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 B Surnames Family History Resources

Surnames, their origin and their meaning

Many surnames are associated with the place/locality of where the family lived and in those cases the location is noted as the meaning.
Many surnames are associated with the occupation of the person given the name.

eXpertGenealogy.com is a directory of Professional Genealogists, Ancestry and Family Tree Researchers.

Surname		Origin	Meaning
Baba			German, Bube, a boy
Babb		Latin-Greek	A diminutive of Barbara meaning Stranger, foreigner
Babcock			Bab, a nickname for Bartholomew, and cock, small, little, a son
Baber			Bosseville; from Bosch, a wood, and ville, a village
Babin		French	Babylas
Babington		English	The esate of the Baba / Babba family
Bachelor		Dutch	Bock, a book, and leeraar, a doctor of divinity, law, or physic
Backe		English	brook
Backer		English	Baker
Backhouse		English	Bake house
Backman		German	Bach, a brook, and man
Backster		English	Female baker
Bacon		Anglo-Saxon	bacan, to bake, to dry by heat
Badam		Welsh-Hebrew	Son of Adam
Badeau		French	the Parisians who admired every thing that seems a little extraordinary
Bader		German	barber
Badgely		Locality	a town in Scotland
Badger			a hawker, a peddler
Bagley		Saxon	bilge, rising or swelling, and leagh or ley, plain or pasture land
Bagot		French	A stay or walking staff
Bagshawe		English	Back Wood
Bailey			Bailiff
Baillie		French	bailiff
Bain		Celtic	Whiteness, fairness
Bainbridge		Celtic-English	The bridge over the River Bain
Baines		French	The healing baths
Bains		French	The healing baths
Baisley		Gaelic	Baisealach, proud
Baits		several-languages	to feed, to rest for refreshment
Baker		Saxon	bacan, to dry by heat
Bakewell		English	Badeca's spring or well
Balch			bald
Balcombe		Gaelic	Bal, a round body, any thing thrown up and combe, a valley
Balder		Anglo-Saxon	Bealdhere / Baldhere = Bold Army
Balderston		English	B(e)aldhere's or Bealdor's Manor or Farmstead
Balding		Anglo-Saxon	B(e)alding / B(e)ald's Son
Baldock		English	Bald Oak
Baldrey		Teutonic	Baldric - bold + rek, a ruler
Baldry		Teutonic	Baldric - bold + rek, a ruler
Baldwin		German	bald, quick or speedy, and win, an old word signifying victor or conqueror
Balen		Cornish-British	Melen, a mill
Balfe		Celtic	Dumb, quiet
Balfour		Gaelic	Ball and Balla, signifies a casting up, raising, and denotes a wall, fortress, house, a village
Balgowan		Celtic	The place of the smith
Ball		Teutonic	Baldwin
Ballantine			A place where Bal or Belus was worshiped by the Celts
Ballantyne			A place of ancient pagan worship among the Celts
Ballard		Celtic-Gaelic	Ball, a place, a round elevation; and ard, high
Balliol		Normandy	Bailey, Barrier
Balloch		Celtic	Dweller at a Gap or Pass
Balmer			Balm or spice dealer
Balshaw		English	Bald(a)'s Wood, a thicket, wood
Bamber		English	bean grove
Bambery		English	beam, a tree + bearh, a hill
Bamborough		English	beam, a tree + bearh, a hill
Bambridge		English	a tree, beam
Bambrough		English	beam, a tree + bearh, a hill
Bamburgh		English	beam, a tree + bearh, a hill
Bambury		English	beam, a tree + bearh, a hill
Bamfield		English	Tree-Field
Bamford		English	tree ford
Bampton		English	The tree (or log) dwelling or farmstead
Bancho		Gaelic	ban, white, and chu or cu, a dog
Bancroft		French	bain, a bath, a hot-house
Bangs			Banks
Bannan		Celtic	O'Banan, descendant of Banan, white, fair
Bannatyne		Scottish	the hill where fires were kindled
Bannerman		Scottish	the king's standard-bearer
Banning		Danish	Baaning, a home, a dwelling
Bannister		French	The keeper of a bath
Bant		Welsh	A high place
Banta		Gaelic	Beaunta, hills, mountains
Banton		English	bean-enclosure
Banvard		Cornish-British	ban, a mount, hill, or high ground
Banyard		English	bean-enclosure
Bar			Barr, a parish in Ayrshire, Scotland
Barber		Dutch	Bock, a book, and leeraar, a doctor of divinity, law, or physic
Barclay		Saxon	beorce, a beech-tree, and leagh or ley, a field
Barcula		Dutch	Borkulo, a town in Holland
Barculo		Dutch	Borkulo, a town in Holland
Bard		Celtic	bawr, a top or summit, the highest; and eidde or oidde, instructor
Bardrick		Teutonic	Axe-Ruler
Barfield		English	barleyfield
Barfoot		English	Barefoot
Barhydt		Dutch	Barheid, sharpness, roughness, severity
Barker			tanner
Barnabas		German	Son of exhortation
Barnaby		German	Son of exhortation
Barnard		Saxon	Bearn or Bairn, a child, and ard, nature, disposition
Barnby		Scandinavian	Bjorn's dwelling or estate
Barnes		Cornish-British	Barnyz, a judge
Barnet		Locality	A town in Hertfordshire, England
Barney			Bernard
Barnum		Locality	Bearnham, the town in the wood or hill
Barnwell		English	Bearne, a wood, and veld, a field
Baron		Celtic	man
Barr			Barr, a parish in Ayrshire, Scotland
Barras		Saxon	Baerwas, groves, a place among trees
Barrell		Gaelic	Barrail, excellent, surpassing
Barret		French	barat, strife, deceit
Barringer		Locality	Beringer, a town in France
Barron		Celtic	Man
Barrow			A circular earthen mound, marking the place of interment of some noted person
Barry			Baruch, a devout man who was interred there
Barstow		Gaelic-Welsh	Barr, the top of a hill, and stow, a place or depository
Bartholomew		Hebrew	The son of him who maketh the waters to mount
Bartlett			Bartholomew-little Bart
Barton		Saxon	barley village
Bartul		German	Beorht, and ulph; help in counsel
Barwick		Locality	aber, the mouth, and wick, a town or harbor
Basford		Locality	The shallow ford or way
Basil		Greek	Royal, kingly
Basset		French	A little fat man with short legs
Bateman		Saxon	bate, strife, to beat, contention
Bates		Anglo-Saxon	Bate, contention
Bath		Saxon	bad, a place to bathe or wash
Bathe			Bathing-Place
Bathgate			Bathing-Place Road or Way
Bathurst		Saxon	Bath and hurst, a place of fruit-trees, a wood or grove.
Battcock			Bartholomew
Bauer		German	farmer
Bauerdt		German	farmer
Baum		German	tree
Bauman		German	builder
Baumann		German	builder
Baur		German	farmer
Baurerdt		German	farmer
Baxter		Anglo-Saxon	Bagster, a baker
Bayer		German	Bavarian
Bayerle		German	little Bavarian
Bayr		German	Bavarian
Beach		Locality	The shore of the sea, lake, or river
Beacher			beach or bay
Beadle			a messenger or crier of a court
Beal		Gaelic	Beul, the mouth, and by metonymy, eloquent, musical
Beatty		Gaelic	Beathaich, to feed, nourish, to welcome, to support
Beauchamp		Norman-French	fair or beautiful field
Beaufort		Norman-French	fine or commodious fort
Beaumont		Norman-French	fair mount
Beauvais		French	beautiful place
Beck		Anglo-Saxon	becc, a brook
Becker		German	backer, a baker
Beckett			little brook
Beckford		Saxon	brook-ford
Beckley		Locality	beck, a brook, and ley, field or meadow
Beckman			a brook or stream, or on a bec, or neck of land
Beckwith			Beckworth, the farm or place by the brook, from beck, a brook, and worth, a farm
Bedale		Locality	a town in England
Beddau		Welsh	Rhos-y Beddau, the heath of the graves
Bede			devout man
Bedeau		French	a beadle, mace-bearer
Bedell			Beadle, an officer belonging to a court, university, ward, or parish
Bedford		Saxon	bedan, battle, war, slaughter, and ford, a way or shallow place for crossing a river
Beecher		French	Beau chère, fine entertainment
Beers		Locality	bere, grain, barley; a fruitful place
Begg		Gaelic	Beag, little, young, small of stature
Belcher		French	Bel-chère, good cheer, fine entertainment
Belden		Cornish-British	Beildin, the hill of Belus, a place of Druid-worship
Bell		Scottish	Bell
Bellamont		French	beautiful mount
Bellamy		French	bel, fair or beautiful, and ami, a friend or companion
Bellew		Norman-French	De Belle Eau, from the beautiful water
Bellinger		Locality	Bellinger, a town in South Jutland
Belmont		French	fair mount
Belvidere		Italian	Bello, pleasant, and videre, to see
Benedict		Latin	Benedictus, blessed, well spoken of, or a person wishing all good
Benjamin		Hebrew	The son of the right hand; the youngest of Jacob's twelve sons
Bennett			Benedictus, blessed
Benoit		French	Benedictus, blessed
Benson			son of Benjamin
Bent		Locality	A plain, a moor, covered with the bent-grass
Bentley			bent, bent-grass, and ley, uncultivated ground, a pasture
Beorn		Saxon	chief
Beresford			Barrasford, from barra, an old word for a plain, open heath
Berger		German	townsman
Bergeron		Normandy	shepherd
Berkeley		Saxon	Beorce, a beech-tree, or the box-tree, and leagh or ley, a field
Bernard		Saxon	Bearn or Bairn, a child, and ard, nature, disposition
Berry		French	the province of Berri, in France
Bertram		Saxon	Fair and pure
Bertrand		Saxon	Fair and pure
Bessette		French	bas meaning either low, low-born, or short
Bethune		Locality	capital of a county in Artois, Netherlands
Betts		Latin	Beatus, happy
Bevan		Welsh	Ap Evan, or Ivan, the son of John
Beveridge		French	Belvoir, fine prospect; and ridge, the back or top of a hill
Beverly			Belvoir, a beautiful prospect, and ley, a place or field
Bewley		French	Beaulieu, a beautiful place
Beyer		German	Bavarian
Bickersteth		Welsh	bicra, to fight, to bicker, and steth, a corruption of staff, used for tilting or skirmishing
Biddle			Bedell and Beadle
Biddulph		Saxon	Botolph, Boat, and ulph, Help
Bierman		German	taverner beer host
Biermeyer		German	taverner beer host
Bierwirth		German	taverner beer host
Bigalow		Welsh	Bygglu, signifies to hector, to bully
Biggar			A town in Lanarkshire, Scotland
Biggore		Locality	An ancient province of France
Bigler		French	One who squints
Bigod		Danish	By God
Bigot		Danish	By God
Bigsby		Danish	bigs, near, and by, the town
Billings		Gaelic	Beilean, loquacious; a prattling person
Bing		Danish	binge, a pen, a bin, a corn-bin
Bingham		Danish	a place where provisions were deposited; and ham, a town or village
Binney		Cornish-British	Bin, a hill; and ey, water
Biorn		Danish	A bear; denoting courage and strength
Birch		Locality	birch-tree
Birely		German	little Bavarian
Birney		Locality	Burn-nigh, a village near the Burn or river
Birnie		Locality	Burn-nigh, a village near the Burn or river
Bixby		Danish	The house or village among the box-trees
Blackburn		Locality	The black brook or stream
Blackwood		Locality	the lands of Baron Dufferin and Claneboye, in Scotland, called Blackwood
Blain		French	the town of Blain, in Bretagne, France
Blair		Celtic	a cleared plain
Blaisdale		English	Blase, sprouting forth, luxuriant; and dale, a valley
Blake			Ap Lake, from Ap, signifying from, or son, and Lake
Blakeman			Blackman
Blanc		French-Catalan	white or fair hair or a pale complexion
Bland			Mild, gentle, smooth
Blaney		Welsh	Bluenae, the inland extremity of a valley
Blasedale		Locality	A place in Lancashire, England
Blauvelt		German	Blau, blue, and veld or feld, field
Bleeker		Dutch	a bleacher or whitener of linen
Blin		Welsh	Blaen, a point, the inland extremity of a valley
Bliss		English	very happy name
Bliven		Danish	Beleven, affable, genteel, kind
Blood		Dutch	timorous, cowardly
Bloss		Locality	Blois, the chief town of a territory in Orleans, France
Blount		Norman-French	Blond, Of fair hair or complexion
Blundell		Norman-French	Blond, faired haired, only in a lesser degree
Blunt		Norman-French	Blond, Of fair hair or complexion
Blyth			Glad, gay, joyful
Boardman			One who keeps a boarding-house
Bock		Dutch	book
Bocock			Beaucock, a fine fellow
Bodine		French	Waggish, merry, sportive
Bodley		Cornish-British	Bod, a house, and ley
Bogart		Dutch	boomgard, an orchard
Bogue		Saxon	boga, a bend, a bow, a corner
Bolingbroke		Locality	The brook or bridge near the round hill.
Bolster		Cornish-British	Bolla, a casting or throwing up, and ter, the earth
Bolton			round hill
Bonar		Locality	a chain of hills
Bond			The father of a family
Bonnal		Cornish-British	The house on the cliff
Bonner		French	Bonheur, happiness, good-fortune, prosperity
Bonney		Scottish	Genteel, fine, spruce
Bontecou		French	Bonte, goodness, strength, fruitfulness, and cul, the bottom behind
Boorman		Saxon	A countryman or farmer
Booth			A small cottage
Bordoel		Locality	A town in lower Saxony
Borland		Cornish-British	bor, swelling, rising, and land
Borrail		Gaelic	swaggering, boastful, haughty, proud
Boscawen		Cornish-British	the town in Cornwall
Bostwick		Cornish-British	Bos, a house, and wick, a haven or creek
Boswell		Locality	Bosch, a wood, and ville, a village
Bottesford		Locality	A town in England
Boucher		French	butcher
Boughton		Locality	the bowing or bending hill
Bourg		French	someone who lived in a fortified town
Bourne		English	a small river or spring-well
Bourque		French	someone who lived in a town that had been fortified
Boutin		French	Bout meaning someone who lived at the edge of a town or village
Bouvier		French	A drover
Bovie		French	Beauvais, a town in France
Bowen		Welsh	Ap Owen, the son of Owen
Bowers		Saxon	a cottage
Bowes			Castle of Bowes with five hundred archers to defend it
Bowles			bowl
Bowman			archer
Bowne		Cornish-British	Signifies ready, active, nimble
Bowyer			archer
Boyd		Gaelic	buidhe, yellow-haired
Boyer			A name given to a Grandee among the Muscovites
Boyle		Scottish	Ó Baoithghill descendant of Baoithgheall
Boynton		Locality	Buvington, in the Wolds, in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Bracy		French	Bracy, a town in Normandy
Bradburn		Locality	The wide or broad brook
Bradford		Locality	broad ford
Brady		Gaelic	Breada, handsome
Bragg		Scandinavian	Brag was the god of eloquence
Braine		Gaelic	Brain, a chieftain
Braman			Bremen, local, a city of Germany
Bramhall		Danish	bram, goods on sale
Bran		Gaelic	raven
Brand		Teutonic	to burn
Brande		Locality	town in Denmark
Brandon		Locality	burnt town
Brandreth		Gaelic-Welsh	Bran, signifies a swift river, and dreth, the sandy shore or strand
Bratt		Danish	Brave, valiant, courageous
Braud		French	a place in Gironde named Braud
Brauer		German	brewer
Brawn		German	with brown hair
Breck		Locality	broken
Breckenridge		Locality	broken, out of repair; and ridge
Breed		Dutch	broad, large
Breese		Welsh	Ap Reese, the son of Reese
Brendon		Cornish-British	Bren, a crow, and dun or don, a hill
Brenigan		Cornish-British	A limpet
Brenin		Cornish-British	Brenhin, a triutary prince
Brennan		Gaelic	Ó Branáin descendant of Branán
Brenner		German	distiller
Brentwood		Anglo-Saxon	burnt-wood
Breton		British	A native of Britain
Brett			Breton, a Briton
Breuer		German	brewer
Breuilly		French	A coppice
Brewer			A brewer of malt liquor
Brian		Gaelic	Bri, dignity, honor, and an, diminutive of that to which it is annexed, belonging to it
Briant		Gaelic	Bri, exalted, and ant, a termination, implying the being or state of that to which it is annexed
Briare		Locality	a town in the province of Orleans, France
Brice		Welsh	Ap Rice, the son of Rice
Brick		Gaelic	Ó Bruic descendant of Broc
Bride		Gaelic	Brighid, a hostage, pledge, or security
Bridge		Locality	raised over rivers
Bridges		Locality	raised over rivers
Bridgman		Gaelic	a builder of bridges
Brienne		Locality	meeting-place of the Brians or nobles
Brierly		French	bruyere, shrubs growing on commons and heaths
Briggs		Anglo-Saxon	brigg, a bridge
Brighton		Locality	bright town
Brill		Dutch	Bril, a neat city in tho Netherlands
Brimmer		Anglo-Saxon	Bremman, Breme, or Brim, to extend, to amplify to the utmost limits
Brinker		German	small farmer
Brinkerhoff		Dutch	Brengerhof, messenger of the court, or head messenger or carrier
Brion		Gaelic	Bri, dignity, honor, and an, diminutive of that to which it is annexed, belonging to it
Brisban		Cornish-British	brez or brys, a judgment, a trial at law, and ban, a hill, a mount
Brisbin		Cornish-British	brez or brys, a judgment, a trial at law, and ban, a hill, a mount
Bristed		Saxon	brihs, bright, pleasant, and stead, a place
Bristol		Gaelic-Welsh	bris, broken, and tull, tol, a hole, cleft or chasm
Bristow		Saxon	brihs, pleasant, bright, and stow, the same as stead, a place
Brittan			A native of Britain
Britte		Dutch	Brittainer
Britten			A native of Britain
Britton			A native of Britain
Brock		Saxon	Broc, a badger
Brocklesby			a small town in England
Brodie		Locality	a little ridge; a brow
Brodt		Locality	a town in Sclavonia
Brome			a sprig of the broom-plant as the symbol of humility
Bromfeld		Locality	The field abounding in broom
Bromley		Locality	brome or broom, and ley, a field or common
Bronson			son of Brown
Brooks		Locality	small river
Broome			a sprig of the broom-plant as the symbol of humility
Broster		Cornish-British	Greatness, majesty
Brotherson			nephew
Brougham		Locality	Burgham. The village on a hill; a borough town
Broughton		Locality	A town on the hill
Broussard		French	brush
Brower		Dutch	brewer
Brown		Scottish	complexion, color of hair or garments
Brownson			son of Brown
Bruce		Scottish-Norman	De Bruys; from Bruy or Bruys, a place in Normandy
Bruder		German	brother
Brun		French	brown
Brunner		Locality	a town of that name in Switzerland
Brunson			son of Brown
Brux		Locality	A town in England
Bruyere		French	A common or heath covered with shrubs
Bryan			Brian
Bryant		Gaelic	Bri, exalted, and ant, a termination, implying the being or state of that to which it is annexed
Bryce		Welsh	Ap Rhys, the son of Rhys or Rhees
Bryn		Welsh	A mountain
Buchan		Locality	A district of Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Buchanan		Locality	A parish in the shire of Sterling, Scotland
Bucher		French	A wood-house
Buchholz		German	beechwood
Buck			Buck
Buckbee		Locality	boc, a beech-tree, and by, a village
Buckhout		Dutch	beuk, a beech, and houdt, a wood
Buckingham		Saxon	Bucen, beechen, and ham, a village, from the abundance of beech-trees
Buckley		Locality	Bullock-ley, the bullock-field or pasture
Bucklin		Gaelic	Buic, a roe-buck, deer, and linne, a pool or lake
Buckmaster			one who had the care of herds of venison
Buckminster		Saxon	bucen, beechen, or bugan, to bend, a bow, a corner, round, and minster, a church, a monastery
Buckston		Saxon	boc, a beech-tree, and ton, a town
Budd		Welsh	Thrift, gain, riches, victory
Buddington		Locality	The flourishing town
Buel		Welsh	A herd of cattle
Bulkeley		Locality	Bullock-ley, the bullock-field or pasture
Bull			A well-known animal, powerful, fierce, and violent
Bullard			Having the disposition of a bull
Buller		Danish	Boler, a gallant
Bullions		Gaelic	Beul, the mouth, and Liane, the river
Bullock			A full-grown ox
Bun		Gaelic	Bunn, a hill
Bunnell		Locality	Bonhill, a parish in the county of Dumbarton, Scotland
Bunting			A kind of bird
Bunyan		Gaelic-Welsh	Bunan, a squat, short person
Burbeck		Dutch	Burh, a hill, and bek, a point, a beak
Burby		Saxon	Bur, a hill, and by, a house or village
Burd		Locality	A river in France
Burden		Saxon	Bour, a house and den, a valley
Burder			A bird-catcher
Burdett			A little bird, ett signifying young, small, tender
Burg		Teutonic	a hill, a fortification, tower, castle, house, city
Burger		German	townsman
Burgess			An inhabitant of a borough
Burgos		Locality	A city of Spain, in Old Castile
Burgoyne		Locality	Bourgogne, now Burgundy, an old province of France
Burke			De Burgo the fort, castle, hill, or city
Burlase		Cornish-British	The green summit or top
Burleigh		Saxon	Burh, is the same as burg, a city, castle, house, or tower; leigh, a low place, opposed to a place higher, the same as ley, a meadow, a pasture
Burnett		Scottish	French burnete, a diminutive of brun brown
Burnham		English	Bourn or Burn, signifies a river, and ham, a village or town
Burns		Scottish	a small stream
Burnside		Locality	Beside the brook or burn
Burr		Saxon	Burh, a wall, a fortress, a castle
Burrard		Dutch	Boer, a rustic, a farmer, and ard, nature, mode, kind
Burrell			borel lay clerks
Burt		Gaelic	quizzing, joking
Burtis		Welsh	Bwrdais, a burgess
Burton		Locality	the Bur-town, from the abundance of burs
Bushnell		Dutch	Bossen-hall, a faggot or wood-market, or a hall or mansion in the wood
Bushwell		Locality	Bushwild. From bush and well, wild, wold, a wood, a lawn, or plain
Busk		Swedish	Busche, a wood, a thicket
Buskirk		Dutch	Bos, a wood, and kerk, a church
Bussey		French	the town of Bussey, in the province of Burgundy, France
Butler			chief Butler of Ireland, the Earls of Ormond
Butman		Locality	the man who lives at the butt or boundary
Butts			Butts were marks for archery
Buxton		Saxon	boc, a beech, and ton
Byfield		Danish	The village in the field
Bygby		Danish	Barley-town
Byington		Saxon	Bying, a habitation, and ton, a hill or inclosure
Byron		French	De Biron, from the town of Biron, in the province of Guienne, France

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