Welcome to the British Surnames website. Here, you can find information on similar surnames, most common surnames, surname meanings and etymologies as well as discussing your name in the forum.

As the name suggests, this site primarily lists surnames commonly found in Britain, but many of these are found in other parts of the world as well - so even if you're not British, your name could well be in here!

Interested in our structural history? BritishListedBuildings.co.uk includes every listed building in Britain, together with maps, photos and comments..

Latest User Contributions

Mrs S McKenna on CHILCOTT
My G/mother was a Chilcott , one of 10 children. They lived in Exter for part of their life.. Before that her G/father a Chilcott was a Farmer at Chilcotts Farm . [...]
CHILCOTT Summary Data

Nicole Skym on SKYM
Origination: Wales
SKYM Summary Data

John Ashdown on ASHDOWN
I was always my surname ASHDOWN meant 'the people who lived in or near the Ashdown forest'.This stretched from Sussex and down to parts of Kent John Ashdown
ASHDOWN Summary Data

anon on DEKEYREL
DeKeyrel is Belgian, from the Flanders region.
DEKEYREL Summary Data

Anne Ross on MARWICK
Marwick is a Viking name found almost exclusively in Orkney and Shetland. It is neither Celtic nor Christian in origin, as it was brought by Pagan Norsemen. You [...]
MARWICK Summary Data

anon on PROKOPOWICZ
It is originally a Greek surname, from 'prokop' which means keen on learning, developing. Now it's commonly used in Russia and also a bit seen in Poland. This name is [...]
PROKOPOWICZ Summary Data

anon on DANIEL
This interesting surname derives ultimately from the Hebrew male personal name "Daniel", which means "God is my judge", and was born by one of the most important prophets in the Bible. The [...]
DANIEL Summary Data

Glen Deas on DEAS
I have read that "Deas" is a Gaelic word for "south" or "southerly wind". Some in the US pronounce it "days" while others pronounce it "deez".The main "days" clan were [...]
DEAS Summary Data

Anon on BOLITHO
Bolitho is from Cornish language not the English language. It means "dwelling with dairies"
BOLITHO Summary Data

Steven L. Akins of that Ilk on AKINS
The surname Akins is a Scottish and northern Irish family name generally considered to be a variant of Aikens, which is assumed to be a patronymic form of the name [...]
AKINS Summary Data

Latest from the Forum

peter.johnson897 on Keddie
I have the surname Keddie in my family history i know they came from Scotland could anyone tell me were the name originates from and what clan if any [...]
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peter.johnson897 on rolley
Please could anyone tell me were the surname Rolley originates from as i have this name in my bloodline and they are from Derbyshire
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sierra on your site does not work anyw
here I put my surname in it goes to other webpages please clarify.
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talderman on Pickhills
Would anyone like to take a stab at how this name Pickhills was derived? It would appear to be a singular name (with or without the 's') both in Britain [...]
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talderman on Pickhills family
I'm an Aussie who has spent the last couple of years (on and off) tracing my family. Originally I didn't think I was going to find anything, as both my [...]
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