Kohl GermanDerived from Middle High German
kol "cabbage".
Konečný m Czech, SlovakMeans
"final, last" in Czech and Slovak, perhaps a nickname for the youngest son of a family or a topographic name for someone who lived at the end of a settlement.
Korhonen FinnishPossibly from archaic Finnish
korho meaning
"deaf, hard of hearing". This is the most common surname in Finland.
Kraus GermanFrom Middle High German
krus meaning
"curly", originally a nickname for a person with curly hair.
Krebs GermanMeans
"crab" in German, perhaps a nickname for a person with a crab-like walk.
Kříž m CzechMeans
"cross" in Czech, ultimately from Latin
crux.
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.
Krückel GermanNickname for a crippled person or someone who walked with a cane, from Middle High German
krücke meaning
"cane".
Kučera m Czech, SlovakMeans
"curl" in Czech and Slovak, a nickname for a person with curly locks of hair.
Kudrna m CzechMeans
"curl" in Czech, a nickname for someone with curly hair.
Kukk EstonianMeans
"rooster" in Estonian, ultimately of Germanic origin.
Kumar Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, TamilMeans
"boy, prince" in Sanskrit.
Kumięga PolishPossibly from Polish
kum "godfather, friend" or
komięga "raft, barge".
Kurz GermanMeans
"short" in German, ultimately from Latin
curtus.
Kyselý m CzechMeans
"sour" in Czech. It was most likely used to denote a person known for having a bad mood.
Lachance FrenchMeans
"chance, luck" in French, a nickname for a lucky person.
Lagorio ItalianFrom a nickname derived from Ligurian
lagö, referring to a type of lizard, the European green lizard. This little reptile is respected because it supposedly protects against vipers.
Lamb EnglishFrom the name of the animal, perhaps a nickname for a shy person.
Laukkanen FinnishFrom a nickname for a person who took big steps, from Finnish
laukka meaning
"canter, gallop".
Lê VietnameseVietnamese form of
Li 2, from Sino-Vietnamese
黎 (lê). This is the third most common surname in Vietnam.
Lebeau FrenchNickname for a handsome person, from French
le "the" and
beau "beautiful, handsome".
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".
Lecomte FrenchMeans
"the count" in French, a nickname for someone in the service of a count or for someone who behaved like one.
Lee 2 Korean, ChineseKorean form of
Li 1, from Sino-Korean
李 (i). This is the second most common surname in South Korea. It is also a variant Chinese romanization of
Li 1.
Lemoine FrenchMeans
"the monk" in French. This was typically a nickname or an occupational name for a person who worked in a monastery.
Lenz GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"springtime" in German.
Leroux FrenchMeans
"the red", from Old French
ros "red". This was a nickname for a person with red hair.
Li 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
李 (lǐ) meaning
"plum, plum tree". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Tang dynasty.
Lis PolishMeans
"fox" in Polish, a nickname for a sly person.
Little EnglishMeaning simply
"little", it was originally a nickname given to a short person.
Liu ChineseFrom Chinese
刘 (liú) meaning
"kill, destroy". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Han dynasty.
Long EnglishOriginally a nickname for a person who had long limbs or who was tall.
Longstaff EnglishOccupational name for an official who was equipped with a ceremonial staff, or a nickname for a tall person.
Lovelace EnglishFrom a nickname for a lothario, derived from Middle English
lufeles, Old English
lufuleas meaning
"loveless".
Lowell EnglishFrom a nickname derived from a Norman French
lou meaning
"wolf" and a diminutive suffix.
Lozano SpanishMeans
"healthy, exuberant, lively" in Spanish, originally used as a nickname for an elegant or haughty person.
Lyon 2 English, FrenchFrom a nickname derived from Old French and Middle English
lion meaning
"lion".
Mack 1 Scottish, IrishShortened form of various Irish and Scottish surnames beginning with
Mac or
Mc (from Irish
mac meaning "son").
Majewski m PolishDerived from Polish
maj meaning
"May". It may have been given in reference to the month the bearer was baptized.
Maldonado SpanishFrom a nickname meaning
"badly given, ill-favoured" in Spanish.
Mallory EnglishFrom Old French
maloret meaning
"unfortunate, unlucky", a term introduced to England by the Normans.
Manco ItalianMeans
"left-handed" in Italian, derived from Latin
mancus meaning "maimed".
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.
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.
Maus GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"mouse", from Old High German
mus.
Mazza ItalianFrom a nickname (perhaps occupational) meaning
"maul, mallet" in Italian.
McGill Irish, ScottishAnglicized form of Gaelic
Mac an Ghoill meaning
"son of the foreigner", derived from
gall "foreigner".
Mejía SpanishPossibly from a nickname derived from Spanish
Mesías meaning
"Messiah", from Latin
Messias, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew
מָשִׁיחַ (mashiyaḥ) meaning "anointed".
Merlo Italian, SpanishMeans
"blackbird", ultimately from Latin
merula. The blackbird is a symbol of a naive person.
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".
Monday 2 EnglishDenoted a person for whom this was a significant day, often the day they would pay their feudal fees.
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".
Moore 3 EnglishNickname for a person of dark complexion, from Old French
more, Latin
maurus, meaning
"Moorish".
Moschella ItalianFrom a diminutive of Italian
mosca meaning
"housefly", perhaps originally a nickname for an annoying person.
Munson EnglishPatronymic formed from the Norman French nickname
moun meaning
"monk".
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).
Mutton EnglishReferred to a shepherd or else someone who in some way resembled a sheep, derived from Norman French
mouton "sheep".
Myška m CzechFrom a nickname derived from Czech
myš meaning
"mouse".
Nagy um Hungarian, SlovakFrom a nickname meaning
"big, great" in Hungarian, referring to one's characteristics. This is the most common Hungarian surname. In Slovakia this spelling is only used for men, with
Nagyová being the feminine form.
Nasato ItalianNickname for someone with a prominent nose, from Italian
naso "nose".
Navrátil m CzechMeans
"returned" in Czech, from the verb
navrátit "to return", perhaps used to denote a person who came home following a long absence.
Negri ItalianNickname derived from Italian
negro "black", used to refer to someone with dark hair or dark skin.
Neri ItalianFrom Italian
nero "black", indicating a person with a dark complexion or dark hair.
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.
Nieddu ItalianFrom Sardinian
nieddu meaning
"black", derived from Latin
niger.
Niemczyk PolishFrom Polish
Niemiec meaning
"German" and the patronymic suffix
-czyk.
Noble English, ScottishFrom a nickname meaning
"noble, high-born, illustrious", derived via Middle English and Old French from Latin
nobilis. In some cases the nickname may have been given ironically to people of the opposite character.
Noel French, EnglishEither from the given name
Noël, or else derived directly from Old French
noel "Christmas" and given to a person who had a particular connection with the holiday.
Novosad m CzechFrom place names meaning
"new orchard" in Czech.
Ohme GermanFrom Middle High German
oem meaning
"maternal uncle".
Oláh HungarianMeans
"Romanian, Wallachian" in Hungarian, from Old Slavic
volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).
Olasz HungarianMeans
"Italian" in Hungarian, from Old Slavic
volxŭ "Romance-speaker" (of Germanic origin).
Oomen DutchPatronymic derived from Middle Dutch
oom meaning
"(maternal) uncle".
Oriol CatalanFrom Catalan
or meaning
"gold", originally a nickname for a person with blond hair.
Orr ScottishFrom a nickname derived from Gaelic
odhar meaning
"dun-coloured, greyish brown, tan".
Orsini ItalianFrom a nickname meaning
"little bear" in Italian, from Latin
ursus "bear".
Palumbo ItalianFrom Italian
palombo meaning
"pigeon" (also "dogfish"). This form is typical of southern Italy.
Papp 2 GermanNickname perhaps related to Late Latin
pappare meaning
"to eat".
Pardo SpanishMeans
"brown" in Spanish, originally a nickname for someone with brown hair.
Parent English, FrenchDerived from Old French
parent meaning either
"notable" (from Latin
pārēre meaning "to be apparent") or
"parent" (from Latin
parere meaning "to produce, to give birth").
Park 1 KoreanFrom Sino-Korean
樸 or 朴 (bak) meaning
"plain, unadorned, simple". This is the third most common surname in South Korea.
Parrino SicilianFrom a Sicilian variant of Italian
padrino meaning
"godfather".
Pavone ItalianMeans
"peacock" in Italian. It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.
Payne EnglishFrom a medieval given name or nickname derived from Latin
paganus meaning
"heathen, pagan" (from an earlier sense "rural, rustic"), which was given to children whose baptism had been postponed or adults who were not overly religious.
Paz SpanishMeans
"peace" in Spanish, originally a nickname for a calm person.
Peacock EnglishFrom Middle English
pecok meaning
"peacock". It was originally a nickname for a proud or haughty person.
Peel EnglishNickname for a thin person, derived from Old French
pel, Latin
palus meaning
"stake, post" (related to English
pole).
Pellegrino ItalianMeans
"pilgrim, traveller" in Italian, ultimately from Latin
peregrinus.
Penny EnglishNickname meaning
"penny, coin" from Old English
penning.
Pesce ItalianMeans
"fish" in Italian, referring either to a fisherman or to a person who resembled a fish in some way.
Petit French, Catalan, EnglishMeans
"small, little" derived from Old French and Catalan
petit. It was perhaps used for a short, small person or to denote the younger of two individuals.