115 Greek Last Names or Surnames

Greeks have a very impressive culture, and most Greeks are proud of it. But it was not until the 15th century that Greeks started giving importance to a surname. Most ancient Greek surnames are influenced by family names and parents’ names. Most Greek last names are inherited from the paternal side i.e. father’s first name or the family name. Their last names can easily identify someone of Greek ancestry. Most unique greek last names and surnames come with a lot of meaning to them. Most names have an origin and trace back to time.

115 Greek Surnames or Last Names or Family Names With Meanings

Greek names are either of Latin, Hebrew or Greek origin. Some names are original Greek words and some have been modified. The modified ones imply the origin of the name. Popular Greek last names come with suffixes. These suffixes give the history or the origin of the place to where the family belongs. Some Greek surnames have prefixes too. These prefixes reveal about the identity of the person or their origin. Greek surnames are therefore interesting as they speak volumes about the tradition and ancestry of the person. A surname beginning with “Kara” reveals that the person is from the East and in Turkish “kara” means black. “Konto” the prefix means short and “papa” means a person who is a descendant of priests.

Read on to find a compilation of 100 Greek last names or surnames:

1. Adamos

The name means “Son of Adam”. Derived from a first name, the surname goes well with any first name too.

2. Andeno

The name means “manly and brave”.

3. Aetos

The surname means “eagle” in Greek.

4. Agathangelou

One among the long Greek last names, Agathangelos is a patronymic name that has descended from the historical figure with the same moniker. It is given to descendants of this historical figure.

5. Andino

The surname is Greek for “manly”. It probably originated from someone who displayed a lot of masculinity.

6. Ariti

The name sounds more like a first name but in Greek, it means someone who is “approachable”, “generous” and “friendly”.

7. Argyros

The name comes from the first name Argyrios. It also comes from Argyroglou or Argyropoulos and is another patronymic name. The adjective argyros means “silvery”.

8. Bakirtzis

The name traces its origin to the Turkish language and means “coppersmith”.

9. Balaska

The meaning of the name is “drawer of lots” in Greek.

10. Baros

Derived from Portuguese or Spanish from the places called Barros. Barro means “loam” or “clay”. In Greek, it is a nickname from Albanian word ‘mbare’ which means “happy” or “lucky”.

11. Balaskas

Used by Greeks and Slavic Jews, Balaska is the feminine form. Balaskas is the masculine form of the name.

12. Bouras

In Greek it is Booras and the word is of Latin origin. It means “a woollen cloth, coarse and reddish-brown with long hair”.  It belongs to someone who worked in the wool trade.

13. Castellanos

Also spelt as Kastellanos, it is derived from the word “kastello”. The name is an adjective form and means “castle”.

14. Chaconas

The name is an Americanized version of Tsakonas or Tsakonian which means “an inhabitant of the eastern side of Peloponnese”. It is an archaic kind of Greek last name.

15. Christodoulopoulos

Greek’s have a deep connection with Christianity and this name has a strong religious influence. It means the “descendants of the servants of Christ”.

16. Christoforou

Another variant of the name beginning with Christ, it means “one who is bearing Christ”.

17. Chronis

In Greek, the name means a short form of the personal name Polychronis is an omen or well-wishing name meaning ‘(may he be) long-lived.’

18. Chloros

The word in Greek means “green” and symbolizes the essence of the country.

19. Condos

Kontos in Greek means “short”. It could also be combined with a personal name to make a longer surname like Kondogiannis which means “Short John” or Kondopavlos which means “Short Paul”.

20. Cirillo

This Greek surname is actually of Italian origin and means “lord” or “masterful”.

21. Danielopoulos

The name speaks for itself and means “son of Daniel”.

22. Danielos

Daniels means God is my judgement in the Hebrew. 

23. Diakos

The name means “deacon” in Greek. Deacon is a member of the clergy and the name signifies the occupation of a person.

24. Diamandis

A surname for someone who deals with diamonds, the name means “diamonds”.

25. Dougenis

The name is a combination of the word “doulos” that means “slave or servant” and “genes” that means “born”.

26. Doukas

During medieval times, the name was for someone in the imperial rank. It originates from the Greek word “doukas” that means “Duke” or “Lord”.

27. Drakos

In Greek, the name means “Dragon or ogre”. One of the common Greek last names, it sounds authentic.

28. Drivas

Greek variant of Slavic word drvo which means “tree”. It could also mean a Greek variant of Grivas.

29. Economos

The name relates to occupation and is derived from “oikonomos” that means a “steward”. It also means someone who manages a property.

30. Eliades

The ‘ides’ surname was revived by the Greeks for descendants from the Black Sea in the early 19th and 20th century. The name is also a patronymic derivative of the biblical name Elais.

31. Elias

A Greek form of Hebrew, it is derived from Eliyahu. It means “Jehovah of God” or “Lord of God”.

32. Eliopoulos

Derived from “Elias” the first name and the suffix poulos that is derived from the Latin word “nestling”. The suffix is also given to people originating from Peloponnese.

33. Filo

Short and sweet, it is a Greek derivative of the first name Filip. Filip, in turn, is derived from the English name ‘Phillip’ which means “the horses friend”.

34. Florakis

There are two parts to this name- “Flor” which means flower, blossom or virginity. The other part “akis” that means originating from Crete.

35. Franopoulos

The name means “descendant of a Frank”. Franks was a group of people in Europe.

36. Fotos

Derived from the Greek word “phos” which means light, it is also a shortened version of the patronymic name Fotopoulos.

37. Fountas

Historically, this surname is evolved as a way to sort people into groups- by occupation, place of origin.

38. Gabris

It is a Greek derivative of the English name Gabriel.

39. Galanis

A surname that describes a person with “pale blue eyes”. The name originates from “galanos” in Greek that means “pale blue” or “azure”.

40. Galatas

In Greek “gala” means milk and the surname is an occupational one for someone who sells milk.

41. Ganas

The meaning of the name is an occupational name for a coppersmith.

42. Georgiades

Spelling variant of Georgiadis, it could be a patronymic name modified from first name “George” with “-ades” as a suffix.

43. Georgiou

The name is Greek and means “wife or kin” of Georgios.

44. Gataki

Simple and sweet, this name means “kitten” in Greek.

45. Halkias

The name is a classic Greek name derived from khalkeus. It is another occupational name and means “coppersmith”.

46. Hasapi

Spelt with an “H” it is derived from a Greek word “chasapi”. The word means “butcher “ and often used by people of the same profession.

47. Hasapis

The meaning of the name is Leader, Visionary, Powerful.

48. Hatzis

Khatzis means pilgrim to Jerusalem and the name is also used as a prefix to relate to the ancestry of Hatzimarkou who performed the pilgrimage.

49. Hondros

The surname is a nickname for the word “fat”. In Greek “khondros” means fat. Hondros is a prefix and added to any first name.

50. Ioannou

Pronounced as I-o –nou, it means “child of John”.

51. Iordanou

The name is Hebrew variant of the name of the Jordan river. It means “flow down” or “descend”.

52. Iraklidis

The name means “son of Herakles”.

53. Kallis

Kallistos is a Greek name that means “best” and reduced to form a patronymic.

54. Kappas

Kappas is the shortened version of the surname that begins with the prefix ‘Kapa’ that in Turkish means “large”.

55. Katopodis

The name is Greek for “the guy who ran away”.

56. Konstantinopolites

A popular place in Greece, people originating from Constantinople usually bear this surname.

57. Kouris

It is a topographic name in Greek for someone who resided in a forest, derived from either the Aromanian curie or the northern Greek kouri, which means “little woodland.”

58. Lambros

In classical Greek “lampros” means “radiant”; ”luminous” and “brilliant”. The name was coined to commemorate Easter which is known as Lanbri “the bright day”. It could also become a patronymics surname and added as a prefix.

59. Laskaris

Greeks have a rich history of fighting battles and Laskaris as a name is a tribute to it. In Greek, it means “a kind of soldier”.

60. Lekas

The name is of Albanian origin and Leka is an Albanian personal name. In Albanian, it means “Alexander”.

61. Leos

It originates from the personal name Leos which means “lion” and a short form of Leon.

62. Leventis

Of Italian origin, Leventis is derived from Levantine which means “people from the East”. It refers to armed sailor or pirates from the Middle Ages. In Greek, the name has a positive connotation and means “fearless and gallantry”.

63. Louis

The name means “Famed warrior” or “loot bringer”

64. Lykaios

An original Greek name derived from a Greek word that means “wolf”.

65. Makris

It is a nickname for the Greek word “makros” meaning tall. Popular in ancient Greek, it is combined with many personal names.

66. Mallas

The surname is an occupational one and comes from “mallas” which means a “trowel”. The surname is an occupational name for a bricklayer.

67. Mandrapilias

Common in the Spartan region of Greece, the name means “a stonewall” or “made of stone”.

68. Μarkis

Marks means the day on which a person is christened

69. Mavros

Mavros in Greek means “black” and is a descriptive name for someone with a dark complexion. It is used popularly as a prefix with personal names.

70. Marsalis

A form of Marcellus, which means ‘little soldier’ or ‘warlike.’

71. Mikos

A surname which is the equivalent of Nicholas in Greek. It is also considered to be an altered or short form of Demetrios.

72. Nanos

A short form of Giavanni in Italian, the name is also derived from the Greek word “nanos” which means a “dwarf”.

73. Nephus

In Greek, Nephus means “son of God who will eventually become God”. A very religious surname it has a deep meaning to it.

74. Nicolaides

Another variant of the name Nicholas, the name is patronymic and originates from Nikolaos.

75. Nicoli

This surname is a variant of Nikolis, a pet form of Nicholas in Greek.

76. Nikolaou

In Greek, Nikolaou or Nicolaou is a surname. It is a relatively popular Greek Cypriot surname and is of Greek origin. The Greek word Nicolaou means “Victor of the People.”

77. Nomikos

The name means “relating to the law”.

78. Onasis

The name is rare and means “lover”.

79. Othonos

Another Greek surname derived from “Otto”, it means “fortune” or “wealth”.

80. Pagonis

A beautiful surname, it is derived from “pagoni” which means “peacock”. It is also a nickname for “vain or showy man”.

81. Pallas

It is another name for Athena, the Goddess of Arts and Wisdom. It is also a nickname for Palac in Greek which means “thumb”.

82. Panagos

The name is very ancient and has a deep significance to it. It means “all holy” and is symbolic of the Greek way of life.

83. Pantazis

A surname that is full of vibrancy, it means “always alive” or ”full of life”.

84. Papachristodoulopoulos

A really long one, this one is ancient and unique. It means “someone who is a descendant of the Priest and a Servant of the Lord Christ”.

85. Papatonis

It means “a very badass man”.

86. Pavlis

A derivative of the personal name of Paul and its Greek equivalent Pavlos.

87. Petrakis

The name means Descendant of little Petros (rock).

88. Raptis

The surname is an occupational name and means “a tailor”. In Greek, it is spelt as raptis (pronounced as raftis) and derived from the classical Greek word “raptein” which means to sew.

89. Regas

The name is a variant of Riga and refers to a habitation. It refers to the numerous places called Reags which means “an irrigational channel”.

90. Rella

It is a shortened form of Rellakis and is an occupational surname. It is mostly adopted by embroiders and derived from “reli” which means “hem” or “border”.

91. Rellakis

The name means an occupational name for an embroiderer.

92. Remis

The last name originating from the medieval times, this surname originates from “Remigius”.

93. Rousopoulos

A Greek surname, it actually means “someone of Russian descent”.

94. Sagona

A classic, it is a Greek name for someone with a protruding jaw. “Sagona” in Greek means jaw. In Classic Greek it is spelt as “Siagon”.

95. Samaras

The surname is ideal for a lover of horses. It means “saddler” or a “saddle maker”.

96. Selinofoto

In Greek, the name means “moonlight”.  It probably originates from one who lives by the sea and enjoyed the moonlight.

97. Sideris

A powerful surname it means “may the child grow up to be as strong as iron”. Actually a first name, it is a patronymic name that has been adopted to a surname.

98. Sotiropoulos

Ending in poulos, it belongs to someone from Peloponnese and is actually derived from Latin. It means “nestling” or “chick”.

99. Tavoularis

The name belongs to the medieval times and means “secretary”; “literary” and “assistant”. It is an ancient surname and is passed on from generations.

100. Teresi

The name is associated with the Goddess of Hunting-“Artemis” and is a metronymic for the feminine personal name Teresa.

101. Theodoropoulos

Theodoros in Greek means “God-given” or a “Gift of God”. The surname means “son of Theodoros”.

102. Thanos

Thanos is a boy’s name of Greek origin, meaning “immortal”.

103. Tsaoussis

The surname in Greek means “peacock” and could well be adapted from the father’s first name.

104. Vasilakis

A Greek word for “basil”, the name is derived from Vasilikos.

105. Vassos

The last name means “from Vasos” and is a short form of the name Vasilis.

106. Vitalis

The surname means what the word would mean in spoken English. In Greek, it means “alive” or “vital”.

107. Voulgaropoulos

This name probably belongs to someone who adopted Greece but originally came from Bulgaria. It means “descendant of a Bulgarian”.

108. Vouvali

The name in Greek means “buffalo”.

109. Xenakis

Xenos in Greek means “stranger” or a “newcomer”. The surname again is a patronymic.

110. Xiphias

Pronounced as ‘Zi- fias’, the name means “swordfish.”

111. Yiannopoulos

Another surname with a suffix, it means “son of Yianni”.

112. Zafeiriou

The gemstone “sapphire” in Greek is called Zafeiri. As a surname it means “son of Zaferiris” and is another patronymic name.

113. Zervas

It is a last name derived from the nickname that means “left-handed”.

114. Zika

A short form of the first name “Zikmund”, as a surname it is also derived from a Greek phrase. A wishful phrase, it means “to live” or “may he live”.

115. Zografos

It is a combination of two names zographos- zoe which means “life” and graphein that means “write”. The surname is also an occupational name which means painter or miniaturist.

Surnames, family name or last names bridge the gap between the past and present of families. Greece is a country with an elaborate history, culture and rich heritage. This has remained unchanged for generations. Some names stem from Greek mythology whilst others display the influence of emergence and prevalence of Christianity in Greece. Names in Greece also derive their origin from Latin, Hebrew and Italian.