indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from given name & from occupation)
Other Forms FormsLamasse, Lamass, Lamassy, Lammas, LaMassey, Lemas, Lemasse, Lemmass, Limasse, Lymas, Lymass, Masterson, Masters, Master, Meister, Meisters, Mester, Meester, Maestri, Maestro, Maestre, Mastro, Mestre, Maistre, Maitre, Maister, Lemaistre, Lemaître, Lemaitre, Lemaster, Lemasters, Lamaster, De Meester, Demeester, Meesters, Meijster, Majster, Majšter, Majstr, Mason, Masson, Maçon, Maison, Le Masson
Meaning & History
Meaning uncertain. It may be derived from Old French maistre meaning "master", ultimately from Latin magister (see Masterson). Another theory holds that it comes from Irish Gaelic Laighmheasa, a given name meaning "dispatch". One final theory suggests that it could be a misdivision of the Old French surname Le Masson, which meant "the stoneworker, the bricklayer" (see Mason). A notable bearer of this name was the Irish prime minister Seán Lemass (1899-1971), who was of distant French Huguenot ancestry.