The utility of surnames grew at a time when human clans grew to a considerable size, and a system of classification was needed. It helped to anchor an individual to a larger collective and identify one’s origin. Family names are determined as per the law or custom of a particular community and passed on from generation to the other. Local names, occupation, nicknames, baptismal names, topographic names, heretical names, and even plants and animals inspired the adoption of surnames.

‘S’, the 19th alphabet in English, is powerful enough to have a huge impact on one’s behaviour and thought. Last names beginning with ‘S’ can be symbolic as the letter S resonates the ideas of tolerance, self-reliance and humanitarianism.  Surnames beginning with ‘S’ and their meanings would help you to draw attention and make a mark wherever you go. Read this list we have curated with some beautiful surnames starting with ‘S’.

Last Names or Family Names that Begin with S

If you want to adopt an alias for yourself or your newborn baby from this list of common last names beginning with ‘S’, check out their distinctive meanings that would add value to the name.

1. Saade

Derived from Arabic sa’ad, the name means ‘lucky’, Saade is a Portuguese surname.

2. Saalfeld

This German topographical name is a compound form of ‘sal’, meaning ‘manor’, and ‘velt’, meaning ‘field’.

3. Saam

This metonymic occupational name stands for ‘seed’ in German. It also refers to the ethnic people of Scandanavia in Swedish.

4. Saar

This Estonian surname means ‘island’.

5. Saari

Derived from Finland, Saari also means ‘island’.

6. Saas

Saas refers to a settler or a newcomer derived from German ‘saze’, meaning ‘residence’.

7. Saavedra

This Galician habitational name is formed from Gothic ‘Saals’, meaning ‘main house’, and vedro, meaning ‘old’ in Latin.

8. Sabah

This Arabic or Turkish surname means ‘morning’.

9. Sabala

This occupational name is derived from Slovak ‘sabol’, meaning ‘tailor’.

10. Sabbadin

Sabbadin means ‘Saturday’ in Italian, and refers ‘to a person born on this day.’

11. Sacco

This Italian occupational name is derived from ‘sacco’, meaning ‘maker of sacks’, or its Latin form ‘saccus’.

12. Sackmann

This German occupational name is derived from German ‘sacman’, which means ‘baggage servant’. It is also believed to be a nickname for ‘a plunderer’.

13. Sackville

Sackville is derived from the Norman French town of Saqueneville.

14. Sadberry

This English habitational name is derived from Sadbury Hill in Northumbria.

15. Sadler

This English occupational name is derived from ‘sadol’, and it refers to ‘maker of saddles’.

16. Sadowsi

Sadowi refers to ‘someone who lives in Sadowi’. It comes from Polish ‘sad’, meaning ‘orchard’.

17. Saegar

Derived from German ‘segan’ meaning ‘to saw’, or Dutch ‘Saeger’,  it is an occupational name for a ‘sawyer’.

18. Saetern

This Norwegian habitational name is derived from seater, which in turn comes from Old Norse ‘setr’, meaning ‘farm’.

19. Saffer

Derived from Norman origin, Saffer comes from ‘saffre’, meaning ‘glutton’ in French. It could be a topographic name for ‘someone living in a deep depression in South Germany.’

20. Safir

Safir is an ornamental name that is derived from German ‘saphir’ meaning ‘saphhire’.

21. Safstrom

This Swedish ornamental name is derived from Swedish ‘saf’, which is an ornamental form of ‘sav’ that means ‘rush’ and ‘strrom’, that means ’river’.

22. Sagan

Derived from Poland, Sagan is a metonymic occupational name for a ‘maker of pots and pans’. It could also be a habitational name for Sagan in Lower Silesia.

23. Sagastume

Sagastume is a topographic name derived from Basque ‘sagaste’, meaning ‘apple tree’, and ‘ume’ meaning ‘young plant’.

24. Sage

Derived from Latin and French ‘Sage’ which refers to the sagebrush plant or means ‘Wise One’ in English.

25. Sahagun

This Spanish habitational name refers to Sahagun in Lleon province.

26. Sahlberg

Sahlberg is a habitational name in German and Jewish. It can be an ornamental name composed of the elements of ‘sahl’, meaning ‘hall’, and ‘berg’, meaning ‘hill’ in Swedish.

27. Sahm

Sahm is a metonymic occupational name for a ‘seed merchant’ derived from sam.

28. Sailer

Sailer means denotes a “leaper” or “dancer.” It is derived from Old Norman French word “sailleor”.

29. Sain

This metonymic occupational surname is derived from Old French ‘grease’, ‘dripping’ referring to a ‘pork butcher’.

30. Saint

Derived from Latin ‘sanctus’, meaning ‘blameless’, it also means ‘holy’ in Old French. Saint is also a nickname for a pious individual.

31. Saito

Saito in Japanese means ‘purification’ or ‘wisteria’ indicating a connection with the Fujiwara clan.

32. Sajdak

This Polish metonymic occupational surname refers to a ‘quiver maker’ as sajdak means ‘quiver’.

33. Sakamato

Derived from Japanese ‘saka’, meaning ‘slope’, and ‘moto’ meaning ‘origin’. The name refers to ‘the one who lives at the bottom of the slope.’

34. Sakamoto

The name means ‘one who lives at the bottom of the slope’ in Japanese.

35. Sakuma

Sakuma is a habitational name from the village of Awa and refers to the descendants of the Taira clan.

36. Sakurai

Sakurai in Japanese is a habitational name meaning ‘cherry blossom’.

37. Salamanca

This Spanish surname refers to ‘a person from Salamanca in Western Spain’.

38. Salazar

This Basque surname is derived from ‘sala’, meaning ‘hall’, and ‘zahar’, meaning ‘old’. It refers to a person from Salazar town.

39. Salcedo

This Spanish surname is derived from Latin ‘salix’, meaning ‘willow tree’, referring to one living near it.

40. Salo

Salo means ‘forest’ in Finnish.

41. Samaan

Samaan in Arabic means ‘to hear’.

42. Samad

Samad is derived from Muslim personal name ‘Samad’, meaning ‘everlasting’ or ‘servant of Lord’.

43. Samaras

Samaras means ‘saddle-maker’ in Greek.

44. Samora

Samora in Hebrew means ‘ruled by God’ and ‘seedling’ in Latin.

45. Samuelson

This English surname name means ‘son of Samuel’.

46. Sandford

This English habitational surname refers to ‘a person from Sandford’.

47. Sanna

This Italian surname is derived from ‘zanna’, meaning ‘tusk’. It refers to a person with a protruding tooth.

48. Santoro

This Italian surname means ‘all saints day’ in Italian referring to ‘one born on that day’.

49. Saqqaf

Saqqaf in Arabic means ‘roof’.

50. Sarabia

This habitational surname is derived from Galician ‘sarabia’, meaning ‘hail’.

51. Saracco

Derived from ‘saracchio’ denoting a type of grass used for matting, this Italian metonymic occupational surname refers to someone who gathered the grass or wove it to mats. It can also come from Arabic ‘sarraq’, meaning ‘thief’.

52. Saraceno

This Italian nickname is derived from saraceno ‘Saracen’ denoting ‘an unruly person’.

53. Sarafin

Sarafin in Hebrew means ‘angels’.

54. Sasek

Sasek is a Czeck and Slovak nickname means ‘fool’.

55. Sassman

Sassman is a German regional name for someone from Lower Saxony.

56. Sasson

This Jewish surname is derived from Hebrew personal name ‘Sason’, meaning ‘joy’.

57. Sato

Derived from Japanese ‘sa’, meaning ‘help’, and ‘to’ meaning ‘wisteria’, it refers to the Fujiwara clan.

58. Satran

This habitational name comes from Satran in the Highland region of Scotland in North Yorkshire.

59. Sattar

Derived from Arabic ‘sattar’, meaning ‘veiler’, Sattar is a combination of ‘Abd as-Sattar’, which means ‘servant of the veiler’.

60. Sauber

Sauber in German means ‘tidy’.

61. Sauer

Sauer in German means ‘sour’ and is a nickname for ‘an embittered person’.

62. Sauter

Derived from Latin ‘sutor’, meaning ‘someone who sews leather’, Sauter is a German occupational surname for a ‘cobbler’.

63. Sauveterre

Derived from French ‘sauve’, meaning ‘safe’, and ‘terre’, meaning ‘land’, Sauveterre comes from various towns in France.

64. Savatier

Derived from French savate ‘shoemaker’, Savatier refers to a ‘shoemaker’.

65. Savona

Savona is an Italian surname referring to Savo city in northern Italy.

66. Sawyer

This English occupational surname refers to ‘woodcutter’.

67. Sayer

Sayer in Welsh means ‘carpenter’.

68. Saylor

Derived from Latin ‘sallitor’, this English occupational surname means ‘dancer’.

69. Scarpa

Scarpa in Italian refers to a ‘shoemaker’.

70. Scavo

Scavo in Italian means ‘slave’.

71. Schafer

Derived from German scaphare, Schafer means ‘Shephard’.

72. Schnur

Schnur is an occupational surname for ‘a rope-maker’. It is derived from German ‘snuor’, meaning ‘cord’.

73. Schuler

This German surname means ‘scholar’ and is derived from Latin schola ‘school’.

74. Schwarzenberg

Schwarzenberg means ‘black mountain’ in German.

75. Seabrooke

This English surname denotes ‘a person from a Seabrook town in Buckinghamshire’.

76. Shakespeare

Shakespeare is a nickname for a ‘warlike person’ and is derived from ‘scacan’, meaning ‘to shake’ and ‘speare’, meaning ‘spear’ in Old English.

77. Shapiro

Shapiro in Jewish means ‘ lovely’ in Hebrew, from Aramaic.

78. Shinoda

Shinoda is derived from ‘shino’, meaning ‘dwarf bamboo’ in Japanese.

79. Shirazi

This Persian surname refers to ‘someone who came from Shiraz in Southern Iran’.

80. Siegel

Derived from Latin sigillum ‘seal’, Siegel is an occupational surname for a ‘maker of wax seals’.

This fascinating documentation of surnames beginning with the letter ‘S’ represents membership to certain groups. If you’re particularly looking for Surnames starting with this letter, we hope the guide above helps you make your own pedigree chart representing your family’s history and relationships.