Family name etymology - Definition and Overview

This is a collection of family name etymologies. For German names, see German family name etymology.

• Aaronovitch, Aronowitz, etc. son of Aaron. Jewish surname.
• Anders(s)on: son of Anders/Andrew. Scandinavian and English surname.
• Boyer: when German, can be a modification of "Bauer," farmer.
• Balshemnik, Balshemennik, Bolshemennikov: from Baal Shem: Wizard. A Jewish surname from Belarus.
• Holmberg: "Holm" comes from "holme", which means islet. "Berg" means hill or mountain. Scandinavian surname.
• Huber: the German name is derived from Huober, a farmer holding a fief. It has also been explained as an abbreviation of Hubert or as a derivation of Heber, the Hebrew Patriarch. It may occur in the following variations: Hiver, Hivar, Hubbar, Hupper, Huper, Hobar, Hibber, Kuber, Cooper, Kubri, Kivri, Heber, Eber, Hever, Ever.
• Johans(s)on, Johns(s)on, Jons(s)on: son of Johan/John. Scandinavian and English surnames.
• Karls(s)on, Carls(s)on, Karlsen, Carlsen: son of Karl. Scaninavian surname.
• Kolikov: son of Kolek. Russian surname.
• Lars(s)on, Larsen: Son of Lars (Lawrence). Scandinavian surname.
• Lindberg: "Lind" means lime/linden and "berg" means hill or mountain. Scandinavian surname.
• MacLachlan: Gaelic, "son of Norway." Variously spelled.
• McDonald, MacDonald: son of Donald.
• O'Donald: grandson of Donald (O' is an anglicisation of "ua", meaning grandson).
• Moreau: From dark or black horse. [1] (http://www.vitalog.net) has the etymology as "French, derived from the nickname for the dark-skinned man, perhaps a Moor."
• Pers(s)on, Petters(s)on: son of Per/Petter (Peter). Scaninavian surname.
• Plotkin: from Plotki. Jewish surname from Belarus.
• Rabinowitz, Rabinovitch, Rabinowich: Son of a rabbi. Jewish surname. (This surname has the owitz ending, meaning "son of"). Poland, Russian Empire, other Eastern European countries.
• Rambo. "Raven's nest". Swedish-American surname from New Sweden taken by a settler from Ramberget (Raven's Hill) near Gothenburg.
• Spector: From the Russian Spectorski, meaning inspector. Jews who registered as inspectors with the Russian or Ukraine governments received a favored status with respect to travel, although those who collected taxes were generally resented in the shtetls (Jewish ghettos).
• Walker: One who walks on grapes to get the juices for wine-making
• Wolfgang: A wolves' cave (gang), a German family name