- OccupationalEnglishAbbott
Meaning: Worked for an abbot, or a nickname
- OccupationalEnglishMarshall
Meaning: Groom who tended horses
- OccupationalEnglishCarter
Meaning: Drove a cart
- OccupationalEnglishCooper
Meaning: Made barrels
- LocationalEnglishSutton
Meaning: From a British place name (-ton: farmstead or settlement)
- LocationalEnglishLangley
Meaning: From Langley (long clearing)
- OccupationalEnglishMercer
Meaning: Dealer in fine cloth
- OccupationalEnglishKnight
Meaning: Knight or soldier
- LocationalEnglishWakefield
Meaning: From Wakefield, Yorkshire
- LocationalEnglishNewton
Meaning: From a British place name (-ton: farmstead or settlement)
- TopographicEnglishHolmes
Meaning: Lived on a river islet
- PatronymicEnglishDixon
Meaning: Son of Dick
- PatronymicEnglishRichardson
Meaning: Son of Richard
- OccupationalEnglishBarnes
Meaning: Worked at or lived by a barn
- PatronymicEnglishSimpson
Meaning: Son of Sim (Simon)
- DescriptiveEnglishSharp
Meaning: Quick, sharp
- OccupationalEnglishMills
Meaning: Worked at or lived by a mill
- LocationalEnglishHorton
Meaning: From a British place name (-ton: farmstead or settlement)
- LocationalEnglishHartley
Meaning: From Hartley, "stag clearing"
- OccupationalEnglishFowler
Meaning: Bird catcher
Tap a name card for details. Real surnames, counts and ethnicity shares: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census surname file. First names: 2020 Census first-name file. Other origins: open surname lists for each country, checked by hand. Fantasy names are invented by this tool.
A British last name generator with four nations
The English chip is selected for you. Tap Scottish, Welsh or Irish to switch to surnames from those countries, or United States to see how the same names rank in America. Add a first name with Gender preference, and save the ones you like.
How English surnames were formed
Many English last names come from places, and their endings still show it. These come from Old English place-name words:
- -ton: a farm or settlement, as in Ashton and Clifton.
- -ley: a clearing in a wood, as in Ashley and Bradley.
- -ford: a river crossing, as in Ashford and Bradford.
- -worth: an enclosure, as in Ainsworth and Ashworth.
Others came from jobs (Smith, Fletcher, Thatcher), from a father’s name (Johnson, Dawson) or from nicknames (Brown, Young). For more names in this style, see the elegant group on our good last names page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common English last name?
Smith is the most common surname in England and in the United States.
What’s the difference between English and British surnames?
British covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each has its own naming traditions: Scottish Mac and Mc names, Welsh names like Jones and Evans that come from fathers’ first names, and so on. The chips let you pick each one.
Can I get old English last names?
Place-name surnames ending in -ton, -ley, -ford and -worth are among the oldest. Generate a batch and look for those endings, or browse the American last name generator, since many old English names are common in the US.