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Family name affixes are a clue for family name etymology and determining ethnic origin of a person. This is a partial list of affixes.

• -a- (Frisian) "One of the good guys", could be -ma, -stra, -ta. Frisians took the oath of the Free Frisians screaming 'Better dead then a slave' after which they could get their new familyname (see Eala Freya Fresena).
• A- (Romanian) "son of"
• ab (Welsh) "son of"
• antune- (Portuguese) "Anthony"
• ap (Welsh) "son of"
• abu (Arabic) "father of" [Also used by Jews prior to 1300 BCE]
• al (Arabic for "the" in names, e.g. al-Razi)
• alt- (German) "old"
• bab- (Polish, Ukrainian, Slovakian, Czech) "woman" especially "old woman"
• beau- (French) "beautiful"
• ben- (Aramaic, Hebrew) "son of"
• bin (Arabic) "son of" [Also used by Jews prior to 1300 BCE]
• birch- (English)
• björk-, bjørk- (Swedish, Norwegian) "birch"
• björn-, bjørn- (Swedish, Norwegian) "bear"
• bjur- (Swedish) "beaver"
• Da (Italian) "from"
• De (Dutch) "the"; (French) "of"; (Italian)
• Degli (Italian) "of the". Here the is a masculine plural object starting with either 'sp', 'sc', 'ps', 'z', 'gn' or 'st'.
• Della (Italian) "of the". Here the is a feminine singular object.
• Di (Italian) "son of"; (Spanish)
• Dj- (Slovakian)
• Du (French) "of the". Here, 'the' is a masculine object, as 'de la' would be feminine and 'des' would be plural.
• El (Spanish) ("the" from Arabic)
• Esco- (Spanish) "broom"
• Esch- (Dutch, German) "ash"
• Fleisch- (German) "meat"
• Fitz (Irish, from Norman French) "Son of", from Latin "filius", "son" (mistakenly thought to mean illegitimate son based on its use for certain illegitimate sons of English kings)
• Gott- (German) "God"
• Griff- (Welsh, English)
• Kauf- (German) "trade" or "barter"
• Koop- (Dutch) "trade" or "barter"
• Naka-　中 (Japanese) "middle"
• Nic- (Irish, Scottish) "Daughter of"
• Mac- (Irish, Scottish) "Son of"
• Mc- (Irish) assumed to be an abbreviation of Mac, but often claimed to be particular to Irish language. Sometimes spelt M^c (with a superscript 'c').
• ibn (Arabic) another form of "bin" in names, e.g. ibn Sina [Also used by Jews prior to 1300 BCE]
• O' - (Irish) "Grandson of", "Descendant of"
• Si- (Chinese) "Government Official" (司) used in some two character surnames such as Sima, Situ.
• skog-, skoog- (Norwegian, Swedish) "forest"
• ter (Dutch) "at the"
• Tre (Cornish) "farm of"
• van (Dutch) "of"
• von (German) "of"

• -a (typically in female names)
• -aitis (Lithuanian) "son of"
• -'aite (Lithuanian) signifies an unmarried female
  • -"aty" Americanized form
• -aj (Albanian)
• -ak (Polish, Ukrainian)
• -ák (Czech)
• -an (Romanian)
• -anu (Romanian)
• -arz (Polish)
• -as (Greek, /male/ Lithuanian)
• -auskas (Lithuanian) for the Polish -owski
• -awan (Urdu)

• -bach, -back (German) "brook"
• -baum (German) "tree"
• -bee, -by (English) "homestead"
• -berg (German, Swedish, Danish) "mountain" or "hill"
• -burn, -burne (English) "brook"
• -brook (English)
• -brun, -brunn (German) "spring"

• -cka (Polish) Feminine equivalent of cki
• -cki (Polish)
• -cký (Czech)
• -cock, -cox (English) "little"
• -chuk (Ukrainian)
• -čki (Serbian, Croatian)
• -cote, -cott, -cutt (English) "cottage"
• -craft, -croft (English) "small field"
• -czak, -czuk, -czyk (Polish)

• -dale (English) "valley"
• -don (English) "hill"
• -dorf (German) "village"
• -dottir (Icelandic) "daughter"
• -dze (Georgian)
• -dzki (Polish)

• -eanu (Romanian)
• -eau (French) "water"
• -ee (See -i)
• -eff (Russian) (obsolete, copied from German transliteration of -ev)
• -ek (Czech, Polish)
• -ems (Flemish)
• -enas (Lithuanian) "son of"
• -enko (Ukrainian) "son of"
• -ens (Flemish)
• -er (French, German, Turkish "male")
• -ers (Flemish)
• -es (Greek, Portuguese, Brazilian)
• -escu (Romanian)
• -ev (Bulgarian, Serbian) (possessive), all nationalities of Russia
• -eva (Russian) Feminine equivalent of ev
• -ez (Spanish) (including Spanish-speaking countries) "son of"

• -fia, -fi (Hungarian) "descendant of" (literally "son of")
• -ford (English)
• -fort (French)

• -gil, (Turkish, "family")
• -gaard, -gard, -gård (Norwegian) "farm"
• -garth (English, Scottish) "orchard"
• -gate (English)
• -gren (Swedish) "branch"

• -haar (German) "hair"
• -han (Turkish) "king, khan"
• -höven, -hoeven (German) "small garden"

• -i (Persian) "descendant of", "attributed to"
• -ian, -yan (Armenian, Persian)
• -iak (Polish, Polish) "descendant of"
• -ić (Serbian, Bosniak, Croatian) (diminutive)
  • -ević (Serbian, Bosniak, Croatian) (diminutive possessive), little son of)
  • -ović (Serbian, Bosniak, Croatian) (diminutive possessive), little son of)
    • -begović (Bosniak) (diminutive possessive of a beg, i.e. beg's little son)
• -ič (Slovenian) (diminutive)
• -icius (Lithuanian) actually Lithuanianized version of the Polish "icz"
• -icz (Polish)
• -ides (Greek), "son of"
• -ik (Czech, Slovak, Polish)
• -ikh, -ykh (Russian)
• -ina (especially rare for male names, but the suffix alone is an actual female name)
• -ing (Anglo-Saxon) "place of the people of"
• -ino (a common suffix for male latino and Italian names)
• -is (Greek, /male/ Lithuanian)
  • -iene (Lithuanian) female version
  • -yte (Lithuanian) unmarried female version
• -iu (Romanian)
• -ius (Lithuanian) "son of"

• -ka (Polish, Czech)
• -kawa, -gawa 川 (Japanese) "river"
• -kin, -kins, -ken (English) "little"
• -ko (Ukrainian)
• -kus (Lithuanian)

• -la (or -lä) (Finnish)
• -lein (German) "small"
• -ley, -ly (English, Scottish) "wood," or "grove"
• -li (Turkish) "from"
• -lund (Swedish) "grove"

• -man (English) "servant of," (Turkish) "male person"
• -mann (German) "servant of"
• -maz (Turkish) "does not" (e.g. "Yilmaz = Yields not")
• -men (Turkish) "male person"
• -mont, -monte (French) "mountain" or "hill"

• -nd (French)
• -ne, -te /female/ (Lithuanian)
• -nen (Finnish) "small" or "from"
• -nko (Ukrainian)
• -nova, -novas (Italian, Spanish) "new"
• -novo (Spanish) "new"
• -ný (Czech)
• -nezhad, -nejad (Persian) "descendant of"

• -o (typically in male names)
• -off (Russian) (obsolete, copied from German transliteration of -ov)
• -oğlu (Azerbaijani, Turkish)
• -onis (Lithuanian) "son of"
• -os (Greek)
  • -opoulos, -opulos (Greek)
• -ou (Greek)
• -ov (Bulgarian, Russian (all nationalities of Russia), Serbian) (possessive)
• -ova (Bulgarian, Russian) Feminine equivalent of ov
• -ow (Prussian, though found in predominantly German names, it is pronounced like English "ow" not like the German "ov")

• -pern, -perin (German) "spring"
• -pour, -poor (Persian) "son of"

• -quist (Swedish) "twig"

• -ridge, -redge, -rigg (English)
• -rd (French)

• -s /male/ (Latvian)
• -s /male/ (Lithuanian)
• -schmidt, -schmitt, -schmid, -schmit (German) "smith"
• -sen (Danish, Norwegian)
  • -ssen (Norwegian)
• -shvili (Georgian)
• -shyn (Ukrainian)
• -ski (Polish, Croatian) "estate of", (Macedonian, Bulgarian, Serbian (adjective), Russian) (often transliterated as -sky)
• -ska (Polish) Feminine equivalent of ski
• -skaya (Russian) Feminine equivalent of sky
• -sky (Russian)
• -ský (Czech)
• -smith (English)
• -son (English, Swedish) "son of"
  • -sson (Swedish, Icelandic) "son of"
• -stad (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) "farm, place"
• -stein (German) "stone"
• -stern (German) "star"
• -strom (German) "stream"

• -tabar (Persian) "descendant of"
• -thwait (Anglicized from the Danish) "meadow, clearing" introduced into British Isles by Vikings between 800 and 1066 AD
• -to, -tō, -do, -dō 藤 (Japanese) "wisteria"
• -ton, -ten, -tone (English) "town," "place" or "village"
• -tzky (Polish)

• -uk (Ukrainian)
• -ulea (Romanian) "son of"
• -ulis (Lithuanian)
• -unas (Lithuanian) "son of"

• -velt (Dutch) "farm" or "field"
• -verde (Spanish) "green"
• -vich, -vitz, -vych, -wicz, -witz, -witch (Russian, Polish) "son of"
• -vičius (Lithuanian)
• -vičiute (Lithuanian)
• -vili (Georgian)

• -white, -waite (English) "clearing"
• -wood (English)
• -worth (English) "homestead"
• -wright (English) "maker of"

• -y (See -i)
• -ycz (Polish)
• -yk (Polish)
• -ynas (Lithuanian) "son of"
• -ysz (Polish)

• -zadeh (Persian) "son of"

• List of most popular family names
• Patronymic
• Family name etymology
• Names in world cultures
• Tussenvoegsel (Dutch prefixes)