English Surnames
English names are used in English-speaking countries. See also about English names.
1,056 surnames in our directory
English
1,056Poindexter is a surname of Norman origin, derived from the Jèrriais (Jersey Norman) name Poingdestre, meaning "right fist." The name is a compound of the Old French elements poing ("fist") and destre ("right"), reflectin...
Polley is an English surname derived from the Old French word poli, meaning "polite, courteous". It originally served as a nickname for a well-mannered or refined person. The name likely entered England after the Norman...
Pond is an English surname of topographic origin, meaning one who lived near a pond. The name derives from the Middle English word pond (or ponde), which itself comes from the Old English pund, possibly influenced by Old...
Poole is an English surname of topographic origin, derived from the Old English word pol, meaning "pool" or "small body of water." The name would have referred to someone who lived near such a feature, such as a pond or...
EtymologyPope is an English surname that originates as a nickname for someone who played the part of the pope in a medieval play or pageant, or for a man with a solemn, austere, or pious demeanor. The name derives from L...
Post is a surname of Dutch, English, and German origin, derived as a topographic name for someone who lived near a prominent post, pillar, or boundary marker—ultimately from Latin postis meaning 'post' or 'doorpost'. The...
Potter is an English occupational surname that originally referred to someone who made pottery — that is, a craftsman who formed vessels from clay and fired them in a kiln. The name is derived from the Middle English pot...
Pottinger is an English occupational surname with two possible derivations. It may have originated as a name for an apothecary, from the Old French potecaire meaning 'apothecary', or for a seller of stew or broth, from O...
Pound is an English occupational surname with dual origins. Primarily, it derives from the Old English word pund, meaning "animal enclosure" or "pen." This referred to a person who kept animals in a pound, such as a shee...
Etymology and OriginsPowell is a Welsh surname that originated as a patronymic, meaning "son of Hywel". It derives from the Welsh phrase ap Hywel, where ap means "son of" and Hywel is a personal name popular in medieval...
Power 2 is an English surname. The name is a variant of the more common surname Powers, which itself derives from the Middle English word povre meaning "poor". This term came via Old French from Latin pauper, also meanin...
Power 1 is an English and Irish surname with origins in Old French. It derives from Poier, a toponymic name for someone who came from the town of Poix in Picardy, France. The name thus belongs to a class of surnames that...
Powers is an English surname, most commonly a variant of Power 1, which originates from the Old French Poier, denoting someone from the town of Poix in Picardy, France. It may also be a variant of Power 2, a name with a...
Pratt is an English surname of nickname origin, derived from the Middle English pratt (plural prattes) and Old English prætt, meaning "trick, prank" or "cunning artifice." It was typically bestowed upon someone known for...
Prescott is an English habitational surname derived from any of several places in England. The name combines the Old English elements preost ("priest") and cot ("cottage"), meaning "priest's cottage." As a toponymic surn...
Pressley is a variant form of the surname Priestley. Both names share a common origin, deriving from an English place name meaning "priest's clearing" — from Old English preost (priest) and leah (clearing, meadow).Etymol...
Priestley is an English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "priest's clearing", composed of the Old English elements preost (priest) and leah (wood clearing, meadow).Originally used to identify someon...
Proudfoot is an English surname, originally a nickname for a person with a proud or stately walk. The name combines the Middle English words 'prout' or 'proud' (meaning proud or haughty) and 'fote' (meaning foot), signif...
Pryor is an English occupational surname derived from Middle English prior or priour, meaning “prior.” A prior is a monastic superior ranking below an abbot, particularly in religious orders such as the Benedictines and...
Purcell is a surname of English origin. It is derived from Old French pourcel meaning "piglet", from Latin porcellus, a diminutive of porcus "pig". The name was used either as a nickname or as an occupational name for a...
Putnam is an English surname with locational origins. It is a reduced variant of the place name Puttenham, which is borne by villages in Hertfordshire and Surrey, England. The name Puttenham is derived from Old English a...
Quick is an English surname originating as a nickname for a quick or agile person, ultimately derived from Old English cwic meaning "alive". The name likely emphasized liveliness or swiftness of movement, reflecting a ch...
Quickley 1 is a surname of English origin, primarily considered a variant of the surname Quick. The root name Quick itself originated as a nickname for a person who was quick or agile in movement or action, deriving from...
Raine 1 is an English surname with regal connotations, derived from a nickname that comes from the Old French word reine meaning "queen". In medieval England, surnames often arose from nicknames describing a person's app...
Raine 2 is an English and French surname with roots in the Germanic name tradition. It is derived from a short form of longer Germanic names that begin with the element ragin, meaning "advice" or "counsel." This element...
Raines is an English surname with two plausible geographic origins. It may denote someone from Rayne in Essex, England, a place name likely derived from an Old English word meaning "shelter." Alternatively, it could refe...
Rains is an English surname, most commonly a variant spelling of Raines. The name Raines itself has two primary geographical origins: it can indicate a person from Rayne, Essex, England — a place whose name likely derive...
Rake is an English surname with toponymic origins, describing a person who lived near a narrow pass or steep hillside. The name derives from the Old English word hrace, meaning "throat" or "gorge," referencing a geologic...
Rakes is an English surname that originated as a variant of Rake (also found as a patronymic meaning "son of Rake"). The root name Rake was originally a toponymic surname for a dweller on a narrow pass or hillside, deriv...
EtymologyRead is an English surname derived from Middle English read, meaning "red." It likely originated as a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Cognates in other languages include Roth (Germanic)...
Read 2 is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Old English word ryd, an unattested variant of rod, meaning "cleared land." Additionally, it may originate from various English place names, which carry differen...
Readdie is a surname of English origin. It is considered a variant of the surname Ready, which itself derives from the Middle English word redi, meaning "prepared" or "prompt." As a habitational or occupational surname,...
Ready 1 is an English surname of nickname origin, derived from the Middle English word redi, meaning "prepared" or "prompt." The name was likely applied as a nickname to someone who was brisk, efficient, or quick to act,...
Reeve is an English surname with origins as an occupational name for a local official or sheriff. Derived from Middle English reeve and Old English (ge)refa, the term denoted a person who held a position of authority in...
EtymologyReeves is an English surname with multiple origins. Most commonly, it is a variant of the occupational name Reeve, with the addition of an excrescent -s—a common feature in English surnames derived from occupati...
Rennell is an English surname that originates as a variant of Reynolds, itself a patronymic surname derived from the given name Reynold.EtymologyReynold comes from the Germanic name Raginald, composed of the elements reg...
Rennold is an English surname that represents a variant of Reynolds. While Reynolds itself is the patronymic form of the given name Reynold, Rennold emerges as a phonetic or spelling variant, likely influenced by regiona...
Rennoll is an English surname, ultimately a variant of Reynolds. The name originates as a dependent form of the given name Reynold, which was introduced to Britain by the Normans in forms like Reinald or Reinold. Reynold...
Revie is an English surname, a variant of Reeve. The name Reeve itself originates from the Middle English reeve, deriving from the Old English (ge)refa, meaning "sheriff," "prefect," or "local official." As an occupation...
Reynell is an English surname that originated as a variant of Reynolds, itself a patronymic derived from the medieval given name Reynold. The spelling with '-ell' instead of '-olds' likely arose from regional pronunciati...
Reynolds is a patronymic surname of English origin. It is derived from the given name Reynold, to which the suffix –s (meaning “son of”) has been added. As a patronym, Reynolds was used to indicate descendants or followe...
Rhodes is an English surname with two possible origins. It may be a topographic name derived from the Old English word rod, meaning "cleared land," referring to someone who lived near or worked on such a clearing. Altern...
Etymology and Origin Richards is an English and Welsh patronymic surname, meaning "son or descendant of Richard." The given name Richard itself is ultimately derived from the Old German elements rih "ruler, king" and har...
Richardson is an English patronymic surname meaning "son of Richard". The given name Richard itself derives from the Old German elements rih "ruler, king" and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy", thus "brave ruler". Introduc...
Rider is an English surname, predominantly a variant of the more common spelling Ryder. While historically an occupational surname referring to a mounted warrior or messenger from Old English ridere, it may also have ind...
EtymologyRiley 1 is a surname derived from the town of Ryley in Lancashire, England. The name is formed from Old English elements ryge meaning "rye" and leah meaning "woodland, clearing." Thus, the name originally referr...
Rimmer is an English occupational surname derived from the Middle English rime, meaning "rhyme" or "verse." It originally referred to a poet or minstrel, someone who composed or recited poetry. The name is also sometimes...
Rivers is an English surname meaning 'dweller near a river', from Middle English, from Old French riviere meaning 'river', and ultimately from Latin riparius 'riverbank'. It was typically a topographic name for someone w...
Roach is an English surname of Norman origin, derived from the Old French word roche meaning "rock", from Late Latin rocca, ultimately possibly of Celtic origin. The name was a topographic surname for someone who lived n...
EtymologyRobbins is an English patronymic surname, derived from the given name Robin. It was originally used to denote "son of Robin" or "descendant of Robin." The name Robin itself is a medieval English diminutive of Ro...
EtymologyRoberson is an English patronymic surname meaning "son of Robert." The name Robert derives from the Germanic elements hruod "fame" and beraht "bright", giving the meaning "bright fame". Introduced to Britain by...
Robertson is an English surname meaning "son of Robert." It follows the common patronymic pattern of adding "-son" to the father's given name, indicating descent. The name Robert itself derives from the Germanic elements...
Rodgers is an English patronymic surname meaning "son of Rodger." The given name Rodger is a variant of Roger, which derives from the Germanic name Hrodger, composed of the elements hruod meaning "fame" and ger meaning "...
Rogers is an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Roger, introduced to England by the Normans after the conquest of 1066. The name Roger itself comes from the Old Germanic Hrodger, meaning "famous spear...
Rogerson is an English surname meaning "son of Roger." The given name Roger derives from the Germanic elements hruod ("fame") and ger ("spear"), thus "famous spear." Introduced to England by the Normans, it replaced the...
Rollins is an English surname that originated as a diminutive of the given name Roland. The surname thus carries the meaning derived from Roland's etymology: the Old German elements hruod meaning "fame" and lant meaning...
Rose is a surname of English, French, and German origin. It derives from the word for the flower rose in Middle English, Old French, and Middle High German, ultimately from Latin rosa. The name may refer to a person with...
Rose is an English surname with a dual origin. Most commonly, it derives from the feminine given name Rose, which was originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type". The name was i...
Rounds is an English surname with a patronymic origin, derived from the Middle English word rond, meaning "round" or "plump." This descriptor likely originated as a nickname for someone who was round in stature, and over...
Rowbottom is an English surname with topographic origins. It derives from the Old English ruh meaning "rough, overgrown" and boðm meaning "valley", thus referring to someone who lived in a valley overgrown with vegetatio...