Milburn EnglishDerived from various place names meaning "mill stream" in Old English.
Milford EnglishOriginally derived from various place names all meaning "ford by a mill" in Old English.
Miller EnglishOccupational surname meaning
"miller", referring to a person who owned or worked in a grain mill, derived from Middle English
mille "mill".
Millhouse EnglishName for someone whose house was in a mill or who worked in a mill.
Milligan IrishAnglicized form of the Irish
Ó Maolagáin meaning
"descendant of Maolagán", a given name derived from
maol meaning "bald" or "tonsured".
Mills EnglishOriginally given to one who lived near a mill or who worked in a mill, from Middle English
mille.
Milne ScottishFrom Scots and Middle English
milne (a variant of
mille) meaning
"mill".
Milton EnglishDerived from an English place name meaning "mill town" in Old English. A famous bearer was John Milton (1608-1674), the poet who wrote "Paradise Lost".
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).
Mitchell 2 EnglishOriginally a nickname for a large person, from Old English
micel "big".
Mittelman JewishNickname for a man of moderate means, from Yiddish, ultimately from Old High German
mittil "means, resources".
Miyamoto JapaneseFrom Japanese
宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and
本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin". A notable bearer is video game pioneer Shigeru Miyamoto (1952-).
Miyata JapaneseFrom Japanese
宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and
田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
Mlakar Slovene, CroatianReferred to someone who lived near a pool, derived from South Slavic
mlaka meaning
"pool, puddle".
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.
Monday 2 EnglishDenoted a person for whom this was a significant day, often the day they would pay their feudal fees.
Monet FrenchDerived from either of the given names
Hamon or
Edmond. A famous bearer was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Monk EnglishNickname or occupational name for a person who worked for monks. This word is derived from Latin
monachus, from Greek
μοναχός (monachos) meaning "alone".
Monroe ScottishAnglicized (typically American) form of
Munro. It was borne by the American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).
Montagna ItalianMeans
"mountain" in Italian, from Latin
montanus, indicating a person who lived on or near a mountain.
Montague EnglishFrom a Norman place name meaning "sharp mountain" in Old French.
Montero SpanishMeans
"hunter" in Spanish, an agent derivative of
monte meaning "mountain, wilderness".
Montes SpanishFrom Spanish
monte "mountain, hill", derived from Latin
mons.
Montgomery English, ScottishFrom a place name in Calvados, France meaning "
Gumarich's mountain". A notable bearer was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.
Monti ItalianMeans
"mountain, hill" in Italian, from Latin
mons.
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 1 EnglishOriginally indicated a person who lived on a moor, from Middle English
mor meaning
"open land, bog".
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.
Morandi ItalianFrom the Italian medieval given name
Morando meaning "steadfast".
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.
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.
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.
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 u & m Hungarian, SlovakFrom a nickname meaning
"big, great" in Hungarian, referring to one's characteristics. This is the most common Hungarian surname.
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".
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.