Surnames starting with H

A short surname found especially in East and Southeast Asia, often reflecting a Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese family name or romanization.

A surname usually tied to old German forms related to “hawthorn” or place-name elements like Hag, and sometimes to a nickname or occupation in Low German.

A German and Dutch surname meaning “hedge” or “enclosure,” often pointing to someone from a place called Haag or the Hague.

A German and Dutch surname meaning “hare,” likely first used as a nickname for someone quick, shy, or fleet-footed.

A German surname most often linked to the word for “hare,” originally a nickname for someone quick or timid.

A surname with more than one possible origin, most often tied to Germanic words for “oats” or to an old Germanic personal-name element meaning “possession.”

A surname that most likely began as a German occupational or nickname-based name, with the second element meaning “man.”

A surname of Arabic origin meaning “beloved” or “darling.”

An English surname that can come from a hedge, a half-door or hatch, or less certainly from a nickname or personal name.

A surname with several possible roots, including a maker or user of a cutting tool and, in some cases, a nickname from an old personal name.

Usually a diminutive of Hake, an old personal name, though some sources also connect it with Norman French Haket and related forms.

A surname that likely began as a nickname or occupational name for someone who hacked, chopped, or worked with a hoe or hook-like tool.

A surname that likely began as an occupational name for someone who made or used a hack, or possibly tended hedges.

An English habitational surname from places called Hackney, especially the parish now in London, originally meaning “hedged or enclosed land.”

A locational surname, probably meaning someone from Hackworth, a place name linked to an older personal name plus “worth” (homestead or farmstead).

An occupational surname meaning “blacksmith” in Arabic.

A surname usually taken from a place name, especially Haddon/Hadden, meaning someone who came from that locality.

Likely a habitational surname from Haydock in Lancashire, though older writers also tried to link it to nicknames or personal names.

A classic English place-name surname, originally meaning someone from a wood-and-clearing settlement.

A German surname that most likely began as a nickname or byname connected with oats, especially for someone who grew or traded in them.

A German occupational surname meaning “potter” or “one who makes clay vessels.”

A surname with both Irish and older English roots, and in some cases a link to the old Germanic name Hagen.

A surname usually treated as a variant form related to Hagan/Higgins-type Irish names, with spellings shaped by local pronunciation and anglicization.

A German surname meaning “hawthorn,” originally used for someone living by or near a hawthorn hedge or thicket.

A surname most likely meaning “man from a place called Hag(e)” or “Hage’s man,” with Germanic roots and several possible local forms.

A surname with several possible roots, most often linked to an old word for an enclosed place or to medieval Germanic personal names.

A surname with several possible roots, most often tied to a Germanic personal name or to a place-name built on a word for an enclosed or fenced area.

A surname that most likely began as a German or Dutch-style name for someone from a place called Hager or as a compound meaning “man from Hager’s place.”

An Irish surname usually understood as a variant of Hegarty, ultimately from a Gaelic personal-name form.

A surname with several possible roots: most likely from an old personal name, but sometimes linked to a hay-yard or rick-yard.

An Irish surname, often treated as an Anglicized form of a Gaelic family name, though the exact original form is not fully settled.

An English surname that may have started as a nickname for someone who badgered or teased others, though the evidence is thin.

A surname of uncertain origin, most likely from a place name or a descriptive nickname built on an old English element meaning a hedge or enclosure.

A surname usually taken from a place-name, most likely linked to a “haw” or hedged enclosure.

A German surname that usually means “rooster” or “cock,” and sometimes comes from place-names built with the same word.

A surname of uncertain origin, most likely a German, Arabic, or South Asian name that has been adopted in several languages and regions.

A surname most likely from a shortened or altered form of a name spelled like Haig or Hait, with Dutch and English lines of origin often suggested.

A mainly English surname that is usually a shortened or variant form of Hale, with a local place-name origin.

Usually a variant of Hale, a surname that could point to a dwelling by a nook, hall, or hillside, depending on local origin.

A habitational surname from a place name meaning “hay meadow” or “woodland clearing.”

A mostly English surname that usually began as a patronymic meaning “son of Hain,” with Hain likely a medieval personal name.

Usually an English nickname surname for someone with notable hair—or, in Irish usage, a form linked to O'Hehir.

An Irish surname usually treated as a spelling variant of O’Hare, ultimately from an old Gaelic family name in County Clare.

An English-language surname usually understood as a place-based name, likely meaning “from a settlement by rough or hairy ground” or from a similar local place-name.

Usually a medieval short form of the Scandinavian personal name Hacon/Hakon, later used as a surname.

Usually a surname of uncertain origin, though it may sometimes reflect the weapon-name "halbert" or a related nickname or local form.

A surname most likely from a place name, probably meaning someone from a haly/watery valley or a similar landscape feature.

A surname of Germanic origin, likely built from a German personal name or place-name base with the common -man ending.

An English surname with several origins, most often from a place-name or a word for a hall, and sometimes from an old word meaning “healthy” or “brave.”

A place-based surname meaning “from Hales,” especially linked to Norfolk and other English localities.

Usually a habitational surname from English place-names like Hailey or Hayley, meaning a clearing or meadow associated with hay.

A locational surname meaning “of Halford,” from places in England likely named for a ford by a hall.

A very common English surname meaning someone who lived or worked at a manor house or hall.

A habitational surname meaning someone from Hallam, especially Upper Hallam in the old parish of Sheffield.

A surname that can mean “from Halle” or, in some cases, “someone connected with a salt works.”

Usually a surname built from the old given name Hal, with the diminutive ending -ett, meaning “little Hal” or “son of Hal.”

A surname with multiple possible origins, including an English local name and an Irish form of Ó hAille.

A surname with more than one likely origin, but often linked to a Scottish border byname or to the phrase “holy day.”

An English occupational surname for a hall servant, steward, or doorkeeper.

A surname that most likely began as a nickname from the medieval half-mark coin or value, later fixed in a slightly altered form.

A surname most likely derived from a place-name, probably from Halstead or another related English local name.

An Irish surname linked to an old Gaelic family name, best known today from Munster and Irish diaspora communities.

A Jewish surname most often understood as a variant of Heilbronn, linking the family name to the German city.

An Irish surname commonly linked to the Gaelic form of Halfpenny, though older sources also treated it as a variant of Harpin.

Most likely a locational surname, probably meaning “from the hazel place” or from a place-name such as Halsey/Hals/Alsey.

A place-based surname meaning “at the hall stead” or “from Halstead,” originally taken from English place-names.

A surname that can come from a maker or user of halters, or from a German place-name pattern built on a slope or hillside.

A surname most likely built from an occupational name for someone who made, sold, or used halters.

A Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of Halvor.”

A Norwegian patronymic surname meaning “son of Halvor.”

A Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of Halvor.”

A surname from a word for a homestead or village enclosure, often found in names tied to places.

A German surname that likely began as a short form of a personal name, with some early forms also pointing to related names like Hagen or Haim.

An English surname that likely began as a diminutive form of the medieval name Hamo or Hamelin, later reshaped by an added consonant.

A surname of uncertain origin, most likely a variant of a place-based or nickname-style English family name.

Probably a habitational surname, most likely from a place-name or local form such as Hanby, with medieval records showing it in England by the 12th century.

A surname with Norman and northern French roots, likely from an old personal name or place-name linked to the same Germanic base as Hamo.

Usually an English habitational surname, referring to someone from Hamer in Lancashire; in some cases it may also reflect an old Germanic personal name.

An English surname that likely began as a place-name or nickname connected with “home” or a homestead.

A name of Arabic origin meaning “praised” or “praiseworthy,” also used as a personal name and then as a surname.

A surname that likely began as a patronymic, meaning “son of Hamel,” and is also found in Irish families where O’Hamill was shortened.

A surname of place origin, most famously linked to the Scottish noble House of Hamilton and originally tied to a place-name in England.

An English surname that can come from a place-name or from the medieval personal name Hamelot, a diminutive of Hamon.

A surname most likely from the old personal name Hamlet, rather than from the word for a small village.

Hamlin is usually treated as a Norman or English surname from a medieval personal name, though some sources also linked it to place-names.

A surname that usually comes from an old word for an enclosure, dwelling place, or riverside meadow.

A surname that likely developed as a regional spelling variant of Hammick, itself a diminutive form related to the personal name Ham.

An English surname that is usually a patronymic form meaning “son of Hamon” or “son of Hamo.”

A surname that in German usage is often a shortened form of an old personal name, though in some cases it may also have a descriptive or place-name connection.

A surname that can point either to the toolmaker or to an old Germanic personal name linked by early scholars to Thor’s hammer.

An English surname that developed as a variant of Hamnett, ultimately from the old personal name Hamo/Hamon.

A surname that most likely began as a nickname or a place-based name, ultimately tied to the English word for a hanging bed or swing.

A medieval English surname from the old personal name Hamo or Hamon, meaning it originally signaled “son of Hamo.”

A common English surname that originally meant “son of Hamo” or “son of Hamon,” from a medieval personal name.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Hamon,” with an added -d that later became standard in the name.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Hamon,” with the final -s marking descent or family connection.

A surname usually connected with the Welsh place name Hanmer, with Hamner as a later spelling form.

A place-based surname from one of many English settlements called Hampton, originally meaning a “home farm” or “estate.”

Likely a name built from old Germanic elements meaning “home” and “ruler,” though its exact path into the surname is not fully clear.

A surname that can be a short form of longer names or a rare East Asian family name, depending on the family line.

A surname that usually began as a short form of Hans, the medieval form of John, though some bearers may descend from other similar-sounding names.

A surname that likely began as a pet-form style name based on John or a related given name, later influenced by forms like Hand and Hans.

A name that likely began as a nickname or personal-name form, and in some cases may also reflect an old place-name association.

A surname usually meaning someone from one of several English places called Handley or Hanley, though some early writers also linked it to Norman Andely.

A surname from a nickname meaning “expert,” “ready,” or “clever.”

A surname with several possible roots, but often treated as a variant or short form connected to Hans, Johannes, or similar names.

A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a locational or shortened form in English and Irish contexts.

A rare surname that may have arisen as a nickname or from an occupational term connected with hanging or suspension.

Usually a pet-form surname from a short medieval form of John, especially in Low German areas.

A surname that began as a diminutive of John, with some forms also influenced by Henkin/Hankin and regional nickname patterns.

A surname that likely began as a short form of Hankin, itself a pet form of John or another medieval personal name.

A surname usually meaning “one who came from Hanley,” a place name built from old words for “old” and “meadow” or “clearing.”

An Irish surname usually from Ó hAnluain, meaning a descendant of a name linked with valour or “great warrior” traditions.

A short surname that can be a German word-name for a cock, or in some cases a reduced form connected with Johannes/Hans.

A surname that can be Irish or Scottish in origin, and in some cases comes from a place-name or older personal name.

An English and Scottish surname that can come from the female forename Hannah, or less often from a related place or older family name.

A surname that often traces back to an older place-name form, though in Ireland it can also reflect Gaelic names that were later anglicized in several similar spellings.

A surname with several possible origins, including a short-form from old personal names and, in some cases, a place-name source.

An Irish surname, probably from a Gaelic personal name or family nickname, with the exact origin not fully settled.

A mainly Irish surname, often linked to Gaelic forms behind Hannan/Hanlon-type names, though the exact origin can vary by family line.

An Irish surname most often explained as the Anglicized form of a Gaelic family name linked to the O'Hourihane line.

A short form of John, ultimately from Hebrew Yohanan, used as a personal name and a source of many surnames.

A surname with several possible roots, but most often treated as a Germanic form related to Hans or John.

A classic Scandinavian patronymic meaning “son of Hans.”

A surname usually meaning “son of Hans,” with Hans being a familiar short form of John.

A surname that likely comes from a German place-name or topographic name ending in -bach, “stream.”

A surname most likely from a medieval term for a harborer or host—someone who shelters or lodges others.

A surname that likely began as a short form of Herbert or a related medieval Germanic name, later spreading as an English family name.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Harbin,” with Harbin itself traditionally treated as a pet form of Herbert.

A surname for someone connected with a harbour or a place of shelter and refuge.

A locational surname meaning someone who lived by or came from the “hard way,” a hard road or track.

A surname probably developed as a variant spelling or altered form of Harder, rather than from one single well-defined source.

A surname most likely built from a hard- or strong-related nickname, though in some cases it may reflect a place-name or a Dutch/Flemish family name.

Usually a locational surname, originally meaning someone from a place called Harden, likely “hard/rocky hill” or “stony valley.”

A surname that usually began as a German or English descriptive name meaning “hard, tough, or stern,” though in some cases it may also reflect a German word for “shepherd.”

An English surname of local origin, likely meaning “from Hardolf’s sty” or a similar place-name built from the personal name Hardolf.

A Scottish and northern spelling of Hardy, originally a nickname for someone bold or brave.

A surname most likely meaning “son of Hardiman/Hardymund,” with roots in an old Germanic personal name built on “hard, brave.”

A surname that likely began as a shortened form of Harding, meaning “descendant of the hard or brave one,” though some lineages may also reflect place-based or spelling-variant origins.

An old English surname that most likely began as a patronymic or nickname from the personal name Hardwin/Harding, meaning “hardy” or “brave.”

A surname that usually means “son of Harry” or “son of Hardie,” with English and Scottish roots.

An old English surname meaning “strong man,” or in some cases a nickname built from the personal name Hard/Heard plus “man.”

A habitational surname meaning “from Hardwick,” originally referring to a settlement or farmstead by a herd enclosure or dairy farm.

A surname that usually began as a nickname for a brave, sturdy, or resilient person.

Usually a nickname surname meaning “swift as a hare,” though some families may have taken it from place-names or older Gaelic forms.

A surname probably developed as a spelling variant of older English names like Hargate or Hardgat, with an uncertain local or nickname-based origin.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably a variant or altered form of an older name rather than a straightforward occupational or place-name surname.

A mainly English locational surname meaning someone from a place called Hargrave, likely “hare grove.”

A surname most likely derived from a place-name or a local field-name, with Hargraves and Hargreaves closely related forms.

A surname that likely began as a place-name for someone from Hargrave or a similar “hare grove” locality.

Most likely a place-based surname, probably from a lost or altered place-name or a northern English locality name.

An Irish surname that is often treated as a variant of Harkin, itself commonly linked to a Gaelic personal name.

A Scottish and northern English surname most likely taken from a place-name, probably Hackness in Yorkshire.

A surname with uncertain origins, often explained as a place-name or as a reduced form related to older personal names.

A German surname likely from an old personal name, not from the English word “harmless.”

A surname usually meaning “from Harley,” a place name found in England and sometimes explained as a field or clearing associated with an army.

A surname most often taken from Harlow in Essex, meaning someone who came from that place.

An old surname from a Germanic personal name meaning “army man” or “warrior.”

A surname with several possible roots, most often explained as a form of Herman or Harman rather than a single secure origin.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Harm,” where Harm is a short form of Hermann.

A surname likely tied to a maker or seller of coarse linen, though the historical evidence is thin and the form may also be a spelling variant of other names.

A surname that likely began as a nickname or occupational name linked to armor or harness-making.

An Irish surname, likely an Anglicized form of an older Gaelic name recorded in medieval Ireland.

A surname usually linked to a place name, most famously the Spanish city of Haro in La Rioja.

A surname from the old Scandinavian personal name Harold, famously borne by kings of Norway, Denmark, and England.

A surname usually taken from a house or inn sign reading “the Harp,” though it may also overlap with harp-player surnames.

An occupational surname for a harp player, especially a minstrel or court musician.

A surname with several possible roots, including shortened Germanic names and possible links to Harold or Harrowden.

A surname of several possible medieval roots, most likely linked to an old personal name such as Haril/Harold rather than to a single clear occupation or place.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Harrell” or “son of Harold,” depending on the family line.

An Irish surname, usually taken as an anglicized form of an older Gaelic name, though the exact original form is not fully settled.

An English surname likely built from the name Harry/Harold plus the familiar suffix -man, though one older source oddly linked it to “to pillage.”

A surname from English place-names, originally meaning someone from a place called Harrington or Herrington.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Harry” or “son of Henry.”

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Harry,” with Harry itself a medieval pet form of Henry.

Originally a surname for someone descended from Harold, with a possible secondary link to places called Harrold.

A surname with two main roots: it can mean “son of Harold” or come from the place-name Harrold in Bedfordshire.

A surname from the familiar form of Henry, and in Welsh usage also a shortened form behind patronymics like Parry and Harrison.

A surname that may come from a nickname for someone stern or severe, though some early references suggest it may also be connected with place-based or variant forms.

A German-American surname likely built from a place-name element meaning "mountain" or "hill" and a descriptive first element.

A surname most likely built from the word “harsh,” probably as a descriptive nickname or an altered family name form.

A surname that can mean “stag” in English tradition or “hard/firm” in German and Jewish usage.

A surname with several possible roots, most often linked to Hart- forms meaning “hart,” “hard,” or a related Germanic personal name.

A locational surname from Hartfield in Sussex, literally meaning “deer field.”

A surname usually taken from the English place-name Hartford, meaning a deer crossing or ford associated with stags.

A surname that likely began as a diminutive or variant of Hart or Harty, rather than as a separate word with a clearly fixed meaning.

A surname usually linked to places called Harthill, meaning “hart hill” or “deer hill.”

A common English surname taken from places called Hartley, meaning “hart’s clearing” or “deer wood.”

An English-language surname most likely built from the word hart, “deer,” plus a topographic or place-name element.

A surname that usually began as a Germanic personal name meaning “strong man” or “brave protector.”

A German surname meaning “hardy man” or “strong, bold man.”

An Irish surname with several possible roots, most likely from an old personal name or a place-based line in Munster.

A surname most likely formed from an old Germanic personal name beginning with hart-, meaning “strong” or “hardy.”

A likely English habitational surname meaning “from the hart’s field” or “deer field.”

A surname likely developed as a spelling variant of German Herzog/Hertzog, meaning “duke,” brought into English-speaking use through immigrant and Americanized forms.

A German surname most likely built on an old Germanic personal name beginning with Hart-, meaning “hard,” “strong,” or “brave.”

A locational surname meaning “the well or spring frequented by deer” or “Hart’s well.”

A Germanic surname and old personal name meaning “strong in battle,” built from elements for “strong” and “war/fight.”

A surname with Irish and possibly English roots, often linked either to a form of MacCarthy or to a nickname from a word for “hard” or “strong.”

A surname most likely from a German form of Hart or Hertz, ultimately tied to the old Germanic root for “hard” or “strong.”

An Americanized Pennsylvania German surname, likely a spelling shift from a German form such as Hirtzel or Hertzell.

An English surname that likely began as a place-based or descriptive name, later established as a hereditary family name.

A surname from the old Norman personal name Herve, brought to England after the Conquest.

A rare surname most likely from a place-name or a family line tied to a “harrow” or wooded hill area.

An English surname that most likely began as a place-name for someone from Harwell, meaning “the spring or stream by the hill.”

A surname usually taken from a place name meaning “hare wood” or “gray/hoary wood,” used for someone who came from such a place.

A widespread Muslim given name and surname from Arabic, meaning “handsome” or “good,” often inherited from an ancestor’s personal name.

An English habitational surname, probably from a place-name or local feature, later simplified from forms like Atte Hash.

A surname with debated roots, most likely from an old personal name or nickname that was later given an initial H in English usage.

A surname most likely built from the medieval personal name Haskin, a pet form of Hans or John.

Likely a patronymic surname meaning “son of Haskin,” with Haskin itself probably a diminutive of Henry or of an older personal name form.

A surname that usually points back to the German regional name for a person from Hesse.

A surname with multiple possible roots, including Irish forms and an Anglicized patronymic from Harry/Henry.

An English surname that may come from the medieval personal name Asceline or from a place-name form in Oxfordshire.

Usually an Anglo-Irish surname, probably a shortened form of Blennerhassett in some families and possibly linked elsewhere to an older place-name or nickname origin.

A German surname most likely built from a short personal name such as Hademar, meaning “descendant of” or “one associated with” that name.

An Irish surname that is probably a reduced form of an older patronymic meaning “son of Harry/Henry,” though some sources connect it with related Irish forms.

A surname from the English town of Hastings, ultimately linked to an early landholder or settlement founder named Hæsting.

A surname that likely began as a nickname for someone quick, eager, or impetuous.

An English surname that most likely began as a topographic name for someone living by a gate, hatch, or half-door.

A surname that originally meant someone who lived by or worked at a hatch or gate opening.

A surname most likely developed from the name Hatch, itself often treated as a shortened or altered form of an older personal name.

A habitational surname meaning “from Hatfield,” taken from one of several English places of that name.

An English surname most likely based on a place-name or an old personal name, with the spelling shaped by an inserted 'a' in some forms.

An English surname most likely from a nickname or a place-name element built around Old English personal-name roots, later fixed in the American South.

A habitational surname from places called Hatley in Cambridgeshire.

Usually a variant spelling of Hatton, an English place-name surname.

An occupational surname for a maker or seller of hats.

A place-based surname from several English localities called Hatton, literally meaning “Hætta’s settlement” or a similar early English farmstead name.

A rare surname that is probably short and local in origin, though its exact source is uncertain.

A German surname that likely began as a pet form of a personal name such as Hugo or a related old Germanic short form.

A surname with several possible roots, including a Scandinavian word for a mound or hill and, in some places, a German nickname form related to Hugo.

A Norwegian surname meaning “the hill” or “the mound,” usually tied to a farm or place name.

A topographic surname for someone who lived by a haugh—a riverside meadow or low-lying nook of land.

A surname likely built from an old nickname or dialect word, with several possible English origins.

A place-name surname meaning someone from a settlement called Haughton, usually interpreted as a “high town” or “settlement on a height.”

A surname that is often German in origin, commonly linked to the older personal name Hun/Huno or a shortened form of a similar name.

A German surname meaning “head,” often used as a nickname for someone with a noticeable head or as a top/end reference.

A German surname often meaning someone who lived at or worked from a house or homestead, though some forms can also relate to a place-name ending in -hausen.

An old surname that likely began as a Norse personal name and later overlapped with English forms like Hayward and Howard.

A surname usually referring to someone who lived by a harbour or sheltered landing place.

A surname most likely from residence near a haven or harbor, originally a place-name or topographic nickname.

A surname most often linked to an old Norman family from Normandy and Guernsey.

Usually a habitational surname from places called Hawes, or from an old term for a hedge, enclosure, or low riverside ground.

A nickname surname for someone thought to be hawk-like—sharp-eyed, fierce, or keen in disposition.

An English surname that can be a shortened form of Hawkins/Hawking or, in some cases, a locational name tied to Hawking in Kent.

A surname that usually began as a pet form of Henry, later fixed in medieval England as a hereditary family name.

Usually a reduced form of Hawkins, ultimately from a pet form of Henry or Harry, though some families may have taken it from the bird-name hawk.

A largely English place-based surname, originally meaning someone from a place called Hawley or a nearby hedged meadow.

A surname that is usually a shortened or altered form of names like Hahn, likely of German origin.

A Yorkshire locative surname from Haworth, a place name meaning a settlement or enclosure by hawthorn trees.

Usually an English locational surname, meaning someone who lived by a haw or enclosed yard.

A surname meaning “at the hawthorn tree,” originally used for someone who lived near hawthorn hedges or a notable hawthorn.

A surname with several possible roots, most often from a hedge, enclosure, or place called La Haie.

Usually a place-based surname, originally meaning someone from a place called Haydon or Heydon.

A surname most often tied to a place name meaning “at the hay” or “hedge/enclosure,” though some forms may also reflect patronymic or local variants.

An English-style surname probably formed from the place-name or nickname sense of “hay” plus “good,” and now best known as a Southern U.S. family name.

A surname that may come from an occupational term like hayward, a topographic phrase for someone living by a hedge or enclosed meadow, or in some cases a personal-name line in the Irish and Norman record.

Usually a surname from the personal name Hain/Hayne, though some English bearers may come from place-names in Bedfordshire or Devon.

A surname likely developed as a pet or reduced form of names like Hain, Hay, or Hayden.

Usually a variant spelling of Hayes, a surname from English place-names or, in some cases, from a hedge-related place-name.

Originally an occupational surname for someone who guarded hedges, fences, or enclosed fields.

A surname that usually points to a place called Heywood or to a name shaped by the words for “hay” and “wood.”

An English surname probably from the Anglo-Norman word for “chance” or “risk,” though some bearers may simply be linked to the related surname Hassard.

A surname most often taken from the hazel tree, usually for someone who lived near a hazel grove or distinctive hazel tree.

A surname probably referring to a hazel tree or a place associated with hazels.

A locational surname meaning “the wood where hazels grow.”

Likely an old Danish nickname surname meaning “hare,” though some bearers may have taken it from a place-name or another local source.

A surname most likely from a place name meaning “hazel headland” or “hazel hill.”

A surname usually treated as a variant of Hazard, most likely from a place-name origin in Devon.

A short surname found in several unrelated traditions, most famously a Chinese family name.

A surname from a top, headland, or the upper end of a place, with an added line of Scottish use as a baptismal name.

A locational surname meaning “from Headley,” named for places in Hampshire, Surrey, and Worcestershire.

A surname most likely derived from an old Germanic personal name, later found in English and Scottish forms.

Usually an English surname from a place-name term meaning a slope, hillside, or corner of land.

A surname usually from a place name, especially in Yorkshire or Lancashire, meaning someone who came from Healey or a similar settlement.

An Irish surname usually linked to an anglicized Gaelic family name, though some English local-name origins also appear in early records.

An Irish surname most often linked to Gaelic Ó hAodha, meaning “descendant of Aodh” or “descendant of Hugh.”

An English surname that most likely began as an occupational name for a herdsman or cattle-keeper.

An Irish surname usually linked to O'Ahern, though some English sources also connect it with a local word for a corner or nook.

An English and Irish surname that can be either a spelling of Hearn or an anglicized form of Irish Ahern/Aherne.

A rare English surname that may have begun as a nickname or occupational name connected with heat, fire, or a heating device.

A topographic surname for someone who lived by or on a heath—an open, uncultivated stretch of land.

A habitational surname from several English place-names called Heaton, meaning a ‘high settlement’ or ‘enclosed farm on a hill.’

A surname usually from the old given name Hubert, meaning a descendant of Hubert or Hubrecht.

A German surname usually meaning “pike,” the fish, and often arising as a nickname.

A surname that can point to a place-name, especially a Yorkshire township, or to a German/Dutch word for a hedge or fence.

A surname with more than one possible root, often explained as a German name for someone linked to a hedge or enclosed place.

A surname that likely began as a Germanic personal-name surname, probably meaning “son or descendant of Heiko/Heck,” though some forms may also reflect related German names built on a short name stem.

Usually a surname from the old personal name Hector, ultimately linked either to the classical hero or to a Gaelic name meaning “horse lord.”

Probably a surname that began as a place-name, especially for someone from Headon or Hedon in England.

A mainly English surname from a hedge or enclosed boundary, originally marking where someone lived.

A rare English-style surname likely built from a place-name or nickname element involving a hedge or boundary feature.

A surname that usually began as a topographic name for someone who lived by the hedges or enclosures.

A Swedish surname meaning “heath grove” or “moor grove,” built from words for a heather-covered place and a small wooded area.

A surname most likely from a place-name or a nickname-like personal name, with later English and Germanic forms overlapping.

An Irish surname, likely from an older Gaelic family name connected with a personal byname meaning “little cold one” or a similar descriptive form.

A surname most likely from a German personal name or nickname, later carried into English-speaking countries by immigration.

An English-language surname most likely from a place-name or a family-line spelling of an older form related to medieval personal names.

A German surname most likely meaning “potter,” originally from a craft name.

An Irish surname from a Gaelic family name, long associated especially with Cork and other parts of the west and north of Ireland.

A surname with multiple possible roots, most likely from a Germanic word for “heath” or a shortened form of a place-name or old personal name.

A German surname from a word meaning “healthy,” “sound,” or “whole.”

A German surname usually linked to the root heil-, meaning “whole,” “healthy,” or “blessed.”

A German and Scandinavian surname meaning “home” or “village,” often from a place-name ending in -heim.

A surname with several possible roots, including a Dutch-Jewish personal name and a Germanic compound built from “home” or “house” elements.

A surname of uncertain origin, most likely a Germanic or assimilated form built from a personal name or place-name root.

A German surname that began as a short form of Heinrich, the German form of Henry.

A German surname that usually began as a pet form of Heinrich, meaning “little Heinrich” or “Henry’s son.”

A German surname that likely began as a local or descriptive name built on the common element Hein- and the ending -mann.

A surname of German origin meaning “descendant of Heinrich,” with Heinrich shortened to Hein and expanded into a family name.

A German surname from the old personal name Heinrich, meaning “home ruler” or “ruler of the household.”

A surname that is usually a patronymic form meaning “son of Hein,” with Hein being a short form of Henry or Heinrich.

A German surname from the pet form of Heinrich, meaning “Henry’s son” in effect.

A German surname from the short form Heinz, originally a pet name for Heinrich.

A German surname most likely related to Heid- or Haid- names, often tied to heathland or an open uncultivated place.

A surname that most likely began as a Germanic name or nickname, though its exact root is uncertain.

A German surname most likely linked to a place-name or a personal-name form built on a Germanic root meaning “high” or “shout.”

A name most likely from a German personal name meaning “little one” or “young one,” though it may also be a variant spelling of related German surnames.

A German surname meaning “hero” or “champion,” originally a praise-name for a brave or valiant person.

A German surname from an old Germanic personal name meaning “helping ruler” or “helping power.”

A Scandinavian-style patronymic surname meaning “son of Helge.”

A surname with several possible origins, most often from a nickname or from the German word for a small coin.

A surname that may come from a place-name meaning “stony hill” or “stony moor,” though some English examples may also overlap with other surnames like Hellyer/Heleman.

A surname most often taken from the word for a helmet, and therefore linked with protection or warrior imagery.

A surname most likely from an old personal name built on the element meaning “helmet,” suggesting protection or renown.

A surname most likely built from the old Germanic name element helm, meaning “helmet” or “protection.”

Usually a surname from Helms or Helm, meaning either a maker of helmets or a shortened form of a name beginning with Helm-.

A surname with uncertain roots, most likely a Germanic or altered place-based name that settled into its present form in North America.

An English surname that usually began as a local name, likely from a place called Melton or Helton.

An English-language surname of uncertain origin, likely a regional or altered form of an older personal or place-name.

A place-based English surname, probably meaning someone from Hemingby or a similar “Heming-” place-name.

A likely Scottish surname meaning “hemp hill,” referring to a place where hemp was grown or a hill known by that name.

An English-sounding surname that is most likely a later altered form of a German name such as Henderscheid or a related variant, rather than a transparent English compound.

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Henry” or, in some traditions, “son of Hendrik/Andrew.”

A likely locational surname meaning “from Henley,” especially one of the English places with that name.

A surname most likely taken from a place-name meaning “at the high hill” or “hill valley.”

A surname usually understood as a variant of Henderson, meaning “son of Henry” or “son of Hendry.”

A surname built on the old personal name Hendric, ultimately tied to Henry/Henrik and meaning a descendant of that given name.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Henry,” with Dutch and Low Countries roots.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Hendrick,” ultimately from a form of Henry.

A Dutch and German surname that began as a patronymic, meaning “descendant of Heinrich/Heinrichs,” i.e. Henry.

A Scottish and English surname that usually means “son of Henry.”

A surname with several possible roots, including a German nickname from “stallion” and, in some cases, an Anglicized form of older names like Henk or Hengst.

A North German pet form of Heinrich, meaning “little Henry” or “son of Henry.”

Usually a German surname from a pet form of Heinrich, meaning “little Heinrich” or “son of Heinrich.”

A habitational surname from several English places called Henley, originally meaning a clearing or meadow associated with a high or “high-lying” place.

A surname with several possible roots, most likely from an English place-name or from the word for a female bird.

An Irish surname, usually understood as meaning “descendant of the descendant of Ó hAonghusa,” ultimately tied to the personal name Aonghus (Angus).

An Irish surname that likely developed from an older Gaelic personal name, and is now especially associated with Ireland and the Irish diaspora.

A surname that most likely began as a pet form of Henry, with related spellings like Hemming and Hanning.

A German surname most likely formed as a patronymic from the personal name Henning, meaning “descendant of Henning.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Hennin,” ultimately from a medieval Germanic given name built on Heinrich/Henry.

A Spanish and Portuguese patronymic surname meaning “son or descendant of Henrique,” the local form of Henry.

A very common surname from the medieval personal name Henry, originally brought into English through Norman influence.

A German surname that usually began as a pet form of Johannes or Heinrich.

A locational surname meaning “from Henshaw,” a place-name in northern England.

A surname most likely meaning “from Hensley,” originally a place-based name.

Usually a shortened form of Henderson or Hen(e)yson, meaning “son of Henry” or “son of Henn/Heyn,” though some lines may reflect older local spellings.

A Scottish surname taken from places named for a hedged stream or “heather-burn” (stream).

A surname most likely of German origin, probably from a place name or a descriptive form built on a personal name.

A very short surname that, in the historical surname books, is most likely a clipped or altered form of a longer name rather than the everyday pronoun.

A surname that likely began as a nickname or occupational name for a herald or messenger.

A surname that may come from a given name or a word for the harvest season, though the evidence is mixed.

An old personal name turned surname, ultimately meaning “bright army” or “illustrious warrior.”

A German surname meaning “harvest,” originally a seasonal nickname or descriptive name.

A surname from the word for a herdsman or livestock keeper, often shortened from older compounds like cowherd or shepherd.

A Spanish surname most often linked to the place name Heredia, probably from a word for a landed estate or inherited property.

A surname that can come either from a personal-name root or from a fish nickname, with several European traditions overlapping.

A surname from a medieval personal name meaning “army man” or “warrior.”

A Germanic surname from an old personal name meaning “army-man” or “warrior.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Herman.”

A surname that usually began as a short form of names like Hermann or as a Germanic given-name form, later also reinforced by the classical name Hermes.

A Spanish surname ultimately tied to the Mexican city of Hermosillo, likely used for someone from that place.

A Spanish and Portuguese surname built from the given name Hernán/Hernando, meaning “son of Hernán.”

A place-based surname likely meaning “the cottage in the valley,” from an English locality name.

A classic Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Hernando” or “son of Fernando.”

A surname often arising from the Germanic personal name Herwald/Herold, ultimately built from elements meaning “army” and “rule.”

A surname that may come from the bird name, but historically was often spelled Hairun, Heyrun, or Heirun and may also reflect Norman place-name origins.

A German surname from a word meaning “lord” or “master.”

A name most likely tied to the German word for “gentlemen” or to a place-name built from that word.

A Spanish surname that most often points to someone who worked with iron, especially as a smith or ironworker.

An English surname most likely from an old personal name, ultimately tied to the name Eric/Erik.

A surname that is most likely a shortened or variant form of Herring or a related medieval personal-name formation.

A surname that may have started as a nickname from the fish name herring, though some early writers also treated it as a local or family-name form.

A habitational surname from places called Herrington, most likely meaning “Haring’s town” or settlement.

A German surname built on the honorific Herr, originally suggesting a “man of rank” or “lord’s man.”

Usually a nickname surname from the heron bird, though in some Irish families it is an anglicized form of an older Gaelic name.

A surname with more than one possible root, most likely from a Norman French place name and sometimes linked by older writers to a personal name or nickname.

A surname usually traced to a Yiddish or German form related to a deer or stag, and sometimes used as a short form of longer names like Herschel.

An Americanized German and Swiss surname originally meaning a person from or near a hill settlement.

A Pennsylvania German surname, most likely a shortened or altered form of a German name such as Hirschi or a related “deer” name.

A German surname, probably from a pet form of a personal name beginning with Her- or Hart-, rather than a descriptive word.

A surname from German names built on a root meaning “hard” or “brave.”

A German surname meaning “duke,” usually arising as a nickname or status name for someone thought to act like, work for, or resemble a duke.

Usually a name for someone from Hesse, the German region.

A German habitational surname for someone from Hesse, the historic region in central Germany.

A German surname most often thought to come from a place-name or a name for someone from Hesse.

A surname most often taken from the personal name Esther, rather than from any occupation or place.

An English place-based surname meaning “from Hetherington,” most likely a Cumberland locality name.

A surname most likely from a German name reduced over time, probably from a personal name such as Hadrich or a related form.

A German surname from an old personal name, probably related to a short form built on a root meaning “hatred” or “hostility.”

A German surname that most likely began as a nickname or occupational name, with several possible roots tied to farm work or hay.

A diminutive of Hugh, meaning “little Hugh” or “son of Hugh.”

An English surname meaning “son of Hugh,” from a medieval pet form of the given name Hugh.

An English surname that likely began as a pet form of Hugh or Hew, meaning “little Hugh.”

A surname of several possible origins, most often linked to a Germanic name or to a word for “heir.”

An English surname meaning “hayward,” the keeper of hedges, fences, or enclosed fields.

An English surname most likely from a place-name or a shortened form of a name built on Old English words for a “high” settlement or site.

An English surname usually treated as a spelling variant of Hibbert, ultimately from the old personal name Hubert or possibly Herbert.

A surname that usually comes from the old personal name Hubert, though some families may have a different medieval origin.

A surname most likely from a pet form of Hubert, with related forms like Hibbert and Hibson.

An English-language surname most likely formed as a patronymic, meaning “son of Hicker,” a nickname or reduced form related to Richard or another similar given name.

An Irish surname that can trace back either to a Gaelic family name or, in English use, to Hick, a pet form of Richard or Isaac.

An English surname that most likely began as a medieval personal-name form, meaning “Hick’s man” or “son of Hick.”

A surname that usually began as a nickname for Isaac, via the short form Hick.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Hick,” with Hick being a medieval pet form of Richard or, in some sources, Isaac.

A Spanish surname that began as a title for a person of lesser nobility, literally tied to being “son of something.”

A surname most strongly associated with Japanese origin, though the single historical excerpt here is only an incidental medieval English name mention and does not explain the modern surname.

A surname likely from a place-name, originally meaning someone “from Higby” or a similar locality.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably tied to a place-name or an older personal name now obscured by time.

An English surname meaning “Hickin’s bottom,” originally pointing to someone from a low-lying place associated with the name Hickin/Hick.

A common English and Irish surname, usually understood as “son of Higg” or “son of Hugh.”

A surname that most likely began as a nickname or pet form of Richard, through the short form Hick or Higg.

A simple English surname that most often began as a nickname for someone tall or from a high place.

An English-style surname that likely began as a descriptive or locational nickname for a smith who lived or worked on higher ground.

A surname that most likely began as a nickname for someone tall or of high status, from an old word meaning “high.”

An English surname for someone who lived by, or was associated with, a high tower or prominent lookout tower.

An English surname that likely began as a place-based or nickname form, later carried into North America early on.

A Spanish surname from the word for a fig tree, originally a name for someone who lived by or worked with figs.

A surname from the Latin for “cheerful” or “joyful,” used as a personal name in Spanish and Portuguese before becoming a family name.

A surname from an old Germanic personal name meaning roughly “bright in battle” or “famous battle-strong.”

A surname most likely from a place name meaning “hill stream” or from a hill-side locality.

A surname from an old Germanic personal name meaning roughly “battle-strong” or “warrior-bright.”

A surname meaning “son of Hildebrand,” from an old Germanic personal name built with the element for “fire” or “battle” and a second element meaning “sword” or “firebrand.”

An English surname probably from an old personal name, especially the Germanic name Hildirad, rather than from a place or trade.

A likely English surname meaning “the man from Hyl(e)” or “Hile’s man,” with the ending -man often marking association or descent.

A surname most likely meaning “at the hill,” used for someone who lived by or on a hill.

A very common English surname that began as a topographic name for someone who lived near or on a hill.

A surname usually explained as “hill yard” or “the yard by the hill,” though it may sometimes be a later spelling of Hilliard.

An English surname that often developed as a spelling variant of Hillier, usually referring to someone who worked on roofs or with tiles and slates.

A surname likely meaning “of the hill-yard” or “by the hill enclosure.”

A surname usually understood as a variant of Hill, likely referring to someone who lived near a hill or came from a hilly place.

A surname usually meaning “the person who lived on or near a hill,” though a few cases may come from an old personal name instead.

Usually just a variant spelling of Hill, originally a name for someone who lived on or by a hill.

A habitational surname meaning “from the hill-town,” especially associated with places called Hilton in England.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely a shortened or altered form related to names like Himes/Hines or Himes as a variant of a patronymic line.

A surname usually derived from the English place name Hinckley in Leicestershire, with variants shaped by local pronunciation and added or lost H sounds.

An old surname usually explained as a name for a deer-keeper or farm servant, though some sources also treat it as a nickname-based form.

Usually a surname for someone connected with deer or the care of deer, though some examples may also be from place-name or nickname origins.

An old occupational surname meaning “farm laborer” or “ploughman,” closely related to Hind.

A surname likely from a short form of the old personal name Hine, rather than a single fixed meaning.

Usually a variant of Heinz or Heintz, the surname Hines often reflects a German personal name brought into English-speaking use.

A surname most often understood as a Germanic name, probably from a pet form of a personal name or a descriptive nickname.

An English habitational surname, usually linked to the place name Hinckley in Warwickshire/Leicestershire.

A surname with a likely occupational sense, probably from an old word for a servant, household man, or farm worker.

A Spanish surname most likely referring to a place associated with fennel.

A Spanish surname usually tied to a place-name, likely referring to a holly or gorse-covered place.

A North German and Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of Hinrich,” a regional form of Heinrich/Henry.

A surname most likely from a place name or lost English local name, later carried into the English-speaking world by migration.

A surname most likely meaning “son of Hine/Hind,” with Hine itself often a nickname or short form of older personal names.

A habitational surname from places called Hinton, meaning “high town” or “farmstead on the hill.”

A German surname usually built from a pet form of a personal name, not from a trade or place.

A German surname usually formed from a short pet name for Heinrich (Henry).

A short surname with several possible roots, most often explained as a Scandinavian personal name and sometimes linked to place-names.

A German and Jewish surname meaning “stag” or “hart,” originally a nickname or emblematic name.

A habitational surname from a word for a wood, copse, or wooded hill.

A surname built from the nickname Hitch, an old short form of Richard, plus the diminutive -cock.

A surname most likely from a nickname for a fair- or white-haired person, or a spelling variant of White.

An old name likely from a personal name such as Hild or a short form like Hido/Hitto, rather than from a trade or place.

A shortened form of Hicks or Hickson, ultimately from the medieval pet name Hick for Richard.

A variant of Hickson, meaning “son of Hick,” ultimately from Richard.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Hick,” ultimately from Richard.

A surname found in several cultures, especially Chinese, where it can represent different characters and meanings depending on the family line.

A surname usually explained as a Welsh nickname for a short or small person.

An American surname most likely built from a Dutch or English place-name element meaning a raised piece of ground or enclosed land.

A common Vietnamese surname, usually written with the Nguyễn-era form Hoàng, meaning “yellow” or “golden.”

A surname probably linked to a hoard or treasury, originally a byname for someone connected with wealth or keeping valuables.

An Irish surname usually understood as an anglicized form of Ó hÚbáin, meaning a descendant of a personal name related to "Úbán".

A surname that usually began as a nickname form of Robert, with Hob as a medieval short form of that given name.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Hob,” with Hob itself a medieval pet form of Robert or a related old personal name.

A German surname meaning “high” or “tall,” often linked to someone living on elevated ground or having a lofty stature.

A German surname from a place name, likely meaning someone from or near a high, elevated settlement.

A short surname with several possible roots, including a nickname or a reduced form of older names beginning with Hock- or Hoc-.

An Americanized surname likely built from a place-name or older Germanic family name, with the ending shaped by English spelling habits.

A surname of likely German origin, probably from a nickname or descriptive word rather than an occupation.

An English surname probably built from a French or English nickname root related to a “hock” or “hook” form, though its exact origin is not certain.

An uncommon surname whose origin is uncertain, though it may be linked to an old Germanic personal name or to a related English form.

A medieval nickname surname from Roger, later used as a given-name pet form and family name.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Hodge,” with Hodge originally a medieval nickname for Roger.

A northern English surname meaning “son of Hodge,” with Hodge as a medieval pet form of Roger.

A surname meaning “son of Hod,” with Hod being a short form of Roger or Hodge.

A German surname from a word for “height” or “elevated place,” likely first used for someone who lived on high ground.

A Dutch and Frisian surname meaning “from the corner” or “corner place.”

A German surname most likely meaning someone from a place called Hölschen, Hölscher, or a similar local name, or from a dialect word tied to a small hollow or woodlot.

An Irish surname usually treated as a short form of MacHoey, traditionally linked to the Gaelic name meaning “son of Hugh.”

A German surname meaning someone connected with a farm, estate, or yard.

A Germanic surname usually meaning someone who lived by or worked at a court, farm, or enclosed estate.

A German surname most often tied to a farm, yard, or steward-like role on an estate.

A surname usually meaning “man of the court” or “man from the farmstead,” from German and Dutch roots.

A common German surname meaning “man of the farmstead” or “steward,” originally tied to a hof or estate.

A German surname meaning “man of the farm/manor,” originally referring to someone living or working on a noble estate.

An Irish surname from Ó hÓgáin, meaning “descendant of Ógán,” ultimately tied to the Gaelic root for “young.”

A surname most often taken from the animal name “hog,” though some families may instead descend from a Norse personal name.

An English surname probably meaning “hog keeper” or “swineherd,” with roots in medieval occupational naming.

A surname of Norman-French origin, probably taken from a place-name meaning “hill” or “small hill.”

A surname usually treated as a German form related to Hoffmann, likely meaning a man from or associated with a high place or farm.

An English surname that likely began as a nickname or topographic name tied to a nook, bend, or hook-shaped place.

Holbert is usually a shortened or simplified form of older Germanic names built on elements meaning “grace” or “favor” and “bright” or “shining.”

A locational surname meaning “from Holbrook,” originally referring to a place by a brook or stream.

A surname from a place-name, originally meaning “hollow valley” or a settlement in a small valley.

A habitational surname meaning “someone from Holcombe,” originally a place-name for a wooded valley or hollow with a stream.

A surname that usually began as a place-name, most likely from an English locality called Holden, meaning “hollow valley” or a similar landscape feature.

An English surname that most likely began as an occupational name for someone who held land, an office, or a position of trust.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place name or regional family origin in Spain.

A surname usually from a child or person associated with a holy day, especially as a baptismal name or nickname.

A likely English habitational surname, probably meaning someone who came from a place-name with a ‘holy field’ sense.

A surname usually treated as a spelling variant of Holliday, ultimately from the word for a holy day or festival.

A surname that can mean someone from Holland, but in England it is often also a local name from places called Holland or Holand.

A name for someone from Holland, originally used as an ethnic or regional surname.

Likely a surname connected with Holland or a variant of related names such as Holler, though the exact origin is not certain.

A surname most likely developed as a variant spelling of Holloway, originally referring to someone who lived by a sunken or hollow road.

A surname that likely began as a place-based name, related to a local name or surname such as Hollyman or Hollman.

A German locational surname, likely meaning someone from Hollenbach on the Rhine.

A surname with more than one possible root, including a German place-name or occupational origin and some English local-name forms.

Usually a spelling variant of Holly, and in some cases a surname that may have developed from place names or from the personal name Hawley.

Usually a variant of Halliday, ultimately meaning “holiday” or “holy day,” though some forms may also reflect local spellings and sound changes.

An English-language surname likely formed from a place name meaning “holly field” or “holy field.”

Likely a nickname surname meaning “holy man,” though some early spellings also point to related forms like Holloman and Holeyman.

A surname most likely linked to a place name, especially found in Swiss German regions.

A name likely from a place name meaning “hill spur,” though the exact source place is uncertain.

A locational surname meaning “someone from Hollingworth,” a place-name likely referring to a nook or enclosure associated with a person called Holling or Holin.

A surname usually linked to a holly grove or holly hedge, and sometimes to places named from that feature.

A surname usually understood as referring to someone who lived by holly bushes or holly trees.

An English surname most likely from a place name or a nickname linked to holly or hollows, with the exact origin not securely settled.

A surname most likely meaning “holy man,” originally a nickname for a priest or friar.

A surname of uncertain origin, most likely a place-name or a reduced spelling variant rather than a distinct ancient clan name.

A surname most often derived from a place name meaning a hollow or sunken road.

A surname most likely taken from a place name meaning “holy well” or “hallowed well.”

Usually a locational surname for someone who lived by holly trees, hedges, or a holly grove.

A topographic surname for someone who lived by a holm—low land, a river island, or an area near water.

Usually a surname for someone associated with holly, though some early writers also linked it to “whole man” or to Holyman.

A Scandinavian surname meaning “hill island” or “small wooded hill,” built from the elements for a holm and a mountain or hill.

A surname that usually began as a place name, referring to someone who lived by a holm or low-lying piece of land near water.

A Scandinavian surname meaning “holm branch” or “island twig,” built from common nature words used in Swedish naming.

A surname most likely built from a place-name element or a Germanic family-name formation, common in German-speaking immigration lines to North America.

A surname usually linked to Holstein or to a northern German/Dutch word for "wood."

A surname taken from the German region of Holstein, originally identifying someone who came from there.

A surname most likely derived from a place name, probably meaning “someone from Holstun/Holston” or a settlement by holly or a hollow stone/valley feature.

A surname for someone who lived by a small wood, grove, or copse.

A mostly English place-based surname meaning “from Holton,” originally a settlement name often interpreted as “hill-slope town” or “farmstead by the holt (wood).”

A German and Dutch surname originally meaning “wood” or “forest,” often used for someone who lived by a wooded place.

A Slavic surname from a word meaning “dove” or “pigeon,” likely first given as a nickname or identifying byname.

A German surname usually meaning someone from a wooded place or someone associated with wood or timber.

A rare surname that most likely began as a short form or variant tied to horn-making or horn-blowing.

Usually a surname for the servant or household man of someone named Hugh, though in some cases it may be a variant of Holman or derive from another local/personal-name source.

Usually a medieval personal name, possibly linked to St. Omer or to an old Anglo-Saxon place-name, later fixed as a surname.

A surname most likely from a place name, probably meaning someone from or near a settlement called Honaker or a similar local name.

An English surname most likely built from a place-name or nickname element involving “honey” plus a cut, hollow, or piece of land.

A surname of several possible Asian origins, most commonly Chinese, and also found in Korean and other East Asian communities.

Usually an English surname from a hood or head covering, though some early writers thought it may have developed from the personal name Odo.

A mostly English surname for someone who lived by a bend, nook, or hooked-shaped place.

An English surname that usually means “maker of hooks,” though some families may take it from a place-name or topographic hook.

Usually an occupational surname for a maker of hooks, though some families may come from Hook/Hooker lines or local place-based forms.

An English surname that usually meant a maker of hoops for barrels or casks, though some families may have taken it from the older name Hoper.

A surname probably related to the word for a hoop or ring, or to the surname Hopes as a regional spelling.

A surname that likely began as a local or familial form of an older personal name, later fixed in English-speaking families.

A surname of German origin, usually developed from Huber, meaning someone associated with a farm or holding.

A surname that usually means someone who lived by a sloping hollow or valley, from an old place-name sense of “hope.”

A surname meaning “son or descendant of Hob,” with Hob as a pet form of Robert.

A likely nickname surname connected to hopping, leaping, or a lively gait.

A surname that most likely began as a pet form of Hob, itself a short form of Robert, though some sources also connect it with an old word for a dancer.

Usually an occupational surname from a dancer or leaper, though some families may also be linked to Hope or Hoppe.

A surname that usually developed as a variant of Hobson, itself from the medieval pet form Hob of Robert.

An Irish surname, most often treated as a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic names beginning with Ó h- / O'-.

An English surname most likely from Old English words for a hoard, treasure, or storehouse, though some cases may also be linked to Howard or Herd.

An Irish surname, likely from Gaelic Ó hArgáin, meaning a descendant of a personal name based on a word for “little red one” or a similar nickname form.

A surname that can come from a horn sign, a place-name, or an old nickname or personal-name form.

A German surname meaning someone from a place called Hornberg, or someone associated with a “horn” mountain or ridge.

A surname that can come from a place name, a sign at a horn, or in some Cornish cases from a local place-name tied to an iron-rich pool.

A surname that can mean either a maker or seller of horn goods, or in some cases a name from a place called Horn.

Usually a locational surname, probably meaning someone from a place called Horning, especially the Norfolk village of that name.

A habitational surname from places named with the old English word for a horn-shaped spur or corner and Old Norse -by, meaning “farm” or “settlement.”

A Jewish surname usually meaning “from Horovice” or another place called Horowitz/Hořovice.

A habitational surname meaning someone from one of several English places called Horsley.

A German surname meaning a bushy thicket, wooded copse, or elevated wooded place.

A Dutch and North German surname meaning “man from the horst,” or elevated ground/ridge.

A surname most likely tied to a place name, especially a field or garden-related locality.

A common English locational surname meaning “from Horton,” originally referring to someone from a farm or settlement on muddy or rough ground.

A Hungarian surname originally meaning someone from Croatia or a Croat.

A surname of Jewish origin, usually a Germanized form of a place-name meaning “from Horovice” or a related Slavic locality.

An English and Irish surname with several possible roots, including a link to the name Hussey and, in some cases, the word for stockings.

An English and Irish surname with more than one possible origin, most often treated as a surname from a given name or as a regional form of an older name.

A South Asian Muslim surname tied to the Arabic personal name Husayn, meaning “little handsome one” or “good/beautiful.”

An Americanized surname of Germanic origin, likely meaning someone who lived or worked at a hostel or lodging house.

A German surname usually tracing back to a place-name meaning someone from a farmstead or homestead.

An English surname that developed as a variant of Hodgkins, with an added initial H and a shifted spelling over time.

A surname of several possible origins, often linked to a place-name meaning a hill, mound, or hollow.

A Dutch surname from a word for a corner, bend, or nook.

A surname usually tied to a place name, ultimately from a word for a hill, spur, or mound.

A place-based surname meaning “from Houghton,” originally given to people from one of several English towns or villages with that name.

A surname most likely from a place-name or an older spelling of a medieval local surname, rather than a clearly established occupation or nickname.

A surname that can point to a place name meaning “the hollow” or to a Norman-French family form, depending on the family line.

An Irish surname, usually from Gaelic Ó hUallacháin, meaning a descendant of a person called Uallachán.

A surname that usually began as a topographic or occupational name for someone living or working at a house or great house.

An occupational surname for someone who was a householder, housekeeper, or head of a household.

Likely an altered form of House, originally a name for someone who lived at or worked in a house or household.

A surname most likely from a local place-name, probably meaning someone from or near a place called Houseley/Ouseley in northern England.

A Scottish surname originally meaning “Hugh’s town,” from a place name tied to an early landowner named Hugh.

An English surname that likely began as a short form of a personal name such as Hugh or a related medieval nickname form.

An uncommon surname that is most likely a regional or occupational-style English name, though its exact origin is uncertain.

A famous English surname with more than one possible origin, most often linked to an Old Norse personal name or to an older English office/place-name form.

A northern English surname that usually points to someone from a place called Howarth or a similar local place-name.

A surname with several roots, most often from a hill or mound, but sometimes from the old personal name Hugh.

A Welsh surname from the old personal name Hywel, meaning a name carried by the famous medieval ruler Hywel Dda.

An English surname most likely built from the place-name element 'how' or a family name based on a hillside or knoll, with the ending shaped by later surname development.

A surname usually meaning “of the hills” or “from the mounds,” and sometimes taken as a patronymic form of Howe.

A surname that is most often explained as Scottish, either from a place-name or as a form of Hugh.

An English surname that likely began as a habitational name, originally pointing to someone from a place called Howland or a similar local topographic feature.

A surname most commonly understood as a diminutive of Hugh, meaning “little Hugh” or “son of Hugh.”

A surname usually treated as a spelling variant of House, referring to someone who lived near or worked in a house or household.

A surname usually from a place-name or topographic term, though in some cases it may be a variant of How or related forms.

A surname with at least two plausible roots: in German it may be a short form built from a name element meaning “mind” or “spirit,” while in some contexts it may be locational from a place-name such as Hoya.

A mainly English and Lancashire surname usually meaning someone who lived by a hollow or dip in the land.

A Spanish surname from hoyo, meaning a hollow, pit, or small depression in the ground.

An American surname with uncertain roots, often treated as a spelling variant or altered form of older English names.

A Chinese surname, most often the romanization of 謝, meaning “to thank” or “to express gratitude.”

A common romanization of Chinese surnames, especially forms rendered from Mandarin as Xu, with several possible underlying characters and meanings.

A Chinese surname that can come from several different old family names and place-based origins.

A surname with several possible origins, but in Irish genealogical writing it can reflect the old Gaelic prefix hua/hy meaning “grandson” or descendant.

A major Chinese surname, most famously written 黃/黄, meaning “yellow.”

An English surname generally understood as a form of Hubert, a medieval personal name meaning “bright mind” or “renowned heart.”

A surname of likely place-name origin, probably referring to a hill or mound associated with a personal name or nickname.

An English surname probably from the old Germanic personal name Hygebeald, meaning roughly “bold mind.”

A surname most likely developed as a shortened or variant form of Hubbert/Hubert-style names, rather than from a standalone meaning of its own.

A common German surname that usually began as a short form of Hubert, a name meaning “bright mind” or “bright intellect.”

A medieval personal name meaning “bright heart” or “famous mind,” later adopted as a surname.

A surname that can be a short form of Hugh/Hugo, or in some cases a local name from a place with Huck- in it.

A surname that likely grew from a place-name or a nickname-based form related to medieval names beginning with Hugh/Huck.

A Slavic surname most often understood as a nickname for a thin or slight person, especially in Slovak and related languages.

A English locational surname meaning “from Huddleston,” a place name in Yorkshire.

Hudgens is a surname most likely meaning “son or descendant of Hudd/Hudde,” a medieval given-name form related to Hugh.

An English surname that most likely began as a patronymic form of Hudge, a pet name from Hugh.

A likely English locational surname from a place-name, probably meaning someone who came from or lived near Hudnall.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Hud/Hugh,” though some early writers also linked it to names like Odo or local forms such as Hodson.

A surname most likely built from an old place-name, probably meaning a homestead or landing place by a broad stretch of water.

A German surname from a word for a hood or cap, likely used for someone who made or wore them.

A Spanish surname meaning “orchard” or “kitchen garden,” originally used for someone who lived by or worked on such a place.

A Spanish surname meaning “orchards” or “market gardens,” originally applied to someone who lived by or worked on such land.

A surname that usually began as a pet-form of Hugh, originally meaning “son of Hugh.”

Usually a shortened or altered form of a place-based surname, especially from Hough in northern England.

A surname most likely meaning “son or descendant of Huff,” with Huff itself originally a nickname or pet form of a personal name.

A surname usually explained as a variant of Hafford or a related place-based name, likely meaning someone from a ford or settlement by a ford.

A surname originally formed as a pet or diminutive form of Hugh, meaning “little Hugh” or “son of Hugh.”

A common Welsh and English surname meaning “son of Hugh.”

A surname built from the given name Hugh, originally meaning “son of Hugh” or “little Hugh.”

A surname with several possible origins, most likely linked to Chinese family names or, in some cases, a place-based English surname.

A Spanish-language surname most likely tied to a place name or local family branch in Mexico, with the spelling shaped by regional pronunciation.

A surname usually derived from an old Germanic personal name meaning “bright” or “famous,” brought into English through medieval French forms.

A surname with several plausible origins, most likely a medieval diminutive related to the Old Germanic name element *hug* or a French form such as Houlet.

Usually a topographic or locational surname meaning “hill,” though in some cases it may point specifically to the city of Hull in Yorkshire.

A Cheshire surname from a place-name, originally meaning someone who came from Hulse in Great Budworth.

A surname most likely from a place-name or older personal name, with roots in English naming patterns.

An old Germanic personal-name surname, originally meaning something like “famed warrior” or “bright fame.”

Usually a locational surname, probably from West Humble in Surrey, rather than a direct reference to modest character.

A surname most often tied to place names, especially the old Berwickshire stronghold of Hume.

A Scottish surname, likely a plural or family form of Hume, itself tied to the Border place-name Hume in Berwickshire.

A German surname that likely began as a nickname, probably from the word for a bumblebee or a buzzing, bustling person.

A surname that began as a patronymic from the old personal name Humphrey, meaning “son of Humphrey.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Humphrey,” with especially strong historical use in Wales and western England.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Humphrey,” from the medieval personal name Humphrey.

An English surname usually explained as a place-name form of Huntley, meaning someone from Huntley in Gloucestershire.

A surname found in more than one tradition, including Chinese romanization and older European forms related to hanging or suspension.

A habitational surname from the English market town of Hungerford in Berkshire.

A surname that is most likely English in origin, formed from a place-name or field-name ending in -ley, meaning a clearing or meadow.

An English and American surname that likely began as a nickname or place-based form, with the second element pointing to a cottage or homestead.

A surname of uncertain origin, probably a German or Swiss-family name that was altered after immigration to English-speaking countries.

A common English surname from the word for a hunter, originally tied to hunting as an occupation or status.

An occupational surname for a hunter or huntsman, from Old English roots and later reinforced by Norman and Scottish usage.

A habitational surname from several English places named Huntington, meaning a settlement associated with hunting.

A habitational surname meaning “from Huntley,” originally a place-name interpreted as a hunting clearing or hunting field.

An occupational surname for a hunter or person who managed the chase, especially hounds and game.

A surname of likely Germanic origin, probably reduced from an old short form of a personal name such as Hubert or Hugbert.

Usually a surname for a cattle herd or herdsman, though some sources also link it to a place-name.

An old name usually explained as a spelling variant of Hurlbut, itself commonly treated as a Germanic personal-name formation.

A surname with two main roots: usually a place-name from Hurley in Berkshire, but in Ireland often an anglicized form of O'Hurley / O'Hurleyhy.

A habitational surname meaning “wood” or “copse,” originally taken from places named Hurst.

Likely a nickname surname, probably from a form of Hart rather than from the modern English word “hurt.”

A Spanish surname that began as a nickname or byname, from a word meaning “wounded” or “injured.”

An old English nickname for a householder or master of the household, from a word that originally meant a manager or tiller of the land.

An English and Irish surname that likely began as a nickname or locative name and later became established in North America.

A surname with several possible roots, but most often linked to a German nickname meaning “goose.”

A surname and given name of Arabic origin, ultimately tied to the name Husayn, widely used across Muslim communities.

A surname from the Arabic personal name Ḥusayn, meaning “little Ḥasan” or “good/beautiful one.”

A surname with strong Norman roots, likely from a French place-name and later established in Ireland and southwest England.

A place-name surname meaning “house-place” or “homestead,” built from old Germanic elements for house and site.

A surname that is usually a spelling of Houston, often tied to a place-name meaning “Hugh’s town” or “house farm.”

An English surname that most likely began as a patronymic form of Hutch, a medieval pet name for Hugh or Richard.

An English patronymic surname meaning “son of Hugh,” often understood as a shortened variant of Hutchinson.

A Scottish and northern English surname meaning “son of Hutch,” with Hutch itself a pet form of Hugh.

A surname that began as a diminutive of Hugh, later fixed in the familiar southern English form Hutchings.

A surname from the pet form of Hugh, meaning “son or descendant of little Hugh.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Hugh,” built from a pet form of the medieval given name Hugh.

A Scottish and northern English surname meaning “son of Hugh,” also found as a shortened form of Hutchinson.

A surname with several possible roots, including an Old English/Germanic personal name and a place-name link in northern England.

A surname that usually developed as a spelling of Hudson, with the d softened or dropped in pronunciation.

Likely an old Germanic personal-name surname, probably from a short form of names based on a root meaning “mind” or “thought.”

Usually a place-name surname meaning “from Hutton,” a high or hilltop settlement.

A common Vietnamese surname, related to the Chinese-derived surname Huang and often rendered as Huỳnh in Vietnamese.

A Korean surname most often written with the hanja 黃, meaning “yellow,” though other Chinese characters can also be used.

Usually a locational surname, most likely from a place-name such as Highgate or another “high” place.

A surname usually from a place-name or topographic word for a piece of land, especially a “hide” of land.

An English surname most likely from a medieval term for a tenant of a hide of land.

An Irish surname often linked to Whelan/Faolán, though in England it can also reflect a form of Highland or Hynard.

A surname taken from a place-name, most commonly linked to Hilton in County Durham.

A surname with several possible roots, most often explained as a Jewish name from Hebrew *Chaim* “life,” though some bearers may have inherited it as an English variant of other names.

An Irish surname that often reflects an anglicized form of an older Gaelic family name, and in some areas has also been linked with spellings like Hoynes or Hoins.