McNeilly ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
Mac an Fhilidh meaning
"son of the poet".
Mejía SpanishPossibly from a nickname derived from Spanish
Mesías meaning
"Messiah", from Latin
Messias, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew
מָשִׁיחַ (mashiyaḥ) meaning "anointed".
Melnyk UkrainianMeans
"miller" in Ukrainian. This is the most common Ukrainian surname.
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.
Mercer EnglishOccupational name for a trader in textiles, from Old French
mercier, derived from Latin
merx meaning "merchandise".
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".
Messer GermanOccupational name for a person who made knives, from Middle High German
messer "knife".
Messina ItalianFrom the name of the Sicilian city of Messina, founded by Greek colonists. The city was named after the Greek city
Μεσσήνη (Messene).
Metz 1 GermanOccupational name for maker of knives, from Middle High German
metze "knife".
Meyer 1 GermanFrom Middle High German
meier meaning
"bailiff, administrator", derived from Latin
maior meaning "greater". Later it also denoted a tenant farmer. The spellings
Meier and
Meyer are more common in northern Germany while
Maier and
Mayer are more common in southern Germany.
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".
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.
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).
Mlakar Slovene, CroatianReferred to someone who lived near a pool, derived from South Slavic
mlaka meaning
"pool, puddle".
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.
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.
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.
Moschella ItalianFrom a diminutive of Italian
mosca meaning
"housefly", perhaps originally a nickname for an annoying person.
Muir ScottishScots form of
Moore 1. This name was borne by the Scottish-American naturalist John Muir (1838-1914).
Müller GermanGerman equivalent of
Miller, derived from Middle High German
mülnære or
müller.
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.
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".
Murphy IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Murchadha meaning
"descendant of Murchadh". This is the most common Irish surname.
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).
Myer EnglishFrom Old French
mire meaning
"doctor", derived from Latin
medicus.
Nagel German, DutchMeans
"nail" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a carpenter or nailsmith.
Nash EnglishDerived from the Middle English phrase
atten ash "at the ash tree". A famous bearer was the mathematician John Nash (1928-2015).
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).
Neri ItalianFrom Italian
nero "black", indicating a person with a dark complexion or dark hair.
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".