List of family name affixes
Family name affixes are a clue for surname etymology and can sometimes determine the ethnic origin of a person. This is a partial list of affixes.
Prefixes
- A – "son of"
- Ab – "son of"
- Af –, Av "of"
- Ap – "son of"
- Abu – "father of"; also used in Hebrew prior to 1300 BC
- Aït – "of"
- Al – "the"
- Ālam – "world"
- Aust, Austre – "east", "estern"
- Bar – "son of"
- Bath, bat – "daughter of"
- Ben, bin, ibn – "son of"
- Bet – "house of"
- Bint – "daughter of"; Binti, Binte
- Da – "from", "of"; "from the"
- Das – "from the", "of the", preceding a feminine plural noun
- De – "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; "the"
- Degli – "of the", preceding a masculine plural noun starting with either sp, sc, ps, z, gn, or st.
- Dele, Del – Southern French, Filipino, and Occitan, equivalent of Du
- Della – "of the", preceding a feminine singular noun
- Der – "son/daughter of a priest"; "the", "of the"
- Di – "son of"
- Dos – "from the, of the", preceding a masculine plural noun
- Du – "of the", preceding a masculine singular noun
- E – "and", between surnames
- El – "the"
- Fetch, Vetch – "daughter of"
- Fitz – "son of", from Latin "filius" meaning "son"
- i – "and", always in lowercase, used to identify both surnames
- Kil, Gil – "son of", "servant of", "devotee of"
- La – "the", feminine singular
- Le – "the", masculine singular
- Lille – "small", "little"
- Lu – "Master"
- M'/Mac/Mc/Mck/Mhic/Mic – "son". Both Mac and Mc are sometimes written Mac and Mc. In some names, Mc is pronounced Mac.
- Mala – "House of"
- Mellom, Myljom – "between"
- Na – ณ "at"
- Ned, Nedre – "low", "lower"
- Neder – "lower", "under"
- Nic, Ni – "daughter of", from Irish "iníon" meaning "daughter"
- Nin –
- Nord, Norr –, Nord, Nordre "north", "northern"
- Ny – "new"
- O/Ua/Ui' – "son of", "grandson of", "descendant of"
- Opp, Upp – "up"
- Öfver – "upper", "over"
- Ost, Öst, Öster, Øst, Øst, Østre – "east", "eastern"
- Över – "upper", "over"
- Øvste, Øvre, Øver – "upper"
- Öz – "pure"
- Pour – "son of"
- Putra – "son of"
- Putri – "daughter of"
- Setia – "loyal to"
- Stor – "large"
- Söder –, Sør, Sønder, Sør, Syd, Søndre, Syndre, Søre, "south", "southern"
- Ter – "at the"
- Ter – "son/daughter of a Priest"
- Tre – "farm of"
- Van – "of", "from"
- Väst, Väster – "west"
- Verch, Erch – "daughter of"
- Vest – Vest, Vestre "west", "western"
- Vesle, Vetle – "small", "little"
- von – "of", "from"; a sign of nobility.
- zu - "at"; a sign of nobility, sometimes in the combination von und zu
Suffixes
- -a, -ya Kurdish means "of"
- -à
- -ac
- -ach
- * -acz
- -aei for words that end in the long vowel A
- -ago
- -aitis "son of"
- * -aitė signifies an unmarried female
- ** -aty Americanized form
- -aj It denotes the name of the family, which mostly comes from the male founder of the family, but also from a place, as in, Lash-aj. It is likely that its ancient form, still found in MM, was an in front of the last name, as in ‘Déda i Lékajve’ . For ease of use, the in front of the last name, and the ending _ve, were dropped. If the last name ends in , then removing the would give the name of the patriarch or the place, as in, Grudaj - j = Gruda. Otherwise, removing the whole ending yields the name of founder or place of origin, as in Lekaj - aj = Lek. Since the names are found most commonly in Malsi e Madhe and Labëri, it is likely that this linguistic feature is very old. It must have been lost as a result of foreign influences brought into Albania by the invaders.
- -ak See -ák for its Slovak meaning.
- * -ák In Slovak, -ák means "pertaining to" or merely creates a noun, and its two other versions are -iak and -ak.
- -al denotes for village of origin
- -an
- -an
- -án
- -and
- -ange from Germanic -ing
- -ano feminine -ana "of or from "; from Latin -ānus, -āna
- -anu
- -appa Kodava people Coorgi ethnic minority
- -ár
- -ář
- -arz
- -au equivalent to Russian -ov
- -auskas/-iauskas
- -awan
- -ba "male"
- -berg "mountain"
- -by or bee of Danish origin
- -chi, -çı, -çi, cı, -ci attributed to a geographic location or performing a certain job
- -chian attributed to or performing a certain job
- -chek, -chik, -chyk, -chuk diminutive
- * -czek, -czyk, -czuk, -czak
- * -ček, -čík
- * -ćek, -cek
- -ckas Lithuanianized version of the Polish and Belarusian -cki
- -cki variant of -ski
- * -cka Feminine equivalent of -cki
- -ckis Latvianized version of the Polish and Belarusian -cki
- -cký
- * -cká Feminine equivalent of -cký
- -čki
- -cock, -cox "little"
- -datter "daughter "
- -din
- -dotter "daughter "
- -dóttir "daughter " of not a family name but part of the Icelandic last name where
- -dze "son of"
- -dzki variant of -ski, -cki
- -é
- -ê, -yê means "of"
- -eanu
- -eau, -eault diminutive suffix
- -ec,
- * -avec
- -ee
- -eff obsolete, copied from German transliteration of -ev
- -eiro
- -ek diminutive
- -ell
- -el
- -ema
- -ems
- -ėnas "son of"
- -enko, -enka/-anka "son of"
- * -chenko, -chenka/-chanka
- -ens
- -ent
- -enya
- -er
- -ero
- -ers
- -es "son of" in Portuguese
- -ese plural -esi "of or from "; from Latin -ēnsis
- -escu "son of"
- -ești possessive plural, also used in place names
- -et
- -ets
- -eu equivalent to Russian -ev
- -ev possessive
- * -eva Feminine equivalent of -ev
- -evski possessive
- * -evska Feminine equivalent of -evski
- -ez including Spanish-speaking countries "son of"; in Picard, old spelling for -et
- -ëz for feminine; a word refer to something smaller, either literally or figuratively as in a form of endearment
- -fia, -fi, -fy, -ffy "descendant of"
- -fleth, -felth, -fleet current, body of water
- -gil,
- -i in most surnames, plural
- -i "of", "from" indicates region of origin, sign of nobility. Like German Von.
- -i "descendant of", "attributed to" or, "from"
- -ia
- -ian, -yan, -jian, -gian, -ents, -ants, -unts, -uni "son/daughter of"
- -iak "descendant of". In Slovak, -iak is a version of -ák/-ak and means "pertaining to" or merely creates a noun.
- -ic, misspelling for Breton -ig, diminutive
- -ich , -ych "son of"
- * -icz "son of"
- * -ic "son of"
- ** -owic/-ewic
- ** -ovic
- ** -ojc/-ejc, -ojic/-ejic
- ** -yc
- -ić diminutive possessive, little son of
- * -begović diminutive possessive of a beg, i.e. chieftain's or chief's little son
- * -ici Romanian of Slavic origin
- -ič diminutive, "son of"
- -ičius Lithuanianized version of the Belarusian -ich and Polish -icz
- * -avičius/-evičius Lithuanianized version of the Belarusian -ovich/-evich and Polish -owicz/-ewicz
- -ičs Latvianized version of the Belarusian -ich and Polish -icz
- * -ovičs/-evičs Latvianized version of the Belarusian -ovich/-evich and Polish -owicz/-ewicz
- -ides, -idis, -idas, "son of"
- -ier
- -ik It merely creates a noun in Slovak where -ik is a version of -ík, can be endearment, diminutive, have other meanings.
- * -ík It merely creates a noun and can also be endearment, diminutive, have other meanings; its other Slovak version is -ik.
- -ik if it follows a tree name, has a meaning "grove"
- -ikh, -ykh
- -in possessive
- * -ina
- * -yn possessive
- -in diminutive
- -in suffix attached to old Germanic female surnames
- -ing, ink "descendant"
- -ino
- -ipa "son of"
- -ipha "girl of"
- -is
- * -ienė female version
- * -ytė unmarried female version
- -ishin, -yshyn possessive
- * -ishina, -yshyna
- -iu
- -ius "son of"
- -iv possessive Galician form, introduced in late 19th century by Austrian authorities. Like -ov or -ev.
- -j "old"
- -ka diminutive
- -kan, -ken
- -ke, In surnames of Slavic origin. Like Ukrainian -ko
- -kin, -kins, -ken "little"
- -kin "little"
- -ko
d iminutive - -ko - diminutive, “child”, “descendant”
- -ko "son" ĸъо
- -kus
- -kvist, -qvist "twig"
- -kyzy "daughter of"
- -kyzy "daughter of"
- -le, -lein "small"
- -li, -lı, -lu, -lü "from"
- -li
- -lin in Germanic names "small"
- -litz
- -man
- -mand owning or showing
- -maz "does not"
- -men, -man flipping suffix, "person", "male person", have other meanings
- -ment from Germanic “man”
- -nė, -te /female/
- -nen diminutive, "from"
- -nik attributed to occupation
- -nova, -novas "new"
- -novo "new"
- -ný adjective
- -ny adjective
- -nezhad, -nejad, -nejhad "descendant of"
- -nyi
- -off obsolete, copied from French transliteration of -ov, based on Muscovite pronunciation
- -oğlu "son of"
- -ok
- -ois, -oy, -ais, -ay from Germanic -isk and Vulgar Latin -ese
- -on, former subject case in masculine names
- -onak
- -onis "son of"
- -os like Latin -us from Latin -us
- * -opoulos, -opulos
- -osz, -oš
- -ot "little"
- -ou, various origins
- -ou "daughter of"
- -ou equivalent to Russian -ov
- -ouf, French spelling of North African names
- -oui, French spelling of North African names, English spelling -wi
- -ous
- -ov possessive
- * -ova Feminine equivalent of -ov
- -ová suffix attached to most Czech and Slovak female surnames
- -ovo
- -ovski possessive
- * -ovska Feminine equivalent of -ovski
- -ow
- -pour, -poor "son of"
- -putra "son"
- -putri "daughter"
- -quin, from Dutch -kin "little"
- -s " of". Sometimes less recognizable, like in "Hendrickx"
- -sen or -zen "son "
- * -ssen "son "
- * -ssens or -sens "grandson/granddaughter of". Literally " of the son of"
- -shvili "child"
- -skas Lithuanianized version of the Polish and Belarusian -ski
- -ski, "originating from", "estate of"
- * -ska Feminine equivalent of -ski
- -skiy/-tskiy, -skyi/-tskyi
- * -ivskiy, -ivskyi
- -skoy/-tskoy
- -sky/-tsky
- * -skaya/-tskaya Feminine equivalent of -sky/-tsky
- * -ivsky
- -ský "originating from", "lord of"
- * -ská Feminine equivalent of -ský
- -skis Latvianized version of the Polish and Belarusian -ski
- -sma "son of"
- -son "son " last name, where
- * -sson "son "
- -son, diminutive
- -stad "town"
- -stein "stone"
- -strom, -strøm, -ström from 'current', probably an arbitrarily adopted ornamental name but possibly a topographic name for someone who lived by a river.
- -tæ "belong to"
- -tabar "descendant of"
- -tzki, -tzky – phonetic Germanized spelling of original Polish -cki
- -uk diminutive
- -ulea "son of"
- -ulis
- -uly "son of"
- -ūnas "son of"
- -uulu "son of"
- -vich "son of"
- * -vych
- * -wicz, -wic
- * -vić
- * -vič, -vic
- * -vici
- * -vics
- * -vitz, -witz, -witch, -witsch
- -vičius Lithuanianized version of the Belarusian -vich and Polish -wicz
- * -vičiutė signifies an unmarried female
- -vičs Latvianized version of the Belarusian -vich and Polish –wicz
- -wala denotes the occupation or place of origin
- -wan denotes a male name
- -wati denotes a female name
- -wi "from"
- -y Means descendant of.
- -y
- -ycz
- -yk
- -ynas "son of"
- -ys representing i. the archaic plural form, or ii. a diminutive form. Variant forms not limited to -yss, -is, -es. Pronunciation is as modern plural suffix -s; i.e. Sandys = sands; Foulis = fowls.
- -ysz
- -za "born of"
- -zadeh, -zada, -zai "son of", "descendant of"
- -zadegan plural form of zadeh