Linna FinnishMeans
"castle" in Finnish. A famous namesake is Väinö Linna (1920-1992), Finnish author of
The Unknown Soldier.
Linton EnglishOriginally from place names meaning either "flax town" or "linden tree town" in Old English.
Linwood EnglishOriginally from place names meaning "linden tree forest" in Old English.
Lis PolishMeans
"fox" in Polish, a nickname for a sly person.
Lister ScottishAnglicized form of the Gaelic
Mac an Fleisdeir meaning
"son of the arrow maker".
Lithgow ScottishHabitation name meaning derived from Brythonic roots meaning "pool hollow". A famous bearer of this name is actor John Lithgow (1945-).
Little EnglishMeaning simply
"little", it was originally a nickname given to a short person.
Liu ChineseFrom Chinese
刘 (liú) meaning
"kill, destroy". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Han dynasty.
Ljunggren SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
ljung (Old Norse
lyng) meaning "heather" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Ljungman SwedishFrom Swedish
ljung (Old Norse
lyng) meaning "heather" and
man (Old Norse
maðr) meaning "person, man".
Locatelli ItalianFrom Locatello, a town in Lombardy, northern Italy, near the city of Bergamo.
Löfgren SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
löv (Old Norse
lauf) meaning "leaf" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Logan ScottishFrom a Scottish place name meaning
"little hollow", derived from Gaelic
lag "hollow, pit".
Loman DutchFrom various place names in the Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch
loh meaning "meadow, clearing".
Lombardi ItalianOriginally indicated someone who came from the Lombardy region of northern Italy, which was named for the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who invaded in the 6th century. Their name is derived from the Old German roots
lang "long" and
bart "beard".
London EnglishFrom the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain.
Long EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had long limbs or who was tall.
Longstaff EnglishOccupational name for an official who was equipped with a ceremonial staff, or a nickname for a tall person.
Love EnglishFrom the Old English given name
Lufu meaning "love".
Lovelace EnglishFrom a nickname for a lothario, derived from Middle English
lufeles, Old English
lufuleas meaning
"loveless".
Lowell EnglishFrom a nickname derived from a Norman French
lou meaning
"wolf" and a diminutive suffix.
Loyola Spanish, BasqueFrom the name of a place name near the town of Azpeitia in the Basque Country of Spain, derived from Basque
loi meaning "mud". This was the birthplace of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of Jesuits.
Lozano SpanishMeans
"healthy, exuberant, lively" in Spanish, originally used as a nickname for an elegant or haughty person.
Lu 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
吕 (lǚ) meaning "musical note" and also referring to the former state of Lu, which was situated in what is now Henan province.
Lu 2 ChineseFrom Chinese
卢 (lú) meaning
"rice bowl, black", also referring to an ancient minor territory in what is now Shandong province.
Lum EnglishFrom the name of towns in England called
Lumb, probably from Old English
lum "pool".
Luna SpanishFrom various places in Spain meaning "moon".
Lund Danish, Swedish, NorwegianIndicated a person who lived near a grove of trees, from Old Norse
lundr meaning
"grove". There are towns in Sweden named Lund.
Luo ChineseFrom Chinese
罗 (luó) referring to the minor state of Luo, which existed from the 11th to 7th centuries BC in what is now Hubei province.
Lusk ScottishPossibly from the place name
Leask in Aberdeenshire, of unknown meaning.
Luther GermanFrom the old given name
Leuthar. It was notably borne by the religious reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546).
Luzzatto ItalianFrom an Italian form of
Lusatia, a region of eastern Germany.
Lyall ScottishFrom the Old Norse given name
Liulfr, which was derived in part from
úlfr "wolf".
Lyle EnglishDerived from Norman French
l'isle meaning
"island".
Lynch IrishFrom Irish
Ó Loingsigh meaning
"descendant of Loingseach", a given name meaning "mariner".
Lyndon EnglishOriginally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.
Lyne ScottishHabitational name for someone who lived in places of this name in Scotland.
Lynn EnglishFrom the name of a town in Norfolk (King's Lynn), derived from Welsh
llyn meaning
"lake".
Lyon 1 English, FrenchOriginally denoted a person from the city of Lyon in central France, originally Latin
Lugdunum, of Gaulish origin meaning "hill fort of
Lugus". It could also denote a person from the small town of Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy.
Lyon 2 English, FrenchFrom a nickname derived from Old French and Middle English
lion meaning
"lion".
MacBeth ScottishDerived from the Gaelic given name
Mac Beatha meaning "son of life", which denoted a man of religious devotion. This was the name of an 11th-century Scottish king, and the name of a play based on his life by William Shakespeare.
MacCarrick IrishMeans
"son of Cúcharraige" in Irish. The given name
Cúcharraige is composed of
cú "hound" and
carraig "rock".
MacCoughlan IrishMeans
"son of Cochlán". The given name
Cochlán is derived from Irish
cochal meaning "cape" or "hood".
MacDonald ScottishAnglicized form of Scottish Gaelic
MacDhòmhnaill meaning
"son of Donald". It originates from the Highland clan Donald.
MacGregor ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
MacGriogair meaning
"son of Gregor". It originates from the Highland clan Gregor. A famous bearer was the Scottish folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor (1671-1734).
Machado Portuguese, SpanishDenoted a person who made or used hatchets, derived from Spanish and Portuguese
machado "hatchet", both from Latin
marculus "little hammer".
Macháň m CzechDerived from the given name
Mach, a Czech diminutive of
Matěj and other given names beginning with
Ma.
Mack 1 Scottish, IrishShortened form of various Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with
Mac or
Mc (from Irish
mac meaning "son").
MacKenzie ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
MacCoinnich meaning
"son of Coinneach". It originates from the Kintail area of Scotland on the northwest coast.
Mac Niadh IrishMeans
"son of Niadh" in Irish. The given name
Niadh means "champion".
Madison EnglishMeans
"son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the fourth American president James Madison (1751-1836).
Maeda JapaneseFrom Japanese
前 (mae) meaning "front, forward" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Magalhães PortugueseDenoted a person hailing from one of the numerous minor places of this name in Portugal, possibly of Celtic origin. A notable bearer was the Portuguese explorer Fernão de Magalhães (1480-1521), normally called Ferdinand Magellan in English.