Family Name Affixes - Suffixes

Suffixes

  • -a (typically in female names, in most European languages, except French)
  • -a- (Frisian) "One of the good guys", could be -ma, -stra, -ta. Frisians took the oath of the Free Frisians screaming 'Better dead than a slave' after which they could get their new surnames (see Eala Frya Fresena).
  • -ac (Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Southern French)
  • -acz (Polish)
  • -aei (Persian) (See -i) for words that end in the long vowel A
  • -aitis (Lithuanian) "son of"
    • -aitė (Lithuanian) signifies an unmarried female
      • -aty Americanized form
  • -aj (Albanian)“he, him" Last name denotes first name of direct ancestor. Descendants of a man named Prenk, would be given last name Prenkaj, meaning he is from Prenk. Generally the last name removing the “aj” suffix is the name of the originator of the family before last names were used dating 300 years back or older.
  • -ak (Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Slovenian, Croatian)
    • -ák (Czech, Slovak)
  • -an (Romanian)
  • -and (French)
  • -ange (French) from Germanic -ing
  • -anu (Romanian)
  • -ář, -ar (Czech, Slovak)
  • -ard (French) from Germanic -hard, sometimes pejorative
  • -arz (Polish)
  • -as (Greek, /male/ Lithuanian)
  • -au (Belarusian) equivalent to Russian -ov
  • -aud, -au(l)t (French) from Germanic -(w)ald, sometimes pejorative
  • -auskas (Lithuanian for the Polish -owski, Belarusian -auski)
  • -awan (Urdu)
  • -ba (Abkhazian) "male"
  • -bach, -back (German) "brook, stream"
  • -bäck (Swedish) "brook"
  • -backa, -backe (Swedish) "hill", "slope"
  • -baum (German) "tree"
  • -beck (Swedish) "brook" (archaic spelling)
  • -bee, -by (English) "homestead"
  • -berg (German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish) "mountain" or "hill"
  • -bergen (Dutch) "mountain" or "hill"
  • -bert (French, German) from Germanic -berht “bright”
  • -bois (French) ″wood″
  • -bos(c) / -boc (Northern French) ″wood″
  • -borough (English)
  • -bourg (French) "town"
  • -brook (English)
  • -brun, -brunn (German, Swedish) "spring"
  • -burg (German, Scottish)
  • -burn, -burne (English) "brook"
  • -by (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) "town", "village"; also borrowed into English
  • -chi, -çı, -çi (Azeri, Persian, چی-, Turkish) attributed to or performing a certain "job"
  • -cı, -ci (Azeri, Turkish) attributed to or performing a certain "job"
  • -chian (Persian, چیان-) attributed to or performing a certain "job"
  • -chek (Ukrainian, Belarusian) diminutive
    • -czek (Polish)
    • -ček (Czech, Slovak, Slovenian)
    • -ćek, -cek (Croatian)
  • -chik, -chyk (Belarusian, Ukrainian) diminutive
    • -čík (Czech, Slovak)
    • -czyk (Polish)
  • -chuk (Ukrainian, Belarusian) diminutive
    • -czuk (Polish)
  • -ckas (Lithuanian) actually Lithuanianized version of the Polish and Belarusian -cki
  • -cki (Polish, Belarusian, Sorbian) variant of -ski
    • -cka (Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Sorbian) Feminine equivalent of -cki
  • -ckiy, -ckyi (Ukrainian)
  • -ckis (Latvian) actually Latvianized version of the Polish and Belarusian -cki
  • -сky (Russian)
    • -сkaya (Russian) Feminine equivalent of -сky
  • -cký (Czech, Slovak)
    • -cká (Czech, Slovak) Feminine equivalent of -cký
  • -čki (Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian)
  • -cock, -cox (English) "little"
  • -cote, -cott, -cutt (English) "cottage"
  • -cotte (Norman-French) "cottage", (French) "coat"
  • -court (French)
  • -craft, -croft (English) "small field"
  • -czak (Polish) another variant of the -czyk, -czek, -czuk series
  • -dal (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) "valley"
  • -dale (English) "valley"
  • -dalle (Norman-French) "valley"
  • -datter (Danish, Norwegian) "daughter (of)"
  • -din (Swedish)
  • -don (English) "hill"
  • -dun (French) "fortress"
  • -dorf (German) "village"
  • -dotter (Swedish) "daughter (of)"
  • -dóttir (Icelandic) "daughter of"
  • -dze (Georgian) "son of"
  • -dzki (Polish) variant of -ski, -cki
  • -eanu (Romanian)
  • -eau, -eault (French) diminutive suffix (Latin -ellu-)
  • -ec (Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovenian, Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian), (French spelling for Breton -e.g.)
  • -ee (See -i)
  • -eff (Russian, Bulgarian) obsolete, copied from German transliteration of -ev
  • -ek (Czech, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian)
  • -ell (English spelling for French -el, diminutive)
  • -el (Northern French and Occitan, French -eau)
  • -ema (Suffix of Fryslân origin, given by Napoleon Bonapart who used suffixes like these to keep a record of people's origins within Holland)
  • -ems (Dutch)
  • -ėnas (Lithuanian) "son of"
  • -enko (Ukrainian), -enka (Belarusian) "son of"
    • -chenko (Ukrainian), -chenka (Belarusian)
  • -ens (Dutch)
  • -ent (French)
  • -er (English, French, German, Turkish "male")
  • -ers (Dutch)
  • -es (Greek, Portuguese) "son of" in Portuguese
  • -escu (Romanian) "son of"
  • -eşti (Romanian) possessive plural, also used in place names
  • -et (French) (diminutive suffix Latin -ettu- or former -el)
  • -eu (Belarusian) equivalent to Russian -ev
  • -ev (Russian (all nationalities of Russia), Bulgarian, Macedonian) possessive
    • -eva (Russian (all nationalities of Russia), Bulgarian, Macedonian) Feminine equivalent of -ev
  • -evski (Macedonian, Bulgarian) possessive
    • -evska (Macedonian, Bulgarian) Feminine equivalent of evski
  • -ez (Spanish, North Picard) including Spanish-speaking countries "son of"; in Picard, old spelling for -et
  • -ëz (Albanian) for feminine; a word refer to something smaller, either literally or figuratively as in a form of endearment
  • -fält, -fäldt (Swedish) "field"
  • -fia, -fi, -fy, -ffy (Hungarian) "descendant of" (literally "son of")
  • -felt, -feldt (Swedish) "field" (archaic spelling)
  • -ford (English)
  • -fors (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "rapids"
  • -fort (French)
  • -gil, (Turkish, "family")
  • -gaard, -gard, -gård (Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, French) "farm" (garden in Northern French)
  • -garth (English, Scottish) "orchard"
  • -gate (English)
  • -gren (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "branch"
  • -haar (German, Danish) "hair"
  • -han (Turkish) "king, khan"
  • -holm (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "island"
  • -höven, -hoeven (German) "small garden"
  • -i (Italian) in most surnames, plural
  • -i (Hungarian) "of", "from" (geographically)
  • -i (Arabic, Persian) "descendant of", "attributed to"
  • -ia (Abkhaz, Mingrelian)
  • -ian(ts), -yan(ts), -jian, -,gian, -ents, -ants, -unts, -uni (Armenian) "son/daughter of"
  • -iak (Ukrainian, Polish) "descendant of"
  • -ic(k) (French), misspelling for Breton -ig, diminutive
  • -ich (Belarusian), -ych (Ukrainian) "son of"
    • -ovich (Belarusian), -ovych (Ukrainian)
    • -evich (Belarusian), -evych (Ukrainian)
  • -icz (Polish) "son of"
    • -owicz (Polish), -owic (Polish)
    • -ewicz (Polish), -ewic (Polish)
  • -ić (Serbian, Croatian, Bosniak) diminutive
    • -ović (Serbian, Croatian, Bosniak) diminutive possessive, little son of
    • -ević (Serbian, Croatian, Bosniak) diminutive possessive, little son of
    • -begović (Bosniak) diminutive possessive of a beg, i.e. chieftain's or chief's little son
  • -ič (Slovenian, Slovak, Czech (rarely)) diminutive
    • -ovič (Slovenian, Slovak, Czech (rarely)), -ovic (Slovak, Czech (rarely))
  • -ičius (Lithuanian) actually Lithuanianized version of the Belarusian -ich and Polish -icz
    • -avičius (Lithuanian) actually Lithuanianized version of the Belarusian -ovich and Polish -owicz
    • -evičius (Lithuanian) actually Lithuanianized version of the Belarusian -evich and Polish -ewicz
  • -ičs (Latvian) actually Latvianized version of the Belarusian -ich and Polish -icz
    • -ovičs (Latvian) actually Latvianized version of the Belarusian -ovich and Polish -owicz
    • -evičs (Latvian) actually Latvianized version of the Belarusian -evich and Polish -ewicz
  • -ides, idas (Greek), "son of"
  • -ier (French)
  • -ik (Polish, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian)
  • -ik (Estonian) if it follows a tree name, has a meaning "grove"
  • -ikh, -ykh (Russian)
  • -in (Russian (all nationalities of Russia), Belarusian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian) possessive
    • -ina (female equivalent of -in; especially rare for male names, but the suffix alone is an actual female name)
  • -in (French) diminutive
  • -ing (Anglo-Saxon, German) "place of the people of"
  • -ino (a common suffix for male Latino and Italian names)
  • -ipa (Abkhazian) "son of"
  • -ipha (Abkhazian) "girl of"
  • -is (Greek, /male/ Lithuanian)
    • -ienė (Lithuanian) female version
    • -ytė (Lithuanian) unmarried female version
  • -ishin (Ukrainian) possessive (e.g. Romanishin = son of wife of Roman)
    • -ishina (female equivalent of -ishin)
  • -iu (Romanian)
  • -ius (Lithuanian) "son of"
  • -iv (Ukrainian) possessive
  • -j (Adygean)"old"
  • -ka (Belarusian, Polish, Czech, Slovak) diminutive
  • -kawa, -gawa 川 (Japanese) "river"
  • -ke, (German)
  • -kin, -kins, -ken (English) "little"
  • -kin (Dutch) "little"
  • -ko (Ukrainian, Polish, Slovak, Czech) diminutive
  • -ko (Adygean) "son" ĸъо
  • -kus (Lithuanian)
  • -kvist (Swedish) "twig"
  • -kyzy (Kyrgyz) "daughter of"
  • -la, -lä (Finnish), comes to surnames from names of villages and farms
  • -ła, -la (Polish), often comes from verbs in the past tense; in countries where the letter Ł is not available, it is replaced by L
  • -lay, -ley, -ly (Scottish, English, Irish) "wood," or "grove"
  • -le, -lein (German) "small"
  • -li, -lou (Turkish, Azeri) "from"
  • -lin (French, Irish, Swedish) in Germanic names "small"
  • -litz (German)
  • -lund (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "grove"
  • -maa (Estonian) "land"
  • -mägi (Estonian) "hill"
    • -mäe (Estonian) "hill"
  • -man (English, German, Swedish) "manly or heroic", "male person", "servant of," (Turkish) "male person"
  • -man (Indonesian) a common suffix, usually denotes a male (e.g. "Budiman")
  • -mann (German) "manly or heroic", "male person", "servant of"
  • -mand (Persian, مند-) owning or showing
  • -maz (Turkish) "does not" (e.g. "Yılmaz = Yields not")
  • -men (Turkish) "male person"
  • -ment (French) from Germanic “man”
  • -mets (Estonian) "forest"
  • -mont, -mond (French) "mountain" or "hill", or from Germanic -mund "god"
  • -nė, -te /female/ (Lithuanian)
  • -nen (Finnish) diminutive, "from"
  • -nik (Estonian) attributed to occupation (talu being "farm" - talunik being "farmer")
  • -nova, -novas (Italian, Spanish) "new"
  • -novo (Spanish) "new"
  • -ný (Czech, Slovak) adjective
  • -ny (Polish) adjective
  • -nezhad, -nejad (Persian, نژاد) "descendant of"
  • -nyi (Hungarian)
  • -o (typically in male names in most European languages except English, French, etc.)
  • -off (Russian, Bulgarian) obsolete, copied from German transliteration of -ov
  • -oğlu (Azeri, Turkish) "son of"
  • -ok (Belarusian, Ukrainian, Czech)
  • -ois, -oy, -ais, -ay (French) from Germanic -isk and Vulgar Latin -ese
  • -on (French), former subject case in masculine names
  • -onis (Lithuanian) "son of"
  • -os (Greek, Gasconic, Spanish, Portuguese)
    • -opoulos, -opulos (Greek)
  • -osz, -oš (Polish, Czech, Slovak)
  • -ot (French) "little"
  • -ots (Estonian) "end/edge"
  • -ou(t) (French), various origins
  • -ou (Greek)
  • -ou (Belarusian) equivalent to Russian -ov
  • -ouf (French), Norman French spelling of Old Norse ulfr and Germanic wulf “wolf”
  • -ouf (French), French spelling of North African names
  • -oui (French), French spelling of North African names, English spelling -wi
  • -ov (Russian (all nationalities of Russia), Bulgarian, Macedonian) possessive
    • -ova (Russian (all nationalities of Russia), Bulgarian, Macedonian) Feminine equivalent of -ov
  • -ová (Czech, Slovak) suffix attached to most Czech and Slovak female surnames
  • -ovski (Macedonian, Bulgarian) possessive
    • -ovska (Macedonian, Bulgarian) Feminine equivalent of -ovski
  • -ow (Prussian, though found in predominantly German names, it is pronounced like English "ow" not like the German "ov")
  • -pern, -perin (German) "spring"
  • -pour, -poor (Persian) "son of"
  • -putra (Indonesian) "son"
  • -putri (Indonesian) "daughter"
  • -puu (Estonian) "tree"
  • -quetil (Norman-French) from Old Norse ketil “cauldron”
  • -quin, (French) from Dutch -kin "little"
  • -quist, -qvist (Swedish) "twig" (archaic spelling)
  • -ridge, -redge, -rigg (English)
  • -rud (Norwegian) "clearing"
  • -s /male/ (Latvian)
  • -s /male/ (Lithuanian)
  • -s /male/ (French), former subject case (from Latin -us)
  • -s (Dutch, Irish) "(son/daughter) of". Sometimes less recognizable, like in "Hendrickx" (son/daughter of Hendrik)
  • -saar (Estonian) "island"
  • -salu (Estonian) "grove"
  • -schmidt, -schmitt, -schmid, -schmit (German) "smith"
  • -sen or zen (Danish, Norwegian, Dutch or Low German) "son of"
    • -ssen (Dutch or Low German) "son of"
    • -ssens or -sens (Dutch) "grandson/granddaughter of". Literally "(son/daughter) of the son of"
  • -sepp (Estonian) "smith"
  • -shvili (Georgian) "child"
  • -skas (Lithuanian) actually Lithuanianized version of the Polish and Belarusian -ski
  • -ski (Polish, Belarusian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Sorbian. Also Russian but more often transliterated as -sky), "originating from", "estate of"
    • -ska (Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Sorbian) Feminine equivalent of -ski
  • -skiy, -skyi (Ukrainian)
  • -sky (Russian)
    • -skaya (Russian) Feminine equivalent of -sky
  • -ský (Czech, Slovak)
    • -ská (Czech, Slovak) Feminine equivalent of -ský
  • -skis (Latvian) actually Latvianized version of the Polish and Belarusian -ski
  • -sma (Frisian) "son of"
  • -smith (English)
  • -son (English, Swedish, German, Norwegian, Icelandic) "son of"
    • -sson (Swedish, Icelandic) "son of"
  • -(s)son (French), diminutive
  • -stad (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) "town, place"
  • -stein (German) "stone"
  • -sten (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) "stone"
  • -stern (German) "star"
  • -ström (Swedish), -strøm (Danish, Norwegian) "stream"
  • -svärd (Swedish) "sword"
  • -tæ (Ossetian) "belong to"
  • -tabar (Persian) "descendant of"
  • -thwait (Anglicized from the Old Danish thveit) "meadow, clearing" introduced into British Isles by Vikings between 800 and 1066 AD
  • -to, -tō, -do, -dō 藤 (Japanese) "wisteria"
  • -toft (English) "knoll"
    • -ton, -ten, -tone (English) "town," "place" or "village"
  • -tuit (Norman-French from Old Danish thveit)
  • -tzki, -tzky (Polish) - phonetic Germanized spelling of original Polish -cki
  • -Türk (Turkish)
  • -uk (Ukrainian, Belarusian) diminutive
  • -ulea (Romanian) "son of"
  • -ulis (Lithuanian)
  • -ūnas (Lithuanian) "son of"
  • -uulu (Kyrgyz, it is pronounced in English "oo-loo") "son of"
  • -velt (Dutch) "farm" or "field"
  • -verde (Spanish) "green"
  • -vich (Belarusian, occasionally a respelling of original Serbian, Croatian -vić) "son of"
    • -vych (Ukrainian)
    • -wicz (Polish), -wic (Polish)
    • -vić (Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian)
    • -vič (Slovenian, Slovak, Czech (rarely)), -vic (Slovak, Czech (rarely))
    • -vici (Romanianized respellings)
    • -vics (Hungarianized respellings)
    • -vitz, -witz, -witch, -witsch (Germanized or Anglicized respellings)
  • -vičius (Lithuanian) actually Lithuanianized version of the Belarusian -vich and Polish -wicz
    • -vičiutė (Lithuanian) signifies an unmarried female
  • -vičs (Latvian) actually Latvianized version of the Belarusian -vich and Polish -wicz
  • -vili (Georgian)
  • -ville (French) "farm", "village", "town"
  • -wala (Indian) denotes the occupation or place of Origin (Occuptation example: Batliwala - one who deals with bottles. Place example: Suratwala - one from Surat)
  • -wan (Indonesian) denotes a male name
  • -wati (Indonesian) denotes a female name
  • -well (English)
  • -white, -waite (English) "clearing"
  • -wi (Arabic) "from"
  • -wood (English)
  • -worth (English) "homestead"
  • -wright (English) "maker of"
  • -y (See -i)
  • -ycz (Polish)
  • -yk (Polish)
  • -ynas (Lithuanian) "son of"
  • -ysz (Polish)
  • -zadeh, -zada (Persian, Azeri, زاده) "son of", "descendant of"
  • -zadegan (Persian, زادگان-) plural form of zadeh

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