Common Last Names Meanings (20 pics)

1

Smith/Schmidt

The last name ‘Smith’ has been around for a very long time. It dates back to when forging weapons and armour for knights was a common working man’s job. The name ‘Smith’ came from an Old English word that likely meant “to strike.”

“Schmidt” is the German form of the name Smith.

2

Thomas

The last name ‘Thomas’ comes from an ancient Aramaic word “תאומא” which means “Twin.”

3

Hill

The name “Hill” was first used in Old England, and it referred to a family who lived on a hill. Some families got the name “Hill” through the name Hildebrand or Hilliard.

4

Murphy

The name Murphy has ties in both Ireland and Norway/Sweden. It is believed that the name comes from an old word that essentially meant “Sea Warrior” so, it’s pretty bada$$.

5

Cook

Yep… I don’t know why I threw this in here. However, the name BAKER didn’t just came from people who baked, it also came from people who owned a kiln for firing pottery.

6

Hall

If your last name is ‘Hall’ then your ancestors will have likely worked in a home or ‘hall’ doing any number of jobs from cleaning to serving.

7

Anything with ‘Son’ at the end

If you’re like me and have a last name with ‘son’ at the end, such as “Thompson, Robinson, Henderson, Anderson, Jacobson’ etc, then your last name just means ‘Son of ____.’

Let’s hope your last name isn’t A$#tchson.

8

Evans

In Welsh, the name ‘Evans’ derives from ‘Yohanan’ which means ‘young warrior’ in Celtic.

9

Martinez

In Spanish, this name means ‘son of Martin’ which , by the way, comes from the name Mars, the god of war.

10

Philips

The name ‘Philips” comes from the Greek name ‘Philippos,’ meaning “lover of horses.”

11

Fox

This last name comes straight from the animal, the fox. It was given to people who were either particularly clever OR had red hair. The last name ‘Russell’ also comes from people who had red hair.

12

White

The name White referred to both people who had a light complexion (both skin and hair) and people who lived near the bend of a river.

13

Kim

In Korea, 1 in 5 people have the last name Kim, which happens to mean ‘gold’ in their language.

14

Li

Li is the second-most popular last name on the planet. It was given to people who lived near plum trees.

15

Lee

In Old English, “Lee” translates to “open place” which probably referred to a meadow.

16

Stewart

This Scottish name derives from the ancient word “stigweard” which was used to describe someone who handled administrative tasks for a big royal household.

17

Clark

The word Clark means ‘personal scribe’ and was given to people who documented things for people.

18

Walker

The name ‘Walker’ was likely given to people who did what was called ‘fulling.’ They would literally walk on cloth in order to improve its quality.