300+ Rich Old Money Surnames for Men & Women

Looking for a wealthy-sounding last name for a fictional character—or perhaps for yourself? *Twirls mustache* We've got you covered! For this article, we've compiled a list of the richest and fanciest old money surnames imaginable. Names that sweat dollar bills. Names that go to Yale or Harvard. Names that sound right at home in Downton Abbey. You'll probably recognize more than a few of them as the names of real-life old money bigwigs! Keep reading to find the perfect old money last name for you!

Classic Old Money Surnames

Bloomberg
Du Pont
Carnegie
Forbes
Oliphant
Vanderbilt
Rathbone

Section 1 of 8:

Classy Old Money Last Names

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You can't go wrong with these timeless old money names. Aristocratic names are inherently classic and timeless—but these names in particular evoke the old money aesthetic . Just hearing them makes us think of yachts and big brown sacks of cash with dollar signs printed on them:
- Augustus
- Bamford
- Barclay
- Bloomberg
- Bulgari
- Branson
- Busch
- Carnegie ^{[1]
  X
  Research source}
- Forbes
- Ford
- Frick
- Goldman
- Habsburg
- Hargreaves
- Hearst
- Hilton
- Koch
- Lincoln
- Livingstone
- Mellon
- Rockefeller
- Romanov
- Roosevelt
- Rothschild
- Sonnenberg
- Soros
- Tiffany
- Tudor
- Van Cleef
- Van Damme
- Vanderbilt
- Whitney
- Windsor
- Winfrey

Section 2 of 8:

Luxurious Old Money Last Names

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Choose a surname that emits a wealthy and luxe aura. These names are off-the-charts old money. Just hearing them stirs up images of being draped in a mink coat while a servant brings you an old fashioned:
- Balenciaga
- Burberry
- Byron
- Caesar
- Cartier
- Cash
- Chanel
- Chopard
- Devereux
- Dior
- Dulce
- Du Pont
- Fendi
- Ferragamo
- Ferrari
- Ferrero
- Givenchy
- Grimaldi
- Grosvenor
- Gucci
- Hadid
- Hermès
- Jenner
- Kardashian
- King
- Lacoste
- Lauder
- Laurent
- LeCoultre
- Medici
- Newhouse
- Orleans
- Ortega
- Pinault
- Porsche
- Prada
- Presley
- Reichmann
- Swarovski
- Versace
- Vuitton
- Wertheimer
- Wilsdorf

Section 3 of 8:

Fancy Old Money Last Names

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Opt for a delicately elegant surname. These arresting and fanciful names don't scream "money"—they whisper it, confident you'll do the work of leaning closer if you can't hear them:
- Arison
- Ashbury
- Ashcroft
- Ashworth
- Beaumont
- Blackwood
- Blanchet
- Chastain
- Clifford
- Coates
- Cox
- Dassault
- Dubois
- Duval
- Ellsworth
- Fairfax
- Ferdinand
- Fontaine
- Ford
- Gallo
- Getty
- Girard
- Goldman
- Hargrave
- Harrington
- Hawthorne ^{[2]
  X
  Research source}
- Kingsley
- Le Clerc
- Montague
- Montclair
- Moreau
- Pembroke
- Pendleton
- Preston
- Ratcliffe
- Rousseau
- Rutherford
- St. John
- Thornton
- Whittaker
- Worthington

Section 4 of 8:

Understated Old Money Last Names

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The surnames on this list are unassuming, but they're no less classy. In fact, their simplicity and everydayness add a sort of dignified subtlety to them: they're less in-your-face than a Carnegie or a Rockefeller, but they know they own multiple private islands, and that's all that matters.
- Cabot
- Cargill
- Dell
- Donnelley
- Dyson
- Ecclestone
- Hayes
- Hoffman
- Jackson
- Johnson
- Klein
- Lange
- Lehman
- Lee
- Lloyd
- Lowell
- Lucas
- Lynch
- McGregor
- Morgan
- Reuben
- Reynolds
- Rich
- Simmons
- Smith
- Spielberg
- Taylor
- Thompson
- Walton
- Wayne
- Welch
- Weston

Section 5 of 8:

Unique Old Money Last Names

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You probably haven't heard some of these old money surnames. For some, it's because they're pretty rare. For others, it's because they're more common in non-English-speaking countries:
- Cheng
- De Mevius
- Fridman
- Graff
- Hartono
- Hayek
- Heineken
- Henkel
- Herlin
- Hilti
- Kadoorie
- Kamprad
- Kwok
- Margiela
- Marinho
- Mars
- McKinsey
- Merck
- Morovingian
- Miele
- Mountbatten
- Mulliez
- Ofer
- Otto
- Persson
- Peugeot
- Pritzker
- Quandt
- Rausing
- Schaeffler
- Schermerhorn
- Shin
- Sy
- Van Der Vorm
- Van Rensselaer
- Yurman

Section 6 of 8:

European Old Money Last Names

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Go with an elite French, Spanish, Italian, Scottish, or German surname. Most of what we think of as old money names have European roots. So even if you (or your fictional character) are American, if you have European heritage, consider opting for a surname that reflects their lineage.
- French
  - Astor
  - Bass
  - Bernadotte
  - Boss
  - Boucheron
  - Bourbon ^{[3]
    X
    Research source}
  - Chevalier
  - Dufresne
  - Dumas
  - Fournier
  - Lauren
  - Marchand
  - Montreux
- German
  - Adler
  - Albrecht
  - Arnoult
  - Baldwin
  - Bettencourt
  - Berg
  - Drakenberg
  - Falkenberg
  - Holstein
  - Kassel
  - Lichtenstein
  - Schindler
  - Schroder
  - Seinfeld
  - Siemens
  - Sternberg
  - Von Adler
  - Von Bismarck
  - Von Braun
  - Von Essen
  - Von Hohenzollern
  - Von Kleist
  - Von Schleicher
  - Von Stein
- Italian
  - Agnelli
  - Armani
  - Bellini
  - Bertarelli
  - Buccellati
  - Buccellati
  - Bianchi
  - Borghese
  - Colonna
  - Conti
  - D'Angelo
  - De Luca
  - Esposito
  - Farnese
  - Ferrara
  - Lombardi
  - Mancini
  - Marchetti
  - Medici
  - Moretti
  - Orsini
  - Ricci
  - Rinaldi
  - Romano
  - Santoro
- Scottish
  - Buchanan
  - Campbell
  - Douglas
  - Fraser
  - MacAllister
  - MacBride
  - MacFarlane
  - MacGregor
  - MacKenzie
  - MacLean
  - MacLeod
  - MacNair
  - MacPherson
  - MacQuarrie
  - MacRae
  - MacTavish
  - Ramsay
  - Sinclair
  - Stewart
- Spanish
  - Alvarez
  - Cervantes
  - De la Vega
  - De Leon
  - Del Castillo
  - Delgado
  - Escobar
  - Fuentes
  - Herrera
  - Guzman
  - Mendoza
  - Morales
  - Navarro
  - Paredes
  - Rojas
  - Santiago
  - Torres
  - Valdez
  - Vega

Section 7 of 8:

Funny Old Money Last Names

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These names are so funny, they make you wonder if the money is, too… These names are so over-the-top aristocratic, they can't help but make you want to roll your eyes or burst into laughter—or both. Try these real and made-up names for a humorous old money character you want to poke a little fun at:
- Clearwater
- Humperdinck
- Fezziwig
- Livingston
- Mayweather
- Moneybags
- Oppenheimer
- Pennyfeather
- Picklebottom
- Pulitzer
- Schnickelfritz
- Von Wittelsbach
- Westwood
- Wigglesworth
- Windsor
- Woolworth

Section 8 of 8:

What makes a name “old money”?

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1
Heritage and lineage Names we think of as "old money" typically have deep, deep historical roots. They're tethered to famous (or infamous) families who have been passing along their wealth for generations. An old money name isn't just one person's name—it's the name of a family whose legacy, traditions, and pockets go back centuries.
- For instance, when you hear the name "Rockefeller," you likely don't think of an individual person, but a whole timeless lineage of wealthy, influential people.
2
Timelessness Old money names have a classic feel to them—and that's because they've been around for so long! They're dignified and respectable, but without putting too much effort in.
- Old money first names , too, don't bow to trends, nor do they really feel "outdated." Instead, old money families tend to stick to classic names that never go out of style.
3
European aristocratic influence Even if you've got an American old money family in mind, odds are, they came from somewhere in Europe. The well-known industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, for instance, is Scottish-American, and his name reflects his Scottish roots.
- Old money first names also often have royal or aristocratic connections to augment their fancy and prestigious vibe.

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300+ Rich Old Money Surnames for Men & Women

Classic Old Money Surnames

Steps

Classy Old Money Last Names

Luxurious Old Money Last Names

Fancy Old Money Last Names

Understated Old Money Last Names

Unique Old Money Last Names

European Old Money Last Names

Funny Old Money Last Names

What makes a name “old money”?

Expert Q&A

Tips

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