Don’t think surnames were ever randomly assigned. They often have a story, a more or less known origin that links them to a trade, a region, or an often flattering character trait. Onomastics, understand the study of names in the field of linguistics, can tell a lot about the culture and history of a country. Often the names are not given at random and rather refer to the country itself and its identity. In each country of each continent, the study takes up the most common surname, and explains the reasons for it.
First of all, in Belgium, Peeters is the most common name. The Old Continent is the continent most prone to surnames drawn from the profession of family ancestors. For example, Müller is the most common name in Germany and Switzerland and actually means miller. The same with Schmit, a common name in Luxembourg, which is taken from the German “smit” which means blacksmith. Continue to read and find out which are the most common last names in different countries.
Japanese last names
It is a little known fact that until the Meiji era (1868-1912), ordinary men and women in Japan did not have surnames. These names were rather reserved for people occupying positions of power, nobility or having remarkable artistic abilities. There are an estimated 100,000 surnames in Japan, far more than in many Western countries, and far more than in neighboring Korea and China. What’s curious is that of these surnames, ten are incredibly common, with millions of people sharing the exact same nickname. Down below you will find which are the most common japanese last names.
Saito
The first kanji, sai 斉, can be used to refer to a meal eaten by monks and priests, but in more general terms it conveys an image of purity and divine worship . The second character, tō 藤 (pronounced with a long “oh”) can also be read as “fuji”, and means wisteria. The inclusion of this character suggests possible historical ties to the Fujiwara clan, and is found in a large number of Japanese surnames, although how many of these families have any genuine attachment to the group is debatable.
Kobayashi
Small forest”, using the kanji small 小 and woods/forest 林 (pronounced “hayashi” alone), the name may refer to the region where his name came from owner.
Nakamura
Literally “inside” or “in the middle” (naka 中), followed by village (mura 村). A person from the middle village, perhaps? Professional footballer Shunsuke Nakamura, who was the first Asian player to score a goal in the UEFA Champions League.
Yamamoto
Composed of the characters mountain (yama 山) and base/origin (motorcycle 本), this name is the second after Yamada (山田) to be a pleasant and easy to write kanji, saving name-blessed elementary school children the hassle of learning kanji characters they otherwise wouldn’t encounter for years.
Ito
The first kanji character, 伊, is also used to refer to Italy, but historically speaking, 伊 literally means “this” or “that”. Coupled with the aforementioned wisteria kanji, 藤, one could again suggest that the name suggests ties to the Fujiwara clan, however tenuous. The name is both spelled and pronounced differently than ito 糸 (which has a short “o” sound, and means “thread”), so be sure to clearly pronounce that long “oh” at the end.
Watanabe
To cross or pass over 渡, and “zone” or “border” 辺. Ken Watanabe, the guy who’s been given all the big roles lately that call for a Japanese actor. Watanabe has appeared in dozens of Western films including “Letters from Iwo Jima”, “Batman Begins” and “Inception”. It is also found in the American film “Godzilla”.
Tanaka
Literally “rice paddy” 田 and “middle field” 中, the name probably comes from those who owned or worked the “middle field” in a given town or village, and has remained ever since. Another nice and easy-to-write name, Jin Tanaka is also a popular place name used for things like credit card ads or sleazy people checking into hotels where Westerners scribble “John Smith” or “Jane.” Doe”.
Takahashi
Tall/high” 高 and “bridge” 橋 suggest that the families who originally chose this name may have lived in an area beyond a deep valley crossed by a long bridge. Then again, maybe they were looking for something a little more symbolic than literal?
Suzuki
“Tree of bells”. Suzurin 鈴 is a small round bell, the kind you put on a cat’s collar. But we don’t know why they are attached to 木 trees.
Sato
Alongside the very popular “tō” 藤, we find sa 佐, which means “to assist”. Did the people with strong ties to the great clan of yesteryear give rise to today’s Satōs, or did they simply like its sound and the image it conveyed? We may never know.
🔹Saito (different kanji)
🔹Endo
🔹Nakayama
🔹Ohno
🔹Iwasaki
🔹goto
🔹Masuda
🔹Kobayashi
🔹abe
🔹Ando
🔹Maruyama
🔹Takahashi
🔹Fukuda
🔹Sato
🔹Onishi
🔹Hasegawa
🔹Maeda
🔹Fujiwara
🔹Yoshida
🔹Sakamoto
🔹Miyamoto
🔹Fujii
🔹Sano
🔹Taniguchi
🔹Noguchi
🔹Arai
🔹Kimura
🔹Nakagawa
🔹Nakano
🔹Shimizu
🔹Kaneko
🔹takada
🔹Sugimoto
🔹Yamaguchi
🔹Murata
🔹Matsui
🔹Sugawara
🔹Takeuchi
🔹Takeda
🔹Suzuki
🔹Yamamoto
🔹Fujita
🔹Matsuo
🔹Shibata
🔹Fujimoto
🔹Yokoyama
🔹imai
🔹Yamada
🔹nishimura
🔹kikuchi
🔹Ito
🔹Kojima
🔹Nakajima
🔹ikeda
🔹Ishikawa
🔹Ueda
🔹Nomura
🔹Miyazaki
🔹Chiba
🔹Okamoto
🔹Watanabe
🔹Ishida
🔹kudo
🔹ota
🔹Morita
🔹Kubo
🔹sakai
🔹Hara
🔹Kinoshita
🔹Mori
🔹Ono
🔹Ueno
🔹Hayashi
🔹Ishii
🔹Nakamura
🔹sasaki
🔹Takagi
🔹Sugiyama
🔹Kondo
🔹OK
🔹Saito
🔹Yamazaki
🔹wada
🔹Tanaka
🔹Hirano
🔹matsuda
🔹Murakami
🔹Kato
🔹sakurai
🔹Hashimoto
🔹Okada
🔹Inoue
🔹Uchida
🔹Harada
🔹Matsumoto
🔹Yamashita
🔹Miura
🔹Otsuka
🔹Tamura
🔹Ogawa
Italian last names
A name isn’t just used to differentiate one person from another. If you dig deeper, many names are filled with centuries worth of history. If you’re trying to trace back your family legacy, names are a good jumping-on point for your search. Nowadays, we hear Italian names almost everywhere – from TV screens to real life. If you’re looking to delve into the meanings of the most common Italian surnames or hope to research your Italian heritage, down below you will find the meaning of italian last names.
Romano
This surname derives from the Latin name Romanus which means “man / native of Rome”; and, although it is widespread throughout Italy, it would seem to be concentrated more in the Campania region. It is worth remembering that Romano, in addition to being the fifth most common surname in the peninsula, is also a fairly common name.
Bianchi
This surname seems to have very ancient origins that have their roots in ancient Rome. Probably the surname Bianchi was originally a kind of nickname to indicate people with white hair and beard, or with very light skin color. Over time, however, this nickname would morph into a real surname. Although it is widespread throughout the country, it is particularly common in the north-central.
Ferrari
This surname, particularly well known thanks to the car company founded by Enzo Ferrari, is very widespread especially in the northern part of the Peninsula. It is believed that it derives nicknames related to the profession of blacksmith (from the Latin faber ferrarius, “blacksmith”). Currently there are well over 26 thousand families with this surname!
Russo
This surname, extremely widespread in southern Italy, seems to derive from the dialectal nicknames given to those who had a reddish beard, hair and complexion. There are currently more than 31,000 families with this surname!
Rossi
The origin of this surname is also to be considered linked to the characteristic of the coloring of the hair and beard or of the complexion of the original family, from the Latin russus-russo-russum, which means “red / reddish”. However, it is more common than Russo, in fact today there are more than 45 thousand families bearing this surname. Some well-known personalities who bear this surname are: Valentino Rossi, the famous motorcyclist, and Vasco Rossi, the famous singer, author of songs like Albachiara and Senza Parole.
🔹Ricci
🔹Rizzo
🔹Bianchi
🔹Romano
🔹Rossi
🔹Colombo
🔹Ferrari
🔹Esposito
🔹Giordano
🔹Lombardi
🔹Gallo
🔹De Luca
🔹Greco
🔹Costa
🔹Moretti
🔹Mancini
🔹Marino
🔹Conti
🔹Bruno
🔹Russo
French last names
The accent, tonality and delicacy of this language makes each word sought-after, making the person pronouncing it appear a person full of sex appeal. French surnames are no exception, the way they are pronounced makes people appear noble and aristocratic, both when they are associated with male and female names. If you are also fascinated by this language, continue reading this article where we will talk about French last names: which are the most beautiful.
Maury
The most common name is Maury, with 590 people who bear this name in the Lot. This name represents the Latinized form of Moor, a nickname for a dark-skinned man like a Moor.
Couderc
This typical southern name relates to a place near which the first bearers of the name surely lived: a coudrc is the name of a hamlet and locality derived from “cotero”, it is originally a clearing or a pasture, often near a house or on a hill.
Lavergne
This family name comes from the Gaulish “vernos alder”, which designates a place planted with alders.
Laval
🔹Dubois
🔹Moreau
🔹Simon
🔹Laurent
🔹Michel
🔹Garcia
🔹Thomas
🔹Leroy
🔹David
🔹Morel
🔹Roux
🔹Fournier
🔹Girard
🔹Lambert
🔹Mercier
🔹Blanc
🔹Lefebvre
🔹Dupont
🔹Faure
🔹Bertrand
🔹Morin
🔹Garnier
🔹Nicolas
🔹Marie
🔹Rousseau
🔹Bonnet
🔹Vincent
🔹Henry
🔹Masson
🔹Robin
🔹Martinez
🔹Boyer
🔹Muller
🔹Denis
🔹Chevalier
🔹Lemaire
🔹Meyer
🔹Blanchard
🔹Dufour
🔹Vidal
🔹Gauthier
🔹Perez
🔹Fontaine
🔹Perrin
🔹Joly
🔹Jean
🔹da silva
🔹Gautier
🔹Roche
🔹Mathieu
🔹Pereira
🔹Roussel
🔹Guerin
🔹Duval
🔹Rodriguez
🔹Colin
🔹Aubert
🔹Lopez
🔹Roy
🔹Lefevre
🔹Schmitt
🔹Marchand
🔹Picard
🔹Caron
🔹Sanchez
🔹Gaillard
🔹Louis
🔹Meunier
🔹Lucas
🔹Of the saints
🔹Dumont
🔹Clement
🔹Brunette
🔹Nguyen
🔹Giraud
🔹Arnaud
🔹Brown
🔹Barbier
🔹Rolland
🔹Charles
🔹Hubert
🔹Moulin
🔹Fabre
🔹Fernandes
🔹Guillaume
🔹Dupuis
🔹Leroux
🔹Roger
🔹Paris
🔹Guillot
🔹Dupuy
🔹Carpentier
🔹Fernandez
🔹Payet
🔹Philippe
🔹Olivier
🔹Deschamps
🔹Ferreira
🔹Lacroix
🔹Klein
🔹Backgammon
🔹Baron
🔹Renaud
🔹Leclerc
🔹Royer
🔹Berger
🔹Martin
🔹Bernard
🔹Robert
🔹Richard
🔹Durand
🔹Bertin
🔹Bourgeois
Russian last names
You’ve probably heard some of the Russian surnames before, but you might be surprised to see surnames on this list that you didn’t know were so common in a country like Russia. All personal names were once common names. In ancient times, the Russian people and other peoples had a custom: when a child was born, to give him as a name the names of various objects, phenomena, signs. Hence such ancient Russian names as Dobrynya, Druzhina, Kalina. Continue to read and find which are the most common russian last names.
Ivanov
It comes from the name Ivan – a simplified and Russified Hebrew form “John”, which came into use in the Eastern Slavs along with the Christianization of Russia. Like this name, the surname Ivanov has been the most common surname in Russia for several centuries. In addition to national statistics, it also leads the most popular surnames in a number of regions with a predominantly Slavic population.
Smirnov
This surname derives from the name of Smirnoy, which appeared in the peasant environment. Initially, it was a nickname that characterized calm, kind, not capricious and quiet children, who in large peasant families were especially desirable because they did not create unnecessary problems. Over time, the nickname has become a worldly name in its own right, coexisting alongside the church. Eventually, this nickname with the descendants of the Smirnykhs became a surname.
Kuznetsov
Many beautiful Russian surnames come from a person’s craft or profession. The option presented is one of them. Kuznetsov became the son of blacksmith craftsmen. And he received such widespread use, probably because the blacksmith’s craft was one of the most important and necessary in the life of society, and there were craftsmen in every village.
Popov
In addition to the blacksmiths in each village there was also a clergyman, that is, a priest who is colloquially called a priest. The sons of the priests are popoviches, the priests and wives are popadas. As a result, the Popov surname gained wide acceptance in Russia. In addition, Pop’s personal name, also used by Russian peasants, played a role in its popularity.
Sokolov
Many beautiful Russian surnames come from the names of animals and hawk birds – This is one of the sacred predators in Russian mythology. It is only natural, therefore, that it was not an exception and gave rise to one of the most popular Russian surnames. On behalf of the corresponding name of Greek origin, which means “king”.
🔹Smirnov
🔹Ivanov
🔹Kuznetsov
🔹Popov
🔹Sokolov
🔹Lebedev
🔹Kozlov
🔹Novikov
🔹Morozov
🔹Petrov
🔹Volkov
🔹Solovyov
🔹Vasilyev
🔹Zaytsev
🔹Pavlov
🔹Semyonov
🔹Golubev
🔹Vinogradov
🔹Bogdanov
🔹Vorobyov
German last names
Even in Germany, in the Middle Ages, the use of the family name was linked to the person’s profession or city of origin. Over time their meanings have changed, becoming influenced by the trades that characterized the families. A striking example of this change is the well-known surname Meyer, initially linked to the superintendent figures and now translated as a cow farmer. Here is a list of the most famous German last names and their meaning.
Irish last names
Ireland was one of the first countries to adopt hereditary surnames. Many of these names were invented during the reign of Brian Boru, the high king of Ireland who fell defending Ireland from the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 AD. Many of these early Irish last names began as patronyms to identify a son separately from his father or a grandson from his grandfather. That is why it is very common to see prefixes attached to Irish surnames. Mac, sometimes spelled Mc, is the Gaelic word for “son” and was related to the father’s name or trade. O is a word of its own, meaning “grandson” when associated with a grandfather’s name or business.
Brennan
This Irish family was widespread, settling in Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny and Westmeath. The surname Brennan in Ireland is now mainly found in County Sligo and the province of Leinster.
Brown
Common in both England and Ireland, Irish Brown families are most commonly found in the province of Connacht (particularly Galway and Mayo), as is Kerry.
Burke
The Norman surname Burke comes from the municipality of Caen in Normandy (de burg means “of the village”). The Burkes have been in Ireland since the 12th century, settling mainly in the province of Connacht.
Callaghan
The Callaghans were a powerful family in the province of Munster. Individuals with the Irish surname Callaghan (also spelled Callahan) are more numerous in Clare and Cork.
Campbell
Campbell families are widespread in Donegal (most are descended from Scottish mercenary soldiers), as well as in Cavan. Campbell is a descriptive surname meaning “crooked mouth”.
Doherty
The name in Irish (Ó Dochartaigh) means obstructive or offensive. In the 4th century, the Dohertys settled around the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal, where they mostly remained. The Doherty surname is the most common in Derry. He also wrote Dougherty and Daugherty.
Doyle
The surname Doyle comes from dubh ghall, the “dark stranger”, and is thought to be of Norwegian descent. In the province of Ulster, they were known as Mac Dubghaill (MacDowell and MacDuggall). The largest concentration of Doyles is in Leinster, Roscommon, Wexford and Wicklow.
Fitzgerald
A Norman family that came to Ireland in 1170, the Fitzgeralds (spelled Mac Gearailt in parts of Ireland) claimed vast stakes in Cork, Kerry, Kildare and Limerick. The surname Fitzgerald translates directly as “son of Gerald”.
Flynn
The Irish surname Ó Floinn is widespread in the province of Ulster. However, the “F” is no longer pronounced and the name is now Loinn or Lynn. The Flynn surname is also found in Clare, Cork, Kerry and Roscommon.
🔹Murphy
🔹O’kelly
🔹O’sullivan
🔹Walsh
🔹Smith
🔹O’brien
🔹O’byrne
🔹O’ryan
🔹O’connor
🔹O’neill
🔹O’reilly
🔹Doyle
🔹Mccarthy
🔹O’gallagher
🔹Doherty
🔹Kennedy
🔹Lynch
🔹Murray
🔹O’quinn
🔹O’moore
Korean last names
Over the past few years, there has been a massive interest in everything Korean. People are clamoring to know about their favorite K-pop artists and binge-watching K-dramas starring Lee Min Ho, Kim Soo Hyun, and Lee Jong Suk. The attraction even reached to being curious about Korean last names. Well, let’s get to know more about them, including the most common Korean last names. Continue to read and find out which are the most common korean last names.
SSHI
This is the most complete way to address someone. 씨 is the Korean counterpart of sir / madam. It is gender neutral, an honorific and a fairly safe way to address anyone of an age you are unsure of. To use it, just place it after the name of the person we are addressing.
YA
It is used in the same way as 씨, but denotes a person with whom you have a more intimate level of acquaintance such as friends and your partner. However it cannot be used if the interlocutor is older than the speaker’s age. Grammatical note: if the noun ends in a vowel, 야 is used, in the case where a name ends in a consonant, only 아 (a) is used.
NIM
The official translation of the word is “older brother” and can only be said by a woman. In addition to using it as a term to refer to one’s older brother, it can also be said to refer to older guys with whom one has a high level of intimacy. The person’s name may be prefixed to this for specification purposes.
HYUNG
It is the equivalent of oppa. It has the same meaning, but can only be used by boys to address older boys who are siblings or friends. The person’s name may be prefixed to this for specification purposes.
EONNI
The meaning is “older sister” and as oppa, it can only be used by female people to refer to sisters or friends over the age of the speaker. The person’s name may be prefixed to this for specification purposes.
SEONSAENGNIM / SSAEM
These words can be translated as “teacher”. Seonsaengnim is a combination of the noun seonsaeng, which means “teacher”, and the honorific suffix -nim. Ssaem is a contraction of seonsaengnim which is a little more random, but is used more commonly now. It can also be used to address doctors or professionals at the top of their fields.
🔹김 (Kim)
🔹이 (Lee)
🔹박 (Park)
🔹최 (Choi)
🔹윤 (Yoon)
🔹강 (Kang)
🔹임 (Im)
🔹장 (Jang)
🔹신 (Shin)
🔹조 (Cho)
🔹석 (Seok)
🔹배 (Bae)
🔹소 (So)
🔹유 (Yoo)
🔹송 (Song)
Spanish last names
Garcia Gonzalez, Diaz Rodriguez Fernandez Lopez … most people living in Spain know someone who is surname like this, because this is some of the most popular surnames in this country. However, there is a large number of last names that are not as common, some of which are foreign to the majority of the population. Here we show a few most common spanish last names.
Zuzunaga
It is one of the surnames that apparently has fewer owners in this country, having currently counted very few people with this surname.
Sandemetry
Probably originating from the martyr Saint Demetrius, the owners of this surname have a great presence in the Valencian community.
Urriaga
Here we have one of the rare surnames of Basque origin, where most of those who wear it now live in Valencia.
Pregonas
This surname comes from the verb pregonar, which announces something publicly. It probably originates in the office of one of its earliest carriers.
Cacharro
While the word pileup as it is used today refers to something wrong, useless and worthless, it also refers to a type of vessel used in cooking, this being probably the origin of this curious name.
🔹Fernandez
🔹Lopez
🔹Gomez
🔹Martin
🔹Diaz
🔹Munoz
🔹Alonso
🔹Navarro
🔹Ramos
🔹Vazquez
🔹Morales
🔹Ortega
🔹Suarez
🔹Ortiz
🔹Marin
🔹Sanz
🔹Medina
🔹Cortes
🔹Prieto
🔹Vidal
🔹Mendez
🔹Gallego
🔹Vega
🔹Carrasco
🔹Herrero
🔹Santana
🔹Hidalgo
🔹Montero
🔹Gimenez
🔹Vicente
🔹Duran
🔹Vargas
🔹Crespo
🔹Pastor
🔹Soto
🔹Velasco
🔹Rodriguez
🔹Martinez
🔹Sanchez
🔹Alvarez
🔹Romero
🔹Torres
🔹Gil
🔹Blanco
🔹Delgado
🔹Iglesias
🔹Santos
🔹Calvo
🔹Cabrera
🔹Marquez
🔹Campos
🔹Pascual
🔹Aguilar
🔹Ibanez
🔹Soler
🔹Gonzalez
🔹Perez
🔹Ruiz
🔹Moreno
🔹Gutierrez
🔹Rubio
🔹Nunez
🔹Castillo
🔹Guerrero
🔹Cano
🔹Cruz
🔹Herrera
🔹Pena
🔹Flores
🔹Leon
🔹Fuentes
🔹Diez
🔹Nieto
🔹Mora
🔹Arias
🔹Garcia
🔹Hernandez
🔹Lozano
🔹Caballero
🔹Reyes
🔹Ferrer
🔹Ramirez
🔹Castro
🔹Garrido
🔹Lorenzo
🔹Santiago
🔹Dominguez
🔹Serrano
🔹Molina
🔹Benitez
🔹Carmona
🔹Jimenez
