lastnamegenerators

Greek Last Names

These Greek last names are shown with their Greek spelling and meaning, and the endings alone often tell you which region a family comes from. Browse A to Z, search for a name, or pull a few at random with the generator.

300 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Alexakis Αλεξάκης

    Little Alexios; Cretan form

  • Alexandridis Αλεξανδρίδης

    Son of Alexandros; Pontic form

  • Alexiou Αλεξίου

    Son of Alexios

  • Alexopoulos Αλεξόπουλος

    Son of Alexios

  • Anagnostakis Αναγνωστάκης

    Little church reader; Cretan form

  • Anagnostopoulos Αναγνωστόπουλος

    Son of the church reader

  • Anastasiadis Αναστασιάδης

    Son of Anastasios; Pontic form

  • Anastasiou Αναστασίου

    Son of Anastasios (resurrection)

  • Anastasopoulos Αναστασόπουλος

    Son of Anastasios

  • Andreadakis Ανδρεαδάκης

    Son of Andreas; Cretan form

  • Andreadis Ανδρεάδης

    Son of Andreas; Pontic form

  • Andreopoulos Ανδρεόπουλος

    Son of Andreas

  • Andreou Ανδρέου

    Son of Andreas

  • Andrianos Ανδριανός

    From Adrianos (Hadrian)

  • Angelopoulos Αγγελόπουλος

    Son of Angelos (angel)

  • Anthopoulos Ανθόπουλος

    Son of Anthos (flower)

  • Antonakis Αντωνάκης

    Little Antonios; Cretan form

  • Antonatos Αντωνάτος

    Son of Antonios; Kefalonian form

  • Antonellis Αντωνέλλης

    Son of Antonios; Lesbos form

  • Antoniadis Αντωνιάδης

    Son of Antonios; Pontic form

  • Antoniou Αντωνίου

    Son of Antonios

  • Antonopoulos Αντωνόπουλος

    Son of Antonios

  • Apostolidis Αποστολίδης

    Son of Apostolos; Pontic form

  • Apostolopoulos Αποστολόπουλος

    Son of Apostolos

  • Argyropoulos Αργυρόπουλος

    Son of Argyris (silver)

  • Argyros Αργυρός

    Silver

  • Argyrou Αργυρού

    Son of Argyros (silver)

  • Aristidou Αριστείδου

    Son of Aristidis

  • Arvanitis Αρβανίτης

    Arvanite; of Albanian descent

  • Athanasiadis Αθανασιάδης

    Son of Athanasios; Pontic form

  • Athanasiou Αθανασίου

    Son of Athanasios (immortal)

  • Athanasopoulos Αθανασόπουλος

    Son of Athanasios

  • Avramidis Αβραμίδης

    Son of Avraam (Abraham)

B

  • Bakogiannis Μπακογιάννης

    Grocer John; from Turkish bakkal

  • Benakis Μπενάκης

    Possibly from Albanian; benefactor family

  • Botsaris Μπότσαρης

    Souliote clan; revolutionary hero

  • Bouras Μπούρας

    Possibly from Albanian burre (man)

C

  • Chalkias Χαλκιάς

    Coppersmith

  • Charalambidis Χαραλαμπίδης

    Son of Charalambos; Pontic form

  • Charalambopoulos Χαραλαμπόπουλος

    Son of Charalambos

  • Charalambous Χαραλάμπους

    Son of Charalambos; Cypriot form

  • Chatzellis Χατζέλλης

    Son of the pilgrim; Lesbos form

  • Chatzidakis Χατζηδάκης

    Son of the pilgrim; Cretan form

  • Chatzis Χατζής

    Pilgrim; from hajji

  • Chiotis Χιώτης

    From the island of Chios

  • Christakis Χριστάκης

    Little Christos; Cretan form

  • Christidis Χρηστίδης

    Son of Christos; Pontic form

  • Christodoulou Χριστοδούλου

    Son of Christodoulos (servant of Christ)

  • Christoforidis Χριστοφορίδης

    Son of Christoforos

  • Christopoulos Χριστόπουλος

    Son of Christos

  • Christou Χρήστου

    Son of Christos

  • Chrysanthopoulos Χρυσανθόπουλος

    Son of Chrysanthos (golden flower)

  • Chrysochoidis Χρυσοχοΐδης

    Son of the goldsmith

  • Chrysostomou Χρυσοστόμου

    Son of Chrysostomos (golden mouth)

D

  • Daskalakis Δασκαλάκης

    Little teacher; Cretan form

  • Deligiannis Δεληγιάννης

    Mad John; from Turkish deli

  • Delis Ντελής

    Brave; mad; from Turkish deli

  • Demosthenous Δημοσθένους

    Son of Demosthenes; Cypriot form

  • Diamantis Διαμαντής

    Diamond

  • Diamantopoulos Διαμαντόπουλος

    Son of Diamantis (diamond)

  • Dimitrakis Δημητράκης

    Little Dimitrios; Cretan form

  • Dimitriadis Δημητριάδης

    Son of Dimitrios

  • Dimitriou Δημητρίου

    Son of Dimitrios

  • Dimopoulos Δημόπουλος

    Son of Dimos (Dimitrios)

  • Doukas Δούκας

    Duke; Byzantine noble family

E

  • Efthymiadis Ευθυμιάδης

    Son of Efthymios; Pontic form

  • Efthymiou Ευθυμίου

    Son of Efthymios (cheerful)

  • Eleftheriadis Ελευθεριάδης

    Son of Eleftherios; Pontic form

  • Eleftheriou Ελευθερίου

    Son of Eleftherios (free)

  • Emmanouilidis Εμμανουηλίδης

    Son of Emmanouil

  • Evangelou Ευαγγέλου

    Son of Evangelos (good news)

F

  • Filippidis Φιλιππίδης

    Son of Filippos (Philip)

  • Floros Φλώρος

    Flower; blooming

  • Fokas Φωκάς

    Seal; Byzantine imperial family

  • Fotakis Φωτάκης

    Little Fotis (light); Cretan form

  • Fotiadis Φωτιάδης

    Son of Fotios (light)

  • Fotopoulos Φωτόπουλος

    Son of Fotis (light)

  • Fragkiadakis Φραγκιαδάκης

    Son of the Frank; Cretan form

  • Fragkopoulos Φραγκόπουλος

    Son of the Frank

  • Fragkos Φράγκος

    Frank; Western European

G

  • Galanis Γαλάνης

    Blue-eyed

  • Galanopoulos Γαλανόπουλος

    Son of the blue-eyed one

  • Georgakis Γεωργάκης

    Little Georgios; Cretan form

  • Georgakopoulos Γεωργακόπουλος

    Son of little George

  • Georgellis Γεωργέλλης

    Son of Georgios; Lesbos form

  • Georgiadis Γεωργιάδης

    Son of Georgios; Pontic form

  • Georgiou Γεωργίου

    Son of Georgios (George)

  • Georgopoulos Γεωργόπουλος

    Son of Georgios

  • Gerasimatos Γερασιμάτος

    Son of Gerasimos; Kefalonian form

  • Giannakis Γιαννάκης

    Little Yiannis; Cretan form

  • Giannakopoulos Γιαννακόπουλος

    Son of little Yiannis

  • Giannellis Γιαννέλλης

    Son of Yiannis; Lesbos form

  • Giannopoulos Γιαννόπουλος

    Son of Yiannis (John)

  • Gounaris Γούναρης

    Furrier

  • Grigoriadis Γρηγοριάδης

    Son of Grigorios; Pontic form

  • Grigoriou Γρηγορίου

    Son of Grigorios

  • Grigoropoulos Γρηγορόπουλος

    Son of Grigorios

I

  • Iakovidis Ιακωβίδης

    Son of Iakovos (Jacob)

  • Iakovou Ιακώβου

    Son of Iakovos (Jacob)

  • Iliou Ηλιού

    Son of Ilias (Elijah)

  • Ioannidis Ιωαννίδης

    Son of Ioannis; Pontic form

  • Ioannou Ιωάννου

    Son of Ioannis (John)

  • Iordanidis Ιορδανίδης

    Son of Iordanis (Jordan)

  • Iordanou Ιορδάνου

    Son of Iordanis (Jordan)

K

  • Kalaitzidis Καλαϊτζίδης

    Son of the tinsmith

  • Kalantzis Καλαντζής

    Tinsmith

  • Kalogerakis Καλογεράκης

    Little monk; Cretan form

  • Kalogeropoulos Καλογερόπουλος

    Son of the monk

  • Kanaris Κανάρης

    Of uncertain origin; fire-ship admiral

  • Kanellis Κανέλλης

    Cinnamon; Lesbos form

  • Kanellopoulos Κανελλόπουλος

    Son of Kanellos (cinnamon)

  • Kantakouzenos Καντακουζηνός

    Byzantine noble family

  • Kapetanakis Καπετανάκης

    Little captain; Cretan form

  • Kapodistrias Καποδίστριας

    From Capodistria; first governor

  • Kapsalis Καψάλης

    Burnt; scorched

  • Karagiannis Καραγιάννης

    Black John; Turkish kara + Yiannis

  • Karagounis Καραγκούνης

    Black cloak; Thessalian peasant

  • Karalis Καραλής

    Possibly black Ilias; dark one

  • Karamanlis Καραμανλής

    From Karaman in Anatolia

  • Karatzas Καρατζάς

    From Turkish karaca (roe deer; darkish)

  • Karras Καρράς

    Dark one; from Turkish kara (black)

  • Karvounis Καρβούνης

    Charcoal maker

  • Katsaros Κατσαρός

    Curly-haired

  • Kavafis Καβάφης

    Shoemaker; from Turkish kavaf; the poet

  • Kazantzakis Καζαντζάκης

    Cauldron maker; Cretan form

  • Kazantzidis Καζαντζίδης

    Son of the cauldron maker

  • Kefalas Κεφαλάς

    Big-headed

  • Kleanthous Κλεάνθους

    Son of Kleanthis; Cypriot form

  • Kokkinakis Κοκκινάκης

    Little red one; Cretan form

  • Kokkinos Κόκκινος

    Red; red-haired

  • Kolokotronis Κολοκοτρώνης

    Traditionally explained as backside of stone; revolutionary hero

  • Komnenos Κομνηνός

    Byzantine imperial dynasty

  • Kondylis Κονδύλης

    Knuckle; short and stout

  • Konstantinidis Κωνσταντινίδης

    Son of Konstantinos

  • Konstantinou Κωνσταντίνου

    Son of Konstantinos

  • Konstantopoulos Κωνσταντόπουλος

    Son of Konstantinos

  • Kontopoulos Κοντόπουλος

    Son of the short one

  • Kontos Κοντός

    Short

  • Kosmidis Κοσμίδης

    Son of Kosmas

  • Kostopoulos Κωστόπουλος

    Son of Kostas (Constantine)

  • Koutsos Κουτσός

    Lame; limping

  • Kritikos Κρητικός

    Cretan

  • Kyprianou Κυπριανού

    Son of Kyprianos (Cyprian)

  • Kyriakakis Κυριακάκης

    Little Kyriakos; Cretan form

  • Kyriakidis Κυριακίδης

    Son of Kyriakos; Pontic form

  • Kyriakopoulos Κυριακόπουλος

    Son of Kyriakos

  • Kyriakou Κυριάκου

    Son of Kyriakos (of the Lord)

L

  • Lambrakis Λαμπράκης

    Little Lambros; Cretan form

  • Lambropoulos Λαμπρόπουλος

    Son of Lambros (bright)

  • Lambrou Λάμπρου

    Son of Lambros (bright)

  • Laskaris Λάσκαρης

    Possibly from Persian lashkar (army); Byzantine imperial family

  • Latsis Λάτσης

    Possibly from Albanian; shipping family

  • Lazaridis Λαζαρίδης

    Son of Lazaros; Pontic form

  • Lekkas Λέκκας

    Possibly from Albanian Leke (Alexander)

  • Leonidou Λεωνίδου

    Son of Leonidas

  • Liakos Λιάκος

    From Ilias (Elijah)

  • Livanos Λιβανός

    From Lebanon; frankincense

  • Livieratos Λιβιεράτος

    Kefalonian family, possibly from Italian Liberato

  • Loizou Λοΐζου

    Son of Loizos (Louis); Cypriot form

  • Loukakis Λουκάκης

    Little Loukas; Cretan form

  • Loukas Λουκάς

    Luke

  • Loukatos Λουκάτος

    Son of Loukas; Kefalonian form

M

  • Makridis Μακρίδης

    Son of the tall one

  • Makris Μακρής

    Tall; long

  • Maniatis Μανιάτης

    From the Mani peninsula

  • Manolakis Μανωλάκης

    Little Manolis; Cretan form

  • Manolopoulos Μανωλόπουλος

    Son of Manolis (Emmanuel)

  • Manos Μάνος

    From Emmanouil (God with us)

  • Manousakis Μανουσάκης

    Son of Manousos; Cretan form

  • Mantas Μαντάς

    Possibly from manta; cloak

  • Marinakis Μαρινάκης

    Little Marinos; Cretan form

  • Markakis Μαρκάκης

    Little Markos; Cretan form

  • Markatos Μαρκάτος

    Son of Markos; Kefalonian form

  • Markopoulos Μαρκόπουλος

    Son of Markos

  • Markou Μάρκου

    Son of Markos

  • Matthaiou Ματθαίου

    Son of Matthaios (Matthew)

  • Mavrakis Μαυράκης

    Little dark one; Cretan form

  • Mavromichalis Μαυρομιχάλης

    Black Michael; Maniot clan

  • Mavropoulos Μαυρόπουλος

    Son of the dark one

  • Mavros Μαύρος

    Black; dark

  • Melas Μελάς

    Black; dark

  • Metaxas Μεταξάς

    Silk merchant

  • Metaxatos Μεταξάτος

    Son of the silk merchant; Kefalonian form

  • Miaoulis Μιαούλης

    From a Turkish ship name; admiral

  • Michael Μιχαήλ

    Michael; Cypriot form

  • Michailidis Μιχαηλίδης

    Son of Michail

  • Michalopoulos Μιχαλόπουλος

    Son of Michalis (Michael)

  • Mitropoulos Μητρόπουλος

    Son of Mitros (Dimitrios)

  • Mitsotakis Μητσοτάκης

    Son of Mitsos (Dimitrios); Cretan form

  • Moraitis Μωραΐτης

    From the Morea (Peloponnese)

  • Moustakas Μουστάκας

    Moustache

N

  • Neophytou Νεοφύτου

    Son of Neofytos; Cypriot form

  • Niarchos Νιάρχος

    Possibly from neos archos; new ruler

  • Nikas Νίκας

    Victory; from Nikos

  • Nikiforou Νικηφόρου

    Son of Nikiforos (victory-bearer)

  • Nikolaidis Νικολαΐδης

    Son of Nikolaos

  • Nikolakis Νικολάκης

    Little Nikolaos; Cretan form

  • Nikolaou Νικολάου

    Son of Nikolaos

  • Nikolopoulos Νικολόπουλος

    Son of Nikolaos

O

  • Oikonomopoulos Οικονομόπουλος

    Son of the steward

  • Oikonomou Οικονόμου

    Steward; manager

  • Onassis Ωνάσης

    Shipping magnate's family name

P

  • Palaiologos Παλαιολόγος

    Possibly old word or collector of antiquities; last Byzantine dynasty

  • Palamas Παλαμάς

    Palm of the hand; the poet

  • Panagiotidis Παναγιωτίδης

    Son of Panagiotis; Pontic form

  • Panagiotopoulos Παναγιωτόπουλος

    Son of Panagiotis

  • Panagiotou Παναγιώτου

    Son of Panagiotis

  • Panagopoulos Παναγόπουλος

    Son of Panagis (Panagiotis)

  • Papachristou Παπαχρήστου

    Son of priest Christos

  • Papadakis Παπαδάκης

    Son of the priest; Cretan form

  • Papadatos Παπαδάτος

    Son of the priest; Ionian form

  • Papadiamantis Παπαδιαμάντης

    Son of priest Diamantis; the novelist

  • Papadimitriou Παπαδημητρίου

    Son of priest Dimitrios

  • Papadopoulos Παπαδόπουλος

    Son of the priest

  • Papageorgiou Παπαγεωργίου

    Son of priest George

  • Papaioannou Παπαϊωάννου

    Son of priest Ioannis

  • Papakonstantinou Παπακωνσταντίνου

    Son of priest Konstantinos

  • Papamichael Παπαμιχαήλ

    Son of priest Michael

  • Papandreou Παπανδρέου

    Son of priest Andreas

  • Papanikolaou Παπανικολάου

    Son of priest Nikolaos

  • Papapetrou Παπαπέτρου

    Son of priest Petros

  • Papaspyrou Παπασπύρου

    Son of priest Spyros

  • Papastavrou Παπασταύρου

    Son of priest Stavros

  • Papathanasiou Παπαθανασίου

    Son of priest Athanasios

  • Papavasileiou Παπαβασιλείου

    Son of priest Vasileios

  • Papazoglou Παπάζογλου

    Son of the priest; Turkish-style form

  • Papoulias Παπούλιας

    Little priest; former president

  • Papoutsakis Παπουτσάκης

    Little shoemaker; Cretan form

  • Papoutsis Παπουτσής

    Shoemaker

  • Pappas Παππάς

    Priest

  • Paschalis Πασχάλης

    Easter; born at Easter

  • Paterakis Πατεράκης

    Little father; Cretan form

  • Pavlakis Παυλάκης

    Little Pavlos; Cretan form

  • Pavlidis Παυλίδης

    Son of Pavlos (Paul)

  • Pavlopoulos Παυλόπουλος

    Son of Pavlos (Paul)

  • Pavlou Παύλου

    Son of Pavlos (Paul)

  • Perakis Περάκης

    Little Petros; Cretan form

  • Pericleous Περικλέους

    Son of Periklis; Cypriot form

  • Petrakis Πετράκης

    Little Petros; Cretan form

  • Petratos Πετράτος

    Son of Petros; Kefalonian form

  • Petridis Πετρίδης

    Son of Petros; Pontic form

  • Petropoulos Πετρόπουλος

    Son of Petros (Peter)

  • Petrou Πέτρου

    Son of Petros (Peter)

  • Philippou Φιλίππου

    Son of Filippos (Philip)

  • Politis Πολίτης

    Citizen; one from Constantinople

  • Prodromou Προδρόμου

    Son of Prodromos (forerunner)

  • Psaltis Ψάλτης

    Cantor; church singer

R

  • Rallis Ράλλης

    Phanariot family of uncertain origin

  • Raptis Ράπτης

    Tailor

  • Rigopoulos Ρηγόπουλος

    Son of the king

S

  • Samaras Σαμαράς

    Saddle maker

  • Savvides Σαββίδης

    Son of Savvas

  • Sfakianakis Σφακιανάκης

    From Sfakia; Cretan form

  • Sideris Σιδέρης

    Iron; ironworker

  • Sidiropoulos Σιδηρόπουλος

    Son of Sideris (iron)

  • Sofocleous Σοφοκλέους

    Son of Sofoklis; Cypriot form

  • Solomou Σολωμού

    Son of Solomos (Solomon)

  • Sotiriadis Σωτηριάδης

    Son of Sotirios (savior)

  • Sotiriou Σωτηρίου

    Son of Sotirios (savior)

  • Sotiropoulos Σωτηρόπουλος

    Son of Sotiris (savior)

  • Spanos Σπανός

    Beardless; sparse-bearded

  • Spyropoulos Σπυρόπουλος

    Son of Spyros

  • Spyrou Σπύρου

    Son of Spyros

  • Stamatopoulos Σταματόπουλος

    Son of Stamatis

  • Stavrakis Σταυράκης

    Little Stavros; Cretan form

  • Stavridis Σταυρίδης

    Son of Stavros; Pontic form

  • Stavropoulos Σταυρόπουλος

    Son of Stavros (cross)

  • Stavrou Σταύρου

    Son of Stavros (cross)

  • Stefanakis Στεφανάκης

    Little Stefanos; Cretan form

  • Stefanidis Στεφανίδης

    Son of Stefanos (crown)

  • Stefanopoulos Στεφανόπουλος

    Son of Stefanos (crown)

  • Stylianou Στυλιανού

    Son of Stylianos (pillar)

  • Symeonidis Συμεωνίδης

    Son of Symeon; Pontic form

T

  • Thanopoulos Θανόπουλος

    Son of Thanos (Athanasios)

  • Theocharous Θεοχάρους

    Son of Theocharis; Cypriot form

  • Theodoratos Θεοδωράτος

    Son of Theodoros; Kefalonian form

  • Theodoridis Θεοδωρίδης

    Son of Theodoros; Pontic form

  • Theodoropoulos Θεοδωρόπουλος

    Son of Theodoros

  • Theodorou Θεοδώρου

    Son of Theodoros

  • Triantafyllidis Τριανταφυλλίδης

    Son of Triantafyllos (rose)

  • Triantafyllou Τριανταφύλλου

    Son of Triantafyllos (rose)

  • Tsakiris Τσακίρης

    Blue-eyed; from Turkish cakir

  • Tzanakis Τζανάκης

    Little Tzanis (John); Cretan form

V

  • Vardakis Βαρδάκης

    Little Vardas; Cretan form

  • Vasilakis Βασιλάκης

    Little Vasilis; Cretan form

  • Vasileiou Βασιλείου

    Son of Vasileios (Basil)

  • Vasiliadis Βασιλειάδης

    Son of Vasileios; Pontic form

  • Vasilopoulos Βασιλόπουλος

    Son of Vasilis (Basil)

  • Vlachakis Βλαχάκης

    Little Vlach; Cretan form

  • Vlachopoulos Βλαχόπουλος

    Son of the Vlach shepherd

  • Vlachos Βλάχος

    Vlach; shepherd

  • Voulgaris Βούλγαρης

    Bulgarian

X

  • Xanthakis Ξανθάκης

    Little blond one; Cretan form

  • Xanthos Ξανθός

    Blond; fair-haired

Z

  • Zacharakis Ζαχαράκης

    Little Zacharias; Cretan form

  • Zachariadis Ζαχαριάδης

    Son of Zacharias

  • Zachariou Ζαχαρίου

    Son of Zacharias

  • Zacharopoulos Ζαχαρόπουλος

    Son of Zacharias

  • Zafeiropoulos Ζαφειρόπουλος

    Son of Zafeiris (sapphire)

  • Zographos Ζωγράφος

    Painter

Generate random greek surnames

Filter by first letter, length and rarity, add a first name to preview the full name, then copy or save your favorites.

Results (6)

  • Fragkopoulos

    Φραγκόπουλος

    Son of the Frank

  • Kantakouzenos

    Καντακουζηνός

    Byzantine noble family

  • Zacharakis

    Ζαχαράκης

    Little Zacharias; Cretan form

  • Tsakiris

    Τσακίρης

    Blue-eyed; from Turkish cakir

  • Ioannidis

    Ιωαννίδης

    Son of Ioannis; Pontic form

  • Livieratos

    Λιβιεράτος

    Kefalonian family, possibly from Italian Liberato

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    Reading the endings of Greek surnames

    Greek surnames are known for their long endings, and many of those endings point to a region. The Peloponnese favours -opoulos, from a word for a young animal or chick, so Papadopoulos means son of the priest. Crete is known for -akis, a diminutive, as in Papadakis and Daskalakis (little teacher). The Ionian Islands, especially Kefalonia, have many names ending in -atos, and the Mani peninsula in the southern Peloponnese is known for -eas and -akos.

    In northern Greece and among families whose ancestors came from Asia Minor or the Pontus region on the Black Sea, the endings -idis and -iadis are common, as in Nikolaidis, Savvidis and Konstantinidis. Some refugee families from Asia Minor carry names ending in -oglou, the Turkish word for son, such as Papazoglou, which means son of the priest just like Papadopoulos. Shorter names without these endings, like Georgiou (of George) or Pappas, are found throughout the country.

    Greek last names for men and women

    Greek surnames change form for women, using the genitive case, as if saying of the family. Papadopoulos becomes Papadopoulou, Papadakis becomes Papadaki, Nikolaidis becomes Nikolaidou and Vlachos becomes Vlachou. Names already in the genitive, such as Georgiou and Oikonomou, stay the same for everyone. Since 1983 Greek women have kept their own surname after marriage by law, although some still use their husband's name socially.

    Children usually take the father's surname, but parents can choose the mother's or a combination of both. Given names follow a strong tradition as well: the first son is often named after his paternal grandfather and the first daughter after her paternal grandmother, so the same full name can recur every other generation. That is useful to know for a Greek family saga, since cousins frequently share both a first name and a surname.

    Priests, trades and nicknames in Greek naming

    The Orthodox Church shaped many surnames. Papa- at the start of a name comes from papas, a priest, and because Orthodox parish priests may marry, their descendants became Papadopoulos, Papadakis, Papageorgiou and Pappas. Oikonomou comes from oikonomos, a steward who managed church or household finances. Occupational names include Raptis (tailor), Mylonas (miller) and Psaras (fisherman). Vlachos refers to the Vlachs, a pastoral people of the Balkans, and came to be used for shepherds.

    Colours and nicknames also appear. Mavros means black, Kokkinos red and Makris tall or long, while Karagiannis combines the Turkish kara (black) with Giannis (John). Greek emigrants to the United States, Australia and Canada often shortened long names, so Papadopoulos might become Pappas or Poulos. Choose the full form for a character living in Greece and a shortened one for a Greek American family, and use the Greek spelling in the list to check how the name should look.

    Frequently asked questions

    Why do so many Greek last names end in -poulos?

    The ending -poulos comes from a word meaning young one or chick and was used to mean son of. It is typical of the Peloponnese, so a Papadopoulos or Georgopoulos family often has roots in that region. Other endings, such as -akis and -idis, are linked to Crete and the north.

    How do Greek surnames change for women?

    Women use the genitive form of the family name. Papadopoulos becomes Papadopoulou, Papadakis becomes Papadaki and Nikolaidis becomes Nikolaidou. Names that already end in -ou, like Georgiou, do not change, so a brother and sister share the same spelling.

    What does Papa mean at the start of a Greek name?

    It comes from papas, the Greek word for a priest. Orthodox parish priests may marry, so many families descend from a village priest. Papadopoulos, Papadakis, Papageorgiou and Pappas all carry this meaning, with Papageorgiou meaning the priest George.

    Which Greek family names are the most frequent?

    Papadopoulos is usually cited as the most common surname in Greece. Other frequent names include Georgiou, Papageorgiou, Oikonomou, Vlachos, Nikolaidis and Karagiannis, which together show the influence of the church, given names and regional endings.

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