If you have Hungarian roots and also a Hungarian last name, chances are you will find it below. We put together a list of 30 popular Hungarian surnames that are used by many people who reside or were born in Hungary, as well as people who left their country (like Poland, Romania, etc.) and adopted a Hungarian name. Take a look and see if you can find yours!
Origin of Hungarian Surnames
Hungarian names are unique in the sense that given names follow the family name. In Europe, it is usually the family name that follows the given name. When looking at the history of Hungarian surnames, there were typically two ways a surname was chosen. The first was occupation. You will see in this list that there are several occupational names such as “Halasz” for “fisherman. These surnames are directly derived from the Hungarian words.
Image: Budapest, Hungary
The second common theme is surnaming for people who are not Hungarian. There are several examples of this below as well. For someone whose ethnicity was Greek, you would often see “Gorog” as their last name. It was strongly encouraged that these immigrants adopt Hungarian last names. Some people even translated their surname into Hungarian and used that as their new name.
There are also Hungarian surnames that are derived from given names and even ones that describe a particular people, like “Fekete” for someone with dark hair. Something else to note was that the Hungarian people go by their family name first and given name second. Many cultures and countries use this method as well.
The Most Common Hungarian Surnames
- Balogh - This Hungarian last name is derived from the Hungarian word “Balog” which means “left-handed.”
- Farkas - This surname was derived from an Old Slovak name and also the Hungarian word for “wolf.”
- Feher - Commonly used as a nickname for someone with white hair or a fair complexion. It has Hungarian and Jewish roots.
- Fekete - This family name is derived from the Hungarian nickname for someone with dark hair.
- Ferenc - You can find this surname in Hungary and Poland. It is derived from the Latin name “Franciscus.”
- Fodor - This Hungarian family name is a nickname for someone with curly hair.
- Gorog - This is a Hungarian surname for someone who is Greek.
- Habsburg - This surname comes from the German dynasty in Austria, the “House of Habsburg” who ruled during the 11th century.
- Halasz - This is a Hungarian occupational name for a fisherman.
- Horvath - This family name is a nickname for a Hungarian who lived in Croatia.
- Janos - This family name is the Hungarian form of the Latin name “Johannes. It also has roots in Czech, Slovak, and Polish.
- Juhasz - This is a Hungarian occupational name for a shepherd.
- Kiraly - This is a Hungarian nickname for “king.” It is derived from the Western Slavic name “Karl” and Latin “Charles.”
- Kovacs - This is a Hungarian occupational name for a “blacksmith.”
- Lakatos - This is a Hungarian occupational name for a “locksmith.” It is also derived from the Old French word “loquet.”
- Laszlo - The elements of this Hungarian last name mean “rule” and “glory.” It has other forms in other languages such as “Vladislav” in Czech and “Władysław” in Polish.
- Magyar - This is an ethnic name that was commonly given to Hungarians who lived in rural areas.
- Molnar - This is a Hungarian occupational name for a “miller.”
- Nagy - This Hungarian last name is derived from a nickname that was given to a large and powerful person.
- Német - This is a variant of the Hungarian surname “Nemeth.”
- Nemeth - This Hungarian family name is ethnic not only found in Hungary but Germany and Austria as well.
- Olah - This is an ethnic name that is known as “Volach” in Romanian and “Vlach” in Italian. It means “speaker of a romance language.”
- Racz - This Hungarian surname is derived from the Serbian city “Ras,” which is the capital of medieval Serbia.
- Szabo - This is a Hungarian occupational name for a “tailor.”
- Takacs - This is a Hungarian occupational name for a “weaver.”
- Tamas - This is the Hungarian form of “Thomas” and it also means “twin” in Greek."
- Tot - This Hungarian surname is a variant of “Toth.”
- Toth - This is a Hungarian ethnic name for a Slovenian or Hungarian person.
- Varga - This is a Hungarian occupational name for a “cobbler” or “shoemaker.”
- Voros - This Hungarian last name comes from a nickname used for someone with red hair or a red complexion.
Use the list below to find your last name and learn about its meaning and origins.
Popular Hungarian Last Names on FamilyEducation: Nagy, Balogh, Farkas
