List of family name Prefixes
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IIFS (Retd.), Jaipur |
Family name Prefixes are a clue for family name etymology and can sometimes determine the ethnic origin of a person. This is a partial list of Prefixes.
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
- A- (Romanian) "son of"
- Ab- (Welsh, Breton) "son of"
- Antune- (Portuguese) "Anthony"
- Ap- (Welsh) "son of"
- Abu- (Arabic) "father of" (e.g.Abu Bekir), Also used in Hebrew prior to 1300 BCE
- Al- (Arabic for "the" in names, e.g. al-Shehri, al-Harezmi, al-Baghdadi)
- Alm- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "elm"
- Alt- (German) "old"
B
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- Bab- (Polish, Ukrainian, Slovak, Czech) "woman" especially "old woman"
- Bäck- (Swedish) "brook"
- Bar- (Hebrew) "son of"
- Bath, bat- (Hebrew) "daughter of"
- Beau- (French) "beautiful", step-(son, father), alternative spelling for Bau-
- Beck- (Swedish) "brook" (archaic spelling)
- Ben- (Arabic and Hebrew,) "son of"
- Berg- (German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "mountain", "hill"
- Bet- (Arabic from "Beyt") "house of"
- Bin- (Arabic) "son of" [Also used in Hebrew prior to 1300 BCE]
- Bint- (Arabic) "daughter of"
- Birch- (English) "birch tree"
- Björk- (Swedish), bjørk- (Norwegian, Danish) "birch tree"
- Björn- (Swedish), bjørn- (Danish, Norwegian) "bear"
- Bjur- (Swedish) "beaver" (poetic / dialectal)
C
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D
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- Da- (Italian) "from, of"; (Portuguese) "from the". Here the is a feminine singular object.
- Dahl-, Dal- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "valley"
- De- (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese) "of"; indicates region of origin, often a sign of nobility; in Spanish-speaking countries a married woman will sometimes append her name with "de XXXX" where "XXXX" is her husband's last name; (Dutch) "the"
- Degli- (Italian) "of the". Here the is a masculine plural object starting with either 'sp', 'sc', 'ps', 'z', 'gn' or 'st'.
- Dele-, Del- Southern French and Occitan, equivalent of Du-
- Della- (Italian) "of the". Here the is a feminine singular object.
- Der- (Western Armenian) "son/daughter of a priest"; (German) "the" (masculine nominative), "of the" (feminine genitive)
- Di- (Italian, Spanish) "son of"
- Dos- (Portuguese) "from the, of the". Here the is a masculine plurar object.
- Du- (French) "of the". Here, 'the' is a masculine object, as 'de la' would be feminine and 'des' would be plural.
E
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- E- (Portuguese) "and", used before last surname (Maria Eduarda de Canto e Mello)
- Ek- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "oak"
- El- (Arabic for "the" in names and also in Spanish) "the"
- Escob- (Spanish) "broom"
- Esch- (Dutch, German) "ash"
F
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- Fleisch- (German) "meat"
- Fitz- (Irish, from Norman French) "son of", from Latin "filius", "son" (mistakenly thought to mean illegitimate son based on its use for certain illegitimate sons of English kings)
- Fors- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "rapids"
G
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- Gott- (German) "God"
- Griff- (Welsh, English) "griffin"
H
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- Haj- or Hadj- or Hajj- (Arabic: حاج}}) "pilgrim to Mecca"
- Haug- (Norwegian) "hill" or "mound"
- Holm- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "island"
I
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J
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K
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- Kauf- (German) "trade" or "barter"
- Kil- (English, Irish, Scottish) "son of" "servant of" or "devotee of"
- Koop- (Dutch) "trade" or "barter"
- Kvarn- (Swedish) "mill"
L
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- La- (Italian, French, Spanish) for "the", feminine
- Le- (Northern French) for "the", masculine
- Lind- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "linden"
- Lönn- (Swedish), Lønn- (Danish, Norwegian) "maple"
- Lund- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "grove"
M
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- Mac/Mhic/Mic- (Irish, Scottish and Manx Gaelic) "son," cognate of English fitz (Mic' is plural; Mhic is genitive); Anglicised Mac, Mc, and (rarely) M; 'Mc' is sometimes written Mc (with a superscript 'c'). Contrary to popular belief, all three English forms of the prefix are used in English translations of Irish and Scottish surnames (e.g. Mac na Mhara > McNamara; Mac Aoidh > McKay).
- Mir- (Persian, Azeri, short form of the Arabic word Amir امیر) "commander", "prince"
N
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- Na- ณ (Thai) "at"
- Naka- 中 (Japanese) "middle"
- Neder- (Swedish) "lower", "under"
- Nic-, Ni- (Irish, Scottish) "daughter of"
- Nin- (Serbian)
- Nord-, Norr- (German, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "north"
- Ny- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "new"
O
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- O/Ua/Ui'- (Irish, Scottish and Manx Gaelic) "grandson of", "descendant of"
- Öfver- (Swedish) "upper", "over" (archaic spelling)
- Ost- (German), öst-, öster- (Swedish), øst- (Danish, Norwegian) "east"
- Över- (Swedish) "upper", "over" Also has a Turkish meaning "praiser"
- Öz - (Turkish) "pure"
P
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Q
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- Quarn- (Swedish) "mill" (archaic spelling)
R
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S
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- Skog-, Skoog- (Danish, Norwegian, Swedish) "forest"
- Sten- (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian) "stone"
- Stor- (Swedish) "large"
- Ström- (SSwedish), Strøm- (Danish, Norwegian) "stream"
- Söder- (Swedish) "south"
T
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- Ter- (Dutch) "at the"
- Ter- (Eastern Armenian) "son/daughter of a Priest"
- Tre- (Cornish) "farm of"
- Türk- (Turkish) "Turkish" (e.g. Türkkaya, Türköne, Türker)
U
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V
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- Van- (Dutch) "of"
- Väst-, Väster- (Swedish) "west"
- Vest- (Danish, Norwegian) "west"
- Von- (German) "of"; a sign of nobility.
W
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X
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Y
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Z
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See also
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