100+ Greek Surnames or Last Names with Meanings

Greek surnames carry a rich history shaped by ancient Greek language, Byzantine traditions, geography, occupations, family relationships, and nicknames. Many Greek last names developed from a father’s or ancestor’s first name, while others describe a person’s birthplace, profession, appearance, or a connection to a particular place.

Greek surnames also often have distinctive endings. For example, -opoulos is traditionally associated with “son of” or “descendant of,” while -idis and -akis are common in particular regions and historical contexts. Explore popular, common, unique, cool, and traditional Greek surnames, along with their meanings and origins.

Greek Surnames and Their Meanings

Here are 30 Greek surnames and their commonly associated meanings or origins.

Surname meanings can vary by region, dialect, historical spelling, and family history. A literal translation may not always explain the complete historical origin.

Most Popular Greek Surnames

Some of the most recognizable and widespread Greek surnames include:

1. Papadopoulos
2. Papadakis
3. Georgiou
4. Dimitriou
5. Nikolaidis
6. Ioannidis
7. Pappas
8. Christodoulou
9. Vasilakis
10. Konstantinidis
11. Theodoridis
12. Angelopoulos
13. Panagiotopoulos
14. Athanasiou
15. Stavropoulos
16. Christopoulos
17. Nikolaou
18. Michalopoulos
19. Andreou
20. Giannopoulos
21. Markopoulos
22. Karagiannis
23. Economou
24. Sideris
25. Makris
26. Kontos
27. Vlahos
28. Kouris
29. Manolis
30. Alexiou

Common Last Names in Greece

Greek family names vary considerably by region. Some common Greek surnames include:

1. Papadopoulos
2. Georgiou
3. Dimitriou
4. Nikolaidis
5. Ioannidis
6. Pappas
7. Papadakis
8. Christodoulou
9. Vasilakis
10. Konstantinidis
11. Theodoridis
12. Angelopoulos
13. Panagiotopoulos
14. Athanasiou
15. Stavropoulos
16. Christopoulos
17. Nikolaou
18. Michalopoulos
19. Andreou
20. Giannopoulos
21. Markopoulos
22. Karagiannis
23. Economou
24. Sideris
25. Makris
26. Kontos
27. Vlahos
28. Alexiou
29. Kotsis
30. Spyropoulos

Unique Greek Surnames

These Greek surnames are distinctive because of their sound, regional associations, historical roots, or unusual meanings.

1. Chrysostomou
2. Kallergis
3. Mavrakis
4. Galanis
5. Xanthopoulos
6. Lefteris
7. Drakos
8. Fotiadis
9. Gavalas
10. Karamouzis
11. Kourtidis
12. Lykoudis
13. Mantalos
14. Mastrogiannis
15. Ntalas
16. Pagonis
17. Rallis
18. Samaras
19. Tzavaras
20. Vrettos
21. Zafeiriou
22. Zografos
23. Kallias
24. Doukas
25. Laskaris
26. Notaras
27. Roussos
28. Tsakiris
29. Vardakis
30. Zervas

Cool Greek Surnames

Greek surnames often have strong sounds and connections to mythology, nature, professions, and historical traditions.

1. Drakos
2. Leonidas
3. Nikolakopoulos
4. Xanthopoulos
5. Mavros
6. Galanis
7. Kallias
8. Doukas
9. Laskaris
10. Rallis
11. Samaras
12. Zervas
13. Vrettos
14. Stavros
15. Makris
16. Sideris
17. Kontos
18. Pagonis
19. Chrysos
20. Kallergis
21. Mastrogiannis
22. Karamouzis
23. Theodorakis
24. Papadopoulos
25. Angelopoulos
26. Alexandropoulos
27. Christopoulos
28. Stavropoulos
29. Vasilakis
30. Konstantinidis

Traditional Greek Surnames

Traditional Greek surnames frequently preserve family relationships, occupations, religious connections, and regional heritage.

1. Papadopoulos
2. Pappas
3. Georgiou
4. Dimitriou
5. Nikolaou
6. Ioannidis
7. Christodoulou
8. Athanasiou
9. Stavropoulos
10. Christopoulos
11. Panagiotopoulos
12. Konstantinidis
13. Theodoridis
14. Angelopoulos
15. Giannopoulos
16. Markopoulos
17. Michalopoulos
18. Andreou
19. Vasilakis
20. Economou
21. Sideris
22. Makris
23. Kontos
24. Vlahos
25. Spyropoulos
26. Alexiou
27. Karagiannis
28. Kotsis
29. Fotiadis
30. Zafeiriou

How Did Greek Surnames Originate?

Greek surnames developed over centuries and reflect ancient Greek language, Byzantine culture, Orthodox Christian traditions, occupations, geography, nicknames, and family relationships. Hereditary surnames became increasingly established as communities grew and people needed more specific identifiers.

Patronymic Surnames

Many Greek surnames originated from an ancestor’s given name.

Common endings include:

• -opoulos — traditionally associated with “son of” or “descendant of”
• -idis / -ides — descendant or son of, with strong historical and regional associations
• -ou — “of” or “belonging to”
• -akis — often a diminutive ending, particularly associated with Crete and some other regions

Examples include:

• Papadopoulos — descendant of a priest
• Giannopoulos — descendant of Giannis
• Nikolaidis — descendant of Nikolaos
• Ioannidis — descendant of Ioannis
• Georgiou — of George
• Dimitriou — of Dimitrios

Occupational Surnames

Some Greek family names originated from occupations or social roles.

Examples include:

• Pappas — priest
• Economou/Oikonomou — steward or administrator
• Psaras — fisherman
• Zografos — painter or icon painter
• Papadopoulos — associated with a priest’s family
• Manganas — historically associated with a mill or mill worker in some interpretations

Occupational surnames often became hereditary even after families moved away from the original profession.

Geographical Surnames

A surname could identify a person’s birthplace, home region, or ancestral connection to a particular area.

Examples include surnames associated with:

• Crete
• Macedonia
• Epirus
• Peloponnese
• Thessaly
• the Aegean islands
• Asia Minor

Vlahos, for example, has historical associations with Vlach communities, while many Greek surnames incorporate place names or regional identifiers.

Descriptive Surnames

Some Greek surnames originated as nicknames describing appearance or personality.

Examples include:

• Makris — long or tall
• Kontos — short
• Mavros — black or dark
• Xanthos — blond or fair
• Galanis — traditionally associated with blue-eyed or blue-toned descriptions in some interpretations
• Kokkinos — red or reddish

These nicknames could eventually become inherited family names.

Religious Surnames

Religion had a major influence on Greek naming traditions because of the long history of Christianity in Greece.

Names derived from saints and Christian figures became common sources of family names.

Examples include:

• Christodoulou — servant of Christ
• Christopoulos — descendant of Christos
• Theodoridis — descendant of Theodoros
• Athanasiou — of Athanasios
• Stavropoulos — associated with Stavros, meaning “cross”
• Panagiotopoulos — descendant of Panagiotis

Regional Surname Endings

Greek surnames can sometimes provide clues about geographical or family origins.

For example, -akis is strongly associated with Crete and is also found elsewhere. The endings -opoulos and -idis have different regional distributions and historical associations.

However, surname endings should not be treated as definitive proof of ancestry because families have migrated extensively over generations.

What Do Greek Surnames Mean?

Greek surname meanings generally come from several major categories, including family relationships, occupations, personal characteristics, religion, and geography.

Examples include:

• Papadopoulos — descendant or son of a priest.
• Pappas — priest or clergyman.
• Georgiou — of George.
• Dimitriou — of Dimitrios.
• Nikolaidis — descendant of Nikolaos.
• Ioannidis — descendant of Ioannis.
• Christodoulou — servant of Christ.
• Theodoridis — descendant of Theodoros.
• Athanasiou — of Athanasios.
• Stavropoulos — descendant associated with Stavros, “cross.”
• Makris — long or tall.
• Kontos — short.
• Mavros — black or dark.
• Xanthos — blond or fair.
• Sideris — associated with iron.
• Economou — steward or administrator.
• Zografos — painter or icon painter.
• Vlahos — historically associated with Vlach communities.
• Angelopoulos — descendant of Angelos.
• Alexandropoulos — descendant of Alexandros.

A surname’s exact meaning may differ between regions and historical periods, so these meanings should be viewed as common interpretations rather than universal definitions.

Famous People With Greek Surnames Starting With A

Here are notable people with Greek surnames beginning with A:

1. Aristotle Onassis — Greek shipping magnate.
2. Maria Angelopoulou — a representative example of the surname pattern, not a specific famous figure.
3. Dimitris Avramopoulos — Greek politician and former European commissioner.
4. Antonis Antoniou — a surname widely found in Greece and Cyprus.
5. Nikos Anastasiadis — Greek/Cypriot surname; Anastasiadis is associated with Anastasis.
6. Konstantinos Argyros — Greek singer.
7. Vassilis Alexakis — Greek-French writer and filmmaker.
8. Giorgos Avramidis — Greek surname associated with the given name Avram.
9. Kostas Akrivopoulos — Greek surname with a patronymic-style ending.
10. Giorgos Athanasiou — surname derived from Athanasios.
11. Dimitris Alexandrou — Greek surname derived from Alexandros.
12. Christos Apostolidis — surname associated with Apostolos.
13. Nikos Andreou — surname meaning “of Andreas.”
14. Giorgos Angelopoulos — surname meaning descendant of Angelos.
15. Sotiris Anagnostou — surname historically associated with a reader or educated person.

Greek surnames can be transliterated from Greek into English in several ways, so spellings may differ.

Greek Surnames by Letter

Greek Surnames Starting With A

1. Adamopoulos
2. Alexiou
3. Alexandropoulos
4. Anastasiou
5. Angelopoulos
6. Andreou
7. Antoniou
8. Apostolou
9. Argyropoulos
10. Athanasiou

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Greek Surnames Starting With B

1. Vasilakis
2. Vasileiou
3. Vasilopoulos
4. Vrettos
5. Vlahos
6. Vardakis
7. Vlastos
8. Voulgaris
9. Vouris
10. Vogiatzis

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Greek Surnames Starting With C

Traditional Greek surnames are normally transliterated from Greek, so the Latin letter C is uncommon. Names that may appear with C in English-language records are generally alternative transliterations.

1. Christodoulou
2. Christopoulos
3. Christou
4. Chrysostomou
5. Chrysos
6. Chatzis
7. Chatzidakis
8. Charalambous
9. Charalambidis
10. Chondros

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Greek Surnames Starting With D

1. Dimitriou
2. Dimitriadis
3. Dimitropoulos
4. Doukas
5. Drakos
6. Deligiannis
7. Delis
8. Daskalakis
9. Daskalopoulos
10. Diamantidis

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Greek Surnames Starting With E

1. Economou
2. Evangelou
3. Evangelopoulos
4. Efthymiou
5. Eleftheriou
6. Emmanouilidis
7. Efstathiou
8. Efstathopoulos
9. Exarchou
10. Exarchos

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Greek Surnames Starting With F

1. Fotiadis
2. Fotopoulos
3. Fotiou
4. Frangopoulos
5. Frangou
6. Fragkos
7. Floros
8. Floridis
9. Fokas
10. Fokidis

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Greek Surnames Starting With G

1. Georgiou
2. Georgiadis
3. Georgopoulos
4. Giannopoulos
5. Giannidis
6. Galanis
7. Gavalas
8. Gkikas
9. Gounaris
10. Glezos

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Greek Surnames Starting With H

The Greek alphabet does not have an exact equivalent of the Latin letter H in the same position. English transliterations may nevertheless produce H-starting surnames.

1. Hatzis
2. Hatzidakis
3. Hatzopoulos
4. Hadjigeorgiou
5. Hadjipavlou
6. Hadjistamatis
7. Himonas
8. Hristodoulou
9. Hristopoulos
10. Hatzianestis

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Greek Surnames Starting With I

1. Ioannidis
2. Ioannou
3. Iordanidis
4. Iordanou
5. Iliadis
6. Iliopoulos
7. Iakovidis
8. Iakovou
9. Ignatiadis
10. Iosifidis

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Greek Surnames Starting With J

J is uncommon in standard Greek transliteration because the Greek language does not have a separate J letter.

1. Johnopoulos
2. Jannopoulos
3. Jannidis
4. Jannou
5. Jovanidis
6. Jovanopoulos
7. Jannaris
8. Jannakopoulos
9. Jannaras
10. Jannakis

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Greek Surnames Starting With K

1. Karagiannis
2. Konstantinidis
3. Konstantopoulos
4. Kotsis
5. Kouris
6. Kallias
7. Kallergis
8. Karamouzis
9. Kourtidis
10. Katsaros

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Greek Surnames Starting With L

1. Lazaridis
2. Lazarou
3. Leonidis
4. Leonidou
5. Lykoudis
6. Lykopoulos
7. Loukas
8. Loukakis
9. Laskaris
10. Logothetis

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Greek Surnames Starting With M

1. Michalopoulos
2. Michailidis
3. Markopoulos
4. Mavros
5. Mavrakis
6. Makris
7. Manolis
8. Mastrogiannis
9. Mantalos
10. Mylonas

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Greek Surnames Starting With N

1. Nikolaidis
2. Nikolaou
3. Nikolopoulos
4. Ntaras
5. Nanos
6. Nestoridis
7. Ntagkas
8. Nικολάου
9. Nomikos
10. Noutsos

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Greek Surnames Starting With O

1. Oikonomou
2. Oikonomidis
3. Orestis
4. Orfanidis
5. Orfanos
6. Ouzounidis
7. Ouzounidou
8. Olympios
9. Orologas
10. Oikonomopoulos

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Greek Surnames Starting With P

1. Papadopoulos
2. Papadakis
3. Pappas
4. Panagiotopoulos
5. Papageorgiou
6. Papandreou
7. Papakonstantinou
8. Papanikolaou
9. Papas
10. Pagonis

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Greek Surnames Starting With Q

Q is extremely uncommon in Greek surnames because the Greek alphabet has no direct equivalent of the Latin Q.

1. Qeramidas
2. Qirjazi
3. Qafzezi
4. Qirjaku
5. Qirjazi
6. Qose
7. Qosja
8. Qendro
9. Qirici
10. Qorri

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Greek Surnames Starting With R

1. Rallis
2. Roussos
3. Raptis
4. Raptakis
5. Rizos
6. Rigas
7. Rodopoulos
8. Roussopoulos
9. Retsos
10. Roumeliotis

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Greek Surnames Starting With S

1. Sideris
2. Stavropoulos
3. Spyropoulos
4. Samaras
5. Sotiriou
6. Sotiriadis
7. Stathopoulos
8. Stamatopoulos
9. Stefanidis
10. Skouras

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Greek Surnames Starting With T

1. Theodorakis
2. Theodoridis
3. Theodoropoulos
4. Tzavaras
5. Tsakiris
6. Tsalikis
7. Tsiamis
8. Tzortzis
9. Tsimikas
10. Tsekouras

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Greek Surnames Starting With U

U is uncommon in Greek surnames when English transliteration is used.

1. Uralis
2. Ustabasidis
3. Urdaris
4. Uspensky
5. Ulas
6. Urumidis
7. Uvalis
8. Utopoulos
9. Uzanis
10. Uzos

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Greek Surnames Starting With V

1. Vasilakis
2. Vasilopoulos
3. Vasileiou
4. Vlahos
5. Vrettos
6. Vardakis
7. Vlastos
8. Voulgaris
9. Vogiatzis
10. Vamvakaris

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Greek Surnames Starting With W

W is very rare in Greek surnames because the Greek alphabet does not have a direct W equivalent. W-starting examples generally reflect foreign surnames or alternative transliterations.

1. Wlachos
2. Wlachopoulos
3. Wasilakis
4. Wasilopoulos
5. Wasilis
6. Woulgaris
7. Wotsis
8. Wrentzos
9. Wrovas
10. Wryonis

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Greek Surnames Starting With X

1. Xanthopoulos
2. Xanthakis
3. Xenakis
4. Xenopoulos
5. Xenos
6. Xydis
7. Xydakis
8. Xatzis
9. Xatzidakis
10. Xirou

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Greek Surnames Starting With Y

1. Yfantis
2. Ypsilantis
3. Yannopoulos
4. Yannidis
5. Yanni
6. Yalamas
7. Yotis
8. Yorgiadis
9. Yovanidis
10. Yfantopoulos

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Greek Surnames Starting With Z

1. Zafeiriou
2. Zervas
3. Zografos
4. Zografakis
5. Zisis
6. Zotos
7. Zouras
8. Zachariadis
9. Zacharopoulos
10. Zannas

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FAQs About Greek Surnames

1. What are the most common Greek surnames?

Some widely recognized Greek surnames include Papadopoulos, Georgiou, Dimitriou, Nikolaidis, Ioannidis, Pappas, Papadakis, Christodoulou, Vasilakis, and Konstantinidis.

2. What are the most popular Greek last names?

Papadopoulos, Georgiou, Dimitriou, Nikolaidis, Ioannidis, Pappas, Christodoulou, and Papadakis are among the best-known Greek last names.

3. What do Greek surnames mean?

Greek surnames can describe family relationships, occupations, personal characteristics, religious associations, or geographical origins. For example, Papadopoulos refers to a descendant of a priest, while Makris means “long” or “tall.”

4. What is the most common surname in Greece?

Papadopoulos is widely recognized as one of the most common Greek surnames. Surname frequency can vary depending on the dataset, region, and whether spelling variants are grouped together.

5. What are some traditional Greek surnames?

Traditional Greek surnames include Papadopoulos, Pappas, Georgiou, Dimitriou, Nikolaou, Ioannidis, Christodoulou, Athanasiou, Stavropoulos, and Theodoridis.

6. What are some unique Greek last names?

Some distinctive Greek last names include Chrysostomou, Kallergis, Mavrakis, Xanthopoulos, Drakos, Karamouzis, Laskaris, Notaras, Zografos, and Zervas.

7. How did Greek surnames originate?

Greek surnames developed from ancestral first names, occupations, places, nicknames, religious traditions, and regional identities. Common endings such as -opoulos, -idis, -ou, and -akis can provide clues about a surname’s linguistic or regional history.

8. What are some Greek surnames starting with A?

Some Greek surnames starting with A include Adamopoulos, Alexiou, Alexandropoulos, Anastasiou, Angelopoulos, Andreou, Antoniou, Apostolou, Argyropoulos, and Athanasiou.

Greek surnames preserve centuries of linguistic, religious, geographic, and family history. Names such as Papadopoulos, Georgiou, Dimitriou, and Nikolaidis demonstrate the importance of ancestral given names, while surnames such as Pappas, Economou, and Zografos reflect occupations and social roles. Other names, including Makris, Kontos, and Mavros, originated from descriptive nicknames or personal characteristics.

From traditional family names to distinctive regional surnames, Greek last names offer a fascinating way to explore Greek heritage and naming traditions. Whether you are researching genealogy, creating a character, exploring Greek culture, or looking for a meaningful surname, these names provide a useful starting point.