MorceliArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly from Arabic مُرْسِل (mursil) meaning "sender, dispatcher" or "sent, transmitted" from أَرْسَلَ (ʾarsala) "to send, to dispatch".
MoujahidArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic مُجَاهِد (mujāhid) meaning "one who is labouring, one who is in distress", also used to refer to a member of a liberation army in Muslim countries (chiefly Moroccan).
NasutionBatak From Mandailing Nan Sakti On or Na Sakti On meaning "the magic one", itself from sakti meaning "mystical, magical" (ultimately of Sanskrit origin). This was a nickname of legendary Mandailing ruler Si Baroar Nan Sakti.
NatkhoCircassian Shapsug name possibly derived from Adyghe нат (nāt) meaning "Nart" (referring to a Caucasian saga) combined with хъо (χo) meaning "pig".
NatokCircassian Derived from Adyghe натӏэ (nāṭă) meaning "forehead" combined with къу (q°) meaning "man, male".
NiChinese From Chinese 倪 (ní) referring to the ancient territory of Ni, which existed during the Zhou dynasty in what is now the Shandong province.
NiangWestern African, Wolof Refers to a member of the Deme, a Wolof clan whose symbol is the donkey.
NiazaiPashto Most likely from Persian نیاز (niyaz) meaning "need, necessity, desire, wish" (see Niaz or Niyaz) combined with Pashto زوی (zoy) meaning "son (of)"... [more]
NoviItalian Derived from Italian novello and ultimately derived from Latin novellus meaning "new". "Novi" also means "new" in several Slavic languages.
ObamaJapanese From Japanese 小 (o) meaning "small" and 浜 (hama) meaning "beach, seashore".
OcampoSpanish, Galician From the Galician toponym O Campo meaning "the field", also used as a habitational name from a town of the same name in Lugo, Galicia.
OdishoAssyrian Means "servant of Jesus" from Syriac ܥܒܕܐ (ʿaḇdā) meaning "servant" and ܝܫܘܥ (Išōʿ) meaning "Jesus".
OuahmedBerber, Northern African Kabyle name meaning "son of Ahmed", from the Berber prefix ou- meaning "son (of)" combined with the Arabic name Ahmed (chiefly Algerian).
OueslatiArabic (Maghrebi) Habitational name for someone from the village of Oueslatia in northern Tunisia.
OuyahiaBerber, Northern African Means "son of Yahia", from the Berber prefix ou- meaning "son (of)" combined with the Arabic given name Yahia (chiefly Algerian).
OuyangChinese From Chinese 歐 (ōu) referring to Mount Sheng in present-day Huzhou, China, combined with 陽 (yáng) meaning "southern face (of a mountain)". The name supposedly originated with a prince of the Yue state that settled in the area surrounding the mountain... [more]
ÖzçelikTurkish From Turkish öz meaning "core, essence" and çelik meaning "steel".
OzdoevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush family name, which is derived the old Ingush personal name Ozda used by members of the Ozda teip (clan). The name itself is of disputed origin and meaning, though it is thought to be of non-Nakh, Perso-Arabic origin... [more]
ÖzerTurkish From Turkish öz meaning "core, essence" and er meaning "man, male, warrior".
OzerovRussian From Russian озеро (ozero) meaning "lake".
PadukoneIndian, Kannada (Rare), Konkani (Rare) From the name of ಕುಂದಾಪುರ (Kundapur), a coastal town in the state of Karnataka in India. This is the surname of Deepika Padukone (1986–), an Indian actress.
PangilinanFilipino, Tagalog Means "place of abstinence" from Tagalog pangilin meaning "abstinence, to abstain" and the suffix -an meaning "place of, time of". It was used to denote abstinence from certain foods for religious purposes.
PankiewiczPolish From the nickname Panek, a diminutive of Panas, itself a form of the given name Atanazy.
PapazoglouGreek Means "son of the priest", derived from the Greek παπάς (papás) meaning "priest" combined with the Turkish oğlu or oğul meaning "son, descendant".
PappalardoItalian Means "glutton, hypocrite" in Italian, originally a nickname for a gluttonous person or someone who pretended to observe religious fasts while eating meat in secret.
ParajuliNepali From the name of a village in Dailekh District called Parajul.
ParamarIndian, Gujarati Means "one who strikes the enemy" from Sanskrit पर (para) meaning "other, alien, foreigner, enemy" and मार (mā́ra) meaning "killing, slaying, destroying".
ParsiPersian, Indian (Parsi) Derived from Persian پارسی (pârsi) literally meaning "Persian", though it also refers to the Parsi (or Parsee), a Zoroastrian community in India.
PathanIndian (Muslim), Bengali, Urdu, Pashto Derived from Hindustani पठान (paṭhān) meaning "a Pashtun (person)", referring to the Pashtun ethnic group inhabiting present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is sometimes used by Pashtuns who ancestrally migrated to India.
PatiñoSpanish, Galician From a diminutive of Spanish or Galician pato meaning "duck", used as a nickname for a person who waddled.
PaudelNepali From Nepali पौडी (paudi) possibly referring to the town of Pauri in Uttarakhand, India, combined with आलय (alaya) meaning "house, dwelling".
PehlivanTurkish Means "wrestler, strongman" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian پهلوان (pahlavân).
PengellyCornish Habitational name for someone from any of various locations in Cornwall named Pengelly, from Cornish penn meaning "head, top, end" and gelli or gilly meaning "copse, grove".
PenningEnglish, Dutch, Low German From early Middle English penning, Low German penning, and Middle Dutch penninc, all meaning "penny". It was used as a topographic surname or a nickname referring to tax dues of a penny.
PenningtonEnglish Habitational surname denoting someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Pennington, derived from Old English penning meaning "penny" (used as a byname or from a tribute due on the land) and tun meaning "town".
PépinFrench From the Old French name Pepis, itself a form of the given name Pépin. Alternatively, it may be derived from French pépin meaning "(fruit) seed", thus making it an occupational name for a gardener or someone who grew fruit-bearing trees.
PeralesSpanish Habitational name for someone from any of various locations named Perales, from Spanish perales meaning "pear trees" (the plural of peral meaning "pear tree").
PiliangMinangkabau Probably derived from Indonesian pili meaning "a lot, many" and hyang meaning "god, deity" or the phrase pili hyang meaning "the god, the deity" (most likely referring to the Hindu-influenced gods that were worshiped before the arrival of Islam in the Indonesian archipelago)... [more]
PillotFrench Meaning unknown, possibly derived from Middle French pilot or pillot both meaning "stake, pole". This is the name of a wealthy merchant family from Besançon, France.
PinkertonScottish, Northern Irish Habitational name for a person originally from a location in Scotland named Pinkerton, which is of uncertain meaning.
PlevnelievBulgarian From the Bulgarian name for the Greek village of Petroussa (called Plevnya in Bulgarian), itself derived from Bulgarian плевня (plevnya) meaning "barn". A notable bearer is Bulgarian president Rosen Plevneliev (1964-).
PlievIngush (Russified), Ossetian (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush and Ossetian name, which is derived from the name of an Ingush teip (clan). The name itself comes from Plievo, the name of a village in Ingushetia, which means "village of the sons of Pkhile", referring to a given name possibly derived from Ossetian пыл (pyl) meaning "elephant".
PlotnikovRussian Means "son of the carpenter" from Russian плотник (plotnik) "carpenter".
PopalzaiPashto Meaning unknown, possibly derived from Persian پوپل (pupal) meaning "betel nut". The Popalzai are a Pashtun sub-tribe of the Durrani in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.
PopoviciRomanian Means "son of the priest" from Romanian popă meaning "priest".
PoroshenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian порох (porokh) meaning "(gun)powder, dust", used as an occupational name for someone who made or sold gunpowder. A notable bearer is current Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko (1965-).
ProustFrench From a nickname derived from French preux meaning "valiant, brave". A famous bearer was Marcel Proust (1871-1922), a French writer.
ProvostEnglish, French Derived from the Middle English provost; referring to the person who heads a religious chapter in a cathedral or educational establishment. It was also used as a nickname for a self-important person and is a French variant of Prevost.
PuChinese From Chinese 蒲 (pú) meaning "calamus, cattail".
PugachevRussian From the nickname Pugach which is probably derived from Ukrainian пугач (pugach) meaning "owl". Following this etymology, the nickname was most likely given to someone who was wise or sensible (attributing to the owl as a symbol of wisdom).