Wiktionary (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition: harmonic (Noun). a component frequency of the signal of a wave that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. harmonic (Adjective).
The majority, however, come from people who are just beginning to look at their family tree and hope that learning the origin of their last name will give them insight into where their family originally came from. Last names aren't always as simple as they sound, however. Kerry, for example, is an Irish surname.
In some cases it may be from a personal name derived from this element, taken over into Middle English from the Old Norse byname Hrafn; an example of this is one, Rauen de Engelbi recorded in the 1185 Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire. It is also present in placenames such as Ravenscroft and Rawnsley. In England, a few early forms such as William atte Raven (London, 1344) suggest that it may also be partly derived from a house-sign or an inn-sign. Other variant spellings of the name include, Reven, Revance, Rivance, Revens, Revans and Ravens.