Curiosity about surnames?

Question

I would like to know what nationality these are... or if it's nebolous origin:

Lyon

Van Steinberg (or Von Steinberg, I'm not sure)

French, German, Austrian, Martian???

Thanks!

Answer 1

UK answer.

This is what www.ancestry.com had to say about the names.

Van Name Meaning and History

Vietnamese: unexplained.

Dutch (De Van): metonymic occupational name for a winnower or a maker of winnowing fans, from Middle Dutch van(ne) ‘fan’.

English: Western English variant of Fann.

Czech (Van): from a pet form of the personal name Václav, Old Czech Veceslav (see Vacek).

Ukrainian: from a short form of the personal name Ivan, Slavic form of John.

Steinberg Name Meaning and History

German, Jewish (Ashkenazic), and Swedish (of German origin): habitational name from any of the many places named Steinberg, from Old High German stein ‘stone’ + berg ‘mountain’, ‘hill’.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name composed of German Stein ‘stone’ + Berg ‘mountain’, ‘hill’.

Lyon Name Meaning and History

Scottish, English and French: from Old French, Middle English lion (Latin leo, genitive leonis), hence a nickname for a fierce or brave warrior, or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a lion.

Scottish, English, French, and Dutch: habitational name from the city of Lyon in south central France (English name: Lyons), or from the smaller Lyons-la-Forêt in Eure, Normandy. The name of the former is recorded in the 1st century bc as Lugdunum and is from the name of a Celtic god Lug (or this as a personal name, from a word meaning ‘brightness’) + dunon ‘hill fort’.

Scottish and English: from the name Leo(n) (from Latin leo ‘lion’, or the cognate Greek leon), borne by numerous early martyrs and thirteen popes.

Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Laighin (see Lane 2).

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Steinberg sounds German or Russian perhaps. I'm not quite sure, I have a lot of Anglo-Saxon names around me.

Answer 3

Van is usually Dutch and Von is usually german (though it might be Austrian or Swiss).