200+ Uncommon Last Names 2026 (With Meanings)

Uncommon last names: Choosing a last name can often be both a reflection of family history and cultural heritage and even an indication of personal identity.

While common last names such as Smith, Johnson, and Garcia are popularized, some stand as reminders of their rarities and unique origins.

Whether coming from an ancient profession, geographical location, or linguistic progression, they may hold great stories regarding their meaning.

With this article, we’ll look into different edges of these unique last names—their beauty, meaning, and essence.

If you want something unique or are just curious about rare surnames, stay tuned!

Uncommon last names

Acker – German origin, meaning “field” or “plowman.”

Almond – English, derived from the almond tree or “noble protector.”

Bancroft – English, meaning “bean field” or “field near a slope.”

Beauchamp – French, meaning “beautiful field.”

Blackwood – Scottish, referring to someone from a dark forest.

Braddock – English, meaning “broad oak.”

Calvert – English, meaning “herdsman” or “cowherd.”

Carrington – English, meaning “settlement of the people of Cara.”

Chadwick – Old English, meaning “village of Chad.”

Colburn – English, meaning “cold stream.”

Crispin – Latin, meaning “curly-haired.”

Dalloway – English, meaning “assembly place in the valley.”

Deveraux – French, meaning “from Evreux” (a region in France).

Drummond – Scottish, referring to someone from a ridge or high ground.

Eldridge – Old English, meaning “wise ruler.”

Ellsworth – English, meaning “noble estate.”

Fairchild – Old English, meaning “beautiful child.”

Farnsworth – English, meaning “fern-covered estate.”

Fenwick – English, meaning “farm near a marsh.”

Galbraith – Scottish, meaning “foreign Briton” (a reference to settlers from Britain in Scotland).

Garrick – French/Old German, meaning “spear ruler.”

Godwin – Old English, meaning “God’s friend.”

Griswold – Old English, meaning “gray forest.”

Hathaway – English, meaning “path across a heath.”

Holloway – English, meaning “sunken road” or “hollow path.”

Inglewood – English, meaning “wood of the English people.”

Jardine – French, meaning “gardener” or “enclosed garden.”

Kensington – English, meaning “town of Cynsige’s people.”

Kingswell – English, meaning “king’s spring or well.”

Loxley – Old English, meaning “woodland clearing of Locc.”

Merrick – Welsh, meaning “ruler of the sea.”

Montague – French, meaning “pointed mountain.”

Nethercott – English, meaning “cottage in the lower valley.”

Norcross – English, meaning “northern cross” or “crossing in the north.”

Ormsby – Old Norse, meaning “village of Ormr” (a personal name meaning serpent or dragon).

Pemberton – English, meaning “town on a hill.”

Quinlan – Irish, meaning “descendant of Caoinlean” (meaning slender or graceful).

Radcliffe – Old English, meaning “red cliff” or “red slope.”

Renshaw – English, meaning “raven’s wood.”

Sherbourne – English, meaning “bright stream.”

Thackery – English, meaning “roof thatcher.”

Tolliver – English, derived from the French “Talavera,” meaning “fertile land.”

Upton – Old English, meaning “upper town.”

Vanderbilt – Dutch, meaning “from the hill.”

Wainwright – English, meaning “wagon maker.”

Westcott – English, meaning “western cottage.”

Yarborough – Old English, meaning “fortified town near a river.”

Zeller – German, meaning “cellar dweller” or “one who lives near a monastery.”

Zephyr – Greek, meaning “west wind.”

Winslow – English, meaning “hill belonging to Wine’s people.”

Abernathy – Scottish, meaning “mouth of the river Nethy.”

Ainsworth – English, meaning “enclosure by the oak trees.”

Ashford – Old English, meaning “ford near the ash trees.”

Bellerose – French, meaning “beautiful rose.”

Blaylock – Scottish, meaning “dark-haired person.”

Bramwell – Old English, meaning “broom-covered well or spring.”

Carroway – English, possibly linked to the spice caraway or meaning “narrow waterway.”

Chilton – Old English, meaning “farm near a steep hill.”

Clifton – Old English, meaning “settlement by a cliff.”

Cuthbert – Old English, meaning “famous and bright.”

Davenport – Old English, meaning “port where deer are found.”

Delacroix – French, meaning “of the cross.”

Driscoll – Irish, meaning “descendant of the messenger.”

Eastwood – Old English, meaning “wood to the east.”

Everhart – German, meaning “strong as a wild boar.”

Fitzhugh – Norman, meaning “son of Hugh.”

Frobisher – English, meaning “maker of grain sieves.”

Gainsborough – English, meaning “fortified town of Gaini’s people.”

Greenleaf – Old English, meaning “one who lived near lush green foliage.”

Hargrove – Old English, meaning “a grove near the boundary.”

Hollingsworth – Old English, meaning “woodland near a hollow.”

Imlay – Scottish, meaning “from the meadow by the river.”

Jesselton – English, meaning “town of Jesse’s people.”

Keighley – Old English, meaning “field of Cyhha’s people.”

Larkspur – English, derived from the name of a flower.

Lovelace – Old French, meaning “wolf’s den” or “playful wolf.”

Mansfield – Old English, meaning “field by the river.”

Middleton – Old English, meaning “settlement in the middle of two places.”

Norwood – Old English, meaning “northern wood.”

Oakley – Old English, meaning “oak tree clearing.”

Pendleton – English, meaning “hill near a bend in the river.”

Quimby – Scandinavian, meaning “woman’s settlement.”

Redgrave – English, meaning “red-colored grove or thicket.”

Rowntree – Old English, meaning “one who lived near a rowan tree.”

Silverton – English, meaning “estate with silver mines.”

Thornfield – Old English, meaning “field of thorny bushes.”

Underwood – Old English, meaning “one who lived beneath the forest.”

Vauxhall – Old French, meaning “hall of Falkes.”

Wakefield – Old English, meaning “field where wakes (festivals) were held.”

Winterbourne – Old English, meaning “winter stream.”

Xanderly – Possibly Greek, meaning “defender of mankind.”

Yewdale – English, meaning “valley of yew trees.”

Zeigler – German, meaning “brickmaker.”

Beaumont – French, meaning “beautiful mountain.”

Chesterfield – Old English, meaning “open land near a Roman fort.”

Dunmore – Scottish, meaning “fort on a hill.”

Elmwood – English, meaning “forest of elm trees.”

Foxworth – Old English, meaning “enclosure of foxes.”

Henshaw – Old English, meaning “marshy land with wild birds.”

Wycliffe – Old English, meaning “white cliff.”

Abernathy – from the mouth of the river (place name)

Ackerly – field by the oak trees

Ainsworth – estate associated with Ains

Alcott – old cottage settlement

Amory – brave or powerful

Ansel – God’s protection

Arledge – clearing near the wood

Ashbourne – ash trees by the stream

Atwater – dweller by the water

Autry – prosperous path

Balcombe – valley with trees

Bancroft – hillside with a stream

Barclay – birch wood clearing

Beaumont – beautiful hill

Belgrave – fair grove

Beresford – ford of the birch trees

Blackwood – dark forest

Booker – bookkeeper

Bouldin – bold settlement

Brackenridge – fern-covered ridge

Breckenridge – broken ridge

Briarwood – thorny forest

Bridger – one who builds bridges

Bronte – thunder (powerful)

Buckminster – town with buck deer

Calhoun – narrow river bend

Camberly – crooked hill meadow

Carmichael – servant of Michael

Carston – rock settlement

Carteret – cart path

Chancellor – steward or official

Chesterton – town of the fortress

Clemence – merciful or gentle

Cleveland – settlement by cliffs

Cliffwood – cliffside forest

Coltrane – from the valley town

Corbett – little crow

Courtenay – short courtyard

Coventry – town in the hollow

Creswell – spring by the water

Crossley – cleared cross meadow

Davenport – market town

Darlington – settlement of Darl

Darnell – wild goose herb

Deveraux – riverbank dweller

Dryden – fertile valley

Devlin – little poet

Donovan – dark warrior

Doveridge – hillside crossing

Edgecombe – edge of the valley

Failsworth – fallow farm estate

Fenwick – marsh by the stream

Fenton – marsh town

Fletcher – arrow maker

Forrester – guardian of the forest

Frasier – forest of ashes

Galbraith – foreign dwellers

Garrick – spear ruler

Glynn – valley dweller

Halifax – holy existence

Hambleton – town with hams

Hardwick – herd farm

Harrington – garrison town

Hartwood – deer forest

Hawthorne – thorny hedge

Hemsley – hidden meadow

Hollingsworth – holly grove

Hovenden – high valley

Ingram – divine raven

Kendrick – royal ruler

Kingswell – well of the king

Lancaster – Roman fort by the Lune

Langston – long stone settlement

Larkspur – flower field

Latham – land abstraction

Lockridge – ridge enclosure

Loxley – clearing near woods

Maclean – son of the servant

Marlowe – hill by the lake

Montgomery – mountain of strength

Mortimer – still water

Navarro – from the plain

Oakleaf – leaf of the oak

Ormsby – home of the serpent

Radcliffe – red cliff

Ravenwood – wood of ravens

Redmond – wise protector

Ridgeway – path along the ridge

Roswell – spring in the woods

Salisbury – fortress with willow

Sheldon – steep valley

Sherborne – bright stream

Somerset – summer people

Standish – stony place

Stocks – market stocks

Stratford – shallow river crossing

Tolliver – town by the ford

Upton – upper town

Vanderbilt – from the valley of the waltz

Wellington – settlement of the well

Windermere – lake with breezes