Family name affixes
Encyclopedia
Family name
affix
es are a clue for family name
etymology
and can sometimes determine the ethnic origin
of a person. This is a partial list of affixes.
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
affix
Affix
An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
es are a clue for family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
and can sometimes determine the ethnic origin
Ethnic origin
The concept of ethnic origin is an attempt to classify people, not according to their current nationality, but according to where their ancestors came from...
of a person. This is a partial list of affixes.
Prefixes
- A- (RomanianRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
) "son of" - Ab - (WelshWelsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, BretonBreton languageBreton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
) "son of" - Antune- (Portuguese) "Anthony"
- Ap - (WelshWelsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
) "son of" - Abu - (ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
) "father of" [Also used in Hebrew prior to 1300 BCE] - Al - (Arabic for "the" in names, e.g. al-ShehriAl-Shehrial-Shehri is an Arabic family name denoting a member of Bani Shehr, when followed by a sun letter, the l in al assimilates to the initial consonant of the following noun, resulting in a doubled consonant.-People:* Fahad al-Shehri, Saudi terrorist...
) - Alm- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Norwegian) "elm" - Alt- (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) "old"
- Bab- (Polish, Ukrainian, Slovakian, CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
) "woman" especially "old woman" - Bäck- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "brook" - Bar- (HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
) "son of" - Bath, bat- HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
) "daughter of" - Beau- (FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) "beautiful", step-(son, father), alternative spelling for Bau- - Beck- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "brook" (archaic spelling) - Ben- (ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
,) "son of" - Berg- (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "mountain", "hill" - Bet- (ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
from "Beyt") "house of" - Bin- (ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
) "son of" [Also used in Hebrew prior to 1300 BCE] - Bint- (ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
) "daughter of" - Birch- (EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) "birch tree" - Björk- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
), bjørk- (Norwegian, Danish) "birch tree" - Björn- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
), bjørn- (Danish, Norwegian) "bear" - Bjur- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "beaver" (poetic / dialectal)
- Da- (ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) "from, of"; (PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) "from the". Here the is a feminine singular object. - Dahl-, Dal- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "valley"
- De- (ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) "of"; indicates region of origin, often a sign of nobility; in Spanish-speaking countries a married woman will sometimes append her name with "de XXXX" where "XXXX" is her husband's last name; (Dutch) "the" - Degli- (ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) "of the". Here the is a masculine plural object starting with either 'sp', 'sc', 'ps', 'z', 'gn' or 'st'. - Dele-, Del- Northern French and Occitan, equivalent of Du-
- Della- (ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) "of the". Here the is a feminine singular object. - Der- (Western ArmenianArmenian languageThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
) "son/daughter of a priest"; (German) "the" (masculine nominative), "of the" (feminine genitive) - Di- (ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) "son of" - Dj- (Slovakian)
- Dos- (PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) "from the, of the". Here the is a masculine plurar object. - Du- (FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) "of the". Here, 'the' is a masculine object, as 'de la' would be feminine and 'des' would be plural.
- E- (PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) "and", used before last surmane (Maria Eduarda de Canto e Mello) - Ek- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "oak" - El- (Arabic for "the" in names and also in SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) "the" - Escob- (Spanish) "broom"
- Esch- (Dutch, German) "ash"
- Fleisch- (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) "meat" - Fitz- (Irish, from Norman French) "son of", from Latin "filius", "son" (mistakenly thought to mean illegitimate son based on its use for certain illegitimate sons of English kings)
- Fors- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "rapids"
- Gott- (German) "God"
- Griff- (Welsh, English) "griffin"
- Haj- or Hadj- or Hajj - "pilgrim to Mecca"
- Haug- (NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "hill" or "mound" - Holm- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "island"
- Ibn (ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
) another form of "bin" in names, e.g. ibn Sina [Also used in Hebrew prior to 1300 BCE]
- Kauf- (German) "trade" or "barter"
- Kil- (English, Irish, Scottish) "son of" "servant of" or "devotee of"
- Koop- (Dutch) "trade" or "barter"
- Kvarn- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "mill"
- La- (Italian, Southern French, Spanish) for "the", feminine
- Le- (Northern French) for "the", masculine
- Lind- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "linden" - Lönn- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
), Lønn- (DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "maple" - Lund- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "grove"
- Mac- (Irish, Scottish) "son of"
- Mc- (Irish) assumed to be an abbreviation of Mac, but often claimed to be particular to Irish language. Sometimes spelt Mc (with a superscript 'c').
- Mir- (Persian, Azeri, short form of the Arabic word Amir امیر) "commander", "prince"
- Na- ณ (ThaiThai languageThai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
) "at" - Naka- 中 (Japanese) "middle"
- Neder- (Swedish) "lower", "under"
- Nic-, Ni- (Irish, Scottish) "daughter of"
- Nin- (Serbian)
- Nord-, Norr- (GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "north" - Ny- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "new"
- O' - (Irish) "grandson of", "descendant of"
- Öfver- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "upper", "over" (archaic spelling) - Ost- (German), öst-, öster- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
), øst- (DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "east" - Över- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "upper", "over" - Öz - (Turkish) "pure"
- Papa- (GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
) "son/daughter of a Priest" - Pour- (Persian) "son of"
- Quarn- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "mill" (archaic spelling)
- Skog-, Skoog- (DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "forest" - Sten- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "stone" - Stor- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "large" - Ström- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
), Strøm- (Danish, Norwegian) "stream" - Söder- (SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
) "south"
- Ter- (Dutch) "at the"
- Ter- (Eastern Armenian) "son/daughter of a Priest"
- Tre- (CornishCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
) "farm of" - Türk- (Turkish) "Turkish"
- Van- (Dutch) "of"
- Väst-, Väster- (Swedish) "west"
- Vest- (DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
) "west" - Von- (German) "of"; a sign of nobility.
Suffixes
- -a (typically in female names, in most European languages, except French)
- -a- (Frisian) "One of the good guys", could be -ma, -stra, -ta. Frisians took the oath of the Free Frisians screaming 'Better dead than a slave' after which they could get their new surnames (see Eala Frya Fresena).
- -ac (ац) (SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, French) - -acz (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) - -aitis (Lithuanian) "son of"
- -aitė (Lithuanian) signifies an unmarried female
- -"aty" Americanized form
- -aj (AlbanianAlbanian languageAlbanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
) - -ak (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, BelarusianBelarusian languageThe Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
) - -ák (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) - -an (RomanianRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
) - -and (French)
- -anu (Romanian)
- -ář, -ar (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) - -ard (French) from Germanic -hard, pejorative
- -arz (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) - -as (Greek, /male/ LithuanianLithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
) - -au (Belarusian) equivalent to Russian -ov
- -aud, -au(l)t (French) from Germanic -(w)ald, pejorative
- -auskas (Lithuanian for the Polish -owski, Belarusian -auski)
- -awan (UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
)
- -ba (Abkhazian) "male"
- -bach, -back (German) "brook"
- -bäck (Swedish) "brook"
- -backa, -backe (Swedish) "hill", "slope"
- -baum (German) "tree"
- -beck (Swedish) "brook" (archaic spelling)
- -bee, -by (English) "homestead"
- -berg (German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "mountain" or "hill"
- -bergen (Dutch) "mountain" or "hill"
- -bert (French, German) from Germanic -berht “bright”
- -bois (French) ″wood″
- -borough (English)
- -bourg (French)
- -brook (English)
- -brun, -brunn (German, Swedish) "springSpring (hydrosphere)A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
" - -burg (Scottish)
- -burn, -burne (English) "brook"
- -by (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) "town", "village"; also borrowed into English
- -chenko (Ukrainian, Belarusian)
- -chi, -çı, -çi (Persian, چی-, Turkish) attributed to or performing a certain "job"
- -cı, -ci (Turkish) attributed to or performing a certain "job"
- -chian (Persian, چیان-) attributed to or performing a certain "job"
- -chek (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, BelarusianBelarusian languageThe Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
)- -czek (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) - -ček (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) diminutive
- -czek (Polish
- -chik, -chyk ((UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, Belarusian, Russian)- -čík (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) - -czyk (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
)
- -čík (Czech
- -chuk (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, Belarusian)- -czuk (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
)
- -czuk (Polish
- -cka (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) Feminine equivalent of -cki - -cká (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) Feminine equivalent of -cký - -cki (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) variant of -ski - -cký (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) - -čki (SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, Croatian, Bulgarian) - -cock, -cox (English) "little"
- -cote, -cott, -cutt (English) "cottage"
- -court (French)
- -craft, -croft (English) "small field"
- -czak (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) another variant of the -czyk, -czek, -czuk series
- -dal (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) "valley"
- -dale (English) "valley"
- -datter (Danish, Norwegian) "daughter (of)"
- -din (Swedish)
- -don (English) "hill"
- -dorf (German) "village"
- -dotter (Swedish) "daughter (of)"
- -dóttir (Icelandic) "daughter of"
- -dze (Georgian) "son of"
- -dzki (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) variant of -ski, -cki
- -eanu (RomanianRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
) - -eau, -eault (French) diminutive suffix (Latin -ellu-)
- -ec (Czech, Slovak, Polish, Croatian, equivalent to Russian -ets), (French spelling for Breton -eg)
- -ee (See -i)
- -eff (Russian, BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
) (obsolete, copied from German transliteration of -ev) - -ek (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Slovak, Croatian) - -ell (English spelling for French -el, diminutive)
- -el (Northern French and Occitan, French -eau)
- -ema (Suffix of Fryslân origin, given by Napoleon Bonapart who used suffixes like these to keep a record of people's origins within Holland)
- -ems (DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) - -ėnas (Lithuanian) "son of"
- -enko (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
) "son of" - -ens (DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) - -ent (FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) - -er (English, French, German, Turkish "male")
- -ers (DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) - -es (Greek, Portuguese) "son of" in Portuguese
- -escu (RomanianRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
) "son of" - -eşti (RomanianRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
, Moldavian) posessive plural, also used in place names - -et (French) (diminutive suffix Latin -ettu- or former -el)
- -ets (Russian, Belarusian)
- -eu (Belarusian) equivalent to Russian -ev
- -ev (BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
, all nationalities of RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) possessive - -eva (BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
and Russian) Feminine equivalent of ev - -evski (Macedonian, BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
and Russian) possessive - -evska (Macedonian and BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
and Russian) Feminine equivalent of evski - -ez (SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, North Picard) including Spanish-speaking countries "son of"; in Picard, old spelling for -et
- -fält, -fäldt (Swedish) "field"
- -fia, -fi, -fy, -ffy (HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
) "descendant of" (literally "son of") - -felt, -feldt (Swedish) "field" (archaic spelling)
- -ford (English)
- -fors (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "rapids"
- -fort (French)
- -gil, (Turkish, "family")
- -gaard, -gard, -gård (Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, French) "farm" (garden in Northern French)
- -garth (English, Scottish) "orchard"
- -gate (English)
- -gren (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "branch"
- -haar (German, Danish) "hair"
- -han (Turkish) "king, khan"
- -holm (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "island"
- -höven, -hoeven (German) "small garden"
- -i (Italian) in most surnames, plural
- -i (Hungarian) "of", "from" (geographically)
- -i (ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, PersianPersian peopleThe Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
) "descendant of", "attributed to" - -ia (Abkhaz, Mingrelian)
- -ian(ts), -yan(ts), -jian, -,gian, -ents, -ants, -unts, -uni (ArmenianArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
) "son/daughter of" - -iak (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) "descendant of" - - ic (French), misspelling for Breton -ig, diminutive
- -ić (Bosniak, CroatianCroatian languageCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
) (diminutiveDiminutiveIn language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
)- -begović (Bosniak) (diminutive possessive of a begBaig- History & Origins:The name Baig originates from a Turkic clan called Barlas . They played a pivotal role in Turko-Persian empires in Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia....
, i.e. chieftain's or chief's little son) - -ević (Bosniak, CroatianCroatian languageCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
) (diminutive possessivePossessive caseThe possessive case of a language is a grammatical case used to indicate a relationship of possession. It is not the same as the genitive case, which can express a wider range of relationships, though the two have similar meanings in many languages.See Possession for a survey of the different...
, little son of) - -ović (Bosniak, CroatianCroatian languageCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
) (diminutive possessive, little son of)
- -begović (Bosniak) (diminutive possessive of a beg
- -ič (Slovenian, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) diminutive - -ičius (Lithuanian) actually Lithuanianized version of the Polish "icz"
- -icz (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) - -ides, idas (Greek), "son of"
- -ik (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
, PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) and EstonianEstonian languageEstonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
(if it follows a tree name, has a meaning "grove") - -ikh, -ykh (Russian)
- -in (RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
) possessive - -in (French) diminutive
- -ina (female equivalent of -in; especially rare for male names, but the suffix alone is an actual female name)
- -ing (Anglo-Saxon) "place of the people of"
- -ino (a common suffix for male Latino and Italian names)
- -ipa (Abkhazian) "son of"
- -ipha (Abkhazian) "girl of"
- -is (Greek, /male/ LithuanianLithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
)- -ienė (Lithuanian) female version
- -ytė (Lithuanian) unmarried female version
- -ishin (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
) "possessive" (e.g. Romanishin = son of wife of Roman)- -ishina (female equivalent of -ishin)
- -iu (RomanianRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
) - -ius (Lithuanian) "son of"
- -iv (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
) possessive - -j (Adygean)"old"
- -ka (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
, BelarusianBelarusian languageThe Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
) diminutive - -kawa, -gawa 川 (Japanese) "river"
- -ke, (German)
- -kin, -kins, -ken (English) "little"
- -ko (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
, CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
)- -chenko (Ukrainian)
- -nko (Ukrainian)
- -ko (Adygean) "son" ĸъо
- -kus (Lithuanian)
- -kvist (Swedish) "twig"
- -kyzy (KyrgyzKyrgyz languageKyrgyz or Kirgiz, also Kirghiz, Kyrghiz, Qyrghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...
) "daughter of"
- -la, -lä (Finnish), comes to surnames from names of villages and farms
- -ła, -la (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
), often comes from verbs in the past tense; in countries where the letter Ł is not available, it is replaced by L - -lay, -ley, -ly (Scottish,, English, Irish) "wood," or "grove"
- -le, -lein (German) "small"
- -li, -lou (TurkishTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Azeri) "from" - -lin (French, Irish, Swedish) in Germanic names "small"
- -litz (German)
- -lund (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "grove"
- -maa (Estonian) "land"
- -mägi (Estonian) "hill"
- -mäe (Estonian) "hill"
- -man (English) "manly or heroic", "male person", "servant of," (Turkish) "male person"
- -man (Indonesian) a common suffix, usually denotes a male (e.g. "Budiman")
- -mann (German) "manly or heroic", "male person", "servant of"
- -mand (Persian, مند-) owning or showing
- -maz (Turkish) "does not" (e.g. "YılmazYilmazYılmaz is a Turkish word that translates to unshirking, unbeatable or brave, and is a common male given name and surname.-Given name:* Yilmaz Arslan , Kurdish film director, screenwriter and producer...
= Yields not") - -men (Turkish) "male person"
- -mets (Estonian) "forest"
- -mont (French) "mountain" or "hill", or Germanic -mund "god"
- -nė, -te /female/ (LithuanianLithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
) - -nen (Finnish) diminutiveDiminutiveIn language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
, "from" - -nik (Estonian) attributed to occupation (talu being "farm" - talunik being "farmer")
- -nko (Ukrainian)
- -nova, -novas (Italian, Spanish) "new"
- -novo (Spanish) "new"
- -ný (Czech, Slovak) adjective
- -ny (Polish) adjective
- -nezhad, -nejad (Persian, نژاد) "descendant of"
- -nyi (HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
)
- -o (typically in male names in most European languages except English, French, etc.)
- -off (Russian, Bulgarian) (obsolete, copied from German transliteration of -ov)
- -oğlu (Azeri, TurkishTurkish peopleTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
) "son of" - -ok (Belarusian, Czech)
- -oi, -oy (Russian) sometimes transliterated as -oj
- -ois, -oy, -ais, -ay (French) from Germanic -isk
- -on (French), former subject case in masculine names
- -onis (Lithuanian) "son of"
- -os (Greek, Gasconic, Spanish, Portuguese)
- -opoulos, -opulos (Greek)
- -osz, -oš (Polish, Czech, Slovak)
- -ot (French) "little"
- -ots (Estonian) "end/edge"
- -ou(t) (French), various origins
- -ou (Greek)
- -ou (Belarusian) equivalent to Russian -ov
- -ouf (French), Norman French spelling of Old Norse ulfr and Germanic wulf “wolf”
- -ouf (French), French spelling of North African names
- -oui (French), French spelling of North African names, English spelling -wi
- -ov (BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
, Russian (all nationalities of Russia) (possessive) - -ova (BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
, Russian) Feminine equivalent of -ov - -ová (Czech, Slovak) suffix attached to most Czech and Slovak female surnames
- -ovski (Macedonian, BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
and Russian) possessive - -ovska (Macedonian and BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
and Russian) Feminine equivalent of -ovski - -ow (Prussian, though found in predominantly German names, it is pronounced like English "ow" not like the German "ov")
- -pern, -perin (German) "springSpring (hydrosphere)A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
" - -pour, -poor (Persian) "son of"
- -putra (Indonesian) "son"
- -putri (Indonesian) "daughter"
- -puu (Estonian) "tree"
- -quin, (French)
- -quist, -qvist (Swedish) "twig" (archaic spelling)
- -ridge, -redge, -rigg (English)
- -rud (Norwegian) "clearing"
- -s /male/ (LatvianLatviansLatvians or Letts are the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia.-History:Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...
) - -s /male/ (LithuanianLithuaniansLithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
) - -s /male/ (French),former subject case (from Latin -us)
- -s (Dutch, Irish) "(son/daughter) of". Sometimes less recognizable, like in "Hendrickx" (son/daughter of Hendrik)
- -saar (Estonian) "island"
- -salu (Estonian) "grove"
- -schmidt, -schmitt, -schmid, -schmit (German) "smith"
- -sen or zen (DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Norwegian, Dutch or Low German) "son of"- -ssen (Dutch or Low German) "son of"
- -ssens or -sens (Dutch) "grandson/granddaughter of". Literally "(son/daughter) of the son of"
- -sepp (Estonian) "smith"
- -shvili (GeorgianGeorgian peopleThe Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
) "child" - -shyn (Ukrainian)
- -ski (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
, MacedonianMacedonian languageMacedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
. Also Russian but more often transliterated as -sky), "originating from", "estate of"- -ska (Polish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Ukrainian) Feminine equivalent of -ski
- -ská (CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) Feminine equivalent of -ský - -skaya (Russian) Feminine equivalent of -sky
- -skyi, -skiy (Ukrainian)
- -sky (Russian)
- -ský (Czech, Slovak)
- -sma (Frisian) "son of"
- -smith (English)
- -son (English, Swedish, IcelandicIcelandic languageIcelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
) "son of"- -sson (Swedish, IcelandicIcelandic languageIcelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
) "son of"
- -sson (Swedish, Icelandic
- -(s)son (French), diminutive
- -stad (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) "town, place"
- -stein (German) "stone"
- -sten (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) "stone"
- -stern (German) "star"
- -ström (Swedish), -strøm (Danish, Norwegian) "stream"
- -svärd (Swedish) "sword"
- -tæ (Ossetian) "belong to"
- -tabar (Persian) "descendant of"
- -thwait (Anglicized from the DanishDanish languageDanish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
) "meadow, clearingClearingClearing may refer to:* Glade , a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area* Deforestation, the clearing away of trees to make farmland* Clearing , the process of settling a transaction after committing to it...
" introduced into British Isles by Vikings between 800 and 1066 AD - -to, -tō, -do, -dō 藤 (Japanese) "wisteriaWisteriaWisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...
" - -toft (English) "knoll"
- -ton, -ten, -tone (English) "town," "place" or "village"
- -tzki, tzky (Polish) - phonetic Germanized spelling of original Polish -cki
- -Türk (Turkish)
- -uk (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, BelarusianBelarusian languageThe Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
) - -ulea (Romanian) "son of"
- -ulis (Lithuanian)
- -ūnas (Lithuanian) "son of"
- -uulu (KyrgyzKyrgyz languageKyrgyz or Kirgiz, also Kirghiz, Kyrghiz, Qyrghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...
, it is pronounced in English "oo-loo") "son of"
- -velt (Dutch) "farm" or "field"
- -verde (Spanish) "green"
- -vich (RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, occasionally a respelling of original Serbian, Croatian -vić) "son of"- -vych (UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
) - -wicz (PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) - -vić (SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, CroatianCroatian languageCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
, BosnianBosnian languageBosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
) - -vič (SlovenianSlovenian languageSlovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
, SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) - -vitz, -witz, -witch (Germanized or Anglicized respellings)
- -vych (Ukrainian
- -vičius (Lithuanian)
- -vičiutė (Lithuanian)
- -vili (Georgian)
- -ville (French) "town"
- -wala (Indian) denotes the occupation or place of Origin (Occuptation example: Batliwala - one who deals with bottles. Place example: Suratwala - one from Surat)
- -wan (Indonesian) denotes a male name
- -wati (Indonesian) denotes a female name
- -well (English)
- -white, -waite (English) "clearingClearingClearing may refer to:* Glade , a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area* Deforestation, the clearing away of trees to make farmland* Clearing , the process of settling a transaction after committing to it...
" - -wood (English)
- -worth (English) "homestead"
- -wright (English) "maker of"
- -y (See -i)
- -ycz (Polish)
- -yk (Polish)
- -ynas (Lithuanian) "son of"
- -ysz (Polish)
- -zadeh, -zada (Persian, Azeri, زاده) "son of", "descendant of"
- -zadegan (Persian, زادگان-) plural form of zadeh
See also
- List of most common surnames
- PatronymicPatronymicA patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
- Family name etymology
- Scandinavian family name etymologyScandinavian family name etymologyHeritable family names were generally adopted rather late within Scandinavia. Nobility were the first to take names that would be passed on from one generation to the next. Later, clergy, artisans and merchants in cities took heritable names...
- Slavic name suffixSlavic name suffixA Slavic name suffix is a common way of forming patronymics, family names, and pet names in the Slavic languages ....
- TussenvoegselTussenvoegselA tussenvoegsel in Dutch linguistics is a word that is positioned between a person's first and last name. The most common tussenvoegsels are "van" meaning "from" and "de" , meaning "the"...
(Dutch prefixes)