Origin
Balatbat : Filipino: occupational name for a fence builder a person who uses cord or twine to tie things together from Tagalog balatbat ‘the act of tying something with cord or twine’.
Bindel : German:: 2: possibly also from a pet form of the personal name Bindhart.1: topographic name for someone who lived by a Beunte or Bünde an area of land under cultivation in a farming community typically one that was enclosed and subject to different uses and rules.
Breaker : 1: Americanized form of Swiss German Bräker (see Braker).2: Americanized form (translation into English) of German Brecher.3: English (Dorset and London): occupational name either for one who ‘breaks’ (i.e. combs or cards) wool (a sense of breaker first recorded in 1514 but probably also current in Middle English) or perhaps for one who uses a brake the Middle English word for a crushing or pounding implement such as a flax brake (for thrashing flax) a pestle (for pounding meal etc. in a kitchen) or a mallet for softening materials such as leather.
Cho : 1: Korean: written 조 in Chinese characters 趙 and 曺. There are only these two Chinese characters for the surname Cho. (i) Some records indicate a total of 210 different Cho clans which use the Chinese character 趙 but only fifteen can be documented with confidence. Each of these claims a different founding ancestor. Most of them trace their origins to the beginning of the Koryŏ kingdom (early 10th century). (ii) Only one clan the Ch’angnyŏng Cho uses the Chinese character 曺. The founder of this clan's name was Cho Kye-ryong (曺 繼龍). According to legend there was a certain scholar named Yi Kwang-ok whose daughter very much wanted to marry. A monk visited her and told her to go to Hwawang Mountain to pray at the dragon pond. The maiden did so and upon her return found herself to be pregnant. In a dream a young man with a crown and a jade belt appeared to her. A few months later in the 48th year of the reign of the Shilla King Chinp’yŏng (AD 626) she gave birth to a little boy under whose arm the Chinese character for Cho appeared in red. The king understanding the boy to be special named him Cho Kyeryong and married him to his daughter the princess. So began the Ch’angnyŏng Cho clan. Compare Jo 1 Joe 3 and Joh 1.2: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 祖 see Zu 1.3: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 左 see Zuo 1.4: Chinese: alternative Mandarin form of the surname 卓 see Zhuo 1.5: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 曹 see Cao 1.6: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 楚 see Chu 1.7: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 鄒 see Zou.8: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 巢 see Chao 1.9: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 周 see Zhou 1.10: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 趙 see Zhao 1.
Chon : 1: Korean (Chŏn): written 전 in Chinese characters 全 meaning ‘complete’ or ‘perfect’. There are actually three Chinese characters for the surname Chŏn. (i) Some sources number the clans which use the most common character 全 as high as 178 but only seventeen have been documented. All of these descend from a common ancestor Chŏn Sŏp (全 聶). The founding king of the Koguryŏ kingdom (37 BC–AD 668) had three sons the youngest of whom went south and established what would later become one of Koguryŏ's rival kingdoms Paekche. This son took with him ten servants one of whom was Chŏn Sŏp. (ii) Five clans use the second most common Chinese character for their surname. These clans descended from different ancestors at least two of whom migrated to Korea from China. (iii) The clan which uses the least common character the Mun’gyŏng Chŏn descends from an ancestor named Chŏn Yu-gŏm. Chŏn Yu-gŏm was a minister sent from China to visit the Koryŏ court in the mid 14th century. He decided to stay in Korea and married the elder sister of a famous Koryŏ general Ch’oe Yŏng. When the Koryŏ kingdom fell to the Chosŏn kingdom in 1392 Chŏn abandoned his government post and retired to the countryside to pass the remainder of his years in peaceful obscurity. Compare Cheon Chun 11 Jeon and Jon 1.2: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 莊 see Zhuang.3: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 張 see Zhang 1.
Chong : 1: Korean (Chŏng): written 정 in Chinese characters 鄭 丁 and 程. There are actually eight Chinese characters used to represent the surname Chŏng which is one of the most common Korean surnames but the clans that use five of these characters are extremely small. The characters 丁 and 程 are mainly found in Chŏlla province. (i) The clan which uses the Chinese character 丁 is descended from a Chinese Tang Dynasty minister named Tŏk-sŏng (徳盛) who immigrated to Korea and settled on Aphae Island in Shinan county Chŏlla South Province. (ii) The clan bearing the surname 程 is believed to be descended from Chinese immigrants but further details are not known. The founding ancestor of the Han San Chŏng clan was called Chŏng Hoe (程 淮). (iii) The most common of the three more numerous clans which uses the Chinese character 鄭 is the oldest and is widely distributed throughout the peninsula. It is probably of Chinese origin too. Some sources indicate that there are 215 separate Chŏng clans but only 32 of them can be documented. The earliest and largest Chŏng clan began in 32 AD when Chibaekho one of the six ruling elders of pre-Shilla Korea received the surname of Chŏng from the Shilla King Yuri Isagŭm (24–57 AD). Compare Cheong 5 Choung 1 Chung 11 Jeong 1 Jong 1 Joung Jun 1 and Jung 10.2: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 崇: from Chong (崇) the name of an ancient state (located in Songxian in Henan province) during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC).3: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 种 adopted in place of another Chinese surname Zhong (仲) by the descendants of Zhong Shanfu (仲山甫) an official during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou (reigned 827–782 BC) in order to escape from the feud.4: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 莊 see Zhuang.5: Chinese: variant Cantonese form of the surnames 鐘 and 仲 see Zhong 1 and 2.6: Chinese: variant Cantonese form of the surname 宗 see Zong.7: Chinese: variant Cantonese form of the surname 叢 see Cong 1.8: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 臧 see Zang.9: Chinese: Hakka form of the Chinese surnames 張 and 章 see Zhang 1 and 2. Hakka Chinese is spoken in southern China and certain other parts of Southeast Asia.10: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 蔣 see Jiang 2.11: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 鄭 see Zheng 1.12: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 曾 see Zeng.13: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surnames 蒼 and 倉 see Cang.
Fennell : 1: English: metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of fennel from Middle English fenel finel finol ‘fennel’ (Old English finugl from Late Latin fenuculum). Fennel was widely used in the Middle Ages a for its medicinal and culinary uses. The surname may also have been a topographic name for someone who lived near a place where the herb grew or was grown such as the lost place in or near Litlington and Wilmington (Kent) known only from the early surname forms.2: Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Fionnghail ‘descendant of Fionnghal’ a personal name composed of the elements fionn ‘fair white’ + gal ‘valor’.
Finkle : 1: English: habitational name (reflecting the pronunciation of the placename) for someone from Finchale in Durham named from Old English finc ‘finch’ + halh ‘nook or corner of land’.2: English: habitational name from Finghall in the North Yorkshire from an Old English personal name Fīn + halh ‘nook or corner of land’.3: English: from Middle English fenkel finkel ‘fennel’ a plant grown for its medicinal and culinary uses. Compare Fennell.4: English: or perhaps a topographic name from Middle English fenkel ‘corner bend’ for someone who lived on a corner or sharp bend. The word survives in northern English dialect as fenkle.5: Americanized form of German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Finkel.
Flew : of uncertain origin but formally it could be from Middle English flue flew ‘a kind of fishing net’ or it might be a reduced form of the surname Flewer from Middle English fluer ‘fisherman who uses a flue’. Compare Ric' Fluyr 1296 in Subsidy Rolls (Lancing Sussex); Ricardus Fluer' 1379 in Poll Tax (Lancing Sussex).
Floate : 1: from Middle English flote flout floit flute ‘stream river’ (Old English flot ‘a body of water’) for someone who lived by a stream or some other body of water or who lived at a place so called such as Floyte (in Tedburn Saint Mary Devon). Compare Flood and Flutter. Some early bearers may alternatively belong with (2). 2: from Middle English flote flout floit flute ‘(flat-bottomed?) boat’ (Old English flota) for a boatman or sailor. Compare Floater Flodman.from Middle English flote ‘tool for smoothing the surface of something’ such as a bow or a pewter vessel for someone who makes or uses a float. Compare Floater.
Floater : perhaps for a boatman or sailor from a derivative of Middle English flote flout floit flute (Old English flota) ‘(flat-bottomed?) boat’. This is compatible with the occupation of Rog. Floyter fisshmanger 1381 in York Freemen's Register. See also Floate.alternatively for one who makes or uses a float Middle English flote (+ -er) ‘tool for smoothing the surface of something’ such as a bow or a pewter vessel as in recorded examples in MED. See also Floate.
Forker : 1: German: from a variant of the personal name Volker.2: German: topographic name derived from a field name in Tyrol.3: Scottish: variant of Farquhar.4: English: from Middle English forker ‘one who uses a fork to throw up hay’. Compare Fork 2.
Kang : 1: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 康 meaning ‘healthy’ in Chinese: (i) from the first element of Kang Shu (康叔) the posthumous title of one of the sons of the virtuous King Wen of Zhou (1152–1056 BC). Kang Shu was the first king of the state of Wey (衛) (which is located mainly around present-day Hebi and Xinxiang in Henan province). (ii) from the first element of Kang Ju (康居) the name of a state in Central Asia during the Western Han dynasty (206 BC–25 AD). People from this state adopted 康 as their surname. (iii) from Kang (康) the Chinese name of the state of Samarkand in Central Asia. Immigrants from Samarkand in China acquired 康 the Chinese name of their state as their surname known as one of the 'Nine Sogdian Surnames’. (iv) adopted in place of another Chinese surname 匡 (see Kuang 2). Some people with the surname 匡 changed their surname to 康 during the reign of Zhao Kuangyin (赵匡胤) known as Emperor Taizu of Song (927–976 AD) the first emperor of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127 AD) because 匡 happened to be part of the personal name of the emperor which was taboo in ancient China.2: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 亢 meaning ‘high’ or ‘haughty’ in Chinese: (i) from the first element of the placename Kang Fu (亢父) the name of a vassal state (in present-day Jining in Shandong province) in the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) adopted in place of another Chinese surname 伉 (Kang in Mandarin pinyin) also sharing the same origin of another two Chinese surnames 抗 (Kang in Mandarin pinyin) and 杭 (pronounced the same as 抗 in ancient Chinese Hang in today's Mandarin pinyin) which can be traced back to San Kang (三伉/抗/杭) a noble official in the state of Wey (衛) during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC).3: Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 耿 see Geng 2.4: Chinese: Teochew Hokkien or Taiwanese form of the surname 江 see Jiang 1. This pronunciation is found in eastern Guangdong province Fujian province and Taiwan from where some people migrated to Malaysia Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia.5: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 簡 see Jian 1.6: Chinese: alternative Mandarin form of the surname 剛 see Gang 6.7: Korean: written 강 in Chinese characters 姜 康 剛 and 强. There are actually five Chinese characters for the surname Kang. Some records indicate that there are as many as one hundred separate Kang clans but only four have actually been documented. There is one Chinese character for each clan. The fifth character is an alternate character for the smallest of the Kang clans and is the result of a scribal error which was introduced in 1908. That segment of the smaller Kang clan which was labeled with the alternate character still uses it and recognizes it as the character for their surname. (i) The largest clan the Kang family of Chinju (it uses the Chinese character 姜) first appears in the historical record in AD 597. It is said to be descended from Kang I-shik (姜 以式) a military official in the ancient Koguryŏ kingdom. Kang I-shik valiantly defended the Koguryŏ kingdom against invasions from China. Subsequently his descendant Kang Chin (姜 縉) was enfeoffed with Chinju in Kyŏngsang South Province. Chinju henceforth became the clan seat for the Kang family. Many members of the largest Kang clan still live in the area of Chinju of Kyŏngsang Province. (ii) The Chinese character 康 is borne by the descendants of Kang Ho-kyŏng (康 虎景). His 14th-generation descendant Kang Chi-yŏn (康 之淵) attended the Koryŏ king Kojong when he fled to Kanghwa Island during the Mongol invasions. Kang Chi-yŏn was subsequently enfeoffed with Shinch’ŏn in Hwanghae Province. There are two other clans of this Kang family but both descend from Kang Chi-yŏn. (iii) The two smaller Kang clans have only a few households in all of Korea. Compare Gang 6.8: Cambodian: written កាំង of Chinese origin but unexplained etymology (probably corresponding to one of the surnames above).9: Cambodian: written កង corresponding to the Khmer word meaning e.g. ‘round bracelet’. Compare Kong 9.10: Southeast Asian (Hmong): variant of Khang 1; in Chinese characters it is written 康 (see 1 above).
Ki : 1: Korean: there are two Chinese characters for the surname Ki but one is very rare. Only the common one is discussed here. Only one Ki clan uses this other character the Haengju Ki clan. The founder of the Haengju Ki clan U-Sŏng is said to have been one of three sons of the 40th generation descendant of Kija the founder of the ancient Chosŏn kingdom c. 194 BC. The other two sons U-P’yŏng and U-kyŏng founded the Han clan and the Sŏn’gan clan respectively. Compare Kee 4.2: Chinese: Teochew or Hokkien form of the surname 紀 see Ji 1.3: Chinese: Teochew or Hokkien form of the surname 祁 see Qi 2.4: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 齊 see Qi 1.
Krammer : 1: German Jewish (Ashkenazic) and Dutch: variant of Kramer.2: Dutch: occpational name for someone who uses cramps to repair broken pottery or to fasten other materials.3: German: from an old personal name formed with Old High German hrabo ‘raven’.
Ku : 1: Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 庫 meaning ‘warehouse’ in Chinese: (i) said to be borne by the descendants of those officials in charge of warehouses in the state of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). (ii) mispronounced form of another Chinese surname Ku (苦). (iii) adopted as a surname by the Ku Men (庫門) and Ku Nu Guan (庫傉官) families during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD).2: Chinese: variant of Gu.3: Chinese: Teochew Hokkien and Taiwanese form of the surnames 邱 and 丘 see Qiu 1 and 2.4: Korean: there are three Chinese characters for the surname Ku. The most common of the three claims 32 clans but only two can be documented. The other two Ku surnames each have one clan with its own Chinese character. All four of the Ku clans immigrated from China. The clans that use the more common character came in two waves: the first settled in the Nŭngsŏng sometime before 945 and the second which settled in Ch’angwŏn arrived in 1224. The name of the immigrant who founded the first of these two clans has been lost; but the name of the second is Ku Chon-yu. Members of these two clans can be found throughout the Korean peninsula but 45 percent of them live in Kyŏngsang South province while 20 percent of them live in Seoul and Kyŏnggi province. The founder of the clan that uses the other Ku character was named Ku T’ae-rim. He was an emissary for Tang China on his way to Japan when a storm blew his ship onto the shores of Koguryŏ Korea in 663. He settled in Koguryŏ territory and subsequently held a post in that government. Koguryŏ was a Korean kingdom which existed in the northern part of the Korean peninsula from 37 BC to AD 668. Its territory was incorporated into Shilla when the peninsula was unified in 668. Most of the modern-day members of this clan live in Ch’ungch’ŏng province. Very little is known of the origins of the clan which uses the third Ku character. There are only a few families which still use this character in Korea; they live in Kyŏngsang province and Kangwŏn province. Compare Goo 3 and Koo 6.5: Southeast Asian (Hmong): variant of Kue 1.6: Amerindian (Mexico): Mayan name from ku or k'u meaning ‘god’ and ‘nest’. Compare Cu.
Leary : 1: Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Ó Laoghaire ‘descendant of Laoghaire’ (see O'Leary ).2: English: nickname from an unrecorded Middle English word lery a derivative of Middle English ler Old English hlēor ‘face countenance complexion’. It may have been synonymous with Middle English lere ‘fair of face’ or there may have been Middle English senses that anticipated later uses of leer ‘looking askance; sly underhand’ and leery lairy ‘wary’ or ‘knowing’. Compare Lear.3: English: in Devon this surname alternatively may be a habitational name from Leary Barton in West Buckland. The place may take its name from a lost stream-name of uncertain origin.
Nettle : 1: English (Cornwall): from Middle English netle ‘nettle’ (Old English netel). Various figurative uses of the word (‘enemy sin vice’) are recorded in the medieval period alluding to the nettle's sting. See Nettles.2: Altered form of North German Nettel a nickname for an obnoxious person from Middle Low German nettel ‘nettle’.
Pellicano : Italian (southern):: 1: (also Pellicanò): nickname from dialect pelecanò pelicanò ‘woodpecker’ from modern Greek pelekanos ‘green woodpecker’ (cognate with pelekan ‘pelican’; both come from pelekys ‘axe’ the pelican because its beak is shaped like an axe the woodpecker because it uses its beak like an axe).2: altered form of Pelacani or Pelacane a nickname for a tanner from pelare ‘to skin’ + cani ‘dogs’ (or cane ‘dog’) also used in a figurative sense as a nickname for a rough rude or coarse person or for a rogue pilferer; alteration may thus have been euphemistic to coincide with the word pellicano ‘pelican’. Compare Pellicane.
Punter : 1: English: from Middle English punt pount pont (Anglo-Norman French p(o)unt Old French pont) ‘bridge’ + the suffix -er either an occupational name denoting the keeper of a bridge who exacted tolls or (in southern coastal counties especially) a topographic name for someone who lived by a bridge.2: Dutch: occupational name for someone who uses a punter ‘punt boat’.
Pye : 1: English (north-West Midlands Lancashire Yorkshire and Norfolk): nickname from Middle English (Old French) pie ‘magpie’ which could be given to someone who wore black and white clothing had grey-streaked dark hair or had a loud chattering voice and impertinent behaviour or was cunning or sly. The uncomplimentary senses derive from the bird's behavior and are recorded uses of the word in Middle English and early Modern English.2: English: occasionally perhaps a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or inn named Pie ‘magpie’. There were two London taverns so named but whether these gave rise to a hereditary surname is not known. Surnames derived from house and inn signs are rare in English.3: English (of Norman origin): nickname from Anglo-Norman French and Middle English pie ‘merciful compassionate kind’ a variant of Old French Anglo-Norman French piu peu; see Pew (2).4: Welsh English (Herefordshire): apparently an Anglicized a shortened form of Welsh ap Hugh ap Hew ap Huw ‘son of Hugh’. The Welsh patronymic was normally shortened to Pugh and Pew 1 but in this case it seems that the diphthong in /piu/ has been simplified to /pi:/ spelled Pye and Pie becoming pronounced in early Modern English as /pai/. The change might have been made on the analogy of Pye the Anglo-Norman French name in 3 above as a variant of Pew 2. Alternatively since this gentry family seems to be English or Anglo-Norman in origin perhaps their name was the name in 3 above but it was mistakenly re-interpreted as a variant of Welsh Pugh a relatively frequent surname in Herefordshire through Welsh immigration.
Scheibe : German:: 1: topographic name from Middle High German schībe ‘disk sphere wheel’ commonly used as a field name.2: metonymic occupational name for a craftsman who uses or produces disk(s) or wheel(s) like a potter carpenter or glazier from the same word as 1 above.3: habitational name from any of the places called Scheibe or Scheiben.
Schlotterbeck : 2: North German: habitational name from some minor place called as ‘muddy stream’.1: South German: occupational name for a sloppy baker from Middle High German schlotter ‘sloppy’ or Alemannic ‘sour milk’ hence for a baker who uses sour milk.
Shutler : 1: Americanized form of German Schüttler (see Schuttler).2: English: occupational name probably from an unrecorded Middle English scuteler shuteler shiteler ‘one who makes or uses a weaver's shuttle’ a derivative of Old English scutel scytel ‘dart’.
Wadman : English: occupational name from Middle English wade-man ‘woad-seller or dyer who uses woad’. Woad a blue dye-stuff obtained from the leaves of the woad plant Isatis tinctoria was in great demand in the Middle Ages.
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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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