Moriarty IrishFrom Irish
Ó Muircheartach meaning
"descendant of Muirchertach". This was the surname given by Arthur Conan Doyle to a master criminal in the Sherlock Holmes series.
Morley EnglishFrom the name of various English towns, from Old English
mor "moor, bog" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Morra ItalianLocative name derived from Italian places such as Morra De Sanctis, Campania, or Morra del Villar, Piedmont.
Mortimer EnglishFrom the name of a town in Normandy meaning
"dead water, still water" in Old French.
Morton EnglishDerived from a place name meaning
"moor town" in Old English.
Moschella ItalianFrom a diminutive of Italian
mosca meaning
"housefly", perhaps originally a nickname for an annoying person.
Moser GermanName for someone who lived near a peat bog, from Middle High German
mos.
Moto JapaneseFrom Japanese
本 (moto) meaning
"base, root, origin". More commonly it is the final character in Japanese surnames.
Motta ItalianFrom various names of places around Italy. It is derived from a Gaulish word meaning "hill".
Mottershead EnglishFrom the name of a lost place in Cheshire, derived from the Old English byname
Motere meaning "speaker" and
heafod meaning "headland".
Moya SpanishFrom any of various towns named Moya in Spain, of uncertain meaning.
Moździerz PolishMeans
"mortar" in Polish. It probably referred to someone who worked with or sold mortar.
Muggia ItalianFrom the town of Muggia in northeastern Italy near the Slovenian border. It was called
Muglae in Latin.
Muir ScottishScots form of
Moore 1. This name was borne by the Scottish-American naturalist John Muir (1838-1914).
Mullen IrishFrom the Irish
Ó Maoláin meaning
"descendant of Maolán". The given name
Maolán meant "devotee, servant, tonsured one".
Müller GermanGerman equivalent of
Miller, derived from Middle High German
mülnære or
müller.
Muñoz SpanishPatronymic derived from the medieval Spanish given name
Muño, from Latin
Munnius, possibly of Germanic origin.
Munro ScottishDesignated a person who had originally lived near the mouth of the Roe River in Derry, Ireland. It is derived from Gaelic
bun meaning "root, base" combined with the river's name.
Munson EnglishPatronymic formed from the Norman French nickname
moun meaning
"monk".
Munteanu RomanianFrom Romanian
muntean meaning
"mountaineer, from the mountains", ultimately from Latin
mons.
Muraro ItalianOccupational name for a wall builder, from Italian
murare meaning
"to wall up".
Murgia SardinianMeans
"brine" in Sardinian, perhaps a nickname for someone who pickled foods.
Murphy IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Murchadha meaning
"descendant of Murchadh". This is the most common Irish surname.
Murray 1 ScottishDerived from the region in Scotland called
Moray (Gaelic
Moireabh), possibly of Pictish origin, meaning
"seashore, coast". A notable bearer of this surname was General James Murray (1721-1794), who was the first British Governor-General of Canada.
Mushyan ArmenianOriginally denoted someone who came from the Armenian town of Mushi.
Musil m CzechPossibly from a nickname meaning
"the one who had to", from the past participle of the Czech verb
muset meaning "must" (of Germanic origin).
Mussolini ItalianFrom Italian
mussolina meaning
"muslin", a type of cloth, itself derived from the city of Mosul in Iraq. This name was borne by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945).
Mutō JapaneseFrom Japanese
武 (mu) meaning "military, martial" and
藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The final character may indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.
Mutton EnglishReferred to a shepherd or else someone who in some way resembled a sheep, derived from Norman French
mouton "sheep".
Myer EnglishFrom Old French
mire meaning
"doctor", derived from Latin
medicus.
Myška m CzechFrom a nickname derived from Czech
myš meaning
"mouse".
Nagarkar MarathiDerived from the name of the town of Nagar in Maharashtra, India.
Nagel German, DutchMeans
"nail" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a carpenter or nailsmith.
Naggi ItalianOriginally denoted a person from the town of Naggio in Lombardy, Italy.
Nagy um Hungarian, SlovakFrom a nickname meaning
"big, great" in Hungarian, referring to one's characteristics. This is the most common Hungarian surname. In Slovakia this spelling is only used for men, with
Nagyová being the feminine form.
Nakai JapaneseFrom Japanese
中 (naka) meaning "middle" and
井 (i) meaning "well, mine shaft, pit".
Namgung KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
南 (nam) meaning "south" combined with
宮 (gung) meaning "palace, house". This is the most common Korean compound surname.
Narang HindiFrom the name of a Pakistani town that was in undivided India.
Nasato ItalianNickname for someone with a prominent nose, from Italian
naso "nose".
Nash EnglishDerived from the Middle English phrase
atten ash "at the ash tree". A famous bearer was the mathematician John Nash (1928-2015).
Navarro SpanishDenoted a person who came from Navarre in northern Spain (Spanish
Navarra). The name of the region is of Basque origin, possibly from
nabar meaning "brown".
Navrátil m CzechMeans
"returned" in Czech, from the verb
navrátit "to return", perhaps used to denote a person who came home following a long absence.
Necchi ItalianPossibly from Italian
neccio, a type of flat bread.
Negri ItalianNickname derived from Italian
negro "black", used to refer to someone with dark hair or dark skin.
Nelson 1 EnglishMeans
"son of Neil". This name was borne by the British admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805).
Nepi ItalianFrom the town of Nepi in central Italy, which is of uncertain origin.
Neri ItalianFrom Italian
nero "black", indicating a person with a dark complexion or dark hair.
Nervetti ItalianPossibly a nickname for an innkeeper, from archaic Milanese
nervètt, a local meal prepared from a calf.
Nervi ItalianFrom the name of the town of Nervi in Liguria, northwestern Italy.
Nespoli ItalianFrom the name of towns such as Nespoli and Nespoledo, derived from Italian
nespola meaning "medlar (tree)".
Ness English, Scottish, NorwegianFrom English
ness and Norwegian
nes meaning
"headland, promontory", of Old Norse origin, originally referring to a person who lived there.
Neuville FrenchFrom the names of various French towns meaning "new town".
Neville English, IrishFrom the names of towns in Normandy, variously
Neuville or
Néville, meaning "new town" in French.
Newport EnglishGiven to one who came from the town of Newport (which means simply "new port"), which was the name of several English towns.
Newton EnglishFrom the name of one of many English towns meaning "new town". A famous bearer was the English physicist Isaac Newton (1643-1727).
Nguyễn VietnameseVietnamese form of
Ruan, from Sino-Vietnamese
阮 (nguyễn). This is the most common Vietnamese surname, accounting for over a third of the population.
Nicastro ItalianFrom the name of the town of Nicastro in Calabria, southern Italy.
Nicchi ItalianFrom the Italian word
nicchio meaning
"shell", possibly a nickname for people related to the sea.
Nickleby LiteratureCreated by Charles Dickens for the title character in his novel
Nicholas Nickleby (1839). He probably based it on
Nicol, a medieval vernacular form of
Nicholas, with the common English place name suffix
-by, which is derived from Old Norse
býr meaning "farm, settlement".
Nicolosi ItalianFrom the name of the town Nicolosi on Sicily, itself named for Saint Nicholas.
Nieddu ItalianFrom Sardinian
nieddu meaning
"black", derived from Latin
niger.
Niemczyk PolishFrom Polish
Niemiec meaning
"German" and the patronymic suffix
-czyk.
Niemelä FinnishFrom Finnish
niemi meaning
"peninsula, cape" with the suffix
-la indicating a place.
Nisi ItalianMeans
"son of Niso", an Italian form of the mythological name
Nisus.
Niskanen FinnishDerived from Finnish
niska meaning
"neck", indicating someone who lived on a neck of land or who had a distinctive neck.
Nixon EnglishMeans
"son of Nick". A famous bearer was the American president Richard Nixon (1913-1994).
Nizzola ItalianFrom the name of the Italian town of Nizzola near Modena.
Noble English, ScottishFrom a nickname meaning
"noble, high-born, illustrious", derived via Middle English and Old French from Latin
nobilis. In some cases the nickname may have been given ironically to people of the opposite character.
Noel French, EnglishEither from the given name
Noël, or else derived directly from Old French
noel "Christmas" and given to a person who had a particular connection with the holiday.
Nogueira Portuguese, GalicianFrom Portuguese and Galician
nogueira meaning
"walnut tree", from the Late Latin
nucarius, ultimately from Latin
nux meaning "nut".
Norman EnglishReferred to a person who was originally from Scandinavia or Normandy. Even before the Norman Conquest, Scandinavians were settling the north and east of England. The Normans who participated in the Conquest were originally from Scandinavia, but had been living in Normandy, France for over a century and spoke French.
Norris 1 English, ScottishMeans
"from the north" from Old French
norreis. It either denoted someone who originated in the north or someone who lived in the northern part of a settlement.
Norris 2 EnglishMeans
"wet nurse, foster mother" from Old French
norrice, from Latin
nutricius.
Northrop EnglishOriginally denoted one who came from a town of this name England, meaning "north farm".
Norton EnglishFrom the name of various towns in England meaning "north town" in Old English.
Nørup DanishFrom the name of Danish villages named
Nørup or
Norup.
Norwood EnglishOriginally taken from a place name meaning "north wood" in Old English.
Noschese ItalianFrom the name of the town of Nusco in Campania, southern Italy.
Notaro ItalianOccupational name for a clerk, derived from Latin
notarius.
Novosad m CzechFrom place names meaning
"new orchard" in Czech.