Surnames on the United States Popularity List

Leroy French
Variant of Rey 1, using the definite article.

Lesley Scottish
Variant of Leslie.

Leslie Scottish
From a Scottish clan name, earlier Lesselyn, derived from a place name in Aberdeenshire, itself probably from Gaelic leas celyn meaning "garden of holly".

Lester Scottish
Variant of Lister.

Lestrange French
From Old French estrange, a cognate of Strange.

Leung Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Liang.

Levchenko Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Lev 1.

Lévêque French
Variant of Lévesque.

Leverenz German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Lewerenz.

Lévesque French
Derived from French évêque, a cognate of Bishop.

Levi Jewish
From the given name Levi.

Levine Jewish
Patronymic from the given name Levi.

Levitt English
Variant of Leavitt.

Lewandowski m Polish
From the Polish estate name Lewandów, which is itself possibly derived from a personal name or from lawenda "lavender".

Lewerenz German
From a northern German form of the given name Lorenz.

Lewin English
Derived from the given name Leofwine.

Lewis 1 English
Derived from the given name Lewis. The author C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a bearer of this surname.

Lewis 2 Welsh
Anglicized form of Llywelyn.

Leyton English
Variant of Layton.

Li 1 Chinese
From Chinese 李 (lǐ) meaning "plum, plum tree". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Tang dynasty.

Li 2 Chinese
From Chinese 黎 (lí) meaning "black".

Liang Chinese
From Chinese 梁 (liáng) referring to the ancient state of Liang, which existed from the 8th to 7th centuries BC in what is now Shaanxi province.

Liao Chinese
From Chinese 廖 (liào) referring to the ancient state of Liao, which was located in present-day Henan province.

Lichtenberg Jewish
Means "light hill" in German.

Lie Norwegian
From Norwegian li, Old Norse hlíð meaning "hillside, slope".

Lien Norwegian
Variant of Lie.

Liepiņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian liepa meaning "linden tree".

Lim Chinese (Hokkien)
Min Nan romanization of Lin.

Lin Chinese
From Chinese 林 (lín) meaning "forest".

Lincoln English
Originally indicated that the bearer was from the English city of Lincoln, called Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic lindo "lake, pool" and Latin colonia "colony". A famous bearer was Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.

Lind Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Derived from Old Norse lind meaning "linden tree".

Lindbeck Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and bäck (Old Norse bekkr) meaning "stream".

Lindberg Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and berg meaning "mountain".

Linden German, Dutch
Indicated a person who lived near a linden tree, derived from Old High German linta or Old Dutch linda.

Lindgren Swedish
From 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).

Lindholm Swedish
From Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and holme (Old Norse holmr) meaning "small island".

Lindner German
Variant of Linden.

Lindon English
Variant of Lyndon.

Lindquist Swedish
Variant of Lindqvist.

Lindsay English, Scottish
From the region of Lindsey in Lincolnshire, which means "Lincoln island" in Old English.

Lindsey English, Scottish
Variant of Lindsay.

Lindström Swedish
Derived from Swedish lind meaning "linden tree" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Linna Finnish
Means "castle" in Finnish. A famous namesake is Väinö Linna (1920-1992), Finnish author of The Unknown Soldier.

Linton English
Originally from place names meaning either "flax town" or "linden tree town" in Old English.

Linville English
From an unknown place name.

Linwood English
Originally from place names meaning "linden tree forest" in Old English.

Lippi Italian
From the given name Filippo. It is common in the area of Florence.

Lis Polish
Means "fox" in Polish, a nickname for a sly person.

Lister Scottish
Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac an Fleisdeir meaning "son of the arrow maker".

Lithgow Scottish
Habitation name meaning derived from Brythonic roots meaning "pool hollow". A famous bearer of this name is actor John Lithgow (1945-).

Little English
Meaning simply "little", it was originally a nickname given to a short person.

Liu Chinese
From Chinese 刘 (liú) meaning "kill, destroy". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Han dynasty.

Ljunggren Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish ljung (Old Norse lyng) meaning "heather" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Llewellyn Welsh
Derived from the Welsh given name Llywelyn.

Lloyd Welsh, English
Originally a nickname from the Welsh word llwyd meaning "grey".

Lo Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Luo.

Lobo Spanish, Portuguese
Originally a nickname meaning "wolf" in Spanish and Portuguese.

Locatelli Italian
From Locatello, a town in Lombardy, northern Italy, near the city of Bergamo.

Lockwood English
From an English place name meaning "enclosed wood".

Loewe German
Variant of Löwe.

Löfgren Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish löv (Old Norse lauf) meaning "leaf" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Logan Scottish
From a Scottish place name meaning "little hollow", derived from Gaelic lag "hollow, pit".

Lohrenz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Loman Dutch
From various place names in the Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch loh meaning "meadow, clearing".

Lombardi Italian
Originally indicated someone who came from the Lombardy region of northern Italy, which was named for the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who invaded in the 6th century. Their name is derived from the Old German roots lang "long" and bart "beard".

Lombardo Italian
Variant of Lombardi.

Lomidze Georgian
Means "son of the lion", from Georgian ლომი (lomi) meaning "lion".

Lončar Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Means "potter", from Serbo-Croatian lonac, Slovene lonec meaning "pot".

London English
From the name of the capital city of the United Kingdom, the meaning of which is uncertain.

Long English
Originally a nickname for a person who had long limbs or who was tall.

Longo Italian
Italian cognate of Long.

Longstaff English
Occupational name for an official who was equipped with a ceremonial staff, or a nickname for a tall person.

Lopes Portuguese
Means "son of Lopo" in Portuguese.

López Spanish
Means "son of Lope" in Spanish.

Lopez Spanish
Unaccented variant of López.

Lorentz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Lorenz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Lorenzen Danish, Low German
Means "son of Lorens".

Lorenzo Spanish
From the given name Lorenzo.

Loris German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Loritz German
Derived from the given name Lorenz.

Losa Spanish
From Spanish losa meaning "tile, slab".

Louis French
From the given name Louis.

Lovász Hungarian
Means "groom, stableman, ostler" in Hungarian.

Love English
From the Old English given name Lufu meaning "love".

Lovel English
Variant of Lowell.

Lovelace English
From a nickname for a lothario, derived from Middle English lufeles, Old English lufuleas meaning "loveless".

Lovell English
Variant of Lowell.

Lovrić Croatian
Means "son of Lovro".

Low English
Variant of Law.

Löwe German, Jewish
Means "lion" in German.

Lowe 1 Jewish
Americanized form of Löwe.

Lowe 2 English
Variant of Law.

Lowell English
From a nickname derived from a Norman French lou meaning "wolf" and a diminutive suffix.

Lowry English, Scottish
From a diminutive of the given name Laurence 1.

Loyola Spanish, Basque
From the name of a place name near the town of Azpeitia in the Basque Country of Spain, derived from Basque loi meaning "mud". This was the birthplace of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of Jesuits.

Lozano Spanish
Means "healthy, exuberant, lively" in Spanish, originally used as a nickname for an elegant or haughty person.

Lu 1 Chinese
From Chinese 吕 (lǚ) meaning "musical note" and also referring to the former state of Lu, which was situated in what is now Henan province.

Lu 2 Chinese
From Chinese 卢 (lú) meaning "rice bowl, black", also referring to an ancient minor territory in what is now Shandong province.

Lucas English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch
Derived from the given name Lucas. A famous bearer of this surname is George Lucas (1944-), the creator of the Star Wars movies.

Lučić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Luka".

Ludvigsen Danish
Means "son of Ludvig".

Ludwig German
From the given name Ludwig.

Lukáč m Slovak
Slovak form of Lukács.

Lukács Hungarian
From the given name Lukács.

Lukić Serbian
Means "son of Luka".

Lum English
From the name of towns in England called Lumb, probably from Old English lum "pool".

Luna Spanish
From various places in Spain meaning "moon".

Lund Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Indicated a person who lived near a grove of trees, from Old Norse lundr meaning "grove". There are towns in Sweden named Lund.

Lundberg Swedish
Derived from Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and berg meaning "mountain".

Lunde Norwegian
Variant of Lund.

Lundgren Swedish
Derived from Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and gren (Old Norse grein) meaning "branch".

Lundin Swedish
Variant of Lund.

Lundquist Swedish
Variant of Lundqvist.

Lundström Swedish
From Swedish lund (Old Norse lundr) meaning "grove" and ström (Old Norse straumr) meaning "stream".

Lungu Romanian
Romanian cognate of Long.

Luo Chinese
From Chinese 罗 (luó) referring to the minor state of Luo, which existed from the 11th to 7th centuries BC in what is now Hubei province.

Lupo Italian
From an Italian nickname meaning "wolf".

Lupu Romanian
From Romanian lup meaning "wolf".

Lusk Scottish
Possibly from the place name Leask in Aberdeenshire, of unknown meaning.

Luther German
From the old given name Leuthar. It was notably borne by the religious reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546).

Lyall Scottish
From the Old Norse given name Liulfr, which was derived in part from úlfr "wolf".

Lykke Danish
Means "happiness" in Danish.

Lyle English
Derived from Norman French l'isle meaning "island".

Lynch Irish
From Irish Ó Loingsigh meaning "descendant of Loingseach", a given name meaning "mariner".

Lyndon English
Originally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.

Lyne Scottish
Habitational name for someone who lived in places of this name in Scotland.

Lynn English
From the name of a town in Norfolk (King's Lynn), derived from Welsh llyn meaning "lake".

Lynton English
Variant of Linton.

Lynwood English
Variant of Linwood.

Lyon 1 English, French
Originally denoted a person from the city of Lyon in central France, originally Latin Lugdunum, of Gaulish origin meaning "hill fort of Lugus". It could also denote a person from the small town of Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy.

Lyon 2 English, French
From a nickname derived from Old French and Middle English lion meaning "lion".

Lyon 3 French, English
From the given name Leon.

Lyons English
Variant of Lyon 1.

Lysenko Ukrainian
From a nickname, either from Ukrainian лис (lys) meaning "fox" or лисий (lysy) meaning "bald".

Ma Chinese
From Chinese 马 (mǎ) meaning "horse".

Maas Dutch, Low German
From the given name Maas.

Macaulay Scottish, Irish
Variant of McCauley.

Macauley Irish, Scottish
Variant of McCauley.

MacBeth Scottish
Derived from the Gaelic given name Mac Beatha meaning "son of life", which denoted a man of religious devotion. This was the name of an 11th-century Scottish king, and the name of a play based on his life by William Shakespeare.

MacBride Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Giolla Bhrighde.

MacCallum Scottish
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic MacColuim meaning "son of Columba".

MacCarthy Irish
Variant of McCarthy.

MacClellan Irish, Scottish
Variant of McClelland.

MacConnell Scottish, Irish
Variant of McConnell.

MacDaniel Scottish
Variant of MacDonald.

MacDermott Irish
Variant of McDermott.

MacDonald Scottish
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic MacDhòmhnaill meaning "son of Donald". It originates from the Highland clan Donald.

MacDougall Scottish
Means "son of Dougal" in Gaelic.

MacDuff Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Dhuibh.

MacEachern Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Eachairn.

Macek m Czech
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Matěj.

Macey English
Variant of Massey.

MacFarland Irish, Scottish
Variant of McFarlane.

MacFarlane Scottish
Variant of McFarlane.

MacGowan Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Ghabhann.

MacGregor Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacGriogair meaning "son of Gregor". It originates from the Highland clan Gregor. A famous bearer was the Scottish folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor (1671-1734).

MacGuire Irish
Variant of McGuire.

Mach mu Czech, Polish
From a diminutive of the given names Matěj or Maciej.

Machado Portuguese, Spanish
Denoted a person who made or used hatchets, derived from Spanish and Portuguese machado "hatchet", both from Latin marculus "little hammer".

Macháň m Czech
Derived from the given name Mach, a Czech diminutive of Matěj and other given names beginning with Ma.

Macías Spanish
Derived from the given name Mateo.

MacInnes Scottish
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Aonghais meaning "son of Aonghas".

MacIntosh Scottish
Variant of McIntosh.

MacIntyre Scottish
Variant of McIntyre.

MacIver Scottish
Variant of McIver.

Mack 1 Scottish, Irish
Shortened form of various Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with Mac or Mc (from Irish mac meaning "son").

Mack 2 Scottish, English
From the given name Mack 2.

MacKay Scottish
Anglicized form of MacAoidh.

MacKenna Scottish
Variant of McKenna.

MacKenzie Scottish
Anglicized form of Gaelic MacCoinnich meaning "son of Coinneach". It originates from the Kintail area of Scotland on the northwest coast.

Mackintosh Scottish
Variant of McIntosh.

Macko m Slovak
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Matej.

MacLean Scottish
Variant of McLean.

MacLeod Scottish
Variant of McLeod.

MacMillan Scottish
Variant of McMillan.

MacNeil Scottish
Variant of McNeil.

Mac Néill Irish
Irish form of McNeil.

MacNèill Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic form of McNeil.

MacNevin Irish
Anglicized form of Mac Naoimhín.

MacNiven Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Naoimhín.

Maçon French
French cognate of Mason.

MacQueen Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Shuibhne.

MacRae Scottish
Variant of McRae.

MacWilliam Scottish
Means "son of William" in Gaelic.

Macy English
Variant of Massey.

Madden Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Madaidhín.

Maddison English
Variant of Madison.

Maddox Welsh
Derived from the given name Madoc.

Madeira Portuguese
Occupational name for a carpenter, from Portuguese madeira "wood".

Madigan Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Madaidhín.

Madison English
Means "son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the fourth American president James Madison (1751-1836).

Madsen Danish
Means "son of Mads".

Maeda Japanese
From Japanese 前 (mae) meaning "front, forward" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Maekawa Japanese
From Japanese 前 (mae) meaning "front, forward" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Maes Flemish
Flemish form of Maas.

Maestri Italian
Means "master" in Italian.

Magalhães Portuguese
Denoted a person hailing from one of the numerous minor places of this name in Portugal, possibly of Celtic origin. A notable bearer was the Portuguese explorer Fernão de Magalhães (1480-1521), normally called Ferdinand Magellan in English.

Magee Irish, Scottish
Anglicized form of Mac Aodha.

Mägi Estonian
Means "hill, mountain" in Estonian.

Magnusson Swedish
Means "son of Magnus".

Magorian Irish
Possibly a variant of McGowan or McGovern.

Magro Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
From a nickname meaning "thin, lean", ultimately from Latin macer.

Maguire Irish
Variant of McGuire.

Magyar Hungarian
Means "Hungarian" in Hungarian.

Mah Chinese
Alternate transcription of Chinese 马 (see Ma).

Mahmoud Arabic, Persian
From the given name Mahmud.

Mahmoudi Persian
From the given name Mahmoud.

Mahmud Arabic, Bengali
From the given name Mahmud.

Mahoney Irish
Anglicized form of the Irish Ó Mathghamhna meaning "descendant of Mathgamain".

Mai Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Mei, from Sino-Vietnamese 梅 (mai).

Maiella Italian
From the name of the Maiella massif in Abruzzo, Italy.

Maier 1 German
Variant of Meyer 1.

Maier 2 Jewish
Variant of Meyer 2.

Maina Kikuyu
Derived from the given name Maina.

Majewski m Polish
Derived from Polish maj meaning "May". It may have been given in reference to the month the bearer was baptized.

Major English
From the Norman French given name Mauger, derived from the Germanic name Malger.

Makarov m Russian
Means "son of Makar".

Makarova f Russian
Feminine form of Makarov.

Mäkelä Finnish
Means "the place of the hill" in Finnish.

Maki 1 Japanese
From Japanese 牧 (maki) meaning "shepherd, tend cattle".

Maki 2 Japanese
From Japanese 真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree".

Mäkinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish mäki meaning "hill".

Makris m Greek
Means "long, tall" in Greek.

Maksimov m Russian
Means "son of Maksim".

Malá f Czech
Feminine form of Malý.

Maldonado Spanish
From a nickname meaning "badly given, ill-favoured" in Spanish.

Malinowski m Polish
From Polish malina meaning "raspberry", originally indicating a person who lived near a raspberry patch.

Malley Irish
Anglicized form of Ó Máille.

Mallon Irish
Variant of Malone.

Mallory English
From Old French maleüré meaning "unfortunate", a term introduced to England by the Normans.

Malone Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Maoil Eoin meaning "descendant of a disciple of Saint John".

Mały Polish
Polish cognate of Malý.

Malý m Czech
Means "small" in Czech.

Məmmədov m Azerbaijani
Means "son of Məmməd".

Mammadov m Azerbaijani
Alternate transcription of Azerbaijani Məmmədov.

Man Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Wen.

Mancini Italian
Diminutive of Manco.

Manco Italian
Means "left-handed" in Italian, derived from Latin mancus meaning "maimed".

Mancuso Sicilian
Sicilian variant of Manco.

Mandel German, Yiddish
Means "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.

Mandela Xhosa
Possibly from Xhosa mandla meaning "district, region". This name was borne by the South African activist and president Nelson Mandela (1918-2013). His family's surname was apparently adopted in the 18th century from an ancestor's given name.

Mandelbaum Jewish
Means "almond tree" in German.

Mandić Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Manda".

Manfredi Italian
Derived from the given name Manfredo.

Manfredonia Italian
Originally indicated a person from Manfredonia, Italy. The city was named for the 13th-century King Manfred of Sicily.

Mangold German
From the given name Managold.

Mann German, English
From a nickname meaning "man". This may have originally been given in order to distinguish the bearer from a younger person with the same name.

Manning 1 English
Patronymic form of Mann.

Manning 2 Irish
Anglicized form of Irish Ó Mainnín meaning "descendant of Mainchín".

Mantovani Italian
From the name of the city of Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy (Mantova in Italian).

Manz German
From a diminutive of the given name Managold.

Marchand English, French
Occupational name meaning "merchant", ultimately from Latin mercari "to trade".

Marchenko Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Marko.

Marchesi Italian
From 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.

Marchetti Italian
From a diminutive of the given name Marco.

Marchi Italian
Derived from the given name Marco.

Marchioni Italian
Possibly from the given name Melchiorre or the compound name Marco Giovanni.

Marciniak Polish
Means "son of Marcin".

Marco Spanish, Italian
From the given name Marco.

Marconi Italian
Derived from the given name Marco.

Marcos Spanish, Portuguese
From the given name Marcos. A famous bearer was Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989).

Marek um Polish, Czech, Slovak
Derived from the given name Marek.

Mareš m Czech
Derived from the given name Marek.

Mari Italian
Aphetic form of Altimari.

María Spanish
From the given the name María.

Maria Italian, Portuguese
From the given the name Maria.

Mariani Italian
From the given name Mariano.

Marić Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Marija".

Marie French
From the given name Marie.

Marín Spanish
Derived from the given name Marino.

Marin Romanian, French
From the given name Marin.

Marini Italian
Derived from the given name Marino.

Marino Italian, Spanish
Derived from the given name Marino.

Marinos m Greek
Derived from the given name Marinos.

Marinov m Bulgarian
Means "son of Marin".

Marinova f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Marinov.

Marion French
Derived from the given name Marion 1.

Marjanović Croatian, Serbian
Means "son of Marjan 2".

Mark English
Derived from the given name Mark.

Markey Irish
From the Irish Ó Marcaigh meaning "descendant of Marcach", a given name meaning "horse rider".

Markó Hungarian
Derived from the given name Márk.

Markov m Bulgarian, Russian
Means "son of Marko or Mark".

Markova f Bulgarian, Russian
Feminine form of Markov.

Marková f Czech, Slovak
Czech and Slovak feminine form of Marek.

Marković Serbian, Croatian
Means "son of Marko".

Markwardt German
Variant of Marquardt.

Marley English
Originally denoted a person who hailed from one of the various places in Britain called Marley, ultimately meaning either "pleasant wood", "boundary wood" or "marten wood" in Old English. One of the main characters in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843) bears this surname. It was also borne by the Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley (1945-1981).

Marlow English
Originally a name for a person from Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England. The place name means "remnants of a lake" from Old English mere "lake" and lafe "remnants, remains". A notable bearer was the English playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593).

Marlowe English
Variant of Marlow.

Marmo Italian
Means "marble" in Italian, possibly indicating a person who lived near a quarry or one who worked with marble.

Marquardt German
From Old High German marka "border, boundary" and wart "protector". This was an occupational name for a border guard.

Marques Portuguese
Means "son of Marcos".

Márquez Spanish
Means "son of Marcos".

Marsden English
From a place name derived from Old English mearc "boundary" and denu "valley".

Marsh English
Originally denoted one who lived near a marsh or bog, derived from Old English mersc "marsh".

Marshall English
Derived from Middle English mareschal "marshal", from Latin mariscalcus, ultimately from Germanic roots akin to Old High German marah "horse" and scalc "servant". It originally referred to someone who took care of horses.

Marston English
From a place name derived from Old English mersc "marsh" and tun "enclosure".

Marszałek Polish
Polish cognate of Marshall.

Martel 1 English, French
Derived from the given name Martel, a medieval diminutive of Martin.