Mathers EnglishOccupational name meaning
"mower, cutter of hay" in Old English.
Matsumoto JapaneseFrom one of the many places with this name in Japan, derived from Japanese
松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and
本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".
Maxwell ScottishFrom a place name meaning "Mack's stream", from the name
Mack, a short form of the Scandinavian name
Magnus, combined with Old English
wille "well, stream". A famous bearer was James Maxwell (1831-1879), a Scottish physicist who studied gases and electromagnetism.
McCabe Irish, ScottishMeans
"son of Cába", where
Cába is a byname meaning "cape, cloak" (from Latin
cappa).
McCauley Irish, ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
Mac Amhalghaidh or
Mac Amhalghadha meaning
"son of Amhalghaidh". The given name
Amhalghaidh, from Old Irish
Amalgaid, is of uncertain meaning.
McCullough IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac Cú Uladh meaning
"son of Cú Uladh". The byname
Cú Uladh means "hound of Ulster". This surname has also been associated with Old Irish
cullach "boar".
McDermott IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mac Diarmada meaning
"son of Diarmaid". The McDermotts were nobility in the Kingdom of Connaught, a province in Ireland.
McElligott IrishAnglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name
Mac Uileagóid meaning
"son of Uileagóid", a diminutive of
Uilleag.
McFly Popular CultureInvented name, using the prefix
Mc-, from Irish
mac "son", and the English word
fly. This name was created for the time-travelling hero Marty McFly of the
Back to the Future movie series, beginning 1985.
McGill Irish, ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
Mac an Ghoill meaning
"son of the foreigner", derived from
gall "foreigner".
McGovern IrishAnglicized form of Irish Gaelic
Mag Shamhradháin meaning
"son of Samhradháin", a given name meaning "summer".
McGuire IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Mag Uidhir meaning
"son of Odhar", a given name meaning "pale-coloured".
McIntosh ScottishFrom Scottish Gaelic
Mac an Tòisich meaning
"son of the chief".
McIntyre ScottishFrom Scottish Gaelic
Mac an tSaoir meaning
"son of the carpenter".
McLean ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
MacGillEathain or
MacGillEain meaning
"son of the servant of Eòin".
McLeod ScottishFrom Gaelic
MacLeòid meaning
"son of Leod", a given name derived from Old Norse
ljótr "ugly".
McMillan ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
MacMhaoilein meaning
"son of Maolan", itself meaning "devotee, servant, tonsured one".
McNamara IrishFrom Irish
Mac Conmara meaning
"son of Conmara". The given name
Conmara is composed of
cú "hound" and
muir "sea".
McNeilly ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
Mac an Fhilidh meaning
"son of the poet".
McRae ScottishFrom Gaelic
Mag Raith meaning
"son of Rath", a given name meaning "prosperity" or "grace".
Meissner GermanOriginally denoted a person from the German town of Meissen, which is probably of Slavic origin.
Melsbach GermanFrom the name of a German town, possibly meaning "mill stream".
Mendel 2 GermanDerived from a diminutive of the given name
Meino. A famous bearer was Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), a Czech monk and scientist who did experiments in genetics.
Merkel GermanFrom a diminutive of the given name
Markus. A notable bearer is the former German chancellor Angela Merkel (1954-).
Merlo Italian, SpanishMeans
"blackbird", ultimately from Latin
merula. The blackbird is a symbol of a naive person.
Merrill 2 EnglishFrom the name of various places in England, derived from Old English
myrige "pleasant" and
hyll "hill".
Messina ItalianFrom the name of the Sicilian city of Messina, founded by Greek colonists. The city was named after the Greek city
Μεσσήνη (Messene).
Metharom ThaiPossibly refers to a place or institute of learning or where knowledge is provided.
Metz 1 GermanOccupational name for maker of knives, from Middle High German
metze "knife".
Middleton EnglishOriginally denoted a person who lived in one of the numerous English towns by this name, derived from Old English
middel "middle" and
tun "enclosure, yard, town".
Midgley EnglishFrom the English village of Midgley in West Yorkshire, meaning "midge (insect) wood" in Old English.
Milligan IrishAnglicized form of the Irish
Ó Maolagáin meaning
"descendant of Maolagán", a given name derived from
maol meaning "bald" or "tonsured".
Milne ScottishFrom Scots and Middle English
milne (a variant of
mille) meaning
"mill".
Miranda Spanish, PortugueseHabitational name from any of the numerous places in Spain and Portugal bearing this name, possibly derived from Latin
mirandus "admirable, wonderful". A notable bearer was the Portuguese-born Brazilian singer and actress Carmen Miranda (1909-1955).
Mittelman JewishNickname for a man of moderate means, from Yiddish, ultimately from Old High German
mittil "means, resources".
Mocanu RomanianOriginally indicated a member of the Mocani, who were Romanian shepherds from Transylvania. Their name is said to be from the Romanian word
moacă meaning "club".
Modugno ItalianFrom the town of Modugno, in Apulia in southern Italy. It is the surname of the Italian actor and singer Domenico Modugno (1928-1994).
Moffett ScottishFrom the town of Moffat in Scotland, meaning "long field" in Gaelic.
Moloney IrishFrom Irish
Ó Maol Dhomhnaigh meaning
"descendant of a church servant".
Monahan IrishFrom Irish
Ó Manacháin meaning
"descendant of Manacháin". The given name
Manacháin meant "little monk", from
manach "monk" and a diminutive suffix.
Mondadori ItalianFrom Italian
mondatore meaning
"weeder". This was an occupational name for someone who kept fields clear of weeds.
Monet FrenchDerived from either of the given names
Hamon or
Edmond. A famous bearer was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Monroe ScottishAnglicized (typically American) form of
Munro. It was borne by the American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).
Montero SpanishMeans
"hunter" in Spanish, an agent derivative of
monte meaning "mountain, wilderness".
Montoya SpanishFrom the name of a village in the province of Álava in Spain. It is possibly of Basque origin, or possibly from Latin
mons "mountain, hill".
Moon 2 EnglishOriginally indicated a person from the town of Moyon in Normandy.
Moore 3 EnglishNickname for a person of dark complexion, from Old French
more, Latin
maurus, meaning
"Moorish".
Mora SpanishDerived from Spanish
mora meaning
"mulberry", of Latin origin.
Morales SpanishDerived from Spanish
moral meaning
"mulberry tree", of Latin origin.
Moran IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Móráin meaning
"descendant of Mórán", a given name meaning "great, large".
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".
Mortimer EnglishFrom the name of a town in Normandy meaning
"dead water, still water" in Old French.
Moschella ItalianFrom a diminutive of Italian
mosca meaning
"housefly", perhaps originally a nickname for an annoying person.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Nagarkar MarathiDerived from the name of the town of Nagar in Maharashtra, India.
Naggi ItalianOriginally denoted a person from the town of Naggio in Lombardy, Italy.
Narang HindiFrom the name of a Pakistani town that was in undivided India.
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".
Necchi ItalianPossibly from Italian
neccio, a type of flat bread.