Sifting through surnames that start with S? You’ve come to the right place. From the incredibly common “Smith” to rare gems hidden in family trees, S names cover a massive chunk of the alphabet’s real estate.
Whether you’re hunting for genealogy clues, writing a character, or just curious about origins, we’ve rounded up 250 options from around the world. Let’s dive into the history and meanings behind these names.
80 Traditional Last Names That Start With S
These heavy hitters are recognizable across the globe. From occupational roots to geographical ties, here are the S surnames you’ll see pop up most often.
- Saavedra – A Galician-Spanish surname meaning “old hall,” associated with Salavieja.
- Saenz – A patronymic Spanish and Basque surname meaning “son of Sancho” or “son of Santo.”
- Sajjad – Derived from the Arabic “masjid,” meaning “mosque,” combined with a person who worships in one.
- Salazar – Means “old hall” after the town of Salazar in Castile, Spain.
- Saleh – Means “pious” in Arabic and is a very popular first name for Muslim boys.
- Salvador – Given to “one from Salvador, Spain” or a “descendent of Salvador,” meaning “pious.”
- Samaras – A Greek surname meaning “saddler,” composed of “samari,” meaning “saddle,” and “-as,” for an occupation.
- Samuelson – A common English surname for a “son of Samuel,” also appearing as the Swedish Samuelsson.
- Sandberg – Made up of the Swedish “sand,” meaning “sand,” and “berg,” meaning “mountain” or “hill.”
- Sanders – Means “son of Alexander,” based on the Greek Alexandros, meaning “man’s defender.”
- Sandoval – Composed of the Latin “saltus,” meaning “grove,” and “novalis,” meaning “newly cleared land.”
- Sandström – Means “sandstream” in Swedish based on “sand,” meaning “sand,” and “ström,” meaning “river.”
- Santana – Taken from the town of Santa Ana, Spain, inspired by St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary.
- Santiago – Means “St. James,” after the saint buried in the Iberian Peninsula.
- Santos – From the Latin “sanctus,” meaning “holy,” ranked second in Portugal in 2014.
- Sarkar – An Indian title given to East Indian landlords from the Persian “sarkār,” meaning “chief.”
- Savage – From the French “sauvage,” meaning “untamed,” and the Latin “salvaticus,” meaning “man of the woods.”
- Sawyer – An Old English occupational surname for someone who saws wood or timber.
- Schaefer – Means “shepherd” and derives from the German Schaffer, meaning “bailiff.”
- Scherer – A German occupational surname for a “sheep-shearer,” from “scheren,” meaning “to shear.”
- Schmidt – A very common name meaning “blacksmith,” from the German “schmied.”
- Schumacher – A German and Jewish occupational name for a “shoemaker,” also used in Denmark and Sweden.
- Schwab – Denotes someone from Swabia and was used by Germans and Jews.
- Schwein – For someone working as a “swineherd,” from the German “swīn,” meaning “hog.”
- Scott – Based on the Middle English “scot,” meaning a “man from Scotland.”
- Sekh – Taken from the Arabic “shaikh,” a title for a “spiritual or religious leader.”
- Selassie – An Arabic surname and unisex name based in Ethiopia, meaning “trinity.”
- Shaan – Means “pride” in Sanskrit and is mostly used in Bangladesh.
- Shah – A Persian title for a “king” and an Indian occupational surname meaning “merchant.”
- Shariq – Most common in Pakistan, where it’s a Muslim name meaning “rising from the East.”
- Sharma – From the Sanskrit “ṣárman,” meaning “joyfulness” and “comfort,” also spelled Sarma.
- Shaw – An Irish surname from the Gaelic personal name Sithech, meaning “wolf.”
- Sheehan – An Anglo spelling of the Irish-Gaelic Ó’Síodhacháin, meaning “the peaceful one.”
- Sheikh – Popular among Bengali Muslims and based on the Arabic “shaykh,” meaning “elder.”
- Shelton – Composed of the Old English “scylf,” meaning “shelf,” and “tun,” meaning “settlement.”
- Shen – A Mandarin-Chinese surname meaning “prudent” used for Chinese last names beginning with S.
- Shepherd – An occupational surname from the Old English “sceap,” meaning “sheep” and “hierde,” for “herdsman.”
- Sheridan – Based on the Irish-Gaelic Ó’Sirideáin, meaning “descendant of Sirideáin.” meaning “to seek.”
- Sherman – Means “shearer” based on the Old English “scearra,” meaning “shears,” and “mann,” for “man.”
- Shi – One of the nine Sogdian surnames, ranked 63rd among Chinese surnames in 2013.
- Silva – A top Portuguese surname meaning “forest” or “woodland” in Latin.
- Silvestri – Means “descendant of Silvestro” in Italian, based on the Latin “silva,” meaning “wood.”
- Simmons – Comes from the Hebrew Simon/Shim’on, meaning “hearkening” or “listening.”
- Simon – First appeared as the Hebrew Simeon, meaning “one who harkens.”
- Simpson – Given to a “descendant of Simon” using the diminutive Sim.
- Sims – From Simme, a medieval version of Simon, meaning “he who hears” in Hebrew.
- Singer – Derives from the Middle English “singer(e),” meaning “cantor” or “reciter of verse.”
- Singh – Based on the Sanskrit “simha,” meaning “lion,” used by North Indian Hindus.
- Singleton – “From Lancashire, England” from the Old English “scingol,” meaning “shingle” and “tūn,” meaning farmstead.”
- Sizemore – Taken from the Old French “sis,” meaning “six,” and “mars,” meaning “marks.”
- Smirnov – Based on the Russian nickname “smirnyj,” meaning “quiet” and “peaceful.”
- Smith – The most common U.S. last name first given to a “blacksmith.”
- Snyder – A version of the German Schneider and Dutch Sneijder, meaning “tailor.”
- Söderberg – One of many Swedish last names that start with S, meaning “(south) hill.”
- Sorenson – A Danish variation of the Norse Sørensen based on the Danish Severin.
- Soroka – A unique 6-letter example of Slavic S last names meaning “magpie.”
- Sorrentino – Means “Sorrentinian” in Italian or “from Sorrento” in southern Italy.
- Sosa – Originally appeared as the Portuguese Sousa, a nickname meaning “seaweed.”
- Spangler – A German occupational name for a “maker of buckles,” meaning “plumber.”
- Spencer – Based on the Middle English “spenser,” referring to a “steward” working in a royal household.
- Spinelli – Dates back to Naples in 1094 and means “little fishbone” or “little thorn.”
- Spiva – Another form of the English Spivey, possibly a name for a “cantor.”
- Stanley – An Old English place name composed of “stān,” meaning “stone” and “lēah,” meaning “woodland clearing.”
- Stark – A nickname based on the Old English “strearc,” meaning “strong.”
- Stefka – A Czech and Slovak pet name for Štefan based on Stephen, meaning “crown.”
- Stein – Means “rock” in German for someone living on stony ground.
- Stepanov – A Russian and Serbian surname taken from Stepan, meaning “belonging to Stephen.”
- Stevens – For a “son or descendant of Stephen,” meaning “crown,” “wreath,” or “garland.”
- Stewart – A famous Scottish clan surname based on the Old English “stigweard,” meaning “household guardian.”
- Stockton – The name of many English towns, meaning “tree-stump settlement.”
- Stone – Derives from the Old English “stan,” meaning “stone” or “rock.”
- Stroud – Given to someone living near the marshy ground, taken from the Old English “strōd.”
- Stubbs – A town in Yorkshire from the Old English “stubb,” for somewhere full of tree stumps.
- Sullivan – An 8-letter version of the Gaelic Ó Súilleabháin, meaning “one-eyed” or “hawk-eyed.”
- Sultan – Taken from a Persian-Arabic title for a Muslim royal leader.
- Sun – Ranked 12th among 2019 Chinese surnames, inspired by the founders of the Zhou Dynasty.
- Sundberg – From the Swedish “sund,” meaning “strait” or “sound,” and “berg,” meaning “mountain” or “hill.”
- Sweeney – Based on the Gaelic MacSuibhne, meaning “son of Suibhne,” a first name meaning “well-disposed.”
- Swenson – Means “Sven’s son,” ranked 9th among Swedish surnames in 2021.
- Syed – Also an Arabic boy’s name meaning “king,” “mister,” or “noble one.”
80 Unique Last Names That Start With S
Looking for something a little less “Smith” and a little more distinct? These names offer unique flair and fascinating backstories that stand out from the crowd.
- Sabbatini – From the Italian “sabato,” meaning “Saturday,” and a plural form of Sabatino.
- Sachdeva – From the Sanskrit “satya,” meaning “true,” and “deva,” meaning “lord.”
- Sadberry – A geographical English surname based on Sadborow in Dorset or Sadbury Hill in Northumbria.
- Sager – An occupational name for a “sawyer” based on the German “sägen,” meaning “to saw.”
- Saint – From the Old French “sant,” meaning “saint” and a nickname for someone saintly.
- Sake – From the Japanese “sake,” meaning “rice wine,” the national beverage of Japan.
- Salgado – A Spanish nickname meaning “salty” for someone known for their “witt.”
- Salinas – Based on the Latin “salinae,” meaning “salt mine,” and place names in Central America.
- Salisbury – Originated as Searoburg, referring to the “fortress” at Old Sarum, England.
- Salmi – A Finnish surname from “salmi,” meaning “strait,” made official in the 19th- and 20th centuries.
- Sampson – Means “sun” in Hebrew and is a French surname based on several locations.
- Samuels – Made up of the Hebrew “śāmū,” meaning “has placed” and “Ēl,” meaning “God.”
- Sanborn – Taken from the Old English “sand,” meaning “sand,” and “burna,” meaning “spring stream.”
- Sanki – Also “Sanakī,” a Hindi name for a “crazy” or “whimsical” person.”
- Sape – For someone “living near a fir tree” from the Old English “sæppe.”
- Sasser – A German derivative of “sasse,” meaning “Saxon” based on a location.
- Sato – Means “helpful” or “wisteria” in Japanese as a title for “reliable assistants.”
- Sauda – A 5-letter surname, also a female name meaning “black” or “love” in Arabic.
- Sayre – A Welsh occupational surname for a “woodworker taken from the Welsh “sayhare.”
- Scanlon – An Anglo spelling for the patronymic Irish-Gaelic Ó’Scannláin, meaning “descendant of Scannlán.”
- Scheuvront – Appears as Cheuvront, a French Huguenot surname based on “chevron,” meaning “goat” or “rafter.”
- Schkade – From the German “schaden,” meaning “to do damage,” as a nickname for a clumsy person.
- Schoenhofer – Is composed of the German “schoen,” meaning “beautiful,” and “hofer,” meaning “farm.”
- Schulze – A Germanic medieval title for a “town mayor” taken from “schultheis.”
- Schweitzer – A German nickname for someone from Switzerland derived from the Middle German “swizer.”
- Sebesta – Means “descendant of Šebastián” in Czech-Slovakian, from the Latin “sebastos,” meaning “revered.”
- Secrease – An Americanized derivative for the German Siegrist, an occupational name meaning “churchwarden.”
- Semere – Also an African boy’s name meaning “farmer” or “it is done” in Eritrea.
- Senkowski – A Polish version of Sękowski for those from places called Sękowo.
- Shackleton – “From Shackleton,” based on the Old English “sceacol,” meaning “shackle,” and “tūn,” meaning “farmstead.”
- Sharkey – An Anglo spelling of the Gaelic Ó’Searcaigh, meaning “descendant of Searcach,” also meaning “beloved.”
- Shawhan – First used by the ancient Scottish Picts for someone with “wolf-like” qualities.
- Shedden – From the Scottish “s(c)hed,” meaning “piece of land” or “large field.”
- Shen – Is a Chinese location and a Mandarin surname meaning “prudent.”
- Sherrod – An English surname meaning “descendant of Scirheard or Sherwood,” meaning “bright” and “hard.”
- Shreves – One of the oldest surnames starting with S in Great Britain, meaning “sheriff.”
- Sifuentes – Also spelled Cifuentes, meaning “what an abundance of glorious fountains.”
- Silverblatt – An English spelling of the Jewish Silberblatt, meaning “silver leaf.”
- Simich – An Americanized form of the Serbo-Croatian surname Simić, meaning “descendant of Simo.”
- Simonich – Based on the Hebrew “Sim’on” and means “God has listened.”
- Simpkins – An Old English surname meaning “son of Simon” originating in Suffolk.
- Sjerven – Means “clearing in a forest” in Norwegian and is extremely rare worldwide.
- Skalnik – A Czech word meaning “rockrunner,” also known as an African warbler bird.
- Skibba – A Polish occupational name for a peasant from “skiba,” meaning “thin strip of land.”
- Skipwith – Derived from the Old English “sceap,” meaning “sheep,” and the Old Norse “vath,” meaning “fjord.”
- Skogman – Made up of the Swedish “skog,” meaning “grove,” “wood,” and “man.”
- Skrzypczak – An occupational name for a “fiddle player” from the Polish “skrzypieć,” meaning “to creak or groan.”
- Škubal – A Czech nickname based on “škubat,” meaning “to pluck feathers.”
- Skyy – Means “the sky” or “cloud” taken from Old Norse.
- Slagg – Refers to a “small valley” in Old English for a place “less steep.”
- Smykowski – Given to someone from Smyków, Poland, and also means “folk musician.”
- Snedeker – Means “carpenter” in Danish, associated with the German Schnittker, meaning “wood-carver.”
- Snook – From the Old English “snoc,” meaning “promontory,” for a “projecting piece of land.”
- Snowdon – A mountain name in Wales that also means “snow hill” in Old English.
- Sohail – A Muslim name taken from the Arabic “suhail,” meaning “the Canopus star.”
- Solorzano – Means “plot” in Spanish and derives from the Latin “solarium,” meaning “bottom” or “ground.”
- Somerled – Also related to the Irish boy’s name Somerley, meaning “summer sailors.”
- Spellman – An English variation of the German Spellmann, meaning “musician” or “minstrel.”
- Spires – From the Old English “spir,” a nickname for a “slender” man.”
- Sprengel – A nickname for a “lively” or “athletic” person from the Middle German “sprengel,” meaning “grasshopper.”
- Spruill – Someone “from Spreull” in Scotland; also means “one who walked in a jerky manner.”
- Stahlberg – Is composed of the Swedish “stål,” meaning “steel,” and “berg,” meaning “mountain.”
- Stalker – An English occupational name for a “stalker of game” or nickname for a “stealthy walker.”
- Stallworth – From the Old English “stæl-wyrpe” and a nickname for someone “stalwart” or “strong.”
- Stankovic – A patronymic Slavic surname for a “son of Stanko,” meaning “standing in glory.”
- Staten – Part of the original Dutch Van Staten, a nickname from “staat,” meaning “standing rank.”
- Stavropoulos – Means “son of Stavros” and uses the Greek patronymic suffix “-poulos,” meaning “nestling.”
- Stenz – A short form of the German Stanislav, meaning “son of Stenzel.”
- Stolt – A German nickname derived from “stoltz,” meaning “proud,” a variation of the Danish Stolte.
- Stoltzfus – Composed of the German “stoltz,” means “proud” and “fus” means “foot.”
- Stoneback – An Americanized spelling of the German Steinbeck or Swedish Stenbeck, meaning “stone stream.”
- Stoney – Given to those living near “rocky;” also means “stone rock island.”
- Storck – “From Storkhill” in Yorkshire, England, related to the Norse “stork,” meaning “dried up land.”
- Strauss – Is the current German word for “ostrich,” originating in medieval Frankfurt.
- Strawbridge – Composed of the Old English “stōw,” meaning “holy place,” and “brycg,” meaning “bridge.”
- Suh – Lesser known among 3-letter S last names and a Korean variation of Sŏ, meaning “slow.”
- Summers – Is based on the Gaelic Ó’Somacháin, meaning “descendant of Somachán.”
- Sundstrӧm – Among Swedish last names that start with S. “Sund” means “strait,” and “ström” means “river.”
- Swope – Given to someone living in Swabia, a medieval dukedom in southwestern Germany.
- Swords – Also a first name based on the Old Norse Sigvarthr, meaning “victory keeper.”
90 Weird Last Names That Start With S
Sometimes history has a sense of humor. These surnames might raise an eyebrow or two, ranging from the oddly specific to the downright quirky.
- Saap – A German and English surname from the Middle English “sap,” meaning “spruce tree.”
- Sabat – A Spanish-Catalan nickname for someone born on a Saturday (the “sabbath”).
- Sabbadin – Associated with the Italian “sabato,” meaning “Saturday,” also appearing as Sabbatino.
- Saccomanno – An occupational Italian surname for someone who transported army supplies or a knight’s personal servant.
- Sack – A German occupational surname for a maker of sacks or bags.
- Sackrider – From the German Sackreuter, a nickname for a “plunderer” based on the “sack,” meaning “bag.”
- Sacksteder – Given to someone from Sackstatt or Sackstedt, Germany, more common in France.
- Sakurai – Means “cherry blossom well” in Japanese and is found mainly in eastern Japan.
- Salata – Is an Italian derivative of “salare,” meaning “to salt,” given to someone living near salt water.
- Sallow – From the Middle English “salwe,” for a “sallow” or “willow” tree.
- Salt – An English nickname for a “salt seller” among many salt-based last names starting with S.
- Saltaformaggio – One of the strangest Italian surnames meaning “jump the cheese.”
- Samp – A derivative of the German Samm or the English Sampson.
- Sampey – A variation of Simper linked to the Scottish Isle of Samphrey in the Yell Sound.
- Sandemetrio – A Spanish surname for Saint Demetrio from the Latin Demetrius, meaning “follower of Demeter.”
- Santagata – Means “Saint Agatha,” also referred to as Agatha of Sicily.
- Santy – An Old English surname for someone “living near or at a hill, stream, or tree.”
- Šášek – A humorous Czech surname meaning everything from “clown” and “zany” to “buffoon.”
- Sause – Similar to “souse,” meaning “drunkard,” based on the Old French “saus,” meaning “willow.”
- Schlepp – A nickname for a German laborer from the High German “slēpen,” meaning “to drag or carry.”
- Schmuck – Means “jewelry” in German but also a good way to call someone a “fool.”
- Schuchard – Based on the High German “schuochwürhte,” an occupational name meaning “shoemaker.”
- Schulz – Is composed of the German “sculd,” meaning “debt,” and “heiz(z)an,” meaning “to command.”
- Schuring – A Dutch and German surname for someone “living near a barn or shed.”
- Schwall – From the Middle German “swal,” meaning “place where water collects,” such as a locke.
- Scovel – Dates back to Scovel, Normandy in France, during the 11th century.
- Scriven – An Old French title for a keeper of official trial records.
- Seehafer – Means “lakeside grasses” based on the Middle German “sē,” meaning “lake,” and “haver,” meaning “oats.”
- Segreto – An Italian nickname meaning “confidant” from the Latin “secretum,” meaning “hidden place.”
- Seisdedos – One of the strangest Spanish surnames meaning “a person with six fingers.”
- Sekerak – A Slovak and Czech occupational surname for an “axman,” from “sekera,” meaning “ax.”
- Selvaraj – Composed of the Indian “selva,” meaning “wealth,” and “rāj,” meaning “king.”
- Semler – Means “baker of white rolls,” based on the Yiddish “zeml,” meaning “white bread roll.”
- Serpico – From the Italian “serpe,” meaning “serpent” or “reptile,” and “from Sorbo Serpico.”
- Servopoulos – A Greek nickname meaning “descendant of a Serb” based on “servo,” meaning “Serbian.”
- Shakespeare – Made up of the Old English “schakken,” meaning “to brandish,” and “speer,” meaning “spear.”
- Shed – Means “dweller at the hovel,” based on the Old English “scydd,” meaning “shed.”
- Shek – A 4-letter Cantonese version of a Chinese surname meaning “one-hundred liters.”
- Sheline – An Americanized form of the German Schühlein, an occupational name for a “shoemaker.”
- Shellaberger – Given to those “from Schellenberg, Germany” and also appears as Shellenberger.
- Shuffield – An old place name for Sheffield, meaning “open land by the river Sheaf.”
- Shufflebottom – Also appears as Shovellbottom and Shoebottom to denote someone who lives “in a valley.”
- Silasbierhals – Means “beer-throat” in German as a nickname for a heavy drinker.
- Sillie – Derived from the Old English “saelig,” meaning “one who is happy and blessed.”
- Sillman – An Americanized version of the German Sillmann, given to someone living “on a ridge.”
- Sitko – A Polish surname that’s a diminutive of “sito,” meaning “fine sieve.”
- Sivertsen – A Norwegian and Danish patronymic name meaning “son of Sivert,” meaning “victory guardian.”
- Skehan – From the Gaelic MacSceacháin, meaning “descendant of Sceachán’,” from “sceach,” meaning “briar.”
- Skóra – An occupational surname for a “tanner,” derived from the Polish “skóra,” meaning “leather.”
- Slavík – Means “nightingale” in Czech and also appears as the feminine Slavíková.
- Sleeman – A nickname based on the Middle English “sle(i)gh,” meaning “sly,” “clever,” and “skillful.”
- Smalley – Made up of the Old English “smæl,” meaning “narrow,” and “lēah,” meaning “woodland clearing.”
- Smellie – A Scottish nickname based on the Old English “smile,” meaning “grin.”
- Smolak – A Slovenian-Croatian nickname from “smola,” meaning “resin” and “bad luck.”
- Snellen – Based on the Dutch “snel,” meaning “quick,” and a nickname for a “lively person.”
- Snowball – An English nickname for someone with a “white patch of hair” over a bald head.
- Soroka – A Russian/Ukrainian nickname using the Slavic word for a “magpie.”
- Sørpebøl – Is a Norwegian farmland, meaning “slush hole” or “slush abode.”
- Sotiropoulos – Based on the Greek first name Sōtērios, using the “-poulos” suffix, meaning “nestling chick.”
- Sotomayor – Means “place of the large trees” in Galicia, from the Latin “saltus,” meaning “forest pasture.”
- Spade – From the Middle German “späth,” meaning “late” and a nickname for a “tardy person.”
- Spartacus – Means “from the city of Sparta” and is known as the famous Roman slave.
- Speller – The most literal of 7-letter surnames starting with S that means “one who can spell.”
- Sporn – A German and Jewish nickname meaning “to spur,” given to spur-makers.
- Sprinkle – A diminutive of “spring” and a nickname given to a “lively young man.”
- Squatpump – An American surname used by film makeup artist Yolanda Squatpump.
- Squitieri – An Italian variation of Scuteri, meaning “shieldbearer,” from the Latin “scutum,” meaning “shield.”
- Sroufe – An Anglo spelling of the German Schroff, meaning “craggy (or rock) face.”
- Stahnke – A German nickname for the Slavic Stanislav, meaning “someone who achieves glory or fame.”
- Stanstill – An Old English variation of “stand still” for someone who doesn’t like fast movements.
- Stare – A Slavic derivative for “star,” meaning “old,” given to a senior citizen.
- Statum – For those living in an ancient English settlement called Statham, located in Cheshire.
- Steer – From the Middle German “stēr,” meaning “young bull” and a nickname for a heavy person.
- Stieglitz – Came to Germany from the Old Czech “stehlec,” meaning “goldfinch.”
- Stofko – A Slovak nickname for Christopher and a diminutive for “štof,” meaning “woolen cloth.”
- Stordahl – Means “big valley” among Norwegian last names starting with S, focused on farmsteads.
- Stover – Derives from the Middle German “stover,” meaning “bather” or “worker at a public bathhouse.”
- Streep – A Dutch word meaning “line” to indicate a “dividing line.”
- Stroker – A derivative of the Middle English “stroken,” meaning “to stroke,” “make smooth,” or “sharpen.”
- Stuteville – Based on the place name Estouteville or Etoutteville in Seine-Maritime, France.
- Suparman – An Arabic surname used in Indonesia included in mostly unknown last names starting with S.
- Supersad – Has unknown meaning but is mainly found in Trinidad and Tobago.
- Susegg – A Norwegian surname meaning “wind egg” made official in the 19th- and 20th centuries.
- Sutor – From the Old English “soutere” and the Old Norse “sutare,” meaning “shoemaker” or “cobbler.”
- Svinvik – Another funny Norwegian surname meaning “pig’s bay” with only 28 known occurrences in 2014.
- Swauger – A variation of the German Schwager, meaning “grieved” or “sad.”
- Swett – An old example of a surname starting with S from the Old English “swete,” meaning “sweet.”
- Swindells – “From Swindells orchard in Cheshire,” meaning “swine ditch” or “pig quarry.”
- Swonger – A form of the German Zwanger, an occupational name for a “maker of pliers.”
- Szczepanik – Means “descendant of little Szczepan,” the Polish form of Stephen, meaning “crown.”







