Does anoyone know of some reputable sites that list history/significance of surnames? My initial query is more for Western-Euro names, but would also like something on mid and east Asian names.
This Glossary of Last Name Meanings and Origins seems fairly good, although it appears to be only European names.
The overwhelming majority of Western surnames fall into four main categories:
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Occupational names: Miller, Brewer, Ferrier (which has to do with horseshoeing, not running a ferry), etc.
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Fossilized patronymics: Johnson, Svensen, Ivanov, etc. Worth noting that sometimes these are less than obvious: Price and Powell, for example, are derived from the Welch “ap Rhys” and “ap Howyll.”
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Toponyms. Hill, Atwell, Ford, and the like, are based on where the ancestors of that surname lived.
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Nicknames. “Gross,” for example, is an Anglicization of a name derived from “Heinrich der Grosse” meaning “Henry the Fat.” British General Slim during WWII was a heavyset man, but descended from lanky forebears. Martin Short’s ancestors presumably were – short, that is.