Surnames from Locations

Jaso Basque
Derived from Basque jats meaning "sorghum", a type of cereal grass.

Jasso Basque
Variant of Jaso.

Jeanes 2 English
Originally denoted a person who came from Genoa, Italy.

Jedlička Czech
Derived from Czech jedle meaning "fir tree", perhaps given to a person who lived near a prominent one.

Jeong Korean
Korean form of Zheng, from Sino-Korean 鄭 (jeong).

Jiang 1 Chinese
From Chinese 江 (jiāng) meaning "river, Yangtze".

Jin Chinese
From Chinese 金 (jīn) meaning "gold".

Jo Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 조 (see Cho).

Johnston Scottish
From the name of a Scottish town, which meant "John's town".

Jokela Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".

Jokinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish joki "river".

Jöllenbeck German
From the name of a village in western Germany, itself derived from the name of the Jölle, a small river, combined with Low German beck "stream".

Jordan 2 Jewish
Derived from the name of the Jordan river, which is from Hebrew יָרַד (yarad) meaning "descend" or "flow down".

Jugovac Croatian
From Croatian jug meaning "south".

Jung 2 Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 정 (see Jeong).

Kalniņš Latvian
From Latvian kalns meaning "mountain, hill".

Kałuża Polish
Means "puddle" in Polish.

Kaluža Slovene, Czech
Czech and Slovene form of Kałuża.

Kamiński Polish
From Polish kamień meaning "stone", a name for a stonecutter or for one who lived at a place with this name.

Kamiya Japanese
From Japanese 神 (kami) meaning "god" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".

Kanda Japanese
From Japanese 神 (kan) meaning "god" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Kanzaki Japanese
From Japanese 神 (kan) meaning "god" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".

Kapanadze Georgian
Means "son of the one from Kapan", originally denoting someone who came from the city of Kapan in present-day Armenia (from Armenian կապել (kapel) meaning "to tie, to fasten").

Kappel German, Dutch
Name for a person who lived near or worked at a chapel, ultimately from Late Latin cappella, a diminutive of cappa "cape", arising from the holy relic of the torn cape of Saint Martin, which was kept in small churches.

Karjalainen Finnish
Derived from Finnish Karjala meaning "Karelia". Karelia is an area on the border between Finland and Russia.

Kárpáthy Hungarian
Variant of Kárpáti.

Kárpáti Hungarian
Derived from Kárpátok, the Hungarian name of the Carpathians.

Kárpáty Hungarian
Variant of Kárpáti.

Kask Estonian
Means "birch" in Estonian.

Kaube German
From the name of the town of Kaub in Germany.

Kawaguchi Japanese
Means "mouth of the river", from Japanese 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".

Kawakami Japanese
From Japanese 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 上 (kami) meaning "above, top, upper".

Kawasaki Japanese
From Japanese 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".

Kay 2 English
Derived from Old French kay meaning "wharf, quay", indicating one who lived near or worked on a wharf.

Kaya Turkish
Means "rock, cliff" in Turkish.

Kazlauskas Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Kozłowski. This is the most common surname in Lithuania.

Keaton English
From any of three English place names: Ketton in Rutland, Ketton in Durham or Keaton in Devon. The first is probably derived from an old river name or tribal name combined with Old English ea "river", with the spelling later influenced by tun "enclosure, yard, town". The second is from the Old English given name Catta or the Old Norse given name Káti combined with Old English tun. The third is possibly from Cornish kee "hedge, bank" combined with Old English tun.

Kecskeméti Hungarian
Originally indicated a person who came from the Hungarian city of Kecskemét, derived from kecske meaning "goat".

Keighley English
Derived from an English place name meaning "clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name Cyhha is of unknown meaning.

Keil German
Means "wedge shaped" in German. It was used to denote a person who owned a wedge-shaped piece of land.

Keir Scottish
Variant of Kerr.

Keith Scottish
From a place name that is probably derived from the Brythonic element cet meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles.

Kelly 2 Scottish
From a Scottish place name derived from coille meaning "grove".

Kelsey English
From an English place name meaning "Cenel's island", from the Old English name Cenel "fierce" in combination with eg "island".

Kendal English
Variant of Kendall.

Kendall English
Derived 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, English
From Scots and northern Middle English kerr meaning "thicket, marsh", ultimately from Old Norse kjarr.

Kersey English
From an English place name meaning derived from Old English cærse "watercress" and ieg "island".

Key 1 English
Variant of Kay 1 or Kay 2.

Keyes 1 English
Variant of Kay 1 or Kay 2.

Keys 1 English
Variant of Kay 1 or Kay 2.

Kiefer 1 German
Means "pine tree" in German.

Killam English
Denoted one who hailed from the English town of Kilham, meaning "kiln homestead".

Killough Irish
Indicated a person who was from Killough (County Down, Northern Ireland) or Killough (Wicklow, Ireland). The place name Killough means "church on the lake", derived from the Irish cill "church" and loch "lake".

Kimberley English
From various English places called Kimberley. They mean either "Cyneburga's field", "Cynebald's field" or "Cynemær's field".

Kimberly English
Variant of Kimberley.

Kimura Japanese
From Japanese 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Kingsley English
From a place name meaning "king's clearing" in Old English.

Kingston English
From a place name meaning "king's town" in Old English.

Kinnaird Scottish
From the name of a place in Scotland, in Gaelic An Ceann Ard, meaning "high headland". In the 12th century a Norman nobleman received a charter of land here from King William the Lion (King of Scots), and was thereafter known by this name.

Kinsley English
From the name of a town in West Yorkshire, meaning "clearing belonging to Cyne". The Old English given name Cyne is a short form of longer names beginning with cyne meaning "royal".

Kipling English
From the name of a town in Yorkshire, of Old English origin meaning "Cyppel's people", from a given name Cyppel of unknown meaning. A famous bearer of this name was the author Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

Kirby English
From numerous towns in northern England named Kirby or Kirkby, derived from Old Norse kirkja "church" and býr "farm, settlement".

Kirch German
German cognate of Church.

Kirk English
From 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.

Kishimoto Japanese
From Japanese 岸 (kishi) meaning "beach, shore, bank" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Kita Japanese
From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north".

Kitagawa Japanese
From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Kjær Danish
Topographic name for someone living near a wetland, from Danish kær "marsh", from Old Norse kjarr "thicket".

Kloet Dutch
Possibly from Middle Dutch cloet meaning "lump, ball". In some cases this was a nickname for an oafish person. In other cases it may have been a name for someone who lived near a sign that had a globe on it.

Kloeten Dutch
Variant of Kloet.

Knaggs English
From Middle English knagg meaning "small mound, projection". It is found most commonly in the north of England, in particular Yorkshire.

Knowles English
From Middle English knoll, Old English cnoll meaning "small hill, knoll". A famous bearer is American singer Beyoncé Knowles (1981-).

Knox Scottish
From the name of various places in Scotland and northern England, derived from Scottish Gaelic cnoc "round hill".

Kobayashi Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" and 林 (hayashi) meaning "forest".

Koizumi Japanese
From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" and 泉 (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain". A notable bearer of this name is Junichiro Koizumi (1942-), who was Prime Minister of Japan.

Kopecký Czech
Derived from Czech kopec meaning "hill". The name was given to a person who lived close to a hill.

Koppel Estonian, Danish
From Low German koppel meaning "paddock, pasture" (a word borrowed into Estonian).

Korošec Slovene
Originally indicated a person from Koroška (Carinthia), a medieval Slovene state, now divided between Slovenia and Austria.

Korrapati Indian, Telugu
From an area called Korra or Korrapalem combined with Telugu పతి (pati) meaning "belongs to".

Koskinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish koski meaning "rapids". This is the second most common surname in Finland.

Kostelecký Czech
Originally denoted a person from a village named Kostelec, derived from Czech kostel meaning "church".

Kozłow Polish
Variant of Kozłowski.

Kozłowski Polish
Originally a name for a person from Kozłów, Kozłowo, or other places with a name derived from Polish kozioł meaning "male goat".

Krajnc Slovene
Originally denoted a person from Carniola (Slovene Kranjska), a region that makes up a large part of central Slovenia.

Krakowski Polish, Jewish
Habitational name for a person from the city of Kraków in southern Poland.

Krūmiņš Latvian
From Latvian krūms meaning "bush, shrub".

Krusen Dutch
Anglicized form of Cruyssen.

Kuang Chinese
From Chinese 邝 (kuàng), which refers to the clan of the same name.

Kuijlaars Dutch
Derived from Middle Dutch cule "hole, pit".

Kulmala Finnish
From Finnish kulma meaning "corner" with the suffix -la indicating a place.

Kumagai Japanese
From Japanese 熊 (kuma) meaning "bear" and 谷 (gai) meaning "valley".

Kumamoto Japanese
From Japanese 熊 (kuma) meaning "bear" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Kurata Japanese
From Japanese 倉 (kura) or 蔵 (kura) both meaning "granary, storehouse" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Kuroda Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Kuroiwa Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks".

Kuroki Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".

Kurosawa Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.

Kusumoto Japanese
From Japanese 楠 (kusu) meaning "camphor tree" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Kwan Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Guan.

Kwiatkowski Polish
Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations named Kwiatków, Kwiatkowo or Kwiatkowice, named from a diminutive of Polish kwiat meaning "flower".

Kwok Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Guo.

Kyle Scottish
Derived from Scottish Gaelic caol meaning "narrows, channel, strait", originally given to a person who lived by a strait.

Kyler Dutch (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Cuyler.

Kyles Scottish
Variant of Kyle.

Kynaston English
Originally derived from a place name meaning "Cynefrith's town" in Old English.

Laaksonen Finnish
Derived from Finnish laakso meaning "valley".

Labriola Italian
Originally indicated a person from the town of Abriola in southern Italy.

Lacey English
Derived from Lassy, the name of a town in Normandy. The name of the town was Gaulish in origin, perhaps deriving from a personal name that was Latinized as Lascius.

Lachapelle French
Means "the chapel" in French, most likely used to denote a person who lived by a church or a chapel.

Làconi Sardinian
From the name of the town of Làconi on Sardinia, Italy.

Lacroix French
Means "the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.

Lacy English
Variant of Lacey.

Lagomarsino Italian
Derived from the name of the village of Lagomarsino near Genoa.

Laguardia Italian
Occupational 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.

Lahti Finnish
Means "bay, cove" in Finnish.

Lahtinen Finnish
From Finnish lahti meaning "bay, cove".

Lam Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Lin.

Lama Italian
Derived from the name place Lama, common in Italy.

Lamar French, English
Originally from a place name in Normandy, derived from Old French la mare meaning "the pool".

Lamarre French
Variant of Lamar.

Lamon Italian
From the name of the village of Lamon near the city of Belluno in Veneto, Italy.

Landau German, Jewish
Derived from the town of Landau in the Palatinate region of Germany, of Old High German origin meaning "land valley".

Landon English
Variant of Langdon.

Landvik Norwegian
From the name of a Norwegian town meaning "land inlet".

Lane 1 English
Originally designated one who lived by a lane, a narrow way between fences or hedges, later used of any narrow pathway, including one between houses in a town.

Langbroek Dutch
From the name of a small town in the province of Utrecht, Holland, derived from lang meaning "wide" and broek meaning "meadow".

Langdon English
Derived from the name of various places, of Old English origin meaning "long hill" (effectively "ridge").

Langenberg German, Dutch
From various place names meaning "long mountain" in German and Dutch.

Langford English
From any of various places in England with this name, derived from Old English lang "long" and ford "ford, river crossing".

Langley 1 English
From any of the various places with this name, all derived from Old English lang "long" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Langston English
From any of the various locations in England with this name, derived from Old English lang "long" and stan "stone".

Laninga Frisian
From Frisian lân meaning "land".

Lara Spanish
From the name of a village in Burgos, Spain. It might be derived from Latin lar "household god, house, home".

Larue French
Means "the street" in French.

Laterza Italian
From the name of the town of Laterza near Taranto in Apulia. It is typical of southern Italy.

Laurito Italian
From the name of the town of Laurito, near Salerno in the area of Naples.

Lavigne French
Means "the vineyard" in French, referring to a person who lived close to a vineyard, or was from the town of Lavigny.

Lavoie French
Means "the road, the lane" in French, a name for someone who lived close to a road.

Law English
Derived from Old English hlaw "hill".

Layton English
Derived from the name of English towns, meaning "town with a leek garden" in Old English.

Leavitt English
From the name of various places called Livet in Normandy, France. They are possibly of Gaulish origin.

Lecce Italian
Originally indicated a person from Lecce, southern Italy. The town was known as Licea or Litium in Latin, earlier Lupiae.

Leccese Italian
Variant of Lecce.

Ledford English
From the name of English places called Lydford, derived from hlud meaning "loud, noisy" and ford meaning "ford, river crossing".

Lee 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived on or near a leah, Old English meaning "woodland, clearing".

Leeuwenhoek Dutch
Means "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.

Lehr German
From Old High German loh meaning "meadow, clearing".

Lehtonen Finnish
Derived from Finnish lehto meaning "grove, small forest".

Leigh English
Variant of Lee 1.

Leighton English
Variant of Layton.

Leitner German
Referred to one who lived on a hillside, from Middle High German lite "slope".

Leitzke German
Either from Leitzkau, the name of a town in Saxony-Anhalt, or from a diminutive of the given name Leutz, a variant of Lutz.

Lémieux French
Derived from the place name Leymieux, a town in the Rhône-Alpes region of France.

Lengyel Hungarian
Means "Polish" in Hungarian.

Lenin Russian (Modern)
Surname adopted by the Russian revolutionary and founder of the former Soviet state Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924), whose birth surname was Ulyanov. He probably adapted it from the name of the River Lena in Siberia.

Lennox Scottish
From the name of a district in Scotland, called Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly meaning "place of elms".

Lenox Scottish
Variant of Lennox.

Léon French
Variant of Lyon 1, Lyon 2 or Lyon 3.

León 1 Spanish
Referred to a person from the city of León in northern Spain, derived from Latin legio (genitive legionis) meaning "legion", so named because the Roman 7th Legion Gemina was stationed there.

Leon English
Variant of Lyon 1, Lyon 2 or Lyon 3.

Leong Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Liang.

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".

Leung Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Liang.

Levitt English
Variant of Leavitt.

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

Leyton English
Variant of Layton.

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.

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

Lien Norwegian
Variant of Lie.

Liepa Latvian
Means "linden tree" in Latvian.

Liepiņš Latvian
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".

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

Lindner German
Variant of Linden.

Lindon English
Variant of Lyndon.

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

Lindsey English, Scottish
Variant of Lindsay.

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.

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

Lo Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Luo.

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".

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

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.

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

Losnedahl Norwegian
From Norwegian dahl meaning "valley" and Losna, a place in Norway.

Low English
Variant of Law.

Lowe 2 English
Variant of Law.

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.

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.

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.

Lunde Norwegian
Variant of Lund.

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.

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

Luzzatto Italian
From an Italian form of Lusatia, a region of eastern Germany.

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

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.

Lyons English
Variant of Lyon 1.

Macey English
Variant of Massey.

Macy English
Variant of Massey.

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".

Magalhães Portuguese
Denoted a person hailing from one of the numerous minor places of this name in Portugal, possibly of Celtic origin.

Mägi Estonian
Means "hill, mountain" in Estonian.

Magyar Hungarian
Means "Hungarian" in Hungarian.

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

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

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

Mäkinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish mäki meaning "hill".

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

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.

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

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

Maradona Spanish
From the name of a place near Lugo in northern Spain. A notable bearer is the former Argentinian soccer star Diego Maradona (1960-).

Marchegiano Italian
From 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.

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.

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.

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".

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

Mas 1 Catalan
Means "farmhouse" in Catalan.

Massey English
Derived from Massy, the name of several towns in France. The name of the town is perhaps derived from a personal name that was Latinized as Maccius.

Mata Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan
From Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan mata meaning "trees, shrubs", possibly from Late Latin matta meaning "reed mat".

Matos Portuguese, Spanish
Variant of Mata.

Matsubara Japanese
From Japanese 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and 原 (hara) meaning "field, plain".

Matsuda Japanese
From Japanese 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Matsumoto Japanese
From 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".

Matsumura Japanese
From Japanese 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and 村 (mura) meaning "town, village".

Matsuoka Japanese
From Japanese 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and 岡 (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".

Matsushita Japanese
From Japanese 松 (matsu) meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and 下 (shita) meaning "under, below".

Maxwell Scottish
From 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.

Mazur Polish
Indicated a person from either Mazovia (Polish Mazowsze) or Masuria (Polish Mazury), regions in Poland.

Meadows English
Referred to one who lived in a meadow, from Old English mædwe.

Medeiros Portuguese
From various Portuguese place names that were derived from Portuguese medeiro meaning "haystack", ultimately from Latin meta meaning "cone, pyramid".

Medina Spanish
Means "(Arab) city" in Spanish, derived from Arabic مدينة (madinah).

Meggyesfalvi Hungarian
Derived from a Hungarian village named Meggyesfalva meaning "cherry village", from meggy "cherry" and falu "village".

Mei Chinese
From Chinese 梅 (méi) meaning "plum, apricot".

Meisner German
Variant of Meissner.

Meissner German
Originally denoted a person from the German town of Meissen, which is probably of Slavic origin.

Melsbach German
From the name of a German town, possibly meaning "mill stream".

Melville Scottish
From the place name Malleville meaning "bad town" in Norman French.

Melvin Scottish
Variant of Melville.

Mendoza Spanish, Basque
From a Basque place name derived from mendi "mountain" and hotz "cold".

Merrill 2 English
From the name of various places in England, derived from Old English myrige "pleasant" and hyll "hill".

Merritt English
From an English place name meaning "boundary gate".

Messana Italian
Variant of Messina.

Messina Italian
From the name of the Sicilian city of Messina, founded by Greek colonists. The city was named after the Greek city Μεσσήνη (Messene).

Metharom Thai
Possibly refers to a place or institute of learning or where knowledge is provided.

Mhasalkar Indian (Rare), Marathi (Rare)
Derived from the name of the town of Mhasla in Maharashtra, India.

Michalski Polish
Habitational name for a person from a village named Michale or Michały, both derived from the given name Michał.

Middleton English
Originally 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 English
From the English village of Midgley in West Yorkshire, meaning "midge (insect) wood" in Old English.

Milani Italian
Variant of Milano.

Milano Italian
Originally indicated someone who came from Milan.

Milburn English
Derived from various place names meaning "mill stream" in Old English.

Milford English
Originally derived from various place names all meaning "ford by a mill" in Old English.

Milton English
Derived 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".

Minami Japanese
From Japanese 南 (minami) meaning "south".

Miranda Spanish, Portuguese
Habitational name from any of the numerous places in Spain and Portugal bearing this name, possibly derived from Latin mirandus "admirable, wonderful".

Miura Japanese
From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 浦 (ura) meaning "bay, inlet".

Miyagawa Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream".

Miyajima Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Miyake Japanese
From Japanese 三 (mi) meaning "three" and 宅 (yake) meaning "house, home".

Miyamoto Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin". A notable bearer is video game pioneer Shigeru Miyamoto (1952-).

Miyashita Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 下 (shita) meaning "under, below".

Miyata Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Miyazaki Japanese
From Japanese 宮 (miya) meaning "temple, shrine, palace" and 崎 (saki) meaning "cape, peninsula".

Mizuno Japanese
From Japanese 水 (mizu) meaning "water" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".

Mizushima Japanese
From Japanese 水 (mizu) meaning "water" and 島 (shima) meaning "island".

Mizutani Japanese
From Japanese 水 (mizu) meaning "water" and 谷 (tani) meaning "valley".

Mlakar Slovene, Croatian
Referred to someone who lived near a pool, derived from South Slavic mlaka meaning "pool, puddle".

Modugno Italian
From the town of Modugno, in Apulia in southern Italy. It is the surname of the Italian actor and singer Domenico Modugno (1928-1994).

Moe Norwegian
Means "sandy ground" in Norwegian.

Moen Norwegian
Means "the sandy ground" in Norwegian.

Moffett Scottish
From the town of Moffat in Scotland, meaning "long field" in Gaelic.

Molina Spanish
Means "mill" in Spanish.

Monroe Scottish
Anglicized (typically American) form of Munro.

Montagna Italian
Means "mountain" in Italian, from Latin montanus, indicating a person who lived on or near a mountain.

Montagne French
French cognate of Montagna.