Surnames starting with R

A surname that can be German in origin, often linked to the raven nickname Rabe or to a shortened pet form built from old German personal names.

A surname that usually comes from the German word for a raven or crow.

A surname found in German-speaking areas, likely built from a personal name or from a local/dialect word rather than from an English occupation.

A Jewish surname meaning “descendant of Rabbi” or “son of Rabbi.”

A surname that likely began as a nickname for someone short, stout, or otherwise stocky.

A surname taken from places called Raby, especially in Cheshire and Durham.

A surname that may come from a local word for a watercourse or tidal race, though some bearers may have a different origin.

A surname most likely built from a personal name, with the exact origin uncertain.

A French surname meaning “root,” often a nickname or byname for someone figuratively seen as a “root” or origin.

An English surname most likely from a lost or obscure place-name, though its exact source is uncertain.

A surname from places called Radcliffe, meaning “red cliff.”

A locational surname meaning “red cliff,” originally used for people from places called Radcliffe or Ratcliffe.

A German occupational surname meaning “wheel-maker,” from a craft name built on the word for wheel.

A surname usually explained as meaning “one who travels” or, in some German contexts, as a form related to a personal name beginning with Rad- (“counsel”).

A habitational surname from places called Radford, meaning “red ford” or sometimes “Rada’s ford.”

A surname of Germanic and Slavic background, often explained as a diminutive or variant form built from a short personal name beginning with Rad-, meaning “counsel” or “glad.”

A German surname most likely from a nickname or pet form built on a personal name, rather than a place or occupation.

A Scottish surname that may come from a Gaelic patronymic or from the word for a roe deer.

A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a short form or variant of names like Israel or the Spanish Rael/rael-type family names.

A surname and given name from the biblical Hebrew name meaning “God has healed,” especially common in Spanish-speaking communities.

An Irish surname, most often treated as an anglicized form of a Gaelic name that was later reshaped in English spelling.

A Germanic surname from an ancient word for “counsel” or “advice,” sometimes extended to imply rule or authority.

A surname with several possible origins, most likely tied to a nickname or an old Germanic personal name rather than a single clear source.

A surname taken from Raglan in Monmouthshire, a place-name associated with Raglan Castle.

A surname most likely from Ragdale in Leicestershire, meaning someone who came from that place.

A Muslim surname and given-name element meaning “the Most Merciful,” ultimately from Arabic.

A short German surname that likely began as a clipped form of an older personal name, though older sources proposed a few competing explanations.

A surname with several possible roots, including an old Germanic name element meaning “counsel” and, in some families, a possible contraction of an Irish Gaelic surname.

A surname that most likely developed as a spelling variant of Riley or Reilly, meaning a descendant of the Irish name Ó Raghallaigh.

A surname with two main origins: it can be a Norman/French personal-name descendant, or a Germanic name built on elements meaning “counsel” and “army.”

An English surname that can come either from the town of Rennes in Brittany or from Rayne in Essex.

A surname with several possible roots, most often linked either to a Gaelic family name or to older Germanic/English forms beginning with Rain- or Reyn-.

Usually an English place-based surname, most likely from Rennes in Brittany or a related place name like Rainford.

An English-language surname that likely began as a nickname or ornamental name built from the words for rain and water.

A northern English surname most likely from a dialect word for a rough path, track, or ridge, with some forms also linked to local place names.

An English surname most likely from a place-name meaning “roe-deer meadow,” famously associated with Sir Walter Raleigh.

A surname most likely from a place name in Devon, originally referring to someone from Raleigh or a similar “roe-deer meadow” site.

A Norman-introduced surname from the medieval personal name Radulfus, meaning roughly “counsel wolf.”

A Scottish locational surname from lands once called Ralphstown, later shortened to Ralston.

A nickname surname that likely began as a label for someone thought to resemble a ram, or perhaps from a byname meaning strong or vigorous.

An old nickname surname from a word meaning “wild,” especially used of an untamed hawk or something living in the branches.

A surname most likely from a German short form built on an old name beginning with Ragin- or Ragan-, rather than from the modern English word.

A surname that may have begun as a nickname or occupational term connected with rowing, from words meaning “to row.”

A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a French or Norman form of a place-based or personal-name surname.

A surname of several possible origins, most often connected with Raymond-like forms in Romance and Germanic naming traditions.

A Spanish and Portuguese surname originally referring to branches, twigs, or a leafy bough, and also sometimes linked to the religious name for Palm Sunday.

A surname of place-name origin, often linked to a place called Ramsey/Ramsay meaning either “raven island,” “ram island,” or a similar watery place-name.

An English surname most likely formed from a place-name, probably meaning “Ram’s valley” or “Ram’s dale.”

A place-based surname from several English and Scottish locales called Ramsey, probably meaning either “raven island” or “ram island.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Ramiro,” found in Spanish and related Iberian naming traditions.

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Ramiro.”

A surname with several possible roots, most commonly a South Asian name tied to rank or rulership, though in some places it can also be a nickname or other local formation.

A short English surname that usually began as a clipped form of Randall or Randolph, and sometimes as a local name from a Lincolnshire parish.

A surname that developed from the old personal name Randolph, meaning roughly “shield-wolf.”

An Italian surname most likely from the Sicilian town of Randazzo, meaning a family from that place.

A surname that usually developed as a shortened form of Randall, itself from the old Germanic name Randolph/Randulf.

An old Germanic surname meaning “shield-wolf,” built from elements for a shield edge and a wolf.

A surname that usually developed as a spelling of Rainey/Reaney, and may ultimately relate to a personal name or to a byname connected with song or poetry in some Irish traditions.

An English surname that may have developed as a short form of a name like Randolf, though some uses could also reflect a descriptive or place-based source.

A surname most often of Iberian origin, usually linked to a place name or landscape feature rather than a trade or nickname.

A surname with several possible roots, most likely from a nickname for a person’s social rank or status, or from a place-name element meaning ridge or row.

A Scottish and northern English surname that often began as a diminutive of Randolph, though some early forms may also connect to a medieval Yorkshire name like Ravenchil/Rankil.

A surname that most likely means “son of Rankin,” with Rankin itself usually treated as a pet form of a personal name such as Reynold or Ranulf.

An English surname that may come from place-name forms like Ransham or from the older name Ranson, later reshaped in spelling.

A surname often linked to an Indian title or honorific, especially in western and central India.

An English occupational surname meaning a rope-maker or roper.

A name from the Hebrew archangel Raphael, meaning “God has healed,” later adopted as a surname, especially among Jewish families.

A surname of several possible roots, most often explained as a nickname for someone quick or lively, and sometimes linked to the name Ralph.

A likely Hispanic surname, probably tied to a place name or regional family origin in Spain or Mexico.

A surname that likely began as a nickname for someone thought rash, bold, or reckless.

A Arabic and Muslim surname from a personal name meaning “rightly guided,” “wise,” or “mature.”

A Scandinavian patronymic meaning “son of Rasmus.”

A surname usually taken from a place-name meaning “red cliff.”

A surname usually from a place-name meaning “red cliff” or “red bank,” though some Irish and Welsh explanations were also proposed historically.

A surname with several possible roots, including a place-name origin in Yorkshire and a Gaelic name meaning “grace” or “luck.”

An old surname probably from a place-name, perhaps meaning “white fort” in Irish or “stumpy clearing/plain” in Welsh.

An English surname usually understood as a spelling variant of Ratcliffe, ultimately from a place-name meaning “red cliff” or “roe deer cliff.”

A short surname with several possible roots, most often linked to a Germanic personal name or a word for “red.”

A German surname that usually began as a nickname for someone “rough” or “hoarse,” and in some cases may also relate to smoke or a smoky household.

A German surname usually connected with a personal nickname or name built on a root meaning “rough,” “rustling,” or “noisy.”

Usually a nickname or ancient personal name from the bird raven, and sometimes a place-based surname from Raven Hill or Raven Wood.

A patronymic surname meaning “descendant of Rawlin” or “Rawlin’s son,” with Rawlin itself coming from Ralph.

A surname that usually means “son of Rawlin,” a medieval pet form of Ralph, from the old Germanic name Rudolf/Ralph tradition.

A surname that most likely began as a patronymic or nickname form related to Ralph or another medieval personal name.

An English patronymic surname meaning “son of Raw,” a short form of Ralph or Rauf.

A surname that may come from a nickname for a roe deer, a place-name, or, in some cases, a Celtic word for a level plain.

A surname that most likely began as a nickname or topographic name from a word meaning “line,” “boundary,” or “stripe.”

A surname most likely built from a place-name meaning “stream by a clearing” or “bright burn.”

A rare surname that likely began as a place-style name, probably meaning “the ford by the rye” or a similar landscape reference.

A Spanish-language surname whose exact origin is uncertain, but it is likely rooted in a regional place-name or older nickname form.

A surname with several possible roots, most often explained as a German or Dutch name meaning “boaster,” “praiser,” or, more loosely, someone associated with clearing or organizing.

A medieval surname from the old personal name Raymond, meaning roughly “wise protection” or “protected by counsel.”

A surname from the given name Raymundo, ultimately meaning “wise protector.”

An old English surname from a medieval personal name ultimately meaning “mighty army” or “counsel army.”

A surname from an old Germanic personal name meaning “mighty army” or “Godlike army.”

A surname of multiple possible origins, most often tied to a word meaning “lineage,” “race,” or “kind.”

A surname whose exact origin is uncertain from the available evidence, though it appears in historical German name material as a rare form or variant.

A surname of several possible origins, most often linked to a place-name or a Celtic word for a river or stream.

Usually a surname for someone with red hair, though in some cases it may also relate to reed-cutting or the surname Reed/Reid.

An English occupational surname for a thatcher or reed-worker.

An English nickname surname for someone who was quick, willing, or prepared, with some Irish families also bearing it as an anglicized form of O'Riada.

An Irish surname usually understood as a form of Ó Riagáin, linked to the idea of a “little king” or ruler.

A surname with several possible roots, including a nickname for someone considered “royal” or “true,” though the exact origin is uncertain.

A surname most likely linked to the French city of Reims, with spelling simplified over time.

A surname likely tied to the French city of Reims, used for someone from that place.

An Irish surname, usually an Anglicized form of Ó Riordáin / Riordan.

A surname most likely from an old occupational term for a steward or bailiff, with some cases also influenced by the surname Reeves.

A surname most likely from a medieval personal name or a nickname form that was later reshaped in English spelling.

A surname most likely from a short Germanic personal name, though its exact origin is not fully certain.

A Spanish surname originally tied to a place name meaning a grove or stand of oaks.

A Spanish-language surname most likely tied to a place-name or regional identifier, rather than a common occupation or nickname.

A Spanish nickname surname meaning “stout,” “tough,” or “hardy,” originally describing a strong or robust person.

A surname that likely began as a nickname, occupational, or regional name in German-speaking areas.

An English surname that was often a corruption of Rickword or related names, though it could also arise from the common word "record."

A surname that usually began as a nickname or occupational name for someone connected with a rector or parish priest.

An old nickname surname built from a word for “red” or “ruddy,” likely first used for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion.

Usually a surname for someone from Reading or a similar place-name, though some early writers also tried to connect it with words meaning “red” or “fern.”

Usually a name for someone who lived by a red dyke or ditch, though some forms may also come from a nickname meaning “red.”

Usually a locational surname, either from Reading in Berkshire or from a place called Redding in Scotland.

An Irish surname most often linked to Ó Rodaigh, meaning a descendant of someone with a red or ruddy complexion.

An English surname from a place-name meaning “red fen” or “thicket-fen.”

Usually an English surname meaning “red man,” though some early forms may also reflect a place-name or a confusion with Redmond.

A surname generally understood as a shortened or variant spelling of Redmond, itself a long-established Irish and Anglo-Norman family name.

A surname from an old personal name meaning roughly “counsel-protection,” later well established in Ireland.

An English nickname-style surname, likely built from the color adjective “red” plus “wine,” and probably created as a colorful byname rather than a literal reference to drink.

A Welsh surname meaning “son of Rhys,” later Anglicized in spelling.

Usually a nickname for a red-haired or ruddy person, though some families took the name from places called Reed or from the reed plant.

An occupational surname for a thatcher or reed-worker, later sometimes treated as a spelling of Reader.

A surname usually treated as a variant of Ready or Reed, and sometimes linked to the reed plant or a reed-grown place.

A surname that may come from several different roots, including an Irish name and an English nickname or local form.

An occupational or nickname-based surname that may relate to rope-making or a rope-like strap, though the exact English origin is not fully certain.

A Welsh surname from the personal name Rhys, meaning “ardor” or “enthusiasm.”

A Welsh surname usually coming from Rhys, a traditional personal name associated with ardour or enthusiasm.

A German surname likely meaning “someone from Rees,” a town on the Lower Rhine.

An English occupational surname for a steward, bailiff, or manor official.

A surname meaning “the reeve’s son” or, more broadly, “descendant of the reeve,” from an old local official’s title.

A Spanish surname originally tied to a nickname meaning “gracious,” “handsome,” or “given freely.”

An Irish surname usually explained as meaning “little king,” from an older Gaelic personal name.

A rare surname that likely began as a nickname or occupational name linked to a parish register or registrar.

A surname usually linked to Latin roots for “rule” or “govern,” though in many cases it may also be a shortened form of a longer name.

A surname that likely began as a nickname or house-name referring to a roe deer.

A German surname with several possible roots, often treated as a short form built from older personal names.

A South Asian Muslim surname from the Arabic name Raḥmān, meaning “merciful” or “compassionate.”

A German surname meaning “rich” or “mighty,” originally from an old word for power, rank, or wealth.

A German surname that usually developed as a shortened or reshaped form of the personal name Richard.

A German surname most often understood as a form of Richard, built from roots meaning “powerful” and “hardy.”

A Scottish form of Read, originally a nickname for a red-haired or ruddy person.

An Irish surname that is usually a spelling variant of Ready/Reidy, ultimately tied to a nickname or older Gaelic form rather than one single settled origin.

A surname with more than one likely origin, including a German word for a ring or hoop and, in some cases, a form related to Rhine-area or Scots terms for plunder.

A surname with several possible Germanic roots, often linked to a place name or an old nickname form rather than one single clear origin.

An Irish surname, usually from O’Reilly, meaning a descendant of an early Irish ancestor name.

A Germanic surname that likely comes from the old personal name Reginmar, meaning roughly “advice” or “counsel” + “famous” or “renowned.”

A Germanic patronymic surname meaning “descendant of Reimer,” from a personal name built on old roots for counsel and protection.

A short surname that most likely comes from a Germanic word for “pure” or “clean,” though it can also reflect related names like Rhein/Rhine in some families.

A surname from the Romance word for “queen,” often given as a nickname or as a name of respect or association.

A surname that often comes from the old Germanic personal name Reginher, later shortened to Reiner and related forms like Regnier and Reinhard.

A German surname that most likely developed as a shortened form of Reinhard or related names beginning with Rein- (“counsel, advice” + “hard, brave”).

A German surname built from old Germanic elements meaning “strong counsel” or “firm judgment.”

A German surname from the old Germanic personal name Reinhard, meaning “strong counsel” or “brave/firm in advice,”

A German surname meaning “pure heart,” from elements for “pure” and “heart” or a related old Germanic personal name.

A Germanic surname and given name built from ancient name elements meaning “counsel” and “rule” or “power.”

A German surname that likely began as a short form of names built on Rein- and related elements.

A surname with several possible roots, most often linked to a chief, ruler, or steward title in Romance and related languages.

A name most likely tied to travel or journeying, though its exact origin can vary by language and region.

A German surname most likely meaning “one who comes from Reising” or “one associated with brushwood, twigs, or reeds,” depending on the local place-name behind it.

A surname with multiple possible roots, most often linked to German nickname forms and sometimes confused with other names such as Reus/Reuss.

A German surname meaning “rider,” originally referring to a mounted soldier or horseman.

A German surname most likely from a short form of a personal name such as Richard, or from a related Germanic name element meaning “powerful” or “rich.”

A surname of uncertain origin, likely from an old personal name rather than a trade or place.

An English surname most likely from a place-name meaning “estate or settlement of the family of Hremm/Hremming,” probably in Yorkshire.

A surname from the old given name of Saint Remy, ultimately tied to Latin Remigius.

A short surname that most likely has multiple independent origins, especially as a Chinese family name and as a name formed from older European roots.

A French surname from a byname or personal name ultimately tied to old Germanic forms meaning “wise counsel” or “strong rule.”

A surname that most likely comes from a place-name, probably meaning someone from or near a roe-deer hill or related hill settlement.

A French surname probably built from a personal name, with forms found in French and French-influenced regions.

An American surname probably developed from a place-name or older family name, best known in the U.S. South.

An English and Scottish surname from a place name, ultimately meaning “the green river” or “the field by the river.”

A surname most likely developed from a place-name, probably referring to someone from or near Renfrew in Scotland.

An occupational surname for a runner, messenger, or courier, from a German word meaning “to run.”

A Scottish surname usually understood as a diminutive of Reynold or Reginald, though some sources also linked it to the French name René.

A surname most likely from French Renault/Renaud, often shortened or altered after immigration or in records.

A habitational surname meaning someone from Raven Wood or from Renishaw in Derbyshire.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to land held or taken for rent, especially from the Basque area in northern Spain.

A surname likely formed from a short Germanic or Dutch-style personal name, or from a place-based spelling built on a name root like Rentz.

A German surname most likely from a nickname meaning “spry,” “lively,” or “quick.”

A Spanish surname likely meaning “from Resende,” pointing to a family’s origin in a place called Resende.

A surname most often of Ashkenazic Jewish origin, commonly linked to names for a wholesale food dealer or grain merchant.

A surname probably linked to a name for a reed, rush, or similar plant, though the old source material is too fragmentary to be certain.

A Spanish-language surname from a place name in northern Spain, most famously carried by families from Colombia and other parts of Latin America.

A Spanish surname likely of patronymic origin, developed from a personal name or regional naming tradition rather than a descriptive nickname.

A likely Spanish surname from a place-name, especially associated with Spain and Spanish-speaking communities.

A surname that may come from the German word for radish, likely first used as a nickname or for someone associated with growing or selling vegetables.

A surname with two main roots in German: it can mean either a horseman/trooper or, in some cases, a land-clearer.

A likely Hispanic surname, probably tied to a place name or older regional form rather than a transparent modern Spanish word.

A surname most likely from the medieval office of master of the revels, or from a place-name or nickname tied to festivity and court entertainment.

A likely English surname from the place-name Rievaulx, with early forms also linked to medieval spellings like Rivis and Jarvis.

A surname that likely began as a nickname from Latin rex, meaning “king,” though some sources also connect it to shortened forms of Richard.

A surname from the French word for “king,” often a nickname or a name taken from a royal title.

A Spanish surname meaning “kings,” often referring to devotion to the Three Kings or a place-name tied to royal imagery.

A surname from Spanish roots, most likely connected to the word for “queen” or to a family name built from royal language.

A Spanish-language surname likely tied to a place name, probably meaning someone from a locality called Reynaga.

An English surname that most likely began as a patronymic, meaning “son of Reynold/Reginald.”

A Spanish surname most often understood as a form related to a rainy place name or a place-name style nickname.

A name of Persian and broader Islamic use, often connected with the idea of contentment or divine favor.

An English surname with more than one possible root, most likely a place-name or a name shaped by older forms meaning “roe deer” or “smooth slope.”

A surname found in Dutch and English records, often linked to a place-name or a word for a roe/deer.

Usually a locational surname for someone from the Rhine region or along the Rhine River.

An old Germanic surname probably built from a personal name meaning “hardy counsel” or “strong in judgment.”

An English surname that usually began as a place-name surname from Rhodes or Roads, later often respelled in American records.

An English surname spelling that developed as a variant of Roads or Rhodes, with some cases also influenced by German Roth-style names in America.

A surname with Germanic roots, likely from an old personal name based on the element meaning “fame” or “renown.”

A surname usually treated as a variant spelling of Roden, itself often a place-based name.

A mostly English surname, often explained as coming from place-names meaning a clearing or from a house-name like Roadhouse, though some families may have different local origins.

A surname that likely began as a nickname or locational name connected with the River Rhône in France.

A surname most often linked to the Rhine region or to a local place-name derived from the Rhine river.

A Portuguese surname meaning “riverbank” or “shore,” originally referring to someone who lived by a stream or riverside.

A Spanish and Portuguese form of Richard, ultimately meaning a powerful or hardy ruler.

An Italian surname meaning “son of Riccardo,” ultimately from the Germanic name Richard.

An Italian surname from a nickname meaning “curly” or “curl-haired.”

An Italian patronymic surname meaning “descendant of Ricciardo,” from a medieval personal name related to Richard.

An Italian surname meaning “curly” or “curly-haired,” often originally a nickname.

Usually an Anglicized Welsh surname from Rhys, meaning “ardent” or “fiery.”

A surname that usually began as a nickname for someone wealthy, powerful, or splendid—or as a short form of Richard.

A surname from the old personal name Richard, originally meaning “powerfully brave” or “strong ruler.”

A patronymic surname meaning “Richard’s son” or “belonging to Richard.”

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Richard.”

A surname usually meaning “little Rich” or “son of Rich,” built from the short form Rich with a diminutive ending.

A Scottish and northern English surname meaning “son of Richard,” using a familiar diminutive form of the given name.

A surname that may come from the personal name Richard, though some 19th-century writers thought it could also be a form of Richmond or Rickman.

A surname taken from places called Richmond, especially the Yorkshire town and the Norman Richemont, meaning roughly “rich” or “strong” hill or mount.

A German occupational surname meaning “judge” or “magistrate.”

Usually a shortened form of Richard, though older scholarship also linked it to an old Germanic name meaning “powerful” or “mighty.”

A surname usually from Richard, meaning “son of Richard” or a family form of the personal name Richard.

A surname of Germanic origin, probably from an old personal name meaning “mighty army.”

A surname that began as a short form of Richard and related Germanic names, especially in Dutch and German usage.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Richard,” with the final -s showing the possessive form.

An old Germanic surname built from a personal name ending in -man, likely meaning “Ric’s man” or “man of Ric.”

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Rick,” with Rick itself a short form of Richard.

A surname from the Spanish/Italian word for “rich,” originally used as a nickname or descriptive byname.

A Scottish surname usually taken from a place name, especially the ancient lands of Riddell in Roxburghshire.

A surname that likely grew from a diminutive of Rudd, a nickname linked to the color red, though some early writers also connected it with local-place forms like Ridding.

An English and Scottish surname usually linked to the place-name Riddell or Ryedale, though some writers also connected it with a maker or user of riddles/sieves.

A surname of Germanic origin, probably from a place-name meaning “at the red house” or a similar local landmark.

A surname most likely built from a nickname or phrase referring to riding out, though older writers also speculated about a fortification or place-name origin.

An English surname that could refer to a horseman or mounted officer, and in some cases may come from a place-name like Ryther.

A topographic surname for someone who lived on or by a ridge of land.

A topographic surname for someone who lived by a ridge road or along a raised way.

A topographic surname for someone who lived by or traveled along a road over a ridge.

An English surname from places named for a red or reed-covered clearing, especially in northern England.

A German surname that can trace back to a diminutive of a name beginning with Ried-, or in some cases to a word for a strap or binding thong.

A German surname most likely tied to the word for a bar, bolt, or latch, or to a nickname based on that word.

A German surname most likely built from an old personal name element meaning “fame” or “glory.”

A German surname most likely from a short-form personal name, especially linked to names like Riedel or Riehl as a nickname or family-name form.

A surname with several possible roots, most often linked either to a personal name or to a topographic/nickname source depending on family branch.

A surname probably arising as a nickname from an older word meaning “plentiful” or “abundant,” though its exact source is not fully certain.

A name most likely linked to a riffle—a shallow, rapid stretch of water in a stream.

A habitational surname meaning “dwelling by the ridge,” originally from a place-name in northern England.

A surname usually treated as a variant of a place-name or older family name built on the element Rig-, with an English-style -don ending.

A surname most likely meaning “son of Rigg” or “son of Riggin,” with roots in an old nickname or place-name element.

A surname most likely built from an older Germanic personal name or a nickname form, especially in North American usage.

A surname from an old word for a ridge or raised strip of land, originally used for people who lived by one.

An Irish surname, likely from a Gaelic family name that was later Anglicized as Rigney.

A habitational surname from a Lincolnshire place-name, originally meaning “ridge farm” or “farm on the ridge.”

A surname that likely began as a Dutch or German form of a name based on Richard or a similar “powerful ruler” element.

An English surname that can mean either “rye field” or, in some cases, a surname adapted from the Irish O’Reilly.

An English surname that originally meant “rhymer” — a poet, singer, or minstrel.

An Italian surname from a medieval personal name meaning “Rinald’s descendants.”

A Spanish surname from a word meaning a corner, nook, or secluded place.

A German surname from the personal name Reinhard, meaning “brave counsel” or “strong advice.”

A surname most often tied to a ring-shaped place or circular open space, or to a bell-ringer by occupation.

An occupational surname for a bell-ringer, especially someone skilled at ringing church bells.

A surname most likely derived from a ring-shaped feature, a ring-maker, or a nickname built from the word “ring.”

An English surname that likely began as a nickname or occupational-style formation linked to an old word for a warrior or bold man.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to the place name Rioja, the famous region in northern Spain.

An Irish surname usually taken to mean “royal bard,” from Gaelic elements for “king” and “bard/poet.”

A habitational surname from one of several English places called Ripley, especially in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Surrey.

A locational surname meaning someone from a place called Risley or Riseley, probably referring to brushwood or rushy ground.

A surname of likely German or English origin, probably tied to a place name or older nickname form.

An English and Scottish surname ultimately from the personal name Richard, with Ritchey developing as a spelling variant of Richie/Ritchie.

A Scottish and northern English surname meaning “little Richard” or “young Richard.”

A Pennsylvania Dutch surname likely meaning “house of the knight” or “knight’s house.”

A German surname meaning “knight” or “cavalier,” originally a status or occupation term.

A surname that can be a short form of a German personal name, and in some cases may also reflect a Breton or Norman lineage.

A French surname most likely linked to a riverside place or to people living by the same stream.

A Spanish surname originally tied to people who lived by riverbanks or river edges.

A common Spanish surname meaning “riverbank” or “of the river,” originally a place-based name.

A Spanish surname linked to a riverbank or riverside place, and in some older regional uses to a fish-dam or embankment by the water.

A surname meaning “of the rivers” or “by the riverbank,” from Old French and Latin roots for shore or bank.

A surname that usually comes from Reeve/Reves, though in some cases it may be a French place-name or river-bank name.

A Spanish surname from rizo, meaning a curl or something curled.

A South Asian Muslim surname and nisba meaning “from the land of Riz,” traditionally linked to descent or association with the family of Imam Ali al-Rida (al-Rizā).

An Italian surname most often understood as a nickname or a short form built from a personal name root, rather than from a place or trade.

A surname most likely taken from a place-name, probably meaning someone from Roa or a related local landmark name.

A surname usually derived from French Roche, meaning “rock,” often linked to a place or landmark.

A surname that can point either to someone from Rouen in Normandy or, less certainly, to a place-name linked with the rowan tree.

An English and Irish surname that can reflect either the color word roan, a connection to the rowan tree, or an anglicized Irish name.

A surname most likely from the Irish O'Rourke name, with Roark and Roarke as anglicized spellings.

A surname that usually began as a short form of Robert, especially in northern English and Scottish usage.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Robin,” with Robin being a medieval pet form of Robert.

A French surname most likely related to the old personal name Robert, probably a diminutive or regional form that developed in French usage.

A surname that usually means “son of Robert,” with Robert itself meaning “bright fame.”

A classic personal name-turned-surname from an old Germanic name meaning “bright fame.”

A Romance-language surname and given name built from Robert, meaning “bright fame.”

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Robert.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Robert.”

A surname with multiple possible roots, most often treated as a variant of Roby and ultimately linked to the given name Robert.

A French surname most likely built from the old name Robert, though some 19th-century writers also linked it to a word for “red.”

A pet form of Robert, originally a familiar nickname that later became a surname in its own right.

A diminutive of Robin, ultimately tied to Robert, meaning “little Robin” or “son of Robin.”

A surname that likely began as a French diminutive of Robin, meaning “little Robin” or “son of Robin.”

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Robin,” with Robin itself a medieval nickname form of Robert.

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Robin,” with Robin itself originally a pet form of Robert.

A variant of Robinson, meaning “son of Robin” or “son of Robert.”

A Spanish surname meaning “oak grove” or “place of oaks,” originally referring to someone from such a place.

A Spanish surname meaning “oak trees” or “the oaks,” originally from a place marked by oaks.

A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Rob,” with Rob being a short form of Robert.

Usually a surname from Robert, though in northern England it can also be locational, from a Lancashire place-name.

A surname from the word for a rock, cliff, or rocky height.

A surname that usually began as a personal name, ultimately tied to the old Germanic name Rocco.

A common Iberian surname meaning “rock” or “rocky place,” especially associated with Spanish and Portuguese naming traditions.

A surname with French and English roots, usually meaning “dweller by a rock” or referring to someone from a place called Roche.

A surname that usually began as a place-name, pointing to someone from Rochelle or La Rochelle in France.

A surname usually taken from the city of Rochester in Kent, originally meaning a fortified Roman stronghold by the Medway.

Usually a topographic surname for someone who lived by a rock, rocky place, or named locality.

An English surname that likely began as a place-name or topographic name for someone living by a notable spring, stream, or rocky hollow.

A Spanish surname that is most likely locational or nickname-based, probably tied to a place-name or an older descriptive form rather than a common occupation.

A surname with multiple possible roots, most often linked to place names in the Spanish- and Greek-speaking worlds.

A surname that most likely began as a pet form of Roderick or Rodolph, though in some cases it may reflect a nickname from “ruddy.”

A surname that can point to a road, a clearing, or—less certainly—a place-name lineage from medieval England.

A surname usually tied to a place-name, often meaning someone who lived by a rough or reed-filled valley, or who came from a place called Roden.

A surname from an old Germanic personal name meaning “famous ruler,” later also used for Irish and Welsh equivalents.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Roger,” with Roger itself coming from an old Germanic personal name.

A surname usually explained as a variant of Redman, though in some cases it may also reflect an older Germanic name element like Rod- seen in Roderick or Rodger.

A surname from a Somerset place-name, ultimately meaning “Roda’s island.”

A French and Spanish-related surname ultimately from the old Germanic personal name Rodrigo/Rodrigue.

A Portuguese and Galician patronymic meaning “son of Rodrigo.”

A Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Rodrigo,” the given name behind the famous medieval-style family name.

A Hispanic surname meaning “son of Rodrigo,” ultimately from the Germanic personal name Rodrigo.

A surname that usually began as a nickname from the roe deer, sometimes also linked to a red-haired or ruddy complexion.

A surname from the deer name roe buck, originally used as a nickname or sign-name.

A German surname most likely linked to a roe deer or, in some cases, to a place-name or occupational root in related spellings.

A surname most likely from a Dutch word for “glory” or “renown,” though it can also reflect a name used for a Roman or pilgrim in some contexts.

An Irish surname most often explained as meaning “red-haired” or “ruddy,” from Gaelic roots for red.

A surname from the medieval personal name Roger, originally brought to England by the Normans.

A patronymic surname meaning “son of Roger,” with some Irish families adopting it as an Anglicized form of Mac Rory or Mac Rury.

A German surname usually from a short form of an old name built on the element for “fame” or “renown,” though it can also reflect the word for “red.”

A name with several possible roots, most likely linked to reed beds, a place called Rohr, or in some cases a short form of an older given name.

A German surname usually meaning someone from a place called Rohr, or a person living by reeds or a reed bed.

A Spanish surname most likely referring to red or reddish places, soil, or features.

A Spanish surname that began as a nickname for someone with a red complexion, hair, or other red-colored feature.

A medieval personal name, best known from the heroic Roland of French epic, later adopted as a surname.

A Spanish surname ultimately tied to the legendary knight Roland, whose name spread across Europe in many forms.

A surname from the old personal name Rolf, ultimately tied to the Norse name Hrólf/ Hrólfr.

Usually a shortened or altered form of medieval names like Rollo, Roland, or Ralph rather than the everyday word “roll.”

A surname from the medieval personal name Rolf/Raoul, ultimately tied to the old Germanic name meaning “famous wolf.”

A surname that most likely began as a nickname or occupational name connected with rolling or a roller-like tool or task.

Rollins is most often a patronymic surname meaning “son of Rollin,” with Rollin itself usually traced back to forms of Roland or Rollo.

A surname most likely of Iberian or Romance origin, possibly a shortened or regional form built from a personal name rather than a common noun.

A surname that usually means “from Rome” or “the Roman,” though in some cases it may reflect an older Germanic personal name.

A surname meaning “Roman” or “from Rome,” used in several Romance-language traditions.

Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Roman,” though it may also reflect an old spelling or variant of Romaine.

A name for someone who came from Rome, the Italian city, or was associated with it.

An Italian surname meaning “pilgrim to Rome,” originally used for someone who had made a religious journey to the holy city.

An old surname for a pilgrim to Rome, or more generally a wanderer or roamer.

A Spanish surname originally used for a pilgrim or for someone connected with rosemary.

A surname with several possible roots, most likely a variant of names tied to Rome or to a French/English personal name tradition.

A surname that likely began as a nickname for someone with a blunt, shortened, or “stumpy” feature, from a Spanish word meaning “blunt” or “dull.”

An Irish and Scottish surname from a personal name linked to saints and a Gaelic word for “seal” or “sea-calf.”

A French surname originally tied to the idea of being round, plump, or circular.

A rare surname with unclear origin, possibly connected in old records to French forms like Perron or Peronne.

A surname most likely used as a spelling of Rooney, from an Irish Gaelic personal name meaning “descendant of the champion.”

A Spanish surname of uncertain origin, most likely built from a nickname or descriptive root rather than a place name.

Usually an English surname for someone who lived by a rood, or cross, especially a wayside or church cross.

A surname probably from the old Germanic word for “fame,” though it may sometimes have been confused with or influenced by forms meaning “roof.”

Usually a nickname from the bird rook, often suggesting dark coloring or a sharp, bird-like character.

Usually a surname from the word for the bird, though it may also be a family form of Rook or Brook in some cases.

An Irish surname meaning “the red one,” from a Gaelic nickname for someone with reddish hair or complexion.

A surname with multiple possible roots, including a patronymic from Robert and a Norman-French form linked to de Rupe/“of the rock.”

A surname with multiple origins, most often tied either to a place-name or to the word for “rose.”

An English surname that likely began as a nickname or local name, ultimately tied to the idea of a plant root or an older word for a root-like shape.

An occupational surname for a rope maker or rope seller.

A surname usually meaning “dweller by a rock” or “from a rocky place,” especially in French and related Romance traditions.

A surname with multiple origins, most often from the Latin word for a rose or from a place-name using that word.

A Spanish and Portuguese surname from the word for “rosy” or “pink,” originally a descriptive nickname.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the rose bushes” or “from the place called Rosales.”

A surname from the devotional word for the rosary, often pointing to Catholic religious naming traditions.

A Spanish surname most likely meaning “roses” or “of/near the rose,” with roots in the word for the flower.

A northern English surname usually taken from a place-name, especially in Lancashire or Yorkshire.

A surname that most often began as a nickname or sign-name taken from the rose flower, though in some cases it may have developed as a form of Ross.

A rare surname likely influenced by the Scottish title Rosebery, with roots in a place-name linked to roses or Primrose lands.

A surname of uncertain but likely continental origin, probably built from the Germanic personal-name element found in forms like Rosemond and Rosamund.

A surname built from the German word for “roses,” often appearing in longer names like Rosenberg or Rosenfeld.

German surname meaning “rose tree” or “rose bush,” originally a decorative name or house sign.

A German ornamental surname meaning “rose mountain” or “rose hill.”

A German habitational surname meaning “from Rosenberg,” literally “rose hill” or “rose mountain.”

A German surname meaning “rose leaf,” formed from two common word elements used in compound names.

A Jewish surname built from German and Yiddish words for “rose” and “flower.”

A German surname meaning “rose field” or “field of roses.”

A German habitational surname meaning “rose valley.”

A surname most often linked to the French word for a rosebush, and sometimes to a place-name or continental immigrant family.

A surname of Germanic and Jewish surname tradition, often built from a personal name or a place-name element rather than a single fixed meaning.

A surname with several independent origins, most often from a promontory or peninsula, a place-name in Normandy or Britain, or the Scottish region of Ross.

Usually a Welsh surname from the personal name Rosser, meaning “son of Rosser” or ultimately “champion/combatant.”

An Italian surname most likely built from a personal name meaning “little red one” or from a diminutive form of Rossi.

An Italian surname meaning “red-haired” or “ruddy,” from the nickname *rosso* (“red”).

A surname most likely from a place-name, especially the Shropshire village of Wroxeter, later reshaped in pronunciation and spelling.

A surname that can mean either “son of Ross” or “man from the heath/rough land,” depending on its family line.

Rosson is most likely an English surname formed as a variant of Ross, with the ending -on added in later spelling or dialectal development.

A surname found in Germanic areas that may come from a personal name or an old word for armor, rest, or a related root.

A surname meaning “red” or “ruddy,” used as a nickname in German-speaking areas.

A surname that can be Germanic or Jewish in origin, often meaning either “red man” or “man from Roth/Rot(h),” depending on the family line.

A German and Jewish surname built from words for “red” and “stone,” originally describing a place or house sign.

A habitational surname from English place-names meaning either “red spring” or “red well.”

A surname most likely from Round, originally a nickname for someone round-faced or stout, with an added -s form meaning “son/descendant of Round.”

An English surname that likely began as a spelling variant of Rowntree/Rowantree, probably referring to a rowan tree.

An English surname meaning someone who lived by or was identified with a rowan tree.

An Irish surname usually representing O’Rourke, meaning a descendant of a man with a name traditionally linked to the Irish royal line of Breifne.

Originally a nickname for a red- or ruddy-haired person, Rouse is an English surname ultimately from a word meaning “red.”

A surname most often treated as a variant spelling of names like Rausch, Roush, or Rausch/Rousche, likely reflecting Germanic or French roots.

A French surname meaning “reddish” or “red-haired,” originally a nickname for someone with a ruddy complexion.

A surname most often taken from a place name, especially Routh in Yorkshire, meaning a clearing.

A French surname meaning “red” or “red-haired,” originally a nickname for someone with reddish hair or complexion.

A surname that can come either from the red-haired nickname or from a place or sign by a rowan tree.

A surname with several old English and Scottish roots, most often meaning someone who lived by a row of houses or in a row-shaped place, and sometimes linked to Rowland.

A mostly English surname that likely began as a place-name, meaning someone who came from a hamlet or spring called Rowell.

A surname from the old personal name Roland, especially common in Wales, with later forms like Rowlands and Rowlandson.

A surname that usually developed as a variant of Rolles, ultimately tied to a place-name or the name Roll/Rolle.

A surname that likely began as a pet form of Rowland or Roland, and in some cases was also linked to the French name Roulet.

A mostly English surname from places called Rowley, likely meaning either “rough lea” or “roe-deer meadow.”

A surname with two main roots: in some families it means “king,” while in others it comes from a Gaelic word for “red” or “red-haired.”

A surname that usually began as a nickname or descriptive label for someone connected with royal service or courtly status.

A surname of likely Spanish origin, probably from a place-name or nickname root that was reshaped in the American Southwest.

A surname with several possible roots, most likely a Norman/French form related to the name Reuss or to a place-name such as Ryston.

An occupational surname from French, meaning a wheelwright or wheel-maker.

An English surname that likely began as a nickname for a boisterous, rollicking fellow.

A surname of mixed and uncertain origin, often treated as a French name and sometimes linked to a place-name or to a rose-related word-root.

A surname with several possible origins, most often treated as an Anglicized Irish form, but also found as a Cornish place-based name in some records.

A Spanish surname that likely began as a nickname for someone with a roan or reddish-brown complexion or coloring.

A Spanish surname likely tied to a place-name, probably describing someone from or near a distinctive rocky or rough terrain.

A Jewish surname meaning “ruby stone” or “red stone,” built from German and Yiddish elements.

A surname that can come from the word for “ruby” or, in some cases, from a Jewish name built on that gemstone image.

A surname of Italian origin, most often from the word for “ruby” or the color red.

A Spanish surname from a nickname meaning “blond,” “fair-haired,” or sometimes simply “reddish.”

A surname with several possible origins, including an Anglicized form of a European name and, in some cases, a later changed or adapted spelling.

A surname with more than one possible origin, including a traditional English nickname form and a later Jewish name linked to the gemstone ruby.

Likely a nickname surname from a word for a rook, or possibly from an old German word meaning rough.

A surname that most likely began as a German or English nickname form, sometimes linked to a personal name like Rüdiger/Roger or to a later occupational/nickname formation.

Usually a surname from a nickname for a ruddy or red-faced person, though some sources connect it with the name Rodd.

A nickname surname meaning “red” or “ruddy,” originally used for someone with a reddish complexion or hair.

A surname that usually began as a nickname for someone thought of as rough, plain, or uncultured.

A Pennsylvania German surname likely linked to the Swiss place-name Rüdiswil/Riidiswyl.

A Germanic personal name surname meaning “famous wolf,” from an old given name that spread widely across Europe.

Usually a surname from a red-haired or ruddy nickname, though in some places it may also reflect a shortened form of another name.

A surname that can come from French de la Rue, meaning “of the street,” or from English place-names such as Rew in Devon and Dorset.

A Spanish surname meaning “wheel,” likely first used as a nickname or a place-based name.

A Spanish surname likely tied to a place name or a local feature, especially in areas of Spain and the Spanish-speaking Americas.

Usually a nickname from Old French and Latin roots meaning “red” or “red-haired,” though some early sources also connect it with Rolf/Rudolph.

A surname from a French and Latin word for “red” or “red-haired,” originally used as a descriptive nickname.

An Italian surname from the medieval personal name Ruggiero, the Italian form of Roger, meaning roughly “famous spear.”

A surname most likely taken from the Norman place-name Rugles, in Eure, France.

A German surname that likely developed as a shortened form of Rudolf, though other local or nickname-based explanations are possible.

A classic Spanish patronymic surname meaning “son of Ruy” or “son of Rodrigo.”

A surname that may come either from a place-name or from the old personal name Raoul/Ruel.

A German surname probably from a personal name or nickname based on the old root rum- / rûm-, with related forms found across German and Dutch.

A habitational surname meaning “from Romsey,” the Hampshire town once spelled Rumsey or Romsey.

A surname with German roots, probably from a nickname or dialect word rather than a single fixed occupation or place-name.

A surname that likely developed as a variant of a name built from “run” or related Middle English forms, though its exact origin is not securely established.

A surname of uncertain origin, likely an Americanized spelling of a similar-sounding Irish or English name.

Runyon is an uncommon surname whose older explanations connect it to words meaning “to whisper” or “to speak mysteriously,” though the origin is not certain.

A surname of Norman-French origin, from words for “rock” or “cliff,” often linked to people from a rocky place or a place called Roche.

A Germanic surname and given name from the old name Robert, meaning roughly “bright fame” or “shining renown.”

A short surname that is most often a German form of names like Rupert, ultimately meaning “bright fame.”

A German surname that is usually a short form of Ruprecht, meaning “bright fame.”

A surname with several possible roots, most often tied to German forms related to rushes, reddish color, or spelling shifts from shorter names like Rush.

A surname with several possible roots, including a nickname linked to French ruse, and in some cases a place-name or rush-plant connection.

An English surname that likely began as a nickname or descriptive name linked to speed or impetuous movement.

A place-based surname meaning “at the rushy enclosure” or “rushy settlement.”

An old surname with several possible roots, most likely either a Scandinavian nickname or a name linked to marshy ground.

A surname with two main roots: in England it is usually a form of Rous/Ross, while elsewhere it can also be a nickname for a Russian.

A surname usually meaning “red-haired” or “reddish,” though one old noble family also traced it to a place-name in Normandy.

A nickname surname meaning “the red-haired one,” from an Old French diminutive of rous/rousse, “red.”

An Italian surname most often meaning “the red-haired one” or “the red one.”

A surname that can come from a nickname for a reddish complexion or from an old personal name, and in some cases may be locational.

An English and German surname sometimes linked to the given name Ruth, but also confused with related names like Routh, Rudd, and Rutherford.

A habitational surname from places called Rutherford, most famously in Roxburghshire, Scotland, likely meaning “cattle ford” or “swift-river ford.”

A Polish surname meaning “someone from Rutki” or “of the rye field,” depending on the place-name behind it.

A habitational surname meaning “from Rutland,” the English county name whose deeper origin is uncertain.

An old English surname usually explained as a nickname or given-name form tied to the Old Germanic personal name Rutleich/Rutleich.

An occupational surname for a rider, trooper, or horseman, and possibly in some cases for a player of the rote, a medieval stringed instrument.

A surname with several possible Germanic roots, often treated as a shortened form of older names or nicknames rather than a single fixed meaning.

A Spanish surname most likely tied to a place-name or old local landmark name in northern Spain or a Spanish-speaking region.

A surname most likely from a medieval personal name, with later spelling influenced by regional pronunciation.

An Irish surname from O'Ryan, meaning descendant of Ryan; the given name behind it may originally have referred to a little king or champion.

A surname usually understood as an English occupational name for a mounted messenger or horseman, though some instances may also reflect the older name Rider.

Usually a locational surname from the Sussex town of Rye, ultimately linked to a word for a bank or shore.

A Spanish surname meaning “of the rivers,” originally used for someone living by several rivers or a river district.