Kendall EnglishDerived from the town of Kendal in England, so-called from the river
Kent, on which it is situated, and Old English
dæl meaning "valley, dale".
Kerr Scottish, EnglishFrom Scots and northern Middle English
kerr meaning
"thicket, marsh", ultimately from Old Norse
kjarr.
Kersey EnglishFrom an English place name meaning derived from Old English
cærse "watercress" and
ieg "island".
Kiefer 2 GermanOccupational name for a barrel maker, derived from Old High German
kuofa meaning
"barrel".
King EnglishFrom Old English
cyning "king", originally a nickname for someone who either acted in a kingly manner or who worked for or was otherwise associated with a king. A famous bearer was the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
Kingsley EnglishFrom a place name meaning "king's clearing" in Old English.
Kirby EnglishFrom numerous towns in northern England named Kirby or Kirkby, derived from Old Norse
kirkja "church" and
býr "farm, settlement".
Kirk EnglishFrom northern Middle English
kirk meaning
"church", from Old Norse
kirkja (cognate of
Church). A famous fictional bearer is the starship captain James Kirk from the
Star Trek television series (1966-1969), and subsequent films.
Kistler GermanOccupational name meaning
"chest maker, cabinetmaker" from Middle High German
kiste.
Kjær DanishTopographic name for someone living near a wetland, from Danish
kær "marsh", from Old Norse
kjarr "thicket".
Klein German, Dutch, JewishMeans
"small, little" from German
klein or Yiddish
kleyn. A famous bearer of this name is clothes designer Calvin Klein (1942-).
Knef GermanOccupational name for a shoemaker, derived from Low German
knif meaning
"shoemaker's knife".
Knight EnglishFrom Old English
cniht meaning
"knight", a tenant serving as a mounted soldier.
Knopf GermanMeans
"button" in German, originally belonging to a button maker or button seller.
Kohl GermanDerived from Middle High German
kol "cabbage".
Kohler GermanFrom Middle High German
koler meaning
"charcoal burner" or
"charcoal seller".
Krämer GermanMeans
"shopkeeper, merchant" in German, derived from Old High German
kram meaning "tent, trading post".
Kranz German, JewishDerived from Old High German
kranz meaning
"wreath", an occupational name for a maker of wreaths or an ornamental Jewish name.
Król PolishMeans
"king" in Polish. The name referred to one who acted like a king or was connected in some way with a king's household.
Kron German, SwedishFrom German
Krone and Swedish
krona meaning
"crown" (from Latin
corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.
Krüger 2 GermanIn southern Germany an occupational name for a potter, derived from Middle High German
kruoc meaning
"jug, pot".
Kukk EstonianMeans
"rooster" in Estonian, ultimately of Germanic origin.
Laguardia ItalianOccupational name meaning
"sentry, sentinel" in Italian, also a locative name referring to a person who lived near a watchtower. Fiorello Laguardia (1882-1947) was the first mayor of New York of Italian origin.
Langbroek DutchFrom the name of a small town in the province of Utrecht, Holland, derived from
lang meaning "wide" and
broek meaning "marsh, wetland".
Langdon EnglishDerived from the name of various places, of Old English origin meaning
"long hill" (effectively
"ridge").
Langford EnglishFrom any of various places in England with this name, derived from Old English
lang "long" and
ford "ford, river crossing".
Langley 1 EnglishFrom any of the various places with this name, all derived from Old English
lang "long" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Langston EnglishFrom any of the various locations in England with this name, derived from Old English
lang "long" and
stan "stone".
Layton EnglishDerived from the name of English towns, meaning "town with a leek garden" in Old English.
Leblanc FrenchMeans
"the white" in French, from
blanc "white". The name referred to a person who was pale or whose hair was blond.
Lebrun FrenchFrom a nickname meaning
"the brown" in French, from
brun "brown".
Lee 1 EnglishOriginally given to a person who lived on or near a
leah, Old English meaning
"woodland, clearing".
Leeuwenhoek DutchMeans
"lion's corner" in Dutch. The first bearer of this name lived on the corner (Dutch
hoek) of the Lion's Gate (Dutch
Leeuwenpoort) in the city of Delft.
Leitzke GermanEither from
Leitzkau, the name of a town in Saxony-Anhalt, or from a diminutive of the given name
Leutz, a variant of
Lutz.
Lewis 1 EnglishDerived from the given name
Lewis. The author C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a bearer of this surname.
Lie NorwegianFrom Norwegian
li, Old Norse
hlíð meaning
"hillside, slope".
Lindgren SwedishFrom Swedish
lind meaning "linden tree" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch". A famous bearer of this name was Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002).
Lindqvist SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
lind meaning "linden tree" and
qvist (Old Norse
kvistr) meaning "twig, branch".
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.
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".
Löfgren SwedishOrnamental name derived from Swedish
löv (Old Norse
lauf) meaning "leaf" and
gren (Old Norse
grein) meaning "branch".
Long EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had long limbs or who was tall.
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".
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.
Luther GermanFrom the old given name
Leuthar. It was notably borne by the religious reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546).
Lyndon EnglishOriginally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.
Madison EnglishMeans
"son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the fourth American president James Madison (1751-1836).
Major EnglishFrom the Norman French given name
Mauger, derived from the Germanic name
Malger.
Mandel German, YiddishMeans
"almond" in German, an occupational name for a grower or seller, or a topographic name for a person who lived near an almond tree. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Manfredonia ItalianOriginally indicated a person from Manfredonia, Italy. The city was named for the 13th-century King
Manfred of Sicily.
Mann German, EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"man". This may have originally been given in order to distinguish the bearer from a younger person with the same name.
Marchegiano ItalianFrom the name of the Marche region in Italy, derived from Late Latin
marca meaning "borderland". It was the real surname of the American boxer Rocky Marciano (1923-1969), who was born Rocco Marchegiano.
Marchesi ItalianFrom the Italian title
marchese meaning
"marquis". It was probably a nickname for a person who behaved like a marquis or worked in the household of a marquis.
Marquardt GermanFrom Old High German
marka "border, boundary" and
wart "protector". This was an occupational name for a border guard.
Mason EnglishOccupational name for a stoneworker or layer of bricks, from Old French
masson, of Frankish origin (akin to Old English
macian "to make").
Maurer GermanOccupational name meaning
"wall builder" in German.
Maus GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"mouse", from Old High German
mus.
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.
McElligott IrishAnglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name
Mac Uileagóid meaning
"son of Uileagóid", a diminutive of
Uilleag.
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.
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".
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".
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.
Millhouse EnglishName for someone whose house was in a mill or who worked in a 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".
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).
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.
Moore 1 EnglishOriginally indicated a person who lived on a moor, from Middle English
mor meaning
"open land, bog".
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.
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).
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).
Ness English, Scottish, NorwegianFrom English
ness and Norwegian
nes meaning
"headland, promontory", of Old Norse origin, originally referring to a person who lived there.
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).
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".
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.
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.
Norwood EnglishOriginally taken from a place name meaning "north wood" in Old English.