Surnames starting with J

A Polish surname meaning “from the place of apple trees” or “of Jablon.”

A surname taken from the Spanish and Portuguese given name Jacinto, ultimately linked to the flower name hyacinth.

A nickname surname from Jack, long used as a familiar form of John and also associated with James.

Originally an occupational surname for a man associated with a jack, especially a soldier’s protective coat or leather jerkin.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Jack,” with Jack itself a familiar medieval form of John and sometimes James.

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Jack,” with Jack originally a pet form of John or James.

A surname from the biblical personal name Jacob, meaning “supplanter” in the traditional Hebrew interpretation.

A surname meaning “son of Jacob” or “belonging to Jacob,” found especially in German- and Jewish-associated naming traditions.

A Spanish and Italian form of Jacob, ultimately meaning “supplanter” in Hebrew.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Jacob,” common in both Christian and Jewish family lines.

A Scandinavian and North German patronymic meaning “son of Jacob.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Jacob.”

A surname meaning “son of Jacob,” formed from the biblical given name Jacob.

A French surname ultimately from the given name Jacques, the French form of James, often introduced into England by French speakers and later Anglicized in spelling and sound.

A surname that most likely began as a Spanish or French-influenced patronymic form of Jacques, ultimately meaning “son of James/John.”

A German surname meaning “hunter,” from the same root as German Jäger.

A surname often associated with Jewish families, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, with roots probably in a place-name or Hebrew personal name tradition.

A surname of German origin meaning “hunter.”

A German and Scandinavian surname that usually comes from the personal name John, with some forms also shortened from Johannes.

A North German surname that began as a diminutive form of Johannes, meaning essentially “little John.”

A surname that usually goes back to the medieval form of James, ultimately from Hebrew Jacob.

A surname most likely tied to James, showing a Spanish-language patronymic form meaning “son or descendant of James.”

An Indian surname most often linked to the Jain religious community or the Sanskrit name Jina, “conqueror.”

A Polish surname meaning “of Jakub” or “from Jakub’s place,” ultimately tied to the given name Jacob.

A surname most likely meaning “son of Jamer,” with Jamer itself probably a regional form of James.

A surname from the given name James, meaning “son or descendant of James,” with deep medieval roots in England and Scotland.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of James.”

A Scottish surname meaning “son of James.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of James,” especially associated with Scotland and northern England.

A surname usually understood as meaning “son or descendant of Jane” or as a surname formed from the given name Jane/John.

A Korean surname, also found as a romanization of some Chinese and other East Asian names.

A Slavic surname usually built from a pet form of John, meaning “little Jan” or “son of Jan.”

Janis is most likely a surname formed from a personal name, ultimately tied to forms of John.

A German and West Slavic diminutive surname from Jan, the local form of John.

A Polish surname meaning “of Janko” or “from Janków,” usually pointing to a family link with a man named Jan or to a place-name based on that name.

A Dutch and Scandinavian patronymic meaning “son of Jan” or “son of Johan/John.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Jan/John,” with Scandinavian and Low Countries parallels.

A Dutch and Low German patronymic surname meaning “son of Jan” (John).

A surname usually linked to the French form of Jacob, meaning “James” or “supplanter.”

A surname of Spanish-language form, often a patronymic or adapted spelling linked to Jacques/Jacobo-type given names.

A Spanish surname likely tied to the cistus shrub called jara, a common plant name in Iberia.

A Spanish surname that likely began as a place-based name, probably referring to someone from or near a small stream or watercourse.

A Scottish surname most often linked to a place-name meaning “garden” or “gardener.”

A surname that was often treated as a form of German or Germain, though some scholars also linked it to older Germanic personal names.

A surname with several possible origins, most likely a Norman-French or English form of a personal name that later became hereditary.

A surname that usually began as a variant of Gerard or Gerald, with the initial sound shifted over time.

A surname that comes from the personal name Gervase, later reshaped in English pronunciation and spelling.

A Polish surname usually meaning “from Jasino/Jasin” or “belonging to the place called Jasin,” formed with a Slavic place-name suffix.

A name of Greek origin meaning “healer,” though as a surname it may also sometimes reflect a shortened form of Jameson.

A surname that usually began as a baptismal name, ultimately tied to the given name Jasper/Gaspar, the traditional name of one of the Magi.

A surname most likely of Spanish origin, probably developed as a nickname or regional form rather than from an English occupational source.

A Basque surname meaning “of the manor house” or “from the country house.”

A Spanish surname and given name ultimately from the Basque place-name origin of Xavier, made famous worldwide by Saint Francis Xavier.

A Polish surname meaning “from Jawor” or “of the sycamore/maple place.”

A surname that most often began as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a jay—talkative, flashy, or brightly dressed—or as a place-name from Herefordshire.

A surname that likely began as a patronymic form of Jayne, itself ultimately from John.

A French surname from the personal name Jean, the French form of John.

A French given-name surname meaning “John the Baptist,” often arising from a compound baptismal name or devotional naming tradition.

A French compound surname or given-name-based surname built from Jean and Louis, meaning “John-Louis.”

A French compound surname meaning “John Peter,” formed from the given names Jean and Pierre.

A surname from the name Jeffrey/Geoffrey, with a diminutive or altered ending that produced forms like Jeffcoat.

A surname linked to the given name Jeffrey, originally meaning “son of Jeffrey” or “descendant of Jeffrey.”

A surname from Geoffrey or Jeffrey, originally a medieval personal name meaning “God’s peace” or “peace of God.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Jeffrey/Geoffrey,” ultimately from the old Germanic name Godfrey.

A medieval name from Geoffrey/Godfrey, ultimately built on an old Germanic personal name meaning “peace of God.”

A surname ultimately from Geoffrey, a medieval personal name meaning “God’s peace” or “peaceful ruler,” later giving rise to several spelling forms including Jeffery and Jeffs.

A surname from Geoffrey, ultimately a medieval personal name meaning “peace of God” or “God’s peace.”

A surname from the medieval personal name Geoffrey, meaning “son or descendant of Geoffrey.”

A surname meaning “son of James,” with Jem as a familiar short form of James.

A common Welsh-English surname meaning “son of John,” ultimately from a medieval pet form of John.

A short English surname that most likely began as a pet-form of John, meaning “son of John.”

An English surname usually understood as a patronymic from John or a related medieval pet form, with the final -s and -g reflecting older spelling and sound changes.

A Danish and Norwegian surname meaning “son of Jens,” with Jens being a short form of Johan or Johannes.

A surname usually understood as meaning “son of John,” though some early sources noted it as a form tied to Jan or Johannes as well.

Jeon is most often a Korean surname, also found as a rare English historical spelling in older scholarship.

A Korean surname most often written Jeong in the Latin alphabet, representing several hanja lineages with different meanings and histories.

A surname taken from the Spanish city of Jerez, originally used to identify someone from that place.

An English surname probably built from a personal name, most likely meaning “descendant of someone named Jerni/Jerny.”

A surname that usually comes from the given name Jerome, ultimately from the Greek name meaning “sacred name.”

Usually from the Hebrew biblical given name Jesse, the father of King David.

A surname usually understood as a spelling variant of Jesse, from the biblical Hebrew name meaning “gift” or “wealth.”

A Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of Jes/Jes(s),” ultimately tied to a short form of the biblical name Jesus or Jespersen-type personal-name traditions.

Usually a surname taken from the given name Jessie, itself a pet form of Jean, Jane, or Jessamine in some families.

An English surname from Joseph, with a form shaped by the Italian Giuseppe.

A surname that likely began as a variant of Joseph, with English forms such as Jessop and Jesop also in the same family of names.

An occupational surname for a court fool or professional entertainer.

A surname likely from French jeter, meaning “to throw” or “to cast,” and sometimes linked to an earlier occupational nickname.

A surname with uncertain origins, probably a shortened form of names like Jethro or a spelling variant related to Jet/Jettie-type forms.

Usually an English surname from the medieval personal name Joel, though in some cases it may also reflect a nickname or ornamental use of “jewel.”

An English surname that usually started as a diminutive form linked to the name Jude, Julian, or Juliana, later fixed in spellings like Jewett and Juett.

A short surname found in several East Asian traditions, especially Chinese and Korean, with different characters and meanings behind the same Roman spelling.

A common Chinese surname, usually written 姜, 江, or 蒋 depending on the characters used and the family line.

An uncommon surname most likely linked to Giles, a long-established medieval personal name.

A surname that usually began as a nickname or pet form of James, later used in forms like Jimson and Jimpson.

An English-style patronymic surname meaning “son of Jimer” or a related Jimm- form, later carried especially in English-speaking America.

A common Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Jimeno.”

A surname that is often an Anglicized form of several unrelated Chinese surnames, though in older European records it can also appear as a spelling variant or clipped form in local names.

A short surname that can arise from several different naming traditions, most often as an abbreviated or adapted form of a longer personal name.

A surname and given name ultimately tied to the biblical name Joachim, meaning “the Lord will judge.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Job,” from the biblical personal name Job.

A short form of Joseph that also became a given name and, by extension, a surname.

A Latinized personal name meaning “John,” sometimes preserved as a surname in records and modern usage.

A Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of Johan.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Johan/John.”

A rare surname taken directly from the personal name John, rather than from a trade or place.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of John,” widespread in England and Wales.

A Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of John.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of John,” one of the most common surnames in the English-speaking world.

A surname usually tied to places named Johnston or Johnstone, meaning “John’s town” or “John’s settlement.”

A surname that usually began as a place-based name, especially from the Scottish and English place-names Johnston/Johnstone.

An occupational surname for a maker of joined wooden work, especially fine carpentry.

A surname that likely began as a nickname or as a spelling variant of related names such as Jolly or Jolliffe.

A nickname surname from a word meaning cheerful, merry, or good-humored.

A surname from the biblical given name Jonas, used as a patronymic meaning “son of Jonas.”

A classic Welsh surname meaning “son of John,” now one of the most common surnames in the English-speaking world.

Originally a Norman personal-name surname, later associated by folk etymology with the River Jordan.

A spelling variant of Jordan, the name once used for people connected with the Jordan River or for someone named after it.

A Romance-language form of George, ultimately from Greek words meaning “earth-worker” or “farmer.”

A Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning “son of Jørgen.”

A Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of Jørgen” or “son of Jorgen.”

A surname often taken as a Cornish form of Joseph, though some historical records may also reflect Joyce or other personal-name forms.

A surname taken from the biblical personal name Joseph, widely used among both Jewish and Christian families.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Joseph.”

A surname that usually began as a pet form of Joseph or Josephine, especially in English-speaking communities.

A South Asian surname usually meaning “astronomer,” “astrologer,” or “scholar,” originally tied to learned Brahmin communities.

A biblical surname taken from the Hebrew personal name Joshua, meaning “the Lord is salvation” or “Yahweh saves.”

A surname that began as a shortened or altered form of the personal name Jocelyn.

A German surname usually derived from the given name Justus or Jodocus, both associated with the idea of “justice” or “the just one.”

A French surname usually traced to an old Germanic personal name meaning “bright or shining God.”

An English surname probably developed from a medieval nickname or occupational form, though its exact origin is uncertain.

A surname that may have started as a nickname for a cheerful person, though in some cases it could also be a shortened form of Joyce or a name taken from places called Jouy in Normandy.

A surname that likely began as a nickname meaning “cheerful” or “merry,” though some English forms were later linked to the medieval name Jocelyn.

An English occupational surname meaning a joiner or woodworker who fitted pieces together.

A Spanish and wider Romance surname and given-name-based family name from Juan, the Spanish form of John.

An English surname that likely began as a short form of the old personal name Jude or Jordan.

A surname that most likely began as a nickname or occupational label for someone acting as a judge or arbiter.

A surname that likely began as a diminutive and patronymic form of Judd, itself a pet form of Jordan or Jude.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Judd,” with Judd itself a short form of Jude/Judah.

A pet form of Judith, meaning “praised” in Hebrew.

A surname taken from the personal name Julian, ultimately from the ancient Roman family name Julius.

A surname that likely began as a form of Julian, ultimately from the Roman name Julianus.

A French surname from the given name Julien, ultimately from the Roman name Julius.

From the ancient Roman personal name Julius, later adopted as a hereditary surname in some families.

A surname most likely from a place-name, probably meaning someone from the hamlet of Jump in Yorkshire.

Likely an occupational surname, probably for someone who made or sold a short women's jacket called a “jump.”

A short surname that may simply preserve the English abbreviation for “junior,” rather than a true hereditary family name in origin.

An Irish surname probably meaning “the young one,” traditionally linked to French le Jeune.

A German surname meaning “young,” used as a nickname for a younger person or junior.

A Spanish surname rooted in the idea of an oath or sworn duty, often linked to a sworn official or a person bound by an oath.

A Germanic surname meaning “son of Jürgen,” from a form of George.

A surname that likely began as a nickname for an upright or fair person, though some cases may go back to an old personal name.

A surname that likely began as a nickname for a magistrate, or from a person associated with law and judgment.

A surname from the Latin word for “just” or “righteous,” originally a personal name rather than a family occupation.

A Spanish surname that began as a patronymic, historically linked to an older form of the name Suarez/Xuárez.