : 1: North German and Dutch: habitational name from a place or farm so named from haar ‘overgrown sandy hill’. See also Ter Haar.2: German: metonymic occupational name for someone who worked with raw flax (Middle High German har) in the production of linen.3: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with a copious or otherwise noticeable head of hair from Middle High German hār ‘hair’ German Haar ‘hair’.

Harman : 1: English (mainly southeast) Dutch and Czech: from a personal name composed of the ancient Germanic elements heri hari ‘army’ + man ‘man’ (see Hermann). In England this name was introduced by the Normans.2: Irish: variant of Hargadon.3: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): perhaps a nickname for someone with a copious or noticeable head of hair (see Haar).4: Americanized form of German Harmann or Hermann or Herrmann cognates of 1 above. Compare Harmon.5: Americanized form of Polish Czech Slovenian Croatian or other Slavic Herman cognates of 1 and 4 above.

Haupt : German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German houbet German Haupt ‘head’; generally a descriptive nickname for someone with a big head or perhaps a designation of the head of a guild or other group. It is also recorded in the Upper Rhine area as a topographic or habitational name referring to a house named for its sign of a head. Compare Houpt.

Heupel : 1: South German: from a pet form of an ancient Germanic personal name composed of hagin ‘enclosure protected place’ + berht ‘bright illustrious’ or of the elements hugi ‘thinking mind’ + bald ‘bold quick’.2: German: nickname from a diminutive of Haupt ‘head’ (see Haupt) for a person with a small or otherwise notable head.

Hlavac : Czech and Slovak (Hlaváč): from hlava ‘head’ applied as a nickname for an important person a clever one or someone with a large head.

Hlavaty : Czech and Slovak (Hlavatý): nickname for someone with a large head from an adjectival form of hlava ‘head’.

Hlavin : Czech (Hlavín): from a derivative of hlava ‘head’ a nickname for someone with a particularly large or otherwise remarkable head.

Hlavka : Czech and Slovak (Hlávka): from a diminutive of hlava ‘head’ a nickname for someone with a particularly small or otherwise remarkable head. Compare Hlavac.

Hollingsworth : 1: English: habitational name from Hollingworth (Cheshire) Hollingworth in Butterworth (Lancashire) or possibly Hollinworth Head in Charlesworth (Derbyshire) from Old English holegn ‘holly’ + worth ‘enclosure’. The surname which was taken to Ireland in the 17th century has developed a variant with an unexplained medial -s- not noted in any of the placename forms.2: Americanized form of some similar (like-sounding) Jewish name.

Homola : Czech: from homole ‘cone’ probably a nickname for someone with a pointed or cone-shaped head.

Homolka : Czech: from homolka ‘(cone-shaped lump of) cream cheese’ (from a diminutive of homole ‘cone’) possibly applied as a nickname for a mild or soft person or a metonymic occupational name for a cheesemaker or a nickname for someone with a cone-shaped head.

Hope : 1: Scottish and English: topographic name for someone who lived in or near a ‘remote enclosed place’ from Middle English and Older Scots hop(e) (Old English hop); or else a habitational name from any of several places called Hope in Cheshire Devon Derbyshire Herefordshire Kent Lancashire Shropshire and North Yorkshire. A hop most often denoted a distant secluded valley especially in the West Midlands northern England and southern Scotland but in Essex Kent and Sussex it usually referred to an enclosed piece of land or a promontory in a marsh or in wasteland. In other cases the name may refer to someone who lived at a small landlocked bay or inlet or who came from a place so named such as Stanford le Hope in Essex Middle Hope in Somerset and Hope by Bolt Head in Devon (Middle English hop(e) Old English hōp Old Norse hóp). The surname is also established in Ireland.2: Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads notably in Hordaland from Old Norse hóp ‘narrow bay’.3: Americanized form (translation into English) of French Lespérance ‘hope’ (see Lesperance).

Horsnell : from Middle English horsenail ‘horseshoe nail’. The motivation for the name is uncertain; it might have been metonymic for a farrier but the earliest recorded bearer owned a sizeable house (a mesagium) in Bridgnorth which suggests a freeholder of some substance. More likely the name was metaphorical for a small person with a large head as suggested by Edward Topsell's reference to tadpoles ‘which we call in English Horse-nailes because they resemble a Horse-naile in their similitude whose head is great and the other part small’ (1608 in OED). For the sense compare Cabot.

Hruska : Czech and Slovak (Hruška): from hruška ‘pear’ a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of pears or perhaps a nickname for someone with a pear-shaped head.

Husband : English and Scottish (Fife): status name from Middle English housbond(e) ‘male spouse’ ‘householder male head of a household’ ‘villein or customary tenant who holds land additional to the croft attached to his homestead’ ‘husbandman or farmer’. The term (late Old English hūsbonda Old Norse húsbóndi) is a compound of hús ‘house’ + bóndi (see Bond).

Kapel : 1: Polish: variant of Kapela.2: Slovenian: nickname from an old spelling of the fish name kapelj ‘bullhead’ perhaps denoting a person with a big head or a gaper. In North America this surname may also be an altered form of the variant Kapelj.3: Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a chaplain or a caretaker of a chapel from kapel ‘chapel’ or a topographic name for someone living near a chapel respectively a habitational name from any of several places called Kapel(le) or Capel(le).

Kappus : German: metonymic occupational name for a cabbage farmer from Middle High German kabeʒ ‘cabbage head’ (a loanword from Latin caput ‘head’); also a nickname for a person with a conspicuous head.

Kapusta : Polish and Slovak: from kapusta ‘cabbage’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a cabbage grower or a nickname for someone with a cabbage-like peculiarity of the head.

Keranen : Finnish (Keränen): possibly from the root of Keräpää a nickname for someone with a round head or Keropää a nickname for a bald person or someone with closely cropped hair + the surname suffix -nen. In northern Karelia the name Keränen is recorded since the 16th century and from there it has spread early to northern Savonia and Kainuu in the east of Finland and to northern Ostrobothnia.

Kimbrough : English: from the female personal name Kynborough recorded in Suffolk England as late as the 16th and 17th centuries. Although there is no Middle English evidence for it this probably represents a survival of Old English female personal name Cyneburh composed of the elements cyne- ‘royal’ + burh ‘fortress’ ‘stronghold’. This was the name of a daughter of the 7th-century King Penda of Mercia who in spite of her father's staunch opposition to Christianity was converted and founded an abbey serving as its head. She was venerated as a saint and gave her name to the village of Kimberley in Norfolk. The surname is now almost extinct in England but continues to flourish in the US.

Knatchbull : from Middle English knetchen ‘to knock (on the head) fell’ (a variant of knacken ‘to strike’) + bole ‘bull’ hence ‘knock bull’ probably referring to a butcher or slaughterer (a knacker).

Kobak : 1: Polish Ukrainian and Rusyn; Slovak (Kobák): patronymic from the personal name Koba from Jakob (see Jacob).2: Hungarian: from kobak ‘head forehead’ (a loanword from Cumanian and Pecheneg quabaq or Ottoman Turkish kabak ‘pumpkin’) hence a nickname for an unsophisticated person or someone with a bald or big head.

Koenig : 1: German (mainly König) and Jewish (Ashkenazic; also König): from Middle High German künic German König ‘king’ hence a German nickname for a servant or retainer of a king (for example a farmer on a royal demesne) or alternatively a status name for the head of a craftmen's guild or a society of sharpshooters or minstrels. As a Jewish surname it is artificial one of several such Ashkenazic names based on European titles of nobility or royalty. The surname Koenig is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine) and Poland. In eastern Germany the surname König is in part a Germanized form (translation into German) of Sorbian Kral ‘king’. Similarly in Czechia Poland Slovenia and Croatia it was often applied as a translation into German of Czech Polish Slovenian and Croatian cognates Král (see Kral) Król (see Krol) and Kralj respectively. Compare Konig.2: In some cases also an American shortened form of the compound artificial Jewish names of which Koenig is the first element as for example Koenigfest.

Koeppel : 1: German (Silesia; Köppel): from the Silesian dialect word Köppel ‘head’ a nickname for someone with a visible deformity or peculiarity of the head (Low German Kopp).2: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) (Köppel): from a pet form (Yiddish Kopl) of the personal name Jakob (see Jacob). Compare Keppel and Koppel.

Kofler : 1: German (also Köfler): variant of Koffler a topographic name for someone living by a rounded hilltop (see Koffel). It is also found in some central European countries e.g. in Slovenia where it was formerly also common as a Gottscheerish (i.e. Gottschee German) surname originating from the Kočevsko region in Lower Carniola (see Kocevar).2: North German: metonymic occupational name from Middle Low German kovel ‘hood cowl’ for a maker of head gear of that type.

Kolb : German: nickname from Middle High German kolbe ‘mace’ or ‘cudgel’ which was both a weapon and part of an official's insignia in some cases the insignia of a jester; or a topographic or habitational name referring to a house named with this word. In Silesia the term denoted a shock of hair or a shorn head. Compare Kulp.

Koning : Dutch; German (also Köning): from Middle Dutch coninc Middle Low German konink ‘king’ (compare Koenig) a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or inn name or a nickname for someone who gave himself royal airs or a status name for the head of a craftmen's guild or a society of archers or minstrels. Compare also De Koning and Koening.

Kopf : 1: German (also Köpf): metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of cups or flasks from Middle High German kopf ‘flask’ (from Late Latin cuppa ‘cask’).2: German (also Köpf) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with some noticeable peculiarity or deformity of the head from Middle High German kopf (the same word as in 1 above used in a transferred sense which during the Middle Ages gradually ousted the earlier word houbet ‘head’) German Kopf. Compare Koepf.

Kopp : 1: German (also Köpp): from a pet form of the personal name Jakob (see Jacob).2: German: nickname for someone with a noticeable deformity or peculiarity of the head from Low German Kopp ‘head’ or a topographic name for someone who lived on a hill.3: German: possibly also a nickname from the South German dialect word Kopp (also Kapp) ‘young cock capon’.4: German: habitational name from a place so named in the Eifel Mountains. Compare Copp.5: Czech: variant (or a Germanized form) of Kop from a short form of the personal name Prokop or a nickname from Middle High German kopf ‘head’ (compare 2 above).6: Dutch: probably of German origin (see above).7: Hungarian: habitational name from a place so named near Naszvad. The placename is of German origin. A small plot of land near village was named Vábrikkenkopp (from German Brückenkopf) by a Hungarian soldier in the Habsburg Army who used to stand on watch at the bridge across the Vág river. The locals had difficulty with the name and later shortened it to Kopp.

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Last name frequency

Geographic distribution of the 35,139 individuals with the name HEAD on Geneanet.

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