Origin
Lover : English: nickname from Middle English lovere ‘lover’ ‘sweetheart’.
Adonis : 1: Haitian Guyanese South African and Hispanic (Philippines): from the personal name Adonis borne in Greek mythology by a beautiful youth who was the lover of both the goddesses Aphrodite (in summer) and Persephone (in winter). The surname might have been applied as a nickname but in most cases it probably originates from the personal name Adonis which is today common especially in the Philippines. This surname is also found in France where it is very rare.2: American shortened and altered form of the Greek patronymic Antoniadis or of some other derivative of the personal name Antōni(o)s (see Anthony) reflecting a variant pronunciation of this name.
Baul : 1: Indian (mainly West Bengal) and Bangladeshi: from Bengali baul Sanskrit vatula ‘madman’. Bearers of this name traditionally lived a lifestyle characterized by isolation from society typically singing of social inequalities and injustice. They subsisted mainly on alms considering themselves to be outside any organized religion representing instead a polymorphic spiritual tradition.2: German: relationship name from a term denoting a relative or close friend from Middle High German buole Middle Low German bole ‘relative lover close friend’.3: German: possibly also from a rare variant of the personal name Paul.
Bohle : 1: North German: nickname for a male relative colleague in a guild or fraternity or lover Middle Low German bōle.2: German: habitational name from any of various places so named in Rhineland and Schleswig-Holstein.3: North German: topographic or occupational name from Middle Low German bol(le) ‘beam plank’ for someone living near or working on a board walk. This surname in any of the possible senses (see above) is also found in France (Alsace).4: German (Böhle): see Boehle.5: Norwegian (Bøhle): variant of Bøle (see Bole).
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.
Copner : from Middle English copenere ‘paramour lover adulterer’.
Kauk : German: probably a variant of Kauke from Middle Low German kōke ‘cake’ (dialect Kauke) hence a metonymic occupational name for a baker or confectioner or a nickname for a cake lover.
Kerl : German: status name from Middle Low German kerl ‘(free)man (of non-aristocratic descent)’ Middle High German kerl(e) karl(e) ‘man lover chap’.
Lamore : 1: Altered form of French Lemaire (via the intermediate form Lemare; compare Lemar and Lamar 2) and possibly also of some other similar (like-sounding) French surname.2: French (Lamoré): nickname for a lover or ladykiller from amoré ‘beloved’ with fused definite article l'.
Lang : 1: Scottish English German Dutch Danish and Jewish (Ashkenazic); Swedish (also Lång): nickname for a tall person from Older Scots Middle English Middle High German Middle Dutch and Danish lang ‘long’ Swedish lång. The surname of (Middle High) German origin is also found in France (mainly Alsace and Lorraine) Czechia Hungary Poland Slovakia Croatia and Slovenia.2: Hungarian (Láng): from láng ‘flame’ hence probably a nickname for a passionate person or a man with a fighting spirit. Alternatively it may be an indirect occupational name for a smith or someone who worked with fire. This surname is also found in Slovenia where it is spelled Lang and in Slovakia where it is spelled in both ways.3: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 郎 an ancient term to refer to one's lover or son: (i) from the placename Lang (郎) the name of a city the living place of Fei Bo the grandson of the Duke Yi of Lu (ruler of the state of Lu reigned 815–807 BC). Some of his descendants later changed their original surname Fei to Lang (郎). (ii) borne by some families from the state of the South Huns (48–216 AD located in northern China).4: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 冷 see Leng 4.5: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 梁 see Liang 1.6: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 藍 see Lan 1.7: Vietnamese (Lăng): from the Chinese surname 凌 see Ling 4.8: Vietnamese: from the Chinese surname 郎 see 3 above.
Lovewell : English (mainly Norfolk): from Middle English love ‘love’ (Old English lufian ‘to love’) + wel ‘well’ (Old English wel) presumably denoting a lover or philanderer. There may have been some confusion with Lovell.
McDermott : Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Diarmada ‘son of Diarmaid’ a personal name that may be based on di- + farmat ‘envy’ hence meaning ‘free from envy’. The name Diarmaid was borne in Celtic legend by the lover of Gráinne and in historical times by Diarmaid Mac Murchadha the 12th-century king of Leinster whose appeal to the English for support led directly to the Anglo-Norman presence in Ireland. Compare the Scottish form McDiarmid. There has been confusion with Ó Duibhdhiorma see Dearman.
Roser : 1: German: topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew (see Rose 1) with the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant or an occupational name for a rose grower or a nickname for a lover of roses.2: German (Röser): habitational name for someone from any of the places called Rös Roes or Rösa in Bavaria Rhineland and Saxony.3: German (Röser): variant of Rösser (see Rosser 3).4: Swiss German (Röser): from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name based on hrōd ‘renown’.5: English: variant of Rosier.6: Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Rose ‘rose’ + the agent suffix -er (compare 1 above) one of surnames assigned at random by Austrian clerks.
Schatzel : German (Schätzel): diminutive of Schatz 1 or a nickname for a lover (from the same word used as a term of endearment).
Schmeckpeper : German: nickname for someone with a taste for pepper or for a lover of food from Middle High German smecken ‘to taste’ + peper ‘pepper’.
Spielvogel : 1: German: nickname from Middle High German spilvogel ‘pet bird’ (literally ‘play bird’) used in a transferred sense as an affectionate term for a lover.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Spielvogel ‘pet bird’ (see 1 above).
Waddilove : perhaps for an infatuated lover from Middle English waden (Old English wadan) ‘to wade go deeply be heavily committed’ + i(n) love. It appears to have been a regular expression. One 15th-century writer warned ‘In love of women wade nat over depe’ while another advised ‘In loves art men must deype wade or [i.e. before] that ye be conqueryd and e-wonne’ (both recorded in MED at waden).
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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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