English Surnames
English names are used in English-speaking countries. See also about English names.
1,056 surnames in our directory
English
1,056Rowe is an English surname with a topographic origin, deriving from the Middle English word rowe meaning "row." It was often given to someone who lived by a row of hedges, houses, or similar structures, reflecting the ph...
Rowe 2 is an English surname derived from the medieval given name Row, itself a variant of Roul or a short form of Roland. The name Roul is the Norman French form of Rolf, which originates from the Old German name Hrolf...
Rowntree is an English surname with topographic origins, referring to a person who lived near a rowan tree or mountain ash. The surname Rowntree is a variant of the more common Rountree, which derives from the Old Englis...
Roy 1 is a surname with distinct English and French origins. In English, it is a variant of Rey 1, itself derived from the short form of Reynaldo or the Spanish word for "king". In French, Roy directly means "king" (from...
Royceston is an English surname that originated as a variant of Royston. The name Royston itself derives from an Old English place name meaning "town of Royse", where Royse was a medieval variant of the given name Rose....
Ruff is an English and German surname that originated as a nickname or shortened form from a given name. Etymology The surname Ruff ultimately derives from a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion, thou...
Ruggles is an English surname derived from a medieval diminutive of the given name Roger. The surname originates as a patronymic, meaning "son of Rudge," where Rudge itself is a variant form of Hodge or Dodge, both pet f...
Rush is an English surname of topographic origin. It indicated a person who lived near rushes, the grasslike plants (members of the genus Juncus) that grow in marshy or wet areas, from Old English rysc. The name may also...
Ruskin 2 is an English surname derived from a diminutive of the feminine given name Rose. The suffix -kin was commonly used in medieval England to form affectionate or familial nicknames, similar to the modern suffix -ki...
Rye is a topographic surname of English origin, most likely deriving from a misdivision of the Middle English phrases atter ye ("at the island") or atter eye ("at the river"). This reflects a person living near an island...
Sackville is an English surname with Norman-French origins, derived from the place name Saqueneville in Normandy. The name was brought to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and became established as a prominent su...
Sadler is an English and German surname derived from the occupational name for a maker of saddles. It originates from the Old English word sadol, meaning "saddle," combined with the agent suffix -er denoting "one who wor...
Salmon is an English and French surname derived from the given name Solomon. The name Solomon itself comes from the Hebrew name שְׁלֹמֹה (Shelomo), which is derived from שָׁלוֹם (shalom), meaning "peace." Thus, Salmon et...
Salvage is a surname of English origin, considered a variant of the more common Savage. Its distinct form arises from a phonetic retention of the Old French salvage (from Latin silvaticus, meaning “wild, from the woods”)...
Sampson is a surname of English origin, derived from a medieval form of the given name Samson. The name Samson itself comes from the Hebrew name Shimshon, meaning "sun" (from shemesh, the Hebrew word for sun). In the Old...
Etymology and Origins Sams is an English patronymic surname, derived from the given name Samuel. Like similar surnames such as Samuels and Samuelson, it indicates 'son of Samuel' or 'servant of Samuel,' reflecting a trad...
Samuels is an English patronymic surname derived from the given name Samuel. The surname literally means "son of Samuel". The root name Samuel comes from the Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel), which is interpreted to mean "nam...
Samuelson is an English patronymic surname meaning "son of Samuel". It follows the common Anglo-Saxon naming tradition of adding the suffix -son to a father's given name, indicating lineage. The name is predominantly fou...
Sanders is an English patronymic surname derived from the medieval given name Sander, a short form of Alexander. The surname originally meant "son of Sander" and reflects the common medieval practice of adding the posses...
Etymology and OriginSanderson is an English and Scottish patronymic surname meaning "son of Alexander". It derives from the common medieval diminutive 'Sander' or 'Saunder' of Alexander, itself from the Greek name Alexan...
EtymologySands is an English surname of topographic origin, derived from the Old English word sand, referring to sandy ground. The name indicated that the original bearer lived on or near a patch of sandy soil, a common...
Sangster is an English and Scottish surname of early medieval origin. It derives from the Old English word singan, meaning "to sing, to chant," and is an occupational name for a professional singer or a nickname for some...
Sappington is a surname of English origin, likely locational in nature. It is derived from the place name Sapperton, a village in Gloucestershire, England. The place name itself comes from the Old English elements sapere...
Sargent is a surname of English origin, now also used as a given name. It is a variant of the occupational name Sergeant, which derives from Old French sergent meaning "servant", ultimately from Latin servio "to serve"....
Saunders is an English and Scottish surname, derived as a variant of Sanders. Sanders itself is a patronymic of the medieval given name Sander, which was a short form of Alexander. Thus, the surname Saunders ultimately t...
Savage is an English surname with a rich and varied history, primarily originating as a nickname from the Old French words salvage or sauvage, meaning “untamed” or “wild,” which in turn derive from the Latin silvaticus,...
Savege is an English surname, a variant of Savage. The root name Savage originated as a nickname from Middle English, derived from Old French salvage or sauvage, meaning "untamed" or "wild," ultimately from Latin silvati...
Etymology and MeaningSavidge is an English surname that represents a variant of the more common name Savage. The root name, Savage, originated as a nickname in medieval England, derived from the Old French words salvage...
Schofield is an English locational surname originally given to people who lived near or hailed from various places called Schofield or Scholfield in northern England. The name is a topographic formation combining two ele...
Scriven is an English occupational surname meaning "writer, clerk, or scribe." It derives from the Old French word escrivan (a variant of escrivain), which in turn comes from the Latin scriba, meaning "scribe." The name...
Scrivener is an English surname, an occupational name for a writer, clerk, or scribe. It is a variant of the surname Scriven, derived from the same source. Etymology The name traces back to the Middle English and Old Fre...
Scrivenor is an English surname, a variant of the occupational name Scriven. Both names derive from the Old French word escrivin, meaning "writer, clerk, or scribe," which itself comes from the Latin scriba. The surname...
Scrivens is a surname of English origin, primarily a variant of the occupational name Scriven. The root meaning derives from the Old French term for "writer, clerk, or scribe," itself from Latin scriba. This name was com...
EtymologySeabrook is a surname of English origin, derived from local place names. The name comes from a town by this name in Buckinghamshire, England, with origins further traced to a river name combined with Old English...
Seabrooke is an English surname, a variant of Seabrook. The root name Seabrook denotes a person from a town by that name in Buckinghamshire, England, with the place-name derived from a river combined with Old English bro...
Seaver is an English surname with roots in the pre-medieval period, likely originating as a topographic or patronymic name. It is derived from the unattested Old English given name Sæfaru, composed of the elements sæ “se...
Sempers is an English surname with a toponymic origin, deriving from various towns named Saint Pierre in Normandy, France. These places are named after the apostle Saint Peter, whose name comes from the Greek Πέτρος (Pet...
Senior is an English surname, originally used as a distinguishing name for the elder of two brothers, often to differentiate between a father and son with the same given name. It is akin to other honorifics-turned-surnam...
Sergeant is an English and French surname derived from the military or police rank. It comes from Old French sergent meaning "servant", ultimately from Latin servio meaning "to serve". Etymology and History The surname S...
Sessions is an English surname with origins in northern France. It is derived from the name of the city of Soissons, which itself comes from the Latin Noviodunum Suessionum, named after the Celtic tribe of the Suessiones...
Seward is an English surname derived from the given name Sigeweard. The personal name Sigeweard itself originates from Old English elements: sige meaning "victory" and weard meaning "guard" or "guardian," giving the name...
Seward 2 is an English surname that originated as an occupational name for a swineherd. It derives from the Old English words su, meaning "sow" or "female pig," and hierde, meaning "herdsman" or "guardian." The name thus...
Sexton is an English occupational surname derived from the Middle English term sexteyn, meaning a sacrist or church officer responsible for the maintenance of church buildings, contents, and often the graveyard. This rol...
Seymour 2 is an English surname with toponymic origins, derived from a place name. The name combines the Old English elements sæ meaning "sea" and mere meaning "lake", referring to a body of water near the sea. The surna...
Seymour 1 is an English surname derived from a French place name honoring Saint Maurus. The name originated from the Norman French phrase Saint-Maur, referring to a location in France dedicated to Saint Maurus, a 6th-cen...
Shakespeare is an English surname with a warlike origin. It derives from the Old English words scacan meaning "to shake" and spere meaning "spear", likely used as a nickname for someone who was quick or fierce in battle....
Sharman is an English surname, primarily a variant of Sherman 1. The root meaning of Sherman is “shear man,” an occupational name for someone who used shears in their work, such as a sheep-shearer or a cloth shearer who...
Sharp is an English surname, sometimes also occurring in Scottish and Anglicized Irish contexts. It originated as a nickname for a person perceived as keen, astute, or sharp-witted, from the Old English adjective scearp...
Sharp is a notable English surname derived from the Old English adjective scearp, meaning "sharp." Originally used as a nickname for a keen, intelligent, or quick-witted person, the name Sharp evolved into a hereditary s...
Sharrow is an English surname with a locational origin, derived from a place name in South Yorkshire. The name originally denoted someone who hailed from the district of Sharrow in Sheffield, England. The toponym itself...
Shaw is an English surname of toponymic origin, originally given to a person who lived near a prominent thicket or copse. The name derives from Old English sceaga, meaning "thicket" or "copse," reflecting the landscape f...
Shearer is an English occupational surname that originally denoted someone who sheared, particularly a cloth shearer or a sheep-shearer. It is the English cognate of the German surname Scherer, which comes from Old High...
Shepard is a variant spelling of the English occupational surname Shepherd, itself derived from the Old English word sceaphierde, meaning "sheep herder." Occupational surnames often varied in spelling more than other typ...
Sheppard is an English occupational surname, a variant of Shepherd. The name originates from Middle English schepherde, meaning "sheep herder" or "shepherd". As a variant spelling, it shares the same etymological root an...
Sherburn is a surname of English origin, derived from various places in England named Sherborne or Sherburn. The name belongs to a class of English habitational surnames that identify individuals by the location they liv...
Sherburne is an English surname, a variant of Sherburn. The name originates as a locational surname for someone who hailed from any of the various places called Sherborne or Sherburn in England. These place names derive...
Sherman 1 is an occupational surname of English origin, meaning "shear man." This name refers to a person who used shears in their profession, most commonly a sheep-shearer. The occupation was vital in medieval England,...
Shine 1 is an English surname derived from the Old English word sciene, meaning "beautiful" or "attractive." The name likely originated as a nickname for someone considered handsome or pleasant in appearance, a common pr...
Short is a surname of English origin, derived from the Middle English word schort meaning “short.” It originated as a descriptive nickname for a person of short stature, a common practice in medieval England where physic...
Siddall is a surname of northern English origin. It is a habitational name derived from the name of various English towns and settlements, evolving from the Old English sid meaning "wide" and halh meaning "nook" or "rece...