Discover the meaning and history behind your last name Your last name gives you a sense of identity and helps you discover who you are and where you come from. The following list of the most commonly occurring surnames in America includes details on each name's origin and meaning. 59. Browse through name meaning, rankings, other people's comments, ratings, and other statistics in addition to the name meanings. Depending on the culture, all members of a family unit may have identical surnames or … 60.

Hiraoka: This Japanese surname is found in western Japan and the Ryukyu Islands. In the case of nobility, surnames were often taken from the names of familial estates. A surname, family name, or last name is the portion (in some cultures) of a personal name that indicates a person's family (or tribe or community, depending on the culture). Many began as nicknames. Most people have some idea of their name meaning or where their name came from. In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata this is the name of King Sagara's second wife, who bore him 60,000 children. Hashimoto: This surname means ‘one who lives near the bridge’, and is one of the common Japanese last names.

It's interesting to note, that since 1990 , the only other time this surname report has been compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, three Hispanic surnames —Garcia, Rodriguez, and Menendez—have risen into the top 10. This name is used as both the first and the last name.
Ai Hashimoto (model and actress) is a famous name bearer.

Enter your last name to learn its meaning and origin. Means "wise, good mind", derived from Sanskrit सु meaning "good" and मति meaning "mind, thought". Surnames derived from a father's name are common, particularly in societies that were less developed when they adopted surnames.

It means ‘spring season tree’.
This site has been set up as a free etymology and onomastics resource to look up the history and meaning of names. Learn more.

Early last names fall into a few major categories of origin. Thus John 'the tailor', who was son of Peter 'the Bald' and grandson of Henry 'of the green' passed his distinguishing name (Tailor) to his children, even though none of them may have been tailors. For instance, some names are derived from the homestead where the first bearer of that name and his family lived.

Toponymic last names are typically derived from a geographical or topographical location. last name definition: 1. your family name, that you use in formal situations or with people you do not know well 2. your….